Monthly Archives: January 2011

Would You Like to See My Rugs?

My personal quest on that first visit to Teotitlan del Valle was to find an extraordinary weaver who worked in natural dyes AND who had not been “discovered” by the New York Times.  I wanted an “off the beaten track” experience.  In all the Internet research I did, there were only two names that kept cropping up repeatedly as the “go to” weavers of Teotitlan.  When I went to visit these weavers to learn more about the weaving and dyeing processes, I saw their houses were very prosperous and they really didn’t need little ‘ole me to support them.  I guess I was looking for a “relationship,” although I didn’t know it at the time.  I also wanted to buy from someone who needed the business and where I knew the money I spent would go directly to them.

Natural Dyes: Indigo, Moss, Pecans, Cochineal

By the third day in the village, after having visited and talked with a slew of weavers, I began to see and understand the quality differential.  As I ventured into workshop homes that were off the main streets, the prices became more reasonable for similar quality.  I could also tell when a showroom was not a work space since the looms were there only for demonstration purposes (and it was VERY clean).  Real work spaces were cluttered with wool balls, dye vats, partially completed rugs, and bags and bundles of dye materials: cochineal, wild marigold, pecan leaves, pomegranates.  I could begin to tell the difference between a chemically- and naturally-dyed rug by the subtle color variations in the weave of the finished product.  I could see when the knot fringes were poorly made, and when the weave wasn’t tight.

Caracol: My First Zapotec Rug

There was no wireless service in Teotitlan then, so Stephen and I would make a daily visit to the pharmacy around the corner from the rug market to check our email.  It was not really an Internet cafe, although we could buy cold sodas out of the refrigerator and sip as we tried to figure out the keyboard.  On our third day there, we exited the pharmacy and make a right turn instead of a left, heading toward instead of away from the rug market, as was our typical path.

Pomegranate Dye Bath -- Fermentation Process

“Would you like to see my rugs?” I heard a voice call out in perfect English.  I turned my eyes toward a young man standing in a small stall surrounded by rugs.  Sitting in the corner was a girl bent over a book.  I didn’t even look at the rugs.  “No, thanks,”  I said, shaking my head, completely taken aback by someone who spoke such good English.  I was suspicious; it must be a scam to reel me in.  We kept walking, and we had almost passed them when I looked up to see an array of spectacular rugs, clearly different and superior from any I had seen before.

That’s how I met Eric Chavez Santiago and his sister Janet.

For the next hour in that little stall I heard about what makes a quality rug (tapete), how it takes years to learn the chemistry of working with natural dyes, and how Eric researched the history of the Zapotec dyeing tradition.  He convinced his father to work exclusively in natural dyes for quality and health reasons (chemical dyes are inhaled and cause lung cancer).  I was smitten with Eric’s knowledge, the beauty and intricacy of the work, and the mission to preserve a cultural tradition.  I agreed to go home with him to meet the family and look at the entire collection.

YaptaDotCom Saves Airfares, Gets Refunds

I have to share this link with you about how you can track airline fares using Yapta.com First of all, Yapta will tell you if you can get a refund for the difference if you paid a high price for an airfare.  Most importantly, use it in advance of buying a ticket to alert you to when there are price drops.  The NY Times did a great feature about how to save $$ on your next trip. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/09/travel/09pracsave.html

I wish I had this when I paid $760 for my last ticket to Oaxaca and another $900 for a second ticket.  Dern it.

Share

Skip the Hotel and Be Our Experiment

“Skip the hotel and be our experiment.” That’s what my friend Annie Burns wrote to me after I took her up on her invitation to come visit her in Teotitlan del Valle.  “You and Stephen can be the first to stay with Josefina and Magda,” she said.

Annie has a heart as big as Mexico, probably as big as the world. Over the years she has supported women in the village by raising money in order to help them buy a loom or a spinning wheel that would provide a livelihood for them and their families.  Often, the women were single or abandoned by husbands who had gone north to work and never returned.  Sometimes, the money went toward building a composting toilet to improve quality of life.  This time, the situation was urgent.

Ana del Campo at Her Garden Gate

Annie’s friends, Josefina and Magda, had both lost their husbands during that year.  The daughter-in-law –- mother-in-law duo shared the same household as was tradition and were raising Josefina’s three young children together.  They were in mourning. Josefina was in her mid-30’s.  Her husband Eligio, a famed and accomplished weaver, had just died at age 38 from a rare cancer.  Magda’s husband, Eligio’s father, had succumbed just months before. The two women had no way to earn a living since the men were the household income earners.  Neither women were weavers but both were great cooks.

The Fiesta Plate--Christmas Tamales

Annie’s light bulb went on:  Why not start a bed and breakfast?  “Will you do it?” she asked me.   Sure, I said, not having a clue about what that would mean.   The only thing I knew about Teotitlan del Valle was that it was a textile and rug-weaving village.  Since I had learned to weave when I was a graduate student in San Francisco, and I had collected textiles all my life, I was eager for the experience of discovery.

Magda at the Chocolate Cauldron

We arrived a few days before Christmas.  Annie and the Teoti taxi-driver met us at the airport.  During the thirty minute drive, Annie prepared us:  only drink bottled water; only use plastic utensils and paper products until we have Western sanitation practices in place; yes, there is a flush toilet but don’t put paper in it.

When we pulled up in front of the tall aluminum doors and rapped, we were greeted warmly by Josefina, Magda, Eloisa, Willi, and young Eligio.     We later learned that Magda had given up her room and bed in order to house us.  Our nightstand was a kitchen chair.  Our closet was a rope strung wall-to-wall.  A lacy tablecloth was our privacy curtain to cover the door.

From Magda's Bedroom Window

I marveled at the miraculous meals that could be prepared in a simple dirt floor kitchen equipped with only a tiny three-burner stove and small refrigerator.  The papaya were huge, the squash young and tender, and the tamales melted in my mouth.

Then, I realized that Magda got down on her knees and ground her masa on a traditional metate in the courtyard.  She fueled her comal from wood she gathered in the campo just beyond the village.  We enjoyed fresh-made tortillas from that comal that she knelt by on the ground every day during our visit as if it were an altar, fanning the fire to just the right temperature, turning the tortillas with her thumb and forefinger.  I watched as Josefina learned to air-dry dishes and utensils at her outdoor sink, and prepare food with sanitized water.   Annie was ecstatic!  Lo and behold: We did not get sick.  We returned the next year without hesitation to celebrate Christmas and Eligio’s birthday, and after that for Eloisa’s quinciniera.  That was then.

Eligio and Willi on the Bus to Tlacolula with Papa Noel

This is now:  Eloisa grew up, went to culinary school, joined the women in the kitchen and got married.  Willi and Eligio are young men learning to weave like their father and participating in the village recycling education program.  Annie recruited Roberta to build a second-story onto the compound where Roberta would live. The bonus was that a new, large, modern kitchen was added to the patio level, along with real guest rooms and upgraded bathrooms.   The dirt patio got paved; kitchen compost fertilizes squash, chipil, and a kitchen garden.  The planters along the border are lush with full-grown cactus.  And the crowning glory is the new outdoor comal where Magda reigns over the preparing of daily homemade tortillas without having to squat.

Magda at the New Comal

Welcome to Las Granadas Bed and Breakfast.  It is amazing how dreams can unfold.

View From the Rooftop Patio, Las Granadas

Share

Homage to Jane Arnold and the Journey to Oaxaca

It all started years ago, before I ever dreamed of going to Oaxaca.   Like the birth of a child, you never know what the future looks like until it is upon you —  in the here and now.  I had heard of Oaxaca, didn’t know how to pronounce it, and would never have known where to pinpoint it on a map.  WAH-HAH-KAH.

Back then, Jane Arnold, CNM, was my OB-GYN nurse practitioner and head of the midwifery program at UNC Hospitals.  As an administrator in the School of Nursing, I was committed to using NP‘s for my primary care.  I realized they could give me quality care, spend more time with me, and were more accessible. With my feet in the stirrups, Jane and I became friends!

From time to time, we would get together for dinner or a movie, write poetry and have heartfelt talks.  We both wanted adventure but didn’t quite know how to jump-start the journey.   We didn’t even know where we wanted to go or where the journey would take us.  There was something more we yearned for.

Much of Jane’s clientele were immigrant women who spoke little or no English and who came from cultural backgrounds that relied on midwives.  It was easy to convince her to come with me on a nursing school-sponsored spring break trip for preceptors and faculty to Antigua, Guatemala.  The week-long trip took us to public and private hospitals, clinics, hospices and the home of a traditional midwife to learn about health care delivery and infrastructure.  The experience gave us an up-close-and-personal cross-cultural understanding of immigrants’ experiences and values in order to provide better care for the NC immigrants we serve.  We offered each other moral support as we ventured out together, sharing a room and ideas and dreams for the future.

During the week, we imagined what it might be like to live in Guatemala or someplace similar.  We immersed ourselves in colloquial Spanish with individual tutors who would stroll the markets with us and encourage us to speak.  We shared tasty dinners, great Chilean wine, and bought more textiles and coffee than would fit in our suitcases.  We wanted to bring Antigua back home with us.  We didn’t want to leave.

The next year, when my friend Annie said, “come visit me in Teotitlan del Valle,” I did not hesitate.  My husband Stephen jumped on board. My feet were wet and my tongue had been seasoned with the taste of salsa and fresh tamales.   Oaxaca embraced me and I immediately considered it “home.”  Now, I return several times each year while I continue to work at UNC Chapel Hill.

Jane is in Gaborone, Botswana.  She has been there for the past year-and-a-half where she opened up a birthing center in the new Bokamoso Private Hospital, delivering babies, providing pre- and post-natal care, and training nurses in labor and delivery.  She is a heroine.

We are planning our reunion: my visit to Gabarone this year (my first trip to Africa) along with a wildebeest migration safari in Tanzania.

And, my feet are firmly planted in Oaxaca!

2011 Day of the Dead Photography Expedition, Oaxaca, Mexico

Saturday, October 29 – Friday, November 4, 2011.

Bill Bamberger is your expedition leader. He teaches at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and in the Duke University Center for Documentary Studies.
Travel with us to Oaxaca, Mexico where you will explore the magic and mystery of Day of the Dead through photography– a feast for the visual senses.  This six-night, seven-day expedition is a cultural immersion experience.  During this annual festival the city vibrates with color, music, and Mardi Gras-like energy.  Come with us to document the food, religious symbols, people, cemeteries and family celebrations both in the city and in the rural Zapotec village of Teotitlan del Valle.   By the end of the week, you will use your digital SLR camera for visual storytelling and cultural discovery.

 

This workshop is limited to 10 participants.  Last year we filled quickly.  If this is something you’ve always dreamed of doing, don’t hesitate!

 

Panteon Xoxocotlan I, Dia de los Muertos 2010

This workshop is for beginning and intermediate-level amateur photographers who want to learn more about their digital SLR cameras and move more comfortably beyond the automatic setting.  Topics covered include using natural light, aperture and shutter speed, using a tripod, night-time photography, using bounce flash, focusing on details, photographing people and taking the time to set up your shot.

 

Learning documentary-style photography is different from taking photographs as a tourist.   It involves some degree of assimilation and a greater understanding of the culture and people you are photographing.  On this journey you will photograph people in their natural settings, experience local rituals, visit family environments, all while immersing yourselves in both the city and rural life of Oaxaca.

You will review each other’s work, give feedback, and provide supportive critiques, as we mix class instruction with being out on the streets.  Instruction will include a mix of formal group discussion and individual feedback.  You will have the opportunity to undertake an independent project during our stay in the Zapotec village of Teotitlan del Valle that focuses on themes central to Day of the Dead family observances and ritual.

2010 Dia de los Muertos Expedition Group

About Photographer and Educator Bill Bamberger

For two decades Bill Bamberger has been photographing Americans and their daily lives. His photographs have appeared in Aperture, Doubletake, Harper’s and the New York Times Magazine.  He has appeared as a featured guest on CBS Sunday Morning, About Books (CSPAN2), and North Carolina People with William Friday. His first book, Closing: The Life and Death of an American Factory (DoubleTakeBooks/Norton, 1998), won the Mayflower Prize in Nonfiction and was a semifinalist for the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award.

Bamberger’s work explores large social issues of our time: the demise of the American factory, housing in America, adolescents coming of age.  A trademark of Bamberger’s exhibitions is that they are first shown in the community where he has chosen to photograph prior to their museum exhibition. Closing: The Life and Death of an American Factory premiered in an abandoned department store a block from the closed furniture factory, while Stories of Home was first shown in a custom-designed 1,000 square foot mobile art gallery on San Antonio’s Mexican-American West Side.

Bamberger has had one-person exhibitions at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History, the North Carolina Museum of Art, the Yale University Art Gallery and the National Building Museum.  He was one of fifty-six American artists to participate in Artists and Communities: America Creates for the Millennium, the National Endowment for the Arts millennium project where he produced part II in an ongoing series about teenage boys coming of age.

Bamberger lives in Durham, North Carolina and teaches photography at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  He has lectured at museums and universities throughout the country and has taught classes and workshops pro bono in underserved communities across the country.

We selected Bill because of his unique perspective and in-depth experience.

Website:  billbamberger.com

Angel in Pan de Muertos (Day of the Dead bread)

Sesame candy skulls ready for eating.

Preliminary Itinerary (subject to change)

Day One, Oaxaca:  Meet fellow travelers and your instructor at our hotel for a pre-dinner gathering and discussion.  Group dinner.

Day Two, Oaxaca:  After breakfast, we’ll embark on a group walking expedition around Oaxaca city to see the highlights and get our bearings.  After lunch we will meet for class, then enjoy the free time  to capture the “magic hour” before dinner.  Options to explore markets, churches, street parades, public altars.

Day Three, Oaxaca:  After breakfast and class, have the day to explore on your own.  Then after lunch, we’ll go to the famed Xoxocotlan cemetery for an extraordinary Day of the Dead extravaganza. This is a VERY late night, so be prepared!  Options to explore Monte Alban archeological site or a crafts village.

Day Four, Teotitlan del Valle: After breakfast and a debriefing session, enjoy free time before we depart in early afternoon for the Zapotec weaving village of Teotitlan del Valle.  After check-in and lunch, we’ll enjoy a village walkabout orientation visiting artisans along the way. Then we’ll return to our bed and breakfast for supper.

Day Five, Teotitlan del Valle:  After breakfast and a briefing session, you will meet and spend the day with a local host family for a cultural immersion experience to capture Day of the Dead indigenous traditions. This might include helping to decorate the home altar, preparing and participating in the ritual lunch, and accompanying the family to the village cemetery.  We’ll see you back at our B&B after nightfall.

Day Six, Teotitlan del Valle: After breakfast, we will share experiences and photos of the prior day in our final class session.  After visits to local artisans, you’ll have the rest of the day on your own.  We’ll meet up in the evening for a Best of the Week photo exhibit and celebration supper.

Day 7, Teotitlan del Valle:  After breakfast and a group photo, we’ll complete the evaluation and summary before saying our goodbyes

Note:  Please make plane reservations to arrive in time to join us for the first evening orientation and dinner that begins at 6:30 p.m.  Your flight departure time should be no earlier than noon on Friday.  We are happy to make arrangements for you to arrive a day or two early or depart a day or two later at an additional cost.

Church of the Precious Blood, Teotitlan del Valle

Muertos Merrymakers

What You Should Bring

1)     Your energy and enthusiasm

2)     Digital SLR camera

3)     Laptop computer

4)     Software for organizing and presenting images (such as Photoshop Express)

5)     Batteries and battery charger

6)     Camera Memory card(s) and data sticks

7)     Pen and notepad

Plus, sturdy, comfortable walking shoes, sun protection, sun hat

(Upon registration, you will receive a complete packet and information guide with suggested packing list and other useful information.)

 

 

Lodging/Accommodations. To keep this experience affordable, we have selected accommodations that are clean and basic.  We will spend three nights in Oaxaca and three nights in Teotitlan del Valle.   If you prefer luxury accommodations, please consider a different program.

Cost:  The basic cost for the trip is $1,295. USD. This includes six nights lodging double occupancy with shared bath, six breakfasts, three lunches, four dinners, transportation to the villages, and all instruction.  Most travel workshops of this type and length cost more than twice as much! It does NOT include airfare, taxes, gratuities, travel insurance, liquor/alcoholic beverages, some meals, entry fees, and transportation.

You will have the option of sharing a double room with shared bath for the base price of the trip.  Please indicate your preference.

Option A: Double room with shared bath; $1,295. Deposit to reserve: $650.

Option B: Double room with private bath; $1,495. Deposit to reserve: $750.

Option C:  Single room with private bath;  $1,645.  Deposit to reserve: $823.

Option D:  Add one night lodging in Oaxaca on Friday, October 28, +$150 each.

Option E:  Add one night lodging in Oaxaca on Friday, November 4, +$150 each.

Option F: Add additional nights lodging in Teotitlan del Valle, November 4+ for $55 per night.

Oaxaca Valley, View from Monte Alban

Reservations and Cancellations

A 50% deposit is required to guarantee your spot.  The final payment for the balance due (including any supplemental costs) shall be postmarked by August 1, 2011.  Payment may be made by check or PayPal.  We will be happy to send you an itemized invoice.

Please understand that we make lodging and transportation arrangements months in advance of the program.  Deposits or payments in full are often required by our hosts.  If cancellation is necessary, please notify us in writing by email.   After August 1, no refunds are possible; however, we will make every possible effort to fill your reserved space or you may send a substitute.  If you cancel on or before August 1, we will refund 50% of your deposit.  We strongly recommend that you take out trip cancellation, baggage, emergency evacuation and medical insurance before you begin your trip, since unforeseen circumstances are possible.

Wild Marigold Drying, preparing for dyeing wool

To register, contact:  normahawthorne@mac.com or call (919) 274-6194.  Please make your deposit payable to Oaxaca Cultural Navigator LLC, and mail it to: Norma Hawthorne, 110 Blue Heron Farm Rd., Pittsboro, NC 27312.  Thank you.

This workshop is produced by Norma Hawthorne, Oaxaca Cultural Navigator LLC.  We reserve the right to alter the itinerary and substitute instructors without notice.