Adios, Mariposas

This is not good.  Not good at all.

From Jim Robbins of the NYT:

On the first of November, when Mexicans celebrate a holiday called the Day of the Dead, some also celebrate the millions of monarch butterflies that, without fail, fly to the mountainous fir forests of central Mexico on that day. They are believed to be souls of the dead, returned.

This year, for or the first time in memory, the monarch butterflies didn’t come, at least not on the Day of the Dead. They began to straggle in a week later than usual, in record-low numbers. Last year’s low of 60 million now seems great compared with the fewer than three million that have shown up so far this year. Some experts fear that the spectacular migration could be near collapse. 

Another insect in serious trouble is the wild bee, which has thousands of species. Nicotine-based pesticides called neonicotinoids are implicated in their decline, but even if they were no longer used, experts say, bees, monarchs and many other species of insect would still be in serious trouble.

That’s because of another major factor that has not been widely recognized: the precipitous loss of native vegetation across the United States. 

“There’s no question that the loss of habitat is huge,” said Douglas Tallamy, a professor of entomology at the University of Delaware, who has long warned of the perils of disappearing insects. “We notice the monarch and bees because they are iconic insects,” he said. “But what do you think is happening to everything else?” 

That means reversing the hegemony of chemically green lawns. “If you’ve got just lawn grass, you’ve got nothing,” said Mace Vaughan of the Xerces Society, a leading organization in insect conservation. “But as soon as you create a front yard wildflower meadow you go from an occasional honeybee to a lawn that might be full of 20 or 30 species of bees and butterflies and monarchs.”

First and foremost, said Dr. Tallamy, a home for bugs is a matter of food security. “If the bees were to truly disappear, we would lose 80 percent of the plants,” he said. “That is not an option. That’s a huge problem for mankind.”

I have always believed that lawns are very unnatural.  I mean, it is only one kind of plant spread over a large area, which, like all homogeneity, makes it prone to all sorts of problems.  I post pics of my current yard which, thankfully, has lots of bees and butterflies.

UPDATE:

Even though I just moved in a few months ago, the seeds that I scattered in the empty lot next door came up and now there are lots of zinnias, marigolds, cosmos, cilantro. 

A neighbor just stopped by and asked if she could pick some cilantro and another asked for seeds.

Lots of flowers mean lots of butterflies and bees.

Toto, I don't think we're in....

Well, this sure ain't Starbucks in Oaxaca. 

FYI.

Signs of the Apocalypse?

From Noticias

Starbucks cafes opened a branch in the city of Oaxaca, the 400th of the country, which generates 15 direct jobs and 25 indirect, reported the national head of the firm, Federico Tejado.

Accompanied the businessman Alfredo Harp Helú and wife, Isabel Grañén Porrúa, the entrepreneur also announced that already seek new options to open more stores in the Oaxacan territory.

 

Starbucks is a transnational firm's largest coffee in the world, which was founded in Seattle, Washington, United States, in 1971. It currently has about 18,000 locations in 49 countries. It also offers sandwiches and pastries, as well as books, music and movies.

Alfredo Harp Helu is a Mexican businessman of Lebanese origin, and as of 2011, with a net worth of $1.5 billion, is according to Forbes the 974th richest person in the world. He is also the cousin of Carlos Slim Helú, who as of 2013 is the richest person in the world as ranked by Forbes.

Muerteada in San Agustin Etla - 2013 version

The video kinda says it all.  A totally insane experience.  This year was crazier and more intense than ever.

Medias Rojas Nación

I do believe the local sports franchise won the big enchilada.

Even George Washington, at the entrance to the Public Garden, has the beard and jersey.

Dim Sum Mecca

While I am in El Norte, I take advantage of the things that are impossible to get in Oaxaca.  Things like dim sum.... really good dim sum.  Today, I made my pilgrimage to The China Pearl located in the heart of Chinatown.  Because the sun was out and the temps mild, I jumped off the train in Copley Square and walked the rest of the way.  Lots happening, but it can wait.  Ahhh... smells like Chinatown.  There's the sign. 

And the entrance.

Up the stairs.

"How many?"  "Just one."

A strange kind of tamale?  No, sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaves.

Filled with yummy stuff.

 

Mushrooms filled with shrimp and fish paste.

 

Then my favorites...

scallion cakes. 

Hot, right off the griddle.

So good.  You can't believe it.

Next, good pizza.

Really?.... Really???

This is the message by yesterday's Youtube video.

And the details.

Who knew that the Kochs owned the wind?  Yes, they are disputing my use of a wind sound, which incidentally, is from the stock sounds in iMovie.  That, plus, reality, you know, like real wind.

I know, it must be some sort of a koan, a riddle, with some deep and profound meaning.

Souls on the Wind - Teotitlan del Valle

Magic Carpets

I am currently in Boston taking care of the chores of autumn like cleaning the gutters and raking leaves.  Luckily, Newton has a great community composting program and those 30 bags by the curb will disappear mañana and be beautiful compost in a few months.  So that's what I've been doing for the last few days.  Finally, I can look at shots from Muertos and these brought back some nice memories.  Just a few of the rugs and carpets that were a part of the week. 
First, this large (9x6 ft) beauty by Roman Guitierrez Ruiz from Teotitlan del Valle that is hanging in an exhibition in the city at the gallery at San Pedro y San Pablo.

Or this gorgeous and delicate sand painting from inside the church in Teotitlan del Valle.

Finally, three more rugs that somehow ended up back in my house... gotta support our local artists and good friends;-)  This beauty from Sergio Ruiz.  That's his mother Emilia (the video star) and his niece, Beatriz, one of my all-time favorite kids... along with her two brothers.

 And these two from good buddy, Antonio Ruiz and his daughter, Beatriz.

 My entire house is filled with red rugs from Antonio.  I love them... and the rugs, too.

More food, glorious food.

We stopped at the house of Zacarias and Emilia Ruiz in Teotitlan del Valle a couple of times over the weekend.  The whole Ruiz family are such wonderful people and cherished friends..... and Emilia may be one of the best cooks evah.... seriously.  On Friday we had these very special tamales filled with chicken and mole amarillo.  They are quite delicate and the flavors are wonderfully subtle. She had made a mere 400 of them for the day.  We put a minor dent in that number.

On Sunday, we returned for mole negro and there is no way to describe how good it was.  Emilia's mole has such an amazing texture and color.  I think it is the best I have ever had and I have had it many times at their house and guess what?  It is always the best I have ever had.  Evah!!

That is Sergio in the background behind the mezcal bottle.

Here is Claudia, Antonio's beautiful wife, serving some up to take to him as he was working at the school as part of his cargo, his village assignment for the year.

And she kept saying she was not beautiful.....  yeah, right.

 A kettleful for a hundred servings or so.

After stuffing ourselves we were ready to buy some rugs, which I will show you in a bit.  For now, enjoy that cheese samich you're eatin;-)

Food, glorious food

Sorry to do this to you.  If your mouth is not watering after this.... well, that ain't my problem.  Muertos involves food both for the living and the departed and we sure were not gonna depart until we had our fill.

 Horchata with a scoop of tuna (cactus flower) sherbert.

 OMG!  This abuela from San Antonino made the most delicious empanadas.

 When finished, the inside was nice and firm, not liquid at all.

 Please, may I have another?  We came home with five.

Muertos in Atzompa

Atzompa is one of our favorite places to visit on the 31st.  Unfortunately, it has become a favorite for tour buses as Xoxo is now way too crowded to even contemplate visiting.  So we get there early.  Atzompa's thing is candles, velas, and the atmosphere is always ethereal.  People are friendly and of course, there is a band playing at 11.... and that is volume, not o'clock.  Still the scene is beautiful and challenging to shoot because it is so dark with only candlelight to work with.  That is the city in the distance in the shot above.  Beautiful, isn't it?  There are little pockets of light in which one can see family members huddled around graves.  They are quiet, but not sad.

I think this is my favorite shot of the night.  It says much.

 A little tighter shot.  I talked to this gentleman for a bit.  He was fine and happy to be waiting for the souls of his family to arrive.

Gotta go.  Off to San Antonino and Teotitlan del Valle for more......

Catrinas and more

Muertos is such a busy and festive time, it is hard to keep up.  Obviously, there is a much deeper meaning beneath all the activities, that being how this culture deals with death.  I will forever be indebted to Oaxaca and Mexico for helping me understand all of this so much better.  It is such a healthy and natural way of looking at the cycles in life and death.  That being said, last night was full of comparsas and craziness in the city.  Shooting at night is always a challenge, but here are some of the results.  One can never go wrong with Catrinas and these were exceptional.

Then there was this wonderful figure on stilts, who I caught up with after he had already walked a couple of kilometers with a couple to go.

More to come....