On my way to the Oaxaca Lending Library this morning, I was stopped in my tracks by tree shadows and dappled lavender jacaranda blossoms on the rust red of newly landscaped planter beds of Santo Domingo. Light, shadows, color, texture…
Posted in Nature & Science | Tagged brooms, escobas de otate, jacaranda, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, Santo Domingo, twig brooms | Leave a Comment »
Saturday night’s full moon wasn’t the only activity in the night sky.
Major celebrating had been going on in the Plaza de la Danza since early morning… flinchers (all boom, no sparkle), bells of Templo de San José clanging every hour, and live music.
At 9 PM, I heard the unmistakable hisses and pops from a castillo. Turning my attention from looking east at the moon, I turned west and saw…
Debris began raining down on Casita Colibrí and I retreated under the tin roof. Sunday morning’s evidence on the terrace told the story…
… and sheesh, it was plastic!!!
Posted in Celebrations | Tagged castillo, fireworks, Oaxaca, Templo de San José | Leave a Comment »
Posted in Nature & Science | Tagged full moon, La Luna, Mexico, Moon, Oaxaca, photographs, photos | 3 Comments »
Oaxaca is playing host to the 29th Feria del Libro: Guelaguetza Popular de los Libros y sus Lectores (Book Fair of Books and Readers), a four day event, sponsored by the Ministry of Culture and Arts of Oaxaca, the State Institute of Education of Oaxaca, and the National Council for Culture and the Arts. 
Tents and tables line the Alcala and the Alameda, where workshops are being held; books are everywhere; and children, in colorful t-shirts promoting the feria and their regions, fill el centro. 
According to publicity, the feria is designed to bring together 5000 children from the eight regions of Oaxaca, 700 parents, and 400 teachers to promote reading.
Oaxaca is one of the poorest and most indigenous states in Mexico and according to a Sipaz report, 21.5% of the Oaxacan population is illiterate; 26.7% of Oaxacan women are illiterate, compared to 15.5% of men; 34% of children over five years old do not attend school; the average grade of education is 6th grade; and almost 20% of the population over 5 years old that speak an indigenous language do not speak Spanish.
The need is great!!! How could this librarian not love this and other efforts to promote literacy in Oaxaca.
Posted in Education | Tagged Book Fair, Feria del Libro, illiteracy, literacy, Oaxaca | 3 Comments »
Thunder cracking right overhead; lightening flashing all around; rain pounding on the tin roof is deafening. Sheesh, even with TV cranked up as loud as it gets, I can’t hear Anderson Cooper! Torrential downpour filled buckets for Casita Colibrí’s garden within 15 minutes.
Ahhh… it’s been so long, I’d forgotten what it looked, sounded, felt, and smelled like. A beautiful night in Oaxaca…
Posted in Nature & Science | Tagged Oaxaca, rain, thunderstorm, weather | Leave a Comment »
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… 
Posted in Travel & Tourism | Tagged Parroquia, San Miguel de Allende | 2 Comments »
A Sunday hike up to and through El Charco del Ingenio botanical garden and ecological preservation zone was soothing to the soul.
San Miguel de Allende is beginning to grow on me…
Posted in Nature & Science | Tagged El Charco, San Miguel de Allende | Leave a Comment »
How to spend a delightfully creative or creatively delightful day? Take a workshop with Anado!
In San Miguel de Allende now… On Tuesday, clutching selections from our bead collections, L and I hailed a taxi to take us out to the whimsical workshop and home of Anado for our “Provocative Necklace Workshop.” The day wound up being beyond our wildest expectations… a warm, welcoming teacher and host, with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes; four congenial classmates (including one very brave guy), with great beads and stories to tell; perfect sixties music to transport the brain to an experimental place; and a psychedelic setting that inspires imagination.
Anado also has a blog, Chapel of Jimmy Ray, check it out!Posted in Creativity | Tagged Anado, San Miguel de Allende | 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.
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.
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…
Posted in Travel & Tourism | Tagged Guanajuato | 1 Comment »
Oaxaca loves Valentine’s Day! Rojo is the color of the day… red tablecloths cover the tables of restaurants under the portales… red shirts, sweaters, skirts, and shoes capture the eye. The Zócalo is teeming with people… young men carefully carrying cone wrapped roses for their sweethearts, girls clutching their regalos… stuffed animals, bouquets of flowers, and balloons.
And speaking of balloons…
¡Feliz Día del Amor y la Amistad!
Posted in Holidays | Tagged balloon sellers, Día del Amor y la Amistad, Mexico, Oaxaca, Valentine's Day | 1 Comment »
As I write there are 18 upcoming activities listed on the Oaxaca Lending Library website — and these are just for the remainder of February through March. I know, because I put them there and there are several more events waiting in the wings for me to add!
Snowbirds and full-time residents alike, can fill their days by attending classes and book talks, touring nearby crafts villages, enjoying spa pampering, exploring ecotourism, and more…
The energy, creativity, dedication, and hard work by a multitude of volunteers at the library is a sight to behold. You name it, they will organize it!
Posted in Culture | Tagged book talk, classes, ecotourism, Oaxaca Lending Library, spas, tours | 3 Comments »
Early yesterday morning, standing on my terrace, I gazed up, beyond the twin bell towers and dome of the Basílica de Nuestra Señora de la Soledad, at a hilltop only a few miles to the west… platforms of the ancient Zapotec capital of Monte Albán, one of the four Classic cities of Middle America, visible in the clear mountain air. It’s one of those sights that takes my breath away and I never cease feeling privileged to be living here, among its descendants.
Then there was last night… At the base of this ancient city that once commanded the Y-shaped valley of Oaxaca, a gringo friend and I sat in my apartment, again looking west, but this time, not at the hills beyond, but at the TV in the immediate foreground. Instead of imagining those early ballgames played up on Monte Albán, we were engrossed by the modern day skills, of the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers, played under a dome in a $1.2 billion dollar stadium.
For you non (American) football fans, it was Super Bowl Sunday. The game was exciting… the Packers won (yay!)… and members of the losing team weren’t ritually sacrificed!
This particular juxtaposition seems to be developing into a pattern… Last year, a friend and I cheered as the New Orleans Saints defeated Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV…
… from our room, in a hotel carved out of the jungle, just a couple of miles from the stunning Mayan ruins of Palenque.
Hmmm… I wonder where I will be next year?
Posted in Culture | Tagged football, Monte Albán, Palenque | Leave a Comment »
A musician friend recently told of hearing a young Oaxaqueña singer with a breathtakingly beautiful voice. And, the current front page of the Oaxaca Times announces, Alejandra Robles: the new oaxacan voice. I don’t know if this is who he was referring to, but in the words of the article, “her powerful voice reflects her training in Opera but her style is traditional Mexican with a rhythmic flare.”
Alejandra Robles - photo from Oaxaca Times
Alejandra Robles is following in the immensely talented and extremely popular steps of Oaxaqueña vocalists, Lila Downs
Lila Downs - photo from Wikipedia
and Susana Harp, who have carved out successful careers celebrating their Oaxacan roots.
Susana Harp - photo from Wikipedia
I haven’t knowingly heard Alejandra Robles sing; I say “knowingly” because music is everywhere and often free… you just never know when and where you will round a corner to find it. This past November, from the comfort of my terrace, I had a ringside seat for a free Lila Downs concert a block away at the Plaza de la Danza. And, the previous May, I wandered down to the zócalo to hear Susana Harp performing (for free) with the Oaxaca State Band under the shade of the laurel trees.
And then there was this unknown singer…
In September, her beautiful clear and powerful voice drew me off the rooftop and over to the Plaza de la Danza where she and her talented band were performing to an audience of less than 100 people… part of events celebrating the Bicentennial. Regretfully, I was too shy to try out my limited Spanish and ask, “¿Quién es?” I searched the local newspapers and cultural calendars, but never was able to figure out who she was. Anyone know?
Update: She is Natalia Cruz, a proud Zapoteca from Ixtaltepec in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. Muchisimas gracias to one of my readers!
Posted in Culture, Parks & Plazas, People | Tagged Alejandra Robles, Lila Downs, music, Natalia Cruz, Oaxaca, singers, Susana Harp | 4 Comments »
Last night I had the pleasure of introducing a new friend to pozole, Oaxacan style. We walked over to La Gran Torta, my favorite restaurant for this pre-Columbian, hominy based meal in a bowl.
I always order the same dish (Why mess with success?), Pozole “Guerrero,” a caldo verde, with avocado, cabbage, radishes, cilantro, pork, and chicharrón. I push the chicharrón off to the side, but ohhh the flavor it adds! Wash it down with an ice cold Corona and for 70 pesos, you’ve got a perfect dinner on a winter’s night.
Oh, and my friend raved about the caldo rojo Pozole “Especial de la Casa.”
La Gran Torta is located at Porfirio Díaz No. 208 (between Matamoros and Morelos), Centro Histórico, Oaxaca.
Posted in Restaurants | Tagged La Gran Torta, Oaxaca, pozole | Leave a Comment »
Another reason I love Oaxaca…
Yes, I know street blockades are inconvenient for drivers and I know the trade unions are not immune from the corruption that dominates politics here, but at least workers are not sitting on their hands doing nothing as austerity measures threaten to take away what little they have.
According to signs posted on various trucks, trash collectors are demanding cancellation of a 300% increase in the cost of using the municipal dump, access to the dump 7 days a week, and the dismissal of the municipal services director.
Last fall massive protests against austerity measures spread across Europe, the Jasmine Revolution in Tunisia earlier this month was sparked by the self-immolation of a young college graduate who couldn’t find a job, and, as I write, hundreds of thousands of students, women, industrial workers, unemployed, and others are marching in Egypt in what is being called “a day of wrath against poverty.”
Workers in the USA should be taking notes…
Posted in Labor, Protests | Tagged Oaxaca, protests, strikes, trash collectors | Leave a Comment »
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