In the grips of la gripe

La gripe, the flu, has me in its grasp and has been kicking my butt for the last few days with great vigor.  It has put much energy into my bouts of coughing and lethargy. However, I am on the mend and will prove it..... mañana.

Shirt shots

I always love these t-shirt shots.  I didn't have the heart to tell him, they already got her.

 A classic...... I mean, the shirt.

 Formal wear for Caturday.

 I believe this one from Tlacolula is about the competency of our beloved governor.

Art in the Casa

There is a fantastic exhibit of the art of Francisco Toledo along with other contemporary Oaxacan artists in the beautiful huge gallery space in the Center for the Arts in San Agustin or CASA.  El maestro has a separate small gallery for his drawings, but it appears that he also collaborated with many of the other artists.  These impressive ceramic pillars by Jose Angel Santos y Ismael Guardado greet visitors.

 An untitled work by Kena y Francisco Bautista

An embroidery, El Caminante, by Demian Flores and Natividad Lopez Amador.

 Some detail.

 A very large vase by Jose Angel Santos.

El Diablo Pop by Alejandro Vera and Isak Kanerak

 Laser cut jewelery by Toldeo.

 Just a sampler

 A very cool and very long Vestido by Xawery Wolski y Dominga Gutierrez

 All made from seeds.

 A very large collaborative ceramic work by five artists: Santos, Palomares, Aguilar, Luperciro and Jauregui.

 This tinaja or tub by Jose Angel Santos is big enough to bathe in and absolutely gorgeous.

 Beautiful work.

 Detail.

The exhibition runs for a few more weeks.

More Popular

Maybe this is just more food pron, but man-o-man, this torta or sandwich was sooo tasty.  It was the salchicha sandwich from La Popular's extensive menu.  Salchicha is another type of sausage and this one was exceptional, smokey with a fine aftertaste.

These are the tortas, but Chef Israel Cruz Correa has expanded the offerings to include all sorts of full meals.

The maestro.

 Support your local chefs.

Real fast food - Teposcolula Style

This food was sooo good.  A taco made in less than thirty seconds, full of pork, chorizo, potatoes, beef, cabbage and onions.  This woman's family has had a taco stand in the zocalo of San Pedro and San Pablo Teposcolula and her food had all their love and experience in it.

Eat wisely and well, mis amig@s.

The new year is born

If you can imagine thousands and thousands and thousands of incredibly loud firecrackers, cohetes, going off at the stroke of midnight, that is how the new year came in.  I could look out my window, which overlooks an expansive valley, and just listen and marvel, I mean, it was totally insane, a real blast.  There were a few glimmers of fireworks, but really it was more explosions than I have ever heard in my life.  I could see people out in there yards all around me and everyone was joining in the party.  I went out this morning and found the remnants of all those explosions covering the street.
So.... happy new year..... this bit of street art from Etla says it better.... the year is born.

May you cast a long shadow...

Things are looking up

I love these shots of the interior cupolas or domes of the churches here.  One has to find dead center and half the time I have to get down on my knees  to get the whole dome, which gives the appearance that I am penitent..... like I have anything to atone for ;-)  The trick is to get the chandelier or whatever is hanging down right in the middle and voila, they become mandalas.
From Tlacolula.

Ocotlan

Santa Ana Zegache

The cathedral in the city

Each church is so different.... and for something completely different, looking up at thisgorgeous paper lantern at the Camino Real.

Laundry Day

If you have ever had your clothes washed here in one of the many lavanderias, you will have marveled at how perfectly they are folded when you get them back.  They are miraculously packed into plastic bags, so tighlty that you need a crowbar to get them out.  I often wonder how they do it and now I know.  It is done by space aliens.

What this guy/gal is doing with these pants is beyond me.  It looks like they have been turned into some sort of piano keyboard, which sure works for me.  I want one.

These from shots are from beautiful downtown Etla on a bright sunny Sunday.  It has been surprisingly cool here, 70's during the day and 40's at night, so that sun has felt great.  The above were right next to this spectacular piece of street art.

Navidad - Oaxacan style

Christmas is very different here, a very quiet day.  The market in Etla, which is normally packed on Wednesday, was almost empty.  The same for our favorite restaurant, Comedor Colon, which was ours alone for our delicious Christmas meal of mole, both negro y verde, which was out of this world.
Enjoying the tranquility, we headed over to the church in Reyes, the one in Jack Black's "Nacho Libre" just to drink in the warm sun and spectacular views. 

On the way back we noticed there was lots of action at the church in Tres Reyes so we stopped to watch the kids reenact the manger scene. 

It was a joyous event filled with very happy children, proud parents and of course, a band and tons of very loud cohetes, firecrackers.  Not too cute, eh?

I have lots of lots of shots from Noche Buena, but this one was a standout.  She asked the same question I ask every Christmas, "Where's my pony?"

It wasn't a pony, but this abuleo rode by on his trusty burro, checking out the action in Tres Reyes.  I will be back there for Three Kings Day next week for the real deal.

There you go

Noche del Rabanos - 116 years and still going strong

It may have been taking place for over a century, but change is a part of La Noche del Rabanos.  Each year, it seems the crowds are bigger and the barriers push the crowds further back.  There used to be no barriers and one could get up close and personal with the artesanos as they assembled their remarkable pieces.  Now, even with a press pass it is hard to get near the action.... but of course, I did.

There is a very narrow pocket of time in the morning to get one's shots even though the crowds were already large.  Still, the creativity is amazing and the people displaying theirs are the best part of the event.

It was very nice to see people I see every year and to have them recognize me.

My favorite abuela from San Anonino was not there as she had hurt her leg.  I bet she has not missed this in over fifty years.  She sent greetings to me through this woman from her village.  I have my annual gift for her, a nice rebozo, that I will have to get to her somehow.  Meanwhile, on with the show.

This magnificent piece by Adrián Flores Peña won first place in the free rabanos competition.

I am pretty sure this won first place in the natural totomoxtle (corn husk) contest.  A magnificent vision of a municipal center.

Looks like Benito Juarz giving a speech from a decorated podium.

The details are always a blast.  "Wanna buy my turkey?"

Or some chapulines?

Look at the delicate details on this tiny part of a larger work.

Again, such fine attention to detail.

These pieces often take from three to six months to make.  You can see why.

Christ and Zapata together once again.

An amazing radish face.

Another in colored corn husks.

There was a wonderful depiction of the tree in El Tule that deserves a post of its own and I will do that shortly.