The lowly utilitarian apron has been elevated to an art form by the Zapotec women of the Tlacolula valley in Oaxaca. Worn every day, mandiles (aprons) are an essential and practical part of their traditional dress. Most women own several and take great pains to color coordinate them with the day’s attire.
Fiesta honoring the Virgen de Guadalupe at the home of Fidel Cruz and Maria Luisa Mendoza, Teotitlán del Valle.
Plainer aprons are worn around the home. However, they don one of their “Sunday best” aprons for special occasions. These are heavily embroidered and often have necklines and hems that are scalloped and, as a fashion statement, are frequently worn to the weekly market.
Vendor at the Sunday market in Tlacolula del Valle.
Mandiles are made of store-bought poly-cotton fabric, usually in a small plaid design. While “100% cotton” sounds more desirable to many of us, the blend is undeniably more practical. After all, who wants to iron when there is work to do and the temperatures are summery all year ’round?
Andrea weaving in Teotitlán del Valle.
Even though the embroidery is done by sewing machine, the more elaborate designs can take from three to four days days to make. Aprons range in price from approximately 150 to 700 pesos.
Leonor Lazo feeding a baby goat in Teotitlán del Valle.
Given that, in addition to being practical, these are also a fashion accessory, it should come as no surprise that styles can vary from village to village.
Young women from San Miguel del Valle attending a festival in Teotitlán del Valle.
I grew up with aprons. My grandmother lived next door and could always be found wearing a “house-dress” and a pinafore style apron with front patch pockets. Some were plain, but many she decorated with embroidery. Thus the mandiles of Oaxaca spoke to me and I listened.
Reyna Mendoza speaking to her El Sabor Zapoteco cooking class.
My first “Oaxaca” apron was a maroon plaid cobbler style with only a moderate amount of embroidery. After a year or two, it became so much a part of my home attire that I bought another in brown plaid. These are my workhorses and I wear them every day while cooking, cleaning, and even gardening. And, I proudly bring my own apron to cooking classes and make sure to pack one when I’ve been invited to a fiesta in Teotitlán del Valle — putting it on to help clear tables. I always get smiles from the women (and some of the men, too).
Me, mi mandil, a metate, and maiz at El Sabor Zapoteco cooking class in Teotitlán del Valle.
However, after countless Sunday market day trips to Tlacolula de Matamoros, not to mention, spending a lot time over the past several years in Teotitlán del Valle, I couldn’t help but be inspired by the fashion statements women, both young and old, were making, so I bought a slightly more elaborately embroidered pinafore style and then another and another.
Three of my mandiles; the red is the newest.
I even dared to wear one recently in New York at my granddaughter’s first birthday party. With children ranging in age from six weeks to six years, I thought it was a very practical fashion statement on my part. And, guess who got one for her birthday?
Birthday present to my granddaughter — a toddler-size mandil.
A good place to check out who is wearing what style of mandil is at Tlacolula’s Sunday market. And, should you want to buy one for yourself and/or give one as a gift, there are at least eight apron stalls at the back of the market on Sundays.
Apron stall at the back of the Tlacolula de Matamoros market.
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Food, Markets, Travel & Tourism | Tagged aprons, cooking, embroidery, mandiles, Mexico, Oaxaca, People, photographs, photos, popular travel destinations, Teotitlán del Valle, textiles, Tlacolula de Matamoros, women, Zapotec fashion | 18 Comments »
I couldn’t resist posting more from the Encuentro de Cocineras Tradicionales de Oaxaca 2018 to tempt you to put next year’s gathering of traditional Oaxacan cooks on your calendar.
Higadito by Cristina Cruz, Villa Díaz Ordaz
Cocineras from San Andrés Chicahuaxtla
Aguardiente from Ixtlahuaca
Amazing traditional cooks from the state of Oaxaca served up taste tempting fare in the Plaza de la Danza for four full, and I mean FULL days, April 25-28.
Nicuatole prepared by Teresa Rosa Antonio Hernandez in the city of Oaxaca
Garnachas Istmeñas
Marzipan sweets from Ejutla de Crespo
Pozole Triqui from San Andrés Chicahuaxtla
And, should one be inspired to immediately head to one’s own kitchen, the Mercado Oaxaca set up in the courtyard of the Facultad de Bellas Artes (across from the Plaza de la Danza) offered mouth-watering fresh fruits and vegetables, herbs, dried chiles, honeys, vinegars, and so much more. I came away with a luscious cantaloupe.
In addition, to assist one in the preparation and serving of one’s own delicious meals, Arte de la Mesa presented vendors, next door in the courtyard of the Palacio Municipal, selling “made in Oaxaca” glassware, utensils, pottery, placemats, tablecloths, and dish towels, aprons, metates and molcajetes, among other kitchenware.
Do you see the piggy-face molcajete? I bought it and have spent hours and hours, not to mention muscle power, seasoning it. If you don’t believe me, use your favorite search engine to check out the various methods — there are no shortcuts!
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Food, Travel & Tourism | Tagged aprons, artisan markets, artisans, Cocineras Tradicionales de Oaxaca, cooking, Encuentro de Cocineras Tradicionales de Oaxaca 2018, food festival, Mexico, mocajete, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, popular travel destinations, produce, textiles | Leave a Comment »
Even if it looks like the world is crumbling around you…
On Reforma, at the corner of Constitucion in Oaxaca — courtesy of The Positive Affect project.
Posted in Buildings, Creativity, Culture, Travel & Tourism | Tagged abandoned buildings, crumbling buildings, graffiti, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, popular travel destinations, street art, The Positive Affect, urban art, wall art | Leave a Comment »
Act two of this year’s night blooming cereus extravaganza began the night of April 22…
Continued the night of April 26…
And, it looks like there will be more in a week or two!
Posted in Casita Colibrí, Flora, Gardens | Tagged cactus, Epiphyllum hookeri, flowers, Mexico, Night Blooming Cereus, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, plants | 2 Comments »
Today is Día de la Santa Cruz (Day of the Holy Cross). Lest anyone forget, there have been booms and bangs throughout the day to remind one and all! And, most years, the day finds me huffing and puffing my way up to the top of Picacho, the sacred mountain that looms above Teotitlán del Valle — joining the Zapotec villagers in a Prehispanic ritual asking for rain.
It is also the Día del Abañil (Day of the mason/stonemason/bricklayer) and it is tradition 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 this day.
For me, today the city brought a much welcomed surprise. As anyone who has traversed the first block of Garcia Vigil (between Independencia and Morelos) during the past nine months can attest, it has been a challenge not to slip, trip, or fall thanks to the warped “temporary” plywood laid down over what used to be a solid, if not smooth, sidewalk. However, on this day celebrating abañiles, they were hard at work on a new “real” sidewalk!
No cross on the worksite, but definitely a Día de la Santa Cruz/Día del Albañil miracle!
Posted in Celebrations, Culture, Holidays, Religion, Travel & Tourism | Tagged construction workers, Day of the Holy Cross, Día de la Santa Cruz, Día del Albañil, labor, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, popular travel destinations, sidewalks, stonemasons | Leave a Comment »
Today is International Workers’ Day, also known as May Day, and in cities and towns all over the world (except the USA, but that’s another story), workers and the dignity of the work they do is being celebrated. It’s a federal holiday in Mexico and as I write, I can hear loudspeakers from the various marches taking place in Oaxaca city. Given that non-citizens are forbidden by the Mexican Constitution from participating in political activity, I’m staying home. However, to honor the workers of the world, I’m looking back to my visit to the Secretaría de Educación Pública (Secretariat of Public Education) building in Mexico City and the murals of Diego Rivera.
…Let the winds lift your banners from far lands
With a message of strife and of hope:
Raise the Maypole aloft with its garlands
That gathers your cause in its scope….
…Stand fast, then, Oh Workers, your ground,
Together pull, strong and united:
Link your hands like a chain the world round,
If you will that your hopes be requited.
When the World’s Workers, sisters and brothers,
Shall build, in the new coming years,
A lair house of life—not for others,
For the earth and its fulness is theirs.
Walter Crane, The Workers’ Maypole, 1894
¡Feliz Día del Trabajo a tod@s! Happy International Workers’ Day to all!
Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Exhibitions, Holidays, Museums, People, Travel & Tourism | Tagged art, artists, Día de los Trabajadores, Día del Trabajo, Día Internacional de los Trabajadores, Diego Rivera, International Workers' Day, labor, May Day, Mexico, Mexico City, murals, paintings, photographs, photos, Secretaría de Educación Pública, Secretariat of Public Education, workers | 2 Comments »
The United Nations declared November 20 as Universal Children’s Day. However, that is Día de la Revolución in Mexico, thus April 30 was designated Día del Niño — the day Mexico celebrates her children. Schools organize parties with games and treats, communities organize special activities, and parents may give their hijas and hijos gifts.
However, one of the features of life in Oaxaca that I appreciate most is the way children are welcomed and are included in all of the celebrations that I have had the privilege of attending — and that’s quite a few! Enjoy the following photos taken during the past year. (Click on an image for a full description of the event.)
Convite, July 7, 2017 – Teotitlán del Valle, Oaxaca
Guelaguetza, July 17, 2017 – Reyes Etla, Oaxaca
Comparsa, October 28, 2017 – Oaxaca de Juárez, Oaxaca
Muerteada, November 2, 2017 – San Agustín Etla, Oaxaca
Día de los Muertos, November 4, 2017 – San Antonino Castillo Velasco, Oaxaca
Día de los Muertos, November 4, 2017 – San Antonino Castillo Velasco, Oaxaca
Guadalupe celebrations, December 10, 2017 – Teotitlán del Valle, Oaxaca
Posada, December 22, 2017 – Teotitlán del Valle, Oaxaca
Carnaval, February 13, 2018, San Martín Tilcajete, Oaxaca
Carnaval, February 13, 2018, San Martín Tilcajete, Oaxaca
Palm Sunday, March 25, 2018 – San Antonino Castillo Velasco, Oaxaca
Festival de la Nieve y el Mezcal, March 27, 2018 – Tlacolula de Matamoros, Oaxaca
Convite celebrating Oaxaca’s 486th birthday & Cocineras Tradicionales, April 24, 2018, Oaxaca de Juárez, Oaxaca
Convite celebrating Oaxaca’s 486th birthday & Cocineras Tradicionales, April 24, 2018, Oaxaca de Juárez, Oaxaca
Mercado Sanchez Pascuas, Día del Niño festivities, April 29, 2018, Oaxaca de Juárez, Oaxaca
¡Feliz Día del Niño! And parents everywhere, please remember to “teach your children well.”
Posted in Celebrations, Children, Culture, Holidays, Travel & Tourism | Tagged children, Children's Day, costumes, Day of the Child, Día del Nino, Mexico, Oaxaca, parades, photographs, photos, popular travel destinations, traje | 3 Comments »
Though today is the fourth and final day of this year’s Encuentro de Cocineras Tradicionales de Oaxaca 2018, diners continue to line up around the stall of Rosario Cruz Cobos for her Cochino a la Cubana — piggies roasted over a wood fire — fiesta food from San José Chiltepec in the Papaloapan region of Oaxaca.
Mouth-watering and succulent, it is well worth the wait!
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Food, Travel & Tourism | Tagged cochinita, cochino a la cubana, Cocineras Tradicionales de Oaxaca, cooking, food festival, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, popular travel destinations, rotisserie pork, spit-roasted pig, women cooks | Leave a Comment »
What can I say? Lately, I have been having way too much fun to blog. A Gran Convite on Tuesday evening kicked off the festivities celebrating Oaxaca’s 486 birthday and inviting one and all to the previously mentioned, 2nd Encuentro de Cocineras Tradicionales de Oaxaca opening the following day. Beginning at the Cruz de la Piedra, the parade came to a sparkling climax in front of the Cathedral.
Wednesday began with an early morning ringing of the Cathedral’s bells (and several other churches, I’m pretty sure) and the booms and bangs of cohetes announcing Oaxaca’s official birthday. Then the event that I had been hungrily awaiting — the opening of the four-day gathering of Oaxaca’s traditional cooks at the Plaza de la Danza. It was worth the wait!
Mixtec ritual of Aromas y Sabores del Alma using basil and rosemary to open Encuentro de Cocineras Tradicionales de Oaxaca.
Machacado mixe, Caldo mixe from Santa María Tlahuitoltepec in the Sierra Norte.
Chileajo amarillo from Huayuapan de León in the Mixteca.
Ingredients on display by Carina Santiago of Tierra Antigua restaurant in Teotitlán del Valle, in Oaxaca’s Valles Centrales.
Cochino a la cubana from the Papaloapan region of Oaxaca being served by cocinera Rosario Cruz Cobos.
There is also an expo-venta of Oaxacan artesanía at the Palacio Municipal adjacent to the Plaza de la Danza.
Some of the best red clay pottery from San Marcos Tlapazola for sale.
I took yesterday off to do my volunteer gig at the Oaxaca Lending Library, but I’m returning to the Encuentro today, right after I post this. My stomach is already rumbling!
Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Food, Travel & Tourism | Tagged calenda, Cocineras Tradicionales de Oaxaca, convite, cooking, costumes, dancing, food festival, Mexico, Oaxaca, parade, photographs, photos, popular travel destinations, women, women cooks | 6 Comments »
Beginning Wednesday, April 25, there will be a four-day gathering of cooks in the Plaza de la Danza — and not just any cooks! The second Encuentro de Cocineras Tradicionales de Oaxaca will be hosting 85 traditional female cooks from Oaxaca’s 8 regions, representing 10 ethnic groups and 58 communities. They will be offering more than 300 dishes, 30 desserts, 20 traditional beverages, and 70 varieties of tamales for sale from 1:00 PM – 9:00 PM each day in the Plaza de la Danza of Oaxaca. In addition, there will be cooking demonstrations, lectures, and regional music and folkloric dancing to entertain diners.
The Cocineras Tradicionales de Oaxaca Facebook page explains that they are an organization that promotes the ancestral tradition of Oaxacan cuisine carried out by its women — an inheritance transmitted from grandmother to mother and from mother to daughter.
As you can see from these photos I’ve taken during the past year in Teotitlán del Valle…
Recipes and techniques…
And love and reverence for the knowledge and experience continues to be passed down through the generations.
Last year’s encuentro was fabulously delicious! If you are in Oaxaca or can find a way to schedule a last-minute trip here, I highly recommend attending this year’s Encuentro de Cocineras Tradicionales de Oaxaca. I’ll be there everyday and hope to see you.
Posted in Culture, Food, food festival, Travel & Tourism | Tagged Cocineras Tradicionales de Oaxaca, comal, cooking, Encuentro de Cocineras Tradicionales de Oaxaca 2018, food festival, metate, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, popular travel destinations, Teotitlán del Valle, women, women cooks | 12 Comments »
It’s been all about boys in my family — two sons, a stepson, and a grandson. That is, until eleven months ago when finally a girl — my granddaughter — made her much welcomed entrance into the world. Of course she is adorable, but so were her brother, dad, and uncles. However, I must admit that clothes shopping for a little girl is so much more fun, especially here in Oaxaca.
Naturally, I had to go to the current Museo Textil de Oaxaca exhibition, Vestir hijos con amor (Dressing children with love) — very timely for the upcoming Día del Niño on April 30
Cotton baby hat – probably Santiago Mexquititlán, Querétaro, Mexico (c. 1960) Otomí village.
Woven baby hat – San Lucas Tolimán, Guatemala (c. 1990s) Tz’utuoil community.
The curator’s note explains that the textiles shown “are not the sumptuous accoutrements of an ancient aristocracy, but children’s clothing of the poorest people in Mexico and Guatemala… made of cotton and wool.”
Girl’s huipil from Palín, Guatemala (c. 1980s). Community speaks Pokomam, a Mayan language.
Girl’s huipil from San Bartolomé Ayautla, Oaxaca, Mexico. (c. 1950s) Mazateco community.
“In setting up this exhibit, we have tried to show how textiles intended for children make visible the love felt for them by the first nations of this land.”
Girl’s clothing from Pátzcuaro, Michoacán, Mexico. (c. 1940s) Purépecha village.
Costume of baptism – Chachahuantla, Puebla, Mexico (1999-2017) Community speaks Náhuatl.
Venustiano Carranza, Chiapas, Mexico (c. 1950s). Tsotsil village.
Huipil of black velvet with cotton embroidery from districts of Juchitán and Tehuantepec, Oaxaca, Mexico. (c. 1950-1960) Zapotec communities.
Villa Hidalgo Yalálag, Oaxaca, Mexico (c. 1990). Zapotec village.
Villa Hidalgo Yalálag, Oaxaca, Mexico (c. 1990). Zapotec village. Embroidery detail using rayon threads.
It isn’t just the girls who are dressed with love in these indigenous communities. The clothing of the boys is also just as lovingly detailed and decorated.
Boy’s clothing from San Andrés Tzicuilan, Puebla, Mexico. (c. 1988-1993) Community speaks Náhuatl.
Boy’s clothing from Santiago Ixtayutla, Oaxaca, Mexico. (c. 1990s) Mixtec village.
(R) Boy’s clothing from Venustiano Carranza, Chiapas, Mexico. (c. 1950s). Tsotsil village. (L) Teen boy’s clothing from Sierra Madre Occidental to the north of Jalisco and east of Nayarit. (c. 1930s) Wixárika (Huichol) community.
Detail from teen boy’s clothing from Sierra Madre Occidental to the north of Jalisco and east of Nayarit. (c. 1930s) Wixárika (Huichol) community.
There are so many more pieces to see and there is even an interactive component for children — a play area where they can assemble and decorate textile pieces. The Museo Textil de Oaxaca is located at Hidalgo 917, at the corner of Fiallo and the exhibition, in the Caracol room, runs until July 1, 2018.
Posted in Children, Creativity, Culture, Exhibitions, Museums, Textiles, Travel & Tourism | Tagged children's clothing, clothing, costumes, exhibits, Mexico, Museo Textil de Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Oaxaca Textile Museum, photographs, photos, popular travel destinations, Textile Museum of Oaxaca, traje | 7 Comments »
From boys to men, there are fierce faces watching from the walls in my neighborhood.
Color from La Unión Revolucionaria de Trabajadores del Arte (URTARTE).
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Travel & Tourism | Tagged graphic arts, La Unión Revolucionaria de Trabajadores del Arte, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, popular travel destinations, stencil art, street art, URTARTE, wall art | 2 Comments »
Faces at Manuel Sabino Crespo and Mariano Matamoros…
Man in a green hat – Crespo at Matamoros
Man in a red hat – Matamoros at Crespo
The art of standing on the corner in Oaxaca.
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Travel & Tourism | Tagged graffiti, graphic arts, La Unión Revolucionaria de Trabajadores del Arte, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, popular travel destinations, stencil art, street art, URTARTE, wall art | 4 Comments »
Plumeria (aka, Frangipani, Flor de mayo) currently bringing their fragrance to the Casita Colibrí terrace…
As the saying goes, April showers bring May flowers — even if it’s still April!
Posted in Casita Colibrí, Flora, Gardens, Travel & Tourism | Tagged Casita Colibrí, Flor de mayo, flowers, frangipani, gardens, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, plumeria, popular travel destinations | 4 Comments »
My Opuntia microdasys are blooming and, like the jacarandas, their blossoms are a subtle sign that spring has sprung in Oaxaca.
It is commonly known as “bunny ears” or, in Mexico, “alas de ángel” (angel wings) — though I can see nothing angelic about them and you certainly don’t want to pet those fuzzy looking paddles. Those glochids (hair-like spines) are nasty. I know from personal experience!
I have two large pots of them — one with white glochids and the other with yellow. However, despite my personal run-ins with them both, I’m still in search of the rust colored variety.
Posted in Casita Colibrí, Flora, Gardens, Travel & Tourism | Tagged cactus flowers, garden, Mexico, Oaxaca, opuntia microdasys, photographs, photos, Spring | 4 Comments »
« Newer Posts - Older Posts »
Mexican Peso Converter
