Sometimes you just have to stop and gaze…
This morning outside Mercado Sánchez Pascuas.
Posted on Cee’s Flower of the Day.
Posts Tagged ‘photographs’
Hibiscus and a wall
Posted in Flora, Science & Nature, Travel & Tourism, tagged flor de jamaica, flowers, hibiscus, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, pink wall on October 20, 2017| 4 Comments »
Art of social conscience
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Travel & Tourism, tagged Ayotzinapa, corn, graphic arts, La Unión Revolucionaria de Trabajadores del Arte, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, popular travel destinations, street art, URTARTE, wall art on October 16, 2017| 5 Comments »
URTARTE — La Unión Revolucionaria de Trabajadores del Arte (the Revolutionary Union of Art Workers). You have no doubt seen their work around the city of Oaxaca.
The black and white lines of resistance defending heritage corn from an invasion by the moneyed interests of el norte.
Demanding justice for the 43 student teachers from Escuela Normal Rural Raúl Isidro Burgos in Ayotzinapa, Guerrero — still disappeared after three years.
And yesterday I discovered this masterpiece…
Celebrating the creativity, hard work, and dignity of the women and men living in the villages of Oaxaca.
A reminder of the people whose roots run deep into the soil and who make Oaxaca such an exceptional place.
Difuntos on the move
Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Holidays, Travel & Tourism, tagged calacas, Day of the Dead, Día de Muertos, Mexico, murals, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, popular travel destinations, skeletons street art, Villa de Zaachila, wall art on October 14, 2017| 2 Comments »
Día de Muertos is coming…
That means the departed will soon return to eat, drink, and be merry with their living loved ones.
Due to earthquake damage the Panteón General in the city is closed, but the traditional evening of the dead will take place at the Panteón Xochimilco.
As the schedule of over 100 cultural activities (between October 28 and November 4) states, despite earthquakes and hurricanes, “Oaxaca is more alive than ever!”
A gal’s gotta eat
Posted in Animals, Casita Colibrí, Food, Restaurants, Science & Nature, Travel & Tourism, tagged Argiope, Carniceria Sonora, chile en nogada, comida, Las Quince Letras, lunch, Mexico, Oaxaca, orb weaver spiders, photographs, photos, popular travel destinations, tacos on October 12, 2017| 6 Comments »
Lunch coming down out of the mountains in Colorado…
Tacos at Carniceria Sonora in Clifton, CO
Back in Oaxaca in time for a comida of September’s traditional dish…
Chiles en Nogada at Las Quince Letras Restaurante in Oaxaca de Juárez
And, not to be left out, Argiope showing off her freshly caught brunch…
Flies or bees or one of each on the terrace at Casita Colibrí
Gals, be they human or arachnid, have got to eat!
Pineapple dance textiles
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Exhibitions, Museums, Textiles, Travel & Tourism, tagged Chinanteco, Cuenca del Papaloapan region, dresses, Flor de piña, huipil, La Piel de Mi Raza exhibition, Mazateco, Mexico, Museo Estatal de Arte Popular Oaxaca (MEAPO), Oaxaca, photographs, photos, popular travel destinations, San Bartolo Coyotepec, textiles on October 9, 2017| 3 Comments »
Since its creation in 1958, the Baile Flor de Piña (aka, the Pineapple Dance) has been bringing audiences to their feet at the Guelaguetza every July. The energy and choreography is a cross between the Rockettes and Busby Berkeley, but the costumes are pure Oaxaca — the Mazateca and Chinanteca huipiles are a showcase of color, design, weaving, and embroidery from the Papaloapan region.
Flor de Piña, La Guelaguetza – July 2015
The Mazatec and Chinantec peoples are 2 of the 16 indigenous groups living in the state of Oaxaca. For those who are as captivated by their textiles as I am, the Museo Estatal de Arte Popular Oaxaca (MEAPO) in San Bartolo Coyotepec currently has a fabulous exhibition, La Piel de Mi Raza, which features more than 55 Chinanteco and Mazateco textiles from the Papaloapan — some over 200 years old.
Mazateca huipiles are recognized by their hand-embroidered bird and flower motifs.
Mazateca huipiles
“Everyday” Mazateca huipil from San Miguel Soyaltepec
“Dressy” Mazateca huipil from San Felipe Jalapa de Díaz
“Everyday” Mazateca huipil from San Miguel Soyaltepec
Antique Mazateca huipil from San Pedro Ixcatlán
The Chinanteca huipiles are woven on backstrap looms with the bird, tree, Quetzalcoatl, and geometric designs embroidered or brocade woven into the piece.
Chinanteca huipiles
“Dressy” Chinanteca huipil from San Juan Bautista Valle Nacional
Antique Chinanteca huipil from San Felipe Usila
“Dressy” Chinanteca huipil from San Felipe Usila
Antique Chinanteca huipil from San Felipe Usila
The exhibition is located in the upstairs gallery of MEAPO and runs until November 10, 2017. By the way, if you haven’t been to the Museo recently, you are in for a surprise — the first floor has been divided into several galleries, allowing for multiple exhibits and providing for a more intimate experience.
And, for the fascinating and controversial background of the Flor de Piña, read Stephanie Schneiderman’s article, Baile Flor de Piña & Guelaguetza: Cultural Preservation.
Eight-legged visitors
Posted in Animals, Casita Colibrí, Science & Nature, tagged Araneidae, Argiope, Casita Colibrí, garden, Mexico, nature, Neoscona oaxacensis, Oaxaca, orb weaver spiders, photographs, photos, spider webs on October 5, 2017| 6 Comments »
If you suffer from arachnophobia, you might want to click away from this post.
You were warned, so I will continue… Two spiders, a Neoscona oaxacensis and an Argiope, have taken up residence on my terrace. This isn’t the first time I have played hostess to these two kinds of orb weaver spiders.
Neoscona oaxacensis (back)
Neoscona oaxacensis (underside)
My latest guests arrived a week ago and have been settling in ever since. Their webs are strung across neighboring plants, though the Argiope’s also extends across a walkway onto the deck. Unfortunately, a few days ago, I inadvertently walked through it but, undeterred, she rewove it in the same place. So I have blocked the route with an extremely spiky cactus, to prevent further human destruction.
Argiope (top)
Argiope (underside)
Aren’t my new visitors beautiful? By the way, they eat insects and are harmless to humans, so nothing to be afraid of!
Thanks Teotitlán, I needed that!
Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Holidays, People, Religion, Travel & Tourism, tagged dance, dancers, Danza de la Pluma, danzantes, Doña Marina, Feather dance, Fiesta de la Virgen del Rosario, Malinche, Mexico, Moctezuma, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, popular travel destinations, Subalternos, Teotitlán del Valle on October 2, 2017| Leave a Comment »
Yesterday, after missing the Fiesta de la Natividad because I was in the middle of my 6-week cross-country sojourn in el norte, I managed (courtesy of blogger buddy Chris and his trusty VW Jetta) to make it out to Teotitlán del Valle for the last day of the Fiesta de La Virgen del Rosario and performance of the Danza de la Pluma.
Sergio Gutiérrez Bautista (Moctezuma)
The dance is day-long and recreates the Spanish Conquest from the Zapotec point of view.
Quetzali del Rayo Santiago Ruiz (Malinche)
Elizabeth Hernández Gutiérrez (Doña Marina)
Miracle of miracles, the rain held off, the clouds parted, and the sun made a much welcome appearance.
Foreground: Marcos Vicente Gutiérrez (Capitán 1 ro.)
Foreground: Edgar Daniel Ruiz Ruiz (Vasallo 8vo.)
As we approached the atrium of the Templo Preciosa Sangre de Cristo, the father of one of the Danzantes explained a venue change — due to some (hopefully) minimal earthquake damage to one of the bell towers of the church, the Danza de la Pluma was moved next door to the plaza in front of the municipal building.
Juan Bautista Ruiz (Subalterno)
Florentino Martínez Ruiz (Subalterno) and Señor Inocencio
A heartfelt muchisimas gracias to the people of Teotitlán del Valle, many of whom I am so lucky and grateful to call friends. The warm welcome I received was such an incredible tonic to the grey days we have been experiencing in Oaxaca.
Ayotzinapa, 3 years, no answers
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Politics, Protests, Tragedy, Violence, tagged Ayotzinapa, disappeared, Escuela Normal Rural Raúl Isidro Burgos, Espacio Zapata, graphic arts, Guerrero, Iguala, Mexico, murals, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, stencil art, street art, student teachers, wall art on September 26, 2017| 8 Comments »
I can’t believe it has been three years since 43 student teachers went missing one night in Iguala, Guerrero. And, I can’t believe the key questions remain.
Who is responsible? What happened that night? Where are they? Why are there still no answers? How can 43 human beings be disappeared so completely? When will the truth be revealed?
In the midst of our current tragedies, let us not forget the 43 normalistas from Escuela Normal Rural Raúl Isidro Burgos, Ayotzinapa, Guerrero.
Three years without answers must seem like an eternity to their families….
Surfin’ safari
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Environment, Geography, Science & Nature, Travel & Tourism, tagged cars, earthquake, Earthquake Track, Mexico, murals, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, street art, wall art on September 24, 2017| 2 Comments »
Here in Oaxaca we continue surfing the temblors and tormentas…
Calle de Ignacio Allende at the corner of Tinoco y Palacios
Torrential downpours and flooding have returned. Aftershocks from the September 7 earthquake continue. But, aside from difficulty navigating the flooding and potholes, suffering from frayed nerves, and being worried sick about friends and family in the critically affected areas of central and southern Mexico, we are okay in the city and surrounding villages.
Re geography: Oaxaca is the name of both a state and its capital city. The epicenter of the September 7th earthquake in Oaxaca was in the southeast part of the state — as the crow flies, it is almost 150 miles and through the Sierra Madre del Sur mountain range from Oaxaca city. To see where Oaxaca’s earthquakes are happening, check out Earthquake Track.
Oaxaca pride
Posted in Casita Colibrí, Creativity, Culture, Music, People, Travel & Tourism, tagged agave, benefit, concert, earthquake, earthquake relief, flowers, Francisco Garcia Vásquez, Lila Downs, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, sculptures, Susana Harp, Tehuana, video on September 18, 2017| 4 Comments »
A skein of yarn waiting to be woven…
Agave blossoms reaching for the sky…
Ceramic sculpture of a Tehuana by Fran Garcia Vásquez.
Ooops, a broken arm! It seems appropriate that my only casualty from the 8.2 earthquake depicts a woman from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec — the region where some of the most severe damage in the state of Oaxaca occurred. However, like the people she represents, she is strong, proud, and healing will happen.
If you want to help the victims of the September 7 earthquake, please see my previous post. If you do, reward yourself by watching last night’s benefit at the Guelaguetza Auditorium, Oaxaca Corazón. And, if you don’t, perhaps this spectacular concert will encourage you to donate to earthquake relief.
This all-star event, organized in less than a week by Lila Downs and Susana Harp, will have tears falling — I guarantee it!
Swimming upstream
Posted in Archaeology, Creativity, Culture, Environment, Travel & Tourism, tagged flooding, graffiti, Mexico, Monte Albán, murals, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, rain, street art, wall art, weather on September 5, 2017| 10 Comments »
Oaxaca continues to be inundated with rain. I’m in Colorado now (inhaling smoke from fires throughout the west), but friends in Oaxaca are describing flooding, leaking roofs, water coming through windows and doors, and rain without end. Today’s news is reporting more than 13 communities are incommunicado and that urban development is a major cause of flooding by the Atoyac River that runs through the valley of Oaxaca.
Perhaps there are lessons to be learned from the builders of Monte Albán, where the Pre-Hispanic drainage works better than current systems.
Still life in yarn
Posted in Culture, Textiles, Travel & Tourism, tagged Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, Teotitlán del Valle, textiles, yarn on September 1, 2017| 4 Comments »
Wool was brought to Teotitlán del Valle in the 16th century…
Spun into yarn…
Dyed with natural dyes…
In the 20th century, less labor intensive aniline dyes were introduced…
However, now many weavers are returning to their roots — harvesting and using natural dyes.
The history, culture, and art that is yarn is alive and well and living in Teotitlán del Valle.
Nature’s balance
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Exhibitions, Travel & Tourism, tagged art installation, Carolyn Kallenborn, Erasto "Tito" Mendoza, mixed media artwork, photographs, photos, Sebastopol Center for the Arts, tapetes, textiles on August 28, 2017| 11 Comments »
In June, I finally had a chance to meet fiber artist, Carolyn Smythe Kallenborn. In 2012, I’d been captivated by and wrote a small blog post about her “Tormentos y Sueños” exhibition at the Museo Textil de Oaxaca. So, I was thrilled to meet her at the Weave a Real Peace (WARP) annual meeting held this year in Oaxaca. We chatted a couple of times during the conference, but it was the final evening, as many of us were standing in the lobby of the hotel waiting for the business meeting to begin, that Carolyn provided us with a real treat — renown weaver Erasto “Tito” Mendoza, from Teotitlán del Valle, delivered a tapete that was to be used in a collaborative work with Carolyn.
We were all in awe as he unrolled his creation for us to behold. ¡Espectacular! was the response from all. Then Carolyn began describing how she would use mixed media to embellish this woven illustration of the balance of Mother Earth. However, aside from a hazy picture in my mind, I really had no idea what the finished work would look like. Then synchronicity came to pass… an announcement that the fruit of their collaboration, Equilibrio/Balance, had won the Surface Design Association, Award of Excellence at the International Fiber Arts VIII exhibition at the San Francisco Bay Area’s Sebastopol Center for the Arts. And, best of all for me, the show coincided with my Bay Area visit. Without much difficulty, I managed to persuade B (of Week in Oaxaca fame), who had fallen in love with the tapetes of Teotitlán AND lives in Sebastopol, to accompany me to the exhibition a few days ago.
Equilibrio/Balance traces cycles of nature: water through earth and sky; elements of previous life, feeding new growth; and the conversation between the mountains and the universe above. — object label
This is one of seventy pieces in this International Fiber Arts show. Like Equilibrio/Balance, most of the works are not only visually stunning, but also have much to say about our world and contemporary life. If you are in the Bay Area and love textiles, I highly recommend making your way to the Sebastopol Arts Center by September 3, when the show closes.
Week in Oaxaca – Day 6
Posted in Markets, Restaurants, Travel & Tourism, tagged Criollo restaurant, markets, Mercado de la Merced, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, popular travel destinations, Week in Oaxaca on August 19, 2017| 6 Comments »
Sunday was the last day of B’s Week in Oaxaca and he had some last-minute shopping to do. Family back home had requested a stack of tlayudas (also spelled, clayudas), the 12″ diameter handmade and dried tortillas, and quesillo, Oaxacan string cheese. The closest mercado to B’s hotel was Mercado de la Merced. It’s one of the best in Oaxaca city — selling fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts and dried chiles, healing herbs and incense, meats and poultry, breads and cheeses, baskets and oil cloth, housing juice bars and small restaurants (like the well-known Fonda Florecita), and more — almost everything one could ever need. These mercados make shopping social and fun — way more enjoyable than impersonal supermarkets and shopping malls.
After purchasing the requested items and wandering up and down the maze of aisles, we returned to B’s hotel to off-load the cheese (hotel’s refrigerator) and tlayudas (spread out on the bed to dry). Our appetites having been stimulated, we walked across the city to the off-the-beaten-path location of Criollo, the year-old creation of Chef Enrique Olvera (Pujol in Mexico City, Cosme in New York), Chef Luis Arellano (originally from the Cañada region of Oaxaca), and architect Javier Sánchez.
It was a good thing we were famished, as the 7-course tasting menu was more than enough. However, each plate brought such deliciousness, we happily continued on. And, the setting? While on an extremely busy street, once one steps inside this modern take on the traditional colonial courtyard, a sense of peace takes over. Sated, we wandered to their orchard at the back of the restaurant, where we were warmly greeted and offered a cup of poleo tea brewed in the outdoor kitchen set in the orchard. Our hostess explained this kitchen allows for the traditional preparation of some of the menu items. In addition, she pointed to another building that she explained was going to be a culinary bed and breakfast.
By the time we left Criollo, it was late afternoon. Before B returned to his hotel and I to my apartment, we marveled at what a full, delicious, and delightful six days it had been.
Just a note: A week isn’t nearly enough time to experience all that Oaxaca city and surrounding villages have to offer. We never made it to the Sunday market in Tlacolula de Matamoros, Hierve el Agua, Centro de las Artes de San Agustín (CASA), the alebrije pueblos of San Martín Tilcajete and San Antonio Arrazola, San Bartolo Coyotepec for their black pottery and Museo Estatal de Arte Popular de Oaxaca (State Museum of Folk Art (MEAPO), Santa María Atzompa for green pottery and the archaeological site, the Pueblos Mancomunados of the Sierra Norte, and then there are the mezcal palenques in the valley of Oaxaca. I guess B will just have to come back!
Week in Oaxaca – Day 5
Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Libraries, Restaurants, Travel & Tourism, tagged Centro Fotográfico Manuel Álvarez Bravo, IAGO, Instituto de Artes Gráficas de Oaxaca, MACO, Mexico, mural, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Palacio de Gobierno, photographs, photography exhibitions, photos, Pitiona, pop-up restaurant, Waje, weddings, Week in Oaxaca on August 13, 2017| 4 Comments »
Our first stop on day five of B’s Week in Oaxaca was the Palacio de Gobierno to see the magnificent Mural of Oaxaca history. Ooops! I had forgotten that the Government Palace was now closed to the public. However, a polite appeal to see the mural, addressed to one of the guards by a couple of tourists (okay, one tourist and one resident), resulted in the guard receiving permission from a superior to let us in. We were instructed, mural only! We obeyed, walking only half-way up the grand staircase to take in the entire work of art. I love this mural by Arturo García Bustos and hope the palacio will again be opened to the public.
Once we had finished marveling at the Bustos history of Oaxaca, we walked up the Macedonio Alcalá to the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Oaxaca (MACO) to check out the Espejos de Cal mural being painted in the courtyard by Jesús González. Engrossed in watching the mural unfold and fascinated in the technique explained by the artist’s Russian assistant, we never made it inside this treasure of a museum. Next time!
We strolled further up the Alcalá to the Instituto de Artes Gráficas de Oaxaca (IAGO), founded in 1988 by renown artist, philanthropist, and social activist, Francisco Toledo. First we wandered through the exhibition rooms and then into the impressive library. The 60,000+ books on art, architecture, design, photography, and much more is one of the most extensive arts-related collections in Latin America. A photography professor friend raved to me about finding a book at IAGO that he had been searching for and B (the architect) was ooh-ing and ahh-ing at titles he eyed — and pulled a few off the shelves to leaf through. IAGO also hosts lectures, conferences, musical performances, workshops, poetry readings, and film showings.
Needless to say, by the time we finally left, we were hungry. Lucky for us, the acclaimed restaurant Pitiona was only a block away. Born in Pinotepa Nacional, Oaxaca, Chef José Manuel Baños spent time in Spain under the tutelage of innovative chefs Feran Adrià and Juan Mari Arzak. However, as the name Pitiona (a native herb frequently used in Oaxacan cooking) suggests, the starting point for Baños is local ingredients. The simple elegance of the old colonial building and attention to detail in table settings, service, and especially food, made for a sublime interlude in the day’s activities.
We descended the stairs of Pitiona to the sound of music coming from the atrium of Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzmán. It was Saturday and that means wedding day at Santo Domingo – each featuring a band, folkloric dancers, marmotas (giant cloth balloons), bride and groom monos (giant puppets), a wedding procession down the Alcalá, and scores of tourists and locals stopping to watch — which we did, too!
Our final stop was at the photography museum Centro Fotográfico Manuel Álvarez Bravo, another brainchild of Francisco Toledo. The museum has over 18,000 photographs in its permanent collection, including by its namesake Manuel Álvarez Bravo, his first wife Lola Alvarez Bravo, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Tina Modotti, Guillermo Kahlo (yes, Frida Kahlo’s father), and Mary Ellen Mark. Works from the collection and by photographers from all over the world are exhibited in galleries surrounding a beautiful courtyard featuring a reflecting pool.
However, that wasn’t the end. After a siesta, we gathered with eight other diners for a Waje pop-up dinner. The June menu was an homage to mole and the setting was at the restaurant Mezquite Gastronomia Y Destilado where Waje chef, José Daniel Delgado is the new chef. As always, José Daniel and his Waje team provided a creative, delicious, and delightful evening. An added bonus was being seated across from Jason Cox, co-owner and mezcal steward of El Destilado — a restaurant I definitely need to try.
Only one day left in B’s Week in Oaxaca. Where to go? What to do? Stay tuned!
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