Posted in Creativity, Culture, Travel & Tourism, Weather, tagged forest, graffiti, Mexico, moto taxis, New York, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, red garage, snow, street art, Tlacolula de Matamoros, Tlacolulokos, urban art, wall art on January 9, 2015| 3 Comments »
Finally over the flu, I flew to the east coast, arriving along with an arctic cold front. Brrr… it was -14ºF early yesterday morning!!! However, here on a frigid New York Friday…
And, there on a sunny Tlacolula Sunday…
A splash of red to liven up the day.
* Mural by Tlacolulokos.
Posted in Creativity, Culture, People, Travel & Tourism, tagged EmBe, graffiti, Keith Haring quote, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, street art, urban art on January 4, 2015| 2 Comments »
Instead of writing this blog post, I should be rendezvousing with gal pals at the de Young Museum for the Keith Haring exhibition. However, this season it is a more perfect world for the flu virus. Grrrr…
Thus, in the spirit of public art and social commentary, images from EmBe seen on calle Tinoco y Palacios in Oaxaca:
And, words from Keith Haring:
“One day, riding the subway, I saw this empty black panel where an advertisement was supposed to go. I immediately realized that this was the perfect place to draw. I went back above ground to a card shop and bought a box of white chalk, went back down and did a drawing on it. It was perfect–soft black paper; chalk drew on it really easily.”
“I kept seeing more and more of these black spaces, and I drew on them whenever I saw one. Because they were so fragile, people left them alone and respected them; they didn’t rub them out or try to mess them up. It gave them this other power. It was this chalk-white fragile thing in the middle of all this power and tension and violence that the subway was. People were completely enthralled.”2
“I was always totally amazed that the people I would meet while I was doing them were really, really concerned with what they meant. The first thing anyone asked me, no matter how old, no matter who they were, was what does it mean?”3
“The context of where you do something is going to have an effect. The subway drawings were, as much as they were drawings, performances. It was where I learned how to draw in public. You draw in front of people. For me it was a whole sort of philosophical and sociological experiment. When I drew, I drew in the daytime which meant there were always people watching. There were always confrontations, whether it was with people that were interested in looking at it, or people that wanted to tell you you shouldn’t be drawing there…”
“I was learning, watching people’s reactions and interactions with the drawings and with me and looking at it as a phenomenon. Having this incredible feedback from people, which is one of the main things that kept me going so long, was the participation of the people that were watching me and the kinds of comments and questions and observations that were coming from every range of person you could imagine, from little kids to old ladies to art historians.“
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Protests, Tragedy, Violence, tagged angular, Ayotzinapa, Escuela Normal Rural Raúl Isidro Burgos, Global Day of Action for Ayotzinapa, graffiti, Mexico, Normal Rural Ayotzinapa, normalistas, Oaxaca, Photo Challenge, photographs, photos, protests, street art, wall art on November 24, 2014| 2 Comments »
The 43 students from the Normal Rural Ayotzinapa teachers’ college in Guerrero are still missing. Following Thursday’s Global Day of Action for Ayotzinapa mass demonstrations, “analysts and commentators across the Mexican news media spectrum began speaking of a modern day revolution now brewing in the country.”
A tipping point? I don’t know…
Angular (Street art, Nov. 22, 2014 on a wall in Oaxaca.)
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Education, Politics, Protests, Tragedy, Violence, tagged Ayotzinapa, Caravana de Ayotzinapa, Democracy Now, demonstrations, graffiti, Guerrero, Iguala, Mexico, Mexico Burns as Outrage over Student Disappearances Sparks Protests Against State-Backed Violence, Normal Rural Ayotzinapa, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, protests, Santo Domingo de Guzmán, sidewalk memorial, signs, students, Teachers on November 16, 2014| 2 Comments »
The headline, Mexico Burns as Outrage over Student Disappearances Sparks Protests Against State-Backed Violence, from the Nov. 13 “Democracy Now” show, is not an overstatement. Yesterday, in front of Santo Domingo…
The Caravana de Ayotzinapa, one of three caravans by the parents and supporters of the missing 43 students from the Escuela Normal Rural Raúl Isidro Burgos teachers’ college in Ayotzinapa, Guerrero, is scheduled to arrive in Oaxaca tomorrow morning (Nov. 17). A procession from the crucero at Trinidad de Viguera to the zócalo in Oaxaca is scheduled to begin at 9 AM. Given the prohibition against foreigners participating in political activity, as much as I would like to be there, I’ll be sticking close to home.
However, for my friends in the USA, check out photographer and writer Tim Porter’s article, #43; there are demonstrations coming to a city near you. Tim is a frequent visitor to Oaxaca and, for my Marin peeps, his articles and photographs regularly appear in Marin Magazine.
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Education, People, Politics, Protests, Tragedy, Violence, tagged Ayotzinapa, David Huerta, Emiliano Navarrete, exhibitions, graffiti, Guerrero, Iguala, Mexico, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Oaxaca, Normal Rural Ayotzinapa, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, signs, students on November 7, 2014| 10 Comments »
Tomorrow, it will be 43 days since the 43 students at the Escuela Normal Rural Raúl Isidro Burgos, teachers’ college in Ayotzinapa, Guerrero went missing. Images of the missing are being posted online and on walls.
Oaxaca, along with the rest of Mexico, is heartbroken and outraged that her sons have not been found. “We are not sheep to be killed whenever they feel like it” Emiliano Navarrete, father of one of the missing students, declared following a meeting with Mexico’s president, Enrique Peña Nieto.
As the brilliant Día de los Muertos colors of cempasúchil (marigolds), cresta de gallo (celosia or cockscomb), and roses began to fade, a massive march, led by the parents of the missing, filled the streets of Mexico City on November 5.
And, Oaxaca continues to add her voice on walls, in the streets, and at the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Oaxaca (MACO).
… where a beautiful poem, simply entitled “Ayotzinapa,” fills one of the walls of the courtyard.
Mordemos la sombra
Y en la sombra
Aparecen los muertos
Como luces y frutos
Como vasos de sangre
Como piedras de abismo
Como ramas y frondas
De dulces vísceras
Los muertos tienen manos
Empapadas de angustia
Y gestos inclinados
En el sudario del viento
Los muertos llevan consigo
Un dolor insaciable
Esto es el país de las fosas
Señoras y señores
Este es el país de los aullidos
Este es el país de los niños en llamas
Este es el país de las mujeres martirizadas
Este es el país que ayer apenas existía
Y ahora no se sabe dónde quedó
Estamos perdidos entre bocanadas
De azufre maldito
Y fogatas arrasadoras
Estamos con los ojos abiertos
Y los ojos los tenemos llenos
De cristales punzantes
Estamos tratando de dar
Nuestras manos de vivos
A los muertos y a los desaparecidos
Pero se alejan y nos abandonan
Con un gesto de infinita lejanía
El pan se quema
Los rostros se queman arrancados
De la vida y no hay manos
Ni hay rostros
Ni hay país
Solamente hay una vibración
Tupida de lágrimas
Un largo grito
Donde nos hemos confundido
Los vivos y los muertos
Quien esto lea debe saber
Que fue lanzado al mar de humo
De las ciudades
Como una señal del espíritu roto
Quien esto lea debe saber también
Que a pesar de todo
Los muertos no se han ido
Ni los han hecho desaparecer
Que la magia de los muertos
Está en el amanecer y en la cuchara
En el pie y en los maizales
En los dibujos y en el río
Demos a esta magia
La plata templada
De la brisa
Entreguemos a los muertos
A nuestros muertos jóvenes
El pan del cielo
La espiga de las aguas
El esplendor de toda tristeza
La blancura de nuestra condena
El olvido del mundo
Y la memoria quebrantada
De todos los vivos
Ahora mejor callarse
Hermanos
Y abrir las manos y la mente
Para poder recoger del suelo maldito
Los corazones despedazados
De todos los que son
Y de todos
Los que han sido
David Huerta
2 de noviembre de 2014. Oaxaca
Update: Just hours after posting this, the worst has been announced. According to Mexico’s attorney general, “The 43 Mexican students who disappeared near Iguala, in southern Mexico in September, were kidnapped by police on order of the mayor, and turned over to a gang that killed them and burned their bodies before throwing the remains in a river….” — CNN
I can’t even begin to imagine the pain the parents must be feeling with the knowledge of the suffering and brutality their sons endured. I am so sad and tears are welling up. I think I will just let them fall…
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Food, People, Restaurants, Travel & Tourism, tagged artes graficas, artists, Café Panartesano, graffiti, graphic arts, Guillermo Pacheco López, Mexico, Oaxaca, Okupa Visual Oaxaca, photographs, photos, restaurants, street art, Taller de Grafica Experimental de Oaxaca, urban art on August 23, 2014| 7 Comments »
Yesterday, as I was walking home, the eyes of these guys caught my eye.
More eyes beckoned me across the large driveway/parking area, that separated the mural filled walls from the sidewalk.
A sign for Okupa Visual Oaxaca was pointing the way, so I figured I must not be trespassing and might even be welcome.
More eyes drew me toward an open door…
I peered inside the Taller de Grafica Experimental de Oaxaca and was greeted with the warm smile of artist, Guillermo Pacheco López. He showed me around the light airy gallery and studio and explained the programs they offer. We then proceeded through an open doorway into a another multipurpose space.
Besides more gallery and workshop space, it is home to Café Panartesano and where his delightful wife, Kate, along with an assistant, bake brownies, blondies, chocolate chip cookies, oatmeal cookies, and other yummy looking sweets. In addition, they make homemade pizza and tortas.
As you may have guessed from the above menu, Kate is from the USA — San Francisco to be geographically precise. We had much in common and I stayed for almost half an hour chatting with her. Naturally, I couldn’t resist buying a chicken with zucchini and red bell pepper torta on focaccia, which was muy sabrosa!
If you are in town, I highly recommend stopping by Taller de Grafica Experimental de Oaxaca and Café Panartesana. They are located at La Noria 305 (at the corner of Melchor Ocampo).
Nourishing body and soul — that’s Oaxaca!
Posted in Creativity, Culture, People, tagged actor, Cantinflas, Fortino Mario Alfonso Moreno Reyes, graffiti, Mexico, photo, photographs, street art, Teotitlán del Valle, urban art on August 12, 2014| 6 Comments »
Feliz cumpleaños to Cantinflas. Today, the beloved Mexican actor, comedian, writer, and producer, born Fortino Mario Alfonso Moreno Reyes, would have turned 103. I’ll be waiting in line to the movie, Cantinflas, based on his life, when it opens in Mexico on September 19, 2014. For those in the USA, you get first crack, as it is scheduled to open on August 29, 2014.
Image of Cantinflas on a wall in Teotitlán del Valle — painted by the lovely and multi-talented, Luvia Lazo.
I would also like to say RIP, Robin Williams, another actor with the gift of combining humor and pathos. How blessed we are to have shared this planet with both and to continue to have the opportunity to experience their creative genius.
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Travel & Tourism, tagged artists, graffiti, Mexico, murals, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, street art, Tlacolula de Matamoros, Tlacolulokos, urban art, wall art on August 11, 2014| 7 Comments »
After five days of being confined to Casita Colibrí — eating, inhaling, and choking on concrete and brick-dust and enduring the throbbing sounds of drills, hammers, and chisels — due to demolition of the old and construction of a new kitchen counter (still not finished), market day in Tlacolula de Matamoros was just what the doctor ordered. Blogger buddy Chris offered and off we went.
The enticing aroma of tacos and gorditas at our favorite street stall beckoned and we quickened our step, until we came to this unexpected and powerful mural…
The mural is the work of Tlacolulokos, a collective that originated in Tlacolula. According to this article, these self-taught artists explore the subjects of violence, the transformation of traditions, tourism, poverty, and social decay by referencing southern Mexican folk elements. They use a variety of media and techniques, ranging from graffiti, easel painting, graphics and object, to video and sound.
And, Tlacolula worked her magic… We ate, soaked in her color, stopped to listen to a youth band from Santa María Guelac (with a girl tuba player, no less!) play “New York, New York” and “Can-can,” and shopped a little (for me, a 5-liter plastic “gas” canister for our next mezcal run and red bananas). Tlacolula never dies and never gets old.
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Museums, Transportation, Travel & Tourism, tagged graffiti, Mexico, Museo del Ferrocarril Mexicano del Sur, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, railroad cars, railroad museum, street art, urban art on August 4, 2014| 2 Comments »
Last Monday, as I previously wrote, my bus ride home was rudely interrupted by a bloqueo (blockade). Initially, this is how I felt…
Without any other options, I found myself walking along Calzada Madero.
and found murals painted on old railroad cars…
in the yard of the old railroad station, now the Museo del Ferrocarril Mexicano del Sur.
By the time another bus finally came by, I felt much more like this…
Sighhh… good ol’ Oaxaca, you just never know what you will stumble upon.
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Travel & Tourism, tagged Barrio Xochimilco, Colectivo Alucin Ates, graffiti, Lelo Art, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, street art, urban art, wall art on July 6, 2014| 6 Comments »
Here are some of the more colorful people in mine…
More from Friday’s walk up to Barrio Xochimilco. Couldn’t help thinking of the Sesame Street song, Who Are the People In Your Neighborhood?
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Travel & Tourism, tagged Albert Einstein quote, Bob Marley quote, eyes, graffiti, Marcel Proust quote, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, street art, urban art on May 21, 2014| 8 Comments »
The only true voyage of discovery, the only fountain of Eternal Youth, would be not to visit strange lands but to possess other eyes… —Marcel Proust
He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed. —Albert Einstein
Open your eyes, look within: Are you satisfied with the life you’re living? —Bob Marley
Eyes looking out on the world from the mural on Tinoco y Palacios, between Vasconcelos and Niños Heroes.
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Travel & Tourism, tagged art, Gorilla Glass, graffiti, Jason Pfohl, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, popular travel destinations, SCOM, street art, urban art on May 13, 2014| 8 Comments »
These creatures began materializing around town a couple of months ago. I wonder…
Who are they?
Where did they come from?
What do they want?
Perhaps, I should ask here!
The walls of Oaxaca… you have questions, they have answers.
Update: The monsters sprang forth from the mind of SCOM.
h/t Jason Pfohl of Gorilla Glass.
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Travel & Tourism, tagged graffiti, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, street art, urban art, wall art on April 1, 2014| 4 Comments »
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Religion, Travel & Tourism, tagged calacas, graffiti, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, popular travel destinations, skeletons, street art, urban art, Virgin of Guadalupe, wall art on March 14, 2014| 2 Comments »
Mexican Peso Converter
View From Casita Colibrí 
Heart and soul
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Economics, Politics, Protests, Sports & Recreation, tagged Copa Mundial 2014, El Tri, fútbol, Francisco Goldman, graffiti, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, political commentary, soccer, street art, urban art, World Cup 2014 on June 23, 2014| 4 Comments »
What a game; three goals in 10 minutes in the second half!!! Another thrilling win by El Tri advances Mexico to the next stage in World Cup 2014. They struggled and needed a little help from their “friends” in el norte to even play in Brazil. However, against all odds, this team exhibits a gutsy and tenacious heart and soul that can’t help but have people rooting for them — much like the country of Mexico, itself.
Mural under fútbol stadium in Oaxaca – Dec. 2012
Francisco Goldman wrote an op-ed in yesterday’s New York Times. His article, “Fooling Mexican Fans,” relates the current politics of Mexico, the “bread and circuses” diversion of the World Cup, and the notion that El Tri might exemplify all that is inspiring and hopeful in the Mexican national character.
Goldman’s op-ed begins…
The day before the Mexican soccer team’s thrilling underdog tie with the World Cup favorite, Brazil, last week, the lead editorial of the news site SinEmbargo was titled, “Ready for your Clamato and Gatorade?” — common hangover remedies. “In about three weeks, when you wake from your World Cup dreams,” the editors wrote, “remember that when the soccer fest began, the country was on the verge of monumental decisions. If upon waking, you realize that the country’s energy reserves have been cheaply sold off or whatever else, don’t bother protesting because this is a chronicle foretold.”
To debate and pass laws that could open Pemex, the nationalized oil company, to foreign investment, the Mexican Congress scheduled legislative sessions from June 10 to 23, dates precisely coinciding with you know what. Final passage might be pushed back, but it originally looked like it was supposed to happen on Monday, when Mexico plays Croatia to decide which country advances to the elimination rounds.
As I wrote previously, Mexicans have been Expressing the outrage since last year, when Mexico’s newly elected president Enrique Peña Nieto (initials EPN), from the PRI party, first made the Pemex energy “reform” proposal.
Graffiti seen on a wall south of Oaxaca’s zócalo, May 23, 2014.
Goldman goes on to discuss this and other “reforms,” the role of the PRI, and the current overall political climate in Mexico. However, as dismal as it all sounds, he ends on a hopeful note…
There has been much talk lately about the way the style of soccer teams manifests national characters. I don’t know if that’s true. But when I look at the Mexican team which, after barely even qualifying for the World Cup, has been playing so well, I see a team without stars — a gritty, hard-working, pretty humble, resourceful, creative, disciplined, joyous, friendly-seeming group of players who seem to be learning to play the game as it is meant to be played.
These are values that we see enacted and re-enacted all over Mexico, and in Mexican communities elsewhere, every day. Someday Mexico will get another chance to vote the PRI away and to restart the long process of building the country from the ground up. It could do worse than take some inspiration from its national team.
Absolutely, those are the values I, too, see exhibited in Mexican communities both in Mexico and the US. There is hope for the future — and not just on the pitch! I encourage you to read Goldman’s op-ed in full. In the meantime, Mexico vs. Netherlands on Sunday at Estadio Castelao Forteleza. ¡¡¡ VAMOS EL TRI !!!
h/t K Hackbarth for the article
Share this:
Read Full Post »