Flags aren’t the only things flying from the rooftops of Oaxaca…
A 2004 report, Measuring Inequality with Asset Indicators [pdf], by McKenzie, confirms very few households in Mexico have clothes dryers.
El Grito de la Independencia is coming! Vendors of everything green, white, and red have set up their carts on Oaxaca’s busiest street corners and Mexican flags are flying everywhere.
A little slice from yesterday’s grocery shopping trip around town…
Definitely more to come!
Posted in Celebrations, History, Holidays | Tagged El Grito, Mexican Independence Day, Mexico, Oaxaca, vendors | 2 Comments »
Yesterday, the clouds gathered, the sky darkened, and about 5 PM…
And, yes, I did jump!
However, it’s no laughing matter for the farmers and folks who live near rivers. Río Atoyac, which runs alongside the heart of the city and which one must cross to reach the airport, rapidly reached flood stage and breached its banks in several places (Noticias has video). In addition, because the ground is already supersaturated, mudslides have already begun to occur in the mountains.
CONAGUA explains that the large area of atmospheric instability over the Gulf of Tehuantepec along with tropical depression 13 in the Gulf of Mexico (that’s the one threatening Louisiana), are the moisture-laden culprits.
Posted in Gardens, Home, Weather | Tagged Casita Colibrí, CONAGUA, flooding, lightning, Mexico, Oaxaca, rain, rain storms, Río Atoyac, thunder, thunderstorms, video, weather | Leave a Comment »
One priest, countless dogs, several birds, a couple of cats, a few fowl, a pair of fish, one white rabbit, numerous cute kids, parents and grandparents, beautiful young women, tough guys and cool teens, multiple media outlets, and spectators (with cameras and cell phones) congregated at 4 PM today in the plaza outside the Templo de Nuestra Señora de la Merced (Temple of Our Lady of Mercy) for the Bendición de los Animales (Blessing of the Animals).
This annual event, held on August 31, celebrates the feast day of San Ramón de Nonato, patron saint of women in labor, persons falsely accused, and keeper of animals. The gathering was muy tranquilo; a Peaceable Kingdom prevailed and Edward Hicks would have felt right at home.
I must say the priest was quite energetic with the holy water and even the non-believers among us got a good sprinkling and came away feeling blessed!
(ps) Fellow blogger, Chris, caught the priestly action.
(pps) Noticias has video… the music is priceless!
Posted in Animals, Celebrations | Tagged Bendición de los Animales, Blessing of Animals, La Merced, Mexico, Oaxaca, pets | 4 Comments »
From today’s NYT…
Market Driven, Oaxaca-Style
A vendor at Mercado de la Merced in Oaxaca, Mexico, where produce grown on small local farms is sold throughout the city.
OAXACA, Mexico — “The market is not for shopping,” Pilar Cabrera said.
¿Qué?
We were walking around Oaxaca’s Mercado de la Merced, a covered market where Cabrera, a well-known chef and owner of the popular La Olla Restaurant, does some of her food gathering for a class she teaches at La Casa de los Sabores, a cooking school she runs to which chefs on pilgrimages and food-curious tourists have been flocking for several years. Students who sign up and pay for the class (about $70) gather up the goods with her at one of the town’s markets in the morning, then bring them back to a big, bright, picture-perfect kitchen, where they proceed to cook and consume the meal, a five-course Oaxacan lunch based on Pilar’s recipes, including a taste of mezcal and dessert. (Coloradito, a red mole, was the main event at the class I attended.) They also get to pepper her with questions about the food, recipes and region.
Pilar knows her stuff: she was born and raised here and has a background in food science, as well as decades of cooking experience. La Olla serves a modern menu based on traditional Oaxacan recipes in a modest, clean setting that attracts both tourists and well-heeled locals. Apart from the restaurant and cooking school, she has gained some fame as a sort of ambassador for Oaxacan cuisine, traveling abroad to teach her classes, even making an appearance on “Iron Chef.”
In both the restaurant and the class, Pilar hammers home the main theme of Oaxacan food: an uncompromising devotion to fresh, unprocessed local ingredients (the squash blossoms she chose for the meal that day were still open when the vendor handed them to her). And she can switch from speaking Spanish to English with ease, making it easy for monolingual pilgrims like me to get what’s going on. [Read full article]
h/t: gg
Posted in Food | Tagged Mercado de la Merced, Mexico, Oaxaca, Pilar Cabrera | Leave a Comment »
Returned from the mercado this afternoon to find…
… a crack in the pot. Garden god bursting with pride???
Posted in Gardens | Tagged cactus, Casita Colibrí, garden god, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, plants, succulents | 3 Comments »
Torrential rain by night; brilliant blue sky by day…
This is the way the garden grows during the rainy season in Oaxaca.
Posted in Gardens, Weather | Tagged cactus, Casita Colibrí, garden god, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, plants, succulents | Leave a Comment »
This afternoon, I headed to the Mercado Benito Juárez to stock up on my favorite coffee — 100% organic and grown in the highlands of Oaxaca — El Grano de Oro, Cafe Pluma.
As I entered the Alameda, it had been transformed into a parking lot — 42 new, spotless white, small Mitsubishi trucks, Dodge vans, and a couple of large Ford trucks.
According to Noticias, this is part of a 24.6 million peso (approx. 2 million dollars US) project to improve the health of the people, including a major vaccination effort. Governor Gabino Cue was present to unveil the program.
People in white coats milled around, posed for photos, and gave interviews after the governor’s speech.
And a new ambulance, earmarked for the municipality of Miguel Hidalgo, had a place of honor in front of the Cathedral.
Posted in Health | Tagged health, Mexico, Oaxaca | 1 Comment »
It’s the rainy season; that means it’s also mosquito season… and they love me and my ankles! This year, I surrendered to the adage, the best offense is a good defense. Using plastic mesh, duct tape, and velcro, I fabricated an ugly, and somewhat difficult to navigate through, screen for my door.
Defense exhibit 1
It helped, I even got used to the green color, though the center opening was problematic. However, heat and dry air followed by heat and humidity were not kind to the glue on the back of the velcro that secured the screen to the doorway nor to the duct tape holding the coins weighing down the screen. After two months it began coming unglued, as did I!
So, I relented, loosened my purse-strings, and called master carpenter Juan, who has so ably come to my rescue on previous occasions. He took measurements last week, drew up a plan, built the doors, and arrived yesterday to install them.
My hero, Juan
What a difference a real screen door makes! Looking in…
Defense exhibit 2
And, looking out…
Defense exhibit 3
With my new door, stash of citronella candles, and repelente natural, it’s adios mosquitos!
Posted in Home, Nature & Science, People | Tagged Mexico, mosquitos, Oaxaca | 7 Comments »
Currently at the Museo Nacional de Antropología…
Spanish conquest still “open wound in Mexico,” curator says
Mexico City, Mexico (NTN24 Wires) – The Spanish conquest continues to be “an open wound in Mexico” five centuries later, the curator of the National Museum of Anthropology’s “La Conquista a sangre y fuego” (The Conquest by Fire and Blood) exhibition, Francisco Gonzalez-Hermosillo, said.
“There have been all kinds of reactions, but, especially, there are many who leave very hurt after seeing the bloody images that speak of the violence there was during that period in history,” the researcher told Efe.
The paintings, codices and arms that make up the exhibition show the cruel methods used by the Spanish to impose their rule on Mesoamerica, Gonzalez-Hermosillo said.
The exhibition was organized to mark the 490th anniversary of the conquest of the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan, where Mexico City is situated, by Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes.
The goal of the exhibition is not to “change perceptions of history” but to give the Indians’ view of the conquest because it is “so seldom taken into account,” Gonzalez-Hermosillo said. [Read full article]
Fifty-three percent of Mexico’s indigenous population lives in Oaxaca (Sipaz report). One can only hope Oaxaca is on the itinerary for this traveling exhibit.
Posted in Exhibitions, History | Tagged Aztec, Hernan Cortes, La Conquista a sangre y fuego, Mexico, Mexico City, Museo Nacional de Antropología, National Museum of Anthropology, The Conquest by Fire and Blood | Leave a Comment »
My Spanish language abilities are progressing little by little (poco a poco). However, one thing my wonderful and extremely patient Spanish teacher, Laura Olachea, has neglected to cover is Madre-isms; those too numerous to count and unique to Mexican Spanish, expressions that the mamas, hijas, and hermanas for the most part never use, at least not in mixed or polite company.
Of course, being that one doesn’t know what one doesn’t know, I was oblivious! Oblivious, that is, until I read Norma Hawthorne’s review of the new book, Madre: Perilous Journeys With a Spanish Noun, by Liza Bakewell. Intrigued, I purchased the book when I was in el norte in June and immediately plunged in.
In July, while I was immersed in the “madre” minefield, Liza arrived in Oaxaca for some much-needed R & R, to write an article or two, and to promote her book. I had the pleasure of getting to know her (she’s warm, smart, and funny), eat one of Aurora’s (you will meet her in the book) empanadas, and assist with setting up a couple of speaking engagements. The first, in English, was at the Oaxaca Lending Library, where the audience was overwhelmingly women and, as expected, mostly gringas. There was much surprise and laughter as Liza read excerpts from the book, expanded on points, and answered numerous questions.
The second speaking engagement, the following evening, was at the Instituto de Artes Gráficas de Oaxaca (IAGO) and was conducted all in Spanish. And here, surrounded by the Rini Templeton exhibit, I looked around and noticed the majority of people attending were Mexican men. However, like Guillermo Fricke, Director of IAGO, people listened closely, occasionally chuckled knowingly, and stayed to ask questions and make respectful and thoughtful comments.
It was a much more reserved gathering than the day before, but no less attentive and appreciative. And, reflecting on previous events and observations and now reading Labyrinth of Solitude, by Octavio Paz, I’m coming to understand, except for fiestas, that is the Mexican way. Though, I wonder, if it had been all Mexican women in attendance, would it have been different? I think so. There is something about the bond women share that crosses boundaries and cultures….
However, thanks to Liza, at least while in Mexico, I may never utter the word, madre, again!
(ps) If your local library doesn’t have Madre: Perilous Journeys With a Spanish Noun, ask them to order it!
(pps) Another insightful review of Madre has just appeared on GlobetrotterGirls.com
Posted in Books, Culture, Language | Tagged book review, IAGO, Instituto de Artes Gráficas de Oaxaca, Liza Bakewell, Madre: Perilous Journeys With a Spanish Noun, Mexico, Oaxaca, Oaxaca Lending Library | 4 Comments »
Also on Saturday, I stumbled on yet another parade. And I wondered, who is Camila?
Is this Camila (y amigo)?
Whoever she is, she was a good excuse for music, fireworks, dancers, and a parade up Macedonio Alcalá…
and, why it’s a good idea to take one’s camera… even when just going grocery shopping!
Spanish lesson:
- Giant cloth balloon = Una marmota
- Giant puppets = Los monos
- Flower covered head pieces = Las canastas
Posted in Celebrations | Tagged Mexico, Oaxaca, parade | Leave a Comment »
It’s a Saturday miracle; my favorite vendor is back!!!
She and her little crate-and-basket stand, usually positioned at the foot of the two stairs outside Pan y Co on García Vigil, have been missing in action for the past two weeks and I was worried. I kept asking the clerks at Pan y Co if they knew what had happened to her, but they merely shrugged. However, today there she was…
I came away with sliced mango, papaya, jicama, a bag of roasted peanuts with dried chiles, and, best of all, kisses and hugs!!!
(ps) Apparently, she has been sick, but she assured me that she is okay now.
Posted in Food, People | Tagged Mexico, Oaxaca, vendors | 2 Comments »
Tomorrow marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of comedian, actor, writer, and producer, Cantinflas.
Fortino Mario Alfonso Moreno Reyes was born in the Santa María la Redonda neighbourhood of Mexico City, and grew up in the tough neighborhood of Tepito. [4] He made it through difficult situations with the quick wit and street smarts that he would later apply in his films. After an unsuccessful attempt to enter the United States through California, he became a prizefighter in his teens as a source of income.[5] His comic personality led him to a circus tent show, and from there to legitimate theatre and film. [Read full Wikipedia entry]
Reading the following article recalled fond memories of watching Cantinflas on the big screen in the films, Pepe and Around the World in Eighty Days and, on our black and white TV, in old Mexican-made movies. Like Charlie Chaplin’s little tramp character, even as a child, I “got” and identified with the everyman characters Cantinflas portrayed and understood he was often the smartest character in the story.
Mexico Marks Century Of Comic Cantinflas’ Birth
MEXICO CITY August 11, 2011, 05:23 am ET
It is hard to think of a Mexican Everyman without turning to Cantinflas, the tattered, droopy-pants character created by comic Mario Moreno in the “tent theaters” of Mexico’s slums in the 1930s.
With the approach of Friday’s centenary of his birth, he has been celebrated as a touchstone of Mexican national identity, fondly remembered for his convoluted doublespeak and clever underdog persona he portrayed for nearly six decades until his death in 1993.
He is best known in the rest of the world for his turn as David Niven’s resourceful valet in “Around the World in Eighty Days,” but the pencil-mustached Cantinflas contributed something much deeper in Mexico… Cantinflas reflected the poorer side of Mexico that gets by on its wits… Wise behind his seeming illiteracy, able to snowball the pompous with a stream of clever but meaningless verbiage, Cantinflas was able to make the transition to movies, where he can still be seen winning out over snobs, bureaucrats and corrupt politicos…. [Read full article]
(ps) Update: from the NPR program, All Things Considered: The Chaos And Comedy Of Mexico’s Cantinflas. h/t gg
Posted in Culture, People | Tagged actor, Cantinflas, Fortino Mario Alfonso Moreno Reyes, Mexico | 3 Comments »
Tajín Clásico seasoning has become my absolute, cannot do without, favorite seasoning. It’s a mix of dried chiles, salt, and lime juice and it can be used to flavor just about everything. This morning’s breakfast…
Scrambled eggs and bananas with Tajín sprinkled on top.
I use it to season chicken, veggies, egg dishes, sauces, salads, guacamole, and all kinds of fresh fruit. You name it, Tajín will enhance it! And, amazing discovery… When I stopped by my local gelateria recently, the gal behind the counter offered me Tajín to sprinkle on my cucumber and lime gelato. At first I declined, then thought, what the heck. ¡¡¡Muy sabroso!!!
Posted in Food | Tagged cooking, seasonings, Tajin Clásico | 1 Comment »
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