Oaxaca Cultural Navigator

We walked up to the Presa (reservoir) that day, it was a Friday, very early before it got too hot, and on the way back stopped by to say hello to Ester, Russio and their three girls–Jazmin, Ester and Rocio–who live in the house with the golden bull and the cackling guacalotes just in front of our friend Annie on the hillside at the outskirts of town. What was once a donkey path in front of their modest adobe casita has become a graded thoroughfare, enabling small cars and trucks to come into town from the remote mountain villages. The walking is easier now, not as many granite outcroppings to traverse as we pass through cactus meadows with grazing sheep, cattle and horses. Development is extending its reach even in Teotitlan.

Please come to the escuela this afternoon at 3 p.m., Ester and Russio invited us. Today is the elementary school graduation; daughters Ester and Rocio will be participating in the fiesta. Come, they said, even if you’re late. After noodling around the village, stopping for coffee at The Sacred Bean Cafe, and visiting with Josefina and Magda at Las Granadas Bed and Breakfast, I went to the elementary school, drawn by the music coming from the plaza. It was after 4 p.m. and things were just getting going.

This is the second graduation ceremony I attended during this visit. As I watched this group of first through sixth graders at the elementary school, I was struck by how children are taught at an early age to dance, sing, play, laugh, honor their cultural traditions through dance, revere their history, and demonstrate appreciation for the customs that define their identity as Zapotecs and as Mexicans. What I noticed was how the ceremony of something even as simple as an elementary school graduation takes on epic proportions. Here is the village’s very own Guelaguetza. It appeared to me that the entire village turned out in support. People dressed up in their finest frocks and fanciest shoes,

there were reserved seats of honor for parents and close relatives of the graduates. Everyone participated to collectively bless the future of all these young people with their presence, whether they were graduating or not. The village as extended family promoted a feeling of well-being, joy and comfort. The area was bedecked with balloons and flowers. Drinks were handed out gratis to family members of the graduates. Along the periphery and outside the school, vendors sold refrescas (soft drinks), helados and nieves (ice cream and sorbet), and postres y dulces (pastries and sweets). Students giggled, laughed, were nervous about whether they would do well, played tag, hung on their mother’s

skirts, stood soldierly while posing for photos, took their roles seriously, fell down and got up again, shouldered the burden of heavy baskets balanced on small heads, smiled in satisfaction of having done well at the end. All will go on to middle school, some of those will go on to high school, and then very few will continue on to university. Most will become weavers or laborers, others will work in Oaxaca or travel with coyotes to work in the U.S. Celebrations of village life cycle events are a constant, mixed with joy, tragedy and continuity.

Karen Karuza arrived this morning to begin a four-day weaving and natural dyeing workshop with the Chavez Santiago Family, Francisco I. Madero #55, Teotitlan del Valle at their studio and gallery. Karen is an artist and has been teaching textile design at the Art Institute of Philadelphia for 20 years. Her son, Sebastian, age 14, who was born in Oaxaca, accompanied her. It was perfect because he could hang out with Omar Chavez Santiago, also age 14. Karen is not an experienced weaver, but took to the process instantly with expert guidance from master weaver Federico Chavez Sosa.

Federico and his daughter Janet Chavez Santiago first explained to Karen how the Zapotec loom is used and how it was warped. Then, they all went into the rug gallery where Federico and Janet pulled out many rugs woven with natural colors so Karen could see the choices of color combinations and patterns that she might use in the piece she planned to weave. Here, she could see the finished pieces woven by Federico, his wife Dolores, Janet, and sons Eric (age 24) and Omar.

Next, Federico and Janet took Karen upstairs to the area where the dyed wool is stored. Here, she could choose the colors she preferred. Then, they went back downstairs to the weaving workshop area where Federico showed Karen how to wind bobbins using the spinning wheel.

With Karen at the loom next to him, Federico then demonstrated the tapestry weaving techniques of Teotitlan del Valle, how to put the shuttle through the loom, use the foot pedals, and manipulate the yarn to achieve an even border. The two fourteen year olds, Omar and Sebastian, worked together to spin the wool onto bobbins that would be put into the shuttle.

As the family gathers around the loom, Federico teaches and coaches, Janet translates as necessary, and both father-daughter team encourage Karen as she begins the rhythm of weaving. Janet says, “When you have the idea how the loom works, it is easier to do it. It just takes practice.” Karen is learning quickly and after only a few hours, has created the beginning of a beautiful tapestry that she intends to use as a wall hanging when she returns home.

“This is really exciting,” she said. “I’m here because I want to be able to talk about traditional weaving techniques with my students and other textile faculty members. It’s professional development that will be very helpful in my work.”

After the 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. period of instruction is over, Karen, along with her son, gathered around the family table for comida — the mid-day meal — that included homemade sopa de elote con flor de calabassas and tasajo con queso, salsa y tortillas prepared by Dolores Chavez Arrellenas who is an extraordinary cook. Now, to get ready for tomorrow’s lesson, Omar is squeezing 100 limes by hand. The juice will be used to prepare the cochineal for the dyeing portion of the workshop.

Note: The workshops are held in the taller — home and studio — of Federico Chavez Sosa and his wife Dolores Santiago Arrellanos, in the village of Teotitlan del Valle, about 17 miles outside Oaxaca city. The gallery and studio is open daily, however, it is always wise to call ahead to make certain that someone is home! The phone number is (951) 52 44078. Add 011 52 if calling from the U.S.

Coming Wednesday, July 9, 2008, Teotitlan del Valle

Nine young Zapotec men in their 20’s and 30’s bedecked in bold primary colors – red, green, yellow, black — and crowned with feathered headdresses the size of a large moon, leap and twirl into the air, shake rattles and raise a carved and painted wooden talisman to the sky. They are reenacting the Spanish conquest through dance as an annual ritual of remembrance. The accompanying band, a crew of both veteran and youthful musicians, play flutes, cymbals, drums, trumpets, tubas, clarinets, saxophones, in an oompah-pah cadence reminiscent of a Sousa march with hints of German polka. They chant and speak a conversation between Moctezuma and Cortes, in which Cortes says there will be a special god that will come in the appearance of Cortes and conquer the Aztecs. The entourage includes Malinche, the Aztec princess who learned Spanish, became courtesan to Cortes, and betrayed her people according to lore. Two masked clowns, the buffoons, parade between the dancers and along the sidelines, make mocking gestures. Village children represent the Spanish soldiers in a parade that takes place before the dance begins.

This oral and performance history is centuries old, transmitted generation to generation as homage to indigenous survival. While the Spaniards decimated the native Mesoamerican population by as much as 95 percent as a result of disease (smallpox, influenza, etc.) and superior weaponry, the rich cultural traditions have nevertheless survived. The Dance of the Feather existed before the Spanish conquest, according to Uriel Santiago, one of the dancers I talked with. Originally it was an Aztec ritual dance to communicate with their gods for rain, sun and corn. The Aztecs dominated much of Mesoamerica, including the Mixtecs and Zapotecs of the Oaxaca region. When the Spanish conquered the Aztecs, they had not seen the dance in Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital. Bishop Manuel Gricida Martinez first saw the dance in the Mixtec village of Cuilapam. He thought it was a great way to modify tradition and incorporate the new Catholic religion – so most of the music and songs used in the dance are now Spanish and French. The Spaniards also introduced long pants and the big feathered crown that we see today. The dialogs were designed by the Spaniards to prove the power of the empire. In Teotitlan, Uriel tells me there are three different codices with three different dialogs, and there is a controversy about which one is the accurate version.

At least 10 villages in the Oaxaca Valley have their own version of the Danza de la Pluma that is held during the week honoring the particular village’s patron saint. Each village uses similar dance patterns, however Teotitlan del Valle costumes are much more elaborate. In Teotitlan del Valle, the Danza de la Pluma is scheduled to start this year on July 9 (this is one week later than usual). Practice for the actual three-day dance-a-thon is grueling. There are at least 15 different complex dance sequences that are performed continuously in the church plaza for 10-hours. The dancers, who volunteer as part of their practice to give back to their community, make a three-year commitment, and each group has a teacher who designs the choreography and dialogs. The teacher has told the dancers that they can adapt the dialogs, so it is difficult for Uriel to know the true history and he believes it is likely that the original dance is lost. What does remain intact, he says, is the dancers’ commitment to the village Church of the Precious Blood and its saints. He loves the emotion of dancing, the interdependency of his dance partners, and the link of the dance to his faith.

This week I attended the all-day practice held in the front yard of the Moctezuma, Manuel Bazan, in preparation for the July 9 event. The wives, mothers, and sisters of the dancers and musicians had already gathered early in the morning to begin the meal preparations for afternoon comida, to which we were invited. At 3 p.m. the music and dancing stopped, the men took their seats at table and raised a traditional toast. The fiesta tradition is to toast first with two shots of mezcal followed by two Corona Victoria’s. The women, who included a physician, the director of the kindergarten, teachers, vendors and merchants, served traditional chicken soup flavored with Yerba Santa (a delicious herb), followed by a platter of roasted chicken, vegetable mix of fresh corn, nopalitos (cactus), and carrots, spicy black bean refritos, and plenty of fresh corn tortillas hot off the comal (tortilla griddle) made with locally ground maize that was discovered and cultivated here more than 6,000 years ago.

Sitting across the table from me was Jorge Hernandez Diaz, PhD, professor of sociology at Benito Juarez University, the Oaxaca state university. A graduate of the University of Connecticut, he has written numerous books about indigenous culture and documented the Dance of the Feather as performed in various villages throughout the Oaxaca Valley. The Guelaguetza, the state organized dance extravaganza for which Oaxaca is famous, features La Danza de la Pluma for 10 minutes during the weeklong event. This hardly does justice to this centuries-old tradition, he told me.

We talked about how necessary tourism is for Oaxaca in order to preserve these historic cultural traditions, how weavers and carvers and potters depend upon tourism in order to continue their art and craft, and how concerned he is for the future of this culture because tourism, which fuels the economy, has been dropping off since 2004. Professor Hernandez Diaz talked in particular about San Martin Tilcajete as an example of what is happening. Here many very talented carvers have left the village and their art behind to work in bigger Mexican cities or to go to El Norte. Only the most famous and commercially successful have been able to make a reasonable living. The professor is calling San Martin a ghost town.

For me, cultural preservation is by definition a delicate balance. I believe we have a responsibility to be respectful and tread lightly as we explore indigenous cultures – whether they are here in the Oaxaca Valley or other parts of the world — in order to sustain and promote traditional lifestyles and art forms that are in danger of being lost. One important way of doing this is to promote and support people to continue to create by valuing their time and the quality of the their work. This will help them stay in their villages with their families, rather than going off to a distant land to earn a living –something that most don’t want to do.

So, for example, when I talk in my blog http://oaxacaculture.wordpress.com and website www.oaxacaculture.com about preserving Zapotec natural dyeing techniques and formulas, this about being willing to compensate weavers and paying a higher price for a textile that is woven with cochineal, indigo, moss, or pecan shells because the process takes so much longer to complete – and being enough of a knowledgeable collector/consumer to know the difference between a piece made with synthetic (and toxic) dyes and those made from natural plant and animal materials.

My blog captures search engine terms. Many people are inquiring about safety in Oaxaca since the APPO and teacher demonstrations of 2006. We travel to Oaxaca several times a year and are building a casita here. The city and surrounding environs are safe, secure and inviting. The people are warm, open and generous. Please don’t hesitate to visit!

Just 10 minutes outside the city of Oaxaca lies Monte Alban, the mountain-top pre-Columbian city of the Zapotecs. The road to get there is a switchback and as one makes the climb into the clouds, it is easy to see why this site was chosen.

It offered a superior 360 degree vantage point from which to scope the entire Oaxaca valley. Much has been written about Monte Alban (white mountain), named by the Spanish for the white flowering trees that cover the area each spring. The Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago cites the Zapotec civilization as being one of the most important in Mesoamerica., Zapotecs developed a political, social, and cultural organization that was very advanced, building a communitarian way of life of mutual support and decision making through a tribunal leadership structure. Today the vestiges of this system continue as committees of leaders govern Zapotec village life, where everyone meets, discusses, then votes on important issues. It is a way of life based upon cooperation, not competition. It is notable that Zapotecs developed the concept of zero which is represented by the “eye” symbol. The eye for them connoted infinity and from that vantage point at the top of Monte Alban and the ability to see earth and sky as seamless, it is easy to understand how they

could arrive at this conclusion. In Europe, through the Middle Ages, if you were a mathematician thinking about the meaning of Zero you would be burned at the stake as a heretic. At Monte Alban you will see the Observatory from which Zapotecs created a calendar based upon lunar and solar calculations. Jared Diamond, author of “Guns, Germs, and Steel,” comments that the Zapotecs had a more perfect calendar system that did not require a leap year.

The structures at Monte Alban are as impressive to me as those built by the Mayans at Chichen Itza. There is an observatory, temple, ball court, and huge expanse of what were public buildings and open gathering places. Perhaps 20,000 people would have lived in its surrounding terraced villages. Only 1.5 square miles of the 35 square miles of the site have been excavated and archeologists are working to uncover and discover more. If you are coming to Oaxaca, you don’t want to miss a visit to this impressive archeological site.

I recommend that you hire a guide (guia) when you get there. There are many on site who speak fluent English (and other languages) who will give you a much more personal and in-depth perspective of the Zapotec civilization. The cost is $25 USD for about 2 hours for up to 6 people. We hired Clemente Rodriguez Perez, who is very knowledgeable and personable. His cell phone number is 9515693006. Let him know I recommended you to him.

Monte Alban is to be savored. Plan to spend at least 3 hours there. It’s a lot of climbing up and down steep rock stairs, so you need plenty of time. To get there, take a tourist bus for 38 pesos per person round trip. The bus departs for Monte Alban at 10 a.m. and then not again until 12:30 p.m. It returns every hour on the hour starting at 1 pm. The station is located on Calle Mina. Go 3 blocks south of the Zocalo, turn right on Calle Mina, then continue for 3 blocks heading toward Abastos. It is on your left.

Please don’t hesitate to travel to Oaxaca. It is perfectly safe and easy to get to and get around in. The Zocalo is full of strolling visitors, flowers, music and balloon vendors. The main thoroughfares are open to easy pedestrian strolling. There are no encampments of demonstrators like there were in 2006. Recovery from these tragic and unfortunate events has been slow, and unfortunately public perception around these events has persisted even though the events dissipated long ago. Artisans and artists comment to me about the slowdown in tourism and how their livelihood has suffered. Fewer people from North America and Europe are here to purchase their beautiful handicrafts and artwork. Even with the devalued dollar, your tourist dollar goes far in Oaxaca and the archeology, art, history and cultural experience is unparalleled. Please don’t hesitate to come here because of safety. It remains a non-issue.

Alert: Rainy Season!  We’re getting lots of rain in Oaxaca now.  Great for planting season but inconvenient for hot-footing it around town, unless you duck in for an afternoon mezcal, beer or coffee mocha :)  Come prepared.

A grueling travel day is coming to a close. As much as I plan ahead and start way in advance on the packing ordeal, somehow, I can’t seem to complete it before the 11th hour, and that’s exactly when we went to bed (you notice I didn’t say “to sleep”). The alarm was set for 2 a.m. so we could leave the house at 3 a.m. to arrive at the airport by 4 a.m. to be there with enough breathing space for the 2-hour requirement to show up for the international flight. All in all, everything came off without a hitch, including primo space in the park’n ride lot. Continental does not charge for baggage as of this writing. I took the largest suitcase I own and crammed it full of recycled good clothing to give to villagers, as well as the essentials for a Oaxaca Summer Vacation. It’s 84 degrees, clear skies with great pillows of cumulus clouds, breezy and hot. Definitely high desert sunglasses and sunscreen weather — good for dressing light and comfortable. Evenings definitely cool down to high 50’s-low 60’s; a sweater and shawl are definitely needed.

Here’s what’s inside the luggage:

1 pair black rayon slacks, washable and matching black tank top (great for dressier evenings)

1 black cotton jacket, washable

1 sweater (or sweatshirt)

1 pair microfiber hiking pants

1 linen spaghetti strap dress

2 linen skirts with matching long sleeve jackets (for sun protection)

3 tank tops

Hiking boots and 4 pairs of hiking socks

Black mary janes with funky socks (3 pairs)

Straw hat with 4 inch brim

Underwear for 4 days

Nylon raincoat with hood (weighing no more than 6 ounces)

We’re not going to the beach this trip, so I didn’t pack a bathing suit.

Sundries and Toiletries: Tylenol, Purell (to carry at all times), travel size shampoo, lip gloss, sunscreen (SPF 55), deodorant, echineacea, sunglasses, toothbrush, toothpaste, moleskin, cortisone cream, bandaids, antibiotic topical gel (you never know when you might need this), and prescription medication (be sure to get these filled several days in advance).

Tip: Call your cell phone service provider to get extended coverage for Mexico. It’s well worth being able to stay in touch with spouse or traveling companions should you decide to split up and meet later! Calls are costing us 65 cents per minute, so we’re careful.

I pack heavy because I cram in lots of good used clothing (careful not to exceed the 50 lb. limit) that I bring to give away to families in need, and then that frees up space for the trip home when I have room for any special purchases. I also pack plenty of bubble wrap (saves expense on this end) and a roll of packing tape. I usually will purchase a large handwoven basket at the local market, put it inside my suitcase, and then put the bubble-wrapped fragile piece of art inside it for extra protection. For the cover, I use a woven round tray. Everything I have packed this way in the past has arrived home in one piece without the expense of paying for special packing and shipping.

THIS is Oaxaca! The colors and graphics alone of this brochure singularly depict the vibrancy and energy of Oaxaca life and art. The opening exhibit at the new Museo Textil de Oaxaca explores the pattern of the fret or greca as a universal textile design used around the globe, from southern Mexico to Indonesia. There are 130 textiles on exhibit from all over the world. I hope you can read the text written by curator Alejandro de Avila, who received his PhD from University of California at Berkeley. http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/Endangered_Lang_Conf/Avila.html

If not, you’ll just have to come to Oaxaca to see the exhibit for yourself The cover design is from a tapestry woven by Roman Gutierrez of Teotitlan del Valle. He weaves in the Saltillo style, 22 threads per inch. I have been to his studio/workshop and can attest to the fact that his work is masterful. He also has a commitment to cultural sustainability by teaching village young people traditional methods in order to preserve ancient Zapotec weaving and dyeing techniques.

I’m not sure about that! Oaxaqueno artists are VERY creative. In Teotitlan del Valle and throughout the Oaxaca Valley master weavers produce extraordinary art pieces that are created from the mere fibers of sheep wool and cotton plants. Designs are intricately detailed, as you can see below. And, even the smallest piece can take hours to create. The detail of the shoulder bag (below left) is in the saltillo weaving style that employs 22 threads per inch. This piece is a combination of naturally dyed wool and silk weft on a cotton warp.

The red piece below is produced on a backstrap loom in the village of Santo Tomas Jalieza, a village off the main road to Ocotlan. It is a must stop, even if you only have time to spend 30 minutes at the central market. Backstrap weaving is women’s work, something Zapotecs have been doing for over 6,000 years. Look at the fine detail of this all cotton shoulder/book bag. It is s very sturdy weave. Love birds and feathered dancers are common images. Look for pieces that are tightly woven using fine threads. They will cost more but endure longer.

These pieces are in my personal collection.

The bag on the right (above) is a fine tapestry weave created by Josefina Mendoza. I took the piece to Luis and Licha at Casa Santiago on Ave. Benito Juarez in Teotitlan and asked them to add a long leather strap and leather gusset. Their leather craftsmanship is exceptional.

The handbag shown below (left) is a very small over-the-shoulder mini-pouch made on a backstrap loom in Jalieza. It is a much finer “sister” to the one shown above left. You can see the detail of the weaving patterns … 3 designs to the row instead of 2 with a lot of intricacy. The bag with the geometric design next to it is 100% silk, and the center wavy row is embellished with silver threads … yes, real silver. I love these two really small bags … they are perfect for holding ID, coins, bills, and a credit card or two.

We just booked a round-trip on Continental through Houston directly to Oaxaca from August 9-18, and the airfare is $892! Yikes. Just three days ago it was $822 and we waited too long. I know this is pegged to record costs for oil, now $133 per barrel. I’m waiting to hear announcements that we will be charged for baggage, too. Nevertheless, my friends, Cindy Edwards and Sue Szary are joining me for a 4-day weaving and natural dyeing workshop with Federico Chavez Sosa and his daughter Janet.

We have space for 2 more people, so if you’d like to join in the fun, let me know!

Cindy Edwards is the art gallery director at the North Carolina Arts Incubator in Siler City, NC, and Sue Szary (pronounced Zarry, like Larry) is the executive director of the NC Arts Incubator. Sue also owns “Against His Will Gallery”, is a spinner, raises sheep, and has worked in natural dyes. She runs workshops and classes to teach people how to knit, spin, and dye. Sue wants to learn indigenous Zapotec dyeing techniques. Cindy wants to weave a bag or purse. I’ll probably work on creating a pillow cover.

The NC Arts Incubator offers extensive classes in weaving in partnership with the Central Carolina Community College. Both women are novice/inexperienced weavers, and because the workshops with the Chavez family in Teotitlan del Valle are small, Federico and Janet can customize instruction based on level of participant experience. More experienced weavers will learn more complex techniques. (See March 28 Blog Post describing the Oaxaca Weaving Workshop: Dancing on the Loom for more details.)

We’re going to do some day trips to the Tlacolula market, Mitla, Ocotlan and Arrazola, too, and y’all are invited to come along.

Now, I can reminisce about the days when I could choose which special meal I wanted to order — remember when you could actually EAT on a 4-hour flight when it didn’t feel like it was a “bring along your own picnic.”

Elsa Sanchez Diaz, who lives in Oaxaca, has been visiting us. She loves to prepare desserts and one day I came home to find this delicious treat sitting on the kitchen counter, ready to cut for an after dinner delectable. If you’re calorie-watching, think twice! This recipe uses sweetened condensed milk.

Ingredients:

1 - 12 oz. can evaporated milk (I use low-fat or non-fat)

1- 12 oz. can sweetened condensed milk

the juice of 4-6 fresh limes

2 tubes of Marias (approximately 24 cookies)

In a blender, combine the evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk and lime juice. Blend until the mixture is very thick. The next instruction is counter-intuitive: if the mixture isn’t thick, then you need to add more lime juice. It should be the consistency of cake batter.

Layer a base of the Marias (cookies) in a large rectangular glass baking dish. Spoon the batter over the cookies to just cover them. The cookies should be touching. Add another layer of cookies, then spoon more batter to cover. Continue layering the cookies and spooning the batter until you reach the top of the dish. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 7 hours. Bring out and let sit for five minutes before cutting into squares. Serves 10-12.

Note: You can find Marias in the Mexican food section of the supermarket or at a Mexican specialty grocery store. If you can’t find the Marias, then you can substitute vanilla wafers.

Topping Options: Sprinkle with chopped nuts, banana slices, canned peaches or fresh fruit.  I might make a gelatin using the canned peaches including the juices they’re packed in, and when it is semi-firm, pour it over the cake as a topping and freeze until it’s set up.