From the sublime to the ridiculous and from the mundane to the special, scenes around Oaxaca frequently bring a smile.
I miss this when I’m not here.
Posts Tagged ‘street vendors’
Scenes from around town
Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Food, Travel & Tourism, tagged brooms, Fundación En Via, garbage truck, Guelaguetza desfile, Mexico, Oaxaca, photos, popular travel destinations, sculptures, stickers, street art, street vendors on August 17, 2026| 1 Comment »
People in my neighborhood
Posted in Casita Colibrí, Flora, Neighborhoods, Travel & Tourism, tagged agapanthus, Barrio de Jalatlaco, cut flowers, flower vendor, flowers in a vase, Mexico, Moises flower vendor, Oaxaca, People in Your Neighborhood (song), photographs, popular travel destinations, rosemary, street vendors on August 13, 2021| 11 Comments »
Oh, who are the people in your neighborhood?
In your neighborhood?
In your neighborhood?
Say, who are the people in your neighborhood?
The people that you meet each day
It’s Friday and I wanted to introduce you to my aforementioned flower vendor. His name is Moises and he also sells sprigs of herbs.
Today I bought two bunches of agapanthus and one of romero (rosemary). And, the Sesame Street song, People in Your Neighborhood, keeps spinning around my brain and singing in my heart.
Well, they’re the people that you meet
When you’re walking down the street
They’re the people that you meet each day.
Home delivery
Posted in Casita Colibrí, Flora, Neighborhoods, Travel & Tourism, tagged alstroemeria, Barrio de Jalatlaco, cut flowers, flowers in a vase, Mexico, Oaxaca, photos, popular travel destinations, roses, street vendors on August 8, 2021| 11 Comments »
One of the delights of my new and improved Casita Colibrí home is that it is located in a real neighborhood — one with the feel of a small town. Most everything I need is available within a few blocks. Then there are the vendors! They traverse the cobblestone streets plying their wares — the gas trucks with their distinctive horns, moos, and jingles blasting from loud speakers, the guy shouting “tamalestamalestamales” so fast that it’s hard to understand at first, the paletas (Mexican popsicle-like frozen treat) vendor pushing his cart and calling “palEtas,” and the flower seller who, after I happened to be at the apartment complex entrance and bought agapanthus and a few lilies, doesn’t even yell “flores” when he arrives every Friday in front of the gate, he now just rings my buzzer.
This week, I bought two bunches of alstroemeria.
The previous week, it was two dozen long-stemmed yellow roses.
The quality is excellent — the roses lasted almost an entire week!
Not your usual Independence Day
Posted in Celebrations, Culture, History, Holidays, Travel & Tourism, tagged coronavirus fallout, COVID-19 fallout, Día de la Independencia, Government Palace, Grito de Dolores, Mexican flag, Mexican Independence Day, Mexico, Niños Héroes de Chapultepec, Oaxaca, Palacio de Gobierno, patriotic decorations, photos, popular travel destinations, street vendors on September 15, 2020| 4 Comments »
While flags are flying, bunting is up, and carts are selling the usual green, white, and red patriotic paraphernalia, it’s not your usual Mexican Independence celebrations.
It is the night before Independence Day, but there are no crowds gathered in the zócalo to hear the governor re-create the Grito de Dolores from the balcony of the Government Palace. Tomorrow there will be no patriotic parade through the streets of the city of Oaxaca. Mexican Independence celebrations during the time of Covid-19.
However, there is a song from Lila Downs…
(ps) The flags above are flying at half staff because the photos were taken on September 13, 2020, the day Mexico commemorates the legend of the 1847 Niños Héroes — boy cadets martyred during the Mexican-American war.
Viva Mexico
Posted in Celebrations, Culture, Holidays, Travel & Tourism, tagged Chiles en Nogada, El Mes de la Patria, Mexican Independence Day, Mexico, Oaxaca, patriotic decorations, photographs, photos, popular travel destinations, street vendors on September 13, 2018| 8 Comments »
On September 16, Mexico celebrates Día de la Independencia — marking Father Hidalgo’s call to arms (Grito de Dolores) to begin the ten-year war for independence from Spain. However, the entire month of September is El Mes de la Patria (the month of the homeland) and streets and vendor stalls are awash with the green, white, and red of the Mexican flag.
Last week, walking down to Mercado Benito Juárez to pick up a few last-minute regalitos (little gifts) to bring up to family and friends in el norte, within two blocks I saw…
There is even a very yummy green, white, and red patriotic dish that appears in restaurants in September — Chiles en nogada. I’m hoping it will still be on the menu when I return at the end of the month from the el norte trip.
Walking in the rain
Posted in Animals, Travel & Tourism, Weather, tagged Calle Macedonio Alcalá, dogs, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, rain, rain storms, street scenes, street vendors on June 13, 2018| 7 Comments »
Cocijo (Zapotec god of rain, thunder, and lightning) has finally awoken!
Street dogs huddle in doorways.
Street vendors batten down their hatches.
Pedestrians watch for sidewalk waterfalls.
Streets become deserted.
Walking home in Oaxaca in the rain.
Independence Day is coming
Posted in Celebrations, Culture, Holidays, Travel & Tourism, tagged El Mes de la Patria, Mexican flag, Mexican Independence Day, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, popular travel destinations, street vendors on September 9, 2016| 4 Comments »
Mexico’s El Mes de la Patria (the month of the homeland) is upon us and overnight, as August turned to September, the streets erupted in green, white, and red.
Mexico celebrates September 16, 1810 as the beginning of its fight for independence from Spain.
Flags are flying everywhere and are for sale on every other street corner, along with all manner of patriotic tchotkes.
From buses in the city to moto-taxis in the villages, everything is decked out in the green, white, and red of the Mexican flag.
As for Oaxaca? The five-month renovation project at Mercado Benito Juárez has been completed and vendors have moved from their temporary stalls on the surrounding streets back into the market; Sección 22 teachers have returned to their classrooms and 80% of the encampment in the zócalo has been disassembled; the governor will give his final Grito de DoloresGrito de Dolores at 11:00 PM on September 15th; and the annual patriotic parade will fill the streets of the Historic District with participants and observers on the 16th.
Whose Paseo de Prado?
Posted in Culture, Economics, Travel & Tourism, tagged Chanel fashion show, Cuba, Habana, Havana, Paseo de Prado, photographs, photos, popular travel destinations, street vendors, tourism on May 5, 2016| 4 Comments »
A week and a half ago, we were strolling Havana’s Paseo de Prado. It was a sunny, blue-sky, already hot and humid Saturday morning. Amid the backdrop of crumbling, but not abandoned, buildings, vendors had set up their stalls…
and were ready to sweet talk a tourist or two into buying a tchotchke or three or four.
Locals walked purposefully down the uncrowded promenade.
All was tranquil, save for those gathered on one of the blocks (middle of the image below) to buy and sell properties.
The scene and the people were a far cry and a world apart from the glitz and glamour of the Chanel fashion show staged along that same paseo yesterday. The average monthly wage in Cuba is the equivalent of $20 (US), thus I find the spectacle of European haute couture prancing down the Prado, in the center of Havana, deeply troubling — never mind the exploitative use of stereotypes. Here’s what local Cuban designer, Idania del Rio had to say:
“I think that catwalk is going to be more for Chanel than for Cuba. I don’t know whether the people here in Cuba are ready for this type of product.”
Nevertheless, as a fashion designer she was curious: “I want to see what $40,000 clothing looks like,” she said.
Afterwards, the 33-year-old was not entirely impressed: “It was very interesting and maybe too nostalgic. A lot of Cuban cigars, colours and hats from another era. It represented a Cuba that doesn’t interest me right now, because today’s Cuba is another, more contemporary Cuba.”
I’m glad we weren’t still there; I don’t think I could stomach the over-the-top excess versus the real need we saw around every corner. I don’t know… Does Cuba really want to return to it’s decadent pre-revolutionary role of being playground to the world’s wealthy? Trickle down economics has an abysmal track record, so I’m not sure that it’s the best model for Cuba to follow
Showing the colors
Posted in Celebrations, Culture, Holidays, Travel & Tourism, tagged El Grito, El Mes de la Patria, Mexican Independence Day, Mexico, Oaxaca, patriotism, photographs, photos, popular travel destinations, street vendors on September 15, 2015| 6 Comments »
September is El Mes de la Patria in Mexico (the month of the homeland) and Oaxaca is showing the colors. Green, white, and red is everywhere — from the almost sublime to the downright ridiculous!
¡Viva Mexico y salud!
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