Monas in the window

"La Mona coqueta in the window"... Life in Portland, Oregon, April 2011.

Vuelvo... 
Although to be honest I am just going to take this whole coming back thing O N E  D A Y  a t  a  T I M E ,
Poquito a poquito.
Pasito a pasito...
No promises,
No palabras de honor... just yet. 

Still in a head-spin, mostly a self-inflicted head-spin. Before el choc wore-off, I took off-running like that Chicana Virgen de Guadalupe from Yolanda Lopez's "Portrait of the artist as the Virgin of Guadalupe,"   l  i  k  e   s o m e sort of crazy Chicana version of Run Lola Run (except for the whole boyfriend losing a stash of cash and having the mob after him part). I figured that if we were going to be here por un rato, there was NO time to waste, NO time to spare, too many plans, too much to do, too many bridges to build...

And so, I've been on a mission to find, learn, absorb everything I can while here. Through this journey, it's turned out this whole moving thing, this whole leaving behind a community I have nurtured and tried to build over the span of years was not as tragic as I first imagined... Don't get me wrong  I miss Oaxaca, but I also feel I am at a different place now since my last telenovela drama of a month ago. I've turned the drama into a learning-frenzy that I am determined to keep up until we go down south again. I know deep down inside Oaxaca is not going anywhere and neither is my love and respect for the community I have built there.

I admit that living in the US has always been hard for me. I was born here, but having spent a crucial part of my childhood in Mexico and to be ripped from it just before I hit my teenage years, left a hueco I have always been trying to fill al my life. It left me with a never ending ongoing search to recover a lost childhood. Yet this time around coming back to the US, I am learning to do so on my own terms without being ripped into pieces. Instead I have been making an extra effort to make the experience of being here as fruitful as possible. As a result this has so far changed my experiences for the good so far. No noches de ronda tomando mezcal para olvidar thank you. I am, believe it or not, enjoying este tiempo. 

How am I doing this you might ask? Well here are a few things I have been doing since I got here to turn things around: 1) I reached out to the local community radio and am now learning how to use their equipment and volunteering with them as a trade off, 2) I have found numerous interesting organizations doing all sorts of work, from urban farming where people trade crops to feminist community spaces, 3) have found a few potential spaces where I might e able to organize a few exhibits with the art work I brought back with me from Oaxaca (part of the bridge building), 4) finished designing a blog for a women artists collective in Oaxaca, 5) have found some of the most amazing coffee ever! (yes I am a coffee snob), I've eaten some amazing pie and strolled through one of the most beautiful farmers markets I have ever seen... which just happens to have an adjunct-rogue mariachi trompetista playing  to his own tune :]   I hope tell you more about him soon. 

There is so much more to tell, so much more to say, pero tengo el cuerpo cansado por ahora. Did I mention I am starting my own vegetable garden? Yeah, was out shoveling yesterday then went on to unwind and cut ivy from berry bushes that are beginning to spring up... I am guessing black berries... but will let you know when they pop out! Oh! and then there's that whole job search thing to top things off...  No time to waste too much to do :]

Demos taller...

Lucio Cabañas instalación organica, Demos Taller Galería, Barrio de Jalatlaco, Oaxaca. Enero 2011.

The last few weeks here have been extra busy! Knowing that we will soon be leaving for an extended period of time is making my head spin with work, visits with friends, and mental re-organizing. Finally after months of uncertainty and confusion, it all seems a bit clearer, a bit more in place and little by little I've had the chance to put all those once retired skills to work! (and to think I will most likely be starting over when we leave... sigh)

One of the projects I've been working on has been a blog for a collective of artists from/or who were living in Oaxaca during the 2006 social uprising.  As a collection, the 15 woodcut and linoleum prints produced are titled "Dialectica para NO Olvidar". The original project grew from a collaboration between Demos Taller Gallery and a group of women, human rights activists and Demetrio Barrita who then invited 7 other local artists. Each artist was given the task of producing at least 1 piece, most produced 2,  for the series using their particular visual language and their personal reflections on the movement in an attempt to not forget their experiences, to keep the memory of that time and place alive as well as to leave a tangible rememberance. The pieces not only speak of that particular time and place from the perspective of each individual artist but also enter into a collective dialogue about their very particularities. The finished series also, I feel, invites the viewer to participate in a much larger reflection about the perpetual state of violence we live in here in México, but also engage in a more global reflection about the state of normalized everyday violence being experienced around the world. 

I've had a great time working on this project and spending time with Demos and the group of artists involved. After so many years of knowing Demetrio, the corner stone of Demos Taller, I have been more than happy to finally have someway of giving something back to him for the open arms of friendship he extended in the middle of so much chaos in 2006. While at the studio I have taken a few photos. Here is a little of what I've been surrounded by lately...

Portada "Dialectica para NO Olvidar," Demos Taller Galería, Barrio de Jalatlaco, Oaxaca. Enero 2011.

Detalle Zapatista, Virgen y niño instalación organica, Demos Taller Galería, Barrio de Jalatlaco, Oaxaca. Enero 2011.

"La barca del olvido" instalación organica de D. Barrita, Demos Taller Galería, Barrio de Jalatlaco, Oaxaca. Enero 2011.

"Niños Dios en proceso de restauración," Demos Taller Galería, Barrio de Jalatlaco, Oaxaca. Enero 2011.

domingueando...

I used to hate Sundays in Oaxaca. Las calles solas, desalojadas sin el hustle and bustle of everyday life here. Las calles los domingos used to feel plain dead.

I remember I especially hated despedidas en domingo. I used to avoid them like the plague. Sunday mornings used to feel like the life had been sucked right out of the city and saying goodbye on that day was always sadder and harder which might explain the countless 'accidentally' missed flights I've accumulated over the years.

Thankfully those days are long gone... I hate Sundays in Oaxaca no more...

Sure they are still quite y las calles siguen solas sans the hustle and bustle...yet I've learned to find a kind of beauty in the  s  l  o  w , quiet, despertares en domingo that changes ever so slightly depending on the season, month and week. Sundays have become a  r e s p i t e , a kind of refuge from the clacson y el constant beeping, the clouds of exhaust, and even the tourists. The winter light is especially beautiful in Oaxaca and looking at the city with fresh eyes on those quiet Sunday mornings  has become one of my favorite pass times. 

Este domingo we went to el mercado, got our memelas, shared a jugo de mango con naranja from Angelitas Jugos (yes! there are mangos in season again!), walked on el andador and listened to the accordion player play to an almost empty street (see video above). We took time to admire the amazing Oaxacan skies, marveled at how the sun light caresses Santo Domingo so beautifully that you can't help but be enchanted by it every time you pass by. We then headed to the coffee shop where we met years ago and talked over cups of espresso about how the Oaxacan skies and sunlight can make a photographer out of almost anyone. We then took our domingo to  el museo del ferrocarril where a few minutes more in the hot sun found us sharing a jicara of refreshing tejate... mmmmm... I love tejate...

Here are a few photos from our domingo.

Santo Domingo, Plazuela del Pañuelito, Oaxaca de Juárez, 9 de enero 2011.

Tren Azúl, Museo del Ferrocarril, Oaxaca de Juárez, 9 de enero 2011.

Museo del Ferrocarril, Oaxaca de Juárez, 9 de enero, 2011.

Niña Mariposa, Museo del Ferrocarril, Oaxaca de Juárez, 9 de enero, 2011.

Pajarito nuevo, Museo del Ferrocarril, Oaxaca de Juárez, 9 de enero, 2011.

Buseador y niño pajaro, Museo del Ferrocarril, Oaxaca de Juárez, 9 de enero 2011.

El Bicentenario from the South

Vocho, bandera y paloma, Sept. 2010.

After a year of preparations, analysis, and talk about Mexico's 200th independence anniversary... IT ARRIVED! Toda pomp y circumstance, but not all out pavorreal, aventando la casa por la ventana as we might have expected, or as DF seems to have gone. Unless you've been living under a rock, in some hole, or the such here in Mexico, there was no way around the Bicentenario frenzie. Living through the bicentennial celebrations here in Oaxaca was interesting. Unlike the DFs all-out-bash, (a few links for your enjoyment: link 1 link 2), Oaxaca seemed quite tranquilo, and if you walked through the zocalo just the day before "el grito" the plaza was full of anti-government graffiti up the waaazoo! It was hard to imagine any government celebration actually taking place the next night. 

The next day I was actually shocked to walk through the same plaza to find it all painted over, cleaned, and as festive as an army of workers could get the place. You could still make out the words ASESINO through the paint during the day, but lucky for the government night time lighting can perform miracles. 

The celebrations went on without a hitch. I say celebrations because there were two in the centro de Oaxaca, the 'official' celebration over which the outgoing governor presided, and an anti-official celebration held in front of Santo Domingo (one of Oaxaca'z main churches and tourist corridor), where the on-going planton by Triqui women was reinstalled after having to move a few days before. At the second celebration videos highlighting some of the ongoing struggles in Oaxaca were projected. The place was filled with mostly young people.

At the 'official' celebration, three stages were set up from which music acts alternated. The whole place was strung up in green white and red lights and large portraits of some of the indenpendence heroes were set up in front of the cathedral with the himno nacional (national anthem) written in a few of Oaxaca's 16 indigenous languages. 

To celebrate Mauricio and I had a plate of nachos, a beer, and I accidently ordered some kind of Cancun-Spring-Break drink that the waitress insisted on setting-on-fire and having me chug with a straw... Hmmm Yeah! It wasn't my style at 16 or 19... Turns out I'm still not into the chugging, so I didn't! Who knew that Juan Rulfo's classic "El Llano en Llamas" would be turned into some flaming chugging devil drink?! Se a de estar revolcando en la tumba!

Anywho, here are a few images of how the Bicentenario looked down south in Oaxaca. Will post the night time images on another post. Enjoy!

Balcon y bandera, Sept. 15, 2010.

Ex-Palacio de Gobierno, Oaxaca, Sept. 15, 2010.

Sombrero Viva México, Sept. 15, 2010.
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Papel picado, Sept. 15, 2010.

Our lunch! Chiles en nogada, only available during this time of year... Click here for a recipe

Reguiletes, Sept. 15, 2010.
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Manequín, Sept. 15, 2010.

Grita tu Pesar, Sept. 15, 2010.

Hereo de la Independencia, Guerrero como Boxeador, Sept. 15, 2010.

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Oaxaca re-mix

Oaxaqueando en lunes...

miscelanea, Oaxaca re-mix, August 2010. 

guaracheando, Oaxaca re-mix, August 2010. 

Pero sigo siendo el REY calavera, Oaxaca re-mix, August 2010.

Arte Jaguar Punketo, Oaxaca re-mix, August 2010. 

Racimo de Colores and sights of Oaxaca on a Monday in August... 

Tiempos de Azucenas

Azucenas dancing in the night, 2008.

Nights during la temporada de lluvia en Oaxaca come wrapped-up in scents of azucenas, jazmines, and gardenias balanced in baskets by mujeres from nearby villages. Sweet perfume aromas spilling behind them as they sway from side to side offering ramitos to passers by. 

My favorite are las azucenas, queens of the night... tiny, starlike petals that release potent quantities of sweet smells when they open to dance with the moon that you would think them ten-times-their-size. Flores of summer nights in the city, a reminder of the spells Oaxaca casts como redes de pescador upon those that come in contact with her.

Simply Zapata

Emiliano Zapata, Crespo, Oaxaca de Juárez, July 2010. 

Emiliano Zapata, Jardín El Pañuelito, Oaxaca de Juárez, July 2010. 

Punk Emiliano Zapata, La Piztola design, Oaxaca de Juárez, July 2010. 

Amado, Arizona

Evening on the valley outside the Halfway Station, Arivaca, Arizona.

Grandpa's Camper, Arivaca, Arizona. 

Desert cat, one of grandpa's pets, Arivaca, Arizona. 

In the Halfway Station, Arivaca, Arizona.

Looking out from the Halfway Station, Arivaca, Arizona.

Cha cha cha, Arivaca, Arizona.

The Source, Arivaca, Arizona.

I NO VA CION, Grandpa's models, Arivaca, Arizona.

La Princesa, Arivaca, Arizona.

The king of the desert, El CamaLEON, Arivaca, Arizona.

Evening sky and camper, Arivaca, Arizona.

These photos were taken during a short visit to see my grandfather Sam, (otherwise known as the Source, as one of my brother calls him). Despite the hate politics and the constant reminders of entrenched racism, the beauty of the Arizona desert and my grandfather's spirit have recharged our souls.

I am in the middle of working on a translation so I will have to come back to this visit on another post. In the meanwhile I hope these photos speak for themselves...

Herbolarias

 

'Kaliman en marzo,' Oaxaca, Oaxaca de Juárez, marzo, 2010. From the 'Life in Oaxaca' series.

We're not sure what planet our cat is from, but he is absolutely hilarious. I have never had a cat that loves, LOVES lying in dirt piles. Maya (our dog) and him seem to be exchanging mannerisms. Lately he likes to lay around like a dog, preferably on Maya's outside bed. Here he is making a funny face laying between a rock wall and a succulent plant.

  

'Flor the mini cactus,' Oaxaca, Oaxaca de Juárez, marzo, 2010. From the 'Life in Oaxaca' series. 

I thought these were doing nothing for the last few months. At one point I even thought they might be dead. Then, passing by them a few days ago I looked closer  and there they were, tiny beautiful flowers :)

  

'Cactus flowers,' Oaxaca, Oaxaca de Juárez, marzo, 2010. From the 'Life in Oaxaca' series. 

I admit, I am addicted to succulents! I bought these for 15 pesos each last weekend. Have not potted them yet but one has 9 offspring!!!  I am so excited!  They are so beautiful!

 

"Long stem cacti, flower shape,' Oaxaca, Oaxaca de Juárez, marzo, 2010. From the 'Life in Oaxaca' series.

I am still wondering about these. They were among the first plants we bought and they have still to do something. They have not grown, they do not have new leaves, they just seem to be. We'll see if spring does something to them.

 

"Simple succulent flower," Oaxaca, Oaxaca de Juárez, marzo, 2010. From the 'Life in Oaxaca' series. 

Have I mentioned I love succenlents ;)

 

"Kaliman as the Eye of the Tiger,' Oaxaca, Oaxaca de Juárez, marzo, 2010. From the 'Life in Oaxaca' series.

Hope you are all having a wonderful weekend!

 

Buscando a Zapata

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the Mexican Revolution. Here in Oaxaca,  the federal and state governments have placed a large countdown clock on one side of the zócalo (main town square), counting down minutes, hours and days. Speculation about what might or will happen given the dire circumstances of large sections of the population in most of the country vary.

There are whispers amongst some of the possibility of armed rebellion, while others speak of fundamental social change through different and peaceful means. Regardless of ongoing debates on the significance of this year in the national Mexican imaginary, I have decided to document echos of the 1910 Mexican Revolution through a series I am calling 'looking for Zapata' or 'buscando a Zapata'. Here is the first image. 

'Zapata en CASOTA,' Oaxaca, Oaxaca de Juárez, 4 de marzo, 2010.

Un Fin de Semana

'Cafecito de madrugada,' Cuajimoloyas, Sierra Juárez, Oaxaca, 2010. 'Life in Oaxaca' series.

 

'Sillón Anarquista,' Oaxaca, Oaxaca, 2010. 'Life in Oaxaca' series.

 

'Luna Sobre la Ciudad,' Oaxaca,  Oaxaca, 2010. 'Life in Oaxaca' series.