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Posts Tagged ‘Mexico’

Flowering of Monte Albán

Posted in Archaeology, Environment, Gardens, Parks & Plazas, Science & Nature, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 6, 2012| 2 Comments »

Fifteen hundred years may have passed since Monte Albán was in full bloom as the center of Zapotec civilization.  However, the flowering continues…

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Monte Albán on an early October morning.

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Wherever you go…

Posted in Archaeology, Buildings, Culture, Parks & Plazas, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , on October 4, 2012| 3 Comments »

… there you are.

Green grass, stone structure, blue sky with wispy clouds

Monte Albán on a picture perfect autumn morning.

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A tree falls in Oaxaca

Posted in Environment, Gardens, Parks & Plazas, Science & Nature, Weather, tagged , , , , , , , on October 2, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Instead of the coming of age novel, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, we have the real life drama of a tree falls in Oaxaca.  Heading down to the mercado this morning, I was brought up short by this heartbreaking sight.

Large trunk of tree uprooted from ground.

According to reports, there were many present to hear and see one of the grand 130+ year old Indian laurels topple during a storm on Saturday night.  And, worst of all, ten people were injured, two seriously.  Trees in the city, including Indian laurels in the Zócalo, have been plagued by adversity.  A laurel in the Zócalo fell a few years ago, damaging a nearby building, and most recently in May 2011, I wrote about a laurel on the Alameda that toppled.  Resurrection was attempted and guy-wires remain to this day holding it upright.  I guess the experts decided this latest one was beyond rescue.

Large tree cut into pieces

Controversy reigns, as many assert that these trees should be able to withstand the rain and less-than gale force winds.  Thus speculation over the cause runs rampant.  Root rot appears to be the immediate culprit but the big question is, why?

Pile of massive wood logs

And, as Chris sadly noted a couple of months ago, regarding the diseased flamboyant trees in front of Santo Domingo de Guzmán, Any tree is hard to replace.

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Home in old October

Posted in Creativity, Culture, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , on October 1, 2012| 2 Comments »

All things on earth point home in old October; sailors to sea, travellers to walls and fences…  — Thomas Wolfe.

Colorful painting of faces tacked on telephone pole

It’s good to be back in Oaxaca.

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Viva the differences, similarities & creativity!

Posted in Creativity, Culture, Markets, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 28, 2012| 12 Comments »

I’m back in Oaxaca… arrived last night after a brief trip to El Norte.  However,  over the last three years, culture shock (on both sides of the border) has subsided and I am struck and heartened that despite our differences, humans share so much more… especially the compulsion to make even the most common and utilitarian, beautiful.

Artist, Zio Ziegler added a little pizzazz to a car in Mill Valley… (Yes, I know, a Porche!)

Porche painted decoration

Car in Oaxaca… (Ahhh, a VW bug!)

VW bug painted with decoration

Wall in Mill Valley (also by Zio Ziegler)…

Painted horned creature riding a bike.

Wall in Oaxaca…

Savannah scene, with elephant in foreground, painted on wall.

Veggies in Mill Valley…

Vegetables in bins at outdoor market

Veggies in Oaxaca…

Vegetables mounded in mercado

From one of my favorite journalists, Linda Ellerbee:  “People are pretty much alike.  It’s only that our differences are more susceptible to definition than our similarities.”

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Long and winding road

Posted in Science & Nature, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 24, 2012| 1 Comment »

I grew up and lived most of my life twenty minutes from the Pacific Ocean.  I learned to drive on the road up over Mt. Tamalpais out to Stinson, Muir, and Bolinas beaches.  Needless to say, countless trips followed and continue!  So, yesterday I made my regular “Bay Area visit” pilgrimage to the beach.  Even on a foggy day, the sights, sounds, and smells of Stinson Beach are magical…

Alas, it’s 6 hours by car up and over the long and winding roads of the Sierra Madre del Sur to reach Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca’s closest Pacific Ocean beach.  The alternatives:  10+ hours by bus (by way of Salina Cruz) or a short but costly flight.  Still waiting for the long-promised highway that is supposed to cut auto travel time to two hours!!!

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Cyber cactus?

Posted in Buildings, Gardens, tagged , , , , , , , , on September 20, 2012| 2 Comments »

What’s your internet connection like?

Wire and cactus on tile roof of INTER_NETJOLY

Do you think the cactus help?

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Wall of many colors

Posted in Buildings, Restaurants, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on September 17, 2012| 2 Comments »

Remember Facelift in progress???

Outside of building with scaffolding and construction workers

Casa Oaxaca and Galeria Quetzalli’s renovation project continues.  Patching and plastering have been completed.

White building with painted color swatches off to left.

Primer and paint swatches have been applied.  Weeks have gone by…

6 squares of paint swatches (putty to mustard to cinnamon) on white building.

Choosing a color is hard!  What do you think?

Color is my day-long obsession, joy and torment. —Claude Monet

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El Grito

Posted in Buildings, History, Holidays, People, tagged , , , , , , , on September 16, 2012| 1 Comment »

As I write, it is late on September 15, and all over Mexico El Grito de Dolores, also known as El Grito de la Independencia (the Shout of Independence), is echoing from government buildings throughout the country, from the Palacio Nacional in Mexico City to Oaxaca’s Palacio de Gobierno to ayuntamientos (city halls) in small towns.

Mexicans!
Long live the heroes that gave us the Fatherland!
Long live Hidalgo!
Long live Morelos!
Long live Josefa Ortiz de Dominguez!
Long live Allende!
Long live Aldama and Matamoros!
Long live National Independence!
Long Live Mexico! Long Live Mexico! Long Live Mexico!

Portraits of the above listed heroes of Mexico’s War of Independence from Spain hang from the Government Palace in Oaxaca, as well as from the Municipal Building facing the Plaza de la Danza.

Massive 3-piece banner portrait of Morelos hanging from wall of Oaxaca's Municipal Building

And, this year, José María Morelos y Pavón is honored with a second massive portrait on the outer wall of the Municipal Building.  Last year, it was a reproduction of Orozco’s dramatic painting of Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla.

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Chiles en Nogada

Posted in Celebrations, Culture, Food, History, Holidays, Restaurants, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on September 13, 2012| 9 Comments »

El Grito not only heralds green, white, and red decorations, clothing, and Mexican flags.  It is also the season to savor the multi-layered, delicate flavors of Chiles en Nogada and delight in its colorful, patriotic presentation.  Legend has it, the dish was created in 1821 by nuns in Puebla to honor a visit by Mexican General Augustín de Iturbide, that pretty much signaled the end of the eleven-year long Mexican War of Independence.

There are probably as many recipes for Chiles en Nogada as there are chefs and abuelas, but the basics include green poblano chiles stuffed with a picadillo of meats, fruits, nuts, herbs and spices; served with a creamy white cheese and walnut sauce; and topped with a garnish of red pomegranate seeds, walnuts, and the green of chopped parsley.

Serving of Chiles en Nogada on a white plate.

This was my lunch of Chiles en Nogada today at La Popular, a delightful new restaurant in Oaxaca (Garcia Vigil 519, Centro).  Yummm….

(ps)  Chris just posted this video of Lina Fernandez making Chiles en Nogada.  She makes it look almost doable!

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It’s the same old story…

Posted in Celebrations, Culture, Holidays, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , on September 13, 2012| 2 Comments »

Revolutionaries behind bars.

Boy and girl figures, seen through window bars in shop display dressed in traditional revolutionary clothing

Couldn’t resist just one more El Grito window display!

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You might ask…

Posted in Celebrations, Culture, History, Holidays, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 11, 2012| Leave a Comment »

The word "ASK" written on white wall with light green trim on left

Where else have you seen El Grito decorations?

Blue and peach colored school decorated with Mexican flag banners and drapes

Schools, of course!  This one in Teotitlán del Valle.

People standing in front of newsstand decorated with a green, white, and red garland.

And, how about newsstands?  You can’t miss the green, white, and red — it’s everywhere!

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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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A Oaxacan book botana

Posted in Books, People, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , on September 7, 2012| 4 Comments »

Several months ago, friend and longtime (35 years!) regular visitor to Oaxaca, Charles Kerns, asked me to write a review of his first work of fiction, Santo Gordo: A Killing in Oaxaca.

Cover of book, "Santo Gordo" by Charles Kerns

He sent it to me in June, when I was up in the San Francisco Bay Area, and it proved to be the perfect reading material for my SFO –> IAH –> OAX return trip.  Once back, I mentioned Santo Gordo to friends, loaned it, got it back, only to loan it again.  With Santo Gordo again in my hot little hands and after many months of delay, today I finally posted the following review on Amazon.com.

A botana of Oaxaca

Much as it has done to Charles Kerns, Oaxaca has captured my heart and three years ago I began living an expat life there. Thus, I can assure you reading Santo Gordo: A Killing in Oaxaca, will give you a botana (a small snack) of life in Oaxaca as seen and experienced by a gringo — well, not the witnessing an assassination part!

However, first time mystery writer Kerns does offer a glimpse at an underbelly few tourists are ever aware of and many expats choose to ignore – it’s history, complexity, and expression being too much to comprehend.

Kerns has crafted a mystery where place, in this case Oaxaca, is a leading character — much as Donna Leon, with her Commissario Brunetti mysteries, has done with Venice. Kerns has captured rhythms, rituals, sweetness, dangers (treacherous sidewalks, not murders, being at the top of the list), and bewildering aspects of life in Oaxaca, all the while telling a plausible tale with a very likable main character.

Now that the review has, at long last, been written, my copy of Santo Gordo: A Killing in Oaxaca, will be donated to the Oaxaca Lending Library — as I promised Chuck many months ago.  Sorry I kept you waiting and ¡Feliz cumpleaños mi amigo!

(ps)  Check out the San Jose Mercury News interview with Chuck, Alameda writer pens Oaxaca mystery.

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Size matters!!!

Posted in Animals, Gardens, Science & Nature, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 6, 2012| 5 Comments »

Monday morning, I went out onto the terrace to hang the wind chimes back up (too loud for sleeping), pick up spent African tulip tree blossoms (20 to 30), and say buenos días to Argiope (previously mentioned spider).

Hmmm… all was definitely not “as usual” in the spider’s web.  Argiope, what in the world is going on?

Argiope spider with dragonfly caught in her web.

Good grief, she had caught a dragonfly!  It must have been quite a battle, as her web was a mess and now she was trying to wrap it up.

Close-up of dragonfly caught in an Argiope orb weaver spider web.

This was serious business for her and she worked at it most of the day.  However I had to chuckle, as sayings from childhood rose up from the cobwebs in my brain  —  Your eyes bigger than your stomach.  Have you bitten off more than you can chew?  Pick on someone your own size!

Dragonfly hanging by a thread on the web as Argiope spider has moved away from her prey

Monday evening, she finally gave up and let it loose from her clutches.  When I retired for the night, the dragonfly was hanging by a thread.

Argiope spider sitting in middle of web with a wrapped up fly.

By the next morning, the remains of the dragonfly had fallen onto the patio and Argiope was sitting happily in her newly repaired web with a more appropriately sized breakfast.

Mother Nature is amazing!

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