Changing state of immigration

Image from 2501 Migrantes (posted earlier)

This is the NYT story that is circulating today and it is an interesting one, well worth the read.  As I always say, immigration is a complex issue, after all, most all of us are, or our ancestors were, migrants from somewhere.

Sacramento Bee

The United States is simply not the magnet it once was. Arrests at the United States' southwest border in 2011 fell to their lowest level since 1972, confirming that illegal immigration, especially from Mexico, has reached what experts now describe as either a significant pause or the end of an era.

But this is not a shift in volume as much as direction. Nearly 2 million more Mexicans lived away from their hometowns in 2010 than was the case a decade earlier, according to the Mexican census. Experts say departures have also held steady or increased over the past few years in Guatemala, El Salvador, Peru and other Latin American countries that have traditionally been hubs of emigration.

The migrants are just not going where they used to.

Mexicans, for example, are increasingly avoiding the United States and the border region, as well as their own capital, and are moving toward smaller, safer cities like Merida, Oaxaca City and Queretaro. Experts say more Guatemalans are also settling in Mexico after years of passing through on the journey north.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/01/06/4166566/migrants-new-paths-reshape-latin.html#storylink=cpy

Santa Maria Atzompa is just down the road.  I was there for El Dia de los Muertos.  Yes, there is change occuring and it is significant change.  Not far from Atzompa, we now have a great new multiplex cinema.  The others were on the other side of the city.  I think some of the reactions from the villagers are classic "Get off my lawn" crankiness.  We get older and the changes from what we knew are hard to take sometimes.  However, news bulletin, change is inevitable, like trying to hold back the tides.

And really what do you expect?  The abject hatred for Mexicans that comes from parts of El Norte has had an effect.  The number of deportations is up.  It is harder and harder to get in legally or illegally.  Plus, in case you hadn't noticed, the economy in the States is hurting and here, it is doing better.  So folks are still migrating, but they are moving within country and Oaxaca is such a wonderful place, mexicanos are choosing to come here and with them comes change.  It is a changing world.

Just talk to all the business in the States that have suffered for lack of workers.  Seems like it was a "lose-lose" situation.  Maybe the lessons learned are slowly sinking in and change will follow.  Some of those workers came here and the city has benefited in many ways.  There is a lot of construction, roads are being paved, there is a general feeling that things are improving.  Of course, 2006, was terrible, and Oaxaca is still recovering, but the progress is palpable.

For this migrante, life is much better here.

El Dia de Tres Reyes

Today is the day, January 6th, when the Magi arrived bearing gifts.  It is also the day when children receive gifts, like Christmas elsewhere.

Here is my Rosca de Reyes, shaped like one of the king's crown.  This one is extra special because it is homemade by Rosa Perez Blum, Henry Wangeman's, remarkable esposa.  It is tradition to hide a little figure of Christ baked in it and whoever gets it has to provide dinner, tamales, on February 2.  Guess I will be buying myself dinner.

I am not sure which one I am/was, Gaspar, Melchior or Balthasar, but I was channeling one of them and made sure my neighbor's children awoke to some fun.

UPDATE:
Guess who is buying dinner?

Shots of the day...cont.

As always, lots happening even though the crowds have eased slightly after the Navidad crush.  In general, business was up, but not spectacular.  No matter what or when, the answer is always the same, "Mas o menos."
If it is already this cool before it is even finished, can't wait to see it when it is done.

Am I too late for the Iowa caucuses?  Sorry, it's just what came to mind.

Speaking of cool.... that's what I'm talkin' about.... high tops.

Whatever you do, don't think of Jackie Gleason saying "poloponies."

 A serene shot from the zocalo.

2501 Imigrantes come to the city.

In what will prove to be the most photographed art installation in years, Alejandro Santiago's huge project lines the streets and sits in front of Santo Domino.

I went to see this amazing work when it was at the CaSa in nearby San Agustin Etla in July of 2007.  Please check out the photos and more of the background by clicking on that post.  That way I do not need to repeat myself.

Santiago and his remaining neighbors created 2501 life-size sculptures, each one representing a person who had left his village.  The men leave.  The very young and the very old remain.  And lots of lonely women.  Imagine if that happened where you were.

If the people around you left, would you look the other way?

Would you just ignore it?  Could you just walk past?

Or run past?

Immigration is a very complex subject.  I have strong feelings about it.  First, the daily wage here is about $4.50 US a day.... a day!  Think about what you might do if you could make in ten times that somewhere else.

Also, too, I am in immigrant of sorts here.  Imagine if you were living on $1000 a month in the US, say on Social Security.  That money would allow you to live reasonably well here and would not even get you a place to live in much of the US.

It sure is something to ponder.

¡Feliz Año Neuvo!

 I should call this blog, Oaxaca, where each year is better than the last, nah.... too long.  However, 2011 was one of the absolute best.  The energy of the place at year's end was so positive and upbeat.  You just gotta come and feel the vibe, man.  The year just never quit, start to finish.  All 313 posts.  I love this place.  It keeps rewarding me and teaching me.  I love the people, the culture, the history, the food, I mean, what's not to love.  OK, maybe the politics, but have you checked out the politics where you live? 
Ignore them. "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain."  Love your family and friends.  Enjoy your life to the fullest and call me when you get in town.  Coffee's on me.  Paz y amor.

Tee Time... more shirts

Yesterday, rather than shoot on the sly, I just went up to these people and said I really liked their shirts and asked if I could take a picture.  They all said yes... and they all had the look in their eyes that maybe we should humor this guy, he might be crazy.

Jesus da Man. Turning water into wine since 33 A.D

 This nice Hendrix image on a Swiss tourist.  Jimi lives!

Shot of the day...

This was the most beautiful moment in an altogether beautiful day.  As I was walking back up Alcala to my car, I saw this young girl, a street musician that I recognized, and an old man sitting next to her.  She was working the bellows on her accordion and he was singing and playing the keys.  He was teaching her a song and she had the sweetest shy smile on her face.  The music and the singing were beautiful, but it was the tenderness of the moment that made it so magical.

I don't know if you can see it, but the brand name on her instrument is "Child Prodigy"  made proudly here in Mexico, they informed me.

Am I missing something?

 I'm sorry.  Maybe you have to in country to understand the wisdom of this, but from the outside, it just looks crazy.  Too much for this pobre campesino, who is going outside to shovel abono, real manure, instead of this BS.

From McClatchy (emphasis added)

America's growing drone operations rely on hundreds of civilian contractors, including some, such as the SAIC employee, who work in the so-called kill chain before Hellfire missiles are launched, according to current and former military officers, company employees and internal government documents.

Relying on private contractors has brought corporations that operate for profit into some of America's most sensitive military and intelligence operations. And using civilians makes some in the military uneasy. At least a dozen defense contractors that supply personnel to help the Air Force, special operations units and the CIA fly their drones are filling a void. It takes more people to operate unmanned aircraft than it does to fly traditional warplanes that have a pilot and crew.

The Air Force is short of ground-based pilots and crews to fly the drones, intelligence analysts to scrutinize nonstop video and surveillance feeds, and technicians and mechanics to maintain the heavily used aircraft. "Our No. 1 manning problem in the Air Force is manning our unmanned platforms," said Gen. Philip M. Breedlove, Air Force vice chief of staff. Without civilian contractors, U.S. drone operations would grind to a halt.

About 168 people are needed to keep a single Predator aloft for 24 hours, according to the Air Force. The larger Global Hawk surveillance drone requires 300 people. In contrast, an F-16 fighter aircraft needs fewer than 100 people per mission.

With a fleet of about 230 Predators, Reapers and Global Hawks, the Air Force flies more than 50 drones around the clock over Afghanistan and other target areas. The Pentagon plans to add 730 medium and large drones in the next decade, requiring thousands more personnel. The Air Force is rushing to meet the demand. Under a new program, drone pilots get 44 hours of cockpit training before they are sent to a squadron to be certified and allowed to command missions. That compares with a minimum of 200 hours' training for pilots flying traditional warplanes.

Read this

Sister blogger, spixl, has a great post over at Casita Colibri with a link to an article that you just must read.  It's a good one about indigenous life and goes into some depth and explains why Oaxaca remains one the best places on earth. 

For instance:

Precolonial Oaxaca was a complex linguistic and cultural map marked by multiple distinct languages and multiple dialects within each language. At least sixteen of these prehispanic languages – along with the unique worldviews they embody – have survived and evolved in the centuries following the conquest. Today, these languages make Oaxaca one of the most linguistically diverse regions in the world, and this remarkable linguistic diversity serves as a testament to the cultural survival of a vast array of indigenous communities.

With over 350,000 speakers, Zapotec is the most prevalent indigenous language, sustained by the descendents of the ancient Zapotec Empire. Even among Zapotec speakers, however, there is a significant diversity of dialects, and speakers of one dialect may find it difficult or impossible to communicate with speakers of another. This tremendous diversity makes language an important marker of cultural identity. In Oaxaca, one’s home village may be the only place in the world where a specific dialect is spoken.

Sure Signs

The signs of Oaxaca can be pretty interesting, often artistic. 

It's a clothing store.
But sometimes they are just strange.

They could fit into a sidebar along my ongoing tee shirt series called, "Do they really know what they are wearing?"

Dreams of Wood?

Noche Buena - Christmas Eve

While the light show was being projected on the cathedral. processions were snaking their ways through the streets, which were packed. 

The 24th is the end of the celebration known as Las Posadas, a nine day event.  As they do each year, various churches groups paraded into El Centro with nativity scenes mounted on flatbed trucks. Each was led by a band and followed by people carrying candles and lanterns. 

There were firecrackers and pinwheels galore. 

The Three Kings were there.

The only problem was that the light show made getting into the zocalo impossible,  Normally, the groups enter the zocalo and keep going around until the place is packed with bands, floats, trucks, fireworks, people, all in a wonderful cacophony. 

This year, I don't think there was any plan at all.  We would see one group coming towards us and then turn around and see another group on a different street going in a different direction.  We ran around and had a blast, but no one in the crowd had a clue as to where to go.  Watching the cops direct traffic through it all was a total trip.

Of course, cute kids ruled the night. 

Grrr.... they always do.

Light Show on the Cathedral

They are showing this absolutely amazing bit of digital magic every night in the zocalo.

Each section is ten minutes long.

A Christmas Card

This fine quilt hangs just outside Amate books.  A perfect holiday postcard...

I confess to photoshopping the two atm machines out of either side of the bench, but I mean, what does money have to do with Christmas?

Here is the name of the person who created the quilt, but the more I looked at the font, the less clear what the name was.

La Noche del Rabanos - Night of the Radishes - 2011

Whew.  I'm just back from this year's Noche del Rabanos and it was better than ever.  How could you have missed it?  Where was your head??

This is the annual comeptition that takes place in the zocalo on December 23 and involves creating works using three different media: dried flowers.

corns husks

or radishes.

With Oaxaca's fame in the folk art world, the pieces are often amazing.  Some of the dried flower pieces take months to assemble.  The radishes are pretty much a one day thing.  They start to smell by the end of the day.  One has to get there early to watch the assembling and setting up.  By afternoon it is way too crowded.  And en la noche?  No way!  The place is packed. 

There are so many shots to go through, but I thought I would throw a few up quickly, with more to come tomorrow or the next day, which is, I believe, Christmas.

Some beautiful work

The piece from above and the artist, who is from nearby Etla.

Sometimes, it all comes together.  Color and subjects agree.

And the people, the artists, are so great to watch and interact with. 

 

More in a bit.

Shot of the day...

This street musician with his Ramones jacket.  more specifically, a Johnny Ramone jacket.

 How cool is that?

¡Mexicana!

This shot is taken from directly in front of the entrance to the plaza leading to the zocalo.  What a beautiful woman.  She makes riot gear look good.  I love how her perfect nails are resting on her automatic weapon.

 She was such an imposing presence.  It made me think about the complexities of living here in terms of gender and the constant police and military presence.