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Posts Tagged ‘alebrije’

Honoring the artisans

Posted in Creativity, Culture, Holidays, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 19, 2025| 3 Comments »

Today, March 19, is Día de las Artesanas y Artesanos (Day of the Artisans). In celebration, I would like to honor three of Oaxaca’s passionate, talented, and innovative artisans whose exhibitions I was fortunate enough to see last month.

Natalia Toledo, Juchitán de Zaragosa, Oaxaca – “Ladidoo/Piel de hilo” Centro Cultural San Pablo.

Manuel Jiménez Ramírez, San Antonio Arrazola, Oaxaca – “El Tallador de Sueños” at Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca “Santo Domingo.”

Dolores Porras, Santa María Atzompa, Oaxaca – “”Dolores Porras Taller” at Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca “Santo Domingo.”

To all artisans, thank you for your passion, commitment, and creativity. Your dedication to your art, often calling upon centuries of tradition, enriches our lives — bringing us joy as well as making us think.

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Guiding spirits, Oaxaca to Denver

Posted in Creativity, Culture, Exhibitions, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , on June 30, 2024| 6 Comments »

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.

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Look what the bunny brought!

Posted in Casita Colibrí, Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Food, Holidays, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on April 7, 2021| 8 Comments »

Easter Sunday, Peter Cottontail, with a little help from his friends, hippity hopped his way to Casita Colibrí, bringing platters full of Easter joy.

Easter eggs dyed with hibiscus, chili, turmeric, and beets with designs imprinted by cilantro, parsley, epazote and bougainvillea.
Marinated and roasted pork shoulder with organic baby carrots, potatoes, and shallots from the Sierra Norte.
Peter Cottontail’s favorite salad of radishes, cucumber, bell peppers, onions, and lettuce.
Choux pastry filled with creamy coffee with caramelized peanut cream.

A muchisimas gracias to my many-times-mentioned friend, neighbor, and talented cocinera, Kalisa, who dyed the eggs and prepared all but the dessert. The latter yummy decadent delight was purchased from Masea Trigo y Maíz. To quote another rabbit, “That’s all folks!”

(ps) My alebrije rabbit is by Bertha Cruz from San Antonio Arrazola, Oaxaca.

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Gifts of copal

Posted in Creativity, Culture, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , on May 18, 2018| 10 Comments »

Carved from the wood of the copal, an owl for my older son.

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Carved by Lauro Ramírez and painted by Griselda Morales, San Antonio Arrazola, Oaxaca

A rabbit for my daughter-in-law.

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Carved by Mario Castellanos and painted by Reina Ramirez, San Antonio Arrazola, Oaxaca

A lion for my grandson.

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Carved by Zeny Fuentes Santiago and painted by Reyna Piña Ramírez, San Martín Tilcajete, Oaxaca

And, a horse for my granddaughter.

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Carved by Jesús Hernández Torres and painted by Roxana Fabian Ortega, San Martín Tilcajete, Oaxaca

Beautifully hand carved and painted alebrije for my family.

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Reptiles, real & imagined

Posted in Animals, Creativity, Culture, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 8, 2014| 6 Comments »

This post was inspired by a couple of recent close encounters of the reptilian kind.

When my gal pals were visiting at the end of March, naturally we went to Mitla and wandered through the archeological site.  In addition to the intricate fretwork, remains of wall paintings, massive columns, and tombs, one of the, very much alive, residents of this “place of the dead,” caught our eye.

Lizard on the rocksShe was extremely busy digging a hole in the rocks (to lay eggs?) and allowed us get within less than a meter from her.  One of her relatives was, no doubt an inspiration for one of my favorite alebrije by Bertha Cruz of the woodcarving village of San Antonio Arrazola.

Wood carved and intricately painted lizard

And then, a couple of nights ago, one of my resident, but very shy, geckos made a rare appearance on one of the beams that spans my brick ceiling.

Gecko on white beam

While my geckos greet me in the morning and night with their welcoming chirps, they seldom come out into the open when I’m around.  However, there it was, high above my head and frozen in place as I approached.  It remained while I went to get my camera and then stayed for the requisite photo shoot.  Thank you my chirping friend!

Blue, green, yellow and white ceramic gecko on brick wall.

I wonder if, during its nocturnal wanderings through my apartment, my little gecko came across its talavera likeness hanging on the wall?

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All creatures real and imagined…

Posted in Animals, Creativity, Culture, Exhibitions, tagged , , , on October 10, 2011| 2 Comments »

Yesterday, a couple of gal pals and I headed south of the city to San Martín Tilcajete.

Colorfully painted buildings
They were in search of alebrijes (hand-carved and intricately painted wooden creatures).  We shared the roads…

Herd of goats and goat herders on a dirt road

and the sidewalks with local inhabitants.

Green grasshopper with yellow and black markings on sidewalk.

With real critters like this, it’s no wonder the carvers and painters of San Martín Tilcajete are inspired to imagine and create the beautiful and fanciful.

Intricately painted wooden bookmarks topped with colorful creatures.

I hadn’t planned to buy anything, but couldn’t resist a colibrí refrigerator magnet, to add to my growing collection of hummingbirds… both real and imagined!

Brightly painted wooden refrigerator magnet

While there, we discovered San Martín Tilcajete will be holding an exposition at the end of the month to showcase, promote, and (hopefully) sell Oaxacan folk art.

Poster for the exposition of Oaxacan folk art on Oc. 28 - Nov. 3

In addition, the Oaxaca Lending Library will be presenting a slide show on Oaxacan Folk Art on October 26.

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