Whirlwind Day Two Shopping in Oaxaca — If it’s Friday, it must be Ocotlan

Sheri picked us up in her white van at the pre-determined 9 a.m. hour, early by Oaxaca standards, though the streets were already abuzz with honking vehicles.  Our first stop was the ATM (exchange rate 13.12 pesos to the dollar) to stock up again for the day long adventure down the Ocotlan highway.  We passed the airport and headed south along the valley highway that leads to some incredible crafts villages, stopping for gas at Pemex the state-owned oil company.  The earlier the better along this road because the Ocotlan market attracts people from throughout the region whose motivations are to shop for the sheer pleasure of it or for survival needs of buying and selling everything from oilcloth table coverings, hammocks, woven baskets, pipes and gaskets, kitchen utensils, leather belts, children’s plastic shoes and everything else under the sun, including live turkeys raised for market, feet bound in twine so as not to escape.  The van boasted New Mexico license plates, a good fit for around these parts, although vehicles are brought down from every state in north America to be bought, sold and traded.

We circumvented the hubbub, stopping first at the three Aguilar sisters whose shops you might miss if you didn’t pay attention.  They are on the right side of the road heading into Ocotlan, about three blocks before arriving at the zocalo, market central.  This is true folk art at its best.  Josefina sits with legs tucked under her on a padded blanket in the courtyard of her home and sales area forming figures out of soft clay that will later be fired in a kiln that may not reach more than eight hundred degrees.  Grandchildren dart around playing with kittens.  Sons and daughters participate in the clay forming and painting.  Tourists from all corners of the earth stream in and out.  This is a famous stopping place for collecting Oaxaca art, yet the prices of the pieces match the humble working and living space:  smaller figures range in price from one hundred and fifty to two hundred and fifty pesos.  That translates from about twelve to twenty dollars each.  Collectors and dealers buy, pack and resell these figures in the U.S. for triple or quadruple the cost.

Next door, sister Irene sculpts hot women of the night and paints their hair yellow, applying blue glitter to create a dress, bosom prominent, one arm on hip, the other akimbo sporting a cigarette, a snake boa wrapped to cover cleavage (just barely).  Imagination flies.  A muerta, not yet painted, bares her skeletal teeth and she flaunts a haughty lilt of the head topped with a wide-brimmed hat to shade her from the strong sun.  How will I get these home?  I ask myself as I consider a purchase.  Oh, don’t think about it, I answer silently.  Go for it anyway, and I do, and because of my magic packing suitcase, everything arrives undamaged.  My prize possession from Guillermina is a skeletal crone whose flowing dress is painted black.  The hem is adorned with cream colored skulls, a red spider crawls along the folds of her skirt, a black shawl frames the sinister face.  Dia de los Muertos is characterized by underworld forms.

Forgive me if I repeat myself.  The impressions of Oaxaca are continuous revelations in memory.   As we head back out of town, we make a left turn almost immediately onto the side road leading to San Antonino, where I want to relocate Don Jose Garcia, the blind potter.  We go down a ways, turn right, make an immediate left at the next street and look for the clay animals that hang over the door to the courtyard that signals we have arrived.  A dog barks.  The door is ajar.  We ring the bell and step inside to be welcomed by the family.  Life-size clay figures cluster around the patio, are tucked haphazardly into corners, are laying on their sides — humans, animals, children.  We are greeted by Don Jose and his wife who guide us into the workshop packed with more sculpture, wall to wall, like the clay soldiers of Xian, men, women, and children stand or kneel side by side, almost alive, waiting to be adopted and taken home.

These pieces are glorious, primitive, raw clay, unglazed.  Some are rough.  Some are polished.  Each with a unique expression that conveys individuality and personality, a special quality that Don Jose has breathed life into as he forms the clay, braids the hair, fashions the nose, tilts the neck, arches the brow or mustache.  These are heavy pieces, primitive.  To ship them would require a crate and an investment of hundreds of dollars.  We admire and take our leave.

Hungry, our next stop is at Azucena where Jacobo Angeles operates a fine restaurant that caters to tourists and tour buses, Elderhostel, and other forms of non-adventure travel.  This is good for San Martin Tilcajete business, since Jacobo represents many of the finest carvers in the village.  On this day, there is a special exhibition of regional folk art on the grounds of the restaurant and gallery, a perfect opportunity to pick up another carving, to eat and drink well, and to make a necessary bathroom stop.

We backtrack to Santo Tomas Jalieza to visit Abigail Mendoza and her family at Nicolas Bravo #1.  On backstrap looms, they weave fine cloth with intricate figures that are fashioned into handbags, belts, wrist bands, table runners, and placemats.  Abigail does the finish work for the rugs woven by Arnulfo Mendoza and Tito Mendoza.  This is among the finest quality backstrap loom weaving you will find anywhere in the Oaxaca valley.

By now, it is five o’clock in the afternoon and the light is beginning to wane.  We travel along the highway back to Oaxaca with a trunk full of goodies, ready for a fresh mango margarita and guacamole at La Olla.  Descanse.

Puebla Revisited November 2009

Puebla is growing on me!  This is the third visit this year and each time, it is a new discovery, a new food to savor, and a return to favorite spots.  I am traveling with my sister who lives in the Bay Area and this is her first visit to Puebla, so I get to play tour guide!  I arranged our stay at Camino Real Puebla, booking online using HotelsDotCom.  The rack rate is about $250 USD per night and we paid approximately $85 per night based on a 13.1 exchange rate.  This hotel is a former convent located two blocks from the zocalo and around the corner from my favorite restaurant El Mural de los Poblanos.  We have a lovely room that was likely a cell for nuns who occupied the 17^th century space.  The décor is colonial with elements of the baroque.  The breakfast is an exceptional buffet.  This morning we had egg white omelets made to order stuffed with huitlachotle (mushrooms and organic corn) and cheese, fresh papaya, guava and orange juice mixed, delicious aromatic coffee,  chilaquiles with salsas verde and rojo, fork tender roasted pork, and black beans.  We started at 9 am and didn’t finish until close to 11 a.m.   Thank goodness this was going to be a walking day, and it turned out that we didn’t sit down to dinner until 5:30 p.m.

After visiting the Museo Amparo, that had an extensive exhibit on performance and political art, strong enough to bring us both to tears (artists expressing themselves about the disappeareds in Chile and Argentina, or the AIDS epidemic, or the environmental degradation of our planet), we hopped a cab needing lighter fare and made our way to Uriarte Talavera.  This was after we had spent a goodly amount of time ogling the beautiful work in Talavera de la Reyna shop that is part of the Museo Amparo.  Next, a taxi ride to the Exconvento Santa Rosa where the famed talavera kitchen is the last part of the hour-long guided tour.  The entry fee is 35 pesos each, and one cannot meander alone or take photos.  Today, our guide only spoke Spanish, so I’m not sure what would have happened if our understanding was more limited.

The Dominican nuns sequestered there in the 17^th century took vows of silence and participated in the rituals of mortification of the flesh.  The superior slept on a wood platform without a mattress dressed in heavy, rough homespun wool year round, and wore a crown of thorns during the day.  Life was interesting then.

Then, we hailed a cab to the area near the new convention center.  Our destination was La Purificadora hotel and restaurant, designed by the famed Mexico City architect Legoretta.  This is a stunning contemporary space amidst historic Renaissance and Baroque buildings, a punctuation mark in spectacular city resplendent in Moorish influences.  This is where we had a unique and innovative dinner:  a trio of appetizers that we shared – tiny squash blossoms stuffed with cheese and deep fried in tempura batter, octopus in a spicy tomato sauce on a homemade tortilla , and an organic mesclun salad with truffle oil dressing served with avocado, grilled tomato, and fresh grilled baby corn.  For the entrée, Barbara had this chef’s version of the same stewed goat in tomato broth that we had the night before at El Mural.  This version was definitely different.  (The great chefs in the city prepare this special dish, Huaxmole or Mole de Caderas, once a year in honor of an ancient pre-Hispanic tradition.)  My entrée with a sea bass steamed over corn husk, topped with onion slivers, chopped red pepper, fresh nopal cactus, and spinach bits.  The sauce was a golden delicate scent of fish broth and cream.

After all this, we decided to walk back in the chill of the evening, strolling in sisterly arm-in-arm, as you soon women do together in Mexican cities, comfortable in their relationship.  It was about ten blocks back to the zocalo and it was a perfect night for strolling, brisk, cool, a bit breezy.  Lots of people were on the street and we felt no sense of being at risk.  Tomorrow morning, we will get up early, take the bus to Oaxaca for our final evening in Mexico before flying home on Saturday.

10 Puebla Favorites:

1. Talavera de la Reyna (Museo Amparo or fabrica/factory in Cholula)
2. Ex Convento Santa Rosa and the Talavera tile kitchen
3. El Mural de los Poblanos restaurant
4. El Camino Real Hotel
5. La Purificadora Restaurant
6. Talavera Uriarte
7. Talavera Armando (request DO4 only)
8. Strolling Cinco de Mayo
9. Everything in the Zocalo, including the Templo Angelopolis
10. Capilla de la Virgen del Rosario (incredible gold leaf and Talavera)

After Day of the Dead Reflection 2009

There is peace on the hilltop.  Below muffled sounds of drums, bass, voice, amplify across the valley.  A dog sleeps in the sun.  The gringa healer brings sighs of relief to stressed clients.  A breeze blows over the patio bordered by mature agave fifteen feet tall and equally as wide.  A birdsong adds refrain.  In the distance a cock crows and a dog barks.  Dog barks are incessant here.  Light filters softly through the bamboo wall surrounding the outdoor kitchen.  Muertos ends for this year.

In the cemetery, women whose faces are deeply lined, creases like arroyos and canyons, wrap themselves in wool, polyester, once fine now frayed and discolored robozos.  There is a chill in the air and a fine drizzle begins to fall accompanying the waning light of dusk.  Geraniums planted years ago are now robust, growing over the mounds of dead loved ones, enveloping them like a warm blanket.  Over there a family huddles beside the new concrete wall warming themselves by a small campfire.  The cemetery is expanding, new earth ready to receive both its humble and prosperous.  Death is the great equalizer, they say.

The gringos pass each other with meek smiles or nods, a silent signal to each other.  Of what?  Recognition as the “other”, in communion, in competition for ownership rights, the privilege of being the most connected or the one with the longest history here?  They forget that gringos are visitors and Zapotecs are the rightful heirs of this village.  This valley.  The abuelos nod as we pass in recognition and greeting.  Humanity is spoken through the eyes of women who speak only a few words of Spanish, if that, and in a silent instant tell the beauty and pain of their heritage.  The cemetery reminds us of a temporal life, of hope for a better future, of the value of relationship and the meaninglessness of acquisition.

As dusk descends and rain falls in droplets, the assemblage endures, covers themselves with plastic or an umbrella while the gringos with the expensive cameras pack up and leave.

Only the hummmm of the refrigerator sings to me now as I sit at the top of the hill overlooking the valley below, church spires rising to god’s infinity.  The refrigerator, an opening for abundance.

What surprised me was the abundance of flowers, the reverence for the dead, the celebratory acts of remembrance, the stylization of the calaveras (skeletons) — skulls, bones, skeletons in bread, candy, altar figures, candles, candles everywhere, tall, short, votives.  The mythical combined with the religious.  The blending of Catholic and indigenous practice, laughter and song, mucho mezcal, purple corn tamales, the sitting and visiting, how traditional Zapotec ceremonial practice takes priority over business and work.  Time is for giving to others.  Earl Shorris says that whomever controls time controls their destiny and the way of the world.

There is a rhythm and pace to Dia de los Muertos that goes beyond the parties, food and drink.  It is the giving of bread, chocolate, fruit and candles from the heart, tribute paid and received, an ancient tradition.  You bring six loaves of Pan Muertos.  I give you three to eat.  You bring chocolate, I give you hot chocolate to drink.  Then, I give you a package of other bread, fruit and chocolate to take home with you, symbol of lasting respect and friendship.  The ceremony is in the giving, the receiving, the memory, the tribute to the dead, the time honored traditions.  All this takes time.

Day of the Dead Teotitlan Del Valle 2009

The church bells sound at 3:00 p.m. signaling the time to light the copal incense burner and begin the festival meal as the dead find their way back to the cemetery via the sweet aroma and candlelight.  Federico lights the incense and puts the smokey charcoal in the center of the casa courtyard.  We sit down to a meal of morado (purple corn) tamales stuffed with chicken and mole amarillo, chicken, mole negro homemade by Lola, sweet rice mixed with onions and squash, salad, lots of beer and mezcal.  After the meal, Barbara and I walk to the Panteon (cemetery) just a few blocks from the house.  Here, the festivities are more subdued than the Xoxo extravaganza.  The cemetery is smaller and more humble.  The adornment on each tomb is relatively uniform, decorated with a partially segmented orange, hand-fulls of roasted peanuts and walnuts, candles, simple flowers.  Families also gather here in small clusters, talking, cracking and eating nuts, or in silent meditation.  The village band clusters in the center of the cemetery under an awning in front of the large permanent altar to the Virgin of Guadalupe and plays a mix of ranchero music, Mozart, and ancient Zapotec tunes.  This is mostly a horn group and the music is a strong punctuation mark to the more solemn ambiance of the environment.  We see many gringos with video cameras, tripods and still cameras with macho lenses.  This creates an air of voyeurism that is stronger for me than the experience at Xoxo where I expect this.  Because I know many people in the village now, I walk through the narrow paths separating the graves and greet them with handshakes, smiles and hugs.  I ask Raoul, Federico’s brother, what the feeling is about all the gringos in the graveyard, and he says it is good for the village to have visitors because the economy has been so difficult this last year.  I wonder if this is a sentiment shared by most or if there is a feeling of invasiveness into a sacred rite.  This is always a question for me — the cultural sensitivity of being a guest in the village and how to move around with deference and respect for ancient traditions.

Wefts of Sea and Wind: The Textiles of Francisca Palafox — Textile Museum of Oaxaca Opening

TRAMAS DE MAR Y VIENTO:
LOS TEXTILES DE FRANCISCA PALAFOX
What: Opening
Host: Museo Textil de Oaxaca
Start Time: Saturday, August 22 at 7:00pm
End Time: Saturday, August 22 at 9:00pm
Where: Museo Textil de Oaxaca, Corner Hidalgo & Fiallo, Centro Historico

WEFTS OF SEA AND WIND:

THE TEXTILES OF FRANCISCA PALAFOX

Ikoot women from San Mateo del Mar, a small fishing village on the southern coast of Oaxaca beyond Salina Cruz, have been weaving here on backstrap looms for generations. Today, most women are no longer weavers, and if they are, the quality of process and product they create are generally basic.

Traditional huipiles (blouses) from San Mateo del Mar are finely woven white cotton decorated with supplementary weft designs adapted from beach and sea life.  Turtles, fish, crab, palm trees, shrimp, birds, butterflies, and stars are incorporated into the weaving with purple shellfish dyed thread. The village, however, has adopted the dominant Juchitecas style of dressing, so Ikoot origins are not immediately evident by the traje (local costume).

San Mateo del Mar is a humble, isolated village, dependent upon fishing for mojarras (a type of sea bass) and camarones (shrimp), which is sold in the local street market and exported to the larger, neighboring market towns of Tehuantepec and Juchitán. But mostly, the catch of the day provides food for the family.  There are not many young people.  An aging population implies out-migration to bigger cities for education and job opportunities not offered here.  This is a simple, and by all appearances, difficult life. The village is hammocks, palm thatched huts, tin covered palapas, sand, salt, wind, and intense heat.

Francisca Palafox is one of the last of the great Ikoot backstrap loom artisans. She is 33 years old, the youngest in a family of six children.  She was “discovered” by Remigio Mestas, who searches for master weavers in remote villages and encourages them to preserve their craft. Remigio provides raw materials such as cotton or thread of the highest quality and through old photographs or antique samples, both Remigio and the weaver re-discover and rescue ancient techniques. As a single mother, Francisca first worked selling dinner to the people of her village to support her children, finding time to weave only during the day. Over the past seven years, because of the commissions from Remigio, Francisca has been able to dedicate her time entirely to weaving.

Antonina Herrán Roldán, Francisca’s mother, now age 73, taught her daughters how to weave.  However, it was eldest daughter Elvira, who stepped in to mentor and guide her youngest sister, eight year old Francisca, teaching her to weave after school. Due to economic hardships, her parents had no choice but to take Francisca out of school, and so she began to weave full time. Francisca wove napkins with imaginative designs and successfully sold them.  By age 15, she had won several prizes that distinguished her among the group of local women weavers.

A woman in San Mateo del Mar taught Francisca how to weave the traditional figures into the Ikoot huipil. Soon, Francisca followed her own independent imagination and creativity, incorporating her personal aesthetic into the Ikoot pieces. In addition to the traditional figures, she learned to weave dancers, fishermen, and sailboats.

“I remember seeing an owl in one of my books in fourth or fifth grade and I got the idea to put it into the loom. When one is younger, the imagination is vast and untiring. Youth is so precious,” she says.

Eventually Francisca learned to weave an entire huipil on her own. Knowing that education was a missing piece in her life, after giving birth to her first child, she went back to finish the rest of her studies.

Francisca’s children, a son Noe, age 15, and two daughters, Jazmín, age 13, and Liliana, age 11, learned to weave when they were also eight years old. Lili, for example, helps coat the warp threads of the backstrap loom with atole (a corn drink) to make them stronger. Although Francisca´s children have a vast understanding of the Ikoot weaving tradition and a profound admiration for their mother, they also believe that in years to come it will become more and more difficult to find a sustainable living in weaving. Her son Noe says: “It’s as if my mother helped to preserve our traditions…thread by thread…” Francisca´s sister, Teófila Palafox, as well as their cousin Sabina, are also active weavers.

Francisca is well aware of the danger her community faces. Her daughters as well as other girls in the village no longer want to wear huipiles because they see it as attire incompatible with modernity. Whenever they do wear huipiles, the choice is the red, yellow and black huipil that the women from Juchitan wear.

In an attempt to share her knowledge, Francisca has invited women of the village to weave with her. But soon after realizing the arduous and time-consuming work it is (and without much economic return) they prefer jobs with regular pay that are not as tedious.  “Women come and see, but they don’t like this job.  They prefer looking for something else like selling tortillas…” Francisca explains.

Francisca is one of a few women in her community who continue to weave.  This small group of Ikoot is at risk of being absorbed into the larger culture and of losing their craft. And this is part of what makes Francisca’s work so important. The Textile Museum of Oaxaca pays homage to Francisca Palafox, whose work carries a whole set of cultural symbols, history and knowledge valuable to her village but also to the world at large. Francisca is one of the last caretakers of the Ikoot tradition. More than this, she is also an inspirational, courageous, self-taught, and self-sacrificing woman devoted to her unconditional companion, her backstrap loom.

“The loom is mine, and no one can take it from me…”

Francisca Palafox

Textile Museum of Oaxaca

Written in collaboration with Apolonia Torres and Norma Hawthorne

Translated by: Apolonia Torres

Edited by: Norma Hawthorne

Honey Do 4th of July Wins Chatham Poetry Contest

What, you may ask, does this have to do with Oaxaca?  Nothing, except that I wrote it and submitted it to our local poetry group as part of the 4th of July poetry contest just before leaving for Oaxaca.  Lo and behold, I return to discover I “won” for this little, fluffy ditty.  We all know the “honey do” list, don’t we?

Honey Do 4th of July

Please mow the grass, dear
What, you didn’t hear?
Let me say it again loud and clear.

Make sure the cooler is filled with ice
Cut the watermelon with an even slice
Sorry, did I forget to be nice?

Fill the lanterns with citronella oil
So mosquitoes don’t cause our guests to recoil.
Next, pat the burgers onto aluminum foil.

Light the grill an hour before cooking
Just to make sure the coals are hot smoking
That’s right, honey, keep checking and looking.

Oh, my goodness, what did we forget?
Got the beer? Got the wine? No, not yet?
Hurry, not much time, but try not to fret.

Move the picnic table, take out the trash,
Find the plastic stack chairs for this bash,
It’s important that we make big splash.

My boss will arrive early, her habit I know,
She likes her scotch neat, her young beau in toe,
Better stop at the ABC store, got enough dough?

One more thing, honey, please, to do if you can,
Put out ketchup, mustard, the honey roast ham.
Then the kitchen floor needs mopping, use Spic ‘n Span.

What shall we do if people stay late?
More than four hours and I’m going to hate
That I offered to host with such a full plate.

Whew, so much to do, I’m tired already,
I need a break ‘cause my knees are unsteady.
Last thing, run the flag up the pole, dear Betty.

Fourth of July comes but once a year,
It’s so much work for a few hours of cheer.
Thanks for your help to get ready, my dear.

-Norma Hawthorne, July 2009

Oaxaca Indigenous Textiles: Preservation or Adaptation

A group of Mexicanos and gringos gathered on Monday evening in the city for the Oaxaca preview of “Weaving a Curve” movie and to see the latest work of Federico Chavez Sosa, master weaver of Teotitlan del Valle.  Most of us came dressed in our local Mexican finery.   Patrice, who has been living in Puerto Escondido for over 20 years and holds dual Mexican and U.S. citizenship, was wearing a fine huipil handwoven in coyuche cotton (pre-conquest, native to the region) indigo dyed huipil.  Eduardo, a Mexicana artist who was raised in Ensenada, Baja California, and I were wearing our Juchitan traje.  Sheri donned a magnificent olive green robozo woven in the mountain village of Tenancingo which was wrapped around a floral blusa intricately hand embroidered in the village of San Antonino in Ocotlan, Oaxaca.

As we were treated to the exhibit of Federico’s magnificent weavings, our talk turned to the textile traditions of Oaxaca and Mexico, and how weavers are adapting traditional huipils to meet the demands of the marketplace — as innovators have done for millenia.  We talked about how some of the great weavers from Santiago Pinotepa Nacional, noted for their traditional handwoven striped faldas (wrapped skirts) dyed with cochineal and purpua, are now sewing the fabric into halter tops and zippered straight line skirts that are being worn by local women as well as sold for the tourist market in Oaxaca.  Traditional adaptation is occurring for many reasons.  Weavers cannot afford to wear the work they create.  They might be able to afford to wear a blouse that costs 85 pesos (about $5 USD), and prefer to sell what they weave that will bring income to the family.  If a San Mateo del Mar weaver, for example, can sell a huipil for 500-1,000 pesos, she may not wear her own work.  The influences of the dominant culture, driven by television, the internet, and the shifting styles of contemporary fashion, bring change (wanted or not) to once remote villages that are now connected to the world by technology.  Out-migration, returning emigrants who worked in the U.S. for a while and then returned to their home villages have an impact.

I asked Federico and his daughter, Janet Chavez Santiago, why they do not use the rugs they weave on the floors of their home.  “We weave them to sell, they say.  These are our livelihood.”  Zapotec rugs from the village of Teotitlan del Valle are a great example of adaptation.  Woolen goods woven in the village on the fixed frame pedal loom were originally blankets and sarapes (ponchos) which the Spanish needed to cover themselves and their horses.  The fixed frame pedal loom is an import from Europe by the Spanish.  Teotitlan Zapotecs adapted the backstrap loom techniques to the floor loom and shifted from weaving in cotton to weaving in wool in 1521.  In the 60’s and 70’s, rug exporters from the U.S. came to the village and introduced Navajo motifs for export to a hungry U.S. design market primarily based in Santa Fe.  Zapotecs adapted.  Floor rugs were never part of their original weaving repertoire.

As we observe these changes in the weaving culture of Oaxaca, it is important to not make a judgment about whether what is happening is good or bad.  Adaptation, change, and innovation will occur as long as human beings wander this earth.  It is part of creativity and of market forces.  Yet, some of these traditions will disappear unless we are willing to support the weavers who continue to weave fine work using natural dyes and other high quality raw materials, and be willing to pay a higher price for their work.

There are more questions than answers.  What will the long-term impact be on local weaving villages where more than half the male population has left to work in the U.S.?  When they return, what attitudes will these men bring with them that will influence change in the traditional lifestyle and artforms?  Do we expect small, isolated indigenous villages to retain their traditional cultures while the rest of the world changes around them and how is this possible?  Does this mean that we expect people to continue to live with substandard education, health care, and access to economic opportunity?  Does textile preservation require that life remains static?  Are our priorities to preserve the well-being of the people or the work they produce?   What will be “lost” if the last woman in a village who weaves fine work dies and there is no one else to carry on?

‘Weaving a Curve’ Movie Just Accepted to 100 Mile Film Series–Short Shorts

ChathamArts in Pittsboro, North Carolina, holds a series of documentary film screenings that are produced and directed by people who live within 100 miles of the “epicenter” — Big Culture in a Tiny Town!  That would be:  Pittsboro.  I submitted our short film (just under 6 minutes) to the Short Shorts screening and we were accepted!  The series coordinator is Linda Booker, a distinguished NC documentary filmmaker.

The screening is Tuesday, July 28, 2009, 7:30 p.m. at the Fearrington Barn, Fearrington Village, Pittsboro, NC.  You can find out more on the ChathamArts website www.chathamarts.org This will be the first time the film will be shown on the big screen.

The film tells the story of Federico Chavez Sosa, master weaver of Teotitlan del Valle, how he learned to weave and perfect making the curve using the two-pedal, two harness tapestry loom introduced by the Spaniards in 1521.  Federico talks about what it means to him to be a weaver, combining the aesthetic and spiritual, the past and the present.  In Spanish with English subtitles.

I wrote, produced and directed the film with my friend Eric Chavez Santiago who shares billing with me.  Eric is the director of education at the textile museum in Oaxaca, and took the documentary filmmaking workshop with me in his village of Teotitlan del Valle last February.  We both thought it would be a useful skill to know, and this has proven correct.  Eric has gone on to make short documentaries of aging weavers, dyers, and spinners in remote villages of Oaxaca.  I am now making a documentary at the UNC Chapel Hill School of Nursing about an innovative nursing research project that is looking into hunger and fullness feeding cues that infants and toddlers give to their parents and caregivers.  If the cues are not recognized or are ignored, it is believed that this can result in early childhood obesity which could then lead to childhood type 2 diabetes.

Erica Rothman, our workshop instructor, repeatedly said that the goal of our documentary filmmaking workshop was to provide the skills to enable people to go back to their own communities and tell their unique stories through film.  For me and Eric, I think we achieved this goal.

The next Oaxaca Filmmaking Workshop: Visual Storytelling is scheduled for February 19-26, 2010.  If you are interested in attending, see the blog post for all the details or write me at normahawthorne@mac.com

Dance of the Feather in Santa Ana, California

Yesterday I had the good fortune to meet Claudio Gutierrez, a 21 year old from Tustin, California, which is between Santa Ana and Laguna Beach.  I met Claudio on YouTube yesterday when he commented on the documentary film we made about the Dance of the Feather  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cpr4dBi-6h4 Claudio, whose nickname is Kalo, was born in Teotitlan del Valle and moved to the USA with his family when he was 11 years old.  He’s in college studying design engineering.

Kalo loves everything about his culture and maintains a YouTube page that posts Teotitlan-related videos, especially those about the Dance of the Feather.  He says he never felt so strongly about his town and his culture before until about a year and a half ago when he made a commitment and promise to become a Danzante.   I watched Kalo’s video with awe and saw children and young adults perform the exact same Dance of the Feather in Santa Ana as is performed in Teotitlan del Valle.  His video opens up with a photo of the village church, scenes of Picacho and community life.  Dancers are recognized with their double Spanish names and the names of their padres (parents), honoring the family relationships that keep people connected for generations.  Now, I see, the strong bonds link Mexican families who live in the United States through this cultural dance tradition.  Food, celebration, dance all bring meaning to cultural identity.  One does not need to live in the Oaxaca valley to be Zapotec.

Kalo says, “I feel a very strong connection to my town.  Many times I start reminiscing about the good times that I had in my childhood.  I started to do more research and I feel so proud to be from Teotitlan, especially when I see other people from different backgrounds who are interested in learning about our culture and traditions.

MySpace, says Kalo, is a popular place for young people to communicate.  This is where he has made a page about Teotitlan. “I am just trying to tell our younger generation to be thankful for what we have and be proud of our roots and not forget about it.  There are many young people here who do care about Teotitlan, too.”

Here is Kalo’s link — http://www.myspace.com/teotitlan_del_valle and YouTube page http://www.youtube.comuser/kalo1200

I know that Kalo would love to hear from you and get your feedback.  Please contact him directly.

Oaxaca Tour: Day of the Dead Celebration 2009

Galleries, Villages and Food
7 Days, 6 Nights:  Thursday, October 29 to Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Your Leader:  Norma Hawthorne, Oaxaca Cultural Navigator LLC
Limited to 6 participants

Day of the Dead is on November 2.  There will be lots of festivities in Oaxaca and surrounding villages.  Teotitlan del Valle celebrates this ancient tradition and you’ll be an integral part of it!  You will be based at a lovely family-operated bed and breakfast inn located in this picturesque, rural hillside Zapotec village about 30 minutes outside of Oaxaca city.  This rural rug-weaving village is home to 7,000 people and 2,000 looms.  You’ll personally participate in Day of the Dead traditions, eat the celebratory meal with the family and accompany  them to the cemetery.  It’s definitely a party: lots of flowers, bands playing, children making hot chocolate, and decorated altars that welcome departed loved ones back to earth.

Plus, you will explore nearby villages noted for textiles, woodcarving, and pottery.  I’ll introduce you to my favorite weavers, potters, sculptors, painters, jewelers, and artisans, and escort you to the Oaxaca restaurants, museums and galleries that I love.   Market days in Oaxaca are extraordinary, full of the hustle-bustle of shopping and you’ll discover two of the most famous:  the Friday Ocotlan market and the Sunday Tlacolula market.

See my Day of the Dead blog post: http://oaxacaculture.wordpress.com/2008/11/02/dia-de-los-muertos-day-of-the-dead-in-teotitlan-del-valle/ for a cultural explanation of the celebration.

"Dead" Couple

You will navigate the culture right alongside us!   Only travelers open to a unique and authentic adventure need apply!

Highlights of Your Week in Oaxaca

•    Spend Day of the Dead with a Zapotec family
•    Participate in village celebrations and learn local customs
•    Discover the archeological site of Mitla, a centuries old textile center
•    Explore the Rudolfo Morales murals and museum in Ocotlan
•    Visit a blind sculptor noted for his primitive natural clay figures
•    Savor delicious Oaxaca food and take a cooking class
•    Meet famed wood carvers of San Martin Tilcajete
•    Become acquainted with master Zapotec rug weavers–http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UHCPpaap3E
•    See how natural dyes are prepared for weaving wool rugs
•    Take part in a private tour of the Museo Textil de Oaxaca
•    Enjoy a welcome and farewell dinner
•    Join Oaxaca Cultural Navigator – Norma Hawthorne

Thursday (10/29):    Arrive in Teotitlan and check into your bed and breakfast after 4 p.m.
Welcome reception and group supper (included), with Day of the Dead introduction and discussion of typical foods prepared

Friday (10/30):    We’ll take you on the road to the Ocotlan market/tianguis, explore craft villages, Rudolfo Morales murals and museum (lunch and dinner on your own)

Saturday (10/31):    Morning cooking class and local market walk, group comida (included), afternoon tour of the village to visit weavers and see natural dyeing demonstrations

Sunday (11/1):    Tlacolula Market, Mitla archeological site and textile market , group comida (included), participate in evening Day of the Dead family celebrations

Monday (11/2):    Day of the Dead Celebrations in Teotitlan del Valle with traditional comida (included) and local family visit to cemetery, participate in Day of the Dead customs (take bread, chocolate, and candles to home altars)

Tuesday (11/3):    Walking tour of Oaxaca: art & textile galleries, museums, chocolate molino, city market; farewell dinner (included) in Oaxaca at a well-known restaurant.

Wednesday (11/4):    Depart after breakfast

The major meal of each day is held mid to late afternoon, around 3:00 p.m. and is called “comida”.  The later evening meal is lighter and occurs around 8:30 p.m.  It is called “cena” (pronounced say-nah).  A substantial breakfast or “desayuno” is included daily.  Seasonal fresh fruits like papaya, mango, melon and bananas, homemade tortillas, local eggs and chicken, homemade salsas add to your dining pleasure.

(Note: schedule may change depending upon ceremonial customs and artisan availability; in such cases, we will substitute with equivalent activities)

Cost $995, includes six nights lodging (double occupancy), six breakfasts, five group meals, a cooking class with recipes, and ground transportation to villages in the Oaxaca valley.

Excluded:  Cost does not include airfare, airport and departure taxes; meals not listed as included; charges for personal items including laundry, alcoholic beverages, optional activities, travel and accident insurance, transportation to and from the airport, tips and gratuities, taxis, museum entry fees and other incidentals.

Deposit and Final Payment:  A $300 deposit will reserve your space.  Final payment is due by September 1, 2009.  After that, refunds are not possible.

Single supplement is available for an additional $150 for the six nights.  Extra nights before or after the tour are $40 per person and must be reserved and paid for in advance, included with your final payment.

Questions?  Contact normahawthorne@mac.com or call (919) 274-6194.  Let me know you are interested and I will email a registration form to you.