Finalmente - El Directorio

Yesterday, I visited the artesanos in La Union Tejalapam to give each of them a copy of the new directory. The municipal agencia was the first stop where we left several copies to sell to the non-existent tourists, but hope springs eternal.

If you happen to be in the area, here is the centerpiece map and believe me, it is exact.
If you are not in the area support your local artists or go online and support… me.

Actually, much to my surprise, the directory is selling much better than I thought it would. I think I am averaging one a day. I have passed out copies to friends, B&B’s and art stores and people seem enthusiastic about visiting La Union.

Here is one of the master carvers, Francisco Santiago with his great granddaughters and his copy of the directory.

More Mexican Than Before

I had a quick trip to El Norte last week. It was time to renew my visa. These six months have gone by quickly, some of the best times of my life. Of course, sadness and problems always tag along for the ride, but I would not trade it for anything. There are wonderful memories and experiences that I will carry with me always – all part of my continuing education. Maybe I will do better in the future. I will certainly try.

I was only in the states for a few days and I had a long list of things to do and pick up.
The most important accomplishment was the printing of the directory of the carvers from La Union Tejelapam. The costs in Oaxaca were prohibitive and I worried that I would not be able to complete the project and would let so many people down, but Minuteman Press in West Newton, MA did an incredible job and the finished product is now available in local stores in Oaxaca. Now, it is on to the carvers of San Martin Tilcajete.

It was nice to walk along the frozen Charles on that same walk I had trekked so many times with so many dogs in the past.

I watched the Patriots beat San Diego with my brother and I got to experience the intense and biting cold that is New England in mid January. Of course, the Green Bay-Giants game made us feel warm. Trying to explain that level of cold to oaxaqueños is like trying to explain to a Bostonian what an avocado really tastes like right off the tree.

I also visited the school at which I taught for so many years. It was wonderful to see students, colleagues and friends. I am still sorting out the past from the present, but I think the answers are becoming clearer. Obviously, I am no longer there, but the buildings and programs I helped build still are. Watching kids in action in the Arts will give even the most cynical hope for the future. I spent almost thirty years making music and art with kids. The current generation is right on track, breathing down our necks and pushing – just like we did to those before us. Esperanza!

As I packed up my treasures for my return – Thai Hot Sauce, sesame oil, rooting hormone for plant cuttings, dormant oil for the gardenias, cheddar cheese, batteries for the G4 and video cameras, sneakers, underwear, socks, AC power cord for my MacBook, USB hubs, portable hard drives, M-Audio equipment (for the world’s most compact recording studio), books, magazine, photography gear, contact lens cleaner, crunchy peanut butter, the directory - it occurred to me that I was returning to Mexico like so many Mexicans, bringing back lots of things it is so hard to get here.

Of course, I was not like the young guy I ran into in the Oaxacan airport who had two large flat-screen TV’s with him and a few other cardboard boxes of goodies. He was the real thing and I’m just renting….

La Noche del Rabanos - Night of the Radishes

Navidad in Oaxaca is always refreshing and happy. Yes, there is some of the commercialism that so dominates El Norte, but mostly it is a relatively quiet holiday. The giving of gifts comes on Three Kings Day on January 6. El Dia de Reyes or Epiphany is the twelfth day of Christmas and we will have to see what Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar have planned for us. Officially, the Christmas season lasts until February 21 when the Nativity can be put away.
Imagine radishes as big as your arm or leg … and plenty of small ones, too. They are the staring point for one of the best days of the year in Oaxaca, La Noche del Rabanos, the night of the radishes.
As hard as it may be to believe, for 110 years oaxaqueños have been competitively carving radishes and transforming them into incredible art. Actually, the Spanish brought the radish in the 1500’s and the indigenous started carving them shortly thereafter. The first formal Noche de Rabanos in the zocalo was in 1897.
The thing I have learned from previous Rabanos is to get to the zocalo early and watch the setting up and finishing touches. Those finishing touches are often the starting touches as radish art has, approximately, a one-day life before it dries out, wilts and starts to stink – literally.
This is a competition with cash prizes and radishes are not the only medium used. In separate competitions, cornhusks and dried flowers are used to create strikingly complex and beautiful tableaus.
By the time La Noche arrives there are thousands of spectators and it is impossible to get close and really see the art. Plus, during the setup, you can talk to the artists and just watch as they do their thing.
This year Rabanos was subdued, but much more festive than last year when there were police everywhere. Oaxaca has come a long way back, but is nowhere close to where it was before the mess began.

Live or Blog?

That is the question. Blogging is hard work and as the blogosphere expands, its demands for time expand as well. Words are tough enough, but those photos and videos.... oh my!

For the last two weeks I have chosen to live and experience the things I will try to write about in the coming weeks. No doubt, things will be left out, either forgotten or left on the editing floor, due to time constraints. However, La Noche de Rabanos and Noche Buena were wonderful, albeit a bit subdued this year. And there was the baptism and fiesta in San Felipe Tejalapam. I will try to get caught up in the next few days.

I read a lot of blogs daily, in addition to several newspapers, and now that I am trying to blog, my admiration and respect for what the bloggers do increases. It is hard to stay current and it is even harder to post things everyday. The blogs I read seem like they are on top of things 24/7 and posting every few hours or minutes.

I guess I would put in a plug for the importance of the expanding blogosphere and its quick supplanting of the MSM or The Village. The media's ignorance and gross manipulation of the facts is really quite remarkable. I just wonder if it is as obvious to those inside the borders as it is to the rest of the planet.

As someone living outside the country, I need to get information and here in Mexico, all I have for US stuff is Fox News and CNN International.
You have no idea what the world sees and thinks of the US and if you do... well, it is pretty scary picture. So blind, arrogant and biased. Or maybe that is just me.....

From the outside, the place looks pretty bad with the economic problems, the war, the scandals, the obsession with celebs, the loss of moral standing in the world. I cannot believe that people are actually still arguing about whether or not it is ethical to torture? Or that the earth is only 6,000 years old? Wankstock? The Spears Sisters? The horserace?
I feel like saying, "It does not look like the country I knew as a boy," but instead I will recommend that you get "Back in the Day" on iTunes and you can learn how I feel about such thoughts and phrases. Boils down to the fact that every generation says something similar... but really folks, what the heck is goin' on?

Yes, the USA looks crazy from afar, but so does this place. The economic situation here is going to get worse before it gets better, but more on that as the data comes in.

Speaking of craziness, we just went through a three-day quinceñera next door. There were music and fireworks all day and all night. Incidentally, the bands here are fantastic and these guys had a sound system that was powerful and clean. You could feel the bass in your gut and they were set up several hundred meters away.

More on music later, but for now.... its back to living. I'll blog on later ... mañana o mañana.

The Girl Could Sing - New Music

The Girl Could Sing
And
Sirens
Two of the latest creations.
The music is just flowing out......

La Boda (The Wedding)

The Bride

Veronica and Joel

As I bounced down an almost impassable dirt road on my way to a boda (wedding) in San Martin Tilcajete, it finally sunk in that I was not in Kansas anymore. There was a Nor'easter in Boston, heavy rain in St. Thomas, the Pats were playing the Jets … and there were flashes of previous lives, school concerts, vacations, the haze that is my past.

Not here not now. Bumpin’ down the road to see the wedding of Veronica and Joel. Veronica is the daughter of Jesus and Juana Sosa Calvo, who are renowned woodcarvers in a village famous for its carvers.

Most weddings in Mexico take place during December and May. That’s the tradition and the celebrations last days. Each village has different rituals, celebrations, foods and customs. This was my first in San Martin.

Jesus and I go back a long way and it was a wonderful honor to be at the wedding. The Sosa family has carved almost thirty of the atriles (music stands) in my collection which numbers around 65 now. They carved the very first stand and they have created many of the most remarkable pieces in Oaxacan woodcarving.

Veronica and Jesus Sosa in December or 1999 with the first atril (music stand)

Instrumentales - August, 2002

I arrived very early at the church early after an easy 90-minute drive down the wide valleys that lead south of the city.

At one point in its history, San Martin Tilcajete was a large military and political rival of Monte Alban, but now it is a small and quiet place with perhaps between 50 and 100 carving families. The fame of their carvings brought much wealth to these poor villages, but now no one visits and sales have plummeted. Tough times. The artists are figuring out other ways of surviving. Some go back to the campo (working the fields), others have opened restaurants and many have left for El Norte.

Jesus’ son and his brother just came back from picking apples in Washington. Emiglio, the brother, is a great painter. Now he has lots of muscles and looks like a different person – wonderfully strong and healthy.

I sat in the zocalo and just watched village life on a Sunday afternoon. It was in the shade, cool breezes, decent music playing across the square. I just hoped I was in the right place.

In time, people started arriving. There were lots of kids with musical instruments. I could see them walking down the long dusty streets lugging their cases behind them.

Joel and Veronica waited in the car until all had assembled and then…

It unfolded, a very simple and sweet traditional village ceremony. As I say, it was a real honor and pleasure to be there.

I, of course, was doing my best to shoot “ a traditional wedding shoot” using the best of what I could remember from the master, Sonya. I couldn’t remember much, but managed to shoot around 400 shots so I played the percentages and got a few nice ones.

After the ceremony, the band led us on a procession through the village and people came out to wave and give good wishes to the couple.

After a ten-minute walk the entire party ended up at the Sosa home where long tables were set under the trees and awnings. There was a great trio singing as we sat down to a meal of carnitas, pork cooked in large pots of manteca (lard), beans, salsas, rice, tortillas and beer, mescal and sodas.

There was a beautiful altar set up off to the side.

The next day Veronica was off to live in Puebla with Joel’s family.

Only graffiti

I had lunch with some young people the other day and we had a wide-ranging conversation. My Spanish is getting good enough to begin to express real thoughts, but not really. I think it was better when I just had to keep my mouth shut and say nothing because I could say nothing. There is an great expression, "En boca cerrada, no entran moscas," translated loosely, "Flies don’t go in a closed mouth – essentially, shaddup, keep your mouth closed.
At any rate, I asked if there were comedy clubs here or an equivalent to “The Daily Show” or Colbert in which people could lampoon the politicians and the system. Their answer was that they did not exist here. One said that people in Mexico carry a fear within them that silences them.As far as I can see and remember, my language skills are limited, the only prominent political protests come in the form of graffiti, which I continue to photograph.

In this photo URO is Ulises Ruiz Ortiz, the governor of Oaxaca, who is generally reviled. Puto in this context means something like "male whore" and should not be confused with puto, the rice cake or dumpling that comes in many forms in the Far East.

And what do these represent?

Maybe hope?

Snow? Rain? How about a fresh tomato?

I know it is snowing in Boston and raining in St. Thomas, but here it is the dry season.

San Agustin is very lucky to have water year round from the springs in the mountains. Even though the land is parched, it is such a wonderful sight and sound to have water pouring through the aqueducts throughout the village.

Consequently, I have fresh produce from the garden everyday. I am learning plenty about gardening here. There are a whole new set of problems, pests and solutions.
The higher up the mountains one’s land is means less topsoil. In the valley less than a mile away, the soil is rich, deep and brown. Here it is literally like cement. To dig a hole we use a four-foot long railroad spike and it is real work. Shovels or trowels are meaningless here. Plus, even when dug up and mixed with compost and manure, it still wants to return to its cement-like state. However, the tons of cow manure, abono, that I added are starting to do the trick.

I have lots of gardenias in pots and they are prone to scale, an insect, but no insecticides here. Normally, I use vlock oil to smother them. I went to the vivero, the rural nursery in San Lorenzo, where I bought them and the lady there said eight chiles in some water would do the trick. I know also to add a little soap to act as a spreading agent.

Their fragrance is intoxicating. I love going out each morning and breathing in the blossoms that have opened overnight.

Dia de la Virgen

Wednesday was the day of pilgrimage for the Virgin of Guadalupe. Most of the streets in the city were closed and there was gridlock, so I missed some opportunities. Never found a parking spot, but while I was in traffic I did witness some remarkable sights. Check out this video.

New Music

Oh, what a sale!
Oaxacan graffiti

And here's a link to a site with some new music.
I am working on my smallest setup ever - a G4 laptop and a cheapo keyboard.
But the software allows me to go new places.
I am being forced to learn new techniques and having a blast.

A Matter of Perspective - Dos

The city is quiet again after the excitement of El Dia and the flurry of business that came with the sudden influx of tourists. The streets are full of people. The skies are bright and blue.

It has been a full year since the massive governmental crackdown. The anniversary has given people cause to pause, reflect, memorialize and protest.

Many problems remain, but for now, Oaxaca is working hard to recover. In comparison to the other micro/macro systems I continue to observe and study in the hopes of figuring something out, Oaxaca is doing well.

Yes, it boiled over and is suffering through the aftermath, but it is making progress. The other systems I am watching include U.S. politics, my old prep school, the blogosphere, Boston politics, the Virgin Islands, the universe and my gardens. Some have yet to boil over, (i.e. the economy) or are not making the kind of progress they are making here (i.e. Iraq.)

And if one works hard enough, there are plenty of correlations and connections.

Last week’s convergence brought lots of action on the personal, local, national and blog-world levels. There was an article in the Washington Post by Ceci Connolly that generated quite a buzz on many levels. It was a “year later” story and Ms. Connolly, who I am sure likes Oaxaca, gave it the typical MSM “fly-by” treatment, which oft times now, it not representative of the reality on the ground.

I was motivated to write a response.

"To not speak with and, in more depth, about the indigenous populations is a real disservice to the problems that have still not been resolved. These include, social, economic, educational, political issues some of which have hundreds of years of history behind them. After all, the PRI was in power for 70 years. Why no mention of the election that started all the problems? Or the latest election, in which on one voted, because the outcome was predetermined?
Sadly, this story is typical of today's MSM, a glossy superficial view that ignores the reality that is so obvious to so many. As in the States, there are real problems here in Oaxaca, but they have not been addressed yet. In both countries, the rich and powerful factions that are in control and increasingly more repressive, seem surprised that people actually notice and begin to say, "Y basta - enough already." and start to take action. The Village likes the superficial story, but the glossing over of problems will not work in either country, because the problems still exist.
Pick any mainstream story these days, like Musharaff being "democratic" or the weakening dollar or the sub-prime fiasco or the real number of war dead (including Iraqis), the press does not do their jobs and dig in and present the facts. Instead, they spin it just like everyone else. As an ex-pat living in Oaxaca, what do I know compared to a oaxaqueño? Not much! Talking with normal everyday people would have put a decidedly different spin on the story.
Ms. Connolly's inability to see Oaxaca's soul says more about her than about this place. Being blind to it, she missed the real story. How sad. Even sadder, her story will be read by far more than these comments and the comments are much closer to the truth of what is happening in Oaxaca."

At least in Oaxaca, they are not opening fighting and sniping at each other. There was too much damage done last year. Maybe people are just regrouping or maybe they are looking, struggling to find the seemingly impossible solutions.

In too many of the systems, people are not listening, not doing their jobs, and ignoring the obvious. Yes, that still exists here, but tough times force change.

Oaxaca is changing, refining, aging … working hard to get better ...

A matter of perspective

I continue to photograph the graffiti around the city and out in the pueblos.
Often it is how you see things or how you are allowed to see things.
As with these two photos:

and

BAGnewsNotes is a very interesting website that explores and analyzes photos in the news and from Iraq. It certainly has made me look at things very differently.