A Oaxacan Christmas Tree

Saturday morning we went out for brunch. I can't call it breakfast, I slept too late for that meal! We ate, sitting in the sunshine on the east side of the zocalo. Confession: I don't like to eat in the zocalo. Too many tourist restaurants, too many tourists which means too many walking vendors trying to sell something. It breaks my heart that I can't give all of them some money. But, Saturday morning seemed like as good as any time to eat. Besides, I wanted to sit outside, in the sun. The streets going into the zocalo were blocked off from traffic, in anticipation of the days festivities for the Virgin of Soledad. Any excuse for a festival! As we walked, I saw a man sitting on the sidewalk, wearing dirty clothes, leaning against the wall. His battered, bare feet were not shaped in a good way for walking, he was playing a guitar using a plastic spoon for a pick. Physically handicapped people don't have very good lives here. I dropped a few coins in his can as we passed. Not enough to do any good. But, in return, I got a big smile.

For brunch, I ordered a tamale, Oaxaca style. That meant it was cooked in a green banana leaf, as opposed to a dried corn shuck, and was filled with masa shredded chicken and mole negro. It came with a piece of  pan de yema, egg yolk bread and a cup of chocolate. With milk or water, Luis asked? Leche, please! Stuart had another of my favorite breakfasts: huevos rancheros, eggs served with a fresh tomato sauce over tortillas. As we ate, I watched the two vendors setting up their displays on the sidewalk in front of us. The man, dressed in clean jeans and knit shirt, was stuffing brightly colored women's bags with newspapers to make them stand up. By the time we finished breakfast, he had assembled a plastic sheet covered with the display. Beside him, a young couple was dressing some simple wire mannequins with brightly colored skirts, embroidered blouses and matching sashes. For a storefront, they had two sheets of plastic on the pavement to accomodate all the skirts, blouses and sashes. Over head, all around the zocalo, more sheets of plastic were tied to anything and everything, including each other, to create shade for later in the day when it would be hot in the sun. I love the ingenuity of creating shade when there appears to be nothing to tie on to!  One day I'll attempt to photograph the maze of cords and ropes tying up the roofs.

After breakfast, we walked to the other end of the zocalo. It's still cool. The crowds would not arrive in full force until later, so it was pleasant walking. I noticed a big truck, an F-550, drive up to the side door of the Cathedral. The back of the truck was filled with a single agave plant. Two questions: How are they going to get it out of the truck (you know there is no forklift here), and Why are they getting it out of the truck? We sat on the low wall and watched. Several men from the hotel came out to help and to watch. The man in the red jacket is obviously the boss, and spent much time tying and untying ropes to get them just right. Two thick boards appeared from the truck, and soon the men took turns pulling and waiting while Red Jacket used a pry bar to lift the agave onto the board ramp. Stuart guesses the agave easily weighs 300 pounds.
Red Jacket yelled instructions, and the men finally maneuvered the agave, upright, onto the ramp and pulled it down. We were not the only people watching, and I laughed at the local young people snapping photos with their cell phones. Red Jacket and Crew knew we were watching, and when the agave touched the pavement, we gave them an appreciative clap. While they discussed the next step, I spoke to him..he understood me! And, agreed that it was a big agave and they had worked hard to get it off the truck. I wanted to know how they got it ON the truck, but they were ready to continue moving it.

We had speculated it would be the Christmas tree for the fanypants hotel lobby, and Red Jacket confirmed our guess. We'll come back later to see it in place... At this point, you might ask, "Why an agave?". It's an economically important plant here, used for making mezcal. It looks like the agave grown on the Yucatan, which is used for rope making, but they are not the same plants. They grow to be more than 10 feet tall, and are magnificent in the wild, particularly when they bloom.  The perfect plant for a tourist hotel lobby Christmas tree.