To all the loving fathers (biological and adoptive), stepfathers, grandfathers, and father figures everywhere, may you continue to do what you do.
¡Feliz Día del Padre a todos!
Posts Tagged ‘Oaxaca’
Happy Father’s Day
Posted in Celebrations, Holidays, Travel & Tourism, tagged Día del Padre, Father's Day, fathers and children, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, popular travel destinations on June 21, 2015| 4 Comments »
Never-ending tale of a velaria
Posted in Buildings, Culture, Travel & Tourism, tagged canopy, Guelaguetza Auditorium, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, popular travel destinations, velaria on June 18, 2015| 8 Comments »
La Guelaguetza is coming. However, the drama/comedy/telenovela/fairly tale (you take your pick) that is the Guelaguetza Auditorium velaria (canopy) has again grabbed Oaxaca’s headlines. “Why?” you might ask. Good question! Perhaps a little history is in order…
Once upon a time and for a very long time, the auditorium, perched on Cerro del Fortín high above the beautiful city of Oaxaca, was velaria-less — no canopy to protect spectators and performers from sun and rain. However, in 2009 the Big Bad Wolf, who was then the governor and in need of some good PR, decided to spend 104 million pesos to build a roof over the auditorium. The people did not like the governor, they did not like the expense, and they most certainly did not like the design — the word, el pañal (the diaper) frequently tripped off the tongue of many when describing it. Alas, the workmanship left much to be desired and the 2010 Guelaguetza had to be relocated to the university soccer stadium. The people were not happy!
By July 2011, a Prince Charming had replaced the Big Bad Wolf as governor, a new velaria was in place (though it still looked like a diaper), and La Guelaguetza returned to the hill overlooking the city. Cue mild applause.
Alas, the lackluster clapping came to an abrupt halt one evening in March 2012, when a moderate wind ripped the right wing (I kid you not) off. A sign?
A poll at the time ran 2:1 against replacing the velaria. Of course, no one listens to the people, though a week later, for the safety of all, the left wing of the cover was also removed.
Guelaguetzas 2012, 2013, and 2014 came and went and not much more came to pass. Yours truly even experienced the abbreviated velaria at last year’s performance, though I kept glancing up at the structure to make sure it was still intact.
The end of our story? No, of course not! In January, Sinfra (Ministry of Infrastructure and Sustainable Land Management) declared the saga must go on. Thus, in March of this year, it was trumpeted throughout the land that work on a brand new velaria was to commence. There would be no cost to the people, as the original company, the Big Bad Wolf’s friends at Lonas Lorenzo, would be footing the bill, and work would be completed in time for this year’s Guelaguetza. Though the people did not cheer, down came the old…
Completed in time for this year’s Guelaguetza, did I write? Well, into every tale a little drama must fall — today’s Noticias heralded the news that, alas and alack, due to a labor dispute, the work will not be finished in time for next month’s Guelaguetza performances. The people are not surprised. The world turns and the saga continues…
Welcome home
Posted in Flora, Gardens, Travel & Tourism, tagged Andrew Zimmern, Bizarre Foods, chicatanas, Night Blooming Cereus, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, popular travel destinations on June 12, 2015| 8 Comments »
I’m baack in home sweet home Oaxaca! Exciting flight — Andrew Zimmern and crew were on the little Embraer from Houston to Oaxaca. I see an episode from Oaxaca on Bizarre Foods in the future. Chicatanas, anyone?
Got home, turned on the lights — indoors and out, threw open the doors and windows, and found a couple of welcome home gifts from my night blooming cereus.
While I’ve been in el norte, Oaxaca’s rainy season has really kicked in. Thus, the garden is blooming, the hills are lush and green, and I had no hot water this morning. Ahhh… it’s good to be home!
More walls talking
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Travel & Tourism, tagged graffiti, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, street art, urban art on June 10, 2015| 4 Comments »
Looking forward to tomorrow’s return to Oaxaca, though not sure what I will find. So, in preparation, a little street art, apropos of nothing…
… and everything.
Election day sadness
Posted in Politics, tagged elections, Mexico, Oaxaca on June 7, 2015| 5 Comments »
I’m in el norte right now and, for once, I’m content to be 2000 miles from Casita Colibrí. I’m nearing the end of a 3+ week visit to both coasts and usually by this time I’m champing at the bit to return to Oaxaca, but not this time.
Today is election day in Mexico. These elections are, according to Raúl Benítez, a security expert at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, “the dirtiest elections since the advent of democracy in Mexico.” Aljazeera America proclaims, “A mounting body count and widespread disillusion with the govering [sic] elite threaten to mar midterm vote.”
And, two nights ago, under the cover of darkness, the federal government sent in the army, navy, and federal police to occupy Oaxaca and ensure the elections proceed. As I write, accounts and photos are being posted to Reportes en Oaxaca and the Facebook group, bloqueos y accidendes en Oaxaca of helicopters hovering, marches, and ballot boxes being burned el centro.
In the blog post, Oaxaca Occupied, poet, playwright, and friend, Kurt Hackbarth provides some insight into what brought Mexico to today’s state of chaos.
There are no words to describe how sad I feel for the people of Mexico — they deserve so much better.
Tricked out tuk tuks
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Transportation, Travel & Tourism, tagged art, Mexico, moto taxis, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, tuk tuk, urban art on June 5, 2015| 11 Comments »
VW Beetles aren’t the only tricked out small vehicles on the road in Oaxaca. While not allowed in the city, tuk-tuks (moto taxis) have become indispensible in ferrying passengers into the villages from bus and colectivo stops along the carreteras and up, down, and around the often narrow and dirt paved streets within villages where cars remain a luxury. You haven’t lived until you’ve ridden one down a rocky embankment, forded a stream, and then climbed back up the bank on the other side — all without tipping over or getting one’s feet wet. Talk about the little engine that could!
Most are utilitarian looking. However, one day these tricked out tuk tuks appeared above the Plaza de la Danza.
If you’ve got a little money and a large imagination, voilà!
Theft, of the cultural kind
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Travel & Tourism, tagged costumes, cultural appropriation, Isabel Marant, Mexico, Mixe, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, popular travel destinations, ReMezcla, Santa María Tlahuitoltepec, Susana Harp, traje on May 30, 2015| 31 Comments »
High in the mountains of the Sierra Norte, the village of Santa María Tlahuitoltepec sits perched on a ridge top in Oaxaca’s Mixe region. The terrain is rugged and unforgiving; it took rescue crews ten hours, much of it on foot, to reach the municipality following a lethal mudslide at the end of an extremely wet 2012 rainy season. Eight months later, in May of 2013, when blogger buddy Chris and I ventured up there for their Fiesta de Mayo, we still had to detour around the remains of the slide.
Santa María Tlahuitoltepec, May 11, 2013.
Despite the harsh conditions and its remote location, Santa María Tlahuitoltepec is home to the Center for Musical Training and Development of Mixe Culture and it is estimated that 70% of the population can read music and many who can’t, play by ear — a source of great pride.
Guelaguetza desfile, July 28, 2012
In addition to the musical talents of its residents, the village is known for the intricately embroidered blouses the women make and wear. The design of both the cut of the blouse and the patterns of embroidery are uniquely Santa María Tlahuitoltepec. If you see someone wearing one on the streets of Oaxaca, you know immediately where it came from. I have a blouse and Chris bought a couple to decorate the walls of his house.
Santa María Tlahuitoltepec, May 11, 2013.
However, in January of this year Oaxaqueña singer Susana Harp raised the alarm when she tweeted her outrage that the exclusive US department store Neiman Marcus was selling identical copies of the blouses of Santa María Tlahuitoltepec for $290 US dollars (six times what the originals cost in Oaxaca) — without even an acknowledgement of the origin of the designs. And, last week ReMezcla (a digital publisher, creative agency, and entertainment company targeting Latino millenials) took up the issue of this kind of cultural appropriation with it’s article, The $290 Isabel Marant Huipil Rip Off That Pissed Off Oaxaca’s Mixe Community noting that, “In the case of Isabel Marant’s new ‘bohemian’ Étoile line, however, it’s hard to even muster a flimsy cultural inspiration defense, since the Oaxacan Mixe culture the clothes were ‘inspired’ by have been completely erased from the narrative.”
I urge you to forgo these and other high-priced knock-offs. Instead, go to the source and buy originals from the talented artisans who created them. And, a note to ReMezcla, especially given the subject of your article, I would have appreciated credit for your use of my photograph (above) from the Guelaguetza desfile, that I originally posted July 22, 2013.
Update: A press conference by municipal authorities and embroiderers from Santa María Tlahuitoltepec was held on June 3 at at the Textile Museum of Oaxaca protesting the lack of respect by Isabel Marant for the creativity and work by the women of Tlahuitoltepec and the history and worldview that gave birth to their designs.
Posters for Ayotzinapa
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.
With fire in the hands
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Exhibitions, Immigration, Museums, Travel & Tourism, tagged artists, Casa de la Ciudad, Con el fuego en las manos, Cosijoesa Cernas, Darío Canul, Mexico, murals, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, popular travel destinations, Tlacolulokos, wall art on May 22, 2015| 4 Comments »
The previously mentioned Tlacolulokos collective has brought their artistry and social commentary to a wall on the upper floor of the Casa de la Ciudad. The mural, “Con el fuego en las manos” shows two young women, almost mirror images of each other or, perhaps, two sides of the same woman.
The young women/woman wear the traditional clothing of San Bartolome Quialana, a village near Tlacolula de Matamoros, home of the Tlacolulokos collective. Like communities throughout Oaxaca, much of the male population has migrated to the United States, in search of work leaving the women to carry on alone.
As the introduction to the exhibit on the Casa de la Ciudad website explains, With a critical view towards the current cultural context, Tlacolulokos group, headed by Darío Canul and Cosijoesa Cernas, seeks to question the idealized images of the Oaxacan culture, tourism product discourse, and insights from the reality currently experienced by the people of Oaxaca.
There are elements in her clothing belonging to the Latina culture of the southern United States, as the cholo bandana that she wears on her head, or the tattoos on her arms that add a critical and provocative tinge to this cultural mix, a product of migration. [ Google translation, with a little help from yours truly]
One of the trademarks of the Tlacolulokos group is the power their images acquire and the emotion they elicit by limiting the palette to black, white, and grays. For more background and a better understanding of the mural, a video (en español) of the artists discussing their work can be found here.
“Con el fuego en las manos” is scheduled to run until December 2015 at the Casa de la Ciudad (Porfirio Diaz No. 115, at the corner of Morelos in Oaxaca’s Historic District). Hours are 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM, Monday through Sunday.
Stick-to-itiveness
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Signs, Travel & Tourism, tagged art, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, popular culture, popular travel destinations, stickers, street art, street signs, urban art on May 18, 2015| 4 Comments »
Situated metaphorically at the busy intersection of imagery and content—and informed by history, mass media, commerce, and pop culture—stickers address both the personal and the political. — Street Art Graphics, The Richard F. Brush Art Gallery, St. Lawrence University.
Stick-to-itiveness: the quality that allows someone to continue trying to do something even though it is difficult or unpleasant.
Street art stickers — a metaphor for Mexico, methinks.
The gods are watching
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Travel & Tourism, tagged Diego Alvarez, Mexico, murals, Oaxaca, Ocote, photos, street art, urban art, wall art on May 16, 2015| 6 Comments »
Just so you know… The gods are watching you on Tinoco y Palacios, between Morelos and Matamoros.
Hmmm…. sometime between January, when I first photographed the mural and a few days ago, when I returned, an airplane landed on the tongue.
Recently, BBCtrending posted the video, Aztec to urban — Mexico’s street art explosion, highlighting the use of Mexico’s pre-Columbian imagery in contemporary street art. I don’t know the name of the artist who painted the mural above, but seeing the “Dioses Urbanos” of Diego Alvarez (aka, Ocote) in the video, brought it to mind.
The old school VW way
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Transportation, Travel & Tourism, tagged automobiles, cars, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, popular travel destinations, Vocho, Volkswagen Beetle, VW, VW bug on May 13, 2015| 6 Comments »
Long ago, in a land far, far away, I once had a Volkswagen Beetle. It was so old, it didn’t even have a gas gauge, only a reserve tank. My little bug would inevitably begin running out of gas when I was putt-putting up a hill, requiring me to take my foot off the gas pedal to kick over the reserve tank. Needless to say, I would hold my breath and offer up silent prayers that I wouldn’t get rear-ended and that there was, indeed, gas in the reserve tank! But, I loved that car…
So, only a block from Casita Colibrí, how could I resist stopping to admire this beauty?
Made in Oaxaca — or at least, tricked out in Oaxaca.
Ready to rally again on the Pan American Highway? It’s just up the road apiece.
Stay calm… Doing it the old school Beetle way!
Hmmm… last month’s Old VWs never die and now this post. Bugs, of the VW variety, might just have to become a regular feature.
Cactus flowers for Mother’s Day
Posted in Celebrations, Culture, Flora, Gardens, Holidays, tagged cactus, Día de la Madre, Echinopsis eyriesii, flowers, garden, Mexico, Mother's Day, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, popular travel destinations on May 10, 2015| 5 Comments »
Yesterday, on the terrace of my neighbor, his Echinopsis eyriesii was putting on quite a show…
Listening to the Putamayo World Music Hour’s tribute to mothers and sending mothers everywhere wishes for peace, justice, love, and much joy.
And, the librarian in me can’t resist adding a couple of Mother’s Day reference sources:
- Zinn Education Project, the origins of Mother’s Day
- BajaInsider, Mother’s Day in Mexico
¡Feliz día de la madre!
Día de la Santa Cruz pilgrimage
Posted in Celebrations, Culture, Holidays, Religion, Travel & Tourism, tagged Cerro Picacho, Day of the Holy Cross, Día de la Santa Cruz, El Picacho, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, popular travel destinations, Quie Guia Betz, Teotitlán del Valle on May 8, 2015| 6 Comments »
The sunburned shoulders have turned brown and the leg muscles are no longer sore. I’ve fully recovered from last Sunday’s annual Día de la Santa Cruz (Day of the Holy Cross) hike up Cerro Picacho (in zapoteco, Quie Guia Betz), the sacred mountain in Teotitlán del Valle.
All that remains, are memories and photographs from another lovely, if strenuous, day. The cicadas (cigarras or chicharras, en español) again provided the soundtrack, as we wound our way up the trail from the presa (dam). The climb begins rather benignly but rapidly gets steeper and steeper. That little speck in the lower right of the photo below is the car — and this was less than a tenth of the way to the summit!
At 10 AM, when we began our ascent, it was already hot and experience told us shade trees were few and far between. We were the only extranjeros (foreigners) on the trail and were frequently passed by Teotitecos (people from Teotitlán) going up and coming down and never failing to greet us with “buenos días.” After several rest and water sipping breaks, we eventually reached our destination.
This 2.9 mile (4.7 km) hike took us from 5,750 feet (1,752 meters) to 6,830 feet (2,082 meters). However, once we arrived, we were immediately offered much-needed and appreciated cups of agua de jamaica (hibiscus water) and later we were fed amarillo tamales pulled from steaming pots in the makeshift kitchen. No doubt, the gals in this alfresco cocina appreciated the newly constructed shade structure and counter that had been bolted into the side of the mountain, as I’m sure did the young man who sat down to serenade us.
However, the best was yet to come — the spectacular views of the village and the mountains beyond that unfold when one reaches the summit.
Even more overwhelming is the sense of oneness with the natural world and with generations of Zapotecos who have been climbing and honoring El Picacho for thousands of years.
As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, May 3 is Día de la Santa Cruz. The committee members who organize Teotitlán’s celebration change from year to year, so each year takes on a slightly different character. This year brought the newly built kitchen space and, unlike last year, no foot race up the mountain and the absence of massive speakers blasting music — for which we were grateful!
Three permanent crosses can be found atop Picacho and for Día de la Santa Cruz, all were decorated with fragrant garlands of frangipani blossoms. A cross of concrete and stone crowns an altar and two wooden crosses, which I’ve been told were carved in Chiapas, preside above the altar and look out over the valley.
Teotitlán (Teocaltitlán, in náhuatl) means “land of the gods.” Sitting on top of Cerro Picacho, it certainly felt as if I was indeed gazing out at the land of the gods.
Feliz 5 de mayo
Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Holidays, Travel & Tourism, tagged 5 e mayo, Cinco de mayo, graffiti, history, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, popular travel destinations, posters, stencil art, wall art on May 5, 2015| 7 Comments »
It’s Cinco de Mayo, but in Oaxaca, like most of Mexico, it’s a business as usual kind of day; schools are in session, businesses and banks are open, and deliveries are being made. The cervesas and mezcal may be flowing and guacamole may be served, but no more than usual. Only in Puebla, where the significantly outnumbered Mexican troops defeated the French army in the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, is it a big deal. However, most every city and village has a street named 5 de mayo and in many, like Oaxaca, a street has been named for Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín, the general who commanded the Mexican army at the Battle of Puebla. By the way, he was born in what was the Mexican village of Bahía del Espíritu Santo, now Goliad, Texas, USA.
As the walls of Oaxaca continue to show, it’s the current battles that remain front and center…
As the mother in the stencil above explains, against the odds like her ancestors 153 years ago, “I will fight today because I don’t want to see you die tomorrow.”
Want to translate this blog?
Where is Oaxaca?
Weather in Oaxaca?
What is the Exchange Rate?
-
Categories
-
Want to read recent posts?
- Here but soon there
- For the love of murals
- Numbers in my neighborhood
- Focusing on the joy
- ¡Feliz Nochebuena!
- Food glorious food!
- Of marigolds and fruit
- Serenade for the departed
- Beacon to my departed
- No Kings, Oaxaca style!
- Independence Day, Oaxaca style
- La Guelaguetza 2025 – live stream
- There and here
- Happy Birthday Oaxaca de Juárez
- A donkey not a warhorse
- Honoring the artisans
- Blogging in the time of…
- Valentine’s love from Oaxaca
- Taste of my return
- Felices fiestas to all!
Archives
What tags are most used?
art artists Ayotzinapa Barrio de Jalatlaco Basilica de la Soledad Black and white photography cactus California Carnaval Carnival Casita Colibrí celebrations cemetery Christmas convite coronavirus fallout costumes COVID-19 fallout dance dancers Danza de la Pluma danzantes Day of the Dead Día de los Muertos Día de Muertos Easter El Picacho festivals Fiesta de la Preciosa Sangre de Cristo flowers food food festival garden Good Friday graffiti Guelaguetza Holy Week markets mascaras masks mercados Mexican Independence Day Mexico murals music Oaxaca panteón papel picado parade parades photographs photos plants Plaza de la Danza popular travel destinations protests restaurants San Antonino Castillo Velasco San Martín Tilcajete Semana Santa skeletons stencil art street art students Teotitlán del Valle textiles Tlacolula de Matamoros traje travel trees urban art video Viernes Santo Virgen de Guadalupe wall artWant to email me?
-
This work by spixl is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Mexican Peso Converter
View From Casita Colibrí 