The here and now... and what and why

Complacency is a trap. At least that’s what I was thinking when I up and left the comfort of a Yankee prep school gig, where I taught music, amongst other things, for 28 years. There was also that life long career as a composer, musician and artist.

First, it was a year in St. Thomas, USVI, working as a reporter and shooting photography and then, a year in San Agustin Etla, Oaxaca, Mexico.
Time passed.
More time passed and a year back in the Athens of America followed by a hasty return to Oaxaca where it is all happening.
A couple of years in San Sebastian Etla and now, just down the road in San Pablo Etla. Life is good.

Click on an image to see it larger.
For additional photography please visit my flickr page.
You can find my music on Jango (World & latin - Worldbeat) and at iTunes and most online stores.
¡Soy consciente de todas las tradiciones del Internet!
If you are coming to Oaxaca, please contact me for tours or advice.

Santo Domingo

Santo Domingo
The view from Corazon del Pueblo

The hereafter re me

My photo
Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico
Musician, photographer, videographer, reporter, ex-officio teacher, now attempting to be a world traveler

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Famed artist unveils mural at COM

photo by Kevin M. Cox
from The Galveston County Daily News
TEXAS CITY — Maestro Shinzaburo Takeda, an internationally known artist who lives in Oaxaca, Mexico, watched as a mural was unveiled Friday at College of the Mainland.

The mural, based on one of his paintings, was executed by art students under his direction.

The mural is a symbol of the close relations between Mexico and Texas — and between Universidad Autonoma Benito Juarez de Oaxaca and College of the Mainland......

Takeda went to Mexico in 1963, fascinated by the tradition of the great muralists.

“There were no murals in Japan 50 years ago,” he said.

While Diego Rivera and Jose Clemente Orozco were dead, David Alfaro Siqueiros became a friend and mentor.

“If you sell a painting, a rich person puts it in his home and it is gone,” said Takeda, who had trained as a painter in Japan. “A mural on a wall is for everyone.”

The same applies to print making, he said. “The murals and prints are a way to communicate with society.”

Takeda traveled throughout Mexico, fascinated with the cultures, especially those of the indigenous peoples.

He settled in Oaxaca and has studied its cultures for 30 years. The region is home to 17 groups, each with its own environment, customs and cultures, he said. 

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