Posted in Celebrations, History, Holidays, tagged El Grito, Mexican Independence Day, Mexico, Oaxaca, vendors on September 4, 2011| 2 Comments »
El Grito de la Independencia is coming! Vendors of everything green, white, and red have set up their carts on Oaxaca’s busiest street corners and Mexican flags are flying everywhere.
A little slice from yesterday’s grocery shopping trip around town…
Definitely more to come!
Posted in Gardens, Home, Weather, tagged Casita Colibrí, CONAGUA, flooding, lightning, Mexico, Oaxaca, rain, rain storms, Río Atoyac, thunder, thunderstorms, video, weather on September 2, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Yesterday, the clouds gathered, the sky darkened, and about 5 PM…
And, yes, I did jump!
However, it’s no laughing matter for the farmers and folks who live near rivers. Río Atoyac, which runs alongside the heart of the city and which one must cross to reach the airport, rapidly reached flood stage and breached its banks in several places (Noticias has video). In addition, because the ground is already supersaturated, mudslides have already begun to occur in the mountains.
CONAGUA explains that the large area of atmospheric instability over the Gulf of Tehuantepec along with tropical depression 13 in the Gulf of Mexico (that’s the one threatening Louisiana), are the moisture-laden culprits.
Posted in Animals, Celebrations, tagged Bendición de los Animales, Blessing of Animals, La Merced, Mexico, Oaxaca, pets on August 31, 2011| 4 Comments »
One priest, countless dogs, several birds, a couple of cats, a few fowl, a pair of fish, one white rabbit, numerous cute kids, parents and grandparents, beautiful young women, tough guys and cool teens, multiple media outlets, and spectators (with cameras and cell phones) congregated at 4 PM today in the plaza outside the Templo de Nuestra Señora de la Merced (Temple of Our Lady of Mercy) for the Bendición de los Animales (Blessing of the Animals).
This annual event, held on August 31, celebrates the feast day of San Ramón de Nonato, patron saint of women in labor, persons falsely accused, and keeper of animals. The gathering was muy tranquilo; a Peaceable Kingdom prevailed and Edward Hicks would have felt right at home.
I must say the priest was quite energetic with the holy water and even the non-believers among us got a good sprinkling and came away feeling blessed!
(ps) Fellow blogger, Chris, caught the priestly action.
(pps) Noticias has video… the music is priceless!
Posted in Food, tagged Mercado de la Merced, Mexico, Oaxaca, Pilar Cabrera on August 31, 2011| Leave a Comment »
From today’s NYT…
A vendor at Mercado de la Merced in Oaxaca, Mexico, where produce grown on small local farms is sold throughout the city.
¿Qué?
We were walking around Oaxaca’s Mercado de la Merced, a covered market where Cabrera, a well-known chef and owner of the popular La Olla Restaurant, does some of her food gathering for a class she teaches at La Casa de los Sabores, a cooking school she runs to which chefs on pilgrimages and food-curious tourists have been flocking for several years. Students who sign up and pay for the class (about $70) gather up the goods with her at one of the town’s markets in the morning, then bring them back to a big, bright, picture-perfect kitchen, where they proceed to cook and consume the meal, a five-course Oaxacan lunch based on Pilar’s recipes, including a taste of mezcal and dessert. (Coloradito, a red mole, was the main event at the class I attended.) They also get to pepper her with questions about the food, recipes and region.
Pilar knows her stuff: she was born and raised here and has a background in food science, as well as decades of cooking experience. La Olla serves a modern menu based on traditional Oaxacan recipes in a modest, clean setting that attracts both tourists and well-heeled locals. Apart from the restaurant and cooking school, she has gained some fame as a sort of ambassador for Oaxacan cuisine, traveling abroad to teach her classes, even making an appearance on “Iron Chef.”
In both the restaurant and the class, Pilar hammers home the main theme of Oaxacan food: an uncompromising devotion to fresh, unprocessed local ingredients (the squash blossoms she chose for the meal that day were still open when the vendor handed them to her). And she can switch from speaking Spanish to English with ease, making it easy for monolingual pilgrims like me to get what’s going on. [Read full article]
h/t: gg
Posted in Gardens, tagged cactus, Casita Colibrí, garden god, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, plants, succulents on August 27, 2011| 3 Comments »
Returned from the mercado this afternoon to find…
… a crack in the pot. Garden god bursting with pride???
Posted in Gardens, Weather, tagged cactus, Casita Colibrí, garden god, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, plants, succulents on August 26, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Torrential rain by night; brilliant blue sky by day…
This is the way the garden grows during the rainy season in Oaxaca.
Posted in Health, tagged health, Mexico, Oaxaca on August 24, 2011| 1 Comment »
This afternoon, I headed to the Mercado Benito Juárez to stock up on my favorite coffee — 100% organic and grown in the highlands of Oaxaca — El Grano de Oro, Cafe Pluma.
As I entered the Alameda, it had been transformed into a parking lot — 42 new, spotless white, small Mitsubishi trucks, Dodge vans, and a couple of large Ford trucks.
According to Noticias, this is part of a 24.6 million peso (approx. 2 million dollars US) project to improve the health of the people, including a major vaccination effort. Governor Gabino Cue was present to unveil the program.
People in white coats milled around, posed for photos, and gave interviews after the governor’s speech.
And a new ambulance, earmarked for the municipality of Miguel Hidalgo, had a place of honor in front of the Cathedral.
Posted in Home, Nature & Science, People, tagged Mexico, mosquitos, Oaxaca on August 22, 2011| 7 Comments »
It’s the rainy season; that means it’s also mosquito season… and they love me and my ankles! This year, I surrendered to the adage, the best offense is a good defense. Using plastic mesh, duct tape, and velcro, I fabricated an ugly, and somewhat difficult to navigate through, screen for my door.
Defense exhibit 1
It helped, I even got used to the green color, though the center opening was problematic. However, heat and dry air followed by heat and humidity were not kind to the glue on the back of the velcro that secured the screen to the doorway nor to the duct tape holding the coins weighing down the screen. After two months it began coming unglued, as did I!
So, I relented, loosened my purse-strings, and called master carpenter Juan, who has so ably come to my rescue on previous occasions. He took measurements last week, drew up a plan, built the doors, and arrived yesterday to install them.
My hero, Juan
What a difference a real screen door makes! Looking in…
Defense exhibit 2
And, looking out…
Defense exhibit 3
With my new door, stash of citronella candles, and repelente natural, it’s adios mosquitos!
Posted in Books, Culture, Language, tagged book review, IAGO, Instituto de Artes Gráficas de Oaxaca, Liza Bakewell, Madre: Perilous Journeys With a Spanish Noun, Mexico, Oaxaca, Oaxaca Lending Library on August 18, 2011| 4 Comments »
My Spanish language abilities are progressing little by little (poco a poco). However, one thing my wonderful and extremely patient Spanish teacher, Laura Olachea, has neglected to cover is Madre-isms; those too numerous to count and unique to Mexican Spanish, expressions that the mamas, hijas, and hermanas for the most part never use, at least not in mixed or polite company.
Of course, being that one doesn’t know what one doesn’t know, I was oblivious! Oblivious, that is, until I read Norma Hawthorne’s review of the new book, Madre: Perilous Journeys With a Spanish Noun, by Liza Bakewell. Intrigued, I purchased the book when I was in el norte in June and immediately plunged in.
In July, while I was immersed in the “madre” minefield, Liza arrived in Oaxaca for some much-needed R & R, to write an article or two, and to promote her book. I had the pleasure of getting to know her (she’s warm, smart, and funny), eat one of Aurora’s (you will meet her in the book) empanadas, and assist with setting up a couple of speaking engagements. The first, in English, was at the Oaxaca Lending Library, where the audience was overwhelmingly women and, as expected, mostly gringas. There was much surprise and laughter as Liza read excerpts from the book, expanded on points, and answered numerous questions.
The second speaking engagement, the following evening, was at the Instituto de Artes Gráficas de Oaxaca (IAGO) and was conducted all in Spanish. And here, surrounded by the Rini Templeton exhibit, I looked around and noticed the majority of people attending were Mexican men. However, like Guillermo Fricke, Director of IAGO, people listened closely, occasionally chuckled knowingly, and stayed to ask questions and make respectful and thoughtful comments.
It was a much more reserved gathering than the day before, but no less attentive and appreciative. And, reflecting on previous events and observations and now reading Labyrinth of Solitude, by Octavio Paz, I’m coming to understand, except for fiestas, that is the Mexican way. Though, I wonder, if it had been all Mexican women in attendance, would it have been different? I think so. There is something about the bond women share that crosses boundaries and cultures….
However, thanks to Liza, at least while in Mexico, I may never utter the word, madre, again!
(ps) If your local library doesn’t have Madre: Perilous Journeys With a Spanish Noun, ask them to order it!
(pps) Another insightful review of Madre has just appeared on GlobetrotterGirls.com
Posted in Celebrations, tagged Mexico, Oaxaca, parade on August 16, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Also on Saturday, I stumbled on yet another parade. And I wondered, who is Camila?
Is this Camila (y amigo)?
Whoever she is, she was a good excuse for music, fireworks, dancers, and a parade up Macedonio Alcalá…
and, why it’s a good idea to take one’s camera… even when just going grocery shopping!
Spanish lesson:
Posted in Food, People, tagged Mexico, Oaxaca, vendors on August 13, 2011| 2 Comments »
It’s a Saturday miracle; my favorite vendor is back!!!
She and her little crate-and-basket stand, usually positioned at the foot of the two stairs outside Pan y Co on García Vigil, have been missing in action for the past two weeks and I was worried. I kept asking the clerks at Pan y Co if they knew what had happened to her, but they merely shrugged. However, today there she was…
I came away with sliced mango, papaya, jicama, a bag of roasted peanuts with dried chiles, and, best of all, kisses and hugs!!!
(ps) Apparently, she has been sick, but she assured me that she is okay now.
Posted in Protests, Violence, tagged Mexico, Oaxaca, Santa Cruz Tepenixtlahuaca on August 7, 2011| 2 Comments »
It’s a quiet Sunday in the city. Traffic on the busy street beyond Casita Colibrí’s gates is light; church bells, for reasons mysterious to me, seem more restrained on Sundays; and even the usually chattering birds sound like they are taking a rest from their noisy territorial battles.
However, yesterday, all was not tranquil in the village of Santa Cruz Tepenixtlahuaca, 165 miles southwest of the city, where villagers, fed up with alleged cattle rustling, rapes, and murders, took matters into their own hands…
Mexican villagers attack alleged crooks, killing 6
OAXACA, Mexico (AP) — Dozens of armed villagers surrounded the home of a suspected crime gang in southern Mexico, setting off a gunbattle that killed a child, a woman and four men, authorities said Saturday.
The confrontation took place after a town assembly decided to arm 90 villagers and send them to threaten the group allegedly behind cattle thefts, rapes and murders, Oaxaca state’s public security chief said in a statement. [Read full article]
From tiny mountain villages in Southern Mexico to the streets of Tel Aviv, ¡Basta ya! was a cry echoing around the world on Saturday.
Posted in Weather, tagged Mexico, Oaxaca on August 6, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Labor, Protests, tagged IAGO, Instituto des Artes Gráficas, Mexico, Oaxaca, Rini Templeton on August 4, 2011| 1 Comment »
Currently, the Instituto de Artes Gráficas de Oaxaca is exhibiting the work of Rini Templeton; three rooms of her iconic work. For those who may not be familiar with the name, there is a good reason…
For 20 years an extraordinary artist-activist named Rini Templeton drew struggles of grassroots people in the United States, Mexico and Central America. She made thousands of drawings, didn’t sign them and gave them away freely, so her name remains unknown while her work is widely known, used and loved. [Read full biography at RiniArt.org]
As the former director of a labor library and archive, the exhibition kindled so many wonderful memories of this talented, committed, and inspiring woman’s work.
Posted in Celebrations, Contradictions, Culture, tagged dance, Guelaguetza, Mexico, Oaxaca, Valle de Etla on August 2, 2011| 1 Comment »
Yesterday, I opted for the smaller and more intimate Guelaguetza in the Villa de Etla, about 12 miles northwest of Oaxaca city. As far as I could tell, seven of the eight regions of the state of Oaxaca were present; only the Sierra Sur was missing. FYI: In the photos below, I purposefully left out the Plume dancers, who represented the Valles Centrales, as you will find plenty of photos of the Danza de la Pluma in my postings from the Fiesta de Preciosa Sangre de Cristo in Teotitlán del Valle. By the way, Chris at Oaxaca-The Year After posted a terrific Guelaguetza Guide to assist in identifying the regions of Oaxaca. It’s in Spanish, but even a non-Spanish speaker can learn quite a bit.
On a more serious note… I was reminded today by a Oaxaqueña friend, Guelaguetza in the city of Oaxaca is controversial. Tickets (available through TicketMaster, I might add) for reserved seating to the official performances on Cerro Fortín at the (newly renovated and hotly disputed) Guelaguetza Auditorium are beyond the reach of most Oaxaqueños, some events are sponsored by Coca Cola, hundreds of thousands of pesos of tax payer monies have been spent on the sound and light show (spectacular, as it is), nightly fireworks, bringing in celebrities, and slick, though often inaccurate, publicity. All is geared (well, not the inaccuracies) toward tourists; a boon to the restaurants and hotels around the zócalo. But…
Unfortunately, what is lost is that the Guelaguetza is supposed to be a celebration that brings together the extremely diverse indigenous communities, from the various regions of the state to share their crafts, food, dance. It wasn’t supposed to be crass commercialism that caters to tourists and well-heeled locals, at the expense of peoples who originated the tradition. And, my friend asked, along with admiring their costumes and colorful dances, wouldn’t a portion of the pesos be better spent attending to the real and extremely pressing needs of the poverty stricken indigenous communities, especially with regard to infrastructure and education?
However, yesterday in Etla, I caught, perhaps, a glimpse of the original meaning of Guelaguetza. Admission was free and open to one and all. Free tamales and beverages (alcoholic and non) were offered to the standing-room only crowd, along with the sombreros, baskets, fans, whisk brooms, tlayudas, and fruit that each of the delegations of dancers tossed to the audience at the end of their performances. After it was over, fellow blogger Chris and I looked around and realized, we were probably the only gringo and gringa in attendance. What an honor and privilege!
Mexican Peso Converter
View From Casita Colibrí 
