Today is Día de la Raza (Day of the Race) in Mexico. A stroll around town revealed…
Like almost everyday in Oaxaca, La Raza are working incredibly hard!
Posts Tagged ‘Mexico’
Día de la Raza in Oaxaca
Posted in History, Holidays, People, tagged Día de la Raza, Mexico, Oaxaca, workers on October 12, 2011| 3 Comments »
All creatures real and imagined…
Posted in Animals, Creativity, Culture, Exhibitions, tagged alebrije, Mexico, Oaxaca, San Martín Tilcajete on October 10, 2011| 2 Comments »
Yesterday, a couple of gal pals and I headed south of the city to San Martín Tilcajete.
They were in search of alebrijes (hand-carved and intricately painted wooden creatures). We shared the roads…
and the sidewalks with local inhabitants.
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.
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!
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.
In addition, the Oaxaca Lending Library will be presenting a slide show on Oaxacan Folk Art on October 26.
A shell of his former self
Posted in Animals, Gardens, Nature & Science, tagged Araneidae, Argiope, Casita Colibrí, garden, Mexico, Oaxaca, orb weaver, photographs, photos, spider on October 8, 2011| 4 Comments »
Remember Argiope from 2-1/2 weeks ago?
Turns out, she isn’t as sweet as she looks. Today, HE came, HE saw, and SHE conquered!
Leaving him a shell of his former self…
Within a half an hour, she had finished him off… leaving not a trace that he had ever existed.
And, she was alone again, naturally! Alone, that is, until their offspring hatch…
Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.
Posted in People, tagged Apple, iShop Mixup, Mexico, Oaxaca, Steve Jobs on October 6, 2011| 2 Comments »
I’m an Apple person… from the Apple II days… even before I worked at a library funded by Apple employee #5, Rod Holt. I’m writing this on my MacBook Pro and I just upgraded from my ancient (by computer carbon dating) iPod Shuffle (max 100 tunes) to a new 64 GB iPod Touch.
Like most of the world, I’m incredibly saddened by the loss of creative genius, Steve Jobs. So, when my neighbor proposed going up to the newly opened iShop Mixup (it’s what the official Apple stores are called in Mexico) in Colonia Reforma, to see what was happening, I enthusiastically agreed. I’d been watching CNN International and their coverage of iPad virtual flames and real flower memorials in front of Apple Stores from Cupertino, California to China. With camera in hand, I thought there would be a great photo-op, blog material, and a chance to pay tribute to the person who had eased my non-techie brain’s entry into computer being, who put the end-user at the forefront, and who encouraged new grads to “Stay hungry. Stay foolish.”
Alas, there was nothing… no flowers… no black ribbon over the doorway… no photos of Steve Jobs… no virtual candles flickering on the iPads, MacBook Airs, and iPhones… not even a tribute posted on the Oaxaca iShop Mixup Facebook page. When I returned home a couple of hours ago, I posted the Spanish language version of Steve’s 2005 commencement speech at Stanford and the front page article (en español) from CNN México on their Facebook page.
Why nothing? Perhaps it’s because the store is new and hasn’t become a center for Apple users. But, I think it’s also because… according to The Oaxaca Fund Initiative, “Over 76% of its residents live in extreme poverty, lacking basic necessities such as food, water, education and healthcare.” Staying hungry isn’t a just metaphor.
A pause in the action…
Posted in Celebrations, tagged Danza de la Pluma, Fiesta de la Virgen del Rosario, Mexico, Oaxaca, Teotitlán del Valle on October 4, 2011| 6 Comments »
Sunday, Oaxaca blogger buddy Chris (Oaxaca-the-year-after) and I returned to Teotitlán del Valle for the Danza de la Pluma. Another day awash in sights and sounds. As I discussed in July’s post, Danza de la Pluma, it is a multi-layered ritual reenactment of the Conquest. And, like the Passion Play in Oberammergau, Germany, the Danza de la Pluma lasts 7-8 hours!
Obviously, the performers occasionally need to take a break…
Soldaditos, need nourishment after all that marching around…
Banners need to chill on a chair…
Cortes needs to take a breather from all that conquering…
Danzantes need some male bonding time…
Their feathered headdresses need time off for good behavior…
Malinche and Doña Marina need to share some giggles…
And, even tubas need a nap…
There are no small parts…
Posted in Celebrations, tagged convite, Fiesta de la Virgen del Rosario, Mexico, Oaxaca, Teotitlán del Valle on October 3, 2011| 6 Comments »
To borrow from Russian actor and director, Konstantin Stanislavsky, “there are no small parts, only [very] small actors.” And the children of Teotitlán del Valle begin learning their lines at a very young age.
They were in full view Friday night as the convite (parade) of unmarried young women and girls opened the multi-day Fiesta de la Virgen del Rosario.
Young boys, carrying marmotas led off the parade, that began at the pueblo’s Sangre de Cristo church.
They were followed by traditional indigenous drums and a band.
Then the stars of the evening took center stage. From the oldest to the youngest, all were wearing the traditional red woolen skirt (woven in the village, of course!) and blouses painstakingly and lovingly hand embroidered.
Arms above head, balancing their canastas, they wound their way through the slick (it was drizzling) cobblestone streets of the village for an hour, before eventually returning to the church.
I don’t know how they did it; even the dogs were in awe!
Sunday’s events to follow…
Hanging out in Teotitlán
Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, tagged Mexico, Oaxaca, parade, Teotitlán del Valle, wall art on October 2, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Hanging out In Teotitlán del Valle…
On a rainy day…
Waiting for a parade to pass me by…
Going green, Oaxaca style
Posted in Environment, Gardens, Science & Nature, tagged compost, composting, Foro Internacional sobre Energías Renovables, International Forum on Renewable Energies, Isthmus of Tehuantepec, La Ventosa, Mexico, Oaxaca, renewable energy, sustainability, wind turbines on September 29, 2011| Leave a Comment »
At various times in her past, La Ciudad de Oaxaca has been referred to as the “Emerald City” and “City of Jade,” because of the green cantera stone used to construct her buildings and pave her sidewalks. On rainy days when sun seems to magically appear, I’m tempted to look behind closed doors for the Wizard of Oz.
Today a new kind of green is catching on. No, not money, green technology — though money most certainly figures into the equation.
Several, mostly international, companies have established wind turbine farms in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec over the past several years. And, anyone who has driven along the carretera (highway) down there, can understand why. However, I would be remiss not to mention, as a NACLA article explains, La Ventosa is a controversial endeavor.
Less controversial, was a two-day conference, billed as the first International Forum on Renewable Energies, held this week in the “City of Jade.” Organized by the Technological University of the Central Valleys of Oaxaca (UTVC) and the Statistics and Information Center for Development (CIEDD) of the State Government, its main objective was to raise awareness, share knowledge, and promote further research, dissemination, and development.
While panels, discussions, lectures, and workshops were held in the Cultural Center of Santo Domingo, outside, at the intersection of Constitución and 5 de Mayo, exhibits by the university students were set up for conference attendees and passers-by to see.
According to the information posted, above is a prototype solar thermal house, that harnesses the sun’s energy and utilizes “healthy for the environment” building materials of natural fibers to provide durability and thermal-insulation.
And then there was this one… close to this rooftop gardener’s heart:
The project explains vermiculture biotechnology was virtually unknown here until recently. California red worms were used to convert waste from San Pablo Huixtepec and obtain a dark and rich loam.
I confess, I coveted it! However, I really am quite pleased with the results I’m getting by freezing my green kitchen waste for several days and then mixing it with the, less than ideal, soil purchased from a local vivero (nursery). In a week, the organic matter has completely broken down and I’m left with great potting soil.
She’s baaack…
Posted in Animals, Gardens, Language, Nature & Science, tagged Casita Colibrí, film, garden, language, Mexico, movies, Neoscona oaxacensis, Oaxaca, orb weaver, photographs, photos, spider on September 27, 2011| 3 Comments »
Argiope’s neighbor (of Orb Weavers blog post fame) has returned! Two days ago I spotted the Neoscona oaxacensis (Ms Oaxaca, to her nearest and dearest) nestled among the leaves of a succulent in the pot next to her original home. However, no large round insect catching web was seen.
Apparently, last night Ms Oaxaca must have stayed up pretty late. This morning, when I came out to say, “buenos días,” I found her happily sitting in the middle of a brand new web.
According to SpidCat, the range of the Neoscona oaxacensis runs from the USA, down to Peru and the Galapagos Islands. They are not only beautiful and harmless, they keep the flying insect population down. So, if you’re lucky enough to have one in your garden, leave her be. If you don’t want to take my word for it, there was the study published in the California Avocado Society Yearbook (1980) that concluded,
…the significance of the orb weaving Neoscona in avocado orchards is probably not that they prevent dramatic population increases in the pest population or control the pests through the year. Instead, the presence of spiders, even in years of low pest populations, may dampen the increases in pest species during the later months of the season and serve as stabilizing agents to restrain the pest outbreaks during the interval between pest population increases and the numerical response of more specific parasites.
Anything that is good for avocados, is okay by me!
(ps) And now for something completely different… The answers to the Name that film quiz are:
- Birds of America = Vecinos y enemigos
- Brokeback Mountain = Secreto en la montaña
- Easy Virtue = Buenas costumbres
- Midnight Sting = El golpe perfecto
- People I know = Noche del crimen
- Tenderness = Asesino intimo
- That Evening Sun = Una historia de traicion
- Up in the Air = Amor sin escalas
Sorry, no prizes… just this bonus bizarre title translation my Spanish teacher contributed: Mrs. Doubtfire = Papá por siempre. Definitely a case of, lost in translation!!!
Ahhh, the exuberance of youth!
Posted in Celebrations, Education, tagged COBAO, Colegio de Bachilleres del Estado de Oaxaca, education, Mexico, Oaxaca, parade, students on September 23, 2011| Leave a Comment »
What a difference 5 days make…
Early Wednesday evening, the unmistakable sounds of a desfile replaced the usual background noise of commute traffic. Bands (yes, more than one), cheers, and cohetes (all bang, no bling fireworks) got louder and louder. I had to come down off the rooftop to see what was happening.
The energy, enthusiasm, creativity, and laughter of thousands of young people filled the street, brightened, what had been a gray day, and provided a stark contrast to the serious military pomp of the Independence Day parade only 5 days before.
The occasion was the 30th anniversary of the Colegio de Bachilleres del Estado de Oaxaca (COBAO), an academically rigorous and successful high school system in the state. In thirty years, this public school has grown from a single campus with 400 students to 64 campuses educating 45,000 students.
Students, faculty, alumni, and dignitaries gathered in the Plaza de la Danza for presentations and speeches. According to Noticias, it was noted that the event coincided with the approval of two amendments to the Mexican constitution making secondary education mandatory, beginning next year. Naturally, the event concluded with the requisite fireworks display, which I happily enjoyed from the terrace!
(ps) Alvin Starkman has written an article in English, Oaxaca Public School Education Targets Student Success: COBAO, about a young girl, from a small village and family of potters, who was recently accepted into COBAO.
Orb weavers
Posted in Animals, Gardens, Nature & Science, tagged Araneidae, Argiope, Casita Colibrí, garden, Mexico, Oaxaca, orb weaver, photographs, photos, spider, Stalpelia gigantea on September 20, 2011| 8 Comments »
Clothing, tablecloths, and rugs aren’t the only things being woven in Oaxaca. The terrace has a new resident, an orb weaver spider (family Araneidae). I think, because of the stabilimentum (the white zigzags on the web), she is in the genus, Argiope.
She had a larger orb weaving neighbor in the pot next door…
Alas, after a couple of days, the neighbor disappeared and her carefully crafted web fell into disrepair. However, that left more food for Argiope.
Apparently, green bottle flies are a favorite, because this is one of several she caught in a single day. She’s chosen the perfect site for her home — in the garden’s previously blogged about, Stinky plant, attracting flies (aka, Stalpelia gigantea).
201 years of independence
Posted in Celebrations, History, Holidays, tagged Mexican Independence Day, Mexico, Oaxaca, parade on September 18, 2011| 6 Comments »
On the morning of September 16, the sidewalks of Trujano, leading to Oaxaca’s Zócalo, were lined with people. Traffic was blocked on Trujano and many of the side streets, as contingents of soldiers, state police, municipal police, transit police, fire fighters (bomberos), paramedics, schools, and charros gathered to participate in the desfile cívico militar (civic and military parade) marking 201 years of independence from Spain.
Like most patriotic parades throughout the world, the military component dominated the civic. And here, even the school contingents march in military fashion. The use of Mexico’s military is controversial, not to mention the roles played by the state and municipal police in Oaxaca. Onlookers clapped for various contingents, but I didn’t catch the subtleties of support, other than the big hand the bomberos received.
This was the other side of the green, white, and red fervor, and I’ve spent a lot of time contemplating what I thought of the parade and what I wanted to say. However, as a guest in this country, I’m going to let the photographs speak and readers may interpret them as they wish.
Mas verde, blanco y rojo
Posted in Celebrations, Holidays, tagged El Grito, Mexican Independence Day, Mexico, Oaxaca on September 17, 2011| 1 Comment »
More color from around town this past week…
Paz on independence movement
Posted in Celebrations, Culture, History, Holidays, People, Politics, tagged El Grito, Grito de Dolores, José Clemente Orozco, Labyrinth of Solitude, Mexican Independence Day, Mexico, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, Oaxaca, Octavio Paz on September 15, 2011| 2 Comments »
Octavio Paz, writing about the Mexican independence movement in The Labyrinth of Solitude:
The eighteenth century prepared the way for the Independence movement. In fact, the science and philosophy of the epoch… were necessary intellectual antecedents of the Grito de Dolores. [p. 118]
…the insurgents vacillated between Independence (Morelos) and modern forms of autonomy (Hidalgo). The war began as a protest against the abuses of the metropolis and the Spanish bureaucracy, but it was also, and primarily, a protest against the great native landholders. It was not a rebellion of the local aristocracy against the metropolis but of the people against the former. Therefore the revolutionaries gave greater importance to certain social reforms than to Independence itself: Hidalgo proclaimed the abolition of slavery and Morelos broke up the great estates.
Banner on Oaxaca's Municipal Building; reproduction of mural by José Clemente Orozco of Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla.
The Revolution of Independence was a class war, and its nature cannot be understood correctly unless we recognize the fact that unlike what happened in South America, it was an agrarian revolt in gestation. This is why the army (with its criollos like Iturbide), the Church and the great landowners supported the Spanish crown… [p. 123]
Paz, Octavio. The labyrinth of solitude, the other Mexico; Return of the labyrinth of solitude; Mexico and the United States; The philanthropic ogre. New York: Grove Press, 1985
Ready for El Grito
Posted in Celebrations, Holidays, tagged Chiles en Nogada, El Grito, Government Palace, Grito de Dolores, Mexican Independence Day, Mexico, military, Oaxaca, parade, security checkpoints on September 15, 2011| 4 Comments »
Let the celebrations begin! This morning, enroute to the library, I ran into a pre-school parade coming down the Alcalá…
These two were bringing up the rear because they kept pausing for photos, and I couldn’t resist, either!
Going to the zócalo this afternoon more resembled trying to get to an airport gate, than strolling into a town square. Security checkpoints, with metal detectors, have been set up at 10 intersections. According to an article in this morning’s Noticias, security cameras are also in use.
All is in readiness for tonight’s festivities… another sound and light show projected on the cathedral, fireworks, and the Grito de Dolores from the balcony of the Government Palace.
However, tonight I’ll be eating the traditional Chiles en Nogada, listening for the bells at 11PM, and then watching the fireworks from my ringside seat on the rooftop. ¡Viva Mexico!
(ps) Portrait on the left is of Vicente Guerrero.
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