Today, the truck arrived, the wheelbarrows were loaded, and the gardening crew began filling the flower beds of Oaxaca’s zócalo…
Navidad is coming to Oaxaca!
Posts Tagged ‘photos’
Poinsettias coming to a zócalo near you
Posted in Gardens, Holidays, Parks & Plazas, Travel & Tourism, tagged Christmas, flowers, garden, gardeners, holiday decorations, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, plants, poinsettias, popular travel destinations, zócalo on November 27, 2012| 4 Comments »
Six years ago today
Posted in Culture, History, Parks & Plazas, Politics, Protests, Violence, tagged APPO, federal preventive police, historical photos, history, Mexico, Oaxaca, photo exhibition, photographs, photos, politics, protests, SEPODDH, social activists on November 25, 2012| Leave a Comment »
November 25, 2012 marks the sixth anniversary of the bloody attack by the Federal Preventive Police on the teachers and members of the Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca (APPO) in the zócalo of the city of Oaxaca. I wasn’t here during the 5-month long struggle, but its repercussions continue to reverberate.
Last year a plaque was unveiled by organizations representing victims, survivors, human rights, and social activists. Located where the Alameda de León meets the zócalo, it symbolically renames the zócalo, “Plaza of the peoples in struggle; for truth and justice.”
Truth and justice have not been attained, assassins go unpunished, many of the same issues remain, and Oaxaca’s economy still hasn’t rebounded. Today, the Survivors and Former Political Prisoners of Oaxaca in Defense of Human Rights (SEPODDH) mounted a photo exhibition across from the Government Palace.
Adults, children, and even vendors stopped to look and, for many, remember those days and nights six years ago.
Somber and unsmiling, they stood silently, gazed at the photos, and read the captions. The only hint of levity was SEPODDH’s mascota, who sat beside a collection bucket.
Section 22 of the teachers’ union held another march and rallied in the zócalo, but today these photos spoke much louder than the words coming from the loud-speakers.
Retail ritual
Posted in Celebrations, Culture, Economics, Holidays, Signs, Travel & Tourism, tagged Buen Fin, Mexico, Oaxaca, photography, photos, sales, shopping on November 23, 2012| 2 Comments »
Signs reading, “Buen Fin” began to appear on shop windows around town last week. How nice, I thought, with a 3-day weekend coming up (Monday, 11/19 was Mexican Revolution commemoration day), the stores are wishing one and all a “Good Weekend.”
I’d only glanced and didn’t come close enough to read the smaller and more important print, “Weekend: Cheapest of the Year.” What’s it all about? Last year’s LA Times article, “A ‘Black Friday’ shopping ritual coming to Mexico?” explains it all.
Apparently, I’ve been oblivious or this newest US export has taken a while to make its way all the way down to Oaxaca. But, make its way down to Oaxaca, it has! According to Monday’s Noticias, “This weekend hundreds of Oaxacans went to department stores and shops of all kinds in the city, to stock up on essentials and electronic products, mainly taking advantage of ‘Good Weekend’ promotions.”
Depressing, is all I can say…
Renewed and improved
Posted in Buildings, Food, Markets, tagged building renovation, grocery shopping, markets, Mercado IV Centenario, mercados, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, renovation, vendors on November 21, 2012| 3 Comments »
After 6+ months of being Under construction,
today, the waiting is over!
This morning, Oaxaca’s governor, the city’s mayor, and the head of the Ministry of Tourism and Economic Development opened the newly constructed entrance on Independencia…
and welcomed vendors and shoppers to the newly renovated Mercado IV Centenario.
New stalls, with improved electrical and sanitation systems are part of this renovation project.
Vendors, including one of my favorite vegetable sellers, began moving their goods from the temporary site in Jardín Morelos to their new stalls.
After only a few hours, my vendedora de frutas already looked happily ensconced in her new digs!
There are still a few stalls waiting to be filled…
Any takers???
Rivers & roads make strange bedfellows
Posted in Buildings, Churches, Museums, Nature & Science, Neighborhoods, Politics, Restaurants, Science & Nature, Travel & Tourism, tagged churches, climate, Colorado River, Colorado River agreement, environment, environmentalism, Flor de Loto, Iglesia Evangelica Bautista, In Situ Torrentera, Mexico, mezcalería, Museo de Arte Prehispanico de Mexico Rufino Tamayo, museum, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, restaurants, water, water wars on November 20, 2012| 2 Comments »
They say, “politics makes strange bedfellow.” Rivers do too, as US, Mexico reach pact on Colorado River water sale. Hopefully, Mexico isn’t getting the short end of the stick, like Southern California’s Imperial Irrigation District is accusing its SoCal neighbor, the Metropolitan Water District, of handing it.
Having grown up and spending most of my life in Northern California and suffering through a couple of major droughts that included water rationing, while water flowed south to fill LA’s swimming pools and water its lawns, the only answer to stave off the upcoming worldwide “water wars,” is the recognition that water is a precious resource that must be conserved and not wasted.
Hmmm… I wonder how these neighbors on the 500 block of Avenida Morelos get along?
The mezcalería is the newest addition to the ‘hood and for some reason it tickled me that the vegetarian restaurant is the only thing standing between it and the Baptist church.
It’s all about the bigote
Posted in Creativity, Culture, History, People, Travel & Tourism, tagged bigote, Emiliano Zapata, graffiti, Mexico, mustache, Oaxaca, Pancho Villa, photographs, photos, popular travel destinations, street art, wall art on November 17, 2012| 6 Comments »
Oh, what a beautiful morning!
Posted in Churches, Gardens, Home, tagged African Tulip trees, Basilica de la Soledad, Casita Colibrí, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, Templo de San José on November 15, 2012| 3 Comments »
Mural of Oaxaca history
Posted in Buildings, Culture, History, People, Travel & Tourism, tagged art, Arturo García Bustos, Benito Juárez, Government Palace, José María Morelos y Pavón, Margarita Maza, Mexico, mural, Oaxaca, painting, Palacio de Gobierno, photographs, photos, popular travel destinations, Porfirio Díaz, Ricardo Flores Magon on November 11, 2012| 8 Comments »
Last night I walked down to Oaxaca’s Palacio de Gobierno at the south end of the zócalo. This former government palace is now a museum and I was headed up to the second floor to see two more Oaxaca FilmFest3 films. I was early, the building was mostly empty, and so I took the opportunity to really study the mural that graces the walls of the main staircase. Painted in 1980 by Arturo García Bustos, the mural depicts the history of Oaxaca.
Coming up the stairs, to the left, the customs and lifestyle of the Mixtecs, Zapotecs, and Aztecs of pre-Hispanic times unfold.
As you ascend further, on the right wall the Spanish conquest is portrayed.
However, it is the center section of the mural that grabs the attention. Best seen when one reaches the top, here Bustos, pulls out all the stops in representing the one hundred years from the War of Independence through the Reform Movement to the Mexican Revolution.
Featured in the upper right corner of this panel, wearing his signature red bandanna, is War of Independence hero, José María Morelos y Pavón. He can also be seen in the lower right with a printing press, in his role as publisher of Oaxaca’s first newspaper, El Correo del Sur. On the upper left is anarchist and Mexican revolutionary hero, Ricardo Flores Magón. He is also pictured holding a banner reading, Tierra y Libertad (Land and Liberty). Flores Magón is the namesake of the street that borders the west side of the Government Palace.
However, front and center is Oaxaca’s favorite son, Zapotec, former governor of Oaxaca, and Mexico’s much beloved five-term president, Benito Juárez. He and his Oaxaqueña wife, Margarita Maza, hover prominently above his Reform Movement cabinet. The full text of the ribbon is a quote by Juárez, “El respeto al derecho ajeno es la paz” (Respect for the rights of others is peace). It appears on the State of Oaxaca’s coat of arms.
Juárez is also pictured along with the cabinet and third from his right stands another Oaxaqueño, the young, menacing-looking, and far from beloved by the 99%, Porfirio Díaz, trademark epaulettes and all — a portend of things to come.
Following his death in 1872, the city and municipality of Oaxaca honored Benito Juárez by changing its name to Oaxaca de Juárez.
and now FilmFest3
Posted in Creativity, Culture, People, Travel & Tourism, tagged entertainment, film, film festivals, Filmfest3, Matt Dunnerstick, Mexico, movies, Oaxaca, Oaxaca Film Festival, photographs, photos, popular travel destinations, Postmodern Times, Ramiz Adeeb Azar, The Game, Tilt on November 9, 2012| 2 Comments »
Still recovering from last week’s Día de los Muertos celebrations, another marathon of activities is upon us — last night the third Oaxaca FilmFest opened. With 10 days, 25 venues, 300 films, 5 days of academic programs, among many other events, I can see it’s going to be no rest for the weary!
So, with Golden Key passes (approx. US$11.50) hanging from our necks, last night my indomitable 86-year old neighbor and I walked down to the festival’s headquarters at Plaza San Jerónimo on the Alcalá for the opening night cocktail party. Gringos and international filmmakers mingled with a predominantly young and hip Oaxaqueño crowd. Needless to say, cervesas, mezcal, and horchata flowed freely, accompanied by yummy (though less plentiful) botanas.
We eventually wound our way over to Teatro Juárez to hear founder and artistic director, Ramiz Adeeb Azar, welcome an almost full house, open the festival, and introduce the three opening night films: shorts, Postmodern Times from Austria and The Game from Poland and feature length film, Tilt from Bulgaria and Germany. All three were gripping, thought provoking, and held the audience’s attention. (Chris, they all passed the Low Cough Principle test.) It was a good start!
Ramiz Adeeb Azar
During the course of the evening, we spoke with two American screenwriters, who each have scripts entered in a Script Competition, and American filmmaker Matt Dunnerstick, whose film, The Custom Mary, will be screened tonight and again later in the festival. It’s truly an international festival and (at least last night) all the films were subtitled in both Spanish and English, as is all the program material.
I can’t believe how much bigger and more professional this festival has gotten in only three years. I attended in 2010, the first year, and coming off eight years of volunteering at the Mill Valley Film Festival and attending for many more, I was underwhelmed and thus ignored last year’s Oaxaca FilmFest. All I can say is, you’ve come a long way, baby! I’m glad I’ve got my Golden Key pass and, like these folks, I will be intently studying my program booklet and scheduling grid.
I’ll see you at the movies!!!
Face painting, muertos style
Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Holidays, Religion, Travel & Tourism, tagged calaveras, Catrinas, cemetery, Day of the Dead, Día de los Muertos, face painting, Mexico, Oaxaca, panteón, Panteón General, photographs, photos, San Antonino Castillo Velasco on November 6, 2012| 2 Comments »
In addition to graveside gatherings and decoration, altars, parades, sugar skulls, sand paintings, marigolds, and Day of the Dead bread, painted faces are another distinctive feature of Día de Muertos celebrations. They are most likely seen hanging around cemeteries and dancing through the streets but, like everything else here, you just never know…
From Meaning of Dia de los Muertos Face Painting:
The day of the dead in Mexico is a fascinating mixture of Spanish Catholic and native Aztec traditions and beliefs. Skulls and skeletons were an important part of All Saints Day festivals in medieval Europe, especially since the Black Death ravaged the population of Europe in the 1300s. Across Europe artists, playwrights and poets mused on the theme of ‘memento mori’ (remember death) and the ‘dance of the dead’. Many artworks and books from the time depict dancing skeletons, or portraits with a skull to ‘remember death’.
At the same time, in Mexico, the Aztec culture believed life on earth to be something of an illusion – death was a positive step forward into a higher level of conscience. For the Aztecs skulls were a positive symbol, not only of death but also of rebirth.
Read full article here.
An ofrenda is…
Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Neighborhoods, Parks & Plazas, Religion, Travel & Tourism, tagged altars, Barrio de Xochimilco, Day of the Dead, Día de los Muertos, Mexico, Oaxaca, ofrendas, photographs, photos, popular travel destinations, Santo Tomás on November 5, 2012| Leave a Comment »
an offering.
an integral part of the Day(s) of the Dead celebration.
filled with meaning.
a beacon to the departed.
an ephemeral work of art.
the sum of its lovingly chosen parts.
This is another ofrenda from the previously mentioned “altar decorating” competition on the plaza in front of Santo Tomás in Oaxaca’s Xochimilco barrio.
Ofrenda prehispanico
Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Neighborhoods, Parks & Plazas, Religion, Travel & Tourism, tagged altars, Barrio de Xochimilco, Day of the Dead, Día de los Muertos, Mexico, Oaxaca, ofrendas, photographs, photos, popular travel destinations, Santo Tomás on November 3, 2012| 7 Comments »
Living and being in Oaxaca during the Días de los Muertos is hard to put into words. There is so much to experience and to think about. Sensory overload challenges the limits of heart and mind and my emotions are running the gamut from extreme exhilaration to a quiet joy to being moved to tears.
The latter occurred a few days ago, when I walked up to the Templo de Santo Tomás in Oaxaca’s Xochimilco barrio (neighborhood) where an “altar decorating” contest was in progress. Altars were to be judged on authenticity, originality, and creativity. When I arrived, friends and relatives were in the midst of putting the final touches on their altars. Some were elaborate and some exhibited real artistry, but one really touched my heart.
He was alone — no one to help, no playful banter. When I first arrived, he was carefully etching a cross with a piece of charred wood on a stone.
He worked silently and with purpose, pulling items out of a well-worn sugar bag and carefully placing them on his altar.
When the bag was empty, he walked over to a cart and pulled out another one.
Slowly, his vision emerged, with symbology I have only a cursory grasp of and won’t presume to explain.
I don’t know who won the 5000 peso first prize or second or third place purses, and I don’t know if he was doing it for the money (he certainly looked like he could use it).
All I do know is he and his ofrenda moved me deeply.
Mi altar y mi pan
Posted in Celebrations, Culture, Food, Holidays, Travel & Tourism, tagged altar, Day of the Dead, day of the dead bread, Día de los Muertos, food, Mexico, Oaxaca, ofrenda, pan de muerto, photographs, photos, sugar skulls on November 1, 2012| 3 Comments »
Last night we went to my favorite panteon (cemetery) at Atzompa, today we visited six villages, and tonight I went with out-of-town guests to the Panteon General here in Oaxaca. First thing tomorrow morning a comparsa (parade) and then probably off to Teotitlán del Valle. I’ve already taken hundreds and hundreds of photos, but there has been no time to even look at them!
So, in the meantime… My pan de muerto (Day of the Dead bread) from Sunday’s trip to Tlacolula.
Very special pan de muerto from Restaurante La Abeja just a few blocks from Casita Colibrí. This one will eventually get two coats of shellac and join her sister (purchased last year) hanging on the wall.
Last, but not least, my altar where photos of departed family and friends join apples, tangerines, pan de muerto, sugar skulls, candles, and incense of copal.
This is a magical time to be in Oaxaca.
Other worldly
Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Music, Travel & Tourism, tagged Alejandra Robles, catrina, Day of the Dead, Día de los Muertos, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, popular travel destinations on October 31, 2012| Leave a Comment »
Lighting, costumes, music, and dance combined to envelop last night’s audience at the Teatro Macedonio Alcalá in an other worldly experience. Catrina is a magical tale where the world of the living converges with the world of the dead and the central theme is the pain of a mother losing her daughter.
The show is a celebration of the pre-Columbian traditions and culture of Oaxaca, especially the ritual and meaning surrounding Día de los Muertos. Much of the music was traditional Oaxacan and most performers were Oaxaqueños, including Alejandra Robles, singing the title role.
At 48% (that’s over 1.6 million people), the state of Oaxaca has the second highest indigenous population in Mexico. Perhaps that is why the belief systems of the ancient Mexicans Octavio Paz, cites in The Labyrinth of Solitude, remain strong today. He writes, “Life extended into death, and vice-versa. Death was not the natural end of life but one phase of an infinite cycle.” Healthier, more realistic, and more comforting, I think…
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