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, July 19, 2014

Feria de los Moles 2014

 
Imagine an all-you-eat meal with about twenty varieties of delicious moles, one of the the dishes for which Oaxaca is famous.  It needs to be said that there are as many variations on the recipes as there are cooks.   This is the third or fourth time I have been lucky enough to attend this event, which is held in the Botanical Garden, a spectacular setting in itself although, nobody was thinking about plants yesterday.  It was all about the food and there was food galore. 
 
Looks mighty good, doesn't it?  It tasted even better.
It was impossible to taste everything, so one has to pick and choose, often going on what other people said.  "Oh, you have to try that mole negro, ' or "The estafado is exceptional."  I have learned to take it easy and only eat my weight in food ;-)
We were greeted by lovely oaxaquenas and shown to our table and then promptly moved to another table and eventually we sat where we wanted, perfectly situated away from loudspeakers and the lines for the food.  A little rain and wind presented no problems.  It was on to a plethora of taste treats.
"Ain't nothing like the real thing, baby."
I had the best time with this woman backstage. 
The dish on the right she was preparing and sampling had a bread topping and I asked if I could have a taste.  She said, "Sure," and handed me a big spoonful.  Then she said I had to try her mole negro on the left.  She handed me another spoon and it was to die for, exceptional.  I said, "Why, this is horrible," with a big smile on my face and had another big taste.  We all had a good laugh and when I finally got to her station in the line, she remembered me and offered me a big helping of "horrible".... it was so good, I went back for seconds or thirds, I can't remember.

I may never eat again.... oops, today is the feria de queso y quesillo in nearby Reyes Etla, so to hell with that plan and tomorrow is the feria de hongos (mushrooms) so I will never eat again starting on Monday.... oops, that's the guelaguetza in Etla... oh well, I guess I will just have to continue to eat my way through the festivities.  It's a tough job, but ......

1 comment:

Nightreading said...

I found this post a bit torturous to my taste...

I am sitting here in my so beloved New Jersey, I just had an all Amrican (healthy version) quite ordinary lunch....

And here I see all this delisiously looking and so glamorously presented meals. So my taste bulbs, and my very strong sense of smell are very excited at the moment, but all this food is in virtual space....not fair, so not fair
;-)))