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Posts Tagged ‘popular travel destinations’

It’s that time of year, again.  Daylight doesn’t last quite as long, the large red-orange blossoms of the African tulip trees have mostly fallen (onto my terrace!), and the hummingbirds have mostly departed, leaving the airspace to the dragonflies and butterflies.

Decorated canasta with religious scene.

However, the season of yellow marigolds (cempazuchitl) and the yellows, oranges, and purples of flor inmortal (immortal flower) has begun and that means Días de los Muertos and Noche de Rabanos  can’t be far behind.

Decorated canasta with image of Virgin Mary.

In the meantime, during the past week, Teotitlán del Valle celebrated La Santísima Virgen del Rosario and early Friday evening, the unmarried girls and women gathered with their canastas for the traditional convite (holy procession).

Decorated canasta with image of bandaged head of Jesus.

And, given the season, flor inmortal played a prominent role in the decorations of many of the canastas.Flor inmortal surround a crucifixion scene on a canasta.

And, as always, I’m amazed and captivated by the girls and women who, with arms raised, balance these sizable baskets on their head, as they navigate the sacred route along the cobbled (and, this day, rain-slicked) streets of Teotitlán del Valle — for almost an hour!Young women wearing dark red wool wrap skirts and embroidered white blouses, carry large canastas on their heads

It’s a scene that I never tire of — of course, I’m not carrying a canasta on my head!

More photos and commentary over at Oaxaca-The Year After.

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Fifteen hundred years may have passed since Monte Albán was in full bloom as the center of Zapotec civilization.  However, the flowering continues…

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Monte Albán on an early October morning.

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… there you are.

Green grass, stone structure, blue sky with wispy clouds

Monte Albán on a picture perfect autumn morning.

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All things on earth point home in old October; sailors to sea, travellers to walls and fences…  — Thomas Wolfe.

Colorful painting of faces tacked on telephone pole

It’s good to be back in Oaxaca.

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I’m back in Oaxaca… arrived last night after a brief trip to El Norte.  However,  over the last three years, culture shock (on both sides of the border) has subsided and I am struck and heartened that despite our differences, humans share so much more… especially the compulsion to make even the most common and utilitarian, beautiful.

Artist, Zio Ziegler added a little pizzazz to a car in Mill Valley… (Yes, I know, a Porche!)

Porche painted decoration

Car in Oaxaca… (Ahhh, a VW bug!)

VW bug painted with decoration

Wall in Mill Valley (also by Zio Ziegler)…

Painted horned creature riding a bike.

Wall in Oaxaca…

Savannah scene, with elephant in foreground, painted on wall.

Veggies in Mill Valley…

Vegetables in bins at outdoor market

Veggies in Oaxaca…

Vegetables mounded in mercado

From one of my favorite journalists, Linda Ellerbee:  “People are pretty much alikeIt’s only that our differences are more susceptible to definition than our similarities.”

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Lost or discarded?

Roof of car decorated with found objects

Artist found and created in Sausalito, Ca.  You better believe it!

Old car decorated with found objects with word "believe" in front.

And please, don’t “liberate” any of the found objects, in other words… stop stealing!!!

Found objects with clenched fist and peace symbol.

La lucha continúa.  Paz y amor a todos.

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I grew up and lived most of my life twenty minutes from the Pacific Ocean.  I learned to drive on the road up over Mt. Tamalpais out to Stinson, Muir, and Bolinas beaches.  Needless to say, countless trips followed and continue!  So, yesterday I made my regular “Bay Area visit” pilgrimage to the beach.  Even on a foggy day, the sights, sounds, and smells of Stinson Beach are magical…

Alas, it’s 6 hours by car up and over the long and winding roads of the Sierra Madre del Sur to reach Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca’s closest Pacific Ocean beach.  The alternatives:  10+ hours by bus (by way of Salina Cruz) or a short but costly flight.  Still waiting for the long-promised highway that is supposed to cut auto travel time to two hours!!!

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Remember Facelift in progress???

Outside of building with scaffolding and construction workers

Casa Oaxaca and Galeria Quetzalli’s renovation project continues.  Patching and plastering have been completed.

White building with painted color swatches off to left.

Primer and paint swatches have been applied.  Weeks have gone by…

6 squares of paint swatches (putty to mustard to cinnamon) on white building.

Choosing a color is hard!  What do you think?

Color is my day-long obsession, joy and torment. Claude Monet

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El Grito not only heralds green, white, and red decorations, clothing, and Mexican flags.  It is also the season to savor the multi-layered, delicate flavors of Chiles en Nogada and delight in its colorful, patriotic presentation.  Legend has it, the dish was created in 1821 by nuns in Puebla to honor a visit by Mexican General Augustín de Iturbide, that pretty much signaled the end of the eleven-year long Mexican War of Independence.

There are probably as many recipes for Chiles en Nogada as there are chefs and abuelas, but the basics include green poblano chiles stuffed with a picadillo of meats, fruits, nuts, herbs and spices; served with a creamy white cheese and walnut sauce; and topped with a garnish of red pomegranate seeds, walnuts, and the green of chopped parsley.

Serving of Chiles en Nogada on a white plate.

This was my lunch of Chiles en Nogada today at La Popular, a delightful new restaurant in Oaxaca (Garcia Vigil 519, Centro).  Yummm….

(ps)  Chris just posted this video of Lina Fernandez making Chiles en Nogada.  She makes it look almost doable!

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Revolutionaries behind bars.

Boy and girl figures, seen through window bars in shop display dressed in traditional revolutionary clothing

Couldn’t resist just one more El Grito window display!

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The word "ASK" written on white wall with light green trim on left

Where else have you seen El Grito decorations?

Blue and peach colored school decorated with Mexican flag banners and drapes

Schools, of course!  This one in Teotitlán del Valle.

People standing in front of newsstand decorated with a green, white, and red garland.

And, how about newsstands?  You can’t miss the green, white, and red — it’s everywhere!

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Waiting for the convite… Fiesta a la Natividad de la Virgen María.

Cloudy sky; young girl surrounded by plastic covered canastas; Cerro Picacho in background.

September 8 was a rainy day in Teotitlán del Valle.

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Several months ago, friend and longtime (35 years!) regular visitor to Oaxaca, Charles Kerns, asked me to write a review of his first work of fiction, Santo Gordo: A Killing in Oaxaca.

Cover of book, "Santo Gordo" by Charles Kerns

He sent it to me in June, when I was up in the San Francisco Bay Area, and it proved to be the perfect reading material for my SFO –> IAH –> OAX return trip.  Once back, I mentioned Santo Gordo to friends, loaned it, got it back, only to loan it again.  With Santo Gordo again in my hot little hands and after many months of delay, today I finally posted the following review on Amazon.com.

A botana of Oaxaca

Much as it has done to Charles Kerns, Oaxaca has captured my heart and three years ago I began living an expat life there. Thus, I can assure you reading Santo Gordo: A Killing in Oaxaca, will give you a botana (a small snack) of life in Oaxaca as seen and experienced by a gringo — well, not the witnessing an assassination part!

However, first time mystery writer Kerns does offer a glimpse at an underbelly few tourists are ever aware of and many expats choose to ignore – it’s history, complexity, and expression being too much to comprehend.

Kerns has crafted a mystery where place, in this case Oaxaca, is a leading character — much as Donna Leon, with her Commissario Brunetti mysteries, has done with Venice. Kerns has captured rhythms, rituals, sweetness, dangers (treacherous sidewalks, not murders, being at the top of the list), and bewildering aspects of life in Oaxaca, all the while telling a plausible tale with a very likable main character.

Now that the review has, at long last, been written, my copy of Santo Gordo: A Killing in Oaxaca, will be donated to the Oaxaca Lending Library — as I promised Chuck many months ago.  Sorry I kept you waiting and ¡Feliz cumpleaños mi amigo!

(ps)  Check out the San Jose Mercury News interview with Chuck, Alameda writer pens Oaxaca mystery.

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El Grito is coming, El Grito is coming!!!  Green, white and red is on display all over the city, including clothing stores, as tradition calls for wearing the colors.

Are you in the market for a traditional look?

White blouse and skirt with green and red trim.

A huipil and rebozo?

Green, white, and red dresses and shawls hanging on wall.

Or, are you leaning toward an updated mix and match style?

Green, white, and red dresses, skirs, blouses, and sash.

Do you need a sweater for going down to the zócalo on the evening of September 15?

Green, white, and red sweaters hanging on display hooks.

By all means, don’t forget to accessorize!

Green purse and red shoes.

On a more serious note:  Despite its current challenges (which are many and serious), Mexicans are extremely proud of being Mexicanos.  And, in my humble opinion, they have every right be!  They can trace their history back to ancient and highly developed civilizations, their national cuisine has been placed on the World Heritage List by UNESCO, and Mexico is considered one of the most geographically and biologically diverse countries in the world.  Plus, when was the last time you heard Mexico had invaded another country?

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Thursday night was the kickoff event for the 5th annual El Saber Del Sabor (literally, the knowledge of flavor) Festival Gastronómico Oaxaca 2012.  Early in the day, the Plaza de la Danza had been tented and turned into a colorful banquet hall.

Interior of large tent decorated with multicolor tableclothes and papel picado on ceiling

A couple of the evening’s chefs arrived early and were cooling their heels, waiting to begin doing what they do best.  Hmmm… what’s with the bricks on top of the cantera?  (Stay tuned!)

2 chefs sitting behind brick platform

By 9:30 PM the tables had filled and cooking was well underway.

Young man in chef's toque sauteeing bananas.

Casa Oaxaca chef and event host, Alejandro Ruiz Olmedo circulated, greeted old friends and fans, and was interviewed by a crush of press.  Cameras and microphones were omnipresent — good for publicity, bad for navigating the aisles en route to food!

Chef Alejandro Ruiz Olmedo talking to a table filled with people.

To begin the evening and ready the palate, wines, beers, aguas, and (of course!) mezcals were offered.  We sampled a couple of mezcals from El Jolgorio and all I can say is, Wow!  (BTW, that’s a good, “Wow!”)

Bottles of El Jolgorio Mezcal on a table.

The festival seeks to promote and protect Oaxaca’s traditional cuisine and to inspire innovation.  For this evening’s event, we were invited to sample an incredible range of appetizers, side dishes, main courses, and desserts from 23 cooks, representing the 8 regions of Oaxaca.

A bowl of a stew surrounded by platters of limes, rice, cilantro, and onions.

I think I must have tasted at least 30 dishes — and this was late at night.  Needless to say, no breakfast for me the next morning.

Serving pans of food.

And, remember the bricks?   My favorite sight of the evening were the little piggies roasting on bamboo skewers over red and white-hot coals.  The tag line for the festival is, “tierra, fuego y cocina” (earth, fire, and kitchen).  Yes!!!

Roasting pigs on bamboo skewers over hot coals.

From the Plaza de la Danza, the festival moves to restaurants throughout the city, where 36 renowned chefs from all over Mexico have come to prepare innovative cuisine that pays homage to Oaxaqueño foodstuffs and traditions.

A big “thank you” to Henry and Rosa (Amate Books) for inviting me to share such a delightful and delicious evening!

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