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Posts Tagged ‘wall art’

Handwriting is on the wall

Posted in Creativity, Culture, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , on August 17, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Tomorrow, I return to the land where the handwriting is on the wall.

Expressing pride in the traditional floral embroidery (toninera) of San Antonino Castillo Velasco and their recycling efforts.
In San Pablo Villa de Mitla, “together we achieve a better town.”
In Oaxaca de Juárez, the handwriting doesn’t need translation.

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Hummingbirds on the walls

Posted in Creativity, Culture, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 8, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Life has been pretty good up here in el norte. The joy of having my whole family together has been immeasurable and the weather has been unusually, for this time of year in the San Francisco Bay Area, spectacular. (For those unaware of Northern California coastal weather, I give you the line attributed, albeit falsely, to Mark Twain, “The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.”) Given the sun, blue sky, and warm temperatures, I’ve spent a lot of time outdoors — gardening, eating, and sitting watching the hummingbirds — just like Oaxaca! But I miss the colibries that also can be found on the walls of my neighborhood.

Artists: Seth Ruiz and Berza Remes
Artist: Oceane Isla Arte
Artist: Dulce Tamayo
Artist: Oceane Isla Arte
Artist: unknown

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Maguey to mezcal to music

Posted in Beverages, Creativity, Culture, Music, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 29, 2023| 10 Comments »

From the streets of Oaxaca, maguey to mezcal in murals.

And then comes the music, “Dos Botellas de Mezcal” (Two Bottles of Mezcal).

Cheers! ¡Salud! ¡Dixeebe!

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Honoring the mothers

Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Holidays, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , on May 9, 2023| 7 Comments »

May 10 is Día de la Madre in Mexico and to honor the mothers, grandmothers, mother figures, and the daughters, whose future is in their hands, some recent murals seen in the city and countryside.

The celebration of Mother’s Day migrated south from the USA in the early 20th century and was embraced and promoted by the Catholic Church AND the anticlerical Revolutionaries. Their reasons being:

around the 1850s the Liberals… were nervous about women’s growing participation in the public sphere.  Establishing motherhood as venerable and the home as sanctified… would give women a sphere of their own where they could be boss.  Also, it would keep them off the streets and out of the workplace where they had begun to compete with men for jobs. Under their watch, everyday motherhood became an exalted madre-hood…. The twentieth-century Revolutionaries who succeeded them took the idea and ran with it, adding in 1922 a ritual, Mother’s Day. [Madre: Perilous Journeys with a Spanish Noun by Liza Bakewell, p. 84]

As for keeping them out of the workforce, according to a report citing the 2010 census, 33.3% of women work and this doesn’t even include those working in family operated enterprises. However distasteful the reasons behind the establishment of Mother’s Day in Mexico, it does nothing to diminish the need to honor these beautiful, hardworking, formidable, and loving women.

And to the girls and young women, may you be empowered by the strength and love of the maternal figures in your life to reach for the stars, live without fear, and be whatever you choose to be.

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Strolling along Xicoténcatl

Posted in Buildings, Creativity, Culture, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , on January 25, 2023| 18 Comments »

One of the joys of living in Oaxaca de Juárez is being able to walk most everywhere I need to go. On this particular day, I headed 2 km. south to Veana Oaxaca Mayoreo in search of more plastic chairs for my terrace. Though the route, which took me down Calle de Xicoténcatl, wasn’t one I normally followed, nor along the most scenic and/or quaint of streets, it still had scenes to surprise and delight.

Given that my mission was successful, the young male sales clerk hoisted the six chairs I’d purchased and carried them half a block, where he set them down on the sidewalk at the next intersection, telling me this was the best location to hail a taxi. An empty taxi appeared within three minutes. More reasons why I love Oaxaca!

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Ready for color

Posted in Creativity, Culture, Neighborhoods, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , on January 13, 2023| 7 Comments »

It has now been almost a month of wind, rain, and fifty shades of grey skies and I am more than ready to return to the land of light and color. In the meantime, I’m channeling the murals of Oaxaca’s Barrio de Xochimilco — where even greys come with rainbows of color.

¡Hasta pronto Oaxaca!

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Muertos murals in my neighborhood

Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Holidays, Neighborhoods, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , 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.

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It takes talent and teamwork

Posted in Creativity, Culture, Neighborhoods, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , 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.

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Dogs & cats & armadillos, oh my!

Posted in Animals, Celebrations, Churches, Creativity, Culture, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 27, 2022| 7 Comments »

Over the past several years, one can’t help but notice that Oaxaca has become much more pet friendly.

In place of the formerly ubiquitous roof dogs menacingly peering down and barking at pedestrians, images of silent dogs and cats look out from walls along the sidewalks.

Veterinary offices have sprung up all over the city, dog walkers have become a “thing,” many businesses are placing water bowls outside their entrances, and restaurants are welcoming pets — cat photos that follow are from the mural outside La Selva de los Gatos Cat Cafe vegetarian restaurant.

Thanks to the efforts of various sterilization clinics in the valley, one doesn’t encounter nearly as many street dogs and feral cats.

If you are so inclined, Huellas de Ayuda Oaxaca and Teo Tails are a couple of clinics that could use financial and volunteer assistance.

Just look at these faces. What’s not to love?

Of course there is the occasional big cat.

And, not to be overlooked, armadillos are known to appear.

No matter the species of animal, on August 31, in celebration of the feast day of San Ramón Nonato, they can accompany their humans to be blessed at Templo de Nuestra Señora de la Merced at 4:00 PM. If years past are any indication, it should be a colorful and lively event.

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Animal crossing

Posted in Creativity, Culture, Music, Signs, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on June 14, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Returning home from the trip to el norte, I discovered an animal crossing in the works near my local Pitico.

Thanks to the artist, Waffloide, it’s a jungle out there!

Now I can’t get The Lion Sleeps Tonight out of my head.

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Street-side signing

Posted in Creativity, Culture, Language, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on May 10, 2022| 4 Comments »

The walls of Oaxaca always have a lot to say. Now you can learn the abecedario a señas (sign language alphabet) from a wall on 5 de mayo in Barrio de Jalatlaco.

In mid April, this new mural was unveiled. Organized by Maestro Rolando Sigüenza, deaf artists Jonatan Martínez, Juan Antonio García, Moisés Antonio Orozco, María Soledad Aguilar, Blanca Flor Pineda, Miguel Eduardo Mancera, Jesús Ariel Castellanos, Mitzi Scheherazada, Rebeca Casas, Susana Hernánez, Marcial Pérez, Emmanuel Ignacio, Cristhian Yépez, and Ángel Iván Torres painted a mural of the alphabet in sign language and braille.

Benito Juárez signing.

The text below Benito Juárez explains, “On November 28, 1867, Benito Juárez founded the first school for deaf people in Mexico, which at that time was called the National School for the Deaf, despite the fact that the School was closed, the deaf continue to fight for our rights.”

Danza de la Pluma danzante signing.

The owner of the property, la señora Rosario Martínez, said she provided the space so these artists could show their work and to beautify the neighborhood.

China Oaxaqueña with canasta spelling AMOR (LOVE).

Does anyone know what Benito Juárez and the danzante are signing?

My plan is to learn a new letter each time I walk by.

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I’ve just seen a face…

Posted in Creativity, Culture, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on April 21, 2022| 4 Comments »

Is it just my imagination or is there a face hidden in this entry?

Now I can’t get The Beatles, I’ve Just Seen a Face out of my head. Oh, and now Traffic with Steve Winwood singing Smiling Phases. Yes, I know I’m dating myself, but we had some pretty unforgettable music back in the day!

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Dancing on the cobblestone streets

Posted in Creativity, Culture, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , on April 3, 2022| 4 Comments »

On the walls of Barrio de Jalatlaco, there is always dancing on the cobblestone streets.

And, it’s not just during La Guelaguetza that the sights and sounds of real life dancers can be heard and seen in the neighborhoods of Oaxaca, calendas (parades) celebrating festivals, weddings, graduations, and more are part of the life and soundtrack of Oaxaca.

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Home is where the hummingbirds hover

Posted in Casita Colibrí, Creativity, Culture, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 23, 2022| 2 Comments »

Spring has sprung in the valley of Oaxaca and that means the hottest and driest months are upon us. Despite conventional wisdom, the temperatures actually cool down a little in the summer, when the afternoon/evening rains come. I confess, this time of year, when the thermometer hovers around 90º (Fahrenheit), by early afternoon my energy is sapped and motivation melts away. Hence, blog posts are few and far between. However, today is a little cooler and my blog’s namesake inspired me to let my fingers not just hover over keyboard, but actually type!

Colibríes in murals seen on walls around the city…

Artist: Marcos Lucero
Arte y diseño: Rufina
Artist unknown

A few of the colibríes seen in the art and artesanía in my Casita Colibrí home…

Watercolor by Estefani Hernández
Hand-painted pillow by Pilar Miranda
Tin hummingbird purchased at MARO

Speaking of hovering, a little information from the book, Colibríes de México y Norteamérica/ Hummingbirds of México and North America to go along with the pretty pictures:

Hummingbirds are noted for their incredible ability to fly. They can hover suspended in the air and can fly in any direction, even sideways and backwards, allowing them to reach their food anywhere. Their powerful chest muscles are extremely developed (they can account for around 30% of their body mass) and this allows them to beat their wings very rapidly, from an incredible 80 wing beats per second, up to a staggering 200 wing beats per second when performing certain maneuvers during courtship. Their muscles also allow them to reach amazing speeds, ranging from 50 to 95 km/hr when diving in flight during courtship.

A .pdf of the book is free to download from the above link.

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Girls have the power

Posted in Creativity, Culture, People, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on March 8, 2022| 2 Comments »

On International Women’s Day, a mural in Barrio de Jalatlaco…

“Girls have the power“

Mural by the Mad In crew celebrating the life of María Antonieta Chagoya Méndez, a lawyer who, among many other notable activities, shared her legal knowledge with civil associations and founded the Rotary Center for Autism Intervention, which served children with special needs.

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