Oaxaca-The Year After: Peter Kuper

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.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Peter Kuper - Diario de Oaxaca

Last evening, at Amate Books, there was a fascinating talk and presentation to a packed room by Peter Kuper about his recent book Diario de Oaxaca. You may know some of his work as he has been widely published by the NYT and the various news magazines, but perhaps most famously as the artist who continues Spy vs. Spy in Mad Magazine.

You can see some of his work from Diario here. He is an engaging speaker and he pulled no punches when describing the tumultuous times in Oaxaca in 2006. But it was his drawings that were even more captivating. He captured the essence and flavor of Oaxaca, its history, culture, and people through a most tragic and difficult time.

It was an honor to hear him and to see his work, some of which is available for purchase at Amate. Kudos to Henry Wangeman for arranging the evening.