San Augustin Etla Gallery

But first, a few photos of the graffiti from a walk-about yesterday...  I took these photos in the area around the mercado Paschal Sanchez.   

These artists are not as experienced as the groups who paint in the train station area or on the stadium walls, but still quite good.  I'll be looking for more from these artists.






 











































 The church at the top of San Augustin Etla.  The whiteness of the paint against the always blueblueblue sky startles me every time I see it.  The sun is shining today, for the first time in a few days; a strange and wonderful coincidence because I've never been to San Augustin Etla when the sun wasn't shining.






The old spinning and weaving factory at San Augustin Etla is a beautiful restoration project.  Beginning in 2001, Francisco Toleda funded 40% of the project, the state and the Fed contributed. The result is a beautiful, enormous gallery space, with lots of class and study areas, all surrounded with imaginative and peaceful ponds and water features.  Water is precious in Oaxaca, but in San Augustin Etla, it is plentiful. Toledo's vision for CaSa was as a meeting place for artists to learn from each other, and as a community project that emphasized conservation of precious resources, such as water.









Alejandro Malgallones  is the featured artist, born in Mexico City in 1971.  His drawings were full of humor and satire.  The baseball dude was an animation, but that made us laugh.




















There are four boards this size, with masks of animals and comments.  His work reminds me of Carla Sondheim, who's "sidewalk crack" animals are equally entertaining.










              

















 Upstairs, I saw an exhibit of small teams of artists from all over the world. This dress is made of pumpkin seeds, strung in long rows and connected.  The sleeves feature an "increase", making a bell-shape at the wrists. 






















Detail of the Seed dress....





















This wire, bead and thread sculpture enchanted me.  She was built with suggestion and intricate bead decorations.  I would have gone without food to buy this one!





















Detail of bead/wire/thread woman...


















I saw lots of examples of Zentangle! This, on the bottom of a pair of shoes...


















and this, on a typical Oaxacan wood carving.

There are more photos, for another post.

Music and hiking in Oaxaca

    Music is everywhere in Oaxaca.  You might think instantly of the loud music on some buses, but I'm going to tell you about other music.  This month is the 10th year of a concert series, "La Instrumenta".  Every night, in beautiful places like the Museo de Arte Oaxaca, and San Pablo we can see live performances, through the end of the November. 

Small groups of wind instruments or strings perform one or two pieces.   In about 2 minutes, another small group has moved in for another performance.  Classical European music, classical Mexican music, and new compositions.  It's been a treat to walk into these beautiful places, sit for a while, and go on to another venue for more.  At least two concerts each night at the MACO and San Pablo, and more in other places.  The State Band also plays a seven or eight piece program almost every Sunday afternoon, and I love that outdoor performance.  The list always includes classical pieces, at least one modern piece, and a couple of Mexican standards which brings out the local dancers.  The dancing style is very formal and elegant.

Last night Tere, Dan, Stuart and I had dinner at the Marquis de Valle, on the zocalo.   A very good guitar trio played Mexican romantic music while we ate.  We saw familiar locals dancing, and a man asked me to dance.  I think he was sorry afterwards he asked, but I told him I can't dance!  No matter, it was fun.

To end the evening, we walked over to the southwest corner of the zocalo, to hear the marimba band.  It's one of our favorite Friday night events.  There are at least two brothers anchoring the group, and the young men are probably sons or nephews.  The young man in the photo to the right is probably not morel than about 13 years old, and he's very good!

 

While we were listening to the marimba players, a stilt-walker came by.  He was dressed in a  black sack, with a white foam skeleton attached to the outside.  For a few coins, I had my photo taken with him.  He stooped under the arches, and came into the restaurant area, where he sang with the band, to everyone's delight!

Stilt walking is particularly done in Zachilla, and only by young men.  The stilts are lengths of wood like a 2 x 4, a block nailed to stand on, strapped to the legs of the men with webbing or rope or belts, or whatever they have on hand.  The costumes are particularly fabulous during the festivals.
















All this musical activity after we had hiked in the Tlalixtac valley.  A pretty hike, and the words of the day were, "It's so green!".  Normally, the landscape would be brown by now, but the summer rains have continued almost every afternoon.  Just a little shower, then back to blue skies.  We discovered about 2 hours into the hike we were on community property, and we turned back. Next time, a bus full of gringos will know to get a permit!  This man with his burros and dogs, was headed to the village on the other side of the mountain,and was moving much faster than our group.  We crossed the same little river about a dozen times, coming and going, stepping on the rocks to keep our feet dry.  It was a good hike, one that I'd like to do again without the big group.

       

Dia de los Muertos, Sta Ana Zegache, Sn. Antonino Velasquez,Oaxaca

Sunday, November 3

I wanted to see the cemetery north of the center of town, at Xochimilco.  The little cemetery is beside my favorite organic tianguis, The Pochote.  The Pochote pops up every Friday and Saturday, and is a good place for lunch and to buy organic produce.  On my calendar, it conflicts with the organized Friday Hikes (see www.HoofingitinOaxaca.com), and my Saturday trip to the 5 Senores, but I get there, at least for lunch, when I can.  Xochimilco (pronounced zo-chee-MIL-ko) is a quiet neighborhood, and if I lived full time in Oaxaca, I'd strongly consider living up here.

Like many other cemeteries, this one is behind a wall.  It's quiet today, the day after the official Dia de los Muertos holiday, but a few families are here, fluffing the flowers and visiting.  I found this cute little witch tucked into cluster of flowers.














 This family must spend a lot of time here; they installed a bench to sit on, and a roof to shield them from the sun.





The flowers were pretty in this cemetery, not over-the-top in volume and arrangements, and not as rustic as Atzompa.















I love this decoration!  It's drinking straws, pinched together in the center, and glitter glue on the tops.  Can't you see some of these in my future?!?




















     Later in the day, we met Laura, and about a dozen friends/students at Conzatti Park.  Several people who had said they'd join Laura for this trip didn't show up, so we all paid a little extra.  It was worth it!

First stop, about 45 minutes from the city:  Santa Ana Zegache.  This tiny puebla is in the heart of the valley, where most of the flowers are grown for the city.  We passed a few fields of roses, celosia, mums and gladiolus, some flowers left after the Big Harvest for Dia de los Muertos celebrations.  The late rains have been good for the farmers.

The main street of Zegache is being repaved.   I can see the paving stones piled along the side of the road, waiting to be laid.   Our bus crept along the tiny, narrow lane, dropped us off at the corner of the tiny, well maintained zocalo.

The church towers over the town, and is one of the prettiest churches in the Three Valleys.  Bright colors, flowers and smiling angels are the main motifs, very little gold leaf.  Inside, the soft colors and simple flowers remind me of the church in Tlacochoaya, not far away.  Someone said there is an old pipe organ upstairs, and Stuart and I wonder if the person who made that comment is confusing this church with Tlacochoaya...but then, maybe there are more organs in the Valley!






















Laura called to us, and we followed her up the street, to the cemetery.  It surrounds the old church ruins, no one knows the date.  We looked around at the tombs here, and a few locals invited us to stay for mescal, and when we declined, they invited us to return any time, but particularly for next year's Dia de los Muertos celebration.  Such friendly people! 






















The flower business is good, judging by the condition of the zocalo, the covered ball court, the fresh paint on the church, and the amount of marble tombstones.  It's getting dark, but the colors are vivid.  Make', a friend of Laura's, told me that the white flowers on this tomb, which we saw growing on an agave-looking plant, are used for cooking in Veracruz, but they are not known for that use here. 


 


Again, Laura called to us to return to the bus.  It's almost dark now, and the bus driver drives slowly back out to the main road.  We are headed for San Antonino Castilo Velasco, and yet another cemetery.  Sn. Antonino is known for it's Dia de los Muertos flower decorations on the tombs.

The bus can not possibly get close, the streets are too narrow, even though Sn. Antonino is larger than Zegache.  Our driver drops us at a corner, about 6 blocks from the cemetery.  We walk through the zocalo, and through a small church, then see a carnival set up at the end of the street.  I can hear the trumpet player in the band, and smell cooking empanadas and quesadillas before we get to the crowd!   In a huge truck, parked by the entrance to the cemetery, I see a bull.  A large bull.  Apparently, he is being auctioned.  The winner of that bull will be rich person!  I grabbed the arm of Make', who is ahead of me, and she turns and laughs.  We squeeze through the happy crowd, trying to follow Laura into the cemetery.

Inside the walls of the cemetery, we find a big party.  Families, walking vendors of nuts and drinks, all surrounded by the music from outside the cemetery walls.  Luckily, I have the tiny flashlight GypsyGirl gave me, and we pick our way through the tombs.  Our goal?  To find the award-winning tombs, decorated with tapetes, or blankets, of flowers, among the several hundred tombs jammed in this place. We stumble and step on graves, and no one falls in the darkness.

We are not disappointed in the art!  They tapetes of flowers are incredible!  Some are fresh flowers or flower petals, some of the flowers are dried.  Incredible scenes and artwork. The proud creators and their families are sitting close by, enjoying all the ohhs and ahhs.  We offer "felicidades" to the creators when we meet them, and they are all smiles, enjoying the moment.  Later, I comment that offering congratulations for beautiful artwork on the tomb of a loved one seems, well, wrong.  But, the artists are all understanding, and thank us for our wishes.













Look at this one, the woman with a fancy rebozo!
Everywhere we look, after our eyes adjust to the blackness of the night, we see intricately created flower artwork.

There is more...These cockscombs, grown here, are the size of a basketball.  Gorgeous!  The farmers save the biggest and best for their own celebration.  There is even a competition this weekend, for the biggest and best.  Sort of like the flower show at the State Fair.

















 This grave,in the picture left, is that of a 26 year old man.  We met his family, who were terrifically proud of the artwork.  The young man in the picture, holding a Big Gun, died three years ago.  "Don't ask questions," Laura warned us, "just offer congratulations for the artwork.".

A detail of the above image...


















Each piece of flower art makes me think, "this is the BEST!".  But then, I see one more...
















                           This man spoke spanish as his second language.  He was the proudest of anyone we met.  Maybe it was the few foreigners, admiring his work, but he was eager to talk about it.  He told me that it took 6 hours to build this  tapete, it's for his mother's tomb.  He was prepared to show-off; you can see the flashlight in his hand!  This tapete was intricate and thoughtful.  He carved the skulls from various fruits and vegetables, picking the raw materials that had the correct skull shape.

His daughter was there, her spanish was good, and she translated for him, telling us about the nuts, and grains, and corn he used for the borders.  he was terrifically proud!














Yet another beautiful tapete, with giant cockscombs...


























The detail in this one is awesome.  The face is so detailed, made of tiny beige flowers.

 Our little group tried to stay together, but in the dark and the crowds it was impossible.  There are no taxis here, so if we don't get back to the bus, we're stuck.  Without planning, we all met at the entrance to the cemetery a couple of hours later.

I wanted to look at the displays of fabulously gorgeous embroidered dresses and blouses for sale in the tianguis outside the cemetery walls.  I've seen some in the style of Sn. Antonino, but have never looked at them closely. No photos, sorry.   I can tell you they are far above my capability to pay; a dress is about 6,ooo pesos, or about 6oo dollars US.  Worth every dime for the intricate hand embroidery and pulled thread work.  Only in my dreams will I own one of these works of art!  I settle for a sweet bread to share with Stuart,and we head home with visions of beautiful flowers in our heads. And, with a little relief that Dia de los Muertos is over.  I'm looking foward to a couple of quiet days!  Ohno,I have a spanish class tomorrow at noon.  Laura is exhausted.  She has been a wonderful guide, all in the name of improving our spanish.  What a teacher!

Dia de los Muertos, San Pablo altars

Sand Painting, San Pablo courtyard
  

          We slept a little later this morning, after all the fun of the past 2 days and nights.  Today is Saturday, my normal marketing day.  I love the 5 Senores tianguis, a one-day market in a neighborhood about 18 blocks from our apartment. Fruit and vegetable vendors with reasonable prices, several pork, chicken and beef vendors, flowers, kitchen stuff, and a few comedors at the end of the block.   A nice walk over there on Saturday morning, and the bus picks us up at the corner, where the orange dude parks his truck, and returns us directly in front of our apartment.  Perfect way to haul home the heavy stuff, like 3 dozen oranges. 

After a bowl of fruit, we set out, planning to stop at the Casa de la Cultura, to see the exhibit on the way.  The streets are eerily quiet today, a holiday.  The Casa de la Cultura is closed for the holiday.  At the market, we sit down for a plate of tacos.  The market is almost silent, too, and we easily see that three fourths of the vendors are not there.  I found a few veggies for the week, the orange dude is not here.  I'm glad so many people are taking a day off!

Later in the day, I took these photos of altars set up in the courtyard of San Pablo museum, one of the prettiest renovations in the city.  The top photo is a sand painting, about 5 feet square.

I love the collection of food and flowers, the arrangements, and the ingenuity of the construction.






















Many altars include sugar skulls, these have a laugh on their, um, lips!


















Bread shaped into all kinds of figures is usually displayed on altars.  But, the bread is special in it's shape.










This arch made of citrus is especially beautiful.  Heavy, too, I suspect.























Inside one of the little capillas, or chapels, I found this elaborate altar, in memory of a musician of great accomplishment.  It is one of the most elegant ones I've seen this weekend!


We planned to go to San Felipe del Agua to see the tombs at the cemetery, but an unusual rain storm chased us home.  Actually,  I was OK with coming home for a quiet evening!  Tomorrow, Sta. Ana Zegache....

I Have a Name project

My friend, Tom Feher, is a fine photographer, and a helluva nice guy.  Take a look around his website:  www.tomfeherphotography.com 

Below is a copy of a note he sent me.  Remember that with much probability and a long time ago, your family began it's United States chapter coming from another country.  After you have read the story on Indiegogo, I challenge you to contribute to this project.  Every single dollar counts.  Thank you.

From Tom:
For some of you, this is a story you've heard before. For others, this is new.

Robert Adler, a writer friend, and I, have been working on a project since October of 2012. We have been interviewing and photographing migrantes, migrant workers from Central America and Mexico who are on their way up to the U.S.. Some will make it, many won't. They are fleeing a life of no available work, no money and no hope, with corruption, gangs and paramilitaries thrown into the mix for good measure .  On their way up here they will be robbed, raped, beaten, kidnapped and even murdered...if they don't fall off the train or die of thirst in the desert. And many will be caught and deported even if they do make it across.

We plan on having a traveling exhibit of their stories and photographs, with 24 to 30 images on aluminum, near life size and designed to be hung from the ceiling, so that you are looking at them face to face. There will be a quote from the individual at the top of the photo, and a small book of their histories. It will cost $25,000 to accomplish this successfully. We already have our first venue, in Boston, in December of 2014.

Last spring we had a campaign on Kickstarter, but were novices at fundraising and didn't make our goal, which meant that all the pledges were returned to the contributors. We know a little more now, are better prepared, and with an Indiegogo campaign we get to keep whatever you contribute.

Our campaign starts Monday, October 7, and will last for just 49 days.  I only ask for two things:

On the 7th, (but not before) go to indiegogo.com and put I Have A Name in the search box. Or, if your mother told you never to use a link you didn't know, just go to www.indiegogo.com. Watch the video, read the text, and decide what you want to do. But do it now. Don't wait.

But just as important, even if you don't choose to or already have contributed, PLEASE contact any one you know, anyone in your social media group, religious group, friends, neighbors, coworkers, and let them know about our project. If you do that, we will make our goal. 

We think what we're doing can make a difference. Please help us succeed.

All the best,

Tom Feher

 

Dia de los Muertos, Mitla

            I love this dude and his dog!  Captured in a courtyard in Oaxaca.


 Today, Laura had arranged for us to join the Garcia family, who live in Mitla, for their celebration.  Her friend, Carina, invited Laura and her students to join the family on the annual trip to the cemetery, to visit Senor Garcia, and "bring him home for comida (lunch)."  About 25 people, some students, some spouses, and other interested gringos made up the group.









Carina's mother, Lucia, had a most impressive altar for her husband in the living room.  We admired the altar while  sharing shots of mescal.  Little Romina, 5 years old, worked her way quietly around the room, greeting each of us with a solemn handshake.  After a couple passes of the mescal bottle for the adults only!, we were ready to walk to the cemetary.  It's a beautiful, sunny day, and the five block walk was nice.  We were part of a small crowd of people, both going to and coming from the cemetary, everyone carrying a three-legged, clay vessel of burning copal.  The smoke of the copal is thought to be a perfect way for the spirits of dead loved ones to travel. 















At the entrance to the cemetery, a small group of vendors was selling the last minute supplies the families might need for the visit to fetch the loved one home for comida.  Modelo beer (the Budweiser of Mexico), cigarettes, more flowers, nuts for the living (for sustenance before lunch!), and various candies and fruit drinks.


Inside the cemetery wall, we found gleaming white stone tombs and markers.  While not nearly as elaborate as the Oaxaca cemetery, it was in total contrast to last night in Atzompa, where we saw almost no tombs or fancy markers. Here, as expected, every grave was heavily decorated with flowers, nuts, fruits, cigarettes and flowers.  I don't know about the cigarettes;  not many people smoke in this part of the country.  Perhaps it's a hold-ever from earlier days, when many people smoked.

We picked our way through the closely packed graves, following Carina, her mother and sister.  We watched with respect as they set the smoking copal burner on the grave and poured a drink for Sr. Garcia.  Carina put more flowers in the vases attached to the grave marker, laid some fruits and nuts on her father's grave, and then passed  around cigarettes for us all.  We had been cautioned beforehand to take the cigarettes, even if we don't smoke!  We surely don't want to offend our hosts.          





Carina's mother, Lucia stood silently while Carina and her sister Sophia took care of all the prep.  I learned later that Sr. Garcia died 5 years ago, at the age of 62.  Carina spoke to her father's spirit, telling him he was missed and inviting him to come for a meal at home.  A few minutes of silence, and she picked up the smoking copal pot, and we followed her back to the house.


It was a pretty ceremony, full of emotion for the family.  As I looked around, the same quiet ceremony was being repeated all over the small cemetery, little family groups surrounded with smoke, candles, fruits and drinks on all the graves.
















Sophia added fresh water to the flower vases on her father's grave, while Carina poured a drink for him.



































































This unknown man and woman carried their smoking copal in a bucket, escorting their dead family member to their home for comida.

At their house again, Carina, Sophia and Lucia had another moment at the alter with their father's spirit.  The room was so smoky I couldn't see them!  Of course there was music, her father's favorite, playing from a cd player in the corner.  Afterwards, the mescal was passed around again, along with beers.  Some men, neighbors I think, appeared, and they strung a plastic canvas over the courtyard to shield us all from the sun.  We all helped set up chairs and tables in the courtyard, children scampering through the legs of adults and around the tables.  Hot chocolate and delicious pan de muerta, was passed around.  Just in time, I needed something other than mescal!  The beer and mescal flowed freely all afternoon.  Soon, bowls of mole made their way down the tables.  It was the best mole I've ever eaten!  Not heavy, the best flavor.  Everyone at the table agreed it was the best.  Stuart, bless his heart, spilled a generous amount on his shirt.  They don't call this mole "the table cloth stainer" for no reason.  Oh well.  I think he'll have another beer.  What the hell, I'll have another shot of mescal!

Lucia, Carina and my teacher Laura posed for some photos...you can't see the mescal glasses in their hands!

Lucia and her family are weavers, like many families in Mitla.  They brought out some of their work for us to admire.  Of course, I had to buy a couple of pieces.  I wandered to the back, to the open workrooms, to see the idle looms.  One was warped with cotton, another with wool.  I heard one of the neighbors, who came over for some mole, say the spun yarn these days comes from Puebla, and they buy some wool roving to spin themselves.  I watched as he spun a little, for a demonstration, on a hand-made wheel made from a bicycle tire rim.  Thrifty!

It was a very nice day.  Before the sunwet, we loaded the bus for the ride back to Oaxaca, many of us napping in an effort to recover from a very late night last night, and shots of mescal this afternoon.  So, Oaxaca cemetery, Atzompa cemetery, and a family celebration in Mitla.  All very different and equally beautiful.  Tomorrow: San Felipe del Agua.