The view from my window....almost

Things aew looking good.

The view from Casa Cultura in San Agustin Etla.  You can almost see my house waaayyy off in the distance.

You've got to be carefully taught....

I love John Pizzarelli's version of this song.  It is such a powerful yet, subtle song.  Listen to it and tell me you are not changed for the better. 

What a nice tight chorus, singing right on the money.  Gorgeous! .... and an added last verse as well.

Blockades

Yesterday, there were blockades throughout the city and state in support of an investigation into the March 14th disappearance of professor Carlos René Román Salazar.  The teachers and education workers hit all the key intersections and routes.  Normal chaos ensued.

Full story in Spanish.

Fashion shots you never see

From my on-going series of "do they know what their T-shirts says?"

Of course, FUBU (for us, by us) is one of the the hippest clothing lines as I am sure this caballero knows.

Arts and Crafts?

Hmmm.  it should be art and crap

Evolution

I have several favorite spots to watch graffiti come and go.  You will recall this shot from a couple of weeks ago after they scraped and painted this wall.  They even gave it a nice frame.

There have been quite a few changes in the last week.
 
It is different every time I pass by it.
 
Details,

details....

I love it, but what is it?  Oh, of course, a skateboard.

Finally, it is covered with a poster for Oaxaca's #1 compilation of Trash Metal bands, Steel Jaguar.

Wind energy

With more wars (or threats of them) for oil -  let's face it that is what Libya is all about.  If it were about saving people, we would be helping on the Ivory Coast, but we don't know nothin' about that place - it is interesting to note that the US gets most of its oil from Canada and Mexico.  So it is even more interesting that the largest wind energy project in Lain America is being built not far from here.

from The Sun Herald

Macquarie Mexican Infrastructure Fund (“MMIF”) today announced its participation in an equity consortium (the “Consortium”) that has acquired Energía Alterna Istmeña, S. de R.L. de C.V. and Energía Eólica Mareña, S.A. de C.V. (the “Project Companies”) from subsidiaries of Preneal, S.A. (“Preneal”) for a transaction enterprise value of MXN$1.06 billion (approximately US$89.0 million).

The Project Companies are the owners of a 396 MW late-stage wind energy project in the south-eastern region of the State of Oaxaca (the “Project”). The Project is located along the Isthmus of Tehuantepec where average regional wind speeds exceed 8.5 meters per second. The area is regarded as the best wind resource in Mexico and one of the windiest regions in the world.

Whaddya lookin' at?

"Let me whisper in your ear."

This shot has so much happening, her Winnie the Pooh shirt, his Nikes, the doll, URO on the ass.  I think she was taking a pic of me while I was shooting them.

LLuvia - Rain

Water falling from the sky!!!  Que milagro!  What a miracle!  There were a few drops yesterday and today, the Ides of March, there was a wonderful, long, gentle rain.  This is so early.  It is hard to describe what it is like to have rain after maybe, five or six months without a drop.  It fills one will wonderment.

Of course, through the dry months, one adapts..... and waits.....and waits... for just this.
The plants and I are freakin'

Tejarones dancers from San Juan Colorado

Uploading video is almost impossible due to slow connection, but here is a rough clip of the the musicos and tejarones dancers from San Juan Colorado.

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Musicos

Haunting.  That is the best way to describe the music that we heard in the various villages. 

There were some traditional saxes, trumpets and brass, but mostly there were duos with guitar and violin. 

The guitar was often almost inaudible, playing one or two chords, while the violin, often scratchy and out of tune, played the same melody over and over. 

However, this sound coupled with the steady beat kept by the sonajas was almost trance inducing. 
I think I played with this guy....  or maybe it was his cousin. Corona, of course.

From Pinotepa Don Luis, one of the Lord of the Flies guys.

Reinas de Carnaval - Queens of Carnival

There are queens and then there are queens.

While working on these photos I flashed back on the whole queen thing on St. Thomas in the USVI where it was HUGE.  Of course, Carnival there is almost a month long and one of the biggest events of the year.

And maybe there is some comparison to the reinas in the villages near Pinotepa Nacional.  I am still wondering why there were two queens in Pinotepa Don Luis, a "real" queen and an "indigenous" queen.  

I am sure there is some not-so-subtle shot at the Spanish, but both women were treated well, although the "real" one seemed to get preferential treatment.  
At least the "indigenous" queen rode in the shade and believe me, it was hot in the sun.  I love her beautiful basket with her name carved into the gourd.

They were both radiant, obviously happy with wonderful smiles for the crowds.

While in San Juan Colorado, I snuck up onto the reviewing stand where the queen and other notables were watching the dances.  Hey, it was in the shade and I have learned that a camera can get you almost anywhere.  If you want the shot, you have to do what you have to do to get it.  She was in her element.

Her gown from the back. Hey, it is Fashion Week somewhere. 

And she even got on a tee shirt.

The queen from Santa Maria Huazolotitlan.

And the gay queen from the Pinotepa Nacional parade.

However, the real queen was Soyla from Pinotepa Don Luis.  She sells textiles and art.... and lots of alcohol, which, I believe, is made from sugar cane and flavored with fruit.  It packed a real punch judging from the patrons in front of her place.  She is a real pistol, kinda like a high energy Miss Kitty with an edge.  She has a wonderful sense of humor and a rapier sharp wit.  And back in the day....

Long live the queen!

Faces of Pinotepa Carnaval.....cont

The masks seemed as if they were alive, moving.

Tejarones dancers from Santa Maria Huazolotitlan.

Animalitos from San Pedro Jicayan.


Headress made from rooster feathers and a sonaja.


One of the respected elders.

Dancers that seemed like they were from Lord of the Flies.

They ran through Pinotepa Don Luis uttering only one sound, "bloot, bloot, bloot."

The classic look of a white rebozo and pozahuanco.

There is no coming back

The wind is howling across the mountains and valleys.  The air dry and cool.  What a change.

The drive back from the coast takes one through so many different changes of scenery and climate, like going from one world to another.  There are not many roads that cut through the mountains and Henry Wangeman and I tried a different one yesterday, one that cut across from Rio Grande, close to the coast, through Juquila, Lachoa, Sola de Vega and eventually back to the city.  At times we were on a single lane dirt road high in the mountains, but it did cut maybe an hour or two off the drive and the scenery was fantastic.

One leaves the hot, humid and fertile coastal plains, filled with papayas and palms and heads up into the sere mountains, then into cool, moist, alpine air, where the land is filled with tall pines, then down through valleys filled with banana and mango trees, up again, down again, s-curve after s-curve.  As we came over the last ridge we could see Oaxaca in the distance and miracle of miracles, it was raining,  What a welcome home.

There are so many aspects to this trip that it will take a few days to process.  For some, the pounding and dangerous waves and deserted beach near Corralero, a meal of fresh oysters, shrimp and fish might be a highlight, but for me it was the villages, each with its own energy and flavor.  At times, I felt I was transported back in time as I watch dances that had hundreds of years, maybe thousands, behind them.  The hypnotic sounds of the sonajas or rattles, the solo violin and guitar that accompanied many of the dances are still in my head.  Such a primal sound, one that is hard to let go.  Henry has a theory that it is by doing these dances every year that the world keeps going.  The more I think about it, the more I agree.  It was all pretty other-worldly.

In almost every village we were the only gringos, almost the only outsiders.  That being said, it was crazy to see how well Henry is known in these villages after all his years of working with artesanos.  We walked into a huge crowd watching the dances in Pinotepa Don Luis and within literally 15 seconds, the announcer on the PA spotted him and acknowledged his presence. "We are so happy that Hnery Wangeman is here from Oaxaca."  It happened in San Juan Colorado, too.

These are not tourist attractions.  They are the traditions of these villages with long links into the distant past.  I hasten to add, I wish more tourists, both Mexican and international, could see these celebrations.  There is something very deep and moving in them.

Lots of things to observe, about which to learn. Like the striped purple pozahuancos worn by the women, not only in the villages, but also in Pinotepa Nacional, a large city.  These are beautiful fabrics made using a back strap loom and normally worn with no top, maybe a white hand-woven rebozo to go out.  This is the tropics.  It is hot and humid.  However, in the 1950's, the INI or Instituto Nacional Indigenista decided that the women needed to cover up and told them to wear aprons to cover their breasts.  So one sees these gorgeous wrap around skirts covered up with just the most absurd aprons.  How to preserve indigenous culture.... and that was the charge of the council.  Still, some woman still stick to the old ways.

Or villages having a "real" queen and then an indigenous queen.  Things that make you go hmmmmm.

Faces of Pinotepa Carnaval

No time to write.  Today is the big day!

Carnaval on the coast

I am currently traveling with Henry Wangeman of Amate Books and there could be no better companion and guide to see the celebrations in the indigenous villages near the coast.  Each place is better than the last.  We are in Pinotepa Nacional and everyday we visit a couple of different villages.  So there are lots of photos and video to come, but for now feast your eyes on this.  What an amazing time.

From that to this

Words fail as to how nice it is to be back.  Nothing like sun and warmth, good avocados, tomatoes and fresh cheese from Etla for dinner.

Just in time for Carnaval..........