Container gardening, Oaxaca style.
I chuckle every time I pass by this planter on the sidewalk of Calle Heroico Colegio Militar in Colonia Reforma.
Posts Tagged ‘photos’
Reduce, reuse, recycle
Posted in Creativity, Environment, Flora, Gardens, tagged container garden, lavatory, Mexico, Oaxaca, photos, plants, popular travel destinations, recycling, sidewalk scenes, toilets on April 14, 2021| 3 Comments »
Yellow to green
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Health, Politics, Travel & Tourism, tagged ARCH (artist), Barrio de Xochimilco, Berza (artist), coronavirus fallout, COVID-19 fallout, El Tendajón, murals, photos, popular travel destinations, semáforo system, stencil art on April 11, 2021| 1 Comment »
The headline in NVI Noticias announced, despite an increase in COVID-19, the federal government declared that, as of tomorrow, Oaxaca will move from semáforo amarillo (yellow traffic light)…
… to semáforo verde (green traffic light).
Inquiring minds are wondering if the downgrading of COVID-19 risk has anything to do with the upcoming elections on June 6.
Look what the bunny brought!
Posted in Casita Colibrí, Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Food, Holidays, tagged alebrije, Bertha Cruz, Casita Colibrí, Easter dinner, Easter eggs, food porn, holiday dining, home cooking, Masea Trigo y Maíz, photos, terrace dining on April 7, 2021| 8 Comments »
Easter Sunday, Peter Cottontail, with a little help from his friends, hippity hopped his way to Casita Colibrí, bringing platters full of Easter joy.
A muchisimas gracias to my many-times-mentioned friend, neighbor, and talented cocinera, Kalisa, who dyed the eggs and prepared all but the dessert. The latter yummy decadent delight was purchased from Masea Trigo y Maíz. To quote another rabbit, “That’s all folks!”
(ps) My alebrije rabbit is by Bertha Cruz from San Antonio Arrazola, Oaxaca.
Sound of silence
Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Holidays, Neighborhoods, Religion, Travel & Tourism, tagged altars, Barrio de Jalatlaco, coronavirus fallout, COVID-19 fallout, cross, Good Friday, Holy Week, Mexico, Oaxaca, photos, Semana Santa, Viernes Santo on April 3, 2021| 4 Comments »
Alas, another silent Viernes Santo in Oaxaca due to the pandemic. No early morning processions from churches throughout the city converging in front of the Cathedral to reenact the encuentro where Jesús meets María going towards Calvary. No worshipers praying and reciting appropriate devotions as they moved from one sidewalk Estación de la Cruz (Station of the Cross) to another. And, no rhythmic beat of a tambor, high-pitched tones of a chirimía, and the sputtering sounds of rachets punctuating the hush of the crowds gathered along the route for the early evening Procesión del Silencio (Procession of Silence).
Only silent sacred vignettes accompanied yesterday morning’s Good Friday walk through Barrio de Jalatlaco…
Unlike last year when church doors remained closed and services were broadcast remotely, the Archbishop announced that this year the churches will be open for liturgical acts on Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday, albeit with a “limited presence of the faithful.”
A new day
Posted in Casita Colibrí, Flora, Gardens, Music, tagged balcony garden, flowers, Mexico, Night Blooming Cereus, Nina Simone, Oaxaca, photos, song lyrics Feeling Good on March 31, 2021| 4 Comments »
Yesterday morning a new day dawned and my first night blooming cereus flower of the season greeted me.
Today marks 21 days since my first Pfizer vaccine, yet the date, time, and place of my second vaccination is still unknown. However, during these challenging times, I’m channeling Nina Simone singing, Feeling Good.
Birds flying high you know how I feel
Sun in the sky you know how I feel
Breeze driftin’ on by you know how I feel
It’s a new dawn
It’s a new day
It’s a new life
For me
And I’m feeling good
Fish in the sea you know how I feel
River running free you know how I feel
Blossom on the tree you know how I feel
Dragonfly out in the sun you know what I mean, don’t you know
Butterflies all havin’ fun you know what I mean
Sleep in peace when day is done
That’s what I mean
And this old world is a new world
And a bold world
For me
Stars when you shine you know how I feel
Scent of the pine you know how I feel
Oh freedom is mine
And I know how I feel
Cactus down!
Posted in Casita Colibrí, Flora, Gardens, Travel & Tourism, Weather, tagged cactus, container garden, Euphorbia Trigona, Mexico, Oaxaca, photos, popular travel destinations, terrace garden on March 27, 2021| 2 Comments »
It’s the time of year when late afternoon winds come up, landing patterns change to often bring planes very low over the city, and the occasional top heavy plant topples over.
Tuesday morning I came out on the terrace to find my Euphorbia Trigona down. Prone, though it was, neither it nor its beautiful old maceta (flowerpot) suffered any damage. Both are now safely cradled in a wrought iron plant stand.
Indomitable bugs abound
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Transportation, Travel & Tourism, tagged automobiles, cars, Mexico, Oaxaca, photos, popular travel destinations, Vocho, Volkswagen Beetle, VW, VW Beetle, VW bug on March 23, 2021| 2 Comments »
In varying states of repair and disrepair and in a rainbow of colors, old but indomitable VW Beetles (known as Vochos in Mexico) are still seen tooling and sputtering their way around Oaxaca — an ideal car for navigating the narrow streets and limited parking in the city.
As the old Timex watch commercial used to say, “It takes a licking and keeps on ticking!”
Celebrating artisans in three huipiles
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Textiles, Travel & Tourism, tagged caracol, coyuche, Day of the Artisan, Día de las Artesanas y los Artesanos, huipil, indigenous textiles, indigo, Mexico, natural dyes, Oaxaca, photos, Pochote Xochimilco Mercado Orgánico y Artesanal, traditional blouses on March 19, 2021| 12 Comments »
Today, March 19, we celebrate Día de las Artesanas y los Artesanos. Apparently anticipating this day, in less than one month I have purchased three beautiful hand woven blouse length huipiles — and they each have a story.
On a walk up Macedonio Alcalá, en route to somewhere else, my neighbor Kalisa and I stopped to say hi to her favorite textile street vendor, Vicente, at his stall just beyond Santo Domingo. My eye was immediately drawn to the subtle color combination and style of the huipil above. As it turns out, it, unlike most of the textiles he had in stock, was dyed with natural dyes (including the rare caracol) and woven by his mother who lives in the Santiago Juxtlahuaca, in the Mixtec region.
The indigo and coyuche brocade huipil above is from the Mixtec village of Pinotepa de Don Luis and was the first in my trio of purchases. It was woven by a woman named Sebastiána and I bought it in response to an appeal by Stephanie Schneiderman to help support the weavers of that area during these pandemic days. It spoke to me the minute I saw it among the selection of huipiles for sale. Stephanie helped facilitate shipping it from Pinotepa de Don Luis to Oaxaca city and within a couple of weeks, it was hanging in my closet.
The third of my huipil purchases was another impulse buy. For several months, on Friday mornings, Kalisa and I have been making the trek up to the Pochote Xochimilco Mercado Orgánico y Artesanal in Colonia Reforma to stock up on fabulous fresh produce from the Sierra Norte, the occasional duck and chicken, cheeses, and fun shaped clay garden pots. However, the vendor of the plants and pots also sells a selection of huipiles from the Papaloapan region of Oaxaca and I fell in love with this Chinanteco one.
¡Feliz Día de las Artesanas y los Artesanos!
Fluttering in the wind
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Travel & Tourism, tagged Cuaresma decorations, cut paper, decorations, Jardín Sócrates, Jorge Prado (artist), Mexico, Oaxaca, papel picado, photos, popular travel destinations, shadows, stencil, urban art, wall art on March 16, 2021| Leave a Comment »
Looking up never ceases to make me smile, especially when papel picado (cut paper) garlands flutter in the breeze — images with holiday themes, celebrating rites of passage, and advertising local products.
They are even imprinted on walls.
We are in the midst of Cuaresma (Lent), though pandemic restrictions have canceled most public celebrations, we have the Liturgical colors of violet and white papel picado to remind us.
Even the neverías of Jardín Sócrates have gotten into the act.
Route to the vaccine
Posted in Health, Neighborhoods, Parks & Plazas, tagged coronavirus fallout, COVID-19 fallout, Covid-19 vaccine, lines of people, mass vaccination site, Mexico, Oaxaca, people waiting, photos, Plaza de la Danza, sidewalks on March 13, 2021| 17 Comments »
Tuesday night, Kalisa and I ventured out on another vaccine reconnaissance mission and found the number of people planning to spend the night in line wasn’t nearly as long as the night before. Ruling out sleeping on the sidewalk, we agreed to give it a try early Wednesday morning.
We rendezvoused at 6:15 AM, set off to find the end of the line, discovered it was already a block and a half longer, reassured each other that we can do this, and joined the line. Armed with reading material, we set our stools down and prepared to wait for our first jab of the Pfizer vaccine. Eating wasn’t a problem, as vendors regularly came by with food and drink and Mercado IV Centenario was only a few steps away. As for the “call of nature,” public bathrooms are available at the Mercado and Jardín Socrates nearby and a few businesses along our route had signs reading, “Baños 5 pesos.”
We froze for the first 3 hours in the morning. The temperature was in the low 50s (Fahrenheit) and we both were wearing sandals, short sleeve cotton blouses, and only had cotton rebozos (shawls) to keep us warm. The vaccinations were scheduled to start at 8 AM but our line didn’t start moving until 11:30 AM. It turns out, they gave the people in line on Morelos a number when they stopped vaccinations at 5 PM the day before, so they got first priority, along with anyone in a wheelchair.
One of the enjoyable aspects of our ordeal was getting to know our neighbors in the queue. Like most, they were sons, daughters, and grandchildren holding places in line for elderly relatives. This is the ethos of Oaxaca! Once the sun rose above the buildings and began beating down on young and old, we all sweltered in 80+ degree (F) heat. Despite bringing sun hats, Kalisa and I succumbed to purchasing umbrellas from one of the vendors going up and down the line. Another enterprising vendor was selling plastic stools, but since we had brought our own, he ignored us.
Once the line actually started moving, it only took 2 hours to get to the Plaza de la Danza, where our paperwork was processed, we got the vaccine, waited in an observation area for 15 minutes, and then left for home. 7-1/2 hours, door to door.
We were lucky, as they ran out of vaccine by 3:30 PM and Thursday’s vaccinations at the Plaza de la Danza were canceled. More is supposed to arrive, but no one knows when. As for our second dose, we were told they will announce via media when it will be offered AND promised to be better organized. Keep your fingers crossed!
Vaccine arrived and lines began
Posted in Health, Neighborhoods, Parks & Plazas, tagged Black and white photography, coronavirus fallout, COVID-19 fallout, Covid-19 vaccine, lines of people, Mexico, Oaxaca, people waiting, photos, Plaza de la Danza, sidewalks on March 9, 2021| 17 Comments »
The headline in this morning’s newspaper read, “Without strategy to avoid crowds, vaccination against COVID-19 begins in Oaxaca.” Here in the greater Oaxaca de Juárez metropolitan area, there are 11 vaccination sites, distributing 23,090 doses of the Pfizer vaccine to people over 60 years old who have registered on a federal government vaccine eligibility site. Because I am a Residente Permanente (official permanent resident), I also was able to register last month. The vaccinations are scheduled to be given today, tomorrow, and Thursday, from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM and my plan had been to walk over to the Plaza de la Danza, my designated site, at 7:30 this morning.
Given it’s only a block away, early last night my neighbor and I walked over to scope the set up out. Boy, were we in for a shock — masses of people already lined Avenida Morelos, the street leading to the Plaza de la Danza.
The young man above looking at his cell phone, sitting on a stool in front of the School of Fine Arts, was number one in line. He arrived at 8:00 AM yesterday — 24 hours early.
Looking at the photos, I’m sure you are thinking, those people in line are awfully young looking to be over 60 — and you would be correct.
The overwhelming majority of people who were camping out on the sidewalks of the city were holding places for their parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, godparents, and maybe even neighbors who were too old to spend the night on the streets.
The two guys in the foreground below were the last in the line on Galeana near Trujano at about 8:00 PM last night, though a couple more people were approaching as I was taking the photo.
The line snaked along at least six blocks. And, no, I did not join last night’s vigil. I will be patient, check the progress of the line a couple of times a day, and wait comfortably at home. According to a representative from Oaxaca’s Secretaría de Bienestar (Ministry of Welfare), there are enough doses for those registered and, should there be a need, they will get more. ¡Ojala!
Sky blue
Posted in Flora, Gardens, Science & Nature, Travel & Tourism, tagged blue sky, Clavellina, flowering trees, jacaranda, Mexico, Oaxaca, palm trees, Palo de rosas, papel picado, photos, popular travel destinations, Primavera amarilla, Primavera rosa, Shaving Brush Tree, trees on March 2, 2021| 14 Comments »
It is the time of year when the temperatures begin to reach 90º F and the Primavera amarillas, Jacarandas, Clavellinas, and Palo de rosas trees bloom.
It’s almost spring and Oaxaca has entered her sky blue period.
Prickly in Oaxaca
Posted in Casita Colibrí, Flora, Gardens, Travel & Tourism, tagged agave, cactus, coronavirus fallout, COVID-19 fallout, Mexico, nopal, Oaxaca, photos, popular travel destinations, tourism on February 26, 2021| 2 Comments »
This article, Tourists are welcome in Oaxaca, Mexico. Their increasingly bad behavior is not, is one of the reasons these images from my garden express how I’m feeling these days.
Then there is the fact that I haven’t set foot out of the city for exactly one year. Color me prickly and awaiting the vaccine.
Art creating an environment of inclusion
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Neighborhoods, Travel & Tourism, tagged "No Discriminación e Inclusión" mural, Barrio de Jalatlaco, Conquistando Corazones, gender equality, Mexico, Movimiento Vecinal, murals, Muxes, Oaxaca, photos, political movements, popular travel destinations, social change, street art, transgender, urban art, wall art on February 22, 2021| 8 Comments »
Returning from an errand in the Jalatlaco neighborhood, I was stopped in my tracks by this massive mural on Calzada de la República. It is titled, “No Discriminación e Inclusión” (No Discrimination and Inclusion), and was unveiled in October 2020 as part of the Movimiento Vecinal — a program created by the Sistema Estatal de Seguridad Pública de Oaxaca (State Public Security System of Oaxaca) to involve youth, through cultural, athletic, community, and educational activities, in the recovery, appropriation and rescue of public spaces. Importantly, a collaboration has also been established with the civil association Conquistando Corazones to eradicate violence towards the community of sexual diversity.
(Unfortunately, trees and other foliage prevented a clear photo of the entire mural and so I offer you the full mural in six parts — moving from left to right facing the mural.)
According to José Manuel Vera, Executive Secretary of Sistema Estatal de Seguridad Pública de Oaxaca, “We work to achieve equality and dignity for people based on their sexual orientation or gender identity and we continue to create spaces for youth that represent freedom of action and thought. In a just and egalitarian society, everyone has the right to their individuality, to be who they are, to do so in peace, without fear of rejection, hatred or violence, but rather enriched by diversity” (my translation).
Remembrance of Carnivals past
Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Holidays, Travel & Tourism, tagged Carnaval, Carnival, Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras, mascaras, masks, men dressed as women, Mexico, Muestra de Carnavales de los Valles Centrales, Oaxaca, painted bodies, parades, photos, San Martín Tilcajete on February 16, 2021| 12 Comments »
If all was right with the world, on this Día de Carnaval (aka, Carnival, Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras, Shrove Tuesday), the day before Christians celebrate the beginning of Lent, I would be in San Martín Tilcajete — where the streets would be alive with the sound of bells, as los encabezados (guys covered in motor oil or paint and wearing cowbells tied around their waist) roam the streets startling the unaware, making mischief, and welcoming all to the festivities.
2014
2015
This predominately Zapotec village has seized on the holiday, brought to Mexico by Spanish Catholicism, to create elaborate masks to showcase its woodcarving skills. It is no coincidence that Carnival conveniently coincided with indigenous festivals celebrating the “lost days” of the Mesoamerican calendar, “when faces were covered to repel or confuse evil.” It is also no surprise that it caught on, “because it was one time when normal rules could be broken especially with the use of masks to hide identities from the authorities” — and make fun of them.
2016
2017
The festivities revolve around a mock wedding — a parody of a traditional village wedding. It includes much pomp and circumstance, hilarity, music, food, and fireworks. Young and old move from the houses of the principal players to City Hall for the “civil ceremony,” dancing in the plaza, followed by another procession through the streets to another house where the happy “couple” kneel before a “priest” for the religious ceremony. You might want to take a second look at those beautiful wedding guests with the smoldering eyes and modeling the gorgeous gowns. They are not what they seem — and neither is the bride.
2018
2019
2020
San Martín Tilcajete isn’t the only village in Oaxaca that celebrates Carnaval in its own wild and wacky way. Beginning in 2019, in an effort to promote tourism to other villages, residents and visitors in Oaxaca city have been treated to a boisterous parade down the Macedonio Alcalá on the Saturday preceding Fat Tuesday sampling the pre-Lenten traditions from various parts of the state. Though festivities were canceled due to Covid-19, the city’s tourism department put together a video of celebrations from past years by several villages.
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