Icons

It's tough out there for an icon.   I say this as we watch some of the iconic figures from the last century lose a bit of their luster.. actually, all of it.  Cosby comes to mind....  But think about the person behind the image.  Here's Frida who is on a one name recognition basis almost globally.  Her house is a mecca.  Her writings best-sellers.  Her art has gone as viral as art can go.  And then there is the film, the fashion, the whole life story.  There's a woman in Ocotlan who looks almost exactly like Frida who runs a restaurant and is one of the most photographed people there.  She herself has become iconic.  Crazy.

I guess my thoughts try to go back to the real person, who in many respects was just like us.  They ate, the slept, they fell in love, they felt pain and loss...  Oh sure, they may have had something extra, a spark, but they were real before they became icons.  Because my life has been filled by knowing so many remarkable people, some of whom are very much little mini-icons, I always think of Frida, the person, whenever I see her face.... which is pretty much every single day.  Really!

And icons live on and on.... right Boop?  In traditional Oaxacan garb.

Marmota!

What is that thing and why are they dancing with it?  It's a marmota!

Something one sees in almost every Oaxacan celebration is the marmota, the globe on a stick that comes in all sizes from small to huge.  I watched them assemble this one just before the last guelaguetza desfile.  Like all things Oaxacan, its assembly is an art.  It slowly goes from individual pieces.

First in the top slot.

Then the bottom slot.

Rinse and repeat. Tie them all together.

I wasn't the only one watching.

Then the outer covering.

And done.... on to the next one.

Dancing, let alone walking, with one of these is an art. 

As in all things here, they start really young.  I, much to the amusement of many people in Tlacolula, tried  to balance this one at last years calenda.

It weighed eighty kilos.  I should have started with the little boys size.  The old guys around made it look easy and as I say, they laughed and laughed and laughed.

I've just seen a face

I am just going all the shots from the guelaguetza's second desfile... Ay! There are so many, really too many.  So rather than diminish the beauty of this striking woman by adding more...

 Sometimes one can see and imagine all the culture, history and pride in a single face.

You've got the look...

One of the great things here is that normal life continues during all the craziness and festivities.  I saw weddings, confirmations and funerals occurring during any and all of the guelaguetza activities.  The funeral procession, in fact, slowly made its way down one of the main streets just before the desfile began.  And just off to the side of the desfile, at its very height, complete madness and huge crowds, this young lady's quinceanera celebration caught my eye.  Then, when looking at the shot, in addition to noting how lovely the 15 year old looks, I love the young man's pose.

It's like a young Jean-Paul Belmondo look.... or maybe not.

Befores and after

Thanks to a faithful reader in the Great State of Maine for kicking me in the butt and encouraging me to rejoin the real world.  I have been recovering from all the festivities and working outside.  I recently found these shots from the last two years.  First, this shot from November of 2013.  This was after smoothing the whole lot out, moving lots of dirt around and moving even more rocks around.  I did the Sisyphus thing for a while.

Then this shot from October 1, 2014

And finally, ten months later, this one from the end of June.

Things have grown even more since then... I mean, it has been a whole month.

Guelaguetza in Etla - Just one dance

The more times I experience and see the dances of the guelaguetza, the more I appreciate them.  To hear familiar music and see familiar steps and moves, well, it just gets better and better.  If you can believe it, I am always moved to tears when I see and hear the Flor de Piña dancers.  It is that powerful.  Each dance really deserves a post of its own, but I will go with one of my absolute favorites, along with everyone else, the Jarabe Mixteco.  Here are the dancers from Monday's performance in Etla.

 You can see the entire outfit is designed to flow, to swirl.  The skirt and ribbons are magical.

 It begins.

 

This dancer was wonderful, high flying.  Normally, the woman draws everyone's eyes, but this guy was great.

 Float like a butterfly

 You can see the beauty of all those ribbons and colors.

It's some sweet courting dance, with flirting and teasing, lots of give and take.

 Eventually, he reaches out to take the flower from her mouth.....

 And it is done.....

And that is just one dance.  There were close to twenty more!

Guelaguetza in Etla - The faces of dance

 

Yesterday, the final day of the 2015 guelaguetza celebrations, and once again, we were in nearby Etla for their version.  It was wonderful, with four different folkloric groups who presented lots of dances, some of which I had not seen before.  It was great.

This year they moved the stage and well, there was no place from which to shoot.  The press area, if they even had one, was behind all the action and there was no way to get in front of the stage.  So...... lots of shots from behind and lots of closeups as the dancers came up to make their entrances.  The light was brilliant, so when given lemons, here's the lemonade.  Just stunning.

Lots of guapos

And guapisimas.

Young musicians

And some old masters.

This young man was an incredible dancer.  I'll post some more shots of him high-steppin' shortly.

"Mr. DeMille, I am ready for my closeup.

Really, the title of this post ought to be "I've just seen a face" because look at these wonderful faces.  This gentleman was the Devil in the Dance of the Diablos.  I'll post him with his mask shortly.

Yes, I have some dance and action shots... well, really a lot to go through.  I'll put them up as they are ready, but for now, just look at the faces of these dancers.

All ages were represented.

As well as lots of different traditions and looks from the various regions around the state.

A classic beauty... of which there were many.

Dance shots coming up.....

Globos! - Nazareno Etla

Look!  Up in the sky.... it's a... it's a ... it's a... what the heck is that?

It is one of the globos or paper balloons from the concurso or contest in nearby Nazareno Etla and Matadamas Soledad Etla.  This was the ninth annual edition.

There is so much happening in the last two weeks of July, it is crazy and hard to see everything.  However, this trip was so worth it.... and pretty crazy, as folks filled the clear blue skies with globos de papel de china.  Amazing, huh?

And so many people there,

Thousands and thousands..... food, music and lots of action.

So much fun.  Everyone cheered with every launch.

 

 There was an art to getting them off the ground.  First, fanning air with a hat to partially inflate it.

Holding it up when it is not quite light enough to fly is the tensest moment...then

Attaching this device which is the final heat source.  These are soaked with something flammable.

And then they fill it with a blast of hot air from a propane burner.

Lots of creative and inventive ideas.

Even flying cars....

Beautiful.... oops.  We have a problem.

Aguas!  Watch out!

Wow!  What a day!  Here's Noticias' story on the event.