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Posts Tagged ‘El Picacho’

Walk in the country

Posted in Agriculture, Animals, Science & Nature, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , on December 13, 2013| 10 Comments »

I went to Teotitlán del Valle yesterday for the annual Virgen de Guadalupe performance of the Danza de la Pluma.  As many of you know, I’ve seen it many times, BUT I’ve never stayed until the end, as the dance lasts for eight hours.  Yes, 8 hours!  It would mean returning to the city late at night — and driving at night is something most try to avoid.  Thus, I decided to spend the night at Las Granadas, one of the few B&Bs in town.  However, the thought of waking to the sounds of roosters crowing, burros braying, sheep bleating, AND going for a morning walk in the country sealed the deal.

And so, a little before 9 AM today, I headed up (down?) Calle 2 de abril toward El Picacho.  The work day had long since begun…

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Crossing the Arroyo Grande, I turned right to begin the trek up Revolución.  El Picacho kept a watchful eye as I kept pausing to snap photos and just take in the sights and sounds of being out in the country.

El Picacho

Black bull crossing dirt road

My destination was the presa (dam) and its precious reservoir.  Most of my life has been spent living five minutes from the San Francisco Bay and fifteen minutes from the Pacific Ocean — and now living in a landlocked city, I do miss bodies of water.

Dam, reservoir, and mountains

Reservoir

Crossing to the other side of the arroyo, I turned right on Avenida Benito Juárez for the return trip to the B&B.

Dirt crossroads

Houses on hillside

As I walked, the lyrics to Al Kooper’s, House in the Country kept playing in my mind.

No need to worry
Folks in a hurry
Leave them behind you
No one can find you
House in the country
House in the country

All the relaxin`
Will soon fill the cracks in
Good for your head too
If you are led to
House in the country
House in the country
Green surrounding
Love abounding
You won`t find a manhole there

A sublime morning in Teotitlán del Valle.  Ahhh…

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Giving thanks

Posted in Agriculture, Culture, Food, Holidays, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on November 28, 2013| 12 Comments »

I’ve always liked Thanksgiving — and not just because, after I turned 12, my aunt would pour a little red wine in a shot glass for my cousin and me.  It’s one of the least commercial US holidays, if one discounts the whole “black Friday” and, now, “brown Thursday” (eww!) phenomenon.  And, it isn’t wrapped in flag waving.

Multicolored corn in basket

It’s a day set aside for a communal sharing of Mother Nature’s bounty, counting our blessings, and acknowledging and giving thanks for the assistance of the dark-skinned original human inhabitants of the Americas.  What a novel idea!

Corn stalks in foreground, El Picacho mountain in background

Besides being thankful for my loving and supportive family, wonderful friends (both old and new), dedicated and encouraging blog readers (Yes, you!), I’m extremely grateful for having the privilege of living among people whose ancestors first cultivated corn in this beautiful valley.

2 turkeys

“love
iz
a
big
fat
turkey
and
every
day
iz
thanksgiving”
― Charles Bukowski, What Matters Most is How Well You Walk Through the Fire

Now off to the kitchen to make the stuffing.  ¡Feliz Día de Acción de Gracias!

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It’s good to be home!

Posted in Celebrations, Culture, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 8, 2013| 2 Comments »

Yippee, I’m back in Oaxaca!  Last night’s flight was smooth, on-time, and mostly empty.  I have to admit to always getting a goofy grin as the little Embraer comes in over the lights of the city and the smile continues through immigration and baggage claim.  It usually falters and turns to a grimace when I have to hoist my 50 pound suitcase up onto the x-ray conveyor belt.  However, last night the grin returned when I pressed the “to search or not to search” button, got the green light, and was able to proceed directly to the booth to buy my colectivo ticket —  60 pesos for door-to-door service to the historic district ‘hood.  An easy return to home.

Unpacking done, late this morning I walked down to my local mercado to restock the larder with some basics:  2 perfect avocados, 1 pristine white onion, a bunch of unblemished small and sweet bananas, half kilo of quesillo (Oaxacan string cheese), and 6 freshly made tamales (mole, rajas, and verde).  I’d actually asked for 4, but my regular tamale gal threw in 2 extras.  How often does that happen in el norte?   A welcoming return to home.

This afternoon, blogger buddy Chris and I drove out to Teotitlán del Valle for the performance of the Danza de la Pluma.  We stepped up onto the plaza of Templo de la Preciosa Sangre de Cristo and it was like emerging into the middle of a technicolor movie.  We’ve been there countless times, but today we were blown away by the scene.  Mother Nature had conspired to use her enhance wand on the sky, clouds, sun, and costumes.   A spectacular return to home!

A spectator sport
Doña Marina y penacho
Nueva marmota
A pause in the action
In step!
Battling the wind
El Picacho y penacho
Hold your hat
La Malinche y dos Subalternos
Danzante, up close

The recent trip to California was to sign papers finalizing the sale of the house my grandparent’s built in 1957.  Prior to relocating to Oaxaca, it had been my home for 30 years, where I’d raised my kids and made many wonderful memories.  Needless to say, selling it was an emotionally challenging ordeal and it has engendered a lot of thinking about the notion of “home.”

However, these past 24 hours have reinforced my belief in bumper-sticker wisdom seen many years ago, “When you live in your heart, you are always home.”  It’s good to be home!

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Black and white and dry

Posted in Culture, Environment, Travel & Tourism, Weather, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 18, 2013| 10 Comments »

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 rooftop terrace.

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.

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.

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.  

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Let the festivities begin!

Posted in Celebrations, Churches, Creativity, Culture, Holidays, Religion, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 11, 2013| 9 Comments »

Monday, we returned to Teotitlán del Valle for the Fiesta titular a la Preciosa Sangre de Nuestro Señor Jesucristo — the pueblo’s most important festival of the year.  While special masses have been celebrated at the Templo de la Preciosa Sangre de Cristo (the village church) since June 30, Monday’s convite (procession) by the unmarried women in the village, kicked off the more public events.

Lovingly decorated canastas (baskets) waited in the church to be reclaimed by their owners, placed on their heads, and carried through the streets.

Crowds gathered in the plaza in front of the church and sidewalks and streets along the route.

And then it began — with solemn drum beats, fireworks, church bells, marmotas (cloth balloons on a pole), and a band.

Little boys (and a few girls) carrying model airplanes (don’t ask me why), paper mache lambs, and turkeys followed.

And then came the neatly organized rows of girls and young women.

For over an hour they wound their way up and down and around the streets of Teotitlán del Valle.  The weather was perfect, no late afternoon thunder showers this year, and it was glorious.

Stay tuned, the festivities continue all week.  And, check out Oaxaca-The Year After this week for blogger buddy Chris’s photos and commentary.

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B-ball, Oaxaca style

Posted in Celebrations, Culture, Holidays, Sports & Recreation, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 2, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Basketball is big in Oaxaca and  was big news to me!

In Teotitlán del Valle, located in the valley Oaxaca, there is a tradition of climbing El Picacho on Día de la Santa Cruz (May 3).  I’d also heard celebrations also included an annual basketball tournament.  Sure enough, the sound of a play-by-play announcer, ref’s whistle, and buzzer occasionally floated up to our perch on the top of the mountain.  When we descended El Picacho via a different route, we came to a basketball court a few blocks from the village center, and an intense game in progress, with other teams waiting in the wings — in this case, the road!

Basketball game with mountain in background

Eight days later, we drove up into the Mixe in Oaxaca’s Sierre Norte for the Fiesta de Mayo in Santa María Tlahuitoltepec.  Once there, we were directed to a basketball court (did we hear correctly?) at the center of town — the mercado off to one side; church on another side; municipal buildings off to another.  We had expected folkloric dancers or ceremonial presentations, but were surprised to find a basketball tournament in progress.  It eventually ended and the expected dancing began.

Partially covered basket ball court.

According to Hoop Dreams in Oaxaca:

Any proper town in Latin America has a church facing a plaza — except the towns of the Sierra Norte region of Mexico, where Jorge Santiago is from.

“In my part of the Sierra, the basketball courts are like the zócalo in the colonial city,” Mr. Santiago said, using a Mexican word for “plaza.” “It’s really the most important part of the town. A respectable town has a church, and a basketball court in front of the church.”

Read full article HERE.

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New day dawning

Posted in Culture, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , on May 7, 2013| 7 Comments »

Saturday afternoon, I returned to Teotitlán del Valle with my neighbor Marga for that evening’s world premiere of “La Festividad de los Muertos,” a film documenting Day of the Dead in Teotitlán (more about that in an upcoming post).  Transportation back to the city late at night would have been challenging, so it was an ideal excuse to finally spend the night in one of my favorite villages.  Marga booked the last room at Casa Elena and I stayed across the street at Las Granadas (both recommended).

Sunday morning, I was awakened by roosters crowing, burros braying, cohetes (all bang, no bling fireworks) exploding, and the sound of a band playing.  Breakfast wasn’t to be served until 8:30 am, so I went for an early morning walk.

An enchanting way to begin the day.

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All in a day’s hike

Posted in Celebrations, Churches, Culture, Holidays, Religion, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , on May 4, 2013| 7 Comments »

Yesterday (May 3) was Día de la Santa Cruz and in Mexico it is the feast day of construction workers.  Crosses are erected on building sites and decorated.  The tradition has its origins with the guilds during the colonial era.

However, in Teotitlán del Valle, tradition calls for hiking up to the top of El Picacho.  A tall aqua colored wooden cross stands at the top of the peak.

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There were two crosses, but apparently one was hit by lightning a week or two ago.  It lies in splintered pieces below where it stood.

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Mountain and custom beckoned, and so we headed out to Teotitlán yesterday morning to climb the mountain.  The trek began and our eyes were on the prize as we passed by irrigated fields…

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Along the steep and winding trail, there were signs…

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in Zapoteco.

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Bromeliads and other epiphytes clung to branches.

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All along the way, the views were spectacular.

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As we climbed, grew smaller and smaller.

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And, our destination grew closer and closer.

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Almost two hours later (we stopped a lot!), we encountered the tethered burros that brought the tamales, aguas, and cervesas that awaited us at the top.

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Besides sustenance, there were fireworks…

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and expansive and even more spectacular views.

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There were parents, teens, toddlers, abuelos…

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and abuelas.

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Muchisimas gracias to the people of Teotitlán del Valle, who never fail to warmly welcome us and, again, generously offered us food and drink.

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They are very special people who live in a very special place.

FYI:  The trip down took less than an hour, I returned home exhausted, sore, sunburned (even though I’d slathered on sunscreen), and thoroughly exhilarated.

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Teotitlán del Valle, unplugged

Posted in Churches, Environment, Geography, Nature & Science, Science & Nature, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , on January 4, 2013| 4 Comments »

No Danza de la Pluma, no convite, no patronal festival.  The Templo de la Preciosa Sangre de Cristo in Teotitlán del Valle on an ordinary day…

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El Picacho up close and personal…

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And, the hills where my young Zapotec friend, Sam,  “grew up… looking after [his] crazy goats!”  He is currently finishing a PhD in Sustainable Manufacturing at the University of Liverpool.  I see a connection.

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Even unplugged, the hills were alive with the sound of music — a banda could be heard in the distance — a Teotitlán del Valle soundtrack.

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A rainy day

Posted in Celebrations, Culture, Religion, Travel & Tourism, Weather, tagged , , , , , , , , , on September 9, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Waiting for the convite… Fiesta a la Natividad de la Virgen María.

Cloudy sky; young girl surrounded by plastic covered canastas; Cerro Picacho in background.

September 8 was a rainy day in Teotitlán del Valle.

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Uplifting…

Posted in Celebrations, Culture, Religion, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 7, 2012| 10 Comments »

Late yesterday afternoon, we returned to Teotitlán del Valle for the convite (parade) of unmarried young women and girls, a part of the annual patronal festival of La Preciosa Sangre de Cristo.  The sun was shining, the rains of two days before were nowhere to be seen, and the sacred mountain, El Picacho, gracefully, but commandingly, presided as the soldados and danzantes entered the church courtyard.

Soldados and danzantes with the mountain in the background

Bands also arrived to take part…

Band with tuba in front; mountain in background

Canastas (baskets) were lined up, ready to be carried…

Canastas with images of the Virgen Mary lined up.

3 canastas with images of Jesus

Canasta with Virgen de la Navidad woven into the design

The young men of the village gathered…

Young men sitting on a ledge

Young men in profile

Family and friends awaited…

Women standing and facing down the street

And then the young unmarried women and girls, the stars of the evening, raised the canastas over their heads…

Young women and girls in red skirts and white blusas carrying canastas on their heads lined up and

3 young women carrying canastas on their heads

Close-up of 2 young women carrying canastas on their heads

Balancing the canastas, they processed from the courtyard, down several long and cobblestone blocks, turned left, and headed back up another street to where they had begun, to be greeted by proud family and friends, who had gathered to acknowledge and celebrate the young women and girls of Teotitlán del Valle.

For some inexplicable reason, we never cease to feel moved and uplifted by this ritual.

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A family business

Posted in Creativity, Culture, People, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 6, 2012| 5 Comments »

Samuel Bautista Lazo is one of the smartest, joyous, and Zen-like people I know.

Sam sitting cross-legged in a natural alcove in the mountain

Sam is my young, previously mentioned, Zapotec friend who is getting his Ph.D. in Sustainable Manufacturing at the University of Liverpool.  Sam is from Teotitlán del Valle in Oaxaca, a village watched over by El Picacho, the sacred mountain — whose presence is unmistakable and palpable.

El Picacho

The village is known for its traditional performances of the Danza de la Pluma (about which I’ve posted on numerous occasions) and their skillful and creative weavings with wool.  Like a majority of its Zapotec residents, Sam and his family weave — father, Mario Bautista Martínez; mother, Leonor Lazo González; and brother, Celestino Bautista Lazo.

Sam and his family pose in their yard

The family was featured last year in an article, The Crafts of Oaxaca, posted on the Lark Crafts website.  Like many others, on my first visit in 2007, I couldn’t resist buying a couple of tapetes (rugs), including this one, which now serves as a welcome to all who enter my little casita.

Tapete on floor: geometric patterns in rust, beige, agua

A friend and I returned six months later and had the privilege of climbing to the top of El Picacho with Sam.

Sam on top of El Picacho

And no, I did not join Sam in leaping from one rocky peak to the other!

Looking forward to your return, Sam!

(ps)  Here is a Dixza video of  Sam from 2008, where he discusses the interpretation of the symbols and patterns woven into Zapotec rugs.  You might also want to check out others in his Dixza series from Teotitlán del Valle.

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Here and there

Posted in Buildings, Creativity, Culture, tagged , , , , , , , , on January 4, 2012| 1 Comment »

Wall art from here…

Multicolor mountain lion wall art.

Wall of 142 Throckmorton theatre on Madrona,  Mill Valley, CA by Zio Ziegler

to there.

Wall of Espacio Zapata on Porfirio Díaz, Oaxaca de Juárez, OAX

And, sacred mountains from here…

Mt. Tamalpais

to there.

Green rocky top mountain against white cloud and blue sky

Transition time… Mill Valley back to Oaxaca.

Save

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