Posted in Creativity, Culture, Transportation, Travel & Tourism, tagged automobiles, cars, Mexico, Oaxaca, photos, popular travel destinations, Vocho, Volkswagen Beetle, VW, VW Beetle, VW bug on March 23, 2021| 2 Comments »
In varying states of repair and disrepair and in a rainbow of colors, old but indomitable VW Beetles (known as Vochos in Mexico) are still seen tooling and sputtering their way around Oaxaca — an ideal car for navigating the narrow streets and limited parking in the city.
As the old Timex watch commercial used to say, “It takes a licking and keeps on ticking!”
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Travel & Tourism, tagged backpacks, cars, juxtaposition, Mexico, Oaxaca, photos, quotations, stencils, street art, urban art, wall art on December 1, 2020| 8 Comments »
I’m always trying to find ‘connections’ between things. That art is the juxtaposition of a lot of things that seem unrelated but add up to something recognizable. –Pat Metheny
The taste for quotations (and for the juxtaposition of incongruous quotations) is a Surrealist taste. –Susan Sontag
I get the same charge from juxtaposition of colors as I do from juxtaposition of chords. –Joni Mitchell
Creativity is that marvelous capacity to grasp mutually distinct realities and draw a spark from their juxtaposition. –Max Ernst
I love the juxtaposition of a sweet little blouse with a motocross look. –Melissa McCarthy
Cities are about juxtaposition. In Florence, classical buildings sit against medieval buildings. It’s that contrast we like. –Richard Rogers
Posted in Celebrations, Culture, Transportation, Travel & Tourism, tagged automobiles, boda, cars, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, Volkswagen Beetle, VW bug, weddings, weddings in Oaxaca on January 21, 2018| Leave a Comment »
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Environment, Geography, Science & Nature, Travel & Tourism, tagged cars, earthquake, Earthquake Track, Mexico, murals, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, street art, wall art on September 24, 2017| 2 Comments »
Here in Oaxaca we continue surfing the temblors and tormentas…
Calle de Ignacio Allende at the corner of Tinoco y Palacios
Torrential downpours and flooding have returned. Aftershocks from the September 7 earthquake continue. But, aside from difficulty navigating the flooding and potholes, suffering from frayed nerves, and being worried sick about friends and family in the critically affected areas of central and southern Mexico, we are okay in the city and surrounding villages.
Re geography: Oaxaca is the name of both a state and its capital city. The epicenter of the September 7th earthquake in Oaxaca was in the southeast part of the state — as the crow flies, it is almost 150 miles and through the Sierra Madre del Sur mountain range from Oaxaca city. To see where Oaxaca’s earthquakes are happening, check out Earthquake Track.
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Transportation, Travel & Tourism, tagged automobiles, cars, graffiti, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, PINK, popular travel destinations, Vocho, Volkswagen Beetle, VW, VW bug on February 22, 2016| 4 Comments »
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Transportation, Travel & Tourism, tagged automobiles, cars, graffiti, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, popular travel destinations, street art, turquoise, urban art, Vocho, Volkswagen Beetle, VW, VW bug on February 7, 2016| Leave a Comment »
Unfortunately, not Cuba. (One of these days…)
Saw it yesterday walking down Tinoco y Palacios, on my way home from Mercado Sanchez Pascuas.
Leather upholstery, wood steering wheel, and paneled dashboard — it’s one very cool vocho.
However, when it comes to telling a color story, wish it had been parked a couple of blocks down the hill, in front of this wall. 😉
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Transportation, Travel & Tourism, tagged automobiles, bus, cars, catrina, graffiti, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, popular travel destinations, street art, urban art, Vocho, Volkswagen Beetle, VW bug, wall art on November 10, 2015| 5 Comments »
Pretty in pink on the streets of Oaxaca…
And, this doesn’t even include the pink and lime green of Correos de México (Mexican post office).
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Transportation, Travel & Tourism, tagged automobiles, cars, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, popular travel destinations, Vocho, Volkswagen Beetle, VW, VW bug on September 4, 2015| 1 Comment »
El auto del pueblo (the car of the people)…
The Volkswagen Beetle, known in Mexico as a Vocho, has been plying the highways and byways of Mexico since it made its debut in Mexico City at the “Alemania y su Industria” (Germany and its Industry) exhibition in 1954.
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Transportation, Travel & Tourism, tagged automobiles, cars, Mexico, photographs, photos, popular travel destinations, Volkswagen Beetle, VW bug on June 24, 2015| 1 Comment »
As our journey on Sunday to Santa María Tlahuitoltepec had just gotten underway, Chris and I were engrossed in conversation when I had a whoa-grab-the-camera moment. Across highway 190, just outside the city, a double row of VW Beetles appeared.
Perhaps, figuring it was safer to pull over rather than having me coming between him and the the steering in an attempt to take photos out the driver side window, Chris offered to pull over.
Some had been repainted and tricked out, but others had just been lovingly (no doubt) washed and detailed.
By the time we stopped, we had already passed at least fifty Bugs and the lines continued as we drove off.
A Classic Car Rally? There was a scattering of other makes of cars, but the Beetles were the overwhelming majority and they ruled!
(Update: Blog reader, shewhodaresnothing, offered the answer. June 22 was Worldwide VW Beetle Day!)
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Transportation, Travel & Tourism, tagged automobiles, cars, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, popular travel destinations, Vocho, Volkswagen Beetle, VW, VW bug on May 13, 2015| 6 Comments »
Long ago, in a land far, far away, I once had a Volkswagen Beetle. It was so old, it didn’t even have a gas gauge, only a reserve tank. My little bug would inevitably begin running out of gas when I was putt-putting up a hill, requiring me to take my foot off the gas pedal to kick over the reserve tank. Needless to say, I would hold my breath and offer up silent prayers that I wouldn’t get rear-ended and that there was, indeed, gas in the reserve tank! But, I loved that car…
So, only a block from Casita Colibrí, how could I resist stopping to admire this beauty?
Made in Oaxaca — or at least, tricked out in Oaxaca.
Ready to rally again on the Pan American Highway? It’s just up the road apiece.
Stay calm… Doing it the old school Beetle way!
Hmmm… last month’s Old VWs never die and now this post. Bugs, of the VW variety, might just have to become a regular feature.
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Transportation, Travel & Tourism, tagged automobiles, cars, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, popular travel destinations, Volkswagen Beetle, VW, VW bug on April 24, 2015| 6 Comments »
Old Volkswagens never die.
They cruise on down to Oaxaca…
Put on some bling…
And, stop traffic!
Posted in Celebrations, Culture, Music, Transportation, Travel & Tourism, tagged automobiles, Black and white photography, Black Limousine, boda, cars, limousine, Mexico, Oaxaca, photos, Rolling Stones lyrics, weddings on February 20, 2015| 2 Comments »
We used to ride, baby
Ride around in limousines 
We looked so fine, baby
You in white and me in green
Drinking and dancing
All inside and crazy dream
Well now look at your face now baby
Look at you and look at me
We used to shine, shine, shine, shine
Say what a pair, say what a team
We used to ride, ride, ride, ride
In a long [white] limousine*
Saturday is wedding day in Oaxaca.
*Lyrics from Black Limousine by the Rolling Stones.
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Transportation, Travel & Tourism, tagged cars, Cars movie, Mexico, movies, Oaxaca, photographs, photos on January 21, 2015| Leave a Comment »
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Travel & Tourism, tagged automobiles, cars, I Believe I Can Fly, Lambo doors, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, San Pedro y San Pablo Teposcolula on May 30, 2013| 1 Comment »
Cars in Oaxaca? They range from decrepit VW Beetles held together with duct tape to the latest shiny black tinted windowed SUVs. Most lean toward the former — the cobblestones, potholes, and dirt roads can rapidly speed-up the aging process.
However, like young men worldwide are wont to do, no matter the make and model, Oaxaqueños love to customize their rides. This one caught my eye in San Pedro y San Pablo Teposcolula:
The doors are known as Lambo (after Lamborghini), scissor, butterfly, switchblade, jack-knife and beetle-wing doors. Take your pick! R Kelly song lyrics came to mind:
I believe I can fly
I believe I can touch the sky
I think about it every night and day
Spread my wings and fly away
I believe I can soar
I see me running through that open door
I believe I can fly
By the way, should you too want to install Lambo doors on your car, you can find instructions here. Who knew???
Posted in Culture, Signs, Travel & Tourism, tagged cars, Jaguar automobile, Mexico, Oaxaca, photograghs, photos, popular travel destinations, street signs, transportation on December 10, 2012| Leave a Comment »
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.
Mexican Peso Converter
View From Casita Colibrí 