After two weeks of San Francisco Bay Area grey skies and cold atmospheric river weather, I’m dreaming Oaxaca winter blue sky dreams.
Singing Blue Skies along with Ella Fitzgerald.
Posts Tagged ‘photos’
Nothing but blue skies
Posted in Casita Colibrí, Music, Neighborhoods, Travel & Tourism, Weather, tagged Blue Skies (song), blue sky, chain link fence, Mexico, Moon, Oaxaca, papel picado, photos, popular travel destinations, roof dogs, winter weather on January 6, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Goodbye 2022 / Hello 2023
Posted in Animals, Casita Colibrí, Creativity, Culture, Holidays, Neighborhoods, Travel & Tourism, Weather, tagged Año Nuevo, calenda, Casita Colibrí, Chiles en Nogada, Chinas Oaxaqueñas, Efedefroy, grasshoppers, I Hope You Dance lyrics, Mexico, murals, New Year's Eve, Oaxaca, photos, quiote, rainbows, rooftop garden, salads, stencils, street food stall on December 31, 2022| 17 Comments »
2022 began with rainbows and ended with fab food, friends, and family — a good way to say hello and goodbye to a year that continued to bring serious challenges to this planet we call home. In my little Oaxaca corner of the world, the year had its circumstantial complexities but also was filled with visits from old friends, becoming more familiar with my Jalatlaco neighborhood, “any excuse gatherings” with my most excellent neighbors, and several adventures with BFFs in and out of the city.
Words can’t begin to express how grateful I am to you all for reading, commenting, and following my blog. You kept me going during the worst days of the pandemic and continue to inspire me. Thus, my 2023 wish for you is…
I Hope You Dance
Written by Mark D. Sanders and Tia Sillers
I hope you never lose your sense of wonder
You get your fill to eat
But always keep that hunger
May you never take one single breath for granted
God forbid love ever leave you empty handed
I hope you still feel small
When you stand by the ocean
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens
Promise me that you’ll give faith a fighting chance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance
I hope you dance
I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance
Never settle for the path of least resistance
Living might mean taking chances
But they’re worth taking
Lovin’ might be a mistake
But it’s worth making
Don’t let some hell bent heart
Leave you bitter
When you come close to selling out
Reconsider
Give the heavens above
More than just a passing glance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance
(Time is a wheel in constant motion always)
I hope you dance
(Rolling us along)
I hope you dance
(Tell me who)
I hope you dance
(Wants to look back on their youth and wonder)
(Where those years have gone)
I hope you still feel small
When you stand by the ocean
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens
Promise me that you’ll give faith a fighting chance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
Dance
I hope you dance
I hope you dance
(Time is a wheel in constant motion, always)
I hope you dance
(Rolling us along)
I hope you dance
(Tell me who)
(Wants to look back on their youth and wonder)
I hope you dance
(Where those years have gone)
(Tell me who)
I hope you dance
(Wants to look back on their youth and wonder)
(Where those years have gone)
Christmas Eve Pancho Claus wishes
Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Holidays, Music, tagged 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, “Lalo” Guerrero, Bill and Norma Stryker, Christmas decorations, Christmas Eve, Christmas tree, La Noche Before Christmas, Pancho Claus, photos, poem, Santa Claus on December 24, 2022| 6 Comments »
It’s the night before Christmas and, for the first time in three years, I’m spending it with family in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Christmas tree lot has been visited, a Douglas Fir has been purchased (albeit half the size of years past due to extreme sticker shock), four generations of ornaments have been brought down from the attic, the tree decorated, and stockings hung on the mantle. I love being in my childhood home with family but must admit to missing the resumption of Noche de Rabanos on the zócalo of Oaxaca city and posadas in my Jalatlaco neighborhood.
However, all thoughts of festivities in Oaxaca will take a back door to hosting our Christmas morning tradition of mimosas and æbleskiver (Danish pancake balls) with family and friends, followed by a prime rib with Yorkshire pudding dinner served on my grandmother’s beautiful Lenox china and using my mother’s sterling silverware. And, warming my heart the most, the good natured teasing, laughing, and hugging shared with family and old friends.
However, no matter where I am, today is time for my blog’s Christmas Eve’s Pancho Claus tradition…
La Noche Before Christmas
’Twas the night before Christmas and all through the casa,
Not a creature was stirring, My goodness! ¿Qué pasa?
The children were all tucked away in their camas,
The girls in their sleepers, the boys in piyamas.
The stockings were hung, with mucho cuidado,
In hopes that old Santa would feel obligado,
To bring all the children, both buenos y malos,
Muchísimo candy, and other regalos.
When out in the yard there arose tanto grito,
That I jumped to my feet like a scaredy-gatito.
I ran to the window and looked out afuera,
And who in the world do you think that it era?
Saint Nick on his sleigh in a big red sombrero,
Came dashing toward me like a loco bombero.
And pulling his sleigh, instead of venados,
Were eight little burros venir-ing volados!
I watched as they came and this kindhearted hombre,
Was whistling and shouting and calling por nombre:
“¡Ay Pancho, ay Cisco, ay Chuy, ay Flaco!”
“¡Ay Bella, Estrella, Chiquita y Paco!”
Then he jumped off his sleigh with his hands on his pecho,
After landing on top of our very own techo.
And struggling to squeeze down our old chimenea,
He bounced off the hearth like a bowl of jalea.
Now huffing and puffing at last in our sala,
With soot smeared all over his vestido de gala,
He filled all the stockings with buenos regalos,
For none of the niños had been muy malos.
Then chuckling aloud feeling muy contento,
He turned in a flash and was gone like el viento.
And I heard him exclaim, y es la verdad,
“Merry Christmas to all, y ¡Feliz Navidad!”
***Inspired by the poem “A Visit From St. Nicholas” by Clement C. Moore, 1822, and by the original song and lyrics “Pancho Claus” by Lalo Guerrero, 1956 (with permission from the estate of Lalo Guerrero). Conceived of and written as “The Noche Before Christmas”, (date/author/copyright uncertain, c. 1956-2001?). This revision by Bill Stryker and Norma Verdugo Stryker, 2019 (Copyright Registration Number TXu002156234) was introduced on my last year’s La Noche Before Christmas blog.
For an added treat, the original 1956 “Pancho Claus” recording by Lalo Guerrero.
Oaxaca’s queen
Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Religion, Travel & Tourism, tagged Mexico, Oaxaca, Patrona de los Oaxaqueños, photos, popular travel destinations, Queen of Oaxaca, Virgen de La Soledad, Virgin of Solitude on December 18, 2022| Leave a Comment »
December 18th is a day fit for a queen. It is the day Oaxaca honors her patroness and queen, La Santísima Virgen de la Soledad (Our Lady of Solitude). Always rendered with hands clasped in prayer, this portrayal of the Virgin Mary contemplates the death of her son.
Though currently 2000 miles away from my Oaxaca home, I’m sending happy feast day wishes to Our Lady of Solitude and the people of Oaxaca.
Images of Guadalupe
Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Holidays, Religion, Travel & Tourism, tagged Danza de la Pluma, danzantes, Día de la Virgen de Guadalupe, Mexico, Oaxaca, Our Lady of Guadalupe, photos, popular travel destinations, Teotitlán del Valle, Virgen de Guadalupe, Virgin of Guadalupe on December 12, 2022| 7 Comments »
In Oaxaca, at any time of year, images of la Virgen de Guadalupe (Our Lady of Guadalupe) are never far away.
However, today, December 12, is Día de la Virgen de Guadalupe and she and her image are being celebrated — including by the danzantes of Danza de la Pluma Promesa 2022-2024 in Teotitlán del Valle.
The legend of La Virgen de Guadalupe is known to every Mexican, every person of Mexican descent, and probably every foreigner who calls Mexico home. The image of this dark-skinned Virgin Mary who spoke Náhuatl is as imprinted on the national consciousness as she was on Juan Diego’s legendary tilma (cloak).
Día de la Virgen de Juquila
Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Religion, Travel & Tourism, tagged Día de la Virgen de Juquila, Mexico, Oaxaca, photos, popular travel destinations, Virgen de Juquila, Virgin of Juquila on December 8, 2022| 10 Comments »
This morning, before dawn broke, the booms of cohetes celebrating Día de la Virgen de Juquila woke me from a dreamy sleep. A rude awakening? Not really. After all these years, the sound makes me smile. The all-bang-no-bling rockets mean something is being celebrated. Since mid November, pilgrims from all over Latin America have been traveling to Santa Catarina Juquila, Oaxaca, Mexico. They arrive by bus, bicycle, motorcycle, on foot, and on their knees to pay homage, give thanks, and ask for blessings in front of the tiny image of la Virgen de Juquila. According to this article, they will continue to make the pilgrimage until December 28.
Why do they come? According to legend, in 1633, when a fire burned the Chatino village of Amialtepec to the ground, a small wooden statue of the Virgin Mary was rescued amidst the ashes. She was undamaged, save for her light skin color, which was permanently darkened by the smoke, causing her to more closely resemble the Chatino people, who live in this remote mountainous region between Oaxaca city and the Pacific coast. Local priests declared her survival a miracle and her veneration commenced. However, that wasn’t the end of the story; the priest in the village of Santa Catarina Juquila convinced the “powers that be” that she should be moved to the bigger and better church in Juquila. She, however, had other ideas and returned to Amialtepec. This back and forth continued another three times. Finally, in 1719, La Morenita (the dear dark one), as she had come to be known, gave up her traveling ways and agreed to call Santa Catarina Juquila her permanent home.
She “is a symbol of love, of protection, of justice, of peace, of respect for human dignity.” And, because of her indigenous roots, “the homage to the Virgin of Juquila is similar to that rendered to the Virgin of Guadalupe, not only in Oaxaca, but also in Puebla, Tlaxcala, State of Mexico, Veracruz and Chiapas, as well as in the United States, for the religiosity of migrants.”
On October 8, 2014, la Virgen de Juquila received a papal coronation — hence the crown seen in images one, two, and four. And, on October 26, 2022, a delegation from Oaxaca traveled to Rome to present Pope Francis with a very special image of la Virgen de Juquila. It was a collaborative work carved and painted in the Jacobo and María Ángeles Workshop in San Martín Tilcajete, with metalwork by Conrado Villegas Alcázar and filigree work by the jeweler José Jorge García García, both from Oaxaca city. Her vestments were made by Elsa Abigail Mendoza Antonio from Santo Tomás Jalietza.
This is the Virgen de Juquila presented to Pope Francis. The photo is from the Jacobo and María Ángeles Workshop website.
Shadows on blue wall
Posted in Casita Colibrí, Flora, Gardens, tagged blue wall, cacti & succulents, light and shadows, Mexico, Oaxaca, photos, rooftop garden on November 28, 2022| 3 Comments »
Autumn light catches plant shadow play against my garden’s new blue wall.
Blue makes for a far more dramatic scene than the former lifeless cream color.
Giving thanks for musicians
Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Music, Neighborhoods, Travel & Tourism, tagged bands, Barrio de Jalatlaco, Day of the Musicians, Día de Santa Cecilia, marching bands, Mexico, music, musicians, Oaxaca, parades, photos, popular travel destinations, processions, Saint Cecilia, Teotitlán del Valle, video on November 22, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Why I love Oaxaca, reason number 2,022 — music is heard everywhere and seemingly all the time. November 22 is Día de Santa Cecilia who, among other things, is the patron saint of musicians.
And, since this post honors musicians, how about a little music…
A big muchisimas gracias to musicians all over the world who provide the soundtrack of our lives.
Still life in the panteón
Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Holidays, Travel & Tourism, tagged cemetery, cempasúchitl, Day of the Dead, Día de Muertos, flowers, fruit, marigolds, Mexico, Oaxaca, panteón, photos, popular travel destinations, Tlacolula de Matamoros on November 17, 2022| 5 Comments »
Under the sun dappled light filtering through the 500 year old ahuehuete trees, there was stillness and peace.
November 2, 2022 in the panteón of Tlacolula de Matamoros.
Ofrendas there and here
Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Holidays, Neighborhoods, Travel & Tourism, tagged altars, Barrio de Jalatlaco, candles, cempasúchitl, Day of the Dead, Día de Muertos, flowers, images of the saints, marigolds, Mexico, Oaxaca, ofrendas, papel picado, photos, popular travel destinations, Teotitlán del Valle on November 10, 2022| 8 Comments »
Every Día de Muertos, I love seeing the artistry of public ofrendas, feel honored being welcomed into the homes of friends and placing pan de muertos on their very personal ofrendas, and enjoy assembling my own ofrenda to departed loved ones. (Click on each image to see the details.)
I love the spicy and welcoming scents of cempasúchitl (marigolds), lacy flor de muerto from the Sierra Norte, pan de muertos, and incense of copal.
Muertos murals in my neighborhood
Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Holidays, Neighborhoods, Travel & Tourism, tagged Barrio de Jalatlaco, Day of the Dead, Día de Muertos, Mexico, murals, Oaxaca, photos, popular travel destinations, street art, urban art, wall art on November 5, 2022| 9 Comments »
The Día de Muertos murals in my Barrio de Jalatlaco neighborhood continue to go forth and multiply…
As do the crowds. Love the former. No comment about the latter.
Skeletons hanging around
Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Holidays, Neighborhoods, Travel & Tourism, tagged Barrio de Jalatlaco, calacas, Day of the Dead decor, Día de Muertos, Mexico, Oaxaca, photos, popular travel destinations, skeletons on October 31, 2022| 6 Comments »
Everywhere one looks, skeletons can be seen hanging around my Jalatlaco neighborhood.
They are even floating above us.
At least they order something when they enter a restaurant.
All in all, they look pretty happy, even if some of their poses look mighty uncomfortable.
Hmmm, I wonder what they are waiting for. Día de Muertos, perhaps?
It takes talent and teamwork
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Neighborhoods, Travel & Tourism, tagged artists at work, INFONAVIT, Mexico, murals, Oaxaca, photos, popular travel destinations, Ricardo Ángeles, street art, Taller Jacobo y María Ángeles, urban art, wall art on October 25, 2022| 6 Comments »
One day there was a blank wall. By the next day, the wall had turned into a canvas for a gigantic mural. The story soon unfolded…
The piece was commissioned to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of INFONAVIT (the federal government’s home loan institution). Ricardo Ángeles designed the mural and the work was carried out with the collaboration of the acclaimed, Taller Jacobo y María Ángeles.
That first day, after chatting with María, she scrambled up on the scaffolding to continue working along with the team of painters.
A couple of days later, there was Jacobo, in his signature white shirt, on his knees painting details on the image of the dog.
Despite late season rains, the work went quickly and I couldn’t believe my eyes at the progress by day five.
The team (listed above) did an amazing job. With pots of plants replacing caution cones and scaffolding, the finished mural was inaugurated yesterday. It is located on 5 de mayo, between Calle de la Noche Triste and Calle de la Alianza in Barrio de Jalatlaco.
By the way, the people in the mural sure look a lot like a young Jacobo, Ricardo, Sabina, and María — la familia Ángeles.
Autumn shadow play
Posted in Casita Colibrí, Science & Nature, Travel & Tourism, tagged Barrio de Jalatlaco, bird, light and shadows, Mexico, Oaxaca, photos, popular travel destinations, shadows, spiral staircase, Stephen Fry quote, Teotitlán del Valle, White-winged dove, woman with basket on head on October 11, 2022| 4 Comments »
As the days become shorter and the sun appears lower in the sky, in Oaxaca the shadows play.
Between funny and witty
Falls the shadow
-Stephen Fry, The Fry Chronicles
Viva La Virgen
Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Travel & Tourism, tagged convite, Danza de la Pluma, danzantes, Fiesta de la Virgen del Rosario, Mexico, Oaxaca, photos, popular travel destinations, procession, religious processions, Teotitlán del Valle on October 6, 2022| 12 Comments »
A BFF since age twelve (don’t ask how long ago that was) and her husband are visiting. I took them to the weaving village of Teotitlán del Valle for the Santísima Virgen del Rosario festival — three days of witnessing the weft of Spanish conquistador Catholicism woven onto the warp of indigenous Zapotec culture. The public festivities began with Friday evening’s convite — a formal 45 minute procession, through the streets of the village, that serves as an invitation to the festival.
I think my friends were impressed!
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