30,000

Wheee!

Seeing red - ver rojo

A bit of a break to watch autumn in New England. Also, the election campaigns, the financial meltdown and los pobres - Las Medias Rojas. What can I say? The world is going even more crazy than we thought possible. Still, everything is just fine. When we hit bottom, the only way to go will be up. Wheee!

Plenty of Oaxacan stuff to post shortly and some new video projects. El Dia del Muertos is right around the corner.

Dos cobras

Claudio Ojeda and his wife, Teresa are two very fine artesanos from Arrazola, the carving village at the base of Monte Alban and closest to the city.
Their pieces tend to be very large, maybe the largest in all of Oaxaca. I remember seeing an anaconda of theirs that hung on two sides of a courtyard and was 37 feet long with a diameter of at least 2 feet in spots. Teresa's painting is some of the absolute best. She has developed a style using background colors covered with raised multi-colored dots of paint that is intensely time-consuming, but the results are spectacular. Claudio is a real character, a classic zapotec warrior, if you listen to him. He is tough and funny with strong opinions and a good knowledge of how things work in a complex world. He is worldly. I have several of their pieces including two atriles (music stands) one by Claudio and one by his son. When I first approached them about an atrile, Claudio said he needed an inspiration... and an anticipo, some money up front. I left and came back a few months later and Claudio said I had to come to the house to see the idea. I got there and he hooked up a very funky VHS machine and put in an even funkier tape and said "Karate Kid 2. Look at this"" What I sort of saw on that snowy TV was a large cobra or that's what Claudio said it was. And these are the results.
I was extremely happy with the first at almost two meters tall and a couple of hundred pounds. It has been exhibited a few times. Now the second one, a slightly different story. I showed up at their house and despite me saying I don't have room. What do I need with two of these babies?" They said "Seriously, you are not leaving without it."

Here and Now

Oh, and I put the finishing touches on my latest CD, which I hope to get up on iTunes and Rhapsody very soon. Of course, you can order one direct from the source if you want. It is a captivating music. Folks that have heard it have all loved it, but for me, it was simply a joy to work on because I was forced to learn how to make music in a whole new way. Now, how to market it, one of my strong suites.... not.

Here & Now

What have I been doing? I ask myself that same thing everyday. Just taking it all in and holding on as best as possible. I had a list of things to do when I returned from Mexico. Fixing gutters, scraping and painting a portion of the house -a side a year. The hail earlier this summer did so much damage, it looked bad. As in many things, prep is 90% of the work. In the last few days I have been putting on the final coats of paint and the job looks good. It feels equally good to have worked so hard for so many days and to have finally completed the work. Of course, I realize that it is Sisyphisian, never-ending, there is always something more to do or something falling apart, but still...
Its autumn in New England. Mornings are cold and the sun goes down earlier everyday. After being in the warmth for so long, it feels strange to be cold and to realize that paintingm which is actually fun for me, will be impossible in just a few weeks. Unless global warming kicks in. Who knows, maybe I'll be up on a ladder in December.

Unsuspendering

I have decided to unsuspend my blogging. As many of you must have noticed by now, I suspended it to address the national and now global, financial meltdown. I promised not to blog until I had fixed the problem. Now, obviously, I succeeded beyond my wildest expectations. Problem solved. Oh ye of little faith..... shame. Let the good times roll... I'm back.

This is what I need

Things are proceeding very slowly, but even progress that is incremental is still progress.

Politcs, Politics, Everywhere

A key ruling from the Mexican Supreme Court

from McCatchy

MEXICO CITY — Mexico's Supreme Court rejected a constitutional challenge to abortion-rights legislation on Thursday in a decision likely to reverberate across the rest of largely Roman Catholic Latin America.

Girls have a right to not be mothers," argued Justice Genaro Gongora Pimentel, when he outlined his decision on Tuesday. "Criminalizing abortion discriminates against women, and it has never been proven that the product of conception is protected (by the constitution).

Mas

This is a pretty definitive piece - a musical music stand.
The more I photograph the music stands (atriles) the more I like them and the more my appreciation for the artesanos grows. Each one has many hours/days/weeks of thought and work in it.
It is fascinating to see how the techniques and architectures developed over time. The early ones were more delicate. Over time we developed better ways to construct and ship them. The parts are small and all color coded unlike the first ones that were all glued together.These are all by Jesus Sosa Calvo and family. They have made 28 of them. All different and all wonderful.

For every atril

For every atril there is a story and often there are many connections and much advance work.

Agustin Cruz Tinoco is very well known and famous for both his carving and his painting. He and his family are the only artesanos of note in his barrio, San Agustin de los Juntos, which is relatively near the airport. His pieces used to be plentiful - and very expensive. I don't remember seeing much of anything by him last year.

Ramon Fosado, who was one of my Oaxacan mentors - I called him the repository of all things folkloric - took me to find Agustin the first time and he agreed to make this fine Christo from pine and cedar.Then, we agreed that he would make four more in exchange for a clarinet and a valve trombone for his sons. At the time, as a music teacher, I knew the ropes and had good access to fine instruments and I did my homework. I showed up with a beautiful wooden Selmer clarinet and a Bach (I think) trombone, but Agustin was away and had left his kids in charge.The instruments were expensive and I am no pushover when it comes to negotiations. I have paid gringo prices, willingly, sometimes, but part of the business is the banter that precedes closing the deal.So there we were, the kids and me, and I wanted an additional piece (a magnificent ark filled with animals) to balance out the deal. Both boys were good musicians, Miguel, the clarinetist in particular and they were so happy with the instruments they were willing to do anything. They said, "Our father will kill us, but he isn't here and he will have to catch us first. Let's do it!" They proceeded to play one of my favorite tunes, "La Pinotepa" and all we parted with smiles on our faces.

La Llorona - Lila Downs

Lila is a oaxaqueña. This is a beautiful version of one of Mexico's classics, one of her trademark songs. Check her out in Julie Traymor's movie "Frida."

Melchor Melchor Calvo

This atril (music stand) by Melchor Melchor Calvo of San Martin Tilcajete is one of the finest in the collection. It is remarkable in several ways. First, the main column with all the figures is carved from a single piece of wood. Secondly, it is an embodiment of many things Oaxacan: the base of three ollas (pots) is a traditional symbol, the ornamentation is based on the archaeological site of Mitla, but most importantly, the clothing represents the different regions of the state from the mountains to the beaches.So there you have it, an amazing piece. Woodcarving, for which Oaxaca is famous, cooking and ceramics, for which Oaxaca is famous and clothing and indigenous cultures, for which Oaxaca is famous.

Melchor Melchor Calvo is certainly one of the finest carvers in San Martin, but now he is a full time policeman and not carving.

Maria Jimenez Ojeda

Here is an atril by Maria Jimenez, who is one of the finest painters in Oaxaca. She has received numerous prizes for her work and is displayed around the world. She is a quiet and shy woman, but the strong head of a San Martin Tilcajete artesano family. Her brothers, Aaron, Candido and Miguel all are carvers, but it is Maria's painting that sets their art apart. Her detail work is magnificent. You need a magnifying glass to read her signature.
There are two more very different atriles by Maria and her family and I will post them soon.

Dos atriles mas

Here are two more music stands or atriles.

One by Jesus Sosa Calvo y familia - flowers and hummingbirds (flores y colibri)And A Nahual

Bummer

Certainly a sad couple of days as two real giants and great influences left us with great memories.
Bernie Mac in Spike Lee's The Original Kings of Comedy is a must see, as is the whole film. It is such an insight as to how different cultures laugh at different things... and at the same things.
Shaft... nuff said

Sopa de Hongos - Cuajimoloya, Oaxaca

I have a series of videos of the cooks of Oaxaca and here is a special one. Normally, I filmed the most famous cooks from the best restaurants. I would spend all day with them, from early in the morning, when we would go to various markets, through a day of cooking and then, at the end of the day, eating everything they had cooked. I know, it's tough work, but....

This is a restaurant up in the mountains in a village called Cuajimoloya, which is famous for its mushrooms. All kinds of mushrooms. The village is about 40k northeast of the city and is 25k up from the weaving village of Teotitlan del Vaille. The food was very simple, but absolutely delicious. It was a blast to film this woman just like the cooks from all those five star places.

OK, so it ain't Mexico

But look at those colors!
Shots of Carnival in St. Thomas, USVI. It is almost a month long celebration in April and they really do it right. Similar to Oaxaca during the Guelaguetza, El Dia or Navidad.

Different camera

El Atril Projecto - The Music Stand Project

People often ask what I find so special about Oaxaca. Obviously, many things, but one of the main things is the art. I have been meeting and collecting the works of many artesanos for many years. Over ten years ago I started asking the carvers to make music stands or atriles. In the beginning it was difficult and no one would make one, but now.... I am known as the crazy gringo who likes atriles and people come out of the woodwork to show me what they have created.

I now realize I have to better document them and plan on doing so in the coming weeks. No easy task as there are quite a few of them now - some 65 and many are packed up, but with better cameras, it has to happen.

This is Margarito Melchor from San Martin Tilcajete. He had just brought this one into the city and was not sure if I would like it. What a crazy thought!

Here's another made right around the same time.

Insectos - hormigas y mosquitos

Ants and mosquitoes are much different in El Norte. In San Agustin Etla it was a real war with the ants and I think they almost always won. The small ones were everywhere and their bites were painful and over time, after a few hundred of them, one developed a toxic reaction to them. It seemed as if they could easily tunnel through concrete and, as terrible as it sounds, we always had some gasoline to pour down the holes to force them to move on. As I say, they won, most of the time. I hardly ever kill anything consciously - yes, I am aware that millions of dust mites die as I walk around the house - but they were so aggressive and destructive, it was on! Not to mention the leaf-cutting ants for which the area is known. They could defoliate plants in the blink of an eye, the very model of efficiency.

Here the ants are plentiful, but not a problem. Black and shiny, they occasionally visit, but leave if not fed and never bite. They are probably reading this and laughing as they eat the house starting at the foundation.

I vaguely remember some Buddhist saying, "All day long I sit and contemplate enlightenment while swatting mosquitoes."
In Oaxaca (and St. Thomas) they are too fast to swat. My friend William at La Casa de mis Recuerdos told me it was because of the warm climate. Their prey is faster so they have to be as well. At any rate, in New England they are fat and slow. Fortunately, I don't have many here so I can sit and contemplate without those kinds of distractions.

The figuras are by the Blas family in San Pedro Conejos. Their work is always exquisite and beautifully painted.

Consiga su motor corriendo

Get your motor runnin'.... from the back alleys of Jalatlaco.Don't start the revolution without me.... if I could only remember where I put my leathers....Actually while I was shooting this, an armored van pulled up right next to me and a bunch of guys jumped out with very large guns. I thought my cover as an international secret agent had been blown, but they were just delivering money to a nondescript warehouse. I beat a hasty retreat. I am sure they never realized how lucky they were.

Dogs and Walls

I always liked this shot of the traditional Oaxacan dog on the roof. That is where many live just doing their jobs, watching the street and protecting the barrio. The pose reminds of images from the ancient Greek or Phoenician ceramics.

And then there are these guys.

Same shot with a fresh coat of paint.

La Diferencia

It is like the difference between day and night - es como la diferencia entre el día y la noche -
living in El Norte and in Oaxaca and it ain't that easy to adjust. However, I am taking advantage of the time to regroup and work off all those tamales y rellenos from my abuelas in Etla. I am trying follow the words of Satchel Paige, "Don't look back. Something could be gaining on you." So I took a quick trip to the Caribbean. Of course Satchel also said, "Work like you don't need the money. Love like you've never been hurt. Dance like nobody's watching." and "Not to be cheered by praise, not to be grieved by blame, but to know thoroughly one's own virtues or powers are the characteristics of an excellent man."
Still, I need to get back to Oaxaca soon. I have too much to see, do and explore. And thanks to all of you who wrote in and said keep the photos coming. I have videos as well.

I have only one mantra these days. "Patience - paciencia." That and perseverance and perspicacity.

The images are from a little box made in San Martin Tilcajete. I am not sure of the artist.

Casas para mi

Here are two houses that haunt me. Actually, haunt is not the right word. They pull me and I wonder what it would be like to live in them. One is a classic upstate NY brick beauty that is isolated, but is visible from the NY Thruway. I am not sure of the architectural style, maybe Federal. Anyone? I am not sure if anyone lives in it. One of the windows is boarded up and it looks forlorn. It lies near the Erie Canal near Auriesville. Oh, those Upstate winters would make me think twice. I lived through too many in my youth.

The other is near Apoala in the Mixteca Alta of Oaxaca. It is classic construction for the area. I guess I like the remoteness. What would it be like to live there? No snow anyway.

Not too sarcastic?

Image from Getty

From today's Guardian

As the food crisis began to bite, the rumblings of discontent grew louder. Finally, after a day of discussing food shortages and soaring prices, the famished stomachs of the G8 leaders could bear it no longer.

The most powerful bellies in the world were last night compelled to stave off the great Hokkaido Hunger by fortifying themselves with an eight-course, 19-dish dinner prepared by 25 chefs. This multi-pronged attack was launched after earlier emergency lunch measures - four courses washed down with Château-Grillet 2005 - had failed to quell appetites enlarged by agonising over feeding the world's poor.

The G8 gathering had been seen as a "world food shortages summit" as leaders sought to combat spiralling prices of basic foodstuffs in the developed world, and starvation in the developing world.

But not since Marie Antoinette was supposed to have leaned from a Versailles palace window and suggested that the breadless peasants eat cake can leaders have demonstrated such insensitivity to daily hardship than at the luxury Windsor hotel on the Japanese island of Hokkaido.

After discussing famine in Africa, the peckish politicians and five spouses took on four bite-sized amuse-bouche to tickle their palates. The price of staple foods may be soaring, but thankfully caviar and sea urchin are within the purchasing power of leaders and their taxpayers - the amuse-bouche featured corn stuffed with caviar, smoked salmon and sea urchin, hot onion tart and winter lily bulb.

Guests at the summit, which is costing £238m, were then able to pick items from a tray modelled on a fan and decorated with bamboo grasses, including diced fatty tuna fish, avocado and jellied soy sauce, and pickled conger eel with soy sauce.

Hairy crab Kegani bisque-style soup was another treat in a meal prepared by the Michelin-starred chef Katsuhiro Nakamura, the grand chef at Hotel Metropolitan Edmont in Tokyo, alongside salt-grilled bighand thornyhead (a small, red Pacific fish) with a vinegary water pepper sauce.

They have told their people to tighten their belts for lean times ahead, but you feared for presidential and prime ministerial girdles after the chance to tuck into further dishes including milk-fed lamb, roasted lamb with cepes, and black truffle with emulsion sauce. Finally there was a "fantasy" dessert, a special cheese selection accompanied by lavender honey and caramelised nuts, while coffee came with candied fruits and vegetables.

Leaders cleverly skated around global water shortages by choosing from five different wines and liqueurs.

Earlier, the heads of state had restricted themselves to a light lunch of asparagus and truffle soup, crab and supreme of chicken served with nuts and beetroot foam, followed by a cheese selection, peach compote, milk ice-cream and coffee with petits fours.

Fresh from instructing his population to waste less food, it can only be hoped that Gordon Brown polished off every single morsel on his plate.

Andrew Mitchell, the shadow secretary of state for international development, said: "The G8 have made a bad start to their summit, with excessive cost and lavish consumption. Surely it is not unreasonable for each leader to give a guarantee that they will stand by their solemn pledges of three years ago at Gleneagles to help the world's poor. All of us are watching, waiting and listening."