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Posts Tagged ‘San Miguel del Valle’

Looking back at 2018

Posted in Casita Colibrí, Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Holidays, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on December 30, 2018| 10 Comments »

Looking back and appreciating life in Oaxaca, 2018.

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January – View through the terrace pistachio tree of full Wolf Moon.

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February – Guest helping to harvest Waje dinner at Rancho 314 urban farm in Santa Cruz Xoxocotlán.

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March – Reyna Mendoza Ruiz demonstrating metate technique at El Sabor Zapoteco cooking class in Teotitlán del Valle.

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April – Pit for cooking agave piñas to make mezcal at the palenque of Faustino Garcia in San Baltazar Chichicapa(m).

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May – Tlacolulokos mural in Tlacolula de Matamoros.

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June – Summer afternoon on the Zócalo in Oaxaca city.

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July – Feria del Barro Rojo in San Marcos Tlapazola.

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August – Fundación En Via microfinance tour to San Miguel del Valle.

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September – Protest by students from the Escuela Normal Bilingüe e Intercultural de Oaxaca.

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October – Celebrating el Señor del Rayo at the Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción.

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November – At the home/workshop of filigree maestro, José Jorge García García.

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December – Pop-up sale in Oaxaca city by the Las Sanjuaneras weavers from San Juan Colorado.

Feliz año nuevo y muchisimas gracias to all my wonderful blog readers from near and far!  Thank you for reading, for commenting, for sharing, for the opportunity to meet some of you, and for inspiring me to continue.  Onward to 2019!!!

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Village churches, plain to painted

Posted in Buildings, Churches, Creativity, Culture, Religion, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , on September 1, 2018| 6 Comments »

You know you are nearing a village when you see the bell tower(s) and dome of the Catholic church.  Checking out the church is always high on the agenda.  Many were originally constructed in the sixteenth century, though damage, restoration, and decoration have occurred over intervening centuries.  And, don’t forget the details…

So, while attending the Feria del Barro Rojo in San Marcos Tlapazola in mid-July, we peeked through the locked gates, to see the Templo San Marcos.

Then off to San Miguel del Valle on a Fundación En Vía microfinance tour in early August and another church through another locked gate.

The piéce de résistance… We headed to the first food feria in Santa Ana Zegache in mid August.  Alas, we arrived hours too early for the food, but we consoled ourselves with visiting their Baroque 17th century church (no locked gate) that was fabulously restored in the 1990s by the Rodolfo Morales Foundation.

All beautiful and unique.  So, the lesson for today is, whenever you find yourself in a village in Oaxaca, be sure to check out the church.

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Ye shall know them by their aprons

Posted in Creativity, Culture, Economics, Textiles, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 20, 2018| 10 Comments »

As I’ve mentioned before, the ubiquitous aprons (mandiles) worn by the Zapotec women of the valley of Oaxaca have been elevated to an art form.  Each village has developed their own unique style and none is more distinctive than those worn by the women of San Miguel del Valle.

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Their full-skirted pinafore style aprons, made from poly-cotton plaid fabric, are elaborately machine-embroidered with colorful flowers and birds.  Worn daily, they are the “uniform” of the women of the village beginning when they are little girls.  And, most women have a wardrobe full — one to match each dress.

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Thanks to microfinancing assistance from Fundación En Via, many of the women have developed profitable businesses selling these aprons and also have branched out to making tote bags and purses.  The Fundación recently held a 3-day expo-venta in Oaxaca city and guess what I came home with?

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I’m hoping to go on one of the Fundación microfinancing tours next month — to meet and learn from the women who benefit and to further contribute to this worthwhile endeavor.  Empowering women empowers communities!

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