Vasallo Edgar Daniel Ruiz Ruiz

Life sometimes plays havoc with our plans.  As so it is for our good friend, Daniel Ruiz, the son of Mario, the principal photographer in Teotitlan del Valle.  I have known his family for years and watched Daniel grow up from a little kid into a fine young man.  He is one of the new danzantes and will be for the next three years.  As I said before, this new group is exceptional and they will be dancing in the official guelaguetza in the city this year, a great honor.  I am sure they will bring down the house. 

After practicing for seven months, one week before their first performance, Daniel had an appendicitis and could not dance.  He is still recovering, but back on his feet, although moving very gingerly.  I was just out there and he proudly showed me his outfit and his penacho.

It is bittersweet, life is.  It is wonderful to watch this kid grow up and to become a dancer and to have an even more intimate connection to this dance and the village, which I love and respect so much.  I have been psyched for months just to see him dance.  I'm proud of him. 

But as a former performer, I understand his disappointment and pain.  However, it is a three year gig and he will be out there dancing in September... and I'll be there watching and cheering him on.

One week from today in Reyes Etla

Yes indeed, exactly one week from today, Reyes Etla, the world famous home of queso and quesillo, will host its annual guelaguetza or dance festival.  And look at this place.  Is it not one of the most gorgeous settings for anything?

Nacho Libre was filmed there, too.  It is incredibly lush country.  You can see for miles and miles....

Of course, there is the annual feria de queso and quesillo right next to the dance action.   It does not get any better than this.  This guelaguetza is such a nice intimate affair with only a few hundred people watching, but it is getting more and more popular each year.   Now the big question is will tourists come or stay away in droves after all the negative publicity.  Uh, people.... you should come.  It is gonna be great once again. In the meantime, work goes on...

Be sure to check out the amazing number of things to do in the next few weeks over at Casita Colibri where there is a schedule for everything.

Back in the game..

OMG, a blog post!  OK, I've been a bit delinquent, really... does it matter?  The weather has been beautiful.

And the garden has exploded, so I've been busy.

More pics mañana.  But man does not live by gardening alone, so I had to eat.  How about bacon wrapped shrimp from Marco Polo, a Oaxacan favorite for seafood?  To die for... or maybe after.  They were sooo good, crispy with a little quesillo under the bacon.  Not the best pic, but I guess I was anxious to eat.

And of course, enchiladas and carne frita from Emilia Ruiz in Teotitlan del Valle.  She may not be one of the best cooks in the entire universe, but then again, she very well may be.

Teotitlan del Valle convite

Another beautiful day in paradise....

The second convite of the week in Teotitlan del Valle, where the village continues to celebrate La Preciosa Sangre de Nuestro Señor Jesucristo.

This is the most important celebratory week of the year and hundreds of girls and women gathered at the church with their canastas to begin the procession, or convite, through the streets of the village.  Look at that setting... glorious.

It is a long walk, maybe four or five kilometers and those baskets are heavy and catch the wind just like the dancers penachos or headdresses. 

The procession stretched a long way down the main street.

And, as always, such a delight and proud moment to see Beatriz Ruiz in all her glory.

And nice to see girls growing up after photographing them in previous years.

All ages turn out for this event which insures that this tradition will just keep going. 

They start so early in life, it becomes a natural part of their lives.  

For this particular week, people return home from all over Mexico and the US to participate.

That is one of the nicest things about Teotitlan del Valle, the importance of traditions which continue without fail,  embraced by all.  And they do it with an openness and joy and above all, respect.

Back for the danza de la pluma today..... It's a tough job, but somebody's gotta do it.

Los danzantes de pluma - Teotitlan del Valle

As Teotitlan del Valle continues to celebrate la Preciosa Sangre de Nuestro Señor Jesucristo all this week, yesterday the new group of dancers fought strong winds and performed splendidly. Wow!

The sun was out and it was simply a glorious day.  This celebration, this village, these people and their traditions are so inspiring, one basks in the moment. 

It a time full of pride, commitment and some smiles.

The penachos, headdresses, and outfits caught the sun and the colors popped.

I need to put names to faces and will do so in the next few days.

It doesn't get any better or more traditional than this.

These guys are really good, especially Sergio Gutierrez Bautista, the new incarnation of Monctezuma.  He is a pretty amazing dancer.

I know they have been practicing for months, but there is nothing like the real thing and they were really tight and smooth despite strong winds which played havoc with the penachos.

Imagine having a sail on top of your head and then dancing. 

This is only the beginning.  They will be dancing for three years and I hope to be there with them all the way.   It is such an honor and blessing to be there.

Teotitlan del Valle - The cycle continues

This week Teotitlan del Valle, the Zapotec weaving village, celebrates the fiesta de Preciosa Sangre de Nuestro Señor Jesucristo with dancing and processions.  This is the beginning of a three year commitment for the danzantes and we plan to follow them through their entire time as dancers.  Last evening, a convite or procession of unmarried girls and women in traditional clothing carried canastas decorated with flowers and saints and paraded a long route through the streets of the village. 

There were more women this year than I have ever seen, maybe over two hundred.  It was, as always, a beautiful experience even though dark skies threatened.  After spending so many years going to Teotitlan, we know a fair number of people and feel so happy to know a couple of the dancers, one of whom I have known since he was a very young boy.  I feel happy and proud, but nothing like him and his family.  More on the dancers in the next posts, but here are the latest incarnations of Monctezuma, Malinche and Doña Marina.

However, if you follow this blog you will know that it is really all about Bea, Beatriz Ruiz, who has graced these pages many times along with her family. 

 

Here, Claudia, her mother, helps Bea get that heavy basket properly settled on her head for the long walk.

I remember her years ago carrying her canasta and look at her now, a young lady with all the beauty and pride of her family, village and heritage.

Ain't life great?

Pluses and minuses of gardening

There have been some wonderful rains and everything is exploding with growth.

I have my first successful hand of plantains and wow, something I had not experienced before, eating a fresh sweet plantain right off the tree, surprisingly sweet and tasty.

On the minus side, there lots of cacti and agave in the garden, all with serious spikes and spines.  I am used to bleeding every time I work on the agave and getting thorns in my hands.  However, every now and then, one gets in so deep, it simply will not come out.  I have had a couple in my thumb for several days.  They hurt.  I know that after a while the body pushes them out or else, encapsulates them inside, choosing to hold onto it.  So, after harvesting the plantains and feeling that nagging sharp pain I had been feeling for the last few days, voila, look what finally worked its way out. 

I couldn't believe it.  The thing was invisible under the skin, it was in that deep.  Ahhhh...

If it isn't the blockades...

My favorite vivero or nursery (marked with a star), is on the way to San Lorenzo Cacaotepec, just on the other side of the Rio Atoyac, Oaxaca's main river.  It winds its way south and there are several bridges one must use to get around.

And you can see from the map, it is just beyond the Hacienda Blanca blockade.  Well, it helps to know all the back roads, so I circumvented everything and got there with no problems.... except the bridge over the river is still under construction.  It's been a couple of months with a couple to go. 

So one has a choice of two detours to take.  I've done this one before I go one way and take the other on the way back.

Hmmm... what's that coming up?  Oh, it's a river crossing.  Finger's crossed.  During the dry season, it's easy, but we had good rains last night.

The way back... gulp.

Piece o' cake.  Incidentally, I went through the blockade a couple of times.  First, taking a left to go to the market in Etla, and then on my return.  No delays going south.  You can see a few commercial trucks stopped heading south into the city.   Maybe they have figured out a different way in or have given up for now.  However, the traffic heading north was backed up quite a ways.  They were letting a single lane through, but only cars and some others.  No semis or commercial trucks.

The teachers say they are going to intensify their protests and actions this weekend.  Talks have broken down for now with the feds saying no more discussions until the blockades come down.  Good luck with that.  And the rumor mill says the police are going to try to clear the blockades after remaining invisible for the last week. 

I am a horrible person.... well, you already know that, but I am hoping things remain calm so I can get to Teotitlan del Valle on Monday to see the new danzantes and maybe finally find my novia in the convite.  It all starts next week...ojala.

Take a stand....

But what should it be?  More importantly, what will it be?

Down on the blockade

Hacienda Blanca is one of the key points of blockade, a bloqueo, by Seccion XXII, and is just down the road from me.  I have gotten caught in it a few times, but today I just went down to check it out.  The reason it is key is because it is really the only entry point to the city from the north, for instance, from Mexico City.

It is just after the intersection of the toll road and the non-toll road to the north and so... a perfect place to stop traffic or in this case, to control the flow.

And this is how they shut it down.

It appeared like no commercial traffic was being let through, but normal cars and vans were being allowed both northbound and southbound, but northbound was a single lane.

Southbound seemed to be two lanes.

Those guys were directing traffic and doing a good job.  I think the traffic lights were out.  And of course, not a cop anywhere in sight.  People have been commenting on the lack of police presence and it was certainly true at Haciend Blanca today.

 

Run this article through a translator.  It pretty much says it all.