Posted in Creativity, Culture, People, Travel & Tourism, tagged artists, Francisco Toledo, memorials, Mexico, murals, Oaxaca, photos, stencils, street art, wall art on September 5, 2020| 4 Comments »
This morning, the steps leading into the Instituto de Artes Gráficas de Oaxaca (IAGO) were a reminder that it was one year ago today that Oaxaca and the world lost artist, philanthropist, and fighter for social justice and the environment, Francisco Toledo.
The Maestro can still be seen along the streets of Oaxaca — his creative spirit lives on.
Posted in Creativity, Culture, People, tagged artists, death, floral wreaths, Francisco Toledo, Mexico, Oaxaca, offerings, photos on September 6, 2019| 3 Comments »
Oaxaca is in mourning. Last night, word of the passing of one of her greatest champions, Maestro Francisco Toledo was announced by Mexico’s president — an indication of the importance and esteem the Maestro is held. Born in Juchitán, Oaxaca on July 17, 1940, Toledo died in Oaxaca city on September 5, 2019, at age 79.
This morning outside the Instituto de Artes Gráficas de Oaxaca (IAGO), which he founded and funded.
Besides being a world renown artist, he was a fighter for social justice and the environment, a very generous philanthropist, and crusader for the respect of indigenous peoples and character of Oaxaca. People are still chuckling over the unique form of protest he led when a McDonald’s threatened to open in the zocaló.
This morning, inside the Instituto de Artes Gráficas de Oaxaca (IAGO).
We awoke this morning to see the gigantic Mexican flag that flutters above the city of Oaxaca flying at half staff and large black bows, indicating a family in mourning, had been fastened above many of the institutions that benefited from Toledo’s philanthropy.
Biblioteca Pública Central Margarita Maza de Juárez – Oaxaca’s main public library.
The streets of Oaxaca are little more subdued today — less laughter, music muted, and even the traffic doesn’t seem as chaotic.
On the sidewalk outside the Instituto de Artes Gráficas de Oaxaca (IAGO).
A public tribute to the Maestro is scheduled for 2:00 PM today at the Teatro Macedonio Alcalá.
Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Exhibitions, Holidays, Travel & Tourism, tagged Francisco Toledo, Mexico, Navidad, Night of the Radishes, Noche de Rabanos, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, popular travel destinations, Señor del Rayo, Zeny Fuentes on December 23, 2017| Leave a Comment »
I think I spied some familiar figures in the radishes at this year’s Noche de Rabanos. Could this be carver, Zeny Fuentes?
“Alebrijes de San Martín Tilcajete” by Sergio Luís Raymundo Sánchez
Oaxaqueños can tell you, this is their own, Señor del Rayo.
“Señor del Rayo” by Gabriela Nayelly López Vásquez
And then there is this guy. I’m guessing Maestro Francisco Toledo.
“Oaxaca de mis amores” by Omar Díaz Ventura
What do you think?
Posted in Buildings, Creativity, Culture, Museums, Travel & Tourism, tagged art, CASA, Centro de las Artes de San Agustín, design, Francisco Toledo, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, San Agustín Etla on January 27, 2016| Leave a Comment »
Ahhh… a return visit to Centro de las Artes de San Agustín in early December still resonates. The CASA, a former spinning and weaving factory, was re-imagined by artist Francisco Toledo and architect Claudina Morales Lopez. Now it is one of the most aesthetically pleasing spaces I’ve ever experienced. But, why have I never before noticied this?
Inside and outside, seen in black and white or color, wherever one looks, the attention to detail and design strikes, delights, and often surprises.
Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Food, Travel & Tourism, tagged agriculture, Coral Saucedo, corn, Día Nacional del Maíz, food, Francisco Toledo, graffiti, maíz, Mexico, mural, National Day of Corn, Oaxaca, Ocote, photographs, photos, Ricardo Aeme, Seasons of My Heart, street art, Susana Trilling, wall art on October 1, 2015| 6 Comments »
September 29 was Día Nacional del Maíz (National Day of Corn) in Mexico. Corn was first cultivated approximately 8,000 years ago in the valley of Oaxaca and native varieties are still grown by the descendants of those original farmers. This was a day to, not only pay homage to Mother Corn but, as Mexican painter Francisco Toledo reminded those along Oaxaca’s Alcalá, to continue the struggle to defend native corn against impending invasion by Monsanto and its genetically modified seeds.
The year revolves around the cycle of corn, which is planted in the same fields as beans and squash to make a perfect growing environment.
The cornstalk grows, the bean plant crawls up the corn, and the squash vine sprawls out and shades the ground to keep it moist… Some of the corn is harvested in August and eaten fresh, while the rest is left on the stalks to dry.
All parts of the corn plant are used — kernels, husks (for tamales), cobs (pig feed), and stalks (cow feed). The dried corn is stored and used in many ways throughout the year.
Text in italics is from the Seasons of My Heart cookbook by Susana Trilling.
The artists of the above, used the signature “olote” which is derived from Nahuatl word, olotl. In English, it translates to “corncob” and “a nobody.” Thank you to a couple of “nobodies,” Coral Saucedo and Ricardo Aeme, for such an expressive and beautiful piece of art honoring the sacred corn.
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Exhibitions, People, Politics, Tragedy, Violence, tagged art, Ayotzinapa, buildings, Carteles por Ayotzinapa, Damian Kłaczkiewicz, Daniela Diaz, Excuela Normal Rural Raúl Burgos, Francisco Toledo, graphic arts, IAGO, Instituto de Artes Gráficas de Oaxaca, International Poster Biennial, México fracturado por Ayotzinapa, Mexico, Normal Rural Ayotzinapa, normalistas, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, poster art, student teachers, students on May 26, 2015| Leave a Comment »
Eight months and counting… Tonight, eight months ago, 43 students from the Escuela Normal Rural Raúl Isidro Burgos teachers’ college in Ayotzinapa, Guerrero went missing. I am sadly resigned that marking this horrific anniversary has become a regular feature on my blog. As a mother, a guest resident of Mexico, and someone who believes that the peoples of the world deserve social justice, I can’t ignore this tragedy.
I dare you to leave Carteles por Ayotzinapa, the current exhibition at Instituto de Artes Gráficas de Oaxaca (IAGO), with a dry eye. The 49 posters on display are only a fraction of the over 700 posters submitted to the First International Poster Biennial 2014 Convocation Ayotzinapa, an initiative of Oaxaca’s internationally renown artist, Francisco Toledo. In addition to Mexico, artists from Argentina to Greece; Iran to Lebanon; and Poland to the USA responded to his call, recognizing as Toledo explained, the tragedy of Ayotzinapa has outraged people from beyond the borders of Mexico.
Photo courtesy of Oaxaca Media
Irwin Homero Carreño Garnica, a graphic design student, originally from Ocotlán de Morelos, Oaxaca, was awarded first prize for his heartbreaking work, “México fracturado por Ayotzinapa” (Mexico fractured by Ayotzinapa). As you can see above, it is a map of Mexico in the shape of a skeleton, with a break in the femur, where Ayotzinapa, Guerrero is located. Like the work of the Tlacolulokos, the use of an iconic image (skeleton) and a primary palette of black, white, and greys, increases the emotional impact, much like Picasso’s, “Guernica.”
Second place was won by Damian Kłaczkiewicz (Poland) and third place went to Daniela Diaz (Mexico). The three winning posters will be reproduced for distribution throughout Mexico.
The exhibition runs through June 26, 2015.
Posted in Buildings, Creativity, Culture, People, Travel & Tourism, tagged Centro Académico y Cultural San Pablo, Francisco Toledo, iron gates, Mexico, Oaxaca, photo, photographs, travel, video on July 17, 2012| 1 Comment »
Intricately designed and executed iron gates have been installed at either end of Antiguo Callejón de San Pablo, ushering visitors into the “Old meets new” grounds of the Centro Académico y Cultural San Pablo.
Oaxaca’s favorite son and Mexico’s foremost living artist, Francisco Toledo, narrates a video documenting the construction of the gates. It’s in Spanish, but even if you don’t understand the language, it’s worth watching, anyway.
By the way, today is Toledo’s 70th birthday. ¡Feliz cumpleaños, maestro!
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Exhibitions, Museums, People, Travel & Tourism, tagged Alejandro Santiago Ramírez, Alredo Canseco, Ariel Mendoza Baños, art, arts, exhibitions, Francisco Toledo, Jorge López García, Juan Alxázar Méndez, Justina Fuentes Zárate, Marimar Suárez Peñalva, Mexican consulate, mexican consulate in san francisco, Mexico, Oaxaca, Oaxacan surrealism hits the SF Mexican consulate, photographs, photos, Rubén Leyva, Rufino Tamayo, San Francisco, The Magic Surrealists of Oaxaca, travel on June 15, 2012| 2 Comments »
As hoped, I managed to make my way to the Mexican Consulate in San Francisco for The Magic Surrealists of Oaxaca. It’s the exhibit (I mentioned a few days ago) that celebrates the Zapotec artists of Oaxaca from Rufino Tamayo and Francisco Toledo to those they encouraged and influenced.
On the consulate’s ground floor the scene was a familiar one — signage and conversations en español; the eagle, serpent and green, white, and red of the Mexican flag prominently displayed; waiting room filled with patiently waiting people — a sliver of Mexico in San Francisco. Climbing the two flights of stairs (elevator was broken) up to the third floor, a friend and I found the exhibit…
According to the article, Oaxacan surrealism hits the SF Mexican consulate, the consulate’s cultural affairs attache, Marimar Suárez Peñalva, hopes the gallery and its exhibitions will offer Mexican expats an opportunity to connect with the creativity, not just the bureaucracy (my word), of their culture. However, I don’t know how many of those waiting on the first floor make it up to the third floor; early in the afternoon, we had the gallery to ourselves.
And yes, works by Tamayo and Toledo are included, but I thought I’d feature some of the lesser known artists. By the way, did you notice the name, Alejandro Santiago Ramírez? This is the same Alejandro Santiago of the 2501 Migrantes sculptures that I’ve previously written about.
Posted in Creativity, Exhibitions, Food, Museums, People, Travel & Tourism, tagged art, Doña Tomás, exhibitions, food, Francisco Toledo, Galería de la Raza, Mexico, Muxes, Oaxaca, restaurants, Rufino Tamayo, San Francisco, San Francisco Bay Area, Searching for Queertopia, The Magic Surrealists of Oaxaca, travel on June 13, 2012| 4 Comments »
I’m again in the San Francisco Bay Area, visiting family and friends and taking care of the odds and ends of still maintaining a presence here, while living in Oaxaca. We’ve had clear blue skies and sun and, except for the high-speed pace and exorbitant price of food, it “almost” feels like home. Hey, I even bought some resin chairs for my son’s backyard and ate some of the best Mexican food ever (in the USA) at Doña Tomás in Oakland. (FYI: The Callos con Sopa de Elote — puréed corn soup with seared day boat scallops and fingerling potatoes, roasted poblano chiles and cilantro, served with arroz achiote — was divine.)
To also keep from getting too homesick for Oaxaca, there are a currently a couple of exhibits in San Francisco I plan to see while here. I found out about The Magic Surrealists of Oaxaca, Mexico from the Oaxacan surrealism hits the SF Mexican consulate article in the SFBG, which explains…
Francisco Toledo’s aquatint etching “Self Portrait”
The Zapotec identity … is one of the unifiers of the exhibit, which contains the works of not only [Rufino] Tamayo and [Francisco] Toledo but also artists who were inspired by their work like Justina Fuentes Zárate, she of the reclining mermaid and arresting red dress. Perhaps the works don’t look similar, but they represent the diversity and breadth of the work to come out of the surrealist Zapotec tradition in Oaxaca.
And, then I read the NPR story, In Mexico, Mixed Genders And ‘Muxes’, about a Galería de la Raza exhibit.
Photo from the exhibit
Searching for Queertopia revisits the experiences of Alexander Hernandez’s participation and Neil Rivas’ visual documentation of what is called, the Vela de ‘Las Intrépidas.’ This event, a 3-day celebration, is held annually in the town of Juchitán de Zaragoza, Oaxaca, México, in honor of its Muxe community.
Hmmm… maybe I’ll take the ferry over to “The City” tomorrow.
Posted in Buildings, Libraries, People, Places, Signs, tagged Biblioteca Infantil, blind, Braille, Francisco Toledo, Jorge Luis Borges, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, street names, street signs, visually impaired on March 11, 2012| 3 Comments »
About two months ago, new street signs began appearing in Oaxaca on each side of each street corner. Eight signs per each 4-way intersection, in Spanish and Braille, are at hand touch and wheelchair eye level, and provide arrows to make it clear if the traffic flows this way…
… or that.
By the way, Oaxaca has a library for the blind and visually impaired — the Biblioteca Jorge Luis Borges, housed in the Biblioteca Infantil in the Barrio de Xochimilco. Named after the blind Argentine writer, the library was founded in 1996 by world-renowned Oaxacan artist, Francisco Toledo. It houses his collection of books in Braille, a permanent workshop teaching Braille, computers with special programs for the blind, and scholarships to outstanding visually impaired students.
Posted in Buildings, Gardens, Museums, Nature & Science, People, Renovation, tagged Alejandro de Ávila B, Ethnobotanical, Francisco Toledo, garden, Jardín Etnobotánico de Oaxaca, jeff spurrier, Mexico, Oaxaca, Santo Domingo de Guzmán on February 12, 2012| Leave a Comment »
Be it looking down from the windows above, strolling through the gardens on a tour, or peeking through openings in the wall on Reforma or Berriozabal on the way to someplace else, Oaxaca’s Ethnobotanical Garden is always a soothing and uplifting sight.
Check out this informative and enlightening article by Jeff Spurrier discussing the origins and vision of Oaxaca’s Ethnobotanical Garden — from the Jan/Feb 2012 issue of Garden Design:
“I am not a gardener.” Francisco Toledo is sitting in the courtyard of the graphic art institute he founded in downtown Oaxaca City, Mexico, sipping on a glass of agua de jamaica. His fingers are paint-smudged, and he moves stiffly from a sore back. Toledo, 71, is one of Mexico’s best-known living artists; his paintings, sculptures, and textiles are in galleries and museums around the world. At home in Mexico, he is identified with a fierce and outspoken defense of the indigenous arts and culture of the southern state of Oaxaca. He also, as it turns out, helped to create one of the world’s most original public gardens.
“The professionals are the people who live in the country,” he says. “The campesinos and workers — I don’t have the patience.”
Nearly 20 years ago, the Mexican military moved out of a 16th-century Santo Domingo monastery complex it had used as a base for more than 120 years. Mexico’s president gave the exit order after being lobbied by Toledo and other leading artists and intellectuals belonging to Pro-Oax, an advocacy group urging the promotion and protection of art, culture, and the natural environment in Oaxaca. Soon, a great clamor began: The state government wanted the five-acre parcel in the heart of downtown Oaxaca City to create a hotel, convention center, and parking facility. A restoration team brought in by the National Institute of Anthropology and History wanted to establish a European garden in the 17th-century baroque style. Some of Toledo’s fellow artists wanted to use the grounds for workshops and exhibition space.
n 1993, when Toledo knew the army would be leaving, he asked Alejandro de Ávila B., who had family roots in Oaxaca and training in anthropology, biology, and linguistics, what he and other advocates would propose. De Ávila suggested making the space into a botanic garden — or, more precisely, an ethnobotanic garden, one that would “show the interaction of plants and people.”
I highly recommend reading the Full Article.
h/t Norma and Roberta
Mexican Peso Converter
View From Casita Colibrí 