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Archive for the ‘Travel & Tourism’ Category

Thinking of you, mom

Posted in Creativity, Culture, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 13, 2012| Leave a Comment »

My mom was a folk dancer.  She had studied ballet, tap, and acrobatic dancing when she was young and brought that training and muscle memory along with her when she took up folk dancing in her mid thirties.  I spent many hours over the years watching her dance; the Kamarinskaya from Russia, Swedish Hambo, Fandango from Portugal, Mexico’s Jarabe Tapatio, and so many more.  In addition to being a talented dancer, she made her own costumes.  A dressmaker’s dummy was a permanent fixture in her bedroom, yards of colorful cotton fabric and braid were piled next to the sewing machine, and in the evenings her hands and eyes were often occupied embroidering pieces for a new costume.

Mom died in 1989, but not a day goes by that I don’t think of her.  So, on this Mother’s Day, this is for you mom…

Multicolored huipil with peacock design

Guatemala

Jewel toned embroidered huipil with peacock design

Zinacatán, Chiapas, Mexico

Black skirt embroidered on the diagonal with flowers

Zinacatán, Chiapas, Mexico

Black dress with gold-tone embroidery on sleeve and bodice.

San Antonino Castillo Velasco, Oaxaca, Mexico

Geometric yellow and red embroidery on purple skirt with lace bottom

Tehuantepec, Oaxaca, Mexico

Close up of the back of a brightly embroidered huipil on black velvet

Tehuantepec, Oaxaca, Mexico

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Feliz cumpleaños MACO

Posted in Buildings, Celebrations, Culture, Exhibitions, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , on May 4, 2012| 2 Comments »

A belated Happy 20th Birthday, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Oaxaca!

20 MACO banner

As the theme of the birthday celebration on February 28th said, Say ‘Coma’ Twenty Times,

20 and 4 bicycles with a comma in the center of the front wheels

COMA, COMA, CO-MACO, MACO, MACO…

Large red 20 painted on window

Come say, Feliz Cumpleaños MACO, in person!

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Safer in Mexico or USA???

Posted in Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , on May 2, 2012| 2 Comments »

We, who live or spend a significant amount of time here in Oaxaca, can’t say it too many times…

Are Americans safer in Mexico than at home?

Robert Reid Lonely Planet author

Every week or so I get asked, ‘Is it safe to go to Mexico?’ I had always said, if you’re thoughtful about where you go, yes. But after my most recent trip there, I’m changing my answer… to a question:

Do you think it’s safe to go to Texas?

To be clear, violence in Mexico is no joke. There have been over 47,000 drug-related murders alone in the past five years. Its murder rate – 18 per 100,000 according to this United Nations Office on Drugs & Crime report – is more than three times the US rate of 4.8 per 100,000. Though Mexican tourism is starting to bounce back, Americans appear more reluctant to return than Canadians and Brits (5.7 million Americans visited in 2011, down 3% from 2010 – and, according to Expedia, more than four of five bookings were adults going without children). Many who don’t go cite violence as the reason.

What you don’t get from most reports in the US is statistical evidence that Americans are less likely to face violence on average in Mexico than at home, particularly when you zero in on Mexico’s most popular travel destinations. For example, the gateway to Disney World, Orlando, saw 7.5 murders per 100,000 residents in 2010 per the FBI; this is higher than Cancun or Puerto Vallarta, with rates of 1.83 and 5.9 respectively, per a Stanford University report (see data visualization here, summarized on this chart, page 21). Yet in March, the Texas Department of Public Safety advised against ‘spring break’ travel anywhere in Mexico, a country the size of the UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy combined. Never mind that popular destinations like the Bahamas, Belize and Jamaica have far higher homicide rates (36, 42 and 52 per 100,000). Why the singular focus?

Before you nix Mexico altogether, consider these five things:

[Read full article HERE]

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Tlacolula, she’s my baby…

Posted in Culture, Markets, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 27, 2012| 3 Comments »

Every time I pass by the turnoff to Tlacolula de Matamoros, I break into song, “Be-bop-a-lula, she’s my baby.”  And, seeing this guy on the front of a building on one of the town’s main streets only contributes to channeling Gene Vincent.

Wall art of tuba player

I was last there early this month for the first Festival de la Nieve, Mezcal y Vinagre.  Ice cream, mezcal, and fruit and veggies in vinegar… what’s not to like?

Bottles of mezcal

And then there is the weekly Sunday tianguis (market), where women in colorfully embroidered cotton aprons over tightly pleated polyester brocade skirts (where did that style come from?) buy and sell everything under the sun.

3 women in embroidered aprons.

As the article, The Pop-up Food Shops of Oaxaca confirms, I’m not the only one who is captivated by Tlacolula.

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Mountain biking rides into Oaxaca

Posted in Nature & Science, Sports & Recreation, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on April 15, 2012| 2 Comments »

I’m from the cradle of modern mountain biking; Marin County, California.  In fact, it has become so popular in Marin over the past 30+ years, traffic jams have ensued at trail heads and battles between hikers, horseback riders, and mountain bikers over safety and environmental issues frequently make the headlines of local papers.

With this recent article in the Wall Street Journal, it looks like mountain biking has “officially” come to Oaxaca.  I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the wise Zapotec elders up in Oaxaca’s Sierra Norte will find a way to keep the peace.  And, more than that, I’m hoping all you mountain bikers out there will be respectful of this beautiful land and her people.

From Friday, April 13, 2012 online Wall Street Journal…

Blazing Trails in Mexico

Mountain biking is rare in Oaxaca—but not for long

By TREVOR CLARK

[mexbike]
Mountain biking on the Tequila Trail near Oaxaca, Mexico – Trevor Clark

IT WAS EARLY. Hours from sunrise kind of early. My wimpy headlamp struggled to break through the predawn drizzle, and I could barely see my front tire or the trail ahead. Roots, rocks and stumps all seemed to be in cahoots, working together to upend me.

MEXBIKE

WHEEL WORLD | Riding out of the village of Benito Juárez in Oaxaca –  Trevor Clark 

I tried to become one with the bike. I tried to feel out the trail with my other senses. I tried to anticipate obstacles, but I am no Zen master. My mountain biking skills are rough under the best conditions, and I was in the jungle in the dark.

My mate’s more powerful headlamp suddenly provided a snapshot of a sharp turn and a wooden footbridge ahead. Then, lights out. I made an educated guess, went straight and took a hit that emptied my lungs: “Huhhhhh!” Cold water rushed into my clothes and pack as I lay in the stream, bike still on my feet, straight up in the air.

For a few moments, I laughed hysterically at my predicament and the fact that I was OK after missing the bridge. Then I picked myself up and kept moving.

We made it to the peak of Piedra Larga, a 10,761-foot-high lookout, for breakfast, corn-based hot chocolate and sunrise. As the sun slowly emerged from a thick layer of fog, we found ourselves hovering above a golden sea of clouds. The scenery was worth every blind pedal stroke.

MEXBIKE
HIGH ROAD | Taking in the view from a rock spire in the Sierra Norte – Trevor Clark

Seven of us had come to the Sierra Norte of Oaxaca, Mexico, a forested mountain range in the northern part of the state. Oaxaca is known as the country’s culinary and cultural center, and many visitors experience it through cooking classes and gallery walks in the capital city. We, instead, were mountain-biking part of an ancient Zapotec network of walking trails that have connected eight villages to each other and the rest of the world for eons.

Mountain biking is fairly new to Mexico…. [Read FULL ARTICLE]

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It’s all in the numbers

Posted in Buildings, Creativity, Culture, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , on March 29, 2012| Leave a Comment »

In Coyoacán, Federal District of Mexico City…

Magenta numbers 104 against bright yellow wall

San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas…

Wooden number 40 against white patch on tan rock wall with terracotta geometric design

And Oaxaca…

Black Art Deco 502 against white wall

The zeros have it!

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Environmentalism comes to Mexico

Posted in Environment, Parks & Plazas, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 10, 2012| 2 Comments »

The day before I went up to Mexico City last month, crossing Llano Park, I came across a newly installed waste container encouraging plastic recycling; courtesy of Tierra Sana, a company promoting and selling environmentally friendly products.

Waste basket made from plastic bottles with a Tierra Sana sign on top

These baskets have cropped up in other parts of the city — this one in the plazuela next to Carmen Alto church.  Please know, the trees will cry if you don’t recycle.

Plastic bottle recycling bin with graffiti drawing of a tree crying in the background.

Once up in Mexico City, I noticed Occupy Coyoacán practiced recycling.

Overflowing recycling bags lined up along bandstand.

And then, we were all brought up short by this electric car…

Silver Nissan electric car getting charged at charging station in the street.

These charging stations are not far from the Templo Mayor; an appropriate juxtaposition, I think.  Automobile pollution can’t be good for the Great Temple.

GE charging station

Then there is bike-sharing — 1200 bikes at 90 Ecobici bike stations in Mexico’s capital city.

Red Ecobici bicycles lined up on bike rack.

For more on Mexico City’s Green Plan, check out 10 Highlights of Mexico City’s Climate Action Program.

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This is… Oaxaca de Juárez

Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Music, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , on December 6, 2011| Leave a Comment »

As promised…

And, there is SO much more!!!

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Sound and Light Show…

Posted in Travel & Tourism, tagged , on March 10, 2011| 2 Comments »

I’m back home in Oaxaca, after 14 hours of travel.  Instead of sleeping like my fellow passengers, on the overnight bus from Mexico City to Oaxaca, I had visions of the Parroquia in San Miguel de Allende  dancing in my head…


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On the road…

Posted in Travel & Tourism, tagged on February 28, 2011| 1 Comment »

After ten days of playing tour guide to L, one of my closest friends since age 12… showing off Oaxaca’s seductive sights, sounds, and tastes (more about that later), we took the rather luxurious ADO Platino overnight bus to the Mexico Norte terminal, where, an hour later, we caught a Primera Plus to Guanajuato.
Guanajuato from Casa Zuniga
This is my first trip to Guanajuato and from the terrace of our hotel, Casa Zuniga, on one of the hills overlooking the city, it’s pure Mexican… a jumble of color and texture. However, once the funicular brought me down to street level, I was struck by its European university town feel.
Teatro Juarez, Guanajuato
The stone buildings are ornate; streets are narrow, cobblestone, and winding. Lively groups of prosperous looking students congregate into the night on the wide stone steps of churches, theaters, and university buildings; laughing, smoking, and talking. It’s quite a contrast to Oaxaca.

However, while their numbers are much fewer, the achingly beautiful, but haunting faces of Mexico’s indigenous child peddlers are present…
Guanajuato child peddler

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Let’s Dance!

Posted in Celebrations, Churches, Culture, Holidays, Religion, Remembering, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , on January 18, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Sunday, in the Plazuela de Carmen Alto, celebrations honoring the Christ of Esquipulas (Black Christ) were in full swing. I was awakened at 6 AM to the sound of fuegos artificiales (fireworks) and eventually drifted off to sleep after 11:30 PM, as fireworks’ explosions resumed.

Festivities lasted all day and I couldn’t resist heading up to the church courtyard to see what was happening.

When I arrived, seats in the shade were filled and a small crowd was gathered behind a barricade; a castillo, laying on its side in three parts, was being constructed; a teenage Oaxacan brass band, with the requisite tuba towering over the other instruments and their players, was waiting to play; and young dancers were performing with a combination of earnestness and joy.

Skirts flying

Dance always seems to be an integral part of celebrations both secular and religious, and, in reflecting on my love for this, at times, perplexing and contradictory place, dance is one of the things that resonates the most.

Piña Dancers

A small stage set up under the trees; dancers, their handmade and unique costumes; energetic music; choreographed steps passed down through generations spirited me back to my childhood…

Mom and me

Let’s dance!

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