La Boda de Enrique y Fermina... cont.

There are so many aspects to a zapotec wedding, it makes sense to take them on one at a time.  Over time, I will try to present the whole event, but really that's impossible, for Teotitlan del Valle has a deep and complex series of rites and traditions, too much for your humble narrator to comprehend.  The most interesting aspect for me was the strict formality, primarily based on respect, that was present at all times.

Plus, you can't smell or taste a blog.
So let's start with the mole.
Mother of the bride, Emilia, who IMO makes the best mole in the world, gets ready.  In truth, the mole was made by Abigail Mendoza, one of the bride's aunts and a famous cook from nearby Tlaminalli Restaurante.  I am not sure how it all worked, but Emilia assembled the mixture and got the process going.
Big enough pot?  That's son, Antonio in the background.

Chiles guajillos

Jitomates.

  Emilia's son, Sergio, who gets marrried in May, adds the chiles.

Mixing the ingredients.  Herbs, sesame seeds, onions........

Way too many things to list and if I told you then I would have to kill you.... hey, it is secret.
Off to the molino to get the mixture ground into paste.



The paste after cooking overnight.

Abigail working her magic.

 Turkeys ready for the sauce.

While the women were making the mole, the men were off killing the turkeys, about 80 for this wedding.  Yes, I have that whole process, but for now just enjoy the mole.
The meal, the first of many mole meals.

Men and women are separate through all aspects of the ceremony.  Here are the mujeres enjoying the meal.

Mexico, cradle of corn, finds its noble grain under assault

Follow up story from Tim Johnson of McClatchy

Plant specialists describe the native varieties of corn in Mexico as a genetic trove that might prove valuable should extreme weather associated with global warming get out of hand. Corn, one of the most widely grown grains in the world, is a key component of the global food supply.

But experts say Mexico's native varieties are themselves under peril — from economics and genetic contamination — potentially depriving humans of a crucial resource.

Farmers are punished at the marketplace for selling native corn, and some types are dwindling from use. Perhaps more significantly, genetically modified corn is drifting southward and mingling with native varieties, potentially bringing unexpected aberrations and even possible extinction......

Corn is not only a crucial crop in Mexico but also a symbol in a nation that's the birthplace of the grain. Maize likely originated from a grass-like, tasseled plant, teosinte, in southern Mexico. Scientists say humans domesticated corn 7,000 to 10,000 years ago.

Given the way Monsanto does business, the future does not look great.

Candelaria

Today was Candlemas or Candelaria, the end of the Christmas season and halfway point between the winter solstice and the vernal equinox.  I went to a few churches in the city, like Carmen Alto, but I was early. 

So I headed to nearby Tres Reyes where I knew there was a mass at noon.  I was a little late and the church was packed.

Such a wonderful sight to see so many people with their niños dios to be blessed.  And candles were also blessed, hence the name.

In Mexico this holiday is celebrated as Día de la Candelaria, known as Candlemas in English, because candles were brought to the church to be blessed.

In Mexico Día de la Candelaria is a follow-up to the festivities of Kings Day on January 6th, when children receive gifts and families and friends break bread together, specifically Rosca de Reyes, a special sweet bread with figurines hidden inside. The person (or people) who received the figurines on Kings Day are supposed to host the party on Candlemas Day. Tamales are the food of choice.

I wondered if it was also a special day for babies and young children because there were so many dressed to the nines being held in their mother's arms.

  The priest came out and blessed them at which point they all started crying.

A band showed up and everyone paraded through the streets showered with flowers and confetti.

Free trade: As U.S. corn flows south, Mexicans stop farming

Another fascinating story from McClatchy's Tim Johnson

Look around the rain-fed corn farms in Oaxaca state, and in vast areas of Mexico, and one sees few young men, just elderly people and single mothers.

"The men have gone to the United States," explained Abel Santiago Duran, a 56-year-old municipal agent, as he surveyed this empty village in Oaxaca state.

The countryside wasn't supposed to hollow out in this way when the North American Free Trade Agreement linked Mexico, Canada and the U.S. in 1994. Mexico, hoping its factories would absorb displaced farmers, said it would "export goods, not people." 

Read the full story.

La Boda de Enrique y Fermina

Sorry got the light posting.  I always like to say one has to choose between living life and blogging.  Given the opportunity to attend and shoot a wedding in Teotitlan del Valle, the former kicked in.  Yesterday was the wedding, after days, weeks of preparation and it was spectacular.  Teotitlan is famous for maintaining its traditions and it was a real honor to get to see things from the inside, although there was so much to take in, I am dazed.  It also might be awakening at 4AM yesterday to get there in time for the early morning blessings and procession to the church.  I got in at 10:30 PM, but wimped out on the dancing which I am sure went on until 2 or 3 in the morning.  I don't know how they do it.  I am about to jump in the car for the last of the fiestas, so more later.

Quick breakfast in Teotitlan del Valle

No, those are not the snow-capped mountains overlooking the zapotec weaving village of Teotitlan del Valle, just early morning clouds.

I am blessed to be shooting the preparations and the wedding festivities of one of the daughters of Zacarais and Emilia Ruiz this weekend.  This is a very traditional affair and it is indeed an honor to be invited and allowed to shoot.  They have been working towards it for weeks.  I will have plenty of posts and photos about all of it, but after yesterday's lunch in Tlacolula, I thought I would share today's breakfast in Teo.  I was out shooting the making of tortillas and tlayudas.  Yesterday, it was the shucking and sorting of the corn kernels.  Today, it was the finished product.
 
I have to say that a huge tortilla made from homegrown corn, hand ground with a matate and hot off the copal is simply indescribably delicious.  It was heaven.  I was handed two of them and given some atole and told to go sit and eat.  I will have more on the process in an upcoming post, but for now, let your eyes feast on these.

That is some queso fresco (fresh cheese) and a couple of delicious salsas, both from chiles pasillos.  Muy rico y picante!

Quick lunch in Tlacolula

On our way to visit Teotitlan del Valle, we drove past, just down the road to one of our favorite spots in the market in Tlacolula.  Look at this lunch!

The richest consomme de borrego, BBQ lamb... Mmmm, so good.  Look at that color!!
Served by one our favorite ladies.
 
She always greets us with the biggest smiles.

 Look for her just on the left as you enter the market.

Nuevo Sombrero

Guess who got a new hat at the market in Etla?
 
A real campesino, no?  It is OK to be envious.

Face of the Day

 
Sitting on the north side of the zocalo.

Restoration

Oaxaca seems to be in a constant state of restoration.  Whether it is on churches or streets or archaeological sites or as in this case, the facade of the Contemporary Art Museum, the work is always fastidious and takes months to complete.  You will recall the scaffold a few months ago, which was a changing work of art unto itself.

Then it became this.

The work continued for months.

The finished work. 

The detail above.

Smooth Crimminal

I have worked with many cellists in my life and it great to see young players incorporate modern techniques from jazz, pop and rock styles.  These two are exceptional musicians and they have the whole "showmanship" thing down. 


Love the pop and slap at 2'50".

State of the State

Here is a story from McClatchy about the mess that the new governor inherited. 

When Gabino Cue took the reins last month as the governor of the poverty-stricken, conflict-prone southern state of Oaxaca, he expected a Pandora's box of ills to confront him.

After all, he'd toppled a candidate of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI in its Spanish initials), an entrenched force that had ruled Oaxaca without interruption for 81 years and employed patronage, vote rigging and brute force to exert its power.
But even the savvy Cue found himself stunned at the condition of state government that he inherited after he took the oath of office Dec. 1.

"There were no computers," he recalled. "We found that the staff payroll didn't match who actually was working. ...The bank statements were out of balance. The state automotive fleet was in terrible shape."

On his way out the door, outgoing PRI Gov. Ulises Ruiz installed dozens of loyalists in state jobs with union protection even though they had no jobs to perform, Cue said. Ruiz also offered gifts to key allies, among them the head of the state electoral commission, for unexplained "services rendered."

Read the whole story.  It is an interesting read.  Has a familiar ring to it, doesn't it?  Not only were the "W's" missing off the keyboards, but the whole computer was missing. I know, I know, a little snarky.

The previous administration was probably one of the worst in Mexico's history and that is saying something.  It will be interesting to see if there is any accountability, unlike the US. Sometimes a country must look backwards, as well as forwards.

Incidentally, the author of the story, Tim Johnson, has an interesting blog called Mexico Unmasked, one of my daily reads.

The hits just keep comin'...cont.

From The Canadian Press

OAXACA, Mexico — Workers at world-famous archaeological sites in the Mexican state of Oaxaca are striking, shutting dozens of tourists out of pre-Colombian ruins, museums and former convents.

The strike affects 16 different locations, including Monte Alban and Mitla, which attract visitors almost year-round.

The unionized workers that called the 24-hour work-stoppage Thursday are employed by the National Institute for Anthropology and History.

They have called for the dismissal of an INAH manager who they accuse of changing rank-and-file jobs without the consent of the local union.

INAH spokesman Julio Castrejon said it was an internal union conflict. He said INAH "has nothing to do with it" but was helping to mediate.

I read the news today, oh boy

It was depressing.

So, a few weeks early, 'cause we all need it, the best singer in the world.....
\

I could write a book... follow up

A commenter wrote in that there was already a book on Oaxacan graffiti out there. There are probably several.   I know one, Protest Graffiti Mexico:Oaxaca.  I hung with the author, Louis Nevaer, when we were both doing book talks at Amate last year.  There has been a lot of street art since then so maybe a new book would be in order.

"What more do you want from me?"

I have years of photos and street art and graffiti are two of my passions.  Maybe there are equivalent graffiti scenes elsewhere, but I have not seen such power, creativity and output anywhere else.  I think Oaxaca just breathes and art appears.  Art in its many forms, is such a part of the fabric, the culture, the ethos, the traditions, it seems like it is everywhere, in everyone.  Well, that;s how I choose to see it.

East is east..... cont.

These two shots were taken from the roof just seconds apart last night.

"East is east and west is west and never the twain shall meet."  Well, that's what they say anyway. 

In light of all the seemingly unresolvable problems and conflicts, which seem to suck us in and blind us, I offer these words from Korean master Songchol:

The world is based on the principle of relative dualities: good and evil, right and wrong, existence and non-existence, joy and anguish.  That's just the nature of conventional reality.  And as a result, this gives rise to contradictions and conflicts, which in turn result in misery.  If you wish to go beyond all of this and avoid conflicts, you have to rid yourself of all contradictions by transcending relative dualities.

Or as one of my favorite singers, Donnie, says, "You can go so far West, you'll wind up in the Western hemisphere." (Masterplan from his CD The Colored Section)

Una bendición - a blessing

Water is such a blessing.  We are in the dry season, not a drop since late September.... really it has been so long, who remembers.  However, San Sebastian Etla is at the base of the runoffs from the springs just above San Agustin Etla and water is plentiful.  There is a constant stream (pun intended) of 10,000 liter tank trucks on the roads from the many places right around me that sell water.  And remember that San Agustin  supplies about 20 percent of the water for the city of Oaxaca.  Roundabout way of saying it is green here while most other places are brown and very dry.  This is about 200 meters from my house.  That's San Agustin just out of sight, about four k.

The umpire calls it safe.

I was intrigued by the comments in response to my post about language schools in Oaxaca.  So I just want to say again, to reinforce, that Oaxaca is safe.  We go everywhere and never notice anything untoward.

Listen, the world is a crazy place.  There is crime and violence everywhere.  The media treats Mexico like it treats everything else.  They develop a conventional wisdom which is based on the echos in their own ego blinding bubble worlds.  Like they know something about the average person or the problems that "normal" people face.  C'mon, get real.  They blow everything out of proportion.

Sure there are problems here.... just like in Chicago or Prague or Cairo or Singapore or small towns around the world.  BUT Oaxaca is unique, just so beautiful and culturally rich, one would be crazy to miss it.  And it is as SAFE as any of those places.  I hope people will not drink the "kool-aid" that one of the commenters mentions and believe the hype.  It just ain't true.

It doesn't get any better than this.

I am always lucky finding parking places mainly because I love to walk the city.  What are a few extra blocks?  How lucky am I?  Eat your hearts out.  What a blessing it is to park on a street named after an iconic image, the Plumed Serpent.

As I walked, I popped into the courtyard abutting Carmen Alto, where they were preparing to celebrate the Christ of Esquipulas, with dancing and some of the best fireworks of the year.

I was early and caught these shots.

Hey, come back, niña!  You stole my heart!

I missed the fireworks.  I made the mistake of watching the NE Patriots get stomped by the NY Jets.
Do you like the large format for photos?

Ripples

The hits just keep comin'.  Everything is connected and the ripples reach far and deep.  Oaxaca depends on tourists and for many years this was one of the prime destinations for people from all over the world to learn Spanish.  There are lots of schools and institutes that are used to a steady influx of students.  So it is another blow to learn that the number of participants in these programs is down 80 percent.

The National Mexican Association of Institutes of Spanish revealed that the number of foreigners who registered in Spanish schools in nine Mexican states, including Oaxaca, has deceased 8o percent because of fears concerning security.  A warning from the US Department of State recommends that Americans do not travel to Mexico.

Harriet Goff Guerrero, president of the Mexican Association of Institutes of Spanish, said that the concern about insecurity and violence is affecting the segment of language school tourism, sometimes called idiomatic tourism .

" It is a fact that a university of the United States cannot tell students to go to a country where there is warning."

Idiomatic tourism generates important benefits for local economies since students have stays that go of two weeks to six months, generating a weekly economic special tax of 700 dollars.

We were talking this morning that given the news that comes out of Mexico, this is understandable.  However, I live here.  THIS PLACE IS SAFE!  So come and learn Spanish and bask in the warm sunshine.  Cause some ripples with those euro/dollars.  You have no idea how far into the economy they will sink and you will get back tenfold in experiences and happiness.

I could write a book...

And maybe I should... I have so many graffiti and street art shots.  And each day it changes or disappears.  One has to be fast and lucky.

Don't you dare park you thingamajig here.