View From Casita Colibrí

Close encounters of the mural kind

August 11, 2024 by spixl

On the streets of Oaxaca, you never know when you will see…

*San Pablo Villa de Mitla – November 1, 2023*

…close encounters of the mural kind.

Posted in Creativity, Culture, Travel & Tourism | Tagged Mexico, murals, Oaxaca, photos, popular travel destinations, street art, urban art, wall art | 5 Comments »

La Guelaguetza from afar

July 27, 2024 by spixl

July is “mes de la Guelaguetza” in Oaxaca. Alas, I am still in el norte and missing the festivities — though not the crowds! However, you can join me, from the comfort of your home, in viewing both last Saturday’s and today’s Desfile de Delegaciones (Parade of Delegations) and the July 22 and July 29 matutina (morning) and vespertina (evening) Lunes del Cerro dance performances on CORTV’s YouTube channel. I will be sure to be watching today’s desfile and the Monday (July 29) morning transmission live, as the Grupo Danza de la Pluma Promesa 2022-2024 from Teotitlán del Valle is one of the delegations.

*Danza de la Pluma Promesa 2022-2024 — from their first public performance at the festival honoring Preciosa Sangre de Nuestro Señor Jesucristo in Teotitlán de Valle.*

As many of you know, blogger buddy Chris and I have helped sponsor dancers for nine years and it has been a great honor and privilege to get to know several of the dancers and their families in Teotitlán del Valle.

Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Travel & Tourism | Tagged CORTV transmission, folkloric dance, Guelaguetza, List of delegations, Live streaming, Mexico, Oaxaca, photos, popular travel destinations, Teotitlán del Valle | Leave a Comment »

Good things, small packages

July 10, 2024 by spixl

No one exemplified the old adage, “Good things come in small packages” more than Leonor Lazo González. I met Leonor in February 2008 during my second trip to the Zapotec village of Teotitlán del Valle. I’d met her son, Samuel Bautista Lazo, during my first visit to Oaxaca the previous year and he was anxious and very proud to introduce me to his family.

*February 2008 – Leonor with Mario Bautista (husband) and sons Celestino and Samuel Bautista Lazo.*

From that very first meeting I could tell that, while diminutive in stature, Leonor had an enormous presence that radiated strength, inner peace, and joy. And, she had a smile that could light up the universe!

*March 2023 – Leonor in the Holy Monday procession.*

*March 2013 – Leonor with family during Holy Week.*

Once I moved to Oaxaca and began spending a lot of time in Teotitlán, I always looked forward to seeing her at her stall in the mercado, running into her during a village celebration, or stopping by the family home.

*August 2016 – Leonor with Samuel dying yarn.*

*August 2016 – Leonor stirring dye bath.*

*August 2016 – Samuel, Leonor, and yours truly with my new rug created by the family.*

In the words of her son, she was, “a loving warrior, a great mother, teacher, artist, healer, weaver and business savvy, daughter of the abuelas of the Pleiades.”

*December 2017 – Leonor feeding one of her baby goats.*

With great sadness, I must speak of Leonor in the past tense. After a long and valiant battle, she has moved on in her journey. As Sam wrote announcing her passing, “she will be at peace wherever consciousness goes after life and that her legacy will continue and that she will live in our memories and will continue to come back to be celebrated with life every year for Na’ tugul, day of the dead.” Rest in peace and power, dear Leonor.

Posted in Culture, People | Tagged death, Leonor Lazo González, Mexico, Oaxaca, photos, Samuel Bautista Lazo, Teotitlán del Valle, weaver, Zapoteca | 8 Comments »

Guiding spirits, Oaxaca to Denver

June 30, 2024 by spixl

One of the joys of life in Oaxaca is being surrounded by artists, meeting them, and watching their creations take shape. As 2023 was about to come to a close, friends and I spent the day visiting some of our favorite villages to the south of the city. First stop was breakfast in the Ocotlán de Morelos mercado at the stall of Beatriz Vázquez Gómez. Beatriz is famous not only for looking and dressing like Frida Kahlo, but also for serving delicious traditional Oaxacan food. Our next stop was San Antonino Castillo Velasco for their holiday food and artesanía feria where we strolled the aisles of embroidered blouses and dresses, artesanía, and (of course) mezcal. Working up an appetite (What, eating again?) we shared San Antonino’s famous and filling, empanadas de amarillo.

Our last stop of the day was in San Martín Tilcajete. It was at the workshop of Jacobo and María Ángeles where we stumbled on giant fantastical creatures that were being intricately painted in preparation for their journey to Denver, Colorado to be featured in an exhibition at the Denver Botanic Garden entitled, Spirit Guides: Fantastical Creatures.

In the words of Jacobo and María, “These monumental pieces are distinguished by a meticulous carving process and a painting technique that highlights a vibrant palette of colors. This technique not only stands out for its visual beauty, but is also linked to the research and preservation of Zapotec symbology, granting a profound meaning to this artistic and artisanal production.”

“Spirit Guides is an unforgettable outdoor experience reminding us of the profound connections that bind us to the inhabitants of the natural (and cosmological) world.”

So, should you find yourself in the Denver area before the exhibition’s last day on September 8, 2024, let your spirit guide you to the Denver Botanic Gardens.

Posted in Creativity, Culture, Exhibitions, Travel & Tourism | Tagged alebrije, Denver Botanic Garden, Mexico, Oaxaca, photos, popular travel destinations, San Martín Tilcajete, Spirit Guides: Fantastical Creatures, Taller Jacobo y María Ángeles, workshops | 6 Comments »

Feliz Día del Padre

June 16, 2024 by spixl

To all the fathers (biological and adoptive), stepfathers, grandfathers, godfathers, and father figures everywhere, I wish you Happy Father’s Day as you continue sharing traditions…

teaching skills…

and, most of all, caring.

May you fulfill your most valuable role with great love, kindness, and respect.

Posted in Celebrations, Children, Creativity, Culture, Holidays, Travel & Tourism | Tagged brides, children, Día del Padre, face painting, father of the bride, Father's Day, fathers and children, horses, Mexico, Oaxaca, photos, popular travel destinations | Leave a Comment »

Taste of Oaxaca in Brooklyn

June 2, 2024 by spixl

I’m still in el norte. The good news is I’m missing the multiple months of unrelenting 90º+ F (ugh!) weather Oaxaca has been experiencing. The bad news is my taste buds have been missing the flavors of Oaxaca. However, last Sunday, while visiting my Oaxaca snowbird neighbors at their home on Long Island, New York, we ventured into the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn for brunch at Sobre Masa.

The restaurant is the creation of young couple, Diana and Zack Wangeman — both born and raised in Oaxaca and offspring of treasured friends of mine. Zack is a classically trained chef and Diana, a Mexican doctor who grew up in the kitchen of Tierra Antigua, the restaurant in Teotitlán del Valle of her traditional cocinera mother, Carina Santiago. My craving for the complex flavors and real nixtamalized tortillas I have come to know and love, was more than satisfied! (Please forgive the images below, as I was too busy diving into each dish and kept forgetting to take photos.)

Guacamole – flowering cilantro, onion, lime.

Quesadilla de Hongos – mushrooms, epazote, quesillo.

Milpa Salad – Ayocote beans, nopales, cacahuazintle corn, with chile verde vinaigrette.

Shrimp cazuela – garlic chili oil, queso Chihuahua, and there were tortillas.

Flan, chocolate conchita filled with cream, accompanied by mezcal.

If you find yourself in and around New York City, get thee to Brooklyn, enjoy the sophisticated flavors of traditional southern Mexico cuisine, and begin to understand why Oaxaca has become one of the foodie capitals of the world. In addition, like Oaxaca, murals decorate neighborhood walls!

Posted in Creativity, Culture, Food, Restaurants, Travel & Tourism | Tagged Brooklyn, Diana Montaño Santiago, Mexican restaurants, murals, Oaxaca cuisine, photos, popular travel destinations, Sobre Masa, street art, Zack Wangeman | 2 Comments »

Mitla’s mysterious underground

May 17, 2024 by spixl

Noted for its intricate stone fretwork and megalithic architecture, the Mitla ruins are considered the second most important archaeological site in the state of Oaxaca. Prior to the arrival of the Spanish, it was a predominant religious and ceremonial center for the Zapotec people. Legend has it that the entrance to a vast underground labyrinth of passageways leading to Lyobaa, Zapotec for “place of rest,” lies sealed beneath the altar of Iglesia de San Pablo, the 16th century Catholic church that towers above the village of Mitla. As was the practice of the Spanish missionaries, the Zapotec site was destroyed and the church was built on top of the ruins in an attempt to exorcise “pagan” beliefs.

Last November, I had the privilege of touring the Mitla archaeological site with Ludovic Celle, one of the co-founders of the ARX Project — a multidisciplinary team using non-invasive imaging to detect and explore the mysteries of Mitla’s legendary underground caverns and tunnels thought to lead to the underworld. In the 17th century they were described by Spanish priest, Francisco de Burgoa but were well known by the people of Mitla long before the arrival of the Spanish.

Photos from the Church Group, where ARX Project imaging has detected the subterranean caverns and tunnels.

Posted in Archaeology, Churches, Creativity, Culture, History, Travel & Tourism | Tagged archaeological zone, ARX project, fretwork, grecas, Lyobaa, Mexico, Mitla archeological site, Mitla grecas, Oaxaca, photos, popular travel destinations, San Pablo Villa de Mitla, Zapotec culture | 3 Comments »

Last time I climbed Picacho

May 4, 2024 by spixl

Yesterday, May 3, Mexico celebrated Día de la Santa Cruz (Day of the Holy Cross). Tradition calls for workers to erect crosses festooned with flowers at the highest point on construction sites. According to Mexconnect, in 1960, Pope John XXIII removed Día de la Santa Cruz from the liturgical calendar, but Mexico being Mexico and construction workers being construction workers, they ignored the Pope. Eventually, understanding the relationship of forces, he gave Mexico a special dispensation to celebrate on this day.

In the Zapotec village of Teotitlán del Valle, the custom is to climb their sacred mountain, el Picacho (Quie Guia Betz in Zapotec). The trail winds along the face of the mountain with almost no shade. It’s a challenge, but the vistas and community spirit at the top makes it well worth it. As I sit here (still) in el norte at the foot of Mt. Tamalpais, my sacred mountain — mountain of my childhood dreams, teen driving lessons, and place of retreat — I’m remembering the last time I climbed el Picacho…

Inviting the rain atop Picacho

Let us hope Cosijo hears the prayers and rain starts falling on drought stricken Oaxaca.

Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Holidays, Religion, Travel & Tourism | Tagged Cerro Picacho, Día de la Santa Cruz, El Picacho, Mexico, Oaxaca, photos, popular travel destinations, Teotitlán del Valle | Leave a Comment »

Published in the WSJ

April 13, 2024 by spixl

Unbelievably, the Wall Street Journal contacted me two months ago about writing an article describing life as a retiree living in Oaxaca. This article, hot off the presses, is the result: Retiring in Mexico: A Former Librarian Reflects on 15 Years in Oaxaca .

And, to add a little color to this blog post, here are a few of my old photos that didn’t make the WSJ cut.

*Carnaval in San Martín Tilcajete – February 2018*

*Grecas at San Pablo Villa de Mitla archeological site – November 2023*

*Noche de Rabanos in Oaxaca de Juárez – December 2017*

The article may come up behind a paywall. Unfortunately, according to the contract I signed, I can’t republish the article here. However, if you have a public library card, you can probably access it through their digital resources link. It is also scheduled to be published in the print edition of the Wall Street Journal on April 15, 2024. I hope you like it!

(ps) If you’re having trouble accessing the online article, people have reported that when the WSJ subscription box pops up, click the X in the subscription box and then scroll down to the article, though, if you use Safari, you might have to change browsers.

Posted in Creativity, Culture, Travel & Tourism | Tagged Mexico, Oaxaca, photos, popular travel destinations, Retirement, Retiring in Mexico article, Wall Street Journal article, WSJ article | 21 Comments »

Vehicular juxtaposition

April 4, 2024 by spixl

Sometimes the sights along the streets of Oaxaca make me chuckle.

And, I just have to stop and record the scene.

Posted in Creativity, Culture, Transportation, Travel & Tourism | Tagged car, Mexico, motorcycles, murals, Oaxaca, photos, popular travel destinations, street art, urban art, wall art | 4 Comments »

Missing Viernes Santo

March 29, 2024 by spixl

Except for the patter of rain and the sound of the occasional car on wet pavement, all is gray and quiet on this Good Friday in my San Francisco Bay Area home. I miss the colorful and creative sights and sounds of Viernes Santo in Oaxaca. Thus, today finds me looking back to the Santo Viacrucis (Holy Way of the Cross) procession last year in Barrio de Jalatlaco on Viernes Santo.

*8th Station of the Cross where Jesús meets the women of Jerusalem.*

*1st Station of the Cross where Jesús is condemned to death.*

7th Station of the Cross where Jesús falls for the second time.

*Jesús carrying the cross through the streets of the Jalatlaco neighborhood.*

*María heading toward her final encuentro (meeting) with her son.*

*Jesús enroute to his final encuentro (meeting) with his mother.*

*María and Jesús in their final encuentro (meeting).*

While I don’t subscribe to any religion, the people of Oaxaca, their devotion, and their creativity in celebrating their faith always moves me.

Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Holidays, Neighborhoods, Religion, Travel & Tourism | Tagged Barrio de Jalatlaco, Good Friday, Holy Week, Jesus, John the Baptist, Mary Magdalene, Mexico, Oaxaca, photos, popular travel destinations, religious processions, Semana Santa, Stations of the Cross, Via Crucis, Viernes Santo, Virgin Mary, Way of the Cross | 4 Comments »

To budding folk artists

March 19, 2024 by spixl

March 19 is Day of the Artisans in Mexico. And so I say, ¡Feliz Día de las Artesanas y los Artesanos! — especially to the budding artists who are appreciating and learning to carry on folk art traditions.