They work hard for the money...

"You want your house where?"  I keep thinking about this work site in Etla because it shows several things about the area.  I remember when I moved into my house, I noticed all the cantera stone and thought it must have been left over from construction.  But no, it is simply what is just under the soil.  And you can see just how prominent and deep it is.  "No problem, we'll just chop it out.  It's only five meters high." I wonder how much was done by hand.  Oaxaqueños got some serious work ethic!

It sure explains why so many structures, ancient, not so ancient (colonial) and new, are built with the stuff.  It is everywhere and Huitzo, just to the north is famous for its quarries,.  The stone can absorb air and water without expanding, so it is close to a perfect building material.  Guess what the Spanish word for quarry is....

No problema... I got this...

And they talk about Boston drivers.  I followed this guy on my way out of Oaxaca last week and it remains one of my favorite recent memories.  Don't doubt it for a second.  Oaxaqueños can do anything!

Keep on truckin'...

I'm in El Norte, where I successfully got a booster shot this morning. Setting up an appointment only took minutes and I went to a local CVS and it was over before I knew it.  The sun is out for the first time in over a week, but it is strange to be here during Muertos.  This is the first time in many years I missed it, but with covid still happening, so many events were cancelled, I thought I try and see autumn in New England. 

However, the leaves are late, so I only have the colors from my garden in Oaxaca.  Maybe next week.  However, for now, I am missing all the aspects of Muertos, the panteons, the muerteadas, the food and families and, most importantly, the connections and feelings that are always such a huge part of this time of year.

"Waiting for the electrician...

Or someone like him".... was the title of a very funny and weird album by The Firesign Theater.  However, in this case, he actually arrived to tackle the nagging electrical problems this house has had for years.  First, he popped off the outside meters and among the dirt and debris, were two of the largest scorpions I'd seen thus far.  After dispatching the insects, he proceeded to chisel out all the old stuff. 

Because everything here is built with cement, it was quite a job and took hours.  He was a bit of a perfectionist and the old funky fuse boxes were eventually replaced with beautiful circuit breakers. 

The meters were installed in new housings.  Now, I have to wait ninety days until I can repaint, but  wow, what a great worker... and he lives just down the street,,, and he's a plumber, too. 

I won't say how much it all cost, but try to imagine how much it would have cost in El Norte and divide by ten or twenty.

It was a very good year....

 "When I was seventy...."  Yes, real lyrics and real life.  It was a good rainy season, still going.  OK, life continues to be strange and challenging, but still, there is a bountiful harvest. 

The milpas, traditional garden plots, are lush and fruitful. 

These harvests will last through the coming dry season when green will just be a memory... and distant dream.

In and Out.....

No, not the burger place, but how my weekly shopping goes at the nearby tianque, street market, that pops up every Friday. 

I'm in and out in less than fifteen minutes.  And I can get pretty much everything I need for a week of healthy eating.  Today, meat, produce, tamales, and dessert, all of really good quality as you can see.

And all for less than $15 US.  My tamale suppliers... and they are good!

And it is safe! 

It's also a nice social time as everyone knows everyone and I guess I'm recognizable.  Normally, I get chicken, but this week.....

25,933.... It happened

That's the number of hours since I was born.  71 years!  "Ah, but I was so much older then,
I'm younger than that now."  I can't say I remember all of the 622,392 hours I've lived, but I surely appreciate every single one of the 37,343,520 seconds.  "Party on, Garth..."

I thought I was a butterfly...

OK, it's been a while... what can I say?  You know the old story: "When he woke up, he did not know whether he really was a man who had dreamed he was a butterfly or whether he was a butterfly now dreaming he was a man."  It's that time of year and the garden is full of flitting farfallas, mariposas, you know, butterflies. 

And at times, I feel like that guy/butterfly, as living through this pandemic becomes more and more, Groundhog Day, over and over.  But it's cool.  Lemon/lemonade.  Solitude is good for the soul, mind and body... if you do it right.  Even though covid is still hitting Oaxaca pretty hard, I'm lucky to have the garden, music and audiobooks. 

Just not going out much, only to my Friday tianque for produce and bugs of a different sort.

Constant comfort.....

I'm sensing a pattern here.  I know that elsewhere, it is very hot, but this is very typical for Oaxacan weather.  Comfortable temperatures and late afternoon rains, which can be intense.  Often after the rains, it clears and we're back into the comfort zone for a sleeping.

You can leave your hat on....

Just seeing these wonderfully colorful chapeaus, kinda makes me wish I was a hat guy.  Alas, I'm not stylin' enuf or able to pull these off like Bruno Mars could. Still, very tempting...... but no, I don't need to have folks sayin, "Is that Bruno's abuelito?"  I get the hairy eyeball enough, know what I mean?

All just adds to the visual beauty and complexities of Oaxaca.

Seeing red....

It seemed inevitable and, as of yesterday, Oaxaca is back in rojo due to increases in covid cases.  What this means in terms of restrictions and cancellations remains to be seen, but it sure looks like schools, which are due to open in just over a week, will remain closed, like many other things.  Maybe strict mask protocols will be enforced, especially for all the tourists, who are the worst offenders.  No matter what, it looks like this street art is prescient in predicting this fall's harvest. 

Back to red, but really, Back to Black, which is just so sad.

Buggin' out....

Yes, buggin' out because the covid bug is back with a vengeance in Oaxaca.  The numbers are not good and restrictions and closures are back.  All of which means, I'm sticking very close to home.  Luckily, I've learned to take advantage of all the resources within a km or two of the house.  On Fridays, there is a good outside tiangue, small market, where I can get everything I need to make it through the week.  There is always very nice produce.

And unlike in the city, where not everyone masks up (yes, tourists, I'm lookin' at you) you can see that everybody has them on here. 

Really, one can get almost everything here.

Tamales, quesillo, mezcal, laundry soap, furniture... you get the picture.

Emilia's Tamales

These are very special tamales made only at this time of year by good friend and great (the greatest) cook Doña Emilia Gonzalez Martinez. Mole amarillo, chicken and masa from homegrown red corn. The taste, the incredibly smooth texture of the masa, truly unique. Doña Emilia made over 200 for this year's celebration in Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca.

 

Jumping for joy...

So wonderful to be back in Teotitlan del Valle after so long due the pandemic.  It's been eighteen months since I have been with those I consider family. 

Finally, we're back with the danzantes and were greeted with smiles from La Malinche, Yaretzi Bazan Ruiz.  She's grown!  The dancers looked as tight as ever with great energy and crisp choreography. 

Back today for more.... and Emilia's tamales!!!

Protests, marches, blockades...oh, my!

One thing about Oaxaca, people get out and let their voices be heard.  Protests, marches, blockades, are all a part of everyday life here. And even though they may cause problems and tie up traffic, it's better to be here, where people take action, rather in a place where folks stay silent and in their houses. 

So today it was the mezcaleros de Tlacolula and Mitla.  This was a protest in front of the Tax Administration, but damn, it sounds like they are stealing holograms!  Uh, I'm not sure what that means... but cars and computers, I understand. And, not sure about the electronic signature, either.

Mescal is a very hot product these days and hundreds of hectares have been planted with agaves which will take years to mature.  And lots of new producers everywhere.  How long will this mezcal boom last?  Of course, this piece of street art was on a building just steps down from the protest.

As for the politics, I'm staying well away... "It's Chinatown, Jake... only with mescal."

Hats, spoons and bowls, oh my...

A perfect display from a street vendor.  The light, the colors and the textures of the wood, all work.  And I can imagine Bruno Mars in every one of those chapeaus.

How's the weather out there?

 

I know it is sweltering in many parts of El Norte right now, but here in Oaxaca, as you can see, the rainy season is here.  Many people imagine that Mexico is always hot, but guess what?  It's not.  There's even snow in parts of the country.   The hot months here are, generally, April and May, the end of the dry season.  Normally, there is sun in the morning well into the afternoon.  Then, as the heat goes up, the clouds build and then, a late day rain.  However, this is not a normal rainy season.  It has been gray, off and on for days, with flooding and road damage in many areas.  Water is so precious here, no matter what, every drop is still appreciated.

Who knew it would be this long....

I know, I know, it's been awhile, but I'm still kickin'.  I returned a couple of weeks ago and well, life's just been too exciting.  I told myself I would post on the next sunny day and, of course, we began the longest, grayest and rainiest period I ever remember experiencing here... and I have a solar hot water heater!  Anyway, yesterday, the sun appeared.  It felt wonderful.  Of course, right now, Sunday afternoon, the wind is howling and is as gray as ever.  At least, it's been good indoor activity time, like music, but that sun was so nice. 

But I know some of you are out there wondering and watching, so I'll try to reemerge in the the blogosphere.

Not in Kansas anymore....

After a long and arduous flight from Oaxaca, theses lilies of the valley greeted me and their fragrance, such a sweet and powerful perfume, let me know I was home.  If you've never smelled them, well, they really are the stuff of the most expensive perfumes... and I have an ocean of them in my New England garden. 

The garden has to fend for itself most of the time and the ground covers and hostas do quite well.  That's Solomon Seal, a plant from colonial times. 

As for the flight, which was delayed a week because of the airport closing, it went reasonably well.  However, all the paperwork and online filings I had to print out..... nobody asked for anything except for my covid test in Oaxaca.  On the US side of things.... nada.  No one checked a thing. 

Ah, well... New England in Spring with everything so green and lush after leaving the long Oaxacan dry season, sublime... and a little cool, which feels great.

They work hard for the money....

It sounds like a war zone there, with cojetes (firecracker/rockets) going off like crazy.  Ah yes... It's el día de la Santa Cruz, the day the celebrates workers (and practical jokes).   And here's one of our hard working locals and one of my favorite characters.  His tire repair service is just down the road and whenever I have a flat, he repairs it in minutes, always with a smile... all for $2.50 US.  ¡Feliz día de la Santa Cruz!

End of the line...

Someone recently asked me if there was any vaccine hesitancy here... well, a picture is worth a thousand words.  Friday was the day and folks lined up for hours to get their second shots.  And I was right there with them. 

¡Viva San Pablo Etla!  Ahhh... So this is the feeling that everyone has been talking about.