La Zandunga - Yet another version

It is always so wonderful to watch Alani Ruiz Ruiz and Juana Lizbeth Contreras Vincente dance as Doña Marina and Malinche, respectively. They and they fellow danzantes dance four times a year and this one is from last December, El Dia de la Vigen de Guadalupe in Teotitlan del Valle.

I can't wait until July, the next performance.  I have little tiny video-cams, finally small enough, that I can clip onto the dancers. 

Free Frida

"Help, I'm trapped as an iconic figure."

Really free me.  It is too damn cold here, in the 20's with howling winds.  But just a few more days and it will be back to this. 

Ahhhh...  I need and want.

Luck o' the Irish

Even in Tlacolula.

Haunted

I was happy to be here in Boston on the first springlike day and for the day on which the record for the snowiest winter evah, over 9 feet, that's 2.76 meters!  However, I do not feel at home here.  I am used to the people and ways of Oaxaca.  I look around here and feel like I am missing so much.  Life is so different here.

I keep thinking of this little girl in the Tlacolula market a couple of weeks ago and her life.  I am haunted by her.  She was alone selling these lemons.  Little children here can start working very early in life.  They have responsibilities and obligations.  And lucky them, they get to keep working into there eighties if they are able.  It can be a very tough life.

Oaxaca is a very easy place to practice compassion.  Here, it New England, to my chagrin, I don't feel it the same.  Must be all that snow.

Carrizo - It's an art

This is a followup to Shannon's post about the lampshades she had made for her by a family from San Juan Guelavia.  We met the family at the Feria de Carrizo a few weeks ago and you can see that the finished products are very cool, such fine work.  Here, the long pieces on the right ready to be processed into all sorts of things, plate medallions, lampshades, bottles and baskets.

Carrizo is a plant I know well.  I spent many, many hours of mediation running the stuff through a wood chipper.  It is one tough plant, grows like bamboo, meaning once you've got it, you've got it forever, unless you have a bulldozer to get out the roots.  I can look at a stalk and know what will come out of the chipper.  If the plant is green, you get this wonderful airy fiber, perfect for mulch.  A little older plant, you get nice chips.  Old and dry plants reach the point when they almost explode into dust and longer irregular chips.

You should hear my revelations about abono, cow manure, after meditating on and shoveling over ten tons of the wonderful stuff.  Oh, to be a dung beetle..... heaven on earth.

But I digress... back to carrizo and the family in San Juan.  It is a relatively poor village, but they make use of what they have and they have a lot of carrizo.  I loved watching the various members of the family go about their work.

And is long arduous and intense works to break down the long pieces into thin super flexible strips.  First, abuela splits it lengthwise.

Then, the thickness is shaved down.

The whole family works.  Here, Benito, in his fine Bubba Gump shirt, does exactly what his grandmother is doing.

 It's an art and just watching them work gave me a whole new appreciation of the diligence and artistry of all the carrizo products we see and take for granted.

I shoulda been there

Well, I missed Día de la Samaritana, in Oaxaca and π day and what's more when I set up here in Boston, they thought I was just crazy.

Really, did miss it and this is from last year.  Bad timing on my part.

It aint only here.

People have been thanking me for bring the warm weather with me.  So this is not my fault.... nor is it anywhere near New England.  No, this is central Mexico. (Photo credit)

from abc news:

One of central Mexico's most heavily traveled highways reopened Thursday afternoon following an eight-hour closure forced by a storm that dumped more than 2 inches (50 millimeters) of snow.

The highway links the central state of Puebla and Mexico City and has one of the higher volumes of traffic in the country as the key transit link between the capital and the Gulf coast.

Mexico's water commission said Thursday that the country has been hit by a cold front that sent temperatures below freezing in parts of the country, including Puebla.

Snow closed some roads yesterday in Michoacán, but today the wintry conditions have moved to the State of Mexico and Puebla, closing the Mexico City-Puebla freeway early this morning.
Officials closed the highway about 4:30am between the San Marcos toll booth, on the outskirts of the Federal District, to Río Frío in the State of Mexico, near the Puebla border.
- See more at: http://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/mexico-city-puebla-closed-snowfall/?utm_source=fb&utm_medium=fb&utm_campaign=snow-mexico-puebla#sthash.iULrrJ2G.dpuf

Snow closed some roads yesterday in Michoacán, but today the wintry conditions have moved to the State of Mexico and Puebla, closing the Mexico City-Puebla freeway early this morning.
Officials closed the highway about 4:30am between the San Marcos toll booth, on the outskirts of the Federal District, to Río Frío in the State of Mexico, near the Puebla border.
- See more at: http://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/mexico-city-puebla-closed-snowfall/?utm_source=fb&utm_medium=fb&utm_campaign=snow-mexico-puebla#sthash.iULrrJ2G.dpuf

Snow closed some roads yesterday in Michoacán, but today the wintry conditions have moved to the State of Mexico and Puebla, closing the Mexico City-Puebla freeway early this morning.
Officials closed the highway about 4:30am between the San Marcos toll booth, on the outskirts of the Federal District, to Río Frío in the State of Mexico, near the Puebla border.
- See more at: http://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/mexico-city-puebla-closed-snowfall/?utm_source=fb&utm_medium=fb&utm_campaign=snow-mexico-puebla#sthash.iULrrJ2G.dpuf

Snow closed some roads yesterday in Michoacán, but today the wintry conditions have moved to the State of Mexico and Puebla, closing the Mexico City-Puebla freeway early this morning.
Officials closed the highway about 4:30am between the San Marcos toll booth, on the outskirts of the Federal District, to Río Frío in the State of Mexico, near the Puebla border.
- See more at: http://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/mexico-city-puebla-closed-snowfall/?utm_source=fb&utm_medium=fb&utm_campaign=snow-mexico-puebla#sthash.iULrrJ2G.dpuf

Snow closed some roads yesterday in Michoacán, but today the wintry conditions have moved to the State of Mexico and Puebla, closing the Mexico City-Puebla freeway early this morning.
Officials closed the highway about 4:30am between the San Marcos toll booth, on the outskirts of the Federal District, to Río Frío in the State of Mexico, near the Puebla border.
- See more at: http://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/mexico-city-puebla-closed-snowfall/?utm_source=fb&utm_medium=fb&utm_campaign=snow-mexico-puebla#sthash.iULrrJ2G.dpuf

Snow closed some roads yesterday in Michoacán, but today the wintry conditions have moved to the State of Mexico and Puebla, closing the Mexico City-Puebla freeway early this morning.
Officials closed the highway about 4:30am between the San Marcos toll booth, on the outskirts of the Federal District, to Río Frío in the State of Mexico, near the Puebla border.
- See more at: http://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/mexico-city-puebla-closed-snowfall/?utm_source=fb&utm_medium=fb&utm_campaign=snow-mexico-puebla#sthash.iULrrJ2G.dpuf

Una semana

Ay!  It all seems so surreal, but nicely so.  One week ago I was sitting the Comedor Colon in Etla, under the watchful eyes of Zapata and the boys, waiting for breakfast. 

This was the view from my morning constitutional.

Then this.... that is Monte Alban with Atzompa at two o'clock and if you look closely you can see mi casa at about one thirty.

Those mountains were replaced with mountains of snow here in New England, but happily, there is a wonderful touch of spring in the air, it is almost 60 outside and sunny, so I get to experience one of the best things about a long brutal winter, Spring Fever.  Life is sweet.  However, it is Wednesday, my market day in Etla and somehow, I do not think I will be seeing this. 

We are so spoiled and so lucky to have such fresh and tasty produce.  They say they have fresh fruit here in Boston, but don't tell them... they don't.

I am such a Mexicano

I figured it was about time to head to El Norte to dig my house out of the snow in Boston and oh my, there is a lot of it.  I know I missed most of it and everyone says, "You shoulda seen it a month ago.  It has gone down so much."  Well, there is still a good three feet most everywhere and some very serious major league mounds from the plows.  It will take weeks or months to melt.  Oh well...

The house, built in 1895, came through just fine.  However, upon taking a wonderful shower with lots of water pressure, I discovered that the shower faucet was leaking badly.  It's a type I didn't know and immediately thought of what a drag it would be to have to call a plumber.  I am spoiled by the three Juans from San Gabriel Etla, Don Juan, Don Juan and Don Juanito, who do such great work at one twentieth of what a plumber would charge here.

You may not know this, but every Mexican can fix almost everything with a paper clip and some duct tape.  Well, not really, but they can damn near fix whatever needs to be fixed.  It is called "self sufficiency" and I have been a good student and learned by watching.  Having an 1895 house was pretty good training and living out in the campo for a few years, well, I can fix almost anything now, even some car stuff.

At any rate, "we don't need no stinkin' plumbers" - I fixed the leak myself.  Didn't even need duct tape.

Anatomy of a blockade

Welcome to my world.  There was a blockade yesterday, # 4,266,449 of the year, of an unimportant road...uh, oops, the Pan American Highway.  It continues today.  In fact all of this is within walking distance of my house and it is one hell of an effective blockade, everything is sealed off.

 Massive police presence... not.

And it is all about water.

Here's a little background.  We are in the dry season and water is scarce and essential.  Folks in the city are really hurting with lots of stories of little or no water.  San Agustin Etla, the village just to the north of me, has a pipeline that supplies twenty percent of the water to the city, but they have shut the valves and there is no water coming through.  Why?  Because the city has not paid for the water they have used already and we are talkin' months of non-payment.  Shutting off the pipeline is an effective weapon in San Agustin's arsenal and they do it every now and then.  However, there are villages and settlements that are caught in between, like San Pablo Etla, Viguera and Pueblo Nuevo, that are running out of water and they are, to put in mildly, pissed off.  Hence the blockades. These are the real deal with buses and double semis blocking the intersections so effectively that I could not even squeeze through and had to walk around.

This is however, normal life and people adapt quickly.

Folks coming from the city jump out of buses or cabs and walk/run through the blockades to jump into awaiting cabs to continue their journeys.

And there were plenty.

Drivers have to bypass the mess by going on back roads, but I think even some of those were blocked yesterday.  Some cars and trucks looked like they were trapped for the duration.  Yesterday's lasted from 7 AM to 9 PM.  Today's started promptly at 7.

Here is an article from Noticias.  Run it through a translator to get an idea.  As in all things oaxaqueño, there are so many layers to these issues, the mind boggles.  To quote from Apocalypse Now, "You need wings to keep above the bullshit."

Now just where did I put those damn wings?

Actually, I am lucky.  I am on the right side of the city and live right near a pipa or water truck, station and just had one delivered.... $34 US for 10,000 liters.

Better late than never...

Oops.....  I took off nice and early for the Viernes del Llano celebration.  I thought it started at 10 AM, so I left at 8:30, only to discover it had started much earlier, maybe 7 or so.  It ended just before I got there... oh well.  What is the event exactly?  I'm not really sure, but it is kinda like a beauty pageant where everyone is a winner.  Kids from local schools show up and cheer and give flowers to girlfriends for a couple of hours.  There is music, lots of press, even more people.  In general, it is a crazy good time. But I missed it.  However, I got to see the leftover detritus.

And girls walking away.

I did get to see the band waiting for its ride. 

And participants wait for the bus.

I did manage to snag a couple of shots of the stars of the show.

A classic.

As always, amazing shoes!

And one of a future participant.

What a fun event, a real Oaxacan good time and it happens every Friday morning through March with different schools it week.

Be there or be square.  I am sure Shannon over a Casa Colibri will have more.

If it's Tuesday...

Or any other day of the week, there is a protest or blockade somewhere.  It is just normal life and people deal.  Social media makes life easier.  There is a Facebook group with over 10,000 members that follows all the action reporting on current marches, blockades, protests and accidents.  So these shots are from last Tuesday, which was Flag Day, Dia de la Bandera. As sister blogger spixl posts, there was lots of action. I was just passing through and caught this contingent, obviously from the campo, the country, continuing the fight to keep corn free of trans-genetic infection.  Without corn there is no country.

 What a great poster.  Wake up Benito! and say no to trans-genetic corn.

 It's still possible.

Monsanto es una plaga aqui.

The future is now

This from a protest a couple of days ago.

Atzompa - The day after

I drove up to the archeological site to see what, if any, damage the fire did yesterday.  Fortunately, the blackened ground ended right below the parking area

It burned a fairly large area, but not to worry, that smoke is from an entirely different fire a few miles away.

As I said yesterday, these fires are pretty common and people hardly ever freak out about them or let them get out of control.  Every now and then, the winds whip them up, but in general, there always seems to be some sort of firebreak, like the parking lot, and they die out.

Looks like only the hardiest of plants and seeds will survive, but for sure, they will be back as soon as the rains come.

More good news, it looks like the other entrance from the Monte Alban side is finally open.  I plan to explore it soon.

Stick figure

This guy was on my screen door this morning and I thought it was a wind-blown twig.

"You lookin' at me?"

When I got near it, it bobbed back and forth.  In truth, I had a hard time figuring which end was which.

The two little antennae might be a clue.  Now why does this shot make me think of Fred Astaire?

Mother Nature is a wonder.

Atzompa - Not the best day to visit

This was the view of Atzompa early this afternoon. 

That's the archeological site at the very top behind the veil of smoke.

You can see it is a large area.  I hope everyone is OK.  I know a few folks up there and will go and check tomorrow or the next day.

These fires are pretty common these days, the countryside is so dry and crispy.  Normally, they stay under control.  In fact, fire is the preferred method for clearing agricultural fields.  I am totally on the other side of that debate, organic material by the tons worked into the soil.

Sunday church social

There was a large covered area setup in front of the church in Tlacolula yesterday with lots of ladies selling all sorts of good food.  So...

Why choose?  I'll take a chile rellenos, too.  Those beans were soooo good, flavored with hierba santa and epazote.

Easy to see why things taste so good.  Look at the available ingredients.

BB