Friday, I went Teotitlán del Valle to visit a friend. N is living out in the campo and it was an adventure just getting there — necessitating a colectivo, bus, moto-taxi, and a fair amount of walking. However, it was well worth it! The conversation was non-stop, comida was delicious, and the setting is spectacular.
El Picacho from my friend’s rooftop terrace.
However, a major topic of conversation in the village is the lack of rain. Granted, I was grateful the creek the 3-wheel moto-taxi and I had to ford only had about six inches of water in it, but looking out from N’s terrace, it was evident the fields are suffering.
Maguey fields in Teotitlán del Valle.
Acres upon acres of parched earth, with rows upon rows of drooping and stunted corn — the lifeblood of this country. When the campo suffers, so too the people.
Rows of corn stalks.
Word has it that this is the driest rainy season anyone can remember. In a normal year, afternoon showers irrigate the fields and clean the city’s streets at least four to five times a week from June through September. This year, nada! I can probably count on two hands the number of times it’s rained. Your offerings and prayers to Cocijo would be much appreciated!
Update: Wow, I have some powerful blog readers — it rained last night!!! Mil gracias.
Posted in Culture, Environment, Travel & Tourism, Weather | Tagged cactus, campo, climate, Cocijo, corn, corn stalks, El Picacho, fields, maguey, maize, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, Teotitlán del Valle | 10 Comments »
“Beauty is whatever gives joy.” — Edna St. Vincent Millay
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Some of the beautiful women, young and old, of this year’s Guelaguetza desfiles.
Posted in Celebrations, Culture, Travel & Tourism | Tagged Asunción Ixtaltepec, costumes, desfile, Edna St. Vincent Millay quote, El Espinal, Guelaguetza, Mexico, Oaxaca, Ocotlán de Morelos, parades, photographs, photos, San Agustín Loxicha, San Jerónimo Tecóatl, San Juan Bautista Tuxtepec, San Juan Cacahualtepec, San Pablo Villa de Mitla, San Pedro y San Pablo Ayutla, Santo Tomás Ocotepec, traje, Villa de Tututepec de Melchor | 6 Comments »
I kind of have an unwritten rule for this blog of not promoting commercial enterprises. However, being an alumna of the sixties, I wholeheartedly subscribe to the rule that rules (especially unspoken ones) were made to be broken. Thus I encourage you to click on the “Behind the Scenes” videos of season 9 of Rick Bayless, Mexico: One Plate at a Time in Oaxaca. Start with episode 13 and work your way backwards. These “Behind the Scenes” clips really do give a flavor of the culinary culture, traditions, and scenery of Oaxaca.
If you are in El Norte, watch the shows. What’s not to like? Come on down!!!
h/t: Margie B.
Posted in Culture, Food, Markets, Travel & Tourism | Tagged Alejandro Ruiz Olmedo, cooking, food, Mexico, Oaxaca, One Plate at a Time, Pilar Cabrera, restaurants, Rick Bayless, Susana Trilling, television shows | Leave a Comment »
I think I’ve mentioned several times before, Oaxaca is filled with art — in the streets, museums, and galleries. New venues crop up regularly and exhibit openings, replete with mezcal, cervesa, and botanas, seem to occur a couple of times a week. I can’t keep track!
A few days ago, on our way to La Popular for tortas, my friend (and artist) Laurie Fisher and I stopped by the Galería Noel Cayetano Arte Contemporaneo to see the current exhibit, Los Apóstoles (The Apostles). Male and female, they are all self portraits by Nayarit born sculpture and painter, Vladimir Cora.
Cora dedicated the exhibition to all all those who do their job well have not been corrupted. “Todos tenemos un apostolado y si lo haces honestamente, esta exposición es para ti.” — Vladimir Cora (Noticias, 10 agosto 2013)
The Cayetano gallery is upstairs at the Plaza Santo Domingo, M. Alcalá 405-30 in Oaxaca city.
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Exhibitions, People, Travel & Tourism | Tagged art, exhibitions, Galería Noel Cayetano Arte Contemporaneo, Los Apóstoles, Mexico, Oaxaca, paintings, photographs, photos, The Apostles, Vladimir Cora | 4 Comments »
As a current article says, mezcal seems to have wormed (oh, that’s bad!) its way into the hearts, minds, and media of el norte. And, all I can say is, it’s about time! I’m not really much of a drinker; mostly just wine with dinner, the occasional beer on a hot day, and a mixed drink a couple of times a year. However, I have to say, mezcal has been a pleasant surprise. The smoky complexity is quite a treat, especially if one ventures beyond the mass-produced brands and into the artisanal varieties.
Here in Oaxaca, mezcal is offered to welcome visitors, served at celebrations of all kinds, plays a role in most traditional ceremonies, and audiences always enthusiastically join in when Lila Downs sings, Mezcalito. Oaxaqueño families have been harvesting agaves and hand crafting mezcal for generations. The following photos are from an afternoon spent at one such palenque in San Baltazar Chichicapa(m).
Agave piñas (hearts) are stripped of leaves & roots and placed in a large outdoor pit oven.
They are covered with agave leaves, fiber, mats and dirt and cooked over red-hot rocks for three to four days.
The roasted agave is crushed with a gigantic stone wheel pulled by a horse.
The roasted and mashed agave is then placed in large wooded vats to ferment.
The liquid is extracted and twice distilled. Next it is either bottled, if it is to be sold as blanco (aka, joven), or placed in barrels to age. Reposado is aged for less than a year and añejo is aged from one to twelve years. Needless to say, I returned home with my 4 L plastic gas can (no, it had never been used for gas!) filled with reposado made by our host and master mezcalero, Faustino.
As the old Oaxaqueño saying goes, “For everything bad, drink mezcal and for everything good, you also should!”
And, please note: This is a drink to be savored not chugged!
Posted in Beverages, Culture, Food, Travel & Tourism | Tagged Chichicapa, Lila Downs, Mexico, mezcal, mezcaleros, Mezcalito, Oaxaca, palenques, photographs, photos, San Baltazar Chichicapam | 7 Comments »
Congratulations to one of my favorite weavers, Amalia Martínez Casas from the mountain village of Tamazulápam del Espíritu Santo, winner of the 13th Popular State Art Prize “Benito Juarez” 2013. The award, presented several days ago by Oaxaca governor Gabino Cue, recognized and honored her work using the backstrap loom, using cotton thread and wool dyed with indigo and banana peel, to weave the traditional costume of Tamazulápam in the Mixe.
Three or four times a year, an artisan fair is held in Llano Park. Puestos upon puestos of pottery, wood carved alebrije, jewelry, and textiles are on display. It was here, two years ago, where I first discovered the exquisite work of the tiny and talented weaver, Amalia Martínez Casas.
I couldn’t resist buying this huipil; a subtle black on charcoal grey that looks both traditional here in Oaxaca and very hip with black leggings and boots in el norte.
And, then the next time, even though the dye was a little uneven, I couldn’t resist buying this short huipil — the color had me at, hola!
Her well-crafted technique and finely drawn designs are sophisticated, be they executed in subdued huipiles or brilliant red serapes.
Every time I wear one of her works of art, people ask, “Where is it from?” “Who made it?” “Where can I get one?” I’ve pointed several friends to her stall in Llano Park during artisan fairs and last week, at the request from a friend in California, I bought this one. The slight green tint will be perfect with her red hair. (Yes, this one’s for you, Louise!)
Photos of the award ceremony can be found HERE and video is available HERE. (Amalia Martínez Casas can be seen beginning at 6:00 minutes.) And, for more of her creations, check out a blog post Chris did last January.
Posted in Creativity, Culture, People, Textiles, Travel & Tourism | Tagged Amalia Martínez Casas, Benito Juarez 2013 Award, clothing, costume, huipil, indigenous textiles, Mexico, Mixe, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, Tamazulápam del Espíritu Santo, textile traditions, textiles, traje, weavers, weaving | 6 Comments »
Wading through the 900+ Guelaguetza photos and wondering… Where do I start? Where do I stop? Today, it will be with two delegations from the Jamiltepec District in the Costa Region of the state of Oaxaca.
I begin with photos from last Saturday’s desfile of these fierce (and one not-so-fierce) looking guys from San Juan Colorado.
And, I will end this post with San Andrés Huaxpaltepec delegation.
With the crowds that line the parade route and the contingent of family, friends, and aides (providing props and costume repair, along with much-needed water) that accompany each delegation, it was hard to photograph, let alone video, the dancing along the way. However, click HERE to watch a video of the La Mayordomía de San Andrés Huaxpaltepec from last Monday’s performance at the Guelaguetza Auditorium. And, you can click HERE for a video I found of the Danza los Chareos of San Juan Colorado.
Posted in Celebrations, Culture, Travel & Tourism | Tagged Costa region, desfile, Desfile de Delegaciones, Guelaguetza, Jamiltepec, La Mayordomía de San Andrés Huaxpaltepec, Mexico, Oaxaca, parade, photographs, photos, San Andrés Huaxpaltepec, San Juan Colorado | Leave a Comment »
Another revealing article by one of my favorite journalists, David Bacon…
Clue: It’s Not a New Guest Worker Program
By David Bacon
Oralia Maceda, an immigrant mother from Oaxaca, asked the obvious question recently. At a meeting, talking about the Senate immigration reform bill, she wanted to know why Senators would spend almost $50 billion on more border walls, yet show no interest in why people leave home to cross them.
This Congressional blindness will get worse as immigration reform moves to the House. It condemns U.S. immigration policy to a kind of punitive venality, making rational political decisions virtually impossible. Yet alternatives are often proposed by migrant communities themselves, and reflect a better understanding of global economics and human rights.
Rufino Dominguez, who now works for the Oaxacan state government, describes what Maceda knows from experience: “NAFTA forced the price of corn so low it’s not economically possible to plant a crop anymore. We come to the U.S. to work because there’s no alternative.” The reason for the fall in prices, according to Timothy Wise of the Global Development and Environment Institute, is that corn imports to Mexico from the U.S. rose from 2,014,000 to 10,330,000 tons from 1992 to 2008.
Mexico imported 30,000 tons of pork in 1995, the year NAFTA took effect, and 811, 000 tons in 2010. This primarily benefited one company, Smithfield Foods, which now sells over 25% of all the pork in Mexico. Mexico, however, lost 120,000 hog-farming jobs alone. The World Bank says extreme rural poverty jumped from 35% to 55% after NAFTA took effect due to “the sluggish performance of agriculture, stagnant rural wages, and falling real agricultural prices.”
Read full article HERE.
Posted in Economics, Immigration, Labor, Politics | Tagged David Bacon, economy, immigration, immigration reform bill, Mexico, NAFTA, Oaxaca, politics, United States legislation | 2 Comments »
I love arriving early at the assembly site for the Guelaguetza desfile. There is time to mingle with the delegations as parade participants gather. Tourists, bloggers, and professionals aren’t the only ones taking photos…
Finishing touches are put on costumes and canastas.
Adjustments are made to sandals and feet are rested before beginning the 3 hour procession through the streets of the city.
We won’t ask what alteration she is making!
More parade photos to come…
Posted in Celebrations, Culture, Travel & Tourism | Tagged costumes, Desfile de Delegaciones, Guelaguetza, Mexico, Oaxaca, parades, photographs, photos, traje | 1 Comment »
And so, Guelaguetza 2013 ended last night in an explosion of fireworks from Cerro del Fortín…
Not a bad view from Casita Colibrí!
Posted in Casita Colibrí, Celebrations, Culture, Travel & Tourism | Tagged fireworks, fuegos artificiales, Guelaguetza, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, popular travel destinations | 6 Comments »
Some of my closest friends have been (and continue to be) musicians. And, one of the things I find so appealing about Oaxaca is that music is everywhere and all the time. Marimbas are set up on sidewalks, accordions are almost ubiquitous, and free concerts occur weekly in the zócalo. Music is honored and valued as an integral part of the culture — a birthright.
Each of the 8 regions of the state has its own distinctive “sones” and “jarabes” and they are tremendous source of pride. Within a bar or two of Pinotepa, Canción Mixteca, or any one of Oaxaca’s regional anthems, the clapping begins, tears may well up, and audiences of all ages begin singing the lyrics. Thus, a major feature of the modern “Mondays on the Hill” that is Guelaguetza, is the performance of the music and dance of each of the regions.
And, so I give you, some of the musicians who played almost non-stop for 3 hours, while their delegations danced their way through the streets of Oaxaca city during the last two Saturday evening Guelaguetza desfiles (parades).
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Here’s to the musicians, long may they play!
Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Music, People, Travel & Tourism | Tagged Alejandra Robles, Desfile de Delegaciones, Guelaguetza, Lila Downs, Mexico, musicians, Oaxaca, parades, photographs, photos | Leave a Comment »
“But one day we shall be rich, and the next poor. One day we shall dine in a palace and the next we’ll sit in a forest and toast mushrooms on a hatpin….” — Katherine Mansfield, The Aloe.
Last Sunday, via a narrow winding road, we drove up into the Sierra Norte for the 13th Regional Wild Mushroom Fair (Feria Regional de Hongos Silvestres) in San Antonio Cuajimoloyas. The village is part of the Pueblos Mancomunados, a union of seven villages formed to protect the forest, preserve local traditions, and promote ecotourism, in order to provide employment. Thirty-seven miles northeast of Oaxaca city, 10,433 feet above sea level, and often in the clouds, Cuajimoloyas has an ethereal feel and seems a world apart from the valley below.
“I am… a mushroom on whom the dew of heaven drops now and then” — John Ford, The Broken Heart (1633).
Entering the plaza in front of the portales of the municipal building, we were surrounded by the 20 species of wild mushrooms endemic to the region. There were mushrooms with shiny orange caps; mushrooms resembling coral, trumpets, a head of cauliflower, flower petals; baskets of freshly dug mushrooms, baggies of dried mushrooms, a bowl of spores; mushrooms sauteed, grilled on hot coals, stuffed in empanadas and tamales, and made into candy.
“Nature alone is antique, and the oldest art a mushroom.” — Thomas Carlyle, Sartor Resartus.
And there were the people of Cuajimoloyas… I quickly found the enchanting abuela from last year, again selling Atole Rojo and it hit the spot! Another abuela was selling fragrant fresh herbs, most I’d never heard of. I forgot about a sprig she gave me and it was a pleasant surprise when I returned home and emptied my pockets.
I’m already looking forward to next year…
Posted in Culture, Environment, Food, Science & Nature, Travel & Tourism | Tagged Atole rojo, ecotourism, Feria Regional de Hongos Silvestres, food, hongos, Mexico, mushrooms, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, popular travel destinations, Pueblos Mancomunados, quotations, San Antonio Cuajimoloyas, Wild Mushroom Festival | 2 Comments »
There is SO much going on in Oaxaca right now that the doing isn’t leaving much time for the writing!
However, I’ll give it a try with today’s Feria del Tejate y el Tamal. The festival is part of an effort to preserve the food culture of the Zapotec.
What, you may ask, is tejate? It’s a frothy, refreshing, and nutritious non-alcoholic pre-Columbian beverage made from Nixtamal corn mixed with tree ash, toasted cacao beans, mamey seeds, and Rosita de Cacao flowers. The sale of tejate is the main economic activitity in San Andrés Huayapam, located about 7 miles north of the city, and it is prepared and served by the tejateras of the Unión de Mujeres Productoras del Tejate.
Then, of course, there were the tamales — in tin buckets and giant pots covered in layers of tea towels, many colorfully embroidered. So many vendors anxious to reach into the steaming buckets and so many varieties to choose from. Where does one start?
Blogger buddy Chris recommended the Rajas and Verde from the gal “down at that end,” a taste of a friend’s Flor de Calabaza added that to the list, Mole is a given, and I had to find Chichilo. The latter is one of the seven moles of Oaxaca, it is only served on special occasions, such as weddings and christenings, or when the crops have been harvested. Chilhuacle negro, mulatto, and pasilla chiles; blackened tortillas and seeds of the chiles; and avocado leaves (the latter imparting a subtle anise flavor) give it its distinctive flavor. After three unsuccessful attempts, eureka, I found it! And so I returned home with five mouth-watering tamales.
Speaking of ingredients like corn, cacao, chiles, and calabaza, for a graphic of foods Mexico gave to the world, click HERE.
¡Buen provecho!
Posted in Celebrations, Culture, Food, Travel & Tourism | Tagged chichilo mole, Feria del Tejate y el Tamal, festivals, food, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, popular travel destinations, San Andrés Huayapam, San Andrés Huayapan, tamales, tea towels, tejate, Unión de Mujeres Productoras del Tejate | 4 Comments »
Yesterday, in the midst of Guelaguetza festivities, Oaxaca learned of the death of one of her beloved artists. A sculpture and painter, Alejandro Santiago was only 49 years old when he succumbed to a massive hear attack.
Image of Alejandro Santiago projected on the screen at today’s Homage
Perhaps his most important work resulted from a return to the Zapotec village of his birth, San Pedro Teococuilco, after many years away. He was moved by the large numbers of men and women who had left, leaving it almost deserted. Inspired and feeling the need to make a statement about what had happened to his pueblo, and countless others in Mexico, he created a massive exhibition of 2501 sculptures, an homage to those who had left, plus one — those who are yet to make the journey northward.
One of his 2501 Migrants from a 2012 exhibit along Macedonio Alcalá,
There was an Homage to Maestro Alejandro Santiago this morning at the Teatro Macedonio Alcalá.
Casket of Alejandro Santiago on the stage of Teatro Macedonio Alcalá
And, according to Think Mexican, there will be a memorial “in the coming days at La Calera.”
For more photos from the 2501 Migrants exhibit, see my blog post The path of the migrant.
Update: Valerie J. Nelson has written a lengthy tribute to Alejandro Santiago for the Los Angeles Times.
RIP, Maestro.
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Exhibitions, Immigration, People | Tagged 2501 Migrants, Alejandro Santiago Ramírez, art, artists, La Ruta del Migrante, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, San Pedro Teococuilco | 6 Comments »
Remember my recent posts from Santa María Tlahuitoltepec up in the mountains of the Mixe? They are one of the 13 delegations who will be dancing at this morning’s Guelaguetza performance on Cerro Fortín.
To watch today’s and next Monday’s 10 AM and 5PM performances, click HERE or HERE. Enjoy!
Posted in Celebrations, Culture, Travel & Tourism | Tagged costumes, Guelaguetza, Mexico, Mixe, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, Santa María Tlahuitoltepec, traje | 1 Comment »
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