Pre-Columbian Art, Textiles, Mescal, and Leaving Oaxaca

Of all the little treasures we found in Oaxaca, the Rufino Tamayo Museum of pre-Columbian art is at the top. The museum, which was opened in 1974, is housed in a 17th-century building with a long history of it's own. It sits tucked in between other old buildings on a side street of Oaxaca. The artist, Rufino Tamayo (1899-1991), is one of Oaxaca's own, and he's famous across Mexico. Tamayo's purpose for collecting the objects was purely to keep them from falling into the hands of illegal artifact traders. Being an artist, he wanted his collection to be preserved as art, not science, and displayed for its beauty. The director of the museum is quoted as saying, “It’s about the expression of beauty, made by humans for humans.”

As a result of how and why the objects were collected, they came without provenance. However, most of them have been researched enough to be fairly accurately dated. The objects predate the Spanish conquest, and some even predate the Mayan and Aztec civilizations. We saw fierce looking warriors, people in ceremonial dress, musicians, ball players, women nursing babies, a whole case of dogs. Taken together, it's like a scrapbook with images of real human beings engaged in everyday life. For me, it was sufficient to simply see them as a glimpse into a world 2000 or more years ago, to try to imagine how these objects were used, and what the creators were trying to "say" in their art.

Below are just a few photos of what we saw, without description, pretty much the way we experienced them.


If you want to see more (and I hope you do), here is the link for much more of the Tamayo collection.

In Oaxaca there were maybe a half-dozen small museums like the Tamayo. There was a textile museum constructed on what were previously the grounds of the Dominican convent of San Pablo. The two-story baroque Oaxacan mansion, built of the green quarry stones we saw all over the city, dates to the 18th century. In it we saw displays showcasing materials and approaches to weaving in general but with a focus on Mexican craft weaving, and collections of the work of famous weavers and textile artists. In another part of the San Pablo convent complex there was a series of displays showing the different ways cacao is harvested and used across the larger state of Oaxaca.

Then there was the Mescaloteca, a place dedicated "to the preservation and dissemination of traditional distilled agave mezcal." The Oaxacaquenos were always asking us if we had tried the beverage, mostly after meals. Like so many cultures around the world that have a strong, clear, and very high-alcohol beverage (49% and up), the people in Oaxaca were very proud of their mescal. We tried it a few times, but decided it's something of an acquired taste, and we were definitely not going to acquire a taste for it in two weeks. The video below is in Spanish, but it will give you a 9 minute short course in the many different kinds of agave used in the drink and a fun look at the traditional way mescal is made. You'll love the old-world ox grinder and the rooster in the background!

If this clip doesn't show up use this link.

In addition to the museums, all over the town of Oaxaca itself, the cultural arts were always on display. On the street, in the markets, and in shops, you could find many examples of the famous wood carvings and beautiful embroidery the place is known for. The kinds of crafts only people without the distractions of modern life have the time and patience to create.

The kinds of crafts only people
without the distractions of modern life
have the time and patience to create.

These are just some of the ways the people in this part of the world are sharing their long history and considerable cultural pride with us. More than once in both public and personal ways, when it was NOT about making money, it was made clear to us they want us to really know them. They want us to understand their lives. They want us to know some of their struggles, their proud history, to experience rather than just witness their culture. Above all, from people in shops, waiters in restaurants, taxi drivers, and the staff at our hotel, they made it clear they wanted us to leave Oaxaca with good memories. And that's just what happened on this trip.

---

Thanks for coming along for the ride. If you're signed up for the travel blog, you'll be hearing back from us possibly on our cross-country trip back to Minnesota in the spring, or perhaps next fall. The words Spanish Pyrenees and Coast of Portugal have been whispered.

Blessings, and onward!

Earl and Gwen

A Responsible Tourism Adventure in Oaxaca

Saturday, while I chose some quiet downtime, Gwen headed off on a Responsible Tourism adventure. Her trip to the towns in the countryside around Oaxaca was put on by a local, three-year-old micro-finance organization. En Via (http://envia.org/) works with female artisans to help them turn their passion into a sustainable business through underwriting their efforts with differing levels of financial loans.

As I dropped Gwen off, I learned that as part of the En Via training, the women must attend workshops on managing money, goal setting, and even marketing their crafts. After the training, the women must form a group of 3 women, not necessarily all in the same business, to have access to funding beginning at 1300 pesos ($100). The funds are interest-free if they participate in the tours by telling their story to those passing by like Gwen. It's amazing to note they have a 99% payback rate.

Many of the En Via tour guides are volunteers pursuing some related professional experience like mirco-lending or sustainable tourism. Here's Gwen's description of her tour.

---

On my tour, Anna and Kate, our two guides, both knew Spanish and Zapotec. As a result they were good at supporting the nervous artisans, and very helpful as mediators in purchases. Anna is herself starting a microbrewery business with partners in Mexico City, so she was well acquainted with the challenges these women could face starting businesses in Mexico.

I first met with a textile weaver and her mother. The mom was a whiz on making the tasty Oaxacan chocolate and made us all some of the sweet beverage. Her daughter showed us how she spun her own wool yarn, hand-dyed the yarn using natural ingredients (insects for red, lightened with lemon juice, for example), and then wove beautiful rugs, ponchos and shawls.

The next woman we visited started her own general mercantile shop in her small village. She began by first selling shoes from a catalog, and then she added to her product line by offering fresh eggs and other food products requested by her customers. She has plans for continued expansion into shelf stable items starting with a variety of soap products.

The third visit was to another weaver who bought dyed yarns and specialized creating much bigger rugs, hand-embroidered tablecloths, and napkins. By this point I couldn't resist purchasing a rug with a very complex Zapotec design. It will fit perfectly in our Tucson home. She was happy to sell it to me for her asking price of 700 pesos or about fifty dollars.

The last woman we visited had a tortilla business in which she raised her own corn, had it ground by one of several local mills, and then prepared her own tortillas. She was making and selling at least 160 tortillas a day. A gracious host, she mixed and offered us a special corn and chocolate drink, but I can't recall the name. The flavor was vanilla and malt, and the beverage had the consistency of milk. It was delicious and refreshing on what was becoming a very hot day!

It was a great day in the small villages around Oaxaca. Seeing and supporting real artisans who were catching the entrepreneurial spirit felt good. I have to say for me, this was one of the highlight experiences on this trip.

If you want to support a solid group making a big difference in lives and communities, I recommend En Via. They are working on getting their U.S. not-for-profit status set up, but you can contact them at info@envia.org or through their website: http://envia.org/

The People's Markets, Moles, and The Chocolate Factory

I do love real markets. There are two very large and old markets here, and then more smaller ones in each of the many local neighborhoods around Oaxaca. You can think of the big ones, like the Benito Juarez market, as being like a Costco for people from the countryside.

They have just about everything but water needed for life in this part of the world. Freshly cut meats on display, beautiful vegtables, herbs for teas, clothing, CD's, toys for kids, all different kinds of spices, bags and piles of chili peppers, breads and other bakery goods, pastas, softball-sized balls of Oaxacan string cheese, a whole isle of nothing but fresh cut flowers, Fruit Loops, fresh-killed and marigold colored chickens, grasshoppers, fresh fish, tortillas, corn maize by the pound for tamales, and my favorite, moles and chocolate . . . just for a start. It's all crammed into small stalls and isles. The passageways are so small, if the stall owner is standing by the goods, only one person can pass. I'd say there are about two square blocks of this visual and fragrent chaos, all under one big roof. And that's just one market.

The moles are made in huge quantities and come in seven varieties in Oaxaca. You buy it in bulk by weight out of tubs or in small bags. The mole colors are the darkest of dark reds, browns, and even blacks, and it has the consistency of cookie dough. These moles tend to not be picante (hot) initially. That's IF you weren't raised on upper Midwest, white, Lutheran food! I've come to really like the Negro Mole with chicken and taking the "fire" on the side.

The chocolate is a whole other thing. I love going into the chocolate shop/factory and watching the cacao beans being ground. The fragrance is like smelling a room full of the darkest chocolate you can imagine. After the grinding process, the product goes a variety of different directions. Most get some sugar and some combination of ground almonds, vanilla, chili, or cinnimon. You can buy the nothing-added bitter chocolate, or put in an order for your favorite blend of ingredients. After getting a little stoned on watching the blending operation, it's wonderful to sit down to a hot cup of the stuff. They make it with either water or milk. I like the milk version, served all frothy after being whipped up with a molinillo or traditional hand beater. They serve it with bread for dipping. Deliciosa! We're bringing a variety of chocolates home along with the needed equipment.

Yes, indeed, three paragraphs back I did say grasshoppers. They're called Chapulines and they're a favorite here. I'm pretty brave, but I just couldn't bring myself to try them. These rust-colered creatures are served fried and seasoned with chilie, lime, garlic, onion, and salt. You can get them everywhere and at the market you can find them in big tubs being sold by older women. I guess it's a good protein, but for me, not so much.

One of the fun isles in the Benito Juarez market is the barbecue area. It is about a block long run of a meat stand with a grill about every 10 feet. I didn't get a good photo for the smoke in the room. The idea is that you get your veggies in the market, bring them to this room, pick your meat, and then they grill it up for you on the spot. The strange thing is that people were picking up their grilled food and then sitting down next to their griller and eating in the greasy fog. We skipped having lunch there, but it did look and smell great. If I was here much longer, I think I'd give it a try. Really!

Here is a great page just full of pictures from the Benito Juarez market.

All this talk about food has me almost ready to eat again! I'm feeling way under-exercised (life in a a city with bad exhaust fumes) and overfed, but with the mealtime creations made with all these exotic and fresh ingredients, I'll suffer along for a few more days . . . except for the grasshoppers!

Next time, pre-Columbian dog art, and shopping!

Love n Blessings,

Earl and Gwen

Stones, Oaxaca's Walking Street, Faith, Oz, Young Love, and Night Life

Oaxaca is anchored in stones. Square stones can be seen in most of the beautiful old colonial buildings which line the main streets in this old town. Even the streets are mostly of laid stone. You can almost feel the weight and permanence of history here. This post is really about the main street, Calle Alcala.

For us visitors, the street mostly begins with the BIG church. The Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzmán, with its connected museum, is the religious and architectural anchor of the town. It was founded in 1570 by the Dominican Order, with construction by largely slave labor taking almost 300 years to complete. The Baroque church and monastery were active from 1608 to 1857, when it was taken over by the military and used as a barracks and stable until 1902! We toured the church, courtyard (now a botanical garden), and old monastery, which is now a beautiful museum. As late as 1993 the decision was made to do a full restoration and what we see today was completed in 1999.

An interesting note is that the restoration of the interior of Santo Domingo required more than 60,000 sheets of 23.5-karat gold leaf in the renovation. It is, indeed, one bright gold place inspiring awe and humility in me, and I can only imagine what it means to the simple people who have been coming to the place for centuries.

We watched one, obviously poor, old woman go down the main isle on her knees, with her palms up in supplication. It was a powerful contradiction for me. In the same instant I was in awe of her simple, pure faith life, and angry at the abuse the same church has laid on its people over the years. In looking up at the church from the street, I kept waiting for the central, third-story doors to open and hear, "Do not arouse the wrath of the great and powerful Oz!"

Here are a few more photos of the Santo Domingo church.

Alcalá is the walking street, free from cars. From the church heading south, you walk through the middle of the main tourist area in Oaxaca. Again, the beautiful stone buildings that line the street, with their tranquil inner courtyards, are a treat for the eyes and the spirit. On a hot day, nothing soothes like the cool air found inside a solid stone structure. Some of these old courtyards are open to the sky because they were used to capture rain in cisterns below the floor. Another lesson a visitor quickly learns is that in the mornings and the late afternoons, the buildings shade the sidewalks. Almost all foot and vendor traffic is shifted to the shady side during those times. If there is no shady side, it's time to get off the street and go inside somewhere for a coffee or even a mid-day meal.

At this link you will see more pictures of the walking street, Calle Alcalá.

About six blocks south from the Santo Domingo church, you come to yet another big church. The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption anchors the popular Zócalo, or the Z as we call it. The Zócalo is the main plaza or square in Oaxaca, and it's where the spirited life of a town happens most evenings. The main plaza often contains religious and government buildings, places to eat, a fountain or bandstand in the middle of the square, and after about 7 PM, it's always full of life. I'll try to paint the picture:

As we approached the Z last night, we saw countless food carts, people walking around with giant bunches of colorful helium balloons, and a group of people watching a speed painting guy producing other-worldly but colorful outer space works of "arte!" As we entered the Z itself, there were restaurants on three of the block-long sides. Each restaurant had a small mariachi group playing for people at tables. These musicians would move between the restaurants and, when they took a break, another mariachi group would take their place. Good music and a lot of chaos.

. . . Many young lovers, on the benches, in dark corners,
and even on the stairs of the church.

Next to the church, there was a crowd around a guy dressed exactly like a circus clown, red nose and shoes, white face and all. He was, apparently, telling funny stories and making good-natured fun of people, because there was lots of laughter. There were no less than 15 small shoe shine stands spread around the Z, countless women selling various crafts, some stray dogs, and many young lovers . . . I mean Many young lovers, on the benches, in dark corners, and on the stairs of the church. The fourth side of the Z was a full-block-long government building, the front of which had been taken over by protesters. There was speech making, giant red signs covering the front of the place, protesters sleeping all around, and a fair amount of spirited dialogue.

Are you getting the idea? If you need more help, here are some photos of the Z at different times of the day.

More than a few times we've walked the Alcalá, from the church to the Z, for the best people watching in town. We don't spend a lot of time at the Z, but it's a rich experience of the vida Oaxacania.

On the south side of the Z are two huge indoor markets. That is another story of incredible sights, strange smells, crowded passages, and all things Oaxacan. Stand by for that one.

You can subscribe to these posts using the form on the top right of this page. That way you’ll get each post by email. Love to have you along for the trip.

For now, yup,we're off for another trip down the Alcalá!

Earl and Gwen

Re-birth in Oaxaca - The Temazcal Bath

For me, the temazcal was very much a re-birthing experience. I've done sweats in many different kinds of hot little rooms, but I chose to greet this experience with a degree of reverence, humility, and openness.

About the same time Rome was building their empire, the Mayans were building theirs here in ancient Mesoamerica. Both cultures had advanced arts and sciences, had writing and numbering systems, and both were great astronomers. They both also loved steam baths.

The only descriptions of the Maya sweat houses come from the 1500's when the Spaniards were kicking around here. The actual word temazcal comes from the Aztec word teme (to bathe) and calli (house). While they love their Mezcal beverage here, it has nothing to do with the bath. We do know the temazcal was used as part of a curative ceremony thought to purify the body after exertion. That made it a perfect remedy for Gwen and me after our first five days of walking around the town.

  

The temazcal setting was in a beautiful garden space full of flowers. The bath itself consisted of a collection of three small rooms. The middle room was for changing and it also had a Catholic shrine. The place had the fragrance of copal, the ceremonial incense of the Mayans.

The temazcal was located in the most inner space and consisted of a very small oven for humans. You had to crawl in, and once inside, there was a small stove overlaid with iron and room for two people to recline on the floor. There was also room for the Temazcalara, Cecilia, who was the woman who managed the experience. There was an outer, third room, for resting after the bath I'll tell you about in a moment.

After getting into our towels, we entered the bath. There were a few major differences from other hot baths I've had. First, it was really small and fairly dark. Not uncomfortable, but not a lot of space to move around. There was one pail of warm water and another of cold water. Another difference was the use of many herbs and plants in the process. The final difference was for most of the time, the Temazcalara was in the bath with Gwen and I. In short order, I came to find out just how much she was going to add to the experience.

". . . for most of the time the Temazcalara
was in the bath with Gwen and I."

As the forty minute sweat unfolded, we first had a little time to ourselves to get used to the space. When we were both in an early sweat, Cecilia returned. She put some flower petals in the warm water, and flung a little splash at each of us as (I think) a kind of welcoming blessing. She then took a bundle of tied fragrant plants, dipped them in the water and laid them on the hot metal. That added a completely new and very fragrant dimension to the place. After a short while, additional flower petals were gently tossed on us, and more plants were soaked and added to the top of the stove. Cecilia was always asking how we were doing and which way to adjust the temperature. A couple times during the sweat, she would take another bundle of different plants and not quite gently, hit our bodies in a way that strangely felt really good. It went on like this for most of the 40 or so minutes, except for one other thing.

". . . I had a distinct womb-like sensation. "

Our Temazcalara came and went a couple times during the experience. While she was in the bath with us, and in the quiet times between "treatments," she would hum prayers over us. In that dark, warm, and quiet place, I had a distinct womb-like sensation. It felt as though I was being lovingly attended to in a maternal kind of way and that the experience was a form of re-birthing for me. In the long quiet moments between treatments, I "listened" for guidance from Spirit as I'm now crossing into my post 70-year zone. It's enough to say it was a rich and deeply personal experience for me. Yet there was another hour of unexpected joy to come!

After being well roasted and then gently doused with the remaining flower-petal water, we left our towels, crawled out, and were immediately swathed in fresh white sheets. We were guided to the resting area where we reclined on thin foam mattresses on the floor. My eyes were covered with a cool cloth and we were left to rest for what I think was about ten minutes, with soft flute music playing in the distance. Our Temazcalara returned with another woman, and we each had about a forty minute massage. (I can only guess at the timing of all this). They used some of the most fragrant and unusual oils I've ever had in a massage, and were very thorough in working over our now-softened muscles. Most delicious of all is, after the massage, we were left to sleep for what I'm told was another forty minutes.


Talk about restorative! If you EVER get a chance to do this, don't miss it. I won't say life-changing but, in addition to being a restful and total sensual treat, IF I can hang on the meaning of the experience for me, it was a life re-directing event.

More from Oaxaca soon. Do consider subscribing to these posts using the form on the right. That way you’ll get each post by email.

Love from the slightly new and softer Earl (and Gwen).

The Heart of Oaxaca, Jesus, and Tamales

The explosions started about 6 AM. What sounded like a small army invading the town were really fireworks announcing the day of the Fiesta of the Virgen de la Candelaria. A whole day dedicated to the (somewhat strange combination of) baby Jesus, candles, and tamales. What follows is my recovering Lutheran, North American understanding of the event. Baby Jesus first.

The very simple story is that the fiesta is not about THE baby Jesus, but the baby Jesuses! EVERY family has at least one baby Jesus. They come in all different sizes, some the size of a real baby, and most of whom have been reposing in the home manger scene since Christmas. For this fiesta, Jesus is taken out of the manger, and dressed up in a very fancy new outfit. Some of the outfits are little gowns or dresses, with new sandals and maybe a crown. Others are dressed like angels, doctors or nurses, and I saw one, inexplicably, dressed up as a Roman soldier!

The Jesuses are all gathered up and then, along with long candles, taken to the church at mid-day to be blessed in a special mass by the priest. It's a grand, four-hundred-year-old tradition of demonstrated faith, a kind of fashion show, and the joy of community.

 In Oaxaca, there are 29 churches and over a hundred neighborhood chapels. The small church we visited for the festival was the church of Cinco Senores, or the church of the five men. It is the home church of the Virgen de la Candelaria in Oaxaca. I'm not at all sure who the five guys are. People come from all over the town to this neighborhood church for this celebration. Out of respect for the event, with permission, I only took a couple pictures of the event. But it was clear that everyone was happy about the blessings, and after the special mass, there were more fireworks, music, and celebration long into the night.

As the story unfolds, the preceding January 6th is the day of the King. On that day, a special cake for the King is made and served. One of the slices of that cake contains a little plastic baby, and the person who gets the baby is happy to be chosen as the person who supplies the tamales, music, chocolate, beverages and all the elements of the Fiesta de la Candelaria. The associated feasting that follows the service is especially about tamales.

The Fiesta of the Virgen de la Candelaria has deep roots in a long cultural history going all the way back to Spanish and even Roman celebrations. Basically, the Candelaria (and candles) is the coming of the "light" personified by the baby Jesus. The corn tamales are connected to the planting of the corn and agricultural cycle. The food is so popular on this day, the Fiesta is also know as the Day of the Tamale! I'm thinking I got most of that right, then again, I'm an ex-Lutheran not a farmer!

This fiesta is one of many festivals, markets, and other special events that serve to bring the people of Oaxaca, even the reluctant, toward, into, and around the churches. In this way, Catholic "blood" keeps pumping though the heart of Oaxaca. The potency of this faith community colors every aspect of the lives of the Oaxacan people. I believe, thanks in part to baby Jesus and tamales, at the heart of this city there are so many happy and welcoming people. It's why, after two days here, I feel "at home."

More from Oaxaca soon. Do consider subscribing to these posts using the form on the right. That way you’ll get each post by email.

For now, Adios!