As time goes by....

I have thousands of shots of the danzantes from the last three years.  And it is no wonder that many of them are of these two wonderfully photogenic girls, Ailani Ruiz Ruiz, Doña Marina, and Juana Lisabeth Contreras Vincente, Malinche.  It has been so much fun to watch them grow both as dancers and as little girls.  They started here in July of 2013.... and then... time passed

 

Mark the date - Dec. 11 @ OLL

On December 11, at the Oaxacan Lending Library, sister blogger Shannon  and I will give a brief and personal presentation about la danza de la pluma as performed in Teotitlan del Valle.  Here is a shot from the danzantes very first performance three years ago.

It has been an honor to follow this wonderful group of dancers for all three years and their final dance will be on Dec. 12, the day after our presentation.  Be there or be square.... both the OLL and Teo. 

Torito Grande Dos!

Another big one from Teotitlan del Valle.  This guys are crazy!

This is a heavy Torito Grande from July, 2015.  You can see how heavy it is when they almost lose it at around sec. 55.

Torito Grande

This torito was huge and must have weighed a lot.  It came just before the castillo last October in Teotitlan del Valle.  It took a few men to get it up and ready, but this man danced and made it look easy.  He must have been pretty damn strong.

I guess I could have called the video "Gran Torino," but it appears to be already used.

What's going on here?

I miss my garden.  Chapulines in action?  I have no idea if this is grasshopper sex or a kid riding on its mother's back.

Kinda looks like a weird position for sex, but maybe they have their own Kama Sutra.... or maybe I should just get my mind out of the gutter and recognize it for what it is, a mother carrying her child.

Not your average morgue

This is not Boston where I am currently waiting out the Thanksgiving holidays.

No, this is the panteon in Tlacolula where I wish I was... not permanently, just to enjoy the beauty and warmth.  It was 23 degrees when I awoke this morning... In Boston, not Tlacolula, silly.

More home cookin'

I am sure I am like most people.  I like all foods, as long as they are good.  And when I am in Oaxaca, I crave things like Maine lobster rolls or dim sum in Chinatown.  Now that I am in El Norte, I am satisfying some of those desires, but..... I miss my normal comidas, like these amazing empanadas from San Antonino that I had just before I left.  There are so many variations of empanadas, different from village to village, person to person.  These are some of my absolute favorites.

The secret is in the filling, which must have masa mixed in  along with broth, cilantro, pork and other things.

When cooked, the texture is more solid, kinda like polenta.  Crunchy on the outside and oh, so tasty.

In Etla, my side of the valley, the empanadas are much more liquid and I prefer these and get them whenever I get the chance.   This woman (sorry, I have forgotten her name) comes from a family of master embroiderers as you can see from her blouse.

She has a place just off the highway before Ocotlan, at the sign for San Antonino.  Take a right on the first street, at the Aurrera, and it is there... somewhere.  I intend to find it when I get back. But for now, dim sum, here I come.

Better to remain silent...

You know the quote from Abraham Lincoln: "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt."

 Street art

And maybe I should, but I believe I have already established that I am just a fool with an opinion, just like everybody else.... and I can't really remain silent.

Even in my fair state of Massachusetts, the governor has patriotically proclaimed that the doors are closed to Syrian immigrants fleeing a war, with which this nation clearly had some hand in riling up that part of the world.

I wish the governor and all the other fear-mongering xenophobes had remained silent, instead they have removed all doubt.  Fools... and heartless, cruel and blind fools at that.

Now, I'm not a Christian, but hey, I minored in Religion at university, and I have some clue as to what Jesus was all about.  And I don't mean the blonde-haired, blue-eyed, gun-totin' with abs of steel on a dinosaur Jesus.  No, the other one, the one who encouraged feeding the poor, loving and taking acre of each other.  It is called compassion.

And here, in the 21st century, we have people saying "Only Christians immigrants!" (but not from Syria)... on the positive, here in Mexico...lots of Christians (ja ja ja).  And internment camps?!  And how you gonna prove you're a Christian? (an obligatory... "Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition")

So please, spare us any more of the obviously warped view of Christianity.  It's as bad as their warped view of Islam.  It does not compute.

So I guess what I am saying is that this is painful and embarrassing for me as a gringo.  There are many times in Oaxaca, when I feel so proud to be a sorta oaxaqueño.  I mean I have tears in my eyes whenever I see the Flor de Piña dance or hear "Dios Nunca Muere." (fxd- gracias)

And I am not saying I am not proud of the good Ole U S of A, just not right now.

I would rather remain silent AND be compassionate and be thought a fool... but that's just me.

Home cookin'

As I mentioned, I am in El Norte and I have a serious cold.  I'm taking my medicine of choice.... chicken soup, of course.  However......

I wish I had some of these delicious special tamales from last Muertos cooked by, in my humble opinion, the best cook in the entire galaxy., Emilia Ruiz form Teotitlan del Valle.

The masa is so light it floats in your mouth and the amarillo, just perfect. 

It is very easy to eat many, many of these.... 10 to 12 of them easy, without even thinking.

But for now, it is what every grandmother around the world recommends for a scold and the flu...  a little chicken soup.

This country makes me sick

No really, I have the first cold I have had in years and it is a good one.

OTH.... El Norte... sigh.... the politicians, the ones who hate everything and who have no self-awareness and compassion... well, they not only make me ill, but also very sad... and embarrassed to be a citizen of this fair nation.

Public Servive Announcement

Uh.... when was the last time you checked to see when your passport or driver's license expired?  I speak from recent less than ideal experiences.  Your welcome.

This explains everything

Well, maybe not everything, but at least least why I was seeing everyone walking around with boxes containing new TV's.  I was in several villages and so many people were carrying identical packages, it looked funny, but I missed out on what was happening. 

From the LAHT (emphasis added)

Following the impending delivery of sets in the states of Durango, Hidalgo, Zacatecas, Sinaloa, Sonora and Veracruz, 75 percent of Mexicans will have access to digital television, Deputy Communications Secretary Monica Aspe said.

Aspe said that 7 million of the 9.7 million digital TV sets to be given to low-income households have been distributed ahead of the Dec. 31 end of analog broadcasts.

Mexico’s transition from analog to digital TV has been faster than that of any other country, she said.

“It has not been easy, but the Communications and Transportation Secretariat ... is making the effort to complete the delivery of digital TV sets before Dec. 31,” the official said.

Aspe said the provision of new TVs to poor households gives Mexico’s analog-to-digital transition a social justice aspect not present in any other country.

OMG!  It's a socialist plot, TV's for the masses.  In El Norte, they always talk about Obama giving out free stuff, but hey, Mexico is doing so much better.... and to poor people, no less.  What will they think of next? 

Love that dirty water...

OK, not the same song, but the same place....

Once again, massive culture shock for this campesino.

Muertos - The Children of San Antonino

El Dia de los Muertos, Day of the Dead, is always a rich and meaningful time.  For me, an outsider, I have learned to appreciate the way people think and feel about death.  They have changed me, all for the better.

These are days of celebration, of remembrances, a time to honor those who have preceded us and whose return is welcomed. 

In El Norte, death is many things, as it is here, but so different,  There it is distant, sanitary, dark and sad.  We have wars in which we don't even see caskets.  Can you imagine children playing in cemeteries where you live? ... without people freaking out about it.

 

Well, in San Antonino Castillo Velasco, one of my favorite villages, they play, laugh, sing and dance all while being surrounded by the graves of their relatives. 

The panteon, cemetery is an ocean of flowers. 

 

People spend the morning decorating the graves and while they sit and work, they eat and drink, listen to a little music and the kids are allowed to be themselves. 

What a healthy way of approaching death, as a constant and companion.

There is a lot of love and happiness, not exactly how the uninitiated might think about El Dia.

Lots of love cast death in a different light.

Google this!

When I go out,  I have to pull my car out and then jump out to close the gate.  I block the road for a few seconds.  This morning, I blocked this vehicle for just a moment.  Do you recognize it?

I did immediately, as I have seen it in the city before, but....... I am seriously out in the boonies 

The driver stopped and happily let me take a few shots.  Cool!  This guy was going everywhere, up and down, even dead ends. 

I think when they do the street view of my street, I will be there taking a picture of the this car..... well, one can hope anyway.

Muerteada in San Agustin Etla 2015 - The video

Muerteada in San Agustin Etla - 2015

This morning I made my annual pilgrimage, along with many others, to San Agustin Etla for the tail end of its all-night muerteada.

 It is all about dancing with mirrored capes.

 And outrageous masks.

 Look at the detail!  All hand-sewn, I imagine.

 And outfits covered with bells.  Keeping the tradition alive, these five all from the same family

Some amazing costumes.

As a wrote a few days ago, muerteadas have really caught on in the Etlas and it would be wild if they were all as totally insane as this one.  Here, there are two groups of dancers and their entourages, each from a different barrio, and starting the evening before they go from house to house and dance, drink, eat, party to some of the most infectious music.  There may some mezcal and beer consumed.

 

Twelve hours later, the sun comes up and they finish visiting homes.  Then at the base of the hill, the two groups, led by their bands, converge for a final mosh pit, although the groups are separated by many men from the village acting as security.  The bands go head to head, a real battle with twelve tubas going at each other, six on six.  The dancers are behind each band and going totally insane.  Yes, for sure, a good time.

And this muerteada is getting popular.  I think it has to do with what the dancers wear, bells and mirrors.  And the outfits weigh a lot... the pants or a cape, maybe 20 kilos.... Try dancing for fourteen hours in those.... The guys go into trances....I did mention there was beer and mezcal, didn't I?  It can take it's toll.  I mean, this guy looks like death warmed over.

I shot mostly video this year and will post some when I get it edited.  Still, this is one of the most fun and craziest times of the year.  Just fantastic.