Going my way?
Is there gas in the car?
Yes, there’s gas in the car.
Get your motor runnin’.
Hitchin’ a ride on the class divide.
Posted in Culture, Signs, Travel & Tourism | Tagged cars, Jaguar automobile, Mexico, Oaxaca, photograghs, photos, popular travel destinations, street signs, transportation | Leave a Comment »
Riotous clanging from Soledad’s bell towers at 4:45 AM yesterday rudely interrupted a peaceful sleep. Explosions of cohetes and other church bells soon joined the morning’s 2-hour long Virgen de Juquila soundtrack. Chimes, rockets, loudspeakers announcing the presence of the water and gas vendors, fried plantain wagon steam-whistles, horns honking, bus gears grinding, and booming base emanating from open car windows; it’s all part of the cacophony one comes to know and love when living in Mexico.
And, then there is the music… Looking for signs of Juquila yesterday (with all that noise, I figured there must be something going on), I stumbled upon the Sexto Festival Low-Fi 2012. (Fyi: sexto = 6th, in case you were wondering.)
There were vendors…
This definitely didn’t have anything to do with virgins!
This was a music festival that almost didn’t happen. According to event promoter, Thorvalo Pazos Hoga, they were initially denied a permit, “on the grounds of religious and traditional festivals that are celebrated in the month of December in the city.” A silly argument, was his response.
I arrived in the early afternoon and fanaticos (love that word for fans!) were just beginning to gather at the Plaza del Carmen Alto. Ska, hip hop, heavy metal, rock, electronic music, and more would be adding to Oaxaca’s soundtrack until 11 PM.
Yes, we have no marimbas; the music was not your grandparents’ sones and jarabes. The bands had names like: K-OS Party, Cayune, Pichancha, Rekto de Cerdo, Dr. Jekill y Mr. Hyde, Herpes, Coito Violento, Forever, and Survival. Probably not even your parents’ music!
Oaxacan graphic artists designed the stage set. Love how they re-imagined the traditional Navidad piñata.
Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Holidays, Music, Parks & Plazas, Travel & Tourism | Tagged festivals, Low-Fi, Mexico, music, Oaxaca, Plaza del Carmen Alto, popular travel destinations, Sexto Low-Fi 2012, Virgen de Juquila | 1 Comment »
For the first time since I began nesting in my cozy little rooftop casita, I’m not heading north for Christmas. I admit to having decidedly mixed feelings; my family and most of my closest friends are up in El Norte and I’m already missing them and the traditions we have created. However, this year I get to share the holidays with new friends, create new traditions, and experience festivities heretofore unimagined — Noche de Rabanos (Night of the Radishes)? I can’t wait!
In the meantime, to bring a little of the familiar into the mix, I bought a Christmas tree. Not a real one (sad face) and not one of those seen below that my local supermarket has had for sale for several weeks. Mine is decidedly smaller, measuring exactly two feet, and…
too small to hang my favorite Mexican ornaments on its un-scented, wiry but green(!) boughs. These colorful and wonderfully bouncy decorations will be purchased and a place for them in and around Casita Colibrí will be found.
Trimming my tree will present some challenges. No cartons of ornaments, lovingly collected and stored by four generations of the family, to bring down from the attic. And, as I’ve said, the tree is tiny. I’m thinking… digging into my earring collection might be a good place to start.
However, these earrings will have to wait to adorn the tree until after I wear them tomorrow. December 8 is the celebration of the Virgen de Juquila — the first of three Vírgenes honored by Oaxaqueños in December. There will be parades. There will be fireworks. There will be wildly clanging church bells. And, there will be an abundance of magic this month, of this I have no doubt!
Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Holidays, Religion, Travel & Tourism | Tagged Christmas, Christmas decorations, Christmas trees, Mexico, Navidad, Oaxaca, Virgen de Juquila | 7 Comments »
Yesterday in the United States…
Former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (R-Kan.) made a rare Senate appearance this morning, sitting in a wheelchair just off the floor so that members would have to see him as they entered the chamber. Why? Because they were poised to vote on ratification of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities, and Dole hoped to send a message.
It didn’t work. The Senate killed the treaty this afternoon, with a final vote of 61 to 38, which seems like a lopsided majority, but which fell short of the two-thirds necessary for ratification. [Link to full article in The Maddow Blog]
Today in Mexico…
Mexico’s Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling Wednesday striking down a marriage ban in the southern state of Oaxaca. Advocates say the language of the decision could open the door for same-sex marriages throughout the nation.
The ruling effectively changes Oaxaca’s civil code to state that marriage takes place “between two people,” instead of between a man and woman, reports Spanish-language site AnimalPolitico.
The Court ruled in favor of three same-sex couples who sued the state of Oaxaca for the right to marry. The ruling does not immediately eliminate marriage equality bans in other Mexican states, but it does set a legal precedent to begin challenging statewide marriage bans, according to the blog AfterMarriage. [Link to full article in The Advocate]
I am not the only gringa and gringo who is speechless re how low US politicians have sunk. A gal pal (since we were 12) who now lives in Mexico and is confined to a wheelchair due to MS just posted on Facebook that she is “disgusted and, frankly, very upset” and feels “like traveling to Washington and getting in their face.” And, Chris over at Oaxaca-The Year After asks, Seriously?
Which country do I feel prouder to live in? ¡Bravo, México!
h/t Michelle V.
Posted in Politics | Tagged current-events, Disability rights, gay rights, marriage equality, Mexico, Oaxaca, politics, same sex marriage, U.N. Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities, United States legislation, USA | 4 Comments »
Walking home today…
Besides walls of street art (which will no doubt appear here when inspiration hits or I can’t think of anything else to post), I came across this view.
View of Templo del Carmen Alto from Crespo, near the Escaleras del Fortín.
There is beauty out there…
Posted in Buildings, Churches, Geography, Neighborhoods, Religion, Travel & Tourism | Tagged churches, iglesias, Mexico, mountains, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, popular travel destinations, Templo del Carmen Alto | 2 Comments »
On Saturday, thanks to MexicoRetold, I stepped through the doorway and entered El Sueño de Elpis (the dream of Elpis), an art installation by Mauricio Cervantes in one of the many abandoned buildings in the city center.
In Greek mythology, Elpis was usually depicted carrying flowers and was the spirit of hope. She alone chose to remain when Pandora opened the lid of her infamous box.
I arrived a little after 10 AM. The glow of morning light on the colors and textures of this crumbling beauty and her furnishings was captivating — and I was reluctant to leave.
Elpis and her dream will continue to offer hope for another 3-1/2 weeks at Murguía 103 (between Macedonio Alcalá and 5 de mayo). There were candles — and according to the docent, it is especially magical at dusk.
I will return. Keep dreaming…
Posted in Buildings, Creativity, Culture, Exhibitions, Travel & Tourism | Tagged art, art installation, cempasuchitl, Dream of Elpis, El Sueño de Elpis, exhibition, marigolds, Mauricio Cervantes, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos | 10 Comments »
From an article a few days ago in CNN Mexico:
Obama recibe a Romney en la Casa Blanca
Es la primera vez que se reúnen desde que el presidente venció a Romney en las pasadas elecciones del 6 de noviembre
Google translates:
Romney welcomes Obama at the White House
It is the first time they meet since President Romney beat in the elections of November 6
???!!! It’s all about the grammar. Back to the books for me!
Posted in Challenges, Culture, Language | Tagged English, Google translates, language, Spanish, translation, translation programs | Leave a Comment »
The Y-shaped valley of Oaxaca is about 700 square kilometers, not all that big when compared to California’s Sacramento Valley, which is approximately 2,570 square kilometers. Yet, unlike the “sameness” one encounters in Sacramento Valley towns (sorry, CA), one can’t help but be struck by the unique identity of each of the Zapotec villages that are only kilometers apart. One specializes in red clay pots, another in black pottery, and another in green glazed ceramics. There are villages of woodcarvers near weavers of cotton and others of wool, never mind the fashion trends!
Thus, it should come as no surprise that Day of the Dead celebrations and cemeteries differ, often dramatically, from village to village. And so, from the whitewashed graves of Santiago Apóstol and the candlelight of Santa María Atzompa (today’s earlier post), we came to the carved wooden crosses in the Panteón Municipal of the Villa de Zaachila.
Along with livestock, produce, and household goods, wood gathered from the hills surrounding Zaachila is a major part of Zaachila’s weekly Thursday tianguis (open air market). It’s one of my favorites!
Posted in Celebrations, Culture, Holidays, Religion, Travel & Tourism | Tagged cemetery, Day of the Dead, Día de los Muertos, Mexico, Oaxaca, panteón, photographs, photos, popular travel destinations, Zaachila | Leave a Comment »
With only a couple of days left in November and the Christmas holiday season already making its presence known, it’s now or never to finish sorting through this year’s Día de los Muertos photos — my thoughts and impressions will take the remains of this lifetime, and then some, to process.
To an outsider, especially one whose worldview was shaped by a Judeo-Christian culture, Day of the Dead is often seen through the lens of juxtaposition.
The “unbearable lightness of being” in Santiago Apóstol…
The blurred otherworldly darkness of Santa María Atzompa…
However, light becomes dark becomes light becomes dark, as day becomes night becomes day becomes night, as life becomes death becomes life becomes death… dualism beginning to vanish.
Posted in Celebrations, Culture, Holidays, Religion, Travel & Tourism | Tagged cemetery, Day of the Dead, Día de los Muertos, dualism, Mexico, Oaxaca, panteón, photographs, photos, popular travel destinations, religion, Santa María Atzompa, Santiago Apóstol | 1 Comment »
Today, the truck arrived, the wheelbarrows were loaded, and the gardening crew began filling the flower beds of Oaxaca’s zócalo…
Navidad is coming to Oaxaca!
Posted in Gardens, Holidays, Parks & Plazas, Travel & Tourism | Tagged Christmas, flowers, garden, gardeners, holiday decorations, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, plants, poinsettias, popular travel destinations, zócalo | 4 Comments »
November 25, 2012 marks the sixth anniversary of the bloody attack by the Federal Preventive Police on the teachers and members of the Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca (APPO) in the zócalo of the city of Oaxaca. I wasn’t here during the 5-month long struggle, but its repercussions continue to reverberate.
Last year a plaque was unveiled by organizations representing victims, survivors, human rights, and social activists. Located where the Alameda de León meets the zócalo, it symbolically renames the zócalo, “Plaza of the peoples in struggle; for truth and justice.”
Truth and justice have not been attained, assassins go unpunished, many of the same issues remain, and Oaxaca’s economy still hasn’t rebounded. Today, the Survivors and Former Political Prisoners of Oaxaca in Defense of Human Rights (SEPODDH) mounted a photo exhibition across from the Government Palace.
Adults, children, and even vendors stopped to look and, for many, remember those days and nights six years ago.
Somber and unsmiling, they stood silently, gazed at the photos, and read the captions. The only hint of levity was SEPODDH’s mascota, who sat beside a collection bucket.
Section 22 of the teachers’ union held another march and rallied in the zócalo, but today these photos spoke much louder than the words coming from the loud-speakers.
Posted in Culture, History, Parks & Plazas, Politics, Protests, Violence | Tagged APPO, federal preventive police, historical photos, history, Mexico, Oaxaca, photo exhibition, photographs, photos, politics, protests, SEPODDH, social activists | Leave a Comment »
Signs reading, “Buen Fin” began to appear on shop windows around town last week. How nice, I thought, with a 3-day weekend coming up (Monday, 11/19 was Mexican Revolution commemoration day), the stores are wishing one and all a “Good Weekend.”
I’d only glanced and didn’t come close enough to read the smaller and more important print, “Weekend: Cheapest of the Year.” What’s it all about? Last year’s LA Times article, “A ‘Black Friday’ shopping ritual coming to Mexico?” explains it all.
Apparently, I’ve been oblivious or this newest US export has taken a while to make its way all the way down to Oaxaca. But, make its way down to Oaxaca, it has! According to Monday’s Noticias, “This weekend hundreds of Oaxacans went to department stores and shops of all kinds in the city, to stock up on essentials and electronic products, mainly taking advantage of ‘Good Weekend’ promotions.”
Depressing, is all I can say…
Posted in Celebrations, Culture, Economics, Holidays, Signs, Travel & Tourism | Tagged Buen Fin, Mexico, Oaxaca, photography, photos, sales, shopping | 2 Comments »
After 6+ months of being Under construction,
today, the waiting is over!
This morning, Oaxaca’s governor, the city’s mayor, and the head of the Ministry of Tourism and Economic Development opened the newly constructed entrance on Independencia…
and welcomed vendors and shoppers to the newly renovated Mercado IV Centenario.
New stalls, with improved electrical and sanitation systems are part of this renovation project.
Vendors, including one of my favorite vegetable sellers, began moving their goods from the temporary site in Jardín Morelos to their new stalls.
After only a few hours, my vendedora de frutas already looked happily ensconced in her new digs!
There are still a few stalls waiting to be filled…
Any takers???
Posted in Buildings, Food, Markets | Tagged building renovation, grocery shopping, markets, Mercado IV Centenario, mercados, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, renovation, vendors | 3 Comments »
They say, “politics makes strange bedfellow.” Rivers do too, as US, Mexico reach pact on Colorado River water sale. Hopefully, Mexico isn’t getting the short end of the stick, like Southern California’s Imperial Irrigation District is accusing its SoCal neighbor, the Metropolitan Water District, of handing it.
Having grown up and spending most of my life in Northern California and suffering through a couple of major droughts that included water rationing, while water flowed south to fill LA’s swimming pools and water its lawns, the only answer to stave off the upcoming worldwide “water wars,” is the recognition that water is a precious resource that must be conserved and not wasted.
Hmmm… I wonder how these neighbors on the 500 block of Avenida Morelos get along?
The mezcalería is the newest addition to the ‘hood and for some reason it tickled me that the vegetarian restaurant is the only thing standing between it and the Baptist church.
Posted in Buildings, Churches, Museums, Nature & Science, Neighborhoods, Politics, Restaurants, Science & Nature, Travel & Tourism | Tagged churches, climate, Colorado River, Colorado River agreement, environment, environmentalism, Flor de Loto, Iglesia Evangelica Bautista, In Situ Torrentera, Mexico, mezcalería, Museo de Arte Prehispanico de Mexico Rufino Tamayo, museum, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, restaurants, water, water wars | 2 Comments »
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