Besos from the street...

Points if you know who this kisser is.  It is so good to be back and enjoying walking the streets and catching all the new urban art which is always so good and timely. 

The guelaguetza is more than just a dance festival.  At its core is the concept of shared wealth and work.  It's a way of life.  How I missed seeing the politics of the streets while I was away. It's good to be back.

And this wonderful jaguar on a small side street where I park when I'm in the city. 

This Virgin on Reforma has been there for years and is always freshly painted.

Sweet art, street art.  Sunny skies, perfect walking weather.  As I said, it's good to be back.

"We don't need no stinking masks...."

WTF Oaxaca?  Today was my first trip into the city since my return. I went in to pay bills, get a haircut and shoot a little pool.  I was stunned by the huge number of people walking around without masks. I saw hundreds without as I walked from near Llano park to south of the zocalo.  It was the subject of conversation at the pool hall.  "It is the extranjeros, the foreigners, the tourists."  Absolutely!  It's mind-blowing to see so many young visitors acting so irresponsibly and disrespectfully. But in truth, lots of oaxaqueños were following suit.  Did I miss something?  Is covid over?  Seems rather crazy to me.  OK, I stole this image, but I am too pissed to make one of my own.... but the sentiment?  Right On, MoFo's!

All my ducks in a row....

OK, so they're geese, but I'll take it as a sign that I'm ready to head back to Oaxaca.  It was very nice to be in my New England home.  I do love this place and it's easy to see why. 

Plenty of time to reflect on life with covid.  Reading the runes nature provides.

Just as in Oaxaca, it's a solitary existence. 

However, with my booster, my spirits are boosted, too and I'm ready to keep on keepin' on.  As one of my fav artists, Dua Lipa, says,

This is not a, this is not a
Swan, swan song
This is not a, this is not a
Swan, swan song
We just gotta, we just gotta hold on tonight
This is not a, this is not a
Swan song, swan song
Swan dive (Yeah)
It's a new life

Cruz de Piedra - The way that it used to be....

Going through old photos and I found these.  I always found this to be such a powerful depiction of Christ. with all the wires and cables.

It seems very old school by today's standards.

The anguish of the face is so typical on many of the statues one might find in churches. 

The new version is not as powerful an image and I wonder how oaxaqueños felt about the change.  It is still a very popular site that draws many visitors and lots of desfiles and calendas start there.

Street Art - Waltham style....

I do most of my shopping in nearby Waltham, which used to be the heart of watchmaking years ago with large mills along the Charles. 

Now, it is one of most ethnically diverse cities in the area.  Hence, it is a real restaurant mecca.  Thai, Indian, Guatemalan, Japaneses, Spanish, French, BBQ and good Mexican, too, it's all right there.

And so it goes in the large supermarket and the many small markets on the main drag, Moody Street.  "If you want it, you can get it." 

Just seeing this timely and political street art reminded me of Oaxaca, where it is so prevalent.

Autumn in New England...

One of the reasons I came north a bit early this year was to try and catch some fall colors.  Normally, I head up just after Muertos, but with it being so subdued once again this year, here I am. 

And well, I guess I'm too early.  The colors are very muted and the leaves are still more green than gold or red.  And they will soon be on the ground as it was -2 C. this morning and the first good frost normally does a number on them.  Did I say they were a bit muted?  Well, not all of them.

And with daylight savings ended, it starts getting dark at 4 PM, which makes the leaf peeping time much shorter. 4 PM is just too early... to go to bed.

Still, the place is beautiful.  I'll enjoy it while I can.

They work hard for the money...

"You want your house where?"  I keep thinking about this work site in Etla because it shows several things about the area.  I remember when I moved into my house, I noticed all the cantera stone and thought it must have been left over from construction.  But no, it is simply what is just under the soil.  And you can see just how prominent and deep it is.  "No problem, we'll just chop it out.  It's only five meters high." I wonder how much was done by hand.  Oaxaqueños got some serious work ethic!

It sure explains why so many structures, ancient, not so ancient (colonial) and new, are built with the stuff.  It is everywhere and Huitzo, just to the north is famous for its quarries,.  The stone can absorb air and water without expanding, so it is close to a perfect building material.  Guess what the Spanish word for quarry is....

No problema... I got this...

And they talk about Boston drivers.  I followed this guy on my way out of Oaxaca last week and it remains one of my favorite recent memories.  Don't doubt it for a second.  Oaxaqueños can do anything!

Keep on truckin'...

I'm in El Norte, where I successfully got a booster shot this morning. Setting up an appointment only took minutes and I went to a local CVS and it was over before I knew it.  The sun is out for the first time in over a week, but it is strange to be here during Muertos.  This is the first time in many years I missed it, but with covid still happening, so many events were cancelled, I thought I try and see autumn in New England. 

However, the leaves are late, so I only have the colors from my garden in Oaxaca.  Maybe next week.  However, for now, I am missing all the aspects of Muertos, the panteons, the muerteadas, the food and families and, most importantly, the connections and feelings that are always such a huge part of this time of year.

"Waiting for the electrician...

Or someone like him".... was the title of a very funny and weird album by The Firesign Theater.  However, in this case, he actually arrived to tackle the nagging electrical problems this house has had for years.  First, he popped off the outside meters and among the dirt and debris, were two of the largest scorpions I'd seen thus far.  After dispatching the insects, he proceeded to chisel out all the old stuff. 

Because everything here is built with cement, it was quite a job and took hours.  He was a bit of a perfectionist and the old funky fuse boxes were eventually replaced with beautiful circuit breakers. 

The meters were installed in new housings.  Now, I have to wait ninety days until I can repaint, but  wow, what a great worker... and he lives just down the street,,, and he's a plumber, too. 

I won't say how much it all cost, but try to imagine how much it would have cost in El Norte and divide by ten or twenty.

It was a very good year....

 "When I was seventy...."  Yes, real lyrics and real life.  It was a good rainy season, still going.  OK, life continues to be strange and challenging, but still, there is a bountiful harvest. 

The milpas, traditional garden plots, are lush and fruitful. 

These harvests will last through the coming dry season when green will just be a memory... and distant dream.

In and Out.....

No, not the burger place, but how my weekly shopping goes at the nearby tianque, street market, that pops up every Friday. 

I'm in and out in less than fifteen minutes.  And I can get pretty much everything I need for a week of healthy eating.  Today, meat, produce, tamales, and dessert, all of really good quality as you can see.

And all for less than $15 US.  My tamale suppliers... and they are good!

And it is safe! 

It's also a nice social time as everyone knows everyone and I guess I'm recognizable.  Normally, I get chicken, but this week.....

25,933.... It happened

That's the number of hours since I was born.  71 years!  "Ah, but I was so much older then,
I'm younger than that now."  I can't say I remember all of the 622,392 hours I've lived, but I surely appreciate every single one of the 37,343,520 seconds.  "Party on, Garth..."

I thought I was a butterfly...

OK, it's been a while... what can I say?  You know the old story: "When he woke up, he did not know whether he really was a man who had dreamed he was a butterfly or whether he was a butterfly now dreaming he was a man."  It's that time of year and the garden is full of flitting farfallas, mariposas, you know, butterflies. 

And at times, I feel like that guy/butterfly, as living through this pandemic becomes more and more, Groundhog Day, over and over.  But it's cool.  Lemon/lemonade.  Solitude is good for the soul, mind and body... if you do it right.  Even though covid is still hitting Oaxaca pretty hard, I'm lucky to have the garden, music and audiobooks. 

Just not going out much, only to my Friday tianque for produce and bugs of a different sort.

Constant comfort.....

I'm sensing a pattern here.  I know that elsewhere, it is very hot, but this is very typical for Oaxacan weather.  Comfortable temperatures and late afternoon rains, which can be intense.  Often after the rains, it clears and we're back into the comfort zone for a sleeping.