In the blink of an eye

From quinceanera to boda......
A girl become a young lady

Surrounded by handsome young men.

Soon enough, she is waiting outside the church, about to be married,

If that is not the look of love in a father's eyes, I don't know what is.

Life is sweet if you keep your eyes open.

Even more artists and art

These might be the last three artists I get to photograph for this project.  I hope not.  It is so interesting.  Let's face it, everyone is interesting in one way or another, each of us is unique and the center of our individual universes, but artists are a genre unto themselves.  All are talented, striving to express themselves in various ways, using various media and all are a little out there.... or maybe I can only speak for myself, but I should know, after all I am the center of the universe.  Right?
Jorge Lopez

 

Alejandro Herrera (also at the top) with his daughter, a work of art.

Miriam Ladron de Guevara

Get yer motor runnin' (Just havin' fun)  Taking advantage of a parked bike.

More artists and their art

I continue to take photos of many of Oaxaca's artists for Arnulfo Mendoza's book project.  I think we are drawing to the end, but one never knows.  Still, what a wonderful adventure it has been to meet this diverse group of people, each with her or his special way of expressing themselves, each with a different energy or aura about them.  Yes, the art is beautiful, but even more beautiful, complex and interesting are the people who make the art.
Jorge Flores

 Maria Luisa del Villa

 Charles Barth

More mañana.

The whole world is watching....

Horror is not stopped by borders and within minutes of the massacre in Connecticut, people were talking about it here.  And here also, tears were shed.  Everywhere, there are parents and children. teachers and schools, so a universal empathy kicks in.  There is grief.  There were prayers and opinions offered.  However, people's perspective living outside the bubble of El Norte's culture is one of sheer disbelief.  "What is happening to that country?  It is committing suicide, slowly, in front of our eyes.  Can't they see it?"

Polarization is so profound at this point, it is hard to see a way out of our self-created mess(es).  My opinions about guns and violence are my own, but basically boil down to, "Don't need 'em. Don't want 'em."  They are antithetical to the way I chose to live my life, but that's just me.  I realize I am never gonna convince Ted Nugent otherwise and that is frustrating and, in no small part irritating enough, to want grab a two by four and.... see what a trap that is? 

"Since there is this, there is that, and since this happens, that happens.  Since there is none of this, there is none of that and since this dies, that dies."

Virgin of Guadalupe in Teotitlan del Valle

What better way to celebrate the Virgin of Guadalupe day then at the final performance of the danzantes from Teotitlan del Valle.  They have been dancing as a group for three years, the normal full term for a group.  Under blues skies and clear late afternoon sun,  a poignant farewell from the entire village was bade to these outstanding dancers.  It is such an honor to be a dancer and it was such an honor for me to have watched a great number of their performances over the three years.  Teotitlan is all about honor, respect and traditions and the afternoon was resplendent in showing how it is done.  It was a wonderful and powerful experience.

I'll follow this shortly with a more complete  description and the accompanying feelings, but for now some images of the Virgin worn by the dancers.

 Each one quite different.

 And all done by the dancer and his family.

 Note the 12-12-12 embroidery.

Virgin of the Guadalupe Day

You know it is a special day when the bands start playing long before the sun rises and the cohetes, loud firecrackers, echo off the mountains.  And so mexicanos began to celebrate the Virgin of the Guadalupe (here's the story). The Virgin is the iconic figure of Mexico and can be seen everywhere, at any time of year.  She is a constant and today is her day.  So boys dress up like Juan Diego and girls wear indigenous outfits to represent Tepeyac, the region where Juan first spotted the Virgin.

This was the altar set up for her in the market in Etla this morning.

The market was quiet, but it was early.  Still, the streets were filled.  I wish I could describe the aromas that filled my nostrils.  First, it was a powerful fragrance of fresh mandarins, tangerines, so fresh and strong.  Ahhh, a little bit of heaven!  Then, the smell of oranges, then chocolate, then the smells of cooking.  Life in Smell-o-vision.

We are so spoiled here with the freshest produce.  I returned with beautiful avocados, onions, tomatoes, a huge head of the crispest red lettuce, fresh tortillas, tamales, chile rellenos, nice big sesame rolls, and a super fragrant cantalope.  However, when I started driving home, the car filled with the perfume of a perfect piña, pineapple.  I could practically taste it.

A good start to a special day.  Celebrate it accordingly.  Of course, the best shot of the year was this one from Teotitlan del Valle, where I am just heading out the door to visit, so I can celebrate it with the danzantes del plumas and the good people out there.

Connections

Sometimes the juxtaposition of news stories can allow us to think about our interconnections in this global economy in simpler terms. 

So on the one hand  we have the Belgium Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world largest beverage company, buying Mexico’s Grupo Modelo, which "sells beer under 13 different brands, including Corona Extra, which has the biggest market share in the world, exporting its products to 180 countries."  Big companies, big money, staggering when you really think about it.  AB InBev is the world's largest brewer with nearly 25 percent global market share.  Grupo Modelo has over 60 percent of the the Mexican market share.

On the other hand, this story from Noticiasnet 

Oaxaca and Guerrero share the dishonor of having the highest rates of informal labor, 80.8% of the economically active population, in the case of Oaxaca, informality is even more serious, because it is the highest rate in the country since more than one of each 3 members of the labor force in the State, 36.3%, works in the streets, according to the Informal employment in Mexico study, released late on Tuesday by the National Institute of statistics and geography.

In the country, 6 of every 10 Mexicans operate in labor informality, in Oaxaca, the rate rises to slightly more than 4 of every 5 Oaxacans. There are 29.3 million Mexicans in all modalities of informal employment, of them, more than 14 million 200 thousand have to resort to the streets as a "workplace".

Inegi explained in the document that it has integrated in its statistics on occupation and employment schemes of the International Labour Organization (ILO) under the extended concept of informality (street trade, food preparation and services offered in public, homemade and handcrafted, industries among others), widening labor informality to work not registered with social security, whether or not operating in economic units typical of the Informal Sector.

That's the situation in a nutshell.  Super-mega-corporations (corporations are people, my friends) and ambulantes, people who set up business in the streets in order to make a living.

Eat, drink, live wisely, mis amig@s.

1000 words

Leading by example

Recycle!  What a creative way to get the point across and make a cool recycling container.  Wire strung through plastic bottles.  Voila!

A tree grows in Brooklyn?

The title refers to things you never expect to find and yesterday I had such an experience.

A good Reuben sandwich in Oaxaca!  And I mean really good... with excellent potato salad and a perfect sour dill pickle.  Who woulda thunk it?  I should add that I know my Reubens pretty well after living in NYC and various other places which pride themselves with their versions.

Chomp, chomp.

Please read what wikipedia has to say about Ruebens.  It is interesting.

You can find this sandwich along with lots of other taste treats at the Gourmand Delicatessen.  Here's the menu and one of the happy owners. 

The deli has been open for eight months.  How could I have missed this place on my never-ending quest for the best tortas and sandwiches in town?  Back for more soon.  And they had bagels, too.  In Oaxaca?  That's crazy.  Crazy good.

Looking closer

Always walking around with a camera teaches one to look at things very differently.  You look both panoramically and at the most minute of details, often at the same time.  It always blows my mind that a good photographer can get an interesting shot out of anything.  Anything!  One of my many mantras is "Practice, practice, practice," which countless former students had to endure me saying and writing, over and over.
So, I just keep practicing.  One of the fountains in Llano Park.

 

With its center, a pineapple, the symbol of welcome, hospitality and generosity,

 A support beam in the median of the main drag

With a powerful political commentary.

"Don't look back,

They might be gainin' on you." A truism from the great Satchel Paige.

This a rear view mirror shot.  I couldn't believe this guy was tailgating me.  Maybe I need to drive faster.

Just kiddin', but I love being surrounded by campesinos.  Somehow, it always feels good to see them on the streets with their oxen, burros and horses.  And they always wave back.

Drive safely, mis amig@s.

Light a candle

I am still pissed about yesterday's US Senate vote against the UN Disabilities treaty.  It just seems so antithetical in terms of how we should live our lives.  I can attest that being compassionate or simply being nice and friendly always pays off, if only by making one feel good about doing the right thing.  I mean, we gotta live with ourselves, right?  Hope those senators are feeling the global rage and disappointment, but if they were capable of that, I suppose they never would have voted the way they did.
So I lit a candle for them...... but God blew it out.

Actually, this is from an installation currently up in the city.  Spixl has a nice series of photos and the story about it over at Casa Colibri.

Seriously?

What is wrong with these people?  Have they no compassion or awareness at all?  Have they never visited any countries in the world struggling with poverty?  Are none of them personally affected by a family member with disabilities?   What an embarrassment these fools are and they embarrass the nation.  "American exceptionalism," right? 
Words fail....  except to hope that they reap what they sow.... like tomorrow, if not sooner.
from Huffington

Led by Republican opposition, the Senate on Tuesday rejected a United Nations treaty on the rights of the disabled that is modeled after the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act.

With 38 Republicans casting "no" votes, the 61-38 vote fell five short of the two-thirds majority needed to ratify a treaty. The vote took place in an unusually solemn atmosphere, with senators sitting at their desks rather than milling around the podium. Former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, looking frail and in a wheelchair, was in the chamber to support the treaty.

The treaty, already signed by 155 nations and ratified by 126 countries, including Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia, states that nations should strive to assure that the disabled enjoy the same rights and fundamental freedoms as their fellow citizens.

Republicans objected to taking up a treaty during the lame-duck session of the Congress and warned that the treaty could pose a threat to U.S. national sovereignty.

"I do not support the cumbersome regulations and potentially overzealous international organizations with anti-American biases that infringe upon American society," said Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla.

 I am speechless... not really... but.....

Oh, and here are the assholes who did it.  Needless to say, all white men, except for Hutchinson from Texas.

Alexander (R-TN) Blunt (R-MO) Boozman (R-AR) Burr (R-NC) Chambliss (R-GA) Coats (R-IN) Coburn (R-OK) Cochran (R-MS) Corker (R-TN) Cornyn (R-TX) Crapo (R-ID) DeMint (R-SC) Enzi (R-WY)

Graham (R-SC) Grassley (R-IA) Hatch (R-UT) Heller (R-NV) Hoeven (R-ND) Hutchison (R-TX) Inhofe (R-OK) Isakson (R-GA) Johanns (R-NE) Johnson (R-WI) Kyl (R-AZ) Lee (R-UT) McConnell (R-KY)

Moran (R-KS) Paul (R-KY) Portman (R-OH) Risch (R-ID) Roberts (R-KS) Rubio (R-FL) Sessions (R-AL) Shelby (R-AL) Thune (R-SD) Toomey (R-PA) Vitter (R-LA) Wicker (R-MS)

Here's a link to the UN Dispatch with what the treaty intended to do.

Hidden hallways

One of the most fascinating aspects of Mexico's architectural style is the hidden area, what's behind the closed gate.  Often it is a spectacular garden, courtyard or hallway.  You can imagine my surprise to see this layout.  The floors were being washed, so the doors were open, revealing this visual treat.  First, came the entry way, which was painted from top to bottom with colorful and iconic figures.

To the left was a door leading to a cafe.

 

There might be several reasons why Jesus' eyes are rolling back into his head,

One of them being what he has to look at across the hall.

 

His eyes might be rolling, but look at the others.  The demon's are falling out and the skull seems fixated on... I'm not sure what.

 The entry led to this gorgeous courtyard. 

 How much fun would it be to live there?  Beautiful.

Going as planned?

After receiving a third of the votes, Enrique Pena Nieto, was installed as Mexico's new presidente yesterday.  Here is Tim Johnson of McClatchy's description of the day.

Enrique Pena Nieto assumed the presidency of Mexico Saturday amid high hopes that his muscular, once-autocratic political party, which governed this country for most of the 20th Century, will heal a bruised, bloodied nation and rev the economy.

Pena Nieto, 46, donned the red, white and green presidential sash shortly before noon in front of a raucous Congress and turmoil in city streets.

Near Congress and in front of historic Alameda Park, young protesters opposed to Pena Nieto threw rocks and bottles at riot police, set fire to a bank branch, smashed windows of a Hilton Hotel and numerous other storefronts and ran from a cascade of tear gas. An undetermined number were injured.

The moment marked a chaotic return to power for the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, which was ousted at the ballot box in 2000 after 71 years of near absolute rule.....

Fears that the party has not changed were palpable. Full page newspaper ads lamented the “death to democracy” in Mexico and lambasted the PRI for “buying” the July 1 election with the support of Televisa, a huge television and media conglomerate.

The second-place finisher, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, led a rally of thousands of protesters at the iconic Angel of Independence monument, where a banner referred to Pena Nieto: “Mexico hates you.”

Early in the day, bottle-throwing protesters tried to breach security barriers outside Congress before Pena Nieto’s arrival. Youths ripped down street-side payphones, tore up pavement and commandeered a garbage truck, ramming it against a tall steel security fence. Small fires burned from Molotov cocktails.

Police said seven protesters were injured in the morning. They denied reports that one man died from head injuries after a homemade bottle rocket struck him. No tally was offered for afternoon violence.

Inside the chamber, leftist lawmakers unfurled a huge black and white banner and held up giant placards decrying Pena Nieto’s inauguration. “Mexico in Mourning,” the banner said. “Teleprompter president, No Need to Assemble,” another said.

Sounds even more raucous then El Norte, doesn't it?  There were protests throughout Mexico, including Oaxaca, but I missed them, but did catch these.

We are living in interesting times.... which is a good thing.  Change is gonna come.

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/12/01/176083/raucous-day-in-mexico-as-pena.html#storylin

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/12/01/176083/raucous-day-in-mexico-as-pena.html#storylink=cpy

Transitions

I am still not sure if I am here or there, but that seems pretty normal.  The transition from New England back to Old Mexico is as dramatic as it is going the other way.  It takes some adjustments.

So I return to the cool dry air of Oaxaca.  The nights are in the mid 40's.  The days making it to about 80.  My car, completely coated with dust from its stay at the airport, is now nice and clean after a through cleaning by the guy across the road.  I made it the market in Etla and got some quesillo, tortillas, fresh produce and huge perfect avocados.  Sorry, Boston, you never see anything like the real deal on these things.

I returned with some necessities.  Things like parmesan and cheddar cheese, perelite (for starting seeds) and a bunch of stuff for folks.  Between the airlines and their weight limits and TSA, one has to refine one's packing skills.... and get a good scale at home.  Oh, I got an ipad just because when in Rome.....

I returned to find a dog outside my gate and I am talkin' one sorry pup, ribs showing, one back leg damaged, probably hit at some point.  He is good size.  Might have some pit bull or boxer in him somewhere.

Dogs lead a very tough life here.  I have written about it many times.  At any rate, it looks like the neighbors have taken him in so that makes it a neighborhood project.  I put a bowl of water out for him and went a bought a big bag of food.  Those and some TLC should help.  I am such a dog person, that's why I don't have one here after having 17 in my life.  Maybe this a way to have one by sharing.  We will see.

Also, I returned to find that ants had invaded the speaker system in the kitchen.  This is the second time these guys have set up living in something electrical.  Last time it was a computer cooling fan.  How weird is that?  They really make a sticky mess that is hard to clean up.  I confess to going Samuel L. Jackson on them.  And on the wasps that decided to take over the hot water heater.  They were not there when I re-lit it late Thursday night, but had covered the thing by Friday.  Again, WTF?
Oh, speaking of transitions...

More in a bit.