Street art....

It is always changing and often exceptional. 

These certainly are.

 Brilliant and beautiful.

Careful!  It's a dangerous world out there.

The 2015 Official Guelaguetza Video

Last's year's version generated some controversy (maybe because I was in it).  I wonder if this one will.

I would have preferred more dance, but that's just me.  I will definitely be in the city for the desfiles on the two Saturdays before the main events, but I love the smaller versions in Reyes Etla and Etla for the two Mondays.  They are so much more intimate and fun.

Thousand words....

A new entrance to San Lorenzo Cacotepec

One can find this arched entrances to many villages and often they are decorated and welcoming.  This one has gone up quickly, in the last month or so.

It is a few kilometers before my favorite vivero or nursery on the way to San Lorenzo Cacaotepec.  This one is quite substantial and looks like it will house either a police or military office.  It is a curious location, kinda in the middle of nowhere, probably five k. before the village proper.

Maybe it will turn out to be some sort of a checkpoint.  This is pretty typical traffic.

 

The red dot marks the spot.  This is the countryside, el campo, not densely settled and a bit isolated.

Cal in Etla

Each week a group of women assembles on the south wall of the market in Etla to sell cal and ocote, the resinous pine pieces that folks use to start their charcoal fires.  It burns like crazy and works like a charm.  However, I always focus on the cal or lime, the white swath in front of me as the powdered cal covers the stairs.

And it is the sound that always gets me.  Lots of little pings and dings as they hit the hard rock-like cal. The women all have little hammers that they use to to break the cal apart.  The cal has several uses, one of which, is to prepare corn and turn it into masa, which in turn gets made into so many tasty things, tortillas, tamales, etc...

a recipe from My Humble Kitchen

Nixtamal
Ingredients:

1. 2 quarts organic field corn
2. 5 tbls Lime/Cal
3. 4 quarts filtered water

Method:

1. Rinse corn and remove any chaff.  Drain through a colander.
2. In a non-reactive pot, mix water and lime over high heat until lime is dissolved.
3. Add the corn and bring to a boil for 15 – 20 minutes.
4. Remove pot from heat, cover, and let soak overnight.
5. The next day, drain the corn through a colander and rinse.  If making hominy for posole, remove hulls at this time. The hulls are the little brown tips which can be rubbed or picked off.
6. Place corn in a bowl and cover with water.  Allow to soak for 5 – 10 minutes moving the corn kernels with your fingers and then rinse again.  Repeat this process one more time.  This will ensure all traces of lime are washed away.
7. Drain the corn through a colander and your done.  Homemade nixtamal!

- See more at: http://www.myhumblekitchen.com/2009/12/nixtamal-preparing-corn-for-tortillas/#sthash.GinaHUku.dpuf

Nixtamal
Ingredients:

1. 2 quarts organic field corn
2. 5 tbls Lime/Cal
3. 4 quarts filtered water

Method:

1. Rinse corn and remove any chaff.  Drain through a colander.
2. In a non-reactive pot, mix water and lime over high heat until lime is dissolved.
3. Add the corn and bring to a boil for 15 – 20 minutes.
4. Remove pot from heat, cover, and let soak overnight.
5. The next day, drain the corn through a colander and rinse.  If making hominy for posole, remove hulls at this time. The hulls are the little brown tips which can be rubbed or picked off.
6. Place corn in a bowl and cover with water.  Allow to soak for 5 – 10 minutes moving the corn kernels with your fingers and then rinse again.  Repeat this process one more time.  This will ensure all traces of lime are washed away.
7. Drain the corn through a colander and your done.  Homemade nixtamal!

- See more at: http://www.myhumblekitchen.com/2009/12/nixtamal-preparing-corn-for-tortillas/#sthash.GinaHUku.dpuf

Nixtamal
Ingredients:

1. 2 quarts organic field corn
2. 5 tbls Lime/Cal
3. 4 quarts filtered water

Method:

1. Rinse corn and remove any chaff.  Drain through a colander.
2. In a non-reactive pot, mix water and lime over high heat until lime is dissolved.
3. Add the corn and bring to a boil for 15 – 20 minutes.
4. Remove pot from heat, cover, and let soak overnight.
5. The next day, drain the corn through a colander and rinse.  If making hominy for posole, remove hulls at this time. The hulls are the little brown tips which can be rubbed or picked off.
6. Place corn in a bowl and cover with water.  Allow to soak for 5 – 10 minutes moving the corn kernels with your fingers and then rinse again.  Repeat this process one more time.  This will ensure all traces of lime are washed away.
7. Drain the corn through a colander and your done.  Homemade nixtamal!

- See more at: http://www.myhumblekitchen.com/2009/12/nixtamal-preparing-corn-for-tortillas/#sthash.GinaHUku.dpuf

Nixtamal
Ingredients:

1. 2 quarts organic field corn
2. 5 tbls Lime/Cal
3. 4 quarts filtered water

Method:

1. Rinse corn and remove any chaff.  Drain through a colander.
2. In a non-reactive pot, mix water and lime over high heat until lime is dissolved.
3. Add the corn and bring to a boil for 15 – 20 minutes.
4. Remove pot from heat, cover, and let soak overnight.
5. The next day, drain the corn through a colander and rinse.  If making hominy for posole, remove hulls at this time. The hulls are the little brown tips which can be rubbed or picked off.
6. Place corn in a bowl and cover with water.  Allow to soak for 5 – 10 minutes moving the corn kernels with your fingers and then rinse again.  Repeat this process one more time.  This will ensure all traces of lime are washed away.
7. Drain the corn through a colander and your done.  Homemade nixtamal!

- See more at: http://www.myhumblekitchen.com/2009/12/nixtamal-preparing-corn-for-tortillas/#sthash.GinaHUku.dpuf

Nixtamal
Ingredients:

1. 2 quarts organic field corn
2. 5 tbls Lime/Cal
3. 4 quarts filtered water

Method:

1. Rinse corn and remove any chaff.  Drain through a colander.
2. In a non-reactive pot, mix water and lime over high heat until lime is dissolved.
3. Add the corn and bring to a boil for 15 – 20 minutes.
4. Remove pot from heat, cover, and let soak overnight.
5. The next day, drain the corn through a colander and rinse.  If making hominy for posole, remove hulls at this time. The hulls are the little brown tips which can be rubbed or picked off.
6. Place corn in a bowl and cover with water.  Allow to soak for 5 – 10 minutes moving the corn kernels with your fingers and then rinse again.  Repeat this process one more time.  This will ensure all traces of lime are washed away.
7. Drain the corn through a colander and your done.  Homemade nixtamal!

- See more at: http://www.myhumblekitchen.com/2009/12/nixtamal-preparing-corn-for-tortillas/#sthash.GinaHUku.dpuf

Nixtamal
Ingredients:

1. 2 quarts organic field corn
2. 5 tbls Lime/Cal
3. 4 quarts filtered water

Method:

1. Rinse corn and remove any chaff.  Drain through a colander.
2. In a non-reactive pot, mix water and lime over high heat until lime is dissolved.
3. Add the corn and bring to a boil for 15 – 20 minutes.
4. Remove pot from heat, cover, and let soak overnight.
5. The next day, drain the corn through a colander and rinse.  If making hominy for posole, remove hulls at this time. The hulls are the little brown tips which can be rubbed or picked off.
6. Place corn in a bowl and cover with water.  Allow to soak for 5 – 10 minutes moving the corn kernels with your fingers and then rinse again.  Repeat this process one more time.  This will ensure all traces of lime are washed away.
7. Drain the corn through a colander and your done.  Homemade nixtamal!

- See more at: http://www.myhumblekitchen.com/2009/12/nixtamal-preparing-corn-for-tortillas/#sthash.GinaHUku.dpuf

Early start to market day in Etla

It feels so good to be back at the market in Etla.  Actually, even though I have been back only a few days, I have already shopped there a couple of time.  However, this is the first Wednesday I have been back and Wednesday is market day in Etla.  I got there nice and early.  It does not get any better than this.

No wonder I always feel like I am missing something when I shop in the States.

The meat looked every bit as fresh and good.

I never buy chicken in the States.  It is either too expensive or tastes like cardboard.  And here is the reason I am so fussy.  The best and freshest chicken in the market. 

 

This huge breast was $70 MP ($4.50 US).  Soon to be a few meals and some good chicken stock.
It is so good to be back!

Outreach!

What an embarrassment.... or maybe he is just a performance artist pointing out how far El Norte's political system has fallen.  No, he is just an embarrassment and perfect example of how messed up the joint is.  At any rate, his speech made the front pages here....

Donald Trump: México envía droga, criminales y violadores a EEUU

El magnate y político estadounidense Donald Trump lanzó duras críticas a los inmigrantes mexicanos que llegan a Estados Unidos y propuso levantar un "gran muro" en la frontera entre los dos países y que "México lo pague".

Magnate and American politician Donald Trump launched harsh criticism to the Mexican immigrants who arrive in the United States and proposed to raise a 'great wall' at the border between the two countries and that "Mexico pays it".

The criticisms were released on a 45-minute speech delivered today at the Tower in downtown Manhattan that bears his name, where he announced his intention to compete for the Republican presidency candidacy in elections in 2016.

His speech, 45 minutes, rescued the nationalist sentiment of a country which, he said, has become the "dump of all the problems of others".

He criticized Islamic radicalism, economic progress of countries like China and Japan and also pointed out that Mexico is "drowning economically" to United States.

"Mexico sends his people, but does not send the best. It is sending to people with a lot of problems (...). They are bringing drugs, crime, the rapists. I assume that there are some that are good,"said the Tycoon.

He said that, if he reaches the White House, built a "great, great wall" on the southern border. "And will ask Mexico to pay it," he added, and pointed out that you as a real estate magnate, nobody raises "best walls" as yours and builds them "very cheap".

"Mexico is not our friend," he insisted, and said that their views on immigrants are based on the comments it has received in the border police.

"A country without borders, is simply not a country," he insisted.

 Update:  And the reactions and condemnations from the other GOP candidates?.... Crickets... nada.

It's coming... the Guelaguetza

The guelaguetza, the huge dance festival, will take place, once again, during the last two weeks of July.  As in all things oaxaqueño, there are many layers to the whole thing.  Dancers come from every region of the state and it is a spectacular time.  The big dance performances are in the Guelaguezta Auditorium overlooking the city and take place on the last two Mondays of the month.  With 90 percent of the tickets sold and work on the auditorium in turmoil, it will be interesting to see how it resolves... it always resolves, somehow.  There is supposed to be a new covering going up to protect people from the intense sun, but this would be covering No. 3 and none of them have lasted either for poor quality or poor installation.

from Imparcial:

Workers of the workers Confederation of Mexico (CTM), pointed out that in the coming days could stop the works carried out in the Cerro del Fortin, this due to lack of payments by companies contractors and authorities.

According to workers who denounced the lack of payment, among the works that could paralyze highlights the Cultural Center and parking of conventions of Oaxaca (CCCO), which takes place in vicinity of the Guelaguetza Cologne.

If a tree falls...

With all the daily protests, marches, sit-ins and blockades, which address a wide range of social issues, there has not been a peep about this..... unlike certain other countries... yes, I'm lookin' at you, El Norte.

from Americablog.

In a little-publicized “jurisprudential thesis” issued earlier this month, Mexico’s Supreme Court ruled that state laws prohibiting same-sex marriage are discriminatory and, therefore, unconstitutional. The thesis comes after multiple same-sex couples had won their right to marry by appealing to the nation’s highest court.

The ruling was not strong enough to overturn any existing state laws, meaning that couples denied marriage licenses will have to go through the court systems individually. However, this was still heralded as good news by The New York Times, which described the series of rulings as having “had the effect of legalizing gay marriage in Mexico without enshrining it in law.”...

Mexico’s ruling, along with Ireland’s referendum that granted its same-sex couples the right to marry in May, is a major blow to the Catholic Church. Over 80 percent of Mexican citizens are Catholic, and they support marriage equality at rates identical to the general public (unsurprising when the demographic makes up such a large portion of the overall sample).

That Catholicism is not predictive of opposition to marriage quality suggests that the Church simply lacks credibility on the issue. To the extent that rank and file Catholics pay attention to the Church’s teachings on homosexuality, they either aren’t listening or are outwardly disagreeing.

How interesting,  These two cultures are so different and this one seems so much more tolerant and accepting.

A garden for mariposas

I always plant things to attract the butterflies, birds and bees and they always come and visit. 

Two weeks of nice rains made a big difference in the garden.

Things have really leafed out. 

Everything looks lush.

The zinnias and cosmos have taken over and they are magnets for butterflies.

There are lots of them making the garden very happy.

New Witness Account Undermines Mexican Government Narrative Of Missing Students

This is a long read, but well worth it,  about the 43 students from Ayotzinapa and new evidence that has surfaced.  An amazing, dark and horrifying story.

From the Huffington Post.

Tens of thousands of Mexicans have gone missing in recent years, but the disappearance of the 43 Ayotzinapa students has become a rallying point for much of the Mexican public, and provoked the most serious political crisis for the federal government in decades. Once the darling of the international media, President Enrique Peña Nieto saw his domestic approval rating and his image abroad plummet because of repeated accusations that his administration mishandled the investigation into what became of the 43 students.

An end of the strike?

I don't think so, but here's the latest. (my emphasis)
from the LAHD

Members of Mexico’s militant CNTE teachers union voted Friday to end their strike, but said they would continue protests against a regime of teacher evaluations that they reject as unfair.

The return to work next Wednesday reflects a “commitment to the parents to complete the school year,” the CNTE spokesman in the southern state of Oaxaca, Benito Vazquez, told the Milenio media group.

Ending the walkout is not intended as a gesture of goodwill paving the way for resumption of dialogue with the government, he said.

Mexico’s deputy government secretary, Luis Enrique Miranda, said Wednesday that a renewal of talks would depend on the teachers’ returning to the classroom.

The strike, which began June 1, has affected more than 6 million students in Oaxaca, Chiapas, Guerrero and Michoacan, the impoverished southern states where the CNTE is strongest.

In some locations, CNTE members attacked public buildings and political party offices and burned ballots in an attempt to disrupt last Sunday’s midterm elections.

Vazquez said that while 70 percent of the CNTE teachers who came to Mexico City on Wednesday to mount protests will return to work, the other 30 percent plan to remain in the capital.

A major protest is planned for Sunday and large mobilizations will resume in mid-July, following the end of the academic year, the union official said.

The CNTE rejects the sweeping education overhaul enacted in 2013 by President Enrique Peña Nieto, especially the provisions on teacher evaluation.

While the government touts the overhaul as necessary to improve education, the CNTE contends the plan unfairly scapegoats teachers for the failings of a chronically underfunded schools, especially in rural areas.

 More protests at the end of the academic year???  What academic year?

Outta here

It has been nice here in Boston, but far too sedate and refined for my taste.

So it is back to the wonderful madness of Oaxaca.

Back to normal

There are the normal marches and protests today.  And, of course, the teachers' planton or sit-in continues, but things seem pretty quiet. Gasoline is becoming more available after a very dry weekend.  I will know more in a couple of days when I return.  I am excited to see how the garden grew... and of course, to follow all the action from a much closer vantage point.

Election result - The winner... Absentism

From Imparcial:

In an election day marked by the magisterial vandalism, forced relocation of boxes, large police and military presence, as well as a turnout close to 61 percent, the institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) would recover several electoral districts.

According to the program's results electoral preliminary (PREP) of the election Federal 2015, the PRI stood as the first political force in the State get the 24.58 percent (92 thousand 512 votes), followed by the PRD with the 21.84 (82 thousand 186 votes) to surprise Morena is located in third place with the 15.53 per cent (58 thousand 450 votes).

While the National Action Party (PAN) plummeted to fourth place in the election of State scenario to take a vote on the 10.15 percent (38 thousand 202 votes), followed of the Green Party (PVEM) with the 5.74 percent of the electoral preference (21 thousand 620 votes)

However, due to the slowness of the PREP due to complications arising from the actions of magisterial violence who burned down the Headquarters district as Huajuapan, Miahuatlán, Tehuantepec and Juchitán, Pinotepa Nacional counting was slow.

After the arrival of thousands of troops from the Federal Police and the Mexican army managed to retrieve the locations of the Electoral National Institute (INE), but by the time pressure has failed to reactivate to 100 percent. 

The 4 mil 710 boxes authorized to install 440 were vandalized by the Magisterium and related organizations and the burning of 190 thousand ballots in different constituencies, as part of their electoral boycott called auto.

So voters stayed away and the PRI picked up seats.  Things seem quiet today, at least on social media.

Election update....

Here is a report of the current situation in parts of Oaxaca from proceso.com.mx

As election day progresses in the State, the magisterial actions increase.

In Juchitán burned eight ballot, four others in Miahuatlán and two in Chahuites, which added 32 burned boxes as part of the boycott that section 22 of the National Union of education workers (SNTE-CNTE).

In the District of Teotitlán de Flores Magón, teachers carried out around 15 blockades in roads 135 and 182 to prevent that they advance the federal security forces, while in Santa Cruz Acatepec established roadblocks with trees and burned tires.

Last night teachers, to vacate the District Council of the INE, set up a barricade with a truck of the line buses together to set fire.

He was reported in Huautla de Jimenez is not allowed the entry of the Federal and at the time the polling stations have not been installed.

While in the District of Miahuatlán de Porfirio Diaz were burned four ballot boxes, a front of the Municipal Palace and other cruise of this population of the Southern Highlands.

While emergency bodies report that in Nochixtlán, Huajuapan and Tuxtepec, teachers carried out simultaneous marches as he remembered his State Assembl

Urgent Appeal.  A very important read.

Today, as elections take place, there have been reports of ballot burning in areas of Oaxaca, Guerrero, Chiapas and elsewhere in the country. As organizations and groups working in these areas, we denounce the decision to carry on with elections in the context of current political and social conditions.

We remember that Oaxaca already experienced large-scale mobilizations and social protests in 2006, which were violently repressed by the federal police. The arbitrary detentions, extrajudicial executions, torture, and other human rights violations that were committed in 2006 are still unpunished.

Because of this, we, civil society organizations in Oaxaca, fear a replay of similar events, with the aggravating circumstance of military presence on the streets, as if social mobilization were analogous to organized crime. We believe that elections that take place within a militarized context do not have the necessary legitimacy.

We issue an URGENT APPEAL to international civil society, human rights organizations, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Mexico, and foreign embassies, to demand that the military return to their barracks since they are carrying out public security duties that are outside of their jurisdiction. Also, we urge them to call on the federal government to prioritize dialogue and conciliation above the use of force