porfinOaxaca

Ixtlan lizards

2008-05-22T07:22:00.000-07:00

had to wait a long time for these guys to come out...
anyone know what kind these are?

just walking around town

2007-12-20T15:49:00.000-08:00

Monte Alban

2007-12-16T19:11:00.001-08:00

I suppose that everyone that comes to Oaxaca goes to Monte Alban and despite my disklike of doing what "everyone" does, the ruins at Monte Alban are unique and impressive for many reasons. The site is so spacious that it is possible to absorb many visitors without marring the atmosphere.The site is located on a low mountainous range rising above the valley of Oaxaca and can be seen from many other important pre-hispanic sites in the area. The site is truly a commanding one that overlooks the whole valley.From about 500 B.C. through 800 A.D., Monte Alban flourished as the capital of the Zapotecs so it is one of the New World´s very earliest cities.The number of inhabitants eventually reached 35,000.Some time around the year 800 A.D. the population decreased and by the time the Spanish arrived the site and inhabitants were in decline.
I was fascinated by the beauty of the design and the way the buildings were placed on the site. I also liked the trees with huge white blossoms with giant bees diving into the center.
I was also offered "genuine artifacts" that the sellers promised "were actually dug from farmer's fields", I but declined the offer, although the artwork was really quite good. Perhaps the instinct to make beautiful folk art is too deeply a part of the Oaxacan nature to skimp the artistic effort even making real/fake artifacts.

Market in Zaachila

2007-12-16T18:23:00.001-08:00

Zaachila is about 12 miles south of Oaxaca city and has been having a Thursday market for hundreds of years. The town is named for the Zapotec ruler, Zaachila Yoo. The city was taken over by the Mixtec shortly before the Spaniards arrived and is thus has a heritage of being a Mixtec-Zapotec capitals that was still inhabited at the time of the Spanish Conquest.

Zaachila is known for its bustling livestock market. Some may think that the animals brought for sale are being displayed in a cruel fashion but although the animals are not happy to be here and one could say they are stressed by the experience, they are not treated in a cruel way. There is feed for for the animals and the market is over by early afternoon. The animals that are not sold are taken back to the farm. These people are too poor and the animals too valuable for them to be mistreated to the point of damaging their health or value. True, there is no false sentimentality, unlike the way most people in the so-called “civilized”, first world countries like to imagine that the meat wrapped in plastic and gleaming in all its antiseptic glory in the supermarket somehow was not the product of a living creature that suffered and died to feed us. Indeed, I am sure that these animals in the Zaachila market lived a more humane life and will have most likely a more humane death than the factory farms and killing machines our meat production methods would have given them.

fiesta in San Martin

2007-12-07T18:00:00.000-08:00

Photo notes: lots of fun, adorable angels, beautiful ladies, dancing big heads (if you look closely at the dancing big heads, you can see that these are children from the size of the feet)
short video clips at the bottom
San Martin Tilcajete fiesta at a wood carver's home and village
I met a new friend in Oaxaca who buys alebrijes* from several families in Oaxaca. She has a good eye for quality carvings and I learned a lot from seeing what she bought. Over the years she has become friends with the carvers and their families, she always treats them fairly and respects their life and culture. So she was invited to a fiesta for the saint's day, for San Martin Tilcajete and she invited me to go along. As I understand it, the fiesta includes a child who "stands in" for the saint, he is the ultimate guest of honor and is dressed and treated almost as the embodiment of the saint for that day. The father made a promise at the boy's birth that he would give that day to the saint, which means that the father and family is responsible for the fiesta with food, drink, flowers, bands and the expenses associated with procession to the church, and of course, lots of fireworks.
Everyone there was so warm and wonderful to us, it was clear that was a very important day for the family and indeed the whole town.
*Alebrijes are fanciful woodcarvings, made in the villages of San Antonio Arrazola, San Martin Tilcajete, La Union Tejalapa, and San Pedro Cajonos in the state of Oaxaca.
Some are avidly collected by folk art museums all over the world and have helped some villages become more prosperous in one of Mexico's poorest regions.
These carvings are not derived from ancient traditions but in the 1930's were inspired by a dream when papier mache artist Pedro Linares fell ill at age 30 and who then had a miraculous recovery. After the dream and recovery his sculptures were brightly-painted with intricate patterns and bizarre creatures with wings, horns, tails, fierce teeth, and bulgy eyes that he called alebrijes.
Later, in the 1960's the Oaxaca carvers began making wooden alebrijes most often using the wood of the copal tree. Today there are wood carvers making just about any creature, real or imagined, some with levels of skill that are masters of art and design by any standard.

Hierve Agua

2007-12-03T15:22:00.000-08:00

Photo notes: beautiful mountain views on the road to Hierve, detail of one of the channels with spring water, the pool, and the "petrified waterfall". Video at the bottom with the bubbling spring.

These ancient springs at the top of a bluff have been used since about 2,400 years ago.
A petrified waterfall formed from the calcium carbonate and magnesium in the water is one of the sights. The springs mysteriously bubble up from the rock, with deposits of minerals that give an unearthly appearance to the area and a pool that looks strange to be perched on the edge of the bluff.Hierve el Agua has been open and closed during the past few years due to disputes among San Bartolo, San Isidro Roagui, and San Lorenzo Albarradas. These communities are disputing which town gets what part of the entrance fees had been collected by the San Lorrenzo Albarradas. the tourist office in Oaxaca says that the area is closed, but several tour agencies said they go there. Usually, I do not go with any sort of tour, but even though I think it is possible to get there one one's own, by going first to Mitla and then take a collectivo taxi from Mitla to HierveAgua, I decided that a half day trip for $15 US in a van with only 6 other passengers would be good use of my time and money. We left Oaxaca around 12:30 and met up with the other folks there. The group was made of of a nice couple from Mexico city, a couple from New Zealand, a German couple and a nice local Mexican family with a child. So a very pleasant international group. Our driver a very pleasant young man named Willie, told me that 3 people had been killed in the villages over the disputed economic benefits from the Hierve Agua visitors. Very sad and highlights the sparse resources that these communities have and the importance of the money that tourism brings to some of these small remote villages. We passed by the new construction for the new highway going to the Isthmus, so perhaps these villages will be less remote in the near future. I think this new super highway to the Isthmus is part of the "Plan Panama" to make the Isthmus and the southern Pacific coast an industrial and transportation corridor to the north, eventually all the way to the US border. Some of this plan is unpopular with the indigenous people in the Isthmus because they see little benefit to them, but lots of environmental damage and destruction of their culture, and I suspect their fears are valid.

Mitla....

2007-12-02T16:52:00.000-08:00

(photo notes: the first two pictures are of the church built over and from the original temple, you can see parts of the designs to the left of the first church photo)
It is fascinating to see the designs in these Zapotec ruins that are the same as in the carpets, although when one thinks about, not surprising at all. The geometric designs symbolize the powers of nature (according to what I have read) but their undulating rhythm is beautiful in itself. Each frieze consists of up to 100,000 separate pieces of cut stone, amazing.
n 1494 the Aztecs conquered Mitla and sacked the city. Later the Spanish took over followed their common practice building a new church on top of the of the former temple, scavenging the temple for building materials.
Everything that I have read says these geometric designs are unique in the Americas.

Agave ... maugey

2007-12-02T15:14:00.000-08:00

notes on pictures: all are of the agaves growing in front of the church in Oaxaca except for the second photo which is of a blooming agave in Cuajimoloyas in the Sierra Norte. The video at the bottom, I took in the mercado.
Agave nectar (aguamiel) is harvested from a variety of agave( maguey ) .
Agave nectar is harvested from the plant through a process which does not kill the plant. Just before the agave grows its tall flower spike, the top section of the piña is cut and scooped out to allow the agave juice to collect. The nectar is collected and then allowed to go through a natural enzymatic process, ending with a product similiar to honey, but unlike honey it does not crystalize. Agave syrup can also be used to make a low-alcohol, fermented drink called pulque. This is an ancient drink, the Aztec and Mayan codices depict feasting and drinking what was probably a form of pulque.
Then there is mezcal, made from the center or pina of the maguey which is cut out and thus kills the plant. The piñas are baked in rock-lined pits in the ground. Next the piñas are piled to 3–4 feet above ground level, covered with banana leaves, used fiber from the last process, or agave leaves, and earth where they cook for 3-4 more days. By this time the starches have converted to sugars and after resting for as long as week, they are crushed by a large stone wheel attached to a post pulled around by a horse or burro, crushing the piñas and making a mash which is then put into wooden vats where it ferments. The fermented mash is distilled twice to produce mezcal. The better mezcal is aged up to seven years, but typically mezcal is aged from 2 months to 2 years. The longer it is aged, the darker the color and the more intense the flavor.

Mezcal is known for the tradition of adding different items into the bottle along with the mezcal itself. These can include worms, scorpions, and decorative elements such as glass sculptures with gold leaf. A lot of people mistakenly that tequila has a worm at the bottom, but if you see a worm it must be mezcal.The "worm" is the larva of one of the several kinds of "maguey worm". The worm is found on the agave plant. Many brands contain such worms because the worms are believed to improve the taste.The maguey worm is also eaten by itself, I found some in the 20th noviembere mercado, for sale live and dead for eating and for putting in mezcal.

wedding in Oaxaca

2007-12-02T12:58:00.000-08:00

I am sure that this wedding is quite upper class, but the spirit was universal. In Oaxaca it appears that almost any occasion is celebrated by the walking big heads, often characterizing a person or a type of person, in this case the bride and groom.And of course there were a lot of fireworks! (if you look more closely (click to enlarge) at the 3rd picture, you can see the person's head peeking out near where a belly button would be on the giant character.

Journey to Ixtlan

2007-12-02T10:05:00.000-08:00

Not the Carlos Castaneda version (although walking up to Ixtlan de Juárez is a mind altering experience). We started out from Oaxaca and took a short bus ride to the sitio where the collective taxis waited for passengers to go up to Ixtlan. Our destination was the trout restaurant called Cauchirindoo after the chief of the Zapotec army which defeated the Aztecs in 1486. There is a statue of the chief at the mirador (good view) looking down on Ixtlan and a large part of the Sierra. The people here are proud of their history and the fact they were never conquered by the Aztecs, and according to what I have read, kept their culture more intact than some other indigenous groups even after the Spanish invasion and conquest. The dignified and very handsome Senor (known to some as Mr. Guapo) runs the trout farm and restaurant called Cauchirindoo . The taxi ride is a shared taxi, 3 in the back and 3 (including the driver) in the front. I was lucky or unlucky enough depending on one’s viewpoint to get the middle seat, right next to the driver and the gearshift. I was very impressed that during the 45 min+ taxi ride our driver Roberto was very careful not to brush my leg or thigh, which considering my perch in the middle took a lot of attention on his part!
Ixtlan has a very well managed eco-tourism project with cabins in the mountains and trails for hikers. The town itself is beautiful and tranquil, when we arrived someone was cooking chicken over a wood fire in the square, it smelled wonderful, but had a mission: Lunch at Mr. Guapo's trout restaurant, Cauchirindoo After a 3 KM walk (according to the sign, but I think is more like 4.5KM) we arrived at the restaurant. Lovely people, lovely food, lovely view all together prefect.

On the way to Ixtlan, we passed through Guelatao which is the birthplace of Mexican President Benito Juárez. who began life as a poor Zapotec, orphaned at 3 years and who walked into Oaxaca city when he was twelve? At the time he was illiterate and only spoke Zapotec. In the city he had a sister who worked as a cook in the house of the Maza family and there he took a job as a servant. What were the chances that he would land in this particular family where Senor Maza took an interest in his education and development? For me, Benito’s story shows the way that one person can change the fate of a country. In his case, there were so many things that had to happen just the right way for him to get the chance to change the world. What were the odds that a poor shepherd boy whose parents died when he was three would end up as the first and only full blooded indigenous president of Mexico? By 1841 he had become a Civil Judge, and then, the Governor of Oaxaca. Two years later, he married Margarita Maza, the daughter of his patron. Margarita who was of pure Spanish descent was his devoted wife and staunchest supporter until the day of his death. At this time for a Zapotec Indian to marry an upper class Spanish woman was incredibly rare, again, the chances of this happening at that time in history were incalculably small.

One of Benito’s most profound statements is: Entre los individuos, como entre las naciones, el respeto al derecho ajeno es la paz, meaning "Among individuals, as among nations, respect for the rights of others is peace." It is inscribed on the coat of arms of Oaxaca. Benito Juarez is sometimes called the Lincoln of Mexico; they were contemporaries but never met in person.

Rubias in las montanas (blondes in the mountains)journey to Ixtlan (y Cauchirindoo )

2007-12-02T07:26:00.000-08:00

Rubias in las montanas (blondes in the mountains)
Are we having fun yet? Si, Si!

children dancing, children playing

2007-11-21T19:34:00.000-08:00

I love these pictures of children, one child that was part of a group of dancers and another that was happily playing under a tree.

Costena comes to Oaxaca, beautiful dancers

2007-11-21T19:18:00.000-08:00

There are so many traditional dances, all with beautiful bright costumes. These were not professional dancers, but rather people from the towns who came to share and promote their culture and region. G. says that the women from this area are reputed to be some of the most beautiful in Mexico, they were certainly beautiful. (in my next life I want to come back looking like a latina!)

Costena comes to Oaxaca..carnival

2007-11-21T18:54:00.000-08:00

Several towns from near the Pacific Coast of Oaxaca brought their dances, including some carnival dancers, their food and textiles to Oaxaca last week. I had considered going there, but since they came to me, I will save actually going to the towns of Putla and Pinotepa Nacional for another time. I spent the entire day entranced by the beautiful dance and dancers.

!chocolate....que rico!

2007-11-21T18:17:00.000-08:00

Oaxaca is known for the rich chocolate that is made here. Even though the cacao tree does not grown here, the beans are imported from the state of Tabasco and the rest from Chiapas. While the beans are referred to as "raw" they are actually dried. There has been a long tradition of chocolate making in this city. There is one street in particular that has many chocolate grinders. In Oaxaca every family has a special chocolate recipe with the specific mix of the cocoa beans, cinnamon, almonds and sugar. The ingredients are measured in the quantities requested and then put in a mechanized electronic grinder, but with a stone inside the wheel that actually does the grinding. Within a matter of minutes, thick, rich, pure, unadulterated chocolate exits the grinder, there are no fillers, no additives, no preservatives. Walking down the street of the chocolate makers is an incredible sensory experience, the aroma of chocolate with notes of cinamon and almonds comes wafting out of almost every door.

I have read that Oaxacan chocolate is distinctive and delicious but was not sure whether to believe, but after trying lots of samples, I am convinced that it is some of the best I have ever had.

heroes of the revolution...size small

2007-11-20T17:49:00.000-08:00

so...General Villa, what´s the plan?

2007-11-20T17:46:00.000-08:00

You gotta love kids with painted on moustaches... (parade for el dia de Revolucion)

Can your policemen/fireman do this?

2007-11-20T17:27:00.001-08:00

A great dia de Revolucion parade in Oaxaca. All the police and firemen had rehearsed very impressive routines for the parade.

Tule ...a sacred tree.

2007-11-17T14:54:00.000-08:00

It is a Montezuma Cypress (Taxodium mucronatum), or Ahuehuete in the Nahuatl language. It has the largest trunk of any tree in the world. The age is unknown, with estimates ranging between 1,200 and 3,000 years. Hard to imagine what this tree could tell if it could talk. The people in the village seem to revere their tree, it seems to have a sacred spot for hundreds of years, pre conquest and probably much before that.
When I was there there was a quincenara going on, the young lady was certainly princess for a day.

colorful night in Oaxaca

2007-11-16T19:13:00.000-08:00

There were some visiting dancers from Jalisco in Oaxaca last night. The traditional dances include these swirling colorful coustumes.

Las tortugas (turtles)

2007-11-16T18:53:00.000-08:00

The Oaxacan coast used to be a killing ground for sea turtles, this is now outlawed and the small beach town of Mazunte has turned to turtle conservation and protection. There is a turtle center and a piece of beach has been set aside so that when the turtles come up to lay their eggs they are protected.

The fisherman in Augustillo have a tour that includes the guide jumping overboard and capturing a turtle. I admit I had mixed feelings about this, but the guide assured me that the turtles were not bothered by this. Indeed he seemed to be gentle with the turtle and he did not seem to be disturbed. However, I am not an expert in turtle expressions of distress. In any case, I am sure the turtle preferred this short capture to what happened to his ancestors.

muy tranquilo and a library too!

2007-11-16T18:18:00.001-08:00

The beautiful, very uncrowded beaches of Augustillo where an American lady has created a wonderful library with titles in English, Spanish, French and German among other languages to serve whatever a visitor might need. She also does a lot for the children in this small community, with books for them in spanish and english and a small computer lab for them. When I was there, it was evident that the children loved being there and loved her as well.

So lots of relaxing and reading (have not read anything in English for serveral weeks!) The mid day sun was very hot, I did my swimming (in the calm water with the children) around 4pm. I do not think I would want to be here after Feb., much too hot.

So is it just me or this cliff in Mazunte have a definite skull shape in the rock? (picture after the sunrise and sunset)

church and museum Ocotlan

2007-11-16T17:42:00.000-08:00

The church in Ocotlan has been restored with the help of Oaxacan artist Rodolfo Morales.

The church has a museum with some of his works and some local folk art.

Morales is best known for his brightly coloured surrealistic paintings often featuring Mexican women in village settings.
Along with the paintings of Morelas are some clay works of Aguilar sisters: Josefina, Guillermina, Irene and Concepcion who all live next to each other in large extended families. Each sister works in clay, but each has a distinctive style that reflects their own view of the world.

I walked over to their workshops and bought some small clay pieces.

market day in Ocotlan

2007-11-16T16:36:00.000-08:00

Ocotlan is about 40 min by bus from Oaxaca. Friday is market day. There has been a market here on this day for hundreds of years. All mercado fascinate me and this was no diffferent, products of the region and people bringing what they have to sell, to socialize and to buy.

Here you can buy cabbages and roses, pulque and tepache (pulque is a fermented drink made for the maguey, a type of agave. Before the spanish introduced distillation (as in tequila and mezcal) this is what they indigenous people drank, and it was reputed to be very healthy)

Tepache is made out of pineapple some brown sugar and sometimes beer.
It is a drink known since prehispanic times like pulqe. You can buy cacao (seeds from the cacao tree used to make chocolate)

You can buy leather belts and saddles and wooden saddles for your mule. You can buy a turkey or a goat and since the Mexican day of independence is coming up, you can buy your wooden gun and hat to march in the parade of children on that day.

Back from the beach

2007-11-15T11:21:00.000-08:00

Spent some time in the small beach town of Augustillo here is the view from my hammock. More later.

Apoala....once again the only gringa in town

2007-11-10T16:11:00.000-08:00

not only the only gringa, but the only guest. They did not know I was coming because I was never able to get through by phone, so I decided to just go. From Nochixtlan you can take a collectivo truck with seats in the truck bed or a taxi. I decided to take the truck to Apoala and then arrange to have a taxi pick me up the following afternoon. There is a daily(except Tues) truck that leaves Apoala but at 6:30 in the morning. So I ïnterviewed¨ taxi drivers by looking at their faces and eyes to find someone who I thought I could trust to pick me up the next afternoon, remember this would almost a 4 hour trip for them, coming and going. I selected a young man who had a sweet and honest face (ask for Jamie (in spanish Hi-may) in the company with the blue taxis near the church) The next day he showed up at exactly the time we agreed, I asked him if he drove the way down to get me mas rapido (much faster)than the return trip and he just laughed.
I went for two hikes with my guide, a lovely lady about my age who was absolutely delightful...and to my delight knew a great deal about the uses of the plants and trees we saw along the trail. One day we hiked along the river through a canyon at times very narrow at times broad, the river was pristine, blue/green water and brillant white limestone rocks, some with fossils of ancient marine life.
The next day we hiked in the opposite direction down the same river to a waterfall and an area that would be wonderful for swimming if it were a bit warmer.
The community is building some new cabanas where the canyon begins and they looked very nice. At night it was completly, totally silent except for the occasional tinkle of a goat´s bell as they foraged up the sides of the valley.

The sweet lady in the second photo was my guide for both days.

The sign in the first photo says¨ the trees and the water are life, take care of them¨

Everywhere I went in this valley, I could see the people lived these words.

Apoala...hidden valley

2007-11-10T14:57:00.000-08:00

Usually when I find an ¨off the gringa trail¨place like Apoala, I keep it a secret. But in this case, I am sharing because the ecotourism project run by the Mixtecas that live here deserves to be shared because the money that is spent for the cabanas and guides helps them preserve and protect their beautiful valley. From Oaxaca city it is about an hour to Nochixtlan and then another 2 hours on dirt road until you get to the valley of Apoala. According to what I was told this is one of the oldest areas inhabitated by the Mixteca, I heard people about my age or perhaps a little younger speaking Mixteca. It always fascinates me when I hear these ancient languages spoken, I feel uniquely priviledged, and of course in another 10-20 years no one will be able to speak this language, all the young people have no interest in learning it. I find this very sad, but really you cannot blame them, they see no use for learning the native language as they go out the world to try to make a living. Of course, the fewer people speaking the language, the less need there is to learn it, a deadly circle for the language in which lives so much of the ancient culture. In the first picture above you can see part of the ancient terraces that the Mixteca made to grow their corn, where these terraces have been destroyed (many stones have been removed for building) the land tends to be much more eroded. Parts of the Mixteca homeland are extremely eroded, but this valley seems to have been well taken care of.

Cuajimoloyas...10,034 feet above sea level

2007-11-09T07:57:00.000-08:00

This is an stunningly beautiful and at night stunningly cold place (although I was told that Nov. and Dec. are the coldest months)
There are many beautiful walks all around the town. Pine forests with lupines leading down to roads bordered by huge agave. I spent the night in the tourist cabana and got a guide the next day to take me into the trails that are not marked. I was very impressed by how well the ecotourism project was run, I felt that I was valued and they wanted me to see how beautiful their land was. The trails and town are pristine, there is much evidence of pride in the town and their surrounding high mountains. There was a fiesta going on there the days I was there, much dancing and a walk up on the miradora(great view) where there was more dancing. I got the impression that this spot has been used for dances and ceremonies for many centuries.
I think I have finally met my match, altitude wise. At 10,000 feet + I could still walk on level or downhill ground, but I have to admit I had to stop very frequently to catch my breath when walking uphill. The last picture of a family on top of the mirador, I like very much, it shows how unabashedly curious children are when they see someone that looks completely different. The picture of the kitchen is where I had breakfast, I loved the wood stove and the colors of the walls.

more pictures from DOD in Oaxaca

2007-11-06T15:56:00.000-08:00

a parade that is special to DOD, these were taken Nov. 1 and 2
The characters act out the struggle of life and death, and at the end the dead rise from the grave.
Sacred and profane at the same time.

back from the Sierra Norte, but first...

2007-11-06T15:34:00.000-08:00

I got back from the Sierra Norte and will report on that part of travels later. (it was wonderful!)
But first I want to finish sharing some photos.
We went to some cemetaries on other nights. Different cemetaries have their main vigils on different nights, these photos are from the cemetary in San Felipe. (and one from the city panteon )

in the city cemetary

2007-11-03T17:07:00.000-07:00

The cemetary in the city is more upper class and did not have the decorated graves like the other cemetaries, but there were some interesting sand or powered pigment carpets. The big heads are for the special parades called comprasas that go around the city. I have pictures of those, but more posting will have to wait until I come back from the Sierra Norte on Tuesday.
I will be above 10,000 feet visiting Cuajimoloyas a Zapotec community and hiking around the mountains.

por Frida Kahlo fans

2007-11-03T16:36:00.001-07:00

This was an huge ofrenda in the palacio gobernado for Frida Kahlo.
I am never sure if the Mexicans are as fond of her as the some of the international following , at times the adoration seems almost cult like. My guess is that her suffering is admired as much if not more in Mexico than her art. I think the first ofrenda picture, that I did not recognize at first as Frida is my favorite.

night in the panteon (cemetary)

2007-11-02T08:38:00.000-07:00

the morning of Nov. 1 G. and I went to the Atzompa cemetary. We got to the cemetary around 1:30 and I had to keep reminding myself to say buenos dias instead of buenas noches. All the graves were decorated with marigolds and some other flowers,but mostly marigolds because that is traditional (since the time of the Aztecs and the cult of death). We were very careful not to use flash if we took pictures and to take pictures only with the utmost discretion. This is the night that people gather to wait for their loved ones to visit so people were waiting quietly, talking quietly.
However in the cemetary there was also a band! This band was a mezcla (mix) of the mariachi trumpet section type and the norte type. Food was being cooked in huge pots over a fire and mezal was being drunk, but more for warmth and congeniality than to get drunk. The combination of the band and the solem graveside vigals is so typical of Mexican character, which is the acknowledgement of both sides, the loud fiesta musica and the sacred event. I see this also in the whole psyche, the gallant chivalry or brutal machisimo of the men, the laughing and dancing in the face of death.
I asked several people if they minded the gringo visitors in this special place and time for their family, but they said that we were most welcome to come and share. I believe them, the mouth can lie, but the genuine smiles and warmth in their eyes cannot be faked.
We stayed until almost three and went home to recover for the next round of fiesta events!

More market picture and possible bee hope

2007-11-01T17:44:00.000-07:00

first, bee hope. As you may know, and if you don´t not your fault, but the bees worldwide are in trouble dying with something called hive collapse which is as bad as it sounds. At present no one cause has been found, but pesticides and stress may be a factor. Not reported in the mainstream news, too much space taken up with some stupid bimbo or some celeberity of the month. Why should one care if there are no bees? Well, try to imagine a world without fruits, most all vegetables because bees do most of the necessary work of pollination, without which there are no fruits or vegetables. I´m not sure I want to live in such a world.
Why are resources are not focused on this instead of a war that is criminal in so many ways is a mystery to me.
Anyway maybe there is hope, here in the markets there is an abundance of local honey, with different colors indicating where the honey was collected. I have been asking the honey sellers (who are also bee keepers) and they tell me they have not any seen any sick bees.

And more DOD market pictures, I love the colors of Mexico!

Getting ready for the DOD

2007-10-31T16:48:00.000-07:00

Remember you can view the photos much larger (and more beautiful) if you click on them.

Everyone is getting ready to greet the deaparted for their brief visit here with their loved ones.

I love the flowers and copal, heaps of copal. Some is white which is considered the most prized, some darker, and my favorite the gleaming golden copal. This copal reminds me of amber, which makes sense because given another million years and the right conditions, that is the transformation.

You can tell by the photos what flowers are favored, the marigolds were also favored by the Zapotecs and Atzecs as well as other groups for the celebrations (and fear) of the dead.

G. and I are going to make a small altar for a loved one of mine that crossed over recently.
Guess I will have to buy a bottle of his favorite brand of tequila (Don Julio?) to place on the altar. As I understand after the departed return and take the essence of whatever is on the altar to eat and drink the leftovers may be shared with family and friends.
I love these pictures of the ninos from the parades, the little Catrinas and the dead bride are my favorites. As yet, I have seen relatively few Disney characters, which surprised me because they love Disney, especially Winne the Pooh.

Food of the ancients....enjoy it before it goes away

2007-10-31T16:40:00.000-07:00

Someone wanted to know the name of the restaurant that serves old varieties of corn

here it is..Itanoni located at Belisario Dominquez 513 in Colonial Reforma. I took a taxi there and walked back to mi casa.

Heading toward DOD

2007-10-30T18:44:00.001-07:00

CLICK On the photos so you can see them larger. photo credits: Maria L.who lives here in Oaxaca, she took these a few days ago, I think I will meet her tomorrow night when G. and I go to the Aztompa cemetary to wait up for the dear departed. Should be a very late night, so I will have to take a long siesta!
I will upload some of my photos next time.
In Oaxaca they have friendly, helpful people who seem to want you to be here. Last year was a very hard year for them economically because of the disruptions caused by the political demonstrations that lasted for many months and eventually turned more violent. But imagine, if you will, the immense tolerance that was shown not only by the citizens of this city, but also the political powers and police. This was a city that tolerated protestors camped out in the main square for months. In am American city this would not be tolerated for more a few days, with protestors tear gassed and hauled off to jail.
There are a fair number of Americans but I think most of the white faces I see are European, French, German, Spanish. I have had several people come up to me (with absolutely nothing to sell) ask me where I am from and thank me for coming.
The day of the dead fiestas do not really begin until the 31, but there have been parades and bands in the Zocolo (main square). This morning there was a parade of Kindergarten children in costume—too cute!
The place that I am staying is about a 10 mintue (at my fast pace!) walk away from the main square.
Lots and lots of beautiful things made by hand in the outlying indigenous villages are for sale here. I am glad I have the benefit of my travels and research to be able to recognize what to look for.
The food is incredible, the complexity of the different Indian cultures in the state of Oaxaca make the food complex and interesting. I follow my usual habit of eating yogurt and fruit and coffee breakfast(the yogurt better than any I have ever had in the US, indeed Mexico is where I first learned to like it). Later, around 2 pm or so I look for someplace really interesting to eat, yesterday I had squash blossum soup and squash stuffed with Oaxacan cheese and corn. Today I went to a restuarant where they make all sorts of very traditional corn tortilla dishes. This restaurant also has the goal of preserving the many types of corn that are grown here, the kind of variety that multinational corporations are trying to destroy so that farmers can be dependent on hybrid, patented varieties. So here in Oaxaca, corn is the original whole food, indeed there is evidence that the Oaxaca valley is where corn was first domesticated. The food in this place was wonderful, complex in taste but prepared very simply, with made by hand tortillas cooked on a pottery cooking surface heated by a clay stove. This is what food is supposed to taste like!

Oaxaca---Day of the Dead Dancing on the graves

2007-10-24T12:09:00.000-07:00

Here is some background information of the Day of the Dead celebration in Oaxaca.(the photo is not mine, but is used with permission, from now on all photos will be mine,unless otherwise noted. Also note some imbedded links in my posts if you would like more information on a word or custom)
The Days of the Dead (October 31st to November 2nd) are not sad or mournful. Instead, these days are an opportunity for the dead to taste the pleasures of the world, thanks to the efforts of their living families. In addition to an altar in each home to honor and welcome the deceased, cemeteries are decorated with orange and yellow marigolds and other flowers and illuminated at night by the glow of thousands of small candles, with clouds of copal (incense). More than just decoration, both the flowers and the copal serve to guide the dead to the land of the living. Families from the youngest to the oldest crowd around their family tombs, bringing offers of food, alcohol, snacks, photos, and things their loved ones liked while living. Music and dancing are often part of the celebration, mezcal is the beverage of choice to toast the dead and warm the living.
The Day of the Dead is a blend of the pre-Hispanic cult of death, practiced by the indigenous people and the Catholic All Saints' Day. Most of the pre-conquest cultures had a much more fluid idea of the demarcation between life and death; just a step over the threshold rather than the closing of the tomb. In addition, especially since the conquest, the lives of indigenous people has often been brutal and short with death a very familiar visitor. The celebration of the days of the dead show the special relationship that Mexico has with death, a laughing, mocking acceptance most often parodied in the sugar or chocolate skulls and the skeletons performing every possible (ordinary and profane) of the daily tasks and routines of life. There is a large group of folk art that deals with these skulls and skeletons and La Catrina is a famous character often seen in this type of folk art. (La Catrina is a very well dressed high status lady, who happens to be a skeleton) .

But the heart and center of the dia de muertos is the family and the ceremonies that take place within the privacy of the home. On October 31st, the family builds the ofrenda (offering altar) together. Usually this is an arch made of reed or corn husks, placed on a table with tablecloth, and decorated with flowers, fruit, bread,often individualized with the specific pleasures the deceased enjoyed while living. Saints,candles, and pictures of the deceased are in the center of the altar. Rich helpings of food and drink are set out for the arrival of the guests- the dead. The first to arrive are the souls of dead children, the angelitos, on November 1st around noon. The deceased adults visit at the end of the afternoon on November 2nd. In their visit the dead eat and drink whatever they like: adults are offered their favourite food, as well as cigarettes, tequila as they liked, candy, soda or even junk food will be bought for the angelitos. The dead, who are not seen but whose presence is felt are not viewed as we do ghosts or haunting but as genuine loving spirits, do not eat the food but consume its essence, leaving behind only positive energy and love. After the feast the food from the altar is shared among the relatives and friends.
In some areas of Mexico children have caught on to the custom of trick or treating. When I was in Puebla last year at this time, children were doing this. However, they did trick or treating for 3 days instead of one! But for the most part the way of celebrating the departed loved ones in a joyous, welcoming way is remarkably intact, although in some places like Michoacan, the mob of tourists threatens to overwhelm the tradition, so it is very important for me to be respectful and very much in the background so that the vibrant and living customs with roots in a culture that is thousands of years old will continue.