Dos Panteones/Two Cemeteries

Every village has a pantheon, a cemetery and each is different, reflecting the nature of the people in the village. Here are two distinctly different panteones in Oaxaca.  The first is from Tlacolula de Matamoros and the second from San Antonio Castillo Velasco. The first has trees over 500 hundreds old.  And in the second the people come out on Nov.3 to have a mass and to decorate the graves.  There is a competition for the best.  There music and family are always so gracious and friendly

Muertos Dia Dos(2)

Back to Teotitlan del Valle for mole negro, the traditional meal for the second day of Muertos.  And once again, we were so lucky to have Doña Emilia's incredible mole, which I always tell her is, "El mejor del mundo", "The best in the world."

It's not only the taste, but also, the texture and that amazing color.  A little mezcal, some tlayudas, a big bubbling cazuela of mole negro, no wonder the spirits come back.

Riquísimo!!

Very special tamales....

 

In Teotitlan del Valle, each day of Muertos has a different traditional meal that must be made.  Today, the first day, it is these incredible tamales amarillo.  They are wrapped in maiz criollo, fresh green leaves unlike the normal dry corn husks.  But what makes them so special is the masa, which is so smooth and silky.

 

They are small, just a few bites, so you can eat ten easily.... and the taste?  Just wow! I have written many times about Doña Emilia and what  an incredible maestra cook she is.  Tomorrow, it is mole negro and Emilia's is the absolute best in the world.  We'll be there for that.  So mas fotos mañana.

It's beginning to look like... Muertos

 

Every year I drive around to various villages to see the new murals for the muerteadas and for Muertos in general. So today I was in the Etlas and lucked out getting the wonderful shot as a student came by and her family encouraged her to pose.

In Search of Cempasuchil/Marigolds

As Oaxaca gets ready for El Dia de los Muertos, Day of the Dead, there are fields filled with flowers that will soon decorate the ofrendas, the altars, the graves and just about anything that can be decorated.  The most common flowers used are Cempasuchil or marigolds and Cresta de Gallo or red cockscomb.  Each year I do a search for them, but this year I could not find any until… 

This is 75...

Feliz cumpleaños!

Plumas! - Teotitlan del Valle

The fabulous Danzantes del Plumas from Teotitlan del Valle.

Paul Grogan at 75 - Mr.Boston

I flew up from Oaxaca to attend the 75th birthday celebration of high school classmate, Paul Grogan.  Paul is, to a great part, responsible for Boston being the city it is today.  He worked at the highest levels of government for many years and then headed the Boston Foundation and all of its philanthropic works. It was a fine affair with lots of big wigs there and family and friends.  So happy to join in the celebration and so proud of the guy.  Home town boy makes it big and changes the world.

Flor de Piña - Reyes Etla, Oaxaca

The Flor de Piña dance is one of Oaxaca's most popular dances. It is always fun to see the local folkloric groups perform. This from the guelaguetza in Reyes Etla, Oaxaca on July 21, 2025.

Another Guelaguetza in Reyes Etla...

Ah yes, my favorite dance, the Jarabe Mixteca.  I love going to the guelaguetza in Reyes Etla every year.  It is such a beautiful setting with the church from "Nacho Libre" in the background, the round dance floor, surrounded by the mountains and so many proud and happy people. 

I'll have more mañana, but one of the things I really love is watching all the young dancers. 

They all learn the steps in school.  I see them practicing regularly.  The guelaguetza in nearby Trinidad de Viguera next Monday is filled with them.

Food, glorious food.... Sabores de Oaxaca

 

Today was the first day of another fabulous culinary extravaganza, Sabores de Oaxaca, in the Plaza de la Danza.  Free admission and everything for cash only.  There was wonderful food from all the regions in the state. There's a reason Oaxaca is so famous for its traditions and food.

It was not super crowded and everything looked so tasty. This bubbling Sopa de Piedra, the pre-Hispanic fish soup that is cooked by placing hot stones in the liquid. Yum!

And always so much fun to meet the cocineras, the cooks of Oaxaca. 

It's on for the next three days.  Buen provecho!  Eat it up!

La Cabalgata - Horses in the city

Today there was a cabalgata in the city, a traditional trail ride with hundreds of horses and riders... and a few dune buggies.  These horse and rider parades are another part of Mexico's rich history and this was the first I had seen in Oaxaca.  The horses were magnificent.

And so were the riders. 

It added to the festive atmosphere as the guelagetza dance festivals are coming up.  July is one of the best months of the year, filled with lots of ferias, fiestas and dance, dance, dance.. I hope the cabalgata becomes an annual event... but it sure did a number on traffic .. until the rains came in down in buckets.

My favorite vivero (nursery) - san Lorenzo Cacaotepec

Look at all these beautiful plants!  All from the vivero in nearby San Lorenzo Cacaotepec.  Yes, more bugambilias to replace the ones that struggled through the dry season.  Note to self - don't plant things at the beginning of dry season.  Now that the rains are here, it's the perfect time to get them in the ground so they can grow and get ready for... the dry season. 

And look at the bill for all those plants... just under $40 US.  Heaven!

Well worth the trip...

2314 miles or 3728 km.... So happy to see the China Pearl reopened.  It was closed for a few years and I missed having dim sum there. Why?  Here's why.

Yum.

So this boy is happily full.

"It's Chinatown, Jake."

Por favor, no mas... para todos

 

There always some street art that speaks to the current situation.

"Was you ever bit by a dead bee"

• Well, I just was.  The house has been closed for a while.  So when I climbed up the dark stairs and put my hand on the newel.  Wow! .. What intense pain!  It was good for a solid five minutes of swearing in both English and Spanish.

An omen... for sure....

I'm sure there is a message in there somewhere, no doubt a balm for these trying times.... but damned if I know what it is.

Let's face it...

These two Oaxacan faces are from posters in the city.  They gave me food for thought.  Which one is closer to the way I am?  Probably, more the campesino, rather than the wrestler.  And you?

 

Every now and then you've got to put on the mask and join La Lucha.

Through a past darkly........

  

As I said a couple of days ago, how wonderful it is to be back in Oaxaca.  As we all know, and as all those tourists filling the streets are telling us, this is a unique and magical place.  I'm calmed by knowing this place has ten thousand years of history.  It's been up, been down, been rich, been poor,  and all that history tells me that's just where we are.  This calms me down quite a bit.

I'm riding on the wave of relief I feel after leaving all the stress and chaos in El Norte and thinking about how to stay afloat on these trouble seas.... which maes me smile and recall a favorite quote from SongChol, one of my main guys...

"Let's not spend our lives fighting over trivia.  To do so reduces us to a state of being even more worthless than spray on a vast ocean.  Let's concentrate on the ocean rather than the foam."

This place feeds my soul.

Stranger from a strange land...

 

It's good to be back in Oaxaca.  Even though I've been down here for almost twenty years, I still think of Boston as home and maybe I always will... or maybe not.  But, as I say, it feels so good to be in Oaxaca.  My time up north was fine and productive, but wow, the stress levels up there are off the charts.  It's hard to describe the sense of relief I felt just seeing the front of mi casa.  Two days later I feel so much lighter in spirit.  Maybe it's just because the Hannaford market in Waltham didn't have this out front.  And the food is better here, too.

Anyhow, onward...

Eye of the (Political) Beholder

I'm sure it is just me, but when I saw this installation in the city, it struck me as a comment on..., I dunno, how the reds and blues see women.

I'm sure it's just me..

Flor de Piña - Trinidad de Viguera - 2024

The Flor de Piña dance from the Papaloapan region of Oaxaca is one of the most popular dances in the state. This performance in the small guelaguetza in Trinidad de Viguera was by a local folklorico group from Pueblo Nuevo. Dances are learned in schools and there are some young dancers here. Always such a happy time, filled with joy and pride.

 

 

The village guelaguetzas - Trinidad de Viguera

I love all the guelaguetzas.  From the official ones (and unofficial ones) in the city, to the smaller ones in the villages, they each have a different vibe or atmosphere.  And so it was in Trinidad de Viguera, just a few kms down the road. This was really small and intimate one.  Really, no crowds, no tourists, just people from the village... and one old gringo. 

We've seen the dances so many times, but somehow, each time, they are special and unique. 

There are so many elements in each guelaguetza, the traditional dances and clothing and such pride, sense of community and history.  In Viguera it's more like a family affair. You get to share the day with a different kind of audience. 

And see how the dancers kill time before they are on. One of the danzantes de pluma from Santa Ana del Valle.

And still there are the dancers we see in every single guelaguetza, the same, but different.

And of course, Flor de Piña by a folklorico group from nearby Pueblo Nuevo. 

It was a special day! 

I'll post some of the dances shortly.

The village guelaguetzas - Reyes Etla

July is the best month of the year in Oaxaca, The rains have come, it's beautiful. 

And there are so many wonderful events and things to do, mostly centered around the guelaguetza, the huge dance festival in the city.  The city is absolutely packed with people and tickets for the official performances are snapped up immediately. 

However, there are lots of guelaguetzas in villages, more and more each year.... and they are all free and filled with such warmth and happiness, and above all, pride. 

Each year I go to the one in Reyes Etla, with its round dance floor and its famous church from "Nacho Libre"in the background.  It has drawn more and more people each year, but still remains a sweet and intimate experience.  Plus, Reyes is the one of the birthplaces of queso and quesillo and there is a huge expo of all the local cheese makers.  You can even become one of the traditional balls of cheese. 

Take that cheeseheads!

Many of the dancers are from local folklorico groupos, but others come from different parts of the state to dance their own unique dances, like these from Santa Maria Tlahuitoltepec, famous for their embroidery. 

I'll post a few more shots later from what was a wonderful time.  And where will I be going for next Monday's guelaguetza?  The one in nearby Trinidad de Viguera, but first I need to check and see if they are having one.