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

Monday, June 13, 2011

Trees in the zocalo

This is not good news.  It appears that at least ten of the trees in the zocalo may be in danger of falling according to this story in Noticias this morning.  Francisco Verasti, ecological activist, says, “it is no longer it is an aesthetic question, it is a question of security."  There is an infestation of bromeliads in the trees, which easily spread to many of the the city's trees and are parasitic.  In addition to the bromiliads, one sees tillansia or air plants growing happily on phone and electrical cables everywhere.  Also, the constant changing of the bedding plants throughout the zocalo, which occurs every few months, often brings in new pests and blights.  The tree under which the weekly concerts take place is infested with balls of the white fungi, armilaria.  The tree dates from 1871. Versati, who has implemented diverse projects towards the conservation of historic trees, said that an $11 million peso plan that would alleviate the problems it in three years has been submitted, but there has been no response thus far from the government.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

11 million?
How much does that work out to per tree?

Christopher Stowens said...

Remember we are talking pesos, so it it is less than a million US and I think the plan deals with more trees than just in the zocalo. It may include the other parks and other historic trees in the city. I will try to find out. I wonder if it will take another tree falling for action to be initiated.