Look up! Tree trimmers at work on the Alameda. Never fear, Protección Civil is on the job.
As are the recyclers… official and unofficial.
Posted in Environment | Tagged Oaxaca, recycling, scavenging, Tree trimmers | 2 Comments »
I sure hope no one needs a taxi in el centro today.
Double-parked on Independencia and lined up for blocks on side streets, empty taxis sit…
A protest against “pirate” taxis.
By the way, pink taxis, lavender taxis, and green taxis were lined up on other streets, which would have added more color to this entry. But, alas, I violated the first rule of photography: Always carry an extra battery! I know, my feeble excuse of, I’d only gone out to buy velcro adhesive for my mosquito screen door project, is no excuse.
Posted in Labor, Protests | Tagged blockade, demonstrations, huelga, Mexico, Oaxaca, protest, strike, taxis | 1 Comment »
Yesterday…
3:00 pm Storm clouds gathering
7:30 pm Lightening spotted and distant thunder heard
8:00 pm Patter of rain on tin roof
8:45 pm Rain in earnest
9:30 pm Hail??? Yes!!! ***
*** It was 72ºF outside!
h/t Glenn for title inspiration
Posted in Weather | Tagged Oaxaca, weather | Leave a Comment »
Today, the fourth Friday of Lent, is Día de la Samaritana, also known as el Día de las Aguas, and a uniquely Oaxacan celebration. It is inspired by the Biblical story of the woman at the well who offered water to Jesus. And so, here in Oaxaca churches, schools, and businesses offer passersby free cups of horchata, aguas frescas, and some, even ice cream.
Decorations began going up around town yesterday…
Sidewalk stands are set up, some more elaborate…
than others…
And, what does one do with the empty (and not-so-empty) cups?
Decorate a window sill, of course!
Posted in Beverages, Celebrations, Culture, Holidays | Tagged Día de la Samaritana, Día de las Aguas, Good Samaritan day, Lent, Mexico, Oaxaca | 4 Comments »
It’s only Tuesday, but it’s been a week already! Living in Mexico requires a rewiring of one’s brain; wrapping one’s mind around a much more fluid concept of time. As writer Tony Cohan pointed out, in his book by the same name, one must learn to live On Mexican Time, or endless frustration will result.
This morning I spent an hour at the Telmex office (yet again) attempting to upgrade my internet connection speed; my fourth trip to the office in six days. Friday, I was assured that it would be taken care of on Monday and that my presence wouldn’t be necessary. This morning, a check at speedtest.net revealed my connection speed had not changed. So, off I went with as much documentation, patience, and good-nature as I could muster. Eventually, after great deal of consultation and computer inputting, I was told all would be well in 24 hours. We shall see…
Feeling not a little frustrated, I trudged up to my neighborhood indigenous mercado for some much needed provisions. It’s never bustling with activity nor is it bursting with atmosphere, but it’s my local market and, though unlike Cheers, nobody knows my name, I am recognized and greeted with smiles by the gals who regularly sell me cheese and produce. And today, there was a woman sitting next to the stairs selling hand (not machine) made tortillas. My lucky day!
I walked back to Casita Colibrí smiling to myself. How could I not, when returned home with big ball of quesillo, pimiento, epazote, warm tortillas, 2 aguacates, and flor de calabaza???
Yummm… comida beckoned!
Posted in Challenges, Food | Tagged food, mercados, Oaxaca, time | 2 Comments »
This evening… sitting out on the covered portion of Casita Colibrí’s terrace, birds are chattering, wind chimes are tinkling, the occasional flincher is exploding in the distance, horns are honking (who knows what is blocking traffic on Morelos), church bells have begun chiming, and big rain drops are plopping down on the tin roof. The wind has planes, on their approach to Oaxaca’s little airport, flying over Casita Colibrí. Am I really here… in Southern Mexico?
And then, the sunset…
Posted in Nature & Science | Tagged Oaxaca, sunset | Leave a Comment »
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 »
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