Posted in Creativity, Culture, Travel & Tourism, tagged Cuaresma decorations, cut paper, decorations, Jardín Sócrates, Jorge Prado (artist), Mexico, Oaxaca, papel picado, photos, popular travel destinations, shadows, stencil, urban art, wall art on March 16, 2021| Leave a Comment »
Looking up never ceases to make me smile, especially when papel picado (cut paper) garlands flutter in the breeze — images with holiday themes, celebrating rites of passage, and advertising local products.
They are even imprinted on walls.
We are in the midst of Cuaresma (Lent), though pandemic restrictions have canceled most public celebrations, we have the Liturgical colors of violet and white papel picado to remind us.
Even the neverías of Jardín Sócrates have gotten into the act.
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Neighborhoods, Travel & Tourism, tagged "No Discriminación e Inclusión" mural, Barrio de Jalatlaco, Conquistando Corazones, gender equality, Mexico, Movimiento Vecinal, murals, Muxes, Oaxaca, photos, political movements, popular travel destinations, social change, street art, transgender, urban art, wall art on February 22, 2021| 8 Comments »
Returning from an errand in the Jalatlaco neighborhood, I was stopped in my tracks by this massive mural on Calzada de la República. It is titled, “No Discriminación e Inclusión” (No Discrimination and Inclusion), and was unveiled in October 2020 as part of the Movimiento Vecinal — a program created by the Sistema Estatal de Seguridad Pública de Oaxaca (State Public Security System of Oaxaca) to involve youth, through cultural, athletic, community, and educational activities, in the recovery, appropriation and rescue of public spaces. Importantly, a collaboration has also been established with the civil association Conquistando Corazones to eradicate violence towards the community of sexual diversity.
(Unfortunately, trees and other foliage prevented a clear photo of the entire mural and so I offer you the full mural in six parts — moving from left to right facing the mural.)
According to José Manuel Vera, Executive Secretary of Sistema Estatal de Seguridad Pública de Oaxaca, “We work to achieve equality and dignity for people based on their sexual orientation or gender identity and we continue to create spaces for youth that represent freedom of action and thought. In a just and egalitarian society, everyone has the right to their individuality, to be who they are, to do so in peace, without fear of rejection, hatred or violence, but rather enriched by diversity” (my translation).
Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Holidays, Travel & Tourism, tagged ARCH (artist), Día del Amor y la Amistad, Efedefroy, hearts, indigenous languages, Mexico, Oaxaca, photos, stencil art, street art, urban art, Valentine decorations, Valentine's Day, wall art on February 13, 2021| Leave a Comment »
February 14th isn’t just a day for lovers. In Mexico, Valentine’s Day is known as the Día del Amor y la Amistad — Day of Love and Friendship.
Decorations have gone up and I have no doubt kilos of chocolate, bouquets of flowers, and heart shaped balloons with confessions of amor will be purchased.
Unfortunately, with the virus continuing to rapidly spread and Oaxaca still under semáforo naranja/orange traffic light (though many think it should be rojo/red), I’m not sure restaurants will or should be filled to capacity with friends, sweethearts, and families.
Given the trauma and uncertainty the world has experienced over the past year, I hope we have learned to cherish our friends and family and to let them know how much they mean to us every day. Let us celebrate days of love and friendship and not just limit it to one day a year.
And, if you would like to say I love you (te amo) in 7 of the 69 indigenous languages spoken in Mexico — including several spoken in the state of Oaxaca — click HERE.
Posted in Casita Colibrí, Creativity, Culture, Flora, Travel & Tourism, tagged Amanda Gorman (poet), container plant, Crown of Thorns, garden, inauguration poem, Mexico, murals, Oaxaca, photos, Primavera amarilla, street art, The Hill We Climb (poem), trees, urban art, wall art on January 21, 2021| 14 Comments »
Four years ago today, we were marching in the streets of Oaxaca — part of a worldwide post inauguration day response to the dark days we could see coming following the results of the US election. Alas, it was far worse than our imaginations could take us. What a difference four years makes! At yesterday’s inauguration we watched as a young woman in a dazzling yellow coat, with her brilliant words and luminous spirit, captured the dark and replaced it with trust in our power to bring light to an imperfect country. Thank you Amanda Gorman for your inspiring words and presence.
When day comes, we ask ourselves, where can we find light in this never ending shade?
And so we lift our gaze, not to what stands between us, but what stands before us…
For there was always light.
If only we’re brave enough to see it.
If only we’re brave enough to be it.
Quotations from The Hill We Climb, a poem written and read by Amanda Gorman at the inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamela Harris.
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Neighborhoods, Travel & Tourism, tagged archway, arquito, Barrio de Xochimilco, Mexico, murals, Oaxaca, photos, sculptures, street art, urban art, wall art on January 17, 2021| 14 Comments »
The second Sunday in 2021 walk took us to Xochimilco (“X” pronounced like “S”).
We never know where our feet will take us and who we will meet along the way.
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Travel & Tourism, tagged Barrio de Jalatlaco, Bouler, Mexico, murals, Oaxaca, photos, stencil art, street art, urban art, URTARTE, wall art on January 9, 2021| 4 Comments »
Last Sunday’s first Sunday of 2021 walk…
Going to and from Barrio de Jalatlaco, there is always something old and new to see.
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Travel & Tourism, tagged Benito Juárez image, coronavirus fallout, COVID-19 fallout, cubrebocas, Danza de los Rubios image, face masks, Frida Kahlo image, masks, Mexico, Oaxaca, photos, stencil art, street art, urban art, wall art on December 27, 2020| 4 Comments »
Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Holidays, Travel & Tourism, tagged Alice in Wonderland quotations, Christmas decorations, coronavirus fallout, COVID-19 fallout, Louis Carroll quotations, Mexico, monos, murals, Oaxaca, photos, Santa Claus, semáforo system, street art, urban art, wall art on December 21, 2020| 2 Comments »
Today Oaxaca regressed to “If you are able, stay in your house” Covid-19 semáforo naranja, seemingly for the umpteenth time, not that it seems to make any difference. A morning walk to Mercado Benito Juárez revealed restaurants continuing to offer indoor dining; a zócalo teeming with people, street vendors, and the tents of a plantón (protest encampment); and a mercado bustling with people. These days I feel like I’m living in Alice in Wonderland’s world…
“Off with their heads!”
“One day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire cat in a tree. ‘Which road do I take?’ she asked. ‘Where do you want to go?’ was his response. ‘I don’t know,’ Alice answered. ‘Then,’ said the cat, ‘it doesn’t matter.”
“Little Alice fell
d
o
w
n
the hOle,
bumped her head
and bruised her soul”
“What a strange world we live in… Said Alice to the Queen of hearts”
All quotes from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Louis Carroll.
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Travel & Tourism, tagged backpacks, cars, juxtaposition, Mexico, Oaxaca, photos, quotations, stencils, street art, urban art, wall art on December 1, 2020| 8 Comments »
I’m always trying to find ‘connections’ between things. That art is the juxtaposition of a lot of things that seem unrelated but add up to something recognizable. –Pat Metheny
The taste for quotations (and for the juxtaposition of incongruous quotations) is a Surrealist taste. –Susan Sontag
I get the same charge from juxtaposition of colors as I do from juxtaposition of chords. –Joni Mitchell
Creativity is that marvelous capacity to grasp mutually distinct realities and draw a spark from their juxtaposition. –Max Ernst
I love the juxtaposition of a sweet little blouse with a motocross look. –Melissa McCarthy
Cities are about juxtaposition. In Florence, classical buildings sit against medieval buildings. It’s that contrast we like. –Richard Rogers
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Politics, Travel & Tourism, tagged Cartoon Trump, graffiti, photos, stencils, street art, urban art, wall art on November 20, 2020| 2 Comments »
The walls of Oaxaca have a theme going on…
I think they have been watching too much “el norte” news!
Posted in Creativity, Culture, tagged aprons, Mexico, Oaxaca, photos, Santa Ana del Valle, stencil art, street art, strong women, urban art, wall art, women, Zapotec women on November 10, 2020| 2 Comments »
The stencil, seen on Sunday’s walk along Av. José María Morelos, may be of women from San Miguel del Valle, but the words speak to women everywhere.
We are the struggles won by our ancestors.
Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Travel & Tourism, tagged Barrio de Jalatlaco, China Oaxaqueña dancer, Chinas Oaxaqueñas, coronavirus fallout, COVID-19 fallout, Danza de la Pluma dancer, Huautla de Jiménez dancer, Mazapán (dog), Mexico, murals, Oaxaca, photos, popular travel destinations, street art, urban art, Uriel Barragán Bouler, wall art on October 16, 2020| Leave a Comment »
More dancing on the walls of Barrio de Jalatlaco from the artist Bouler (Uriel Barragán).
Living vicariously in these days of COVID-19 — be it through books, online concerts and museum tours, video events, and photos of people and places we are longing to see.
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Flora, Neighborhoods, Travel & Tourism, tagged bar of soap, Barrio de Jalatlaco, Billar Jalatlaco, bougainvillea, bugambilia, building colors, colors of Mexico, cubrebocas, Efedefroy, El Tendajón, flowers, Lapiztola, Mexico, Oaxaca, Orange trumpet vine, photos, pool hall, stencil art, street art, urban art, wall art, Zote soap on September 29, 2020| 8 Comments »
Another Sunday, another walk through Barrio de Jalatlaco…
Billar Jalatlaco pool hall.
Bougainvillea in Barrio de Jalatlaco.
Inside the door of El Tendajón, the work appears to be by Lapiztola.
Orange trumpet vine in Barrio de Jalatlaco.
Wear a mask and wash your hands with ZOTE soap — by Efedefroy.
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Health, Travel & Tourism, tagged coronavirus fallout, COVID-19 fallout, Mexico, Oaxaca, photos, popular travel destinations, semáforo system, street art, urban art, wall art on September 13, 2020| 10 Comments »
Semáforo amarillo (yellow traffic light), we hardly knew ya. According to this article, due to the resistance and indiscipline of the citizens to maintain prevention measures, as of Monday, September 14, Oaxaca is back in the Covid-19 semáforo naranja (orange traffic light) — meaning a high risk of contagion. Alas, this does not come as a surprise.
As previously mentioned, the semáforo designation is based on ten criteria by the federal government. However, it’s my understanding the implementation is left up to states and municipalities, which means concrete answers as to what this entails is fuzzy — to say the least! Color me orange with big eyes and clenched teeth.
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View From Casita Colibrí 
Mighty women of Oaxaca’s walls
Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Politics, Travel & Tourism, tagged art, Día Internacional de la Mujer, International Women's Day, Mexico, Oaxaca, political commentary, stencil art, street art, urban art, wall art, women's faces, women's rights on March 7, 2021| Leave a Comment »
March 8 is International Women’s Day. In the words of a recent article by Nancy Rosenstock, a woman I knew back in the day, “In these challenging times, all women — from those of us who were involved in second-wave feminism to those just entering the struggle — need to come together as equal fighters and chart a course forward.”
We may have come a long way, but the struggle for equal rights, respect, freedom from violence, and control of our own bodies continues and the women of the walls of Oaxaca are not silent.
Many of the images also carry a written messages. Below, Nuestros sueños no caben en sus urnas / Our dreams do not fit in their ballot boxes carries an indictment against the capitalist political parties.
The next one lets the symbols of the ancestors speak.
From a women’s graphic campaign that seeks to express “what our bodies go through every day and what we are seeking when we scream: Vivas Nos Queremos / We Want Ourselves Alive.”
And, a promise that women will not be silenced and will march forward Sin miedo / Without fear.
Then there is the mural, La Patria / The Homeland, which adorns the wall of a school in Barrio de Jalatlaco. La Patria, originally a painting by Jorge González Camarena of an indigenous woman surrounded by patriotic imagery, graced the covers of textbooks from the 1960s into the 1970s.
To honor and celebrate International Women’s Day, on March 8, La Mano Magica Gallery/Galería inaugurates an exhibit of women artists, Exposición de Arte Colectiva Mujeres Artistas, curated by Mary Jane Gagnier, at their gallery in Oaxaca and online on their Facebook page.
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