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Posts Tagged ‘Oaxaca’

Only mad dogs and Englishmen…

Posted in Churches, Travel & Tourism, Weather, tagged , , , , , , , on April 17, 2013| 10 Comments »

… go out in the midday sun!

For more than a week, most afternoons have found me holed up inside my apartment with curtains drawn against an unrelenting sun — a semi-successful attempt to retain the cool air I’d ushered in when doors and windows were thrown open first thing in the morning.

Empty sidewalk with sliver of shade

These May-like temperatures, in the mid to high 90s F during the day, have been THE major topic of conversation amongst Oaxaqueños, ex-pats, and visitors, alike.   If you must venture out, as I did yesterday, you hug that sliver of shadow.  Umbrellas come in handy too!

Woman walking in a sliver of shadow

The multiplex theaters on the outskirts of the city are some of the very few buildings with air-conditioning.  However, to get there, one must take a sweltering bus or taxi ride through traffic clogged streets, never knowing when a bloqueo or road construction will bring your retreat to a scorching halt.  A better alternative is to follow the lead of these priests processing into the Basilica and head to the nearest church.  Mil gracias to the architectural gods for their thick stone walls and soaring ceilings!

Procession of priests entering the Basilica

¡Hace mucho calor!  Time for a siesta…

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Like a bird on a wire…

Posted in Creativity, Culture, Music, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on April 15, 2013| 4 Comments »

More from the wall art at Calle Melchor Ocampo and La Noria.  I can’t help thinking of Leonard Cohen’s, Bird on a Wire.

Wall with painting of birds sitting on a wire

Like a bird on a wire,
Like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free.

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Sounding the alarm

Posted in Creativity, Culture, Internet, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on April 14, 2013| 6 Comments »

This post is especially for other WordPress bloggers.  I don’t know about you, but I’ve had problems with WordPress in the last 24+ hours, including not receiving any Daily Digests since April 12.  So, who knows if this will reach you…

According to a post at ars technica, “Huge attack on WordPress sites could spawn never-before-seen super botnet.  Ongoing attack from >90,000 computers is creating a strain on Web hosts, too.”  Forbes has a good article on “How To Avoid The Coming Botnet.”

artist: sanez

artist: sanez

Wall art from mural on Calle Prof. M. Aranda, next to Hotel Azucenas.

h/t Chris re the WordPress attack.

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Yummy, but what is it?

Posted in Exhibitions, Food, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , on April 12, 2013| 5 Comments »

Several days ago, my previously mentioned, indomitable, and always adventurous neighbor Marga brought me a bag of small reddish-orange flowers.  She waxed lyrical about their flavor (somewhat peppery) and crunchy texture, never mind the color they add to any dish.  The street vendor from whom she had purchased these delectable delights even hinted at their medicinal qualities.  Marga, what’s the name of the plant?  (The librarian planning to do a little research before consuming.)  Alas, she didn’t catch the name.

Small red flowers in a clay bowl

Anyone have an answer?  By the way, even without a name, they were a delicious addition to 3-days worth of salads.  I think I’ll show the photo to some of the chefs-in-training at today’s Feria Gastronómica…

Feria Gastronómica poster

Yummm….

Breaking news:   They are black bean blossoms (flor de frijol).  Mil gracias to Margie Barclay of the invaluable Oaxaca Calendar fame.  That was fast.  I love my readers!

Update, this just in:  They are scarlet runner bean flowers, according to another longtime Oaxaca resident.

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Carnaval, desaturated

Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Holidays, Religion, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , on April 10, 2013| 4 Comments »

Sometimes color seems like a distraction, so an experiment in de-saturation from the last day of Carnaval in Teotitlán del Valle.

The eyes have it
Dancing the jarabe is serious
Something in the way she moves
I’m coming, darlings
Shouldering a basket of offerings
Let me think about it
A jumble of offerings
The women watch
Shade, por favor
Bringing the xicapextle
Bucket full of blessings
Viejos with snake on a cane

For some outstanding up-close and full color photos, head over to Oaxaca-The Year After.

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Carnaval, el último día

Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Food, Holidays, Religion, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , on April 9, 2013| 3 Comments »

Friday we returned for another extraordinary day — the last day of Carnival.

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Again, muchisimas gracias to the gracious and generous people of Teotitlán del Valle.

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A little birdie told me

Posted in Animals, Casita Colibrí, Gardens, Science & Nature, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on April 7, 2013| 5 Comments »

Sparrow came by for a late breakfast on the bougainvilla this morning.  Guess, like my neighbor, (s)he didn’t realize Mexico “sprung ahead” last night to Daylight Saving Time.

Sparrow sitting on bougainvilla branch

Or, should I say, most of Mexico.  Teotitlán del Valle follows the sun and doesn’t set their clocks back.  Let the confusion begin!

Close-up of sparrow sitting in bougainvilla

So, maybe Sparrow is…

Living on Teo Time.
Living on Teo Time.
Gonna set my watch back to it
‘Cause you know that I’ve been through it.
Living on Teo Time.

(With apologies to Daniel W. Flowers, songwriter of Tulsa Time.)

Save

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Carnaval, el primer día

Posted in Celebrations, Culture, Holidays, Religion, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , on April 6, 2013| 2 Comments »

I’m playing catch-up with blog posts.  After the Good Friday Procession of Silence, I thought life would slow down a little.  That’s what’s happened in years past — I caught up on the “to do” list on the home-front, leisurely plowed through the hundreds and hundreds of photos from Semana Santa, did a little research and a lot of thinking about what I’d just seen and experienced, and then crafted a few blog posts.

That was before we found out that Teotitlán del Valle celebrates 5-days of Carnival after Easter, not before Lent!  A little levity after the solemnity of Semana Santa and in one of our favorite places was not to be resisted.  And so, blogger buddy Chris and I set out on Monday afternoon in search of the house in Sección 1 (the village is divided into 5 geographic areas) that was hosting the daytime fiesta that precedes the evening festivities in the Municipal Plaza.

Chihuahua #1
Chihuahua # 1 & 2
A few of the guys in the band
Our hosts and hostesses
Viejo #1
Viejo #2
Who is that masked man?
Oh, what a devil!
Watching the hilarity at the house
Viejos on parade
Joining the procession
Always mezcal!
Watching at the Municipal Plaza
Another masked man & woman(?)
Viejo presenting poleo to munical officials

We returned yesterday for the Sección 5 fiesta, so more to come.  Now it’s off to Tlacolula for the Nieve, Mezcal y Gastronomia Festival.

FYI:  For a more detailed explanation of this Carnival celebration and photos from last year by a professional photographer, check out Ann Murdy’s website.

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Lluvia!!!

Posted in Buildings, Travel & Tourism, Weather, tagged , , , , , , , on April 4, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Was it December?  Maybe it was November the last time the city saw rain… until this afternoon.  Those specks you see are very welcome raindrops on my window.

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It brought thunder and lightning, but fell gently.  It only lasted an hour, but cooled and cleansed the air.

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I can see clearly now…

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In darkness and silence

Posted in Celebrations, Culture, Holidays, Religion, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 3, 2013| 8 Comments »

The Semana Santa poster said the Viernes Santo (Good Friday) Procesión del Silencio was to begin at 6 PM in front of .  Knowing the drill, I arrived at 4:45 to take photos as contingents and participants arrived — but nobody was there.  The old antiwar slogan, “What If They Gave a War and Nobody Came” came to mind.

Of course it was going to happen, it’s just that time isn’t what it seems here. Word on the scene had it that, despite the poster info, it wasn’t to begin until 6:30 PM.  No worries!  Well, except that Mexico doesn’t begin Daylight Saving Time until next weekend, the light began rapidly fading, and 6:30 PM became 7 PM.  Por favor, let Oaxaca’s 27th annual Parade of Silence begin!

Señor de Esquipulas during the Procession of Silence, Good Friday 2013

And it eventually did — up Macedonio Alcalá, left at the Cruz de Piedra, left again on García Vigil to Independencia, another left, and back up the Alcalá.  And so, in darkness and silence the procession returned to the church where it all began.  Contingents could be heard late into the night parading through the streets of the city, as they returned the Jesuses and Marías to their respective home churches.

Lots more photos can be seen over at Oaxaca-The Year After.

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Penitent portraits

Posted in Celebrations, Culture, Holidays, Religion, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 31, 2013| Leave a Comment »

In Oaxaca the penitents gathered…

Purple hooded penitent

in front of Preciosa Sangre de Cristo on Good Friday…

3 black hooded penitents

preparing for the Procession of Silence.

Purple hoods behind black hooded penitent

For those who are wondering, “What’s with the hoods (capirotes)?”  The answer can be traced back to the Middle Ages.  Members of lay religious charitable organizations (cofradías) would don the masks and hoods to guarantee anonymity and promote humility in their service.

From the Holy Week in Seville, Wikipedia page:

At the heart of Semana Santa are the brotherhoods (Hermandades y Cofradías de Penitencia),[1] associations of Catholic laypersons organized for the purpose of performing public acts of religious observance; in this case, related to the Passion and death of Jesus Christ and to perform public penance.

The brotherhoods, besides the day-to-day work in preparation for the processions, also undertake many other self-regulated religious activities, and charitable and community work. Many brotherhoods maintain their own chapel, while others are attached to a regular parish.

The Spanish brought the tradition to Mexico and penitents continue to play a major role in the Viernes Santo, Procesión del Silencio in Oaxaca.

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Woman, behold your son

Posted in Celebrations, Culture, Holidays, Religion, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 30, 2013| 2 Comments »

And so Viernes Santo (Good Friday) began…

Mass said, a Vía Crucis (Stations of the Cross) procession through the streets of my neighborhood.

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Anybody up there listening?

Posted in Politics, tagged , , , , , , , , , on March 29, 2013| 1 Comment »

It may be Good Friday and the streets of Oaxaca may be blocked while processions marking the Stations of the Cross pass by and Mexico may be overwhelmingly Roman Catholic.  BUT, when it comes to politics, the Mexican constitution demands the church must mind its own business.

After Mexico court ruling, gay couple weds in Oaxaca

Two women became the first same-sex couple to marry in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca after the Supreme Court found the state’s definition of marriage unconstitutional, a gay rights group said Thursday.

Mexico City is the only jurisdiction in the deeply Catholic country that has authorized same-sex marriage.

But in December, the top court ruled that Oaxaca’s civil code, which states that marriage is only between a man and a woman for the purpose “to perpetuate the species,” violates the constitution.

The Oaxaca Front for the Respect and Recognition of Sexual Diversity, which had taken part in the legal challenge, announced Thursday that two women got married on March 22 during a private ceremony.

The two women, along with two other gay couples, had appealed to the Supreme Court after Oaxaca state authorities refused to marry them.

Gay rights groups have voiced hope that the court ruling would pave the way for the legalization of same-sex marriage across Mexico.

Argentina is the only Latin American country to authorize such marriages, while Uruguay is considering a similar law.

Mexico giving the USA a lesson in the separation between church and state.  U.S. Supreme Court, are you listening?

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Worm moon rising

Posted in Science & Nature, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , on March 28, 2013| 2 Comments »

La Luna del Gusano rises above the city of Oaxaca.

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I’ve got to say, “La Luna del Gusano” sounds so much more poetic than, “Worm Moon.”  Ahhh, the romance of Spanish.

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Lunes Santo in Teotitlán del Valle

Posted in Celebrations, Churches, Culture, Food, Holidays, Religion, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 26, 2013| 4 Comments »

Lunes Santo (Holy Monday) in Teotitlán del Valle provided another moving and memorable experience.  For some unknown reason, the village re-enacts the 14 stations of the cross on the Monday before Easter.  Following a special early morning mass at the Templo de la Preciosa Sangre de Cristo, statues of Jesus and the Virgin Mary are hoisted on platforms and carried from the church to signal the start of the day-long pilgrimage.  They are led by a band playing a mournful and dissonant tune as they set off to wind their way through the cobblestone streets of Teotitlán.

“Stations” are set up along the route by designated families — some are decorated with the village’s famous woolen tapetes (rugs).  Tamales, non alcoholic beverages (alcohol, even the ubiquitous mezcal, is forbidden during Semana Santa), and nieves (ices) are offered at others.  At all, the appropriate prayers are read, incense of copal is burned, and offerings, including of corn and lilies, are made.  And, as always, children have important roles to play.

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The procession is solemn and dignified and filled with pre-Columbian, along with Catholic, tradition and symbolism.  Like all the other ritual celebrations in Teotitlán del Valle, these are not performed for the benefit of tourists — they are some of the strands of the warp and weft that have woven this community together for thousands of years.

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