Butterflies and bees

 

I have been in this house less than a year.  When I moved in, there was an adjoining lot that was part of the property, but it was walled off and looked like a bomb zone.  They had just brought in a backhoe to dig some drainage areas and to fix the septic system.  So there were piles of dirt and huge piles of cantera, a type of stone that is used in lots of construction.  These were pretty big piles and I felt like Sisyphus many times, but eventually I moved all that dirt and stone and laid out a garden.  Then I planted a few things, but it was the beginning of the dry season and it was a real challenge to get everything through.  Not everything made it, but now that the rains have come, look at the results.

The zinnias, cosmos and marigolds are just starting to flower.  It looks like I will have an ocean of color out there for a couple of months.

 There is a lot of life out there.

 Just stopping by....

 Abejas (bees) will save the world.... we hope.

 Always, always, always, I plant things that will attract birds, bees and butterflies. 

The cosmos are from a friend in Maine.  Thanks, Marilynn!!

Ahhhh....

El Sol - The sun comes out in Teo

What a difference a day makes.... the sun was out in Teotitlan del Valle yesterday and the danzantes and their dazzling outfits were in fine form.  It was a glorious day and so were they.  I am just going through shots and I fixated on this dancer.

Here he is in action

I need to go back and figure out who he is, but man o man, did he look fine or what?
Update:  El guapo is Armando Vincente Mendoza.

In comparison to what I have seen in many of the other danzantes from other villages, Teotitlan del Valle blows them all away in terms of the beauty and complexities of their outfits.

There is so much that goes into every detail.  Much more in a bit.
It is an off day in Teo today as they get ready for a confite on Friday and a full weekend of dancing.

Keep on dancin' - Teotitlan del Valle

Yesterday was the second day of the week long celebration and even though the sun was nowhere to be seen, it was still a glorious day filled with traditions and vibrancy.  Just look at those colors.

 

We arrived for the beginning of the Danza de las Plumas, which is a long presentation, some eight hours with over forty separate parts.

Moctezuma, Jose Isaac Vasquez de Los Angeles, fighting the wind.

 

Of course, as always, the stars of the show are Doña Marina and Malinche,  Ailani Ruiz Ruiz and Juana Lizabeth Contreras Vincente, respectively.

The highlight for me, while we were there, was their dancing of La Zandunga.  Beautiful.

Actually, the light was very nice for video so I will try to post something later.  But for now, yet again, out the door for more!

Convites y cohetes - Teotitlan del Valle

Yesterday was the beginning of the annual celebration of "Solemnes Cultos en honor a la Preciosa Sangre de Nuetra Señor Jesucriso"  in the Zapotec weaving village of Teotitlan del Valle.  The skies were threatening and there was rain in the distance, but it held off and the procession went off without a hitch.

The unmarried girls and women of the village process through the streets of the village carrying baskets, each with a depiction of a religious figure.

Carrying these baskets is hard work and one has to be brought up in the culture to actually carry the canasta the whole way.  I have seen many an outsider try, only to fail.

They come in all ages and each is resplendent, beautiful, wearing the tradition trajes, the maroon skirts and the embroidered huipiles.

 

They start at an early age, as early as four.

  

We never miss these celebrations and know many of the villagers and dancers.  The danzantes were particularly psyched to be wearing their traditional white male outfits, a first.

Normally, there are in full regalia as they will be today and for the rest of the week.  Monteczuma, Doña Marina and Malinche.

The procession is always led by guys with skyrockets of cohetes.  In fact, as far as I can tell, this is a tradition throughout all of Mexico.  I am so used to hearing cohetes everyday, often very early in the morning, they do not even get a rise outta me.  However, obviously, there is an art in everything.

 

I had a blast with these guys and they were into showing me how it was done.

 

"Souave, eh señor?  Definitely cool!

Out the door for more!!

Julio - Best month of the year?

May is very quiet in Oaxaca with not much happening.  June is much of the same, but July.... woo, woo.... it all starts happening in quick succession.

This week there are the convites and danzantes in Teotitlan del Valle.

There is the upcoming Feria de los Moles, always a gastronomic treat.

The Feria de Hongos in Cuajimoloyas,

The Feria de Queso y Quesillo in Reyes Etla

With a local intimate guelaguetza.

The Feria de Tejate y Tamal

and of course, the biggie, the Guelaguetzas.

Plus a free concert by Lila Downs on July 25.

Here's the schedule which is by no means complete.... there is so much to do..... you should be here.

Dias Grises - Campo verde

Gray days - green countryside.

FIFA Fever on the Fourth

The dogs of Etla are ambivalent about the whole thing after El Tri's departure.

Happy Fourth?

The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro
by Frederick Douglass
From a speech given at Rochester, New York, July 5, 1852 

What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer; a day that
reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross
injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him, your
celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license;
your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are
empty and heartless; your denunciation of tyrants, brass fronted
impudence; your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery;
your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings, with all your
religious parade and solemnity, are, to Him, mere bombast,
fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy-a thin veil to cover up crimes
which would disgrace a nation of savages. There is not a nation
on the earth guilty of practices more shocking and bloody than
are the people of the United States, at this very hour.

Welcome back

It's all about me.... uh, isn't it?

Today was my first trip into the city since my return.  I have been battling the weeds for the past five days and even though they thought they had won while I was gone, I ventured into the jungle and emerged victorious, albeit scratched, bleeding and sunburned in an area that had not seen the sun in many years.... my shirt rode up and my pants rode down and I was too dirty to do anything about it.  Ouch!

At any rate, it was too wet to work today, so into the city I went and it was like they knew I was coming.  I am sure when finished this sign will read, "Welcome back, Chris!"

Everywhere I went it was "OMG! Look, mom, it's Chris!"

"Call my name," you know, the Cheryl Cole song.  This guy even had a shirt on to welcome me.

Walked the walk, paid some bills and ended up in La Biznaga, the restaurant, and had this exceptional mushroom soup, flavored with wonderful bits of bacon, a meal unto itself.

If/when the sun emerges, I will take shots of the garden, which is really coming on.