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Posts Tagged ‘photos’

Today is Guadalupe’s feast day.  This Queen of Mexico, Empress of America, and patron saint of Mexico is being celebrated all over Mexico and, apparently for the first time in Vatican history, today Pope Francis to Say Mass in Honor of the Virgin of Guadalupe.

In Mexico, it’s not just a one-day event.  Wednesday afternoon, while Chris and I were giving our previously mentioned presentation at the Oaxaca Lending Library, only blocks away festivities began with a religious ceremony at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe on the side of Llano Park.  It was followed that night with a calenda through the streets of the city.  Yesterday, Guadalupe’s children, the little Juan Diegos and their peasant sisters, were brought by parents (and grandparents) to the Templo de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe (at the north end of Llano Park), where they waited patiently in long lines to enter the church to be blessed and then be photographed in “Guadalupe” scenes.

However, on the streets of Oaxaca, Guadalupe is seen everywhere and everyday…

The other big news from Rome, that Oaxaqueños are celebrating, is the Wealth of Oaxaca craft present in the Vatican Museum — a Christmas tree and Nativity scene decorated with artesania crafted by 142 Oaxacan families from 25 municipalities in the state.  The exhibition was inaugurated on December 10 and will run through February 2015 — should you be planning a trip to Italy!

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As a background to the December 12, Fiesta a la Virgen de Guadalupe performance of the Danza de la Pluma in Teotitlán del Valle, mañana (Dec. 10, 2014) at 5:00 PM at the Oaxaca Lending Library, Chris (of Oaxaca-The Year After fame) and I are doing a presentation about the Danza de la Pluma in Teotitlán del Valle.

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From the library’s description of the talk, “The Danza de la Pluma or Dance of the Conquistadors is one of the most famous dances performed in Oaxaca.  Join Shannon and Chris for a presentation filled with photos and video of their many times observing and chronicling this beautiful dance.”

Alas, it’s not free.  Besides memberships, presentations like this are what keeps the library afloat.  The cost is 70 pesos for OLL members and 100 pesos for non-members.  Hope to see you there!

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Last Friday, I walked over to the B&B, El Diablo y la Sandía and walked into the highlands of Chiapas.

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It was the first of a 3-day expoventa of textiles by El Camino de los Altos

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and Chamuchic, two weaving collectives from Chiapas.  Their colors and designs are sophisticated and I wanted them all!

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Alas, the budget limited me to two pillow covers that have joined two solid colored brocaded covers that I bought at a similar expoventa a year and a half ago.

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I think they look great under my beautiful poncho woven by Amalia Martínez Casas.

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As if Thursday’s Thanksgiving of 2 turkeys, 2 styles of stuffing, 2 kinds of cranberry sauce, 2 types of potatoes (sweet and garlic mashed), and 2 desserts (pumpkin pie and chocolate cake) weren’t enough….  Believe it or not, Friday night, eating was again on the minds of neighbors (and co-Thanksgiving Day cooks) David and Marilyn and I, as we walked over to the Plaza de la Danza for the kickoff cena (dinner) of Oaxaca’s annual El Saber del Sabor gastronomy festival.

The transformation of the Plaza de la Danza began on Wednesday.

By Friday night’s dinner, it had morphed into an elegant banquet hall, with an open air rotisserie pit.

Fifty traditional cooks from the eight regions of Oaxaca offered guests a sample of the culinary wealth of the state.

The results were dazzling and delicious.  All for only 300 pesos (a little over $20 US)!

On a clear cold night, with the Basílica de la Soledad looming above, there was also mezcal and music to warm body and spirit!

Following Thursday night’s inaugural banquet, the festival moves to Oaxaca’s upscale restaurants and other venues where, along with workshops and lectures, seventeen renowned chefs from around Mexico will be offering specially created gourmet menus.  El Saber del Sabor closes tomorrow afternoon with a tribute to chef Pedro Ortega of Grupo Estoril, accompanied by a comida prepared by Ortega and three other distinguished chefs.  Yummm…  Alas, at 1500 pesos, it’s a little too pricey for me.

In previous years, El Saber del Sabor was held in late August and early September.  I don’t know why this year it was moved to the end of November, but I do know Friday night was a little chilly for an outside venue and, for gringos, it was way too close to Thanksgiving — the gluttony was almost (but not quite) too much!

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In the words of Flannery O’Connor, “Everything that rises must converge.”

Knot of many ropes against blue sky

In front of the Catedral Metropolitana de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción, the lonas rise and the ropes converge.

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Seating for twenty-two has been scavenged from around the apartment complex, tables (three of which are borrowed) are covered with oilcloth and set with plastic cutlery, cranberry sauce has been made, stock for gravy is simmering on the stove top, and the turkey has been stuffed and is currently roasting in my little oven.

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Turkey sellers on market day in Tlacolula de Matamoros, Oaxaca – Oct. 26, 2014.

Neighbors, a former neighbor, and the latter’s Oaxaqueño coworkers will be bringing another turkey, more stuffing, potatoes (mashed and sweet), pumpkin pies, and beverages.  Now to put together a playlist which, naturally, will include Arlo Guthrie’s, Alice’s Restaurant Alice’s Restaurant Massacree — a turkey day family tradition since 1967.

Inevitably our guests will ask, “So what exactly does Thanksgiving celebrate?”  Do we continue to pass along the myth or do we explain the inconvenient truth, “that the first official Thanksgiving Day celebrated the massacre of 700 Indian men, women and children during one of their religious ceremonies.”

Then there is the question, “How is this holiday celebrated in the USA?”  The following holiday rituals will no doubt be described:  Many televisions will be tuned to the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade of giant balloons and traditional turkey day football (North American) games.  And, as soon as the last piece of pie has been eaten, growing numbers people will be racing to the nearest shopping mall or computer to take advantage of early-bird “Black Friday” pre-Christmas sales.

However, in between the above, there is always dining table conversation — catching-up stories, old and new jokes, loving reminiscences, and the occasional arguments over politics and/or religion.  But, as the folks at the Presente.org Team wrote in an email to their subscribers this morning, for Latinos in the USA, “Thanksgiving dinner might be hard when you’re sitting across the table from a loved one who was left out of the President’s executive action. When the subject comes up, don’t drown your sorrows in a bottomless pitcher of gravy. We created a graphic to help you have that tricky conversation.”

Besides my wonderful family, friends, and blog readers, I am extremely grateful to be a guest in a country where, amidst the beauty and warmth of its people and land, it’s almost impossible to ignore awkward and difficult truths.  ¡Feliz Día de Acción de Gracias a tod@s!

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The 43 students from the Normal Rural Ayotzinapa teachers’ college in Guerrero are still missing.  Following Thursday’s Global Day of Action for Ayotzinapa mass demonstrations, “analysts and commentators across the Mexican news media spectrum began speaking of a modern day revolution now brewing in the country.

Street art: tilted chair with words

A tipping point?  I don’t know…

Angular  (Street art, Nov. 22, 2014 on a wall in Oaxaca.)

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Remember yesterday’s Thought for the day clowns?  Yikes, I just discovered I’d photographed them two weeks ago outside Estadio Eduardo Vasconcelos (baseball stadium) on my way home from the Lluvia de Estrellas charity home run derby and softball game.  Seeing the boy’s San Francisco Giants’ baseball cap, I had to stop them and take a photo.

Mother & son clowns

By the way, I was also wearing my SF Giant’s cap and they got a big kick out of that.  Gotta love this place!

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Yesterday morning, I opened the front gate and this is the first sight I saw…

Female & boy clown walking down street

“Life is a comedy to those who think and a tragedy for those who feel.” ― Horace Walpole

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Today is the 104th anniversary of the Mexican Revolution.  However, there is no joy; most of Mexico is in mourning for the missing 43 students and the anger is building.  In Mexico City the military parade and celebrations will be moved from the Zócalo to a military installation in the Polanco neighborhood.  A mass protest march will replace it.

Castigo a los responsables de la masacre el Ayotzinapa

Zócalo, Oaxaca de Juárez – Nov. 17, 2014

The country’s attention is focused on today’s Global Day of Action for Ayotzinapa.  Many will wear black today to mourn the loss of students, journalists, and others to violence in Mexico.  It is indeed a global event;  Greek students have posted a video in support of the missing students and their families.  They will be Standing in Solidarity in Salinas (California) and in at least 115 other cities around the world.  And, in Oaxaca, among many other events, at 4 PM there will be a Festival Por la Vida at Santo Domingo, one of 231 actions listed on a Facebook page.

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Sitting on a wall, high above Av. Independencia in Oaxaca city…

Tears welled up as I watched the march go by.

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The headline, Mexico Burns as Outrage over Student Disappearances Sparks Protests Against State-Backed Violence, from the Nov. 13 “Democracy Now” show, is not an overstatement.  Yesterday, in front of Santo Domingo…

Todos somos 43 in foreground; Santo Domingo in background

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Bottles with flowers propping up cardboard

The Caravana de Ayotzinapa, one of three caravans by the parents and supporters of the missing 43 students from the Escuela Normal Rural Raúl Isidro Burgos teachers’ college in Ayotzinapa, Guerrero, is scheduled to arrive in Oaxaca tomorrow morning (Nov. 17).  A procession from the crucero at Trinidad de Viguera to the zócalo in Oaxaca is scheduled to begin at 9 AM.  Given the prohibition against foreigners participating in political activity, as much as I would like to be there, I’ll be sticking close to home.

However, for my friends in the USA, check out photographer and writer Tim Porter’s article, #43; there are demonstrations coming to a city near you.  Tim is a frequent visitor to Oaxaca and, for my Marin peeps, his articles and photographs regularly appear in Marin Magazine.

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Yesterday, I walked through an enchanted garden…

Along with about 25+ other people from the Oaxaca Garden Club, I made my way to an orchid garden in San Andrés Huayapam.

What a treasure the privately funded, Orquideario “La Encantada” is!  For owner/gardener/collector, Octavio Gabriel, it is a 40+ year old passion and labor of love — and it shows.

The earthen pathways lead one up and down, through dappled light, along the slopes of a babbling brook.  The orquideario is sanctuary to about 1,200 species of orchids, along with companion epiphytes, ferns, bromeliads, and even a bamboo forest.

Orquideario “La Encantada” is located at the end of a dirt road off to the right, about 1 km beyond the presas (reservoirs), towards the village of San Andrés Huayapam.

The 100 pesos admission fee helps finance the orquideario.  I plan to return!  Octavio Gabriel’s book, Algunas Orquideas de Oaxaca is available to purchase for 350 pesos.

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When it seems as if we are surrounded by fear, hatred, and violence, it’s good to step back, look around, and remind ourselves that there is also generosity, love, and beauty in this world.  And so I give you my exquisite new mohair tapete (rug), custom woven for me by Antonio Ruiz Gonzalez.  It turned out even more beautiful than I imagined!

Antonio Ruiz Glz. and family standing in front of rug

Here is Antonio (on the left) in front of my new rug with his delightful family, including his brother Sergio (on the right) — from whom I’ve bought several small tapetes.  More about the latter, later!  Should you find yourself in Teotitlán del Valle, do stop by the family workshop (Av. Juárez No. 107), where Antonio, Sergio, and their father Zacarías weave their magic.

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A beautiful photo montage and song by Arturo Leyva honoring the 43 students of the Escuela Normal Rural Raúl Isidro Burgos, teachers’ college in Ayotzinapa, Guerrero.

The video uses some of the #IlustradoresConAyotzinapa illustrations, paintings, and embroidery by Mexican designers, artists, and artisans of the faces of the 43 student teachers of Ayotzinapa. 

In addition, journalist París Martínez has developed profiles of the 43 disappeared students by talking with their families and friends.

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