OAXACA - FEAST OF THE SAMARITAN

On our last day in the Oaxaca valley we go to downtown by the Zocalo, or central plaza. This layout is familiar to anyone that has visited Spanish colonial cities.

From the hills in the outskirts of the city you can see the very large number of churches. Oaxaca has a tradition of ringing bells at different hours so you can almost always hear church bells.
The arrows point to the several churches visible from this point. You can zoom by double-clicking and to return to the blog click the browser Back button.

At one corner of the Zocalo we find the Cathedral of Oaxaca. This is the detail of one of the two bell towers.
At the center of the Zocalo, a large square block occupied by a nice park with many large trees, walks and seating, one almost always finds a Glorieta - bandstand - where musicians play for free to the crowd.

Teri is heading to the place close to the Cathedral where we all will set-up a hospitality booth to serve the traditional flavored drinks for the Lent Feast of the Samaritan. This feast celebrates the message of the parable of the Samaritan, the guidance to help even strangers. Eugenio, our guide, is walking ahead of her to the right

In Mexico the lighted man in the pedestrian semaphore is animated. He runs faster as time runs out for pedestrians to pass.

There were several groups playing the marimba and singing for the public.

A side street.

A large part of the crowd by the drink stands were students from the nearby Autonomous University Benito Juarez. Benito Juárez was a Zapotec Amerindian who served five terms as President of Mexico. Juárez is Mexico's greatest and most beloved leader for resisting the French occupation, overthrowing the Empire, and restoring the Republic, and for his efforts to modernize the country.

Many of the students wore the shirt of their school. A number were engineering or architecture students. The emblem of the school reads: 1955 - Science, Art, Freedom.

A traditional folkloric group.

It was our turn to serve the different flavored drinks, guanabana, tamarind, and melon flavors. We served until we ran out.

It is now time to dismantle the booth and clean-up.

SAN MARTIN TILCAJETE - WOOD ALEBRIJES

We went by tour bus to the little town of San Martin Tilcajete to visit the woodcarving shop of Zeny Fuentes. The art produced in this shop is among the most beautiful, unique, and brilliant we saw in Mexico.

In the 1930's families carved toys for their children and masks for religious festivals and carnivals, but it wasn't until the 1980's that the demand for Oaxacan carvings became popular. In 1992 the Smithsonian featured well known Oaxacan carvers, and American Folk Art dealers then flocked to Oaxaca to begin their collections of these unique works of art. Painted woodcarving is a major art form and source of income in three pueblos near Oaxaca City.

Born and raised in the village of San Martín Tilcajete, Zeny Fuentes grew up surrounded by the vibrant woodcarvings of Oaxaca, with his father, renowned artist Epifanio Fuentes as his mentor. Here he describes the soft Copal wood primarily used for these carvings. This tree is indigenous only to Oaxaca.
We were told that the main carving tool is the machete, demonstrated here by Zeny, beginning to shape the form of a cat. This is surprising because of the intricacy of small detail some carvings show.
Here is a partially finished cat.
One of the daughters of the patriarch Fuentes is the acrylic paint artist.

We purchased this small gecko for our RV. It now crawls up to see the time of day by our entrance.

We also purchased this small napkin holder, and some small cats for the kids.

These are some large carvings - quite impressive all. Double-click to zoom, Browser Back to continue.

SAN MARTIN TILCAJETE - FLOWER TACO LUNCH

We leave Sta Maria del Tule campground by tour bus towards the surrounding towns this morning. The high valley of Oaxaca is at over 5000 feet altitude and is mostly arid.
Our straight highway.
The welcome sign at St. Martin Tilcajete. Notice the surrounding mountains.
We are having a country lunch of flower (not flour) tacos at this country kitchen where the tortillas are prepared in the common wok-like grilles you see all over Mexico. They are either wood or wood charcoal fired. This one is wood fired. Notice the cook taking a chunk of masa from the big ball covered by the towel to make another tortilla. The ball will be rounded and put in a press to flatten it.
This is the open-air restaurant dining room where we sit. The guide is talking to us.
Here they are adding the flower petals - interesting but not our very favorite Mexican specialty.

OCOTLAN DE MORELOS - COTTON WEAVERS

The small village of Ocotlan is also full of artisans. There were swarms of tourists in the main shopping plaza.
Teri is buying the nice dark blue belt on the left - very nice quality.
It was amazing to watch the concentration of the weaver women on their hand looms. They were weaving intricate patterns in cotton even as the tourists swarmed about them.

Teri purchased a very colorful cotton backpack purse from the artisan on the left.

OCOTLAN de MORELOS - AGUILAR POTTERS

The stars of the pottery industry in the Oaxaca valley are the four Aguilar sisters: Guillermina, Irene, Josefina, and Concepción. The sisters and their families all live next to one another, on the right of the main highway before you get into town.

Their houses are recognizable from the pottery ladies on the wall. The Aguilars learned their trade from mother Isaura Alcantara. Guillermina is the oldest, then Josefina with 3 children in the business, Irene with 3, and Concepción together with her 3 daughters.

Their houses and shop are very humble and it is clear they do not generate a lot of income from their trade.
Each sister has her own specialty within the general subject of village ladies elaborated in various ways. All show in major museums in Mexico and abroad; Irene demonstrates in the U.S. regularly, and they have a large international clientele.

Their figures of women with bell-shaped skirts as the base of the sculpture, carry fruit in baskets, flowers, turkeys, animals and the other things one finds in markets, or perhaps the sun, moon and stars!

Irene and Guillermina produce ladies of the night, exotic creatures with some key anatomy showing. Josefina and Concepción create astounding scenes of multiple figures as well: weddings, nativities, even whole town plazas with palm trees and a bandstand full of musicians.

About 75% of the Aguilars’ work is sold to Mexicans for resale, the rest to clients from abroad. The markups can be steep; Guillermina saw a piece of hers for sale in Toronto for $500 (Canadian) that she sold for100 Mexican pesos. The Aguilar studio is open to visitors and you can purchase pieces from a room near the entrance, but don’t expect to be entertained by this hard-working family. Sometimes sixty tourists arrive in a day, and not one buys anything.

TEOTITLAN DEL VALLE VIEWS

Teotitlan del Valle is a neat small village that impressed us with their sense of civic solidarity. Notice the streets. There isn't a spec of trash anywhere.

At the back of this street is our tour bus parked waiting for us. Most streets were cobbled like this one. The establishment at the corner was both a restaurant and wool rug showroom.

The tow taxis are this type of enclosed tricycle. Since few own cars, these small taxis are common and indispensable to the people. Click the picture to see the details. Click the browser back button to continue.
Here is a wall mural that reads:

"AVOIDING VIOLENCE is the job of all of us. No-one can evade their responsibility. No-one can cover their eyes, their ears, become mute, and cut their hands about this. DENOUNCE"

Here is another that reads:

REDUCE, REUSE, SEPARATE, RECYCLE

Together, but not stirred-up!

A very nice brick house.

A look over the wall into a traditional family compound.

OAXACA VALLEY WOOL WEAVERS

Our tour bus is a great way to visit all the craft villages in the central valleys of Oaxaca: Tottitlan del Valle (weaving), Arazola (wood carving), San Bartolo Coyotepec (black pottery), and Ocotlán (clay figures, woven baskets). In this and the next few posts I will tell about these great villages and their wonderful crafts.
After Monte Alban in the morning we just have time to visit Teotitlan del Valle and THE BUG IN THE RUG wool weaving shop run by Isaac Vásquez García and his family. Isaac is one of the most accomplished and well-known weavers, an innovator in natural dyes and producer of some of the most varied and intricate designs.
Here is Isaac, the master weaver on his hand loom. He works from early morning till evening every day to produce some of the most intricate large design. His entire family work in the business. A large carpet of moderate complexity can take him several days of full time work.
This was a demo of hand spinning of the wool into thread.
This is the detail of one corner of a large completed wool rug.
We purchased this small wool rug made in the traditional Oaxaca way with natural dyes. It is a small beauty adorning our RV entrance "foyer". It has an abstract pattern of fishes. Look at their eyes!