Christmas Week in Oaxaca, 2014

What a wonderful week it was!  And, more to come.  Here are a few pics from this past week:

Comida at el Quinque....

The beautiful museo de San Augustin Etla.  The waterfall, as seen from the patio above...

My friend, Carol, at the Books and Broads monthly bookclub...

An embroidery at the San Augustin Etla museum, aka Casa.  Two exhibits are up right now:  Oaxaca as the epicenter of native corn production, and the fight to keep GMO corn out of the system.

wool felt corn!

wood-block print, the drawings made by local school children, the printing by college students.  Beautiful work!

I'm partial to the textile portions of the exhibit, and this embroidery was beautiful.

downstairs at Casa, the costume designs of Beatiz Russek.  Costumes, story boards, sketches, more.  Her life's work!

the courtyard at a friend's house.  This was a pile of rubble when he moved in 2 years ago!

ok, out of focus!  The nacimiento at the San Pablo.  Beautiful!

The Alvaro Torres Quartet, playing jazz in the patio of the Belber Jimenez.  A magical evening!

Job and the Cheap Seats, playing rock and roll at Casa Colonial Sunday afternoon.  Rock on!

donde esta mi chef, Jean Michel.  Yes, another cooking class this week.  Salad nicoise (Oaxacan style), ratatouille with fish (Oaxacan style), and chocolate mousse with (surprise!) Oaxacan chocolate!

Cooking class, after the meal.  That's Jean Michel behind me!

Our beautiful zocalo is now mostly cleared of demonstrators, and the Radish Festival is on schedule.  We walked through today, looking at the preparations and displays of radish carvings, dried flower scenes and corn shuck creations.  It really is one of the 100 things you must see!


A terrific week.  And, another one on the calendar.

Zachilla to Cuilapan, Oaxaca

Last week, the Hoofing it in Oaxaca group spent a little time in Zachilla, and then hiked through the fields and across the creek to Cuilapan. Zachilla, a Zapotec village, has been inhabited by farmers since about 2000BC, and farming is still the way of life here.  There are mysterious mounds in the valley around the small village, could be ruins of the same time as Monte Alban, but because the locals respect their history, no digging is allowed.

The street heading out of town is clean, and the wall art is great!  Here are a few pics from the day:

 Notice the door?

 Taking a break from work, having a bowl of tejate.

 "Stand up to the pain."  Notice the  joint and the bottle!

 This was on a grave in the Zachilla cemetery.  Someone hung a bag of mints from Jesus' right hand, and tucked a candy bar behind his head.  I'm guessing family of the man who is buried here is responsible for the snacks.

 One of the mysterious mounds in the milpa, or cornfield.

 In Cuilapan, we passed the school, where the students and their families were gathering for the 40th anniversary celebration of the school.  Young women dressed in festival finery, the band was ready to play for the giant dancing puppets.

Oaxaca Lending Library Bazar 2014

About 20 years ago, Stuart and I were on a walk-about in southern Mexico.  We spent 2 days in Oaxaca, just long enough to find the mercado, the zocalo and the English Language Library.  We returned a couple of years later, and spent an enchanted week here, and that time we determined we'd come back and spend TIME.  So, we returned again and bought a newspaper and began looking for an apartment.  This was in the days before the internet, and we had the opportunity to look inside some walls and gates, to those secret places.  We found our home at Villa Maria, and have returned almost every year.  OK, one year we had a fling with another city, and spent a lovely winter in Merida!  Oaxaca feels like home to us, and apparently to many other people from the US and Canada who return every year.  Some never leave.  The sense of community is strong here, particularly in the comfort of the Oaxaca Lending Library.  There, we can not only check out current books and movies, but we can find books in spanish, meet friends, find local resources for just about anything you can think of,  attend lectures on all kinds of interesting topics, use the computers, and help with any number of community outreach programs the library sponsors. It is a true membership library: it is run from money it raises, and from the reasonable membership fees we pay.  Last year, I had a great time helping with the annual Bazar fund-raiser.  I had so much fun, this year I helped chair it. 

To say that volunteering is about helping others is only a tiny bit of the story.  Any volunteer job I've ever had has returned the gifts to me a thousand times.  The OLL Bazar was Sunday, December 14, 2014.  We raised a record amount of money, because of the incredibly generous donations and the time a large number of people spent preparing and selling those donations.  Many thanks for all my new friends.  You make my life rich!

Bud, who lives here full-time, and worked every day for 6 weeks!  This man knows some stuff about brand names, and I learned a lot last year from him about checking zippers in clothes and suitcases, pockets, hems, and under-arms in clothes, heels and soles on shoes, cracks in dishes and brand names in everything.

 Micky, a modern-day, highly educated nomad, who also worked every day for 6 weeks.  She taught me how to focus, be calm and to enjoy every minute of the day.  And, she's a stitcher.  How can you NOT be a good person when you enjoy a needle, nice cloth and thread?  We bonded.

 Saint Adriana, the ED of the OLL, and her beautiful daughter.  Adriana broke her arm the first week of November, and has kept that beautiful smile and calm demeanor for the past 6 weeks.  No matter how many times I interrupted her work to ask a question, she never lost her smile and ready answers.  Yep, Saint Adriana!

 Ralph and Tom.  Fun, hard-working, funny, talented and giving. Married to women with the same characteristics!  Thanks, Ralph, for the carry-out from the Moroccan restaurant!

 One of my favorite Geeks, Bill, and Jill, who both live here full-time.  Every year Bill and Enrique show up to check out anything that plugs in, turns on/off, has batteries or is hard-wired.  Computers, vacuums, coffee pots.  They work and make us all laugh.  Jill.  The energizer bunny.  I look like I'm on downers next to her!  Funny, too!  And, takes charge of the Boutique with wit and determination.

 Michelle, the acting Volunteer Coordinator, while the VC is away.  Party organizer extraordinaire.  Speaks spanish like I do in my dreams.  Michelle, my kindred spirit.  With brownies and cool aprons.

 Laura and David, both full-timers.  Whatever you need done, they are the people to ask about who/how/where.  In the poor pueblas, the behind-the-scenes jobs, the pick-up people.  Always with a smile and a hug.  Laura and I have been known to be the back-up dancers for the weekend rock-and-roll concerts.  Just sayin'.

 My darlin' husband, who lifted, taped, toted, sorted, bagged, fetched, marked and tied for 6 weeks.  Then, toted and unboxed and listed and was the Hall Nazi during the sale.  He fetches my tamales many mornings, and puts the chocolate in my coffee every morning.  Yep, he's taken!

 Micky and me, stylin' in our donated hats, during one of the many pricing and sorting days.  Yes, we sold them!

Siobhan and Tom (again!).  More of those wonderful people who are always around when you need a hand, people who take charge of other things quietly.  And who love to laugh.  Thanks to Siobhan for taking all these photos...wait, who took this one?!?

The almost full bodega before the sale.  We're grateful to the past few years of fund-raisers that allowed the OLL to make some terrific renovations to the downstairs, giving us space upstairs for sorting/pricing, parties and general purpose, outdoor space.

Textile Museum, Oaxaca

The beautiful San Pablo, which houses the Mueso de Textiles de Oaxaca, is one of the most beautiful buildings in the city.  The Harp Helu foundation funded the restoration and renovation of this former monastery in the heart of the city.  It is now useful, beautiful and a gathering place for education and a place of tranquility. Today, I saw the current exhibit in the Textile Museum...all about caracol, cochineal y indigo.  Dyeing cloth and thread with conch, the little white insect that lives on the nopal cactus and indigo.  A beautiful exhibit, with video interviews of the people producing the dyes, from planting the indigo seeds to scampering over slick rocks to collect the tiny conch.

This huipil especially appeals to me.  I love the way the selvedge of the heavy, muslin-like fabric is covered with a satin stitch on the outside, and below the intricate weaving, the selvedge is turned inside.  The purple and red are cotton threads dyed with  caracol and cochineal.

 This detail photo (above) is the intricate embroidery, from Quezaltenango (Chela), Quatemala.  The work is done with cotton thread, dyed in the isthmus of Oaxaca using caracol.

I love this part of the exhibit!  The nopales con cochineal, hung against the beautiful red color of the tiny white insects.

We wandered across the street when we left the Museo de Textiles, into an exhibit of posters, maps and scale models of the planned work on las Canteras, the rock quarry.  The famous green stones of many of the colonial-ear buildings were quarried from right here in the city.  Well, at the time, it was outside the city!  Today, it's a huge park, with small polluted lakes.  We like to walk over there Sunday mornings, when it's quiet, but the park is nothing to write home about.  The houses and apartments on the high ridge above the quarry have spectacular views, facing west, of the central valley.  The park itself, however, could be another jewel in the city. The plans look like that dream is going to happen.  New, beautifully designed buildings at the north end, for exhibitions and archives, music and gallery spaces, and lots of open areas.  Spaces for music and gathering, walking and small exhibitions.  Really pretty!  We were impressed with the models.  Even the men's bano is beautiful:  organ-pipe cactus placed just where the men can look at them!

When I asked Jesus, who was attending the small model and exhibit, about funding, he told me the Governor is making it possible, with some help from the Federal government and the most-generous Harp Helu Foundation.  When I reacted with surprise at the news that the Oaxacan governor had a major hand in this project, he quietly said, "yes, there is no money for the people, but there is money for this project".  No water, sewer, electricity, schools or health care in the pueblos, but money for a nice, giant part in the city. Of course, Oaxaca is a World UNESCO site.  It will indeed be an asset to the city, however, it seems to me to be misplaced funding.  But, as the grafitti on the walls in the city proclaim, there is a thief running the place.  And what value is the opinion of one gringa?  Nada!

I love the Textile Musesum, and I'm going to love the new park. Next year.

Thanksgiving in Oaxaca

While Thanksgiving is strictly an American holiday, the locals give thanks along with the gringos.  And, like everything else in Oaxaca, it's done with great gusto.  Stuart and I enjoyed a huge covered-dish feast at the Oaxaca Lending Library Thursday.  Friends cooked several turkeys and hams, mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes, and everyone brought a dish to share.  Our favorite rock-and-roll band played on the roof afterwards, and we danced and laughed until we'd worked off most of the meal.

Michelle, Bob and Jose in the kitchen...

Tere B, dancing off the Big Meal...

Katz, Job, Dr Z and , playing the songs we all love!









Saturday, we feasted and gave thanks again at Michelle's beautiful house in Teotitlan.  She and Carol cooked turkeys and ham, and again we brought covered dishes to share.  Spence and Alex brought their guitars to entertain us until the moon came up.  Another fabulous day! 

Larry, who is FIRST in line!  It truly was a feast.

November in Oaxaca

I'm out of clever titles for the day.  Maybe tomorrow!

As I read this before posting, it should have been about three posts.  But, here it is anyway!

The month has flown past.  Friends Beth and Fish arrived in Oaxaca a couple of days after we did, and settled right in at the pretty Casa Colonial.  They wasted no time in hitting the streets the next day, while Stuart and I were in Teotitlan with friends for a fabulous afternoon of cooking and eating and sampling mezcal.  Fish managed to buy not one, but two rugs within the first 24hours in town!

While Beth and Fish shopped, we headed to Teotitlan with Tom and JoAnn.  Michelle hosted chef Jose Luis in her spacious house in Teotitlan, set on the side of the mountain just across from San Francisco Lachigolo, and invited friends to help him cook.  And, taste his family's mezcals.  Several of us joined Jose Luis at the small mercado in Teotitlan to do the shopping, and then we took turns in motocabs which hauled us up the hill to Michelle's house with three people and several bags of food in each cab.  Once at Michelle's, I admired the view from her patio, and joined in the washing and prepping tasks.  Jose Luis started a fire in the grill with hand-made charcoal we bought at the mercado, and a team began roasting chiles, squash, tomatoes, garlic and onions.  Another team peeled and chopped chayotes, quesillo and raw tomatoes.   Someone cooked the tasajo, and then some chorizo while the rest of us chopped, mashed and stirred together three of the most delicious salsas I've ever eaten!  (Recipes below)   After eating until we couldn't eat more, we moved out to the patio to enjoy the afternoon sun and conversation, and more mezcal.  Eventually, JoAnn and Tom, Stuart and I shared a cab back to the city.  It was a wonderful way to begin our winter in Oaxaca!

Beth and Fish came to Oaxaca to study spanish at Oaxaca Spanish Magic, the language school I've attended off and on for three years.  Flor has a great staff of teachers, and an efficient agenda tailored to people who are here only for a couple of weeks at a time.  The classes are 3 hours daily, in the morning. Beth and Fish worked hard in the mornings, took a break for comida, and hit the books again most afternoons. We met after class most days for comida, laughing that we ate our way through Oaxaca with them!  Not to be missed:  Los Danzantes, La Cuisine, Itanoni, our favorite tlayuda puesto in the Juarez mercado, nieves in the park, tacos everywhere, drinks on the gozobi rooftop...where is my list?!?  The Sunday rock-and-roll concerts at Casa Colonial began while they were here, and we had a terrific time polishing our singing skills with all the other old rock-and-rollers on the lawn.  We also managed to squeeze in a trip to Tlacolula, Tule and Sn. Martin Tilcajete. 
The photo below:  Stuart, Fish, Senor Joaquin Hernandez (wood carver in San Martin Tilcajete) and me enjoying a shot of Sn. Hernandez's personal mezcal bottle.  Fish and Beth hauled home beautiful treasures from his shop!

Stuart and Sue, Beth and Fish, in the beautiful cactus-fence alley, in the Oaxaca Ethno-botanical garden.




below:  evidence of Francisco Toledo's incredible vision and planning in the gardens.

Sue arrived, to spend a week with us.  We began the eating circuit with her, much to our pleasure!  Sue is a great tourist, and wanted to see everything possible. She and Stuart went up in the mountains to La Cumbre on the Hooking it in Oaxaca weekly hike while I stayed in town that day to work on the Libaray Bazar prep.  In the week Sue was here, we also went to Tule, the Sunday market at Tlacolula, hiked up the Escalera to watch the sunset and see the lights come on in the Three Valleys, toured the world-class Ethno-botanical gardens and went to Monte Alban.

Sue, in a beautiful embroidered blouse from San Antonino.  A great find!

A pair of earrings similar to these Sue found may find their way into my possession!

 Did I mention food?  This is a pitaya, otherwise known as dragon-fruit.  We had great fun talking about this for a couple of days before we actually cut it open....beautiful inside!  Texture a bit like a kiwi, with a taste similar to an asian pear.  Not a very good description!

Stuart and Sue, taking a break on the wall by the Sto. Domingo.

 Back at Teotitlan...recipes are below.
 Below:  Michelle and chef Jose Luis, just before we serve the main courses. 

 Chayote wrapped in hierba buena:

Stuart and Michelle...yes, there was mezcal involved in the apron choices!

Here are the basics of the dishes we prepared with Jose Luis.  The beginning of almost all Oaxacan cooking begins with roasting the vegetables, chiles and tomatoes.  We devoured the salsas with grilled tasajo, and with the best chorizo I've ever tasted, on hand-made tortillas.  If you can put your hands on some good guavas, the dessert is to die for!  These are truly seat-of-the-pants recipes,without portions or serious instructions!

Salsa #1

Roasted Tomatillas, raw garlic minced, salt. 

Peel and roast tomatillas, grind in mocojete, stir in minced raw garlic and salt.

Salsa #2

Roasted jalapenos, avocado, roasted garlic, roasted onion, cilantro

Blend in a blender, adding egg yolk, tiny bit of oil and line juice.  Stir in salt.

Salsa #3

Roasted tomatoes and pasillo de Oax chiles, roasted garlic and roasted onion. 

Grind the tomatoes and pasillo chiles in mocojete, stir in  chopped onion.

Salsa #4

6 roasted tomatoes, 1.5 roasted onions, raw garlic. 

Grind the tomatoes and garlic in mocojete, stir in chopped onions.

Chayote wrapped in Hierba Buena

Chop chayote, onions, garlic, plantains and quesillo.  Saute until soft, with a very little oil.  Add salt at the finish.  Put a spoonful on hierba Buena leaf, add a bit of quesillo, roll, and bake about 25-30 minutes until leaves are soft, not browned.

Jose Luis’ chicken

Boil chicken pieces, quartered onion, smashed garlic and salt in water until the chicken is cooked through.  Cool, and shred chicken.  Reserve the broth.  In a baking dish, layer banana leaves, shredded chicken, solid layer of avocado leaves.  Cover with banana leaves and foil.  Back 25-30 minutes.

Dessert

Guavas. Cut the guavas in half, scoop out the seeds.  Lay the fruit flesh-side-down in a baking pan.  Sprinkle sugar, pour crema and whole milk, chopped basil.  Cover with foil and bake until thickened.  Cool, grate chocolate on top!