Monthly Archives: November 2012

Lila Downs Dazzles at Latin Grammy Awards

She is ours — Oaxaca’s goddess of song and lyrics. Lila Downs went on stage to perform at the 13th Latin Grammy Awards on November 15, again recognized for what she has contributed to the music world.  The Examiner article says it all. Accolades, too, to Paul Cohen, Lila’s husband, producer and collaborator.

Here are two photos I’ve taken of Lila in recent years.  Enjoy.

Above: At her Day of the Dead concert in 2011 at the Guelaguetza Auditorium in Oaxaca.

Below: At Las Cuevitas chapel, January 2 in Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca. The poncho was woven by Erasto “Tito” Mendoza in the Saltillo style.

Oaxaca Recipe: Norma’s Black Bean Soup

I’ve been trying to replicate this traditional black bean soup since I returned to North Carolina from Oaxaca last week.  I’ve made three batches and eaten them all.  Perfect for vegetarians.  If you are not a vegetarian, you can enrich the soup with leftover chicken or pork, sliced or cubed.

Some people say Oaxaca’s best is La Biznaga‘s La Negra, a cream of black bean soup with queso fresco, avocado chunks, and pasillo chiles topped with crunchy fried tortilla strips.  Lots of great restaurants have their own version on the menu.  You be the judge.

Here is my version … Norma’s adaptation of La Negra!

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups dried black beans, washed and rinsed
  • 4 cups water
  • 2 dried pasillo chiles, seeded and stems removed
  • 2 fresh ancho chiles, seeded, deveined stems removed
  • 1 fresh bell pepper, roasted, seeded, deveined, stems removed
  • 2 cloves garlic, roasted and peeled
  • Sea salt (about 1 T. or to taste)
  • Garnish: One avocado, peeled, seeded, cut into 1/2″ chunks
  • Garnish: Coursely crumbled taco chips
  • Garnish: Queso fresco, 2 T. per bowl
  • Optional:  1/2 pint sour cream or Mexican crema added before serving
Preparation:
  1. Add the black beans to the water and bring to a boil.  Pour into a colander and drain liquid completely and rinse thoroughly.  Rinse your pot and return the rinsed beans to the pot, adding 3-4 cups of water or enough to cover plus one inch.
  2. Crumble the dried pasillo chiles into the beans.
  3. Road the fresh ancho chiles and the bell peppers on a comal or over a gas burner until the skin puckers and begins to blacken.  Remove the chiles and let cool.  Peel the skin under your faucet.  Slice into strips and add to the beans.
  4. Roast the garlic on a comal with skin on.  When the garlic is soft, remove and peel skin.  Add to the beans.
  5. Add sea salt.
  6. Bring bean and pepper mixture to a simmer and continue to cook until the beans are soft and have absorbed all the water.  Test for doneness.  Add more water and continue cooking if needed.
  7. Pour entire mixture into a blender and puree for about 3 minutes or until all the beans and peppers are pulverized.  Test for soup consistency.  If too thick, add water.
  8. Return to pot and reheat.  Taste for spiciness.  If you want more heat, you can add more dried pasillo chiles or toss in a few drops of Mexico’s famous hot sauce, Valentina.
Note:  You can make this same recipe using pinto beans and red beans.

You can get most of these ingredients at some of the larger U.S. chain grocery stores.  I like to shop at my local Mexican market.  The pasillo chiles are dried and packaged or in a bin.  I find the best avocados at the Mexican markets, too. Always ripe and ready to eat!

Years ago I owned a gourmet cookware shop and cooking school called Clay Kitchen in South Bend, Indiana (long before the Internet).  I taught cooking classes and made up recipes as I went along.  I still love to do this, so this is one way I get to share my other passions with you — cooking and eating!

Disfruta bien 🙂

 

 

Best of Week Day of the Dead Photographs: Connie Jo

At her core Connie is an archeologist though these days she is an assistant dean at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.  Her passion is Mexican archeological sites.  She participated in digs in Cholula, just a few miles outside the city of Puebla and has visited Mexico’s major archeological sites.  Did I say Connie loves Mexico?  We found ourselves following Connie around at Monte Alban, Mitla and Yagul.  We didn’t get to Dainzu, so I know Connie will be back to Oaxaca.

Photo 1:  Connie and her friend and travel mate Kathy Heath spent Day of the Dead in Teotitlan del Valle on November 2 with the family of Tito (Erasto) Mendoza, his wife Alejandrina, daughter Liliana, and son Santiago.  Connie took this family portrait outside their hand-built, traditional adobe casita in the foothills.

“I learned quite a lot about photography, including how to translate the settings to my digital camera from my old SLR film camera,” Connie says.

 

Photo 3 (left): Dressed in the style of women from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, this little one is a Tehuana-wanna-be.  Enlarge the photo to see the red glow of her headband.  Photo 4 (right): Warm colors of Oaxaca under the glow of a street lamp, subtle, powerful, soothing.

“I never had any concerns about safety, even when out walking alone.  People on the street were friendly and helpful,” Connie adds.

Photo 5:  We all loved this photo because it captures the energy of Oaxaca’s main walking street Macedonio Alcala which connects Santo Domingo church to the Zocalo.  The focal point of the man with the white shirt tells us this street is for everyone — visitors and locals, shoppers and vendors, workers and vacationers.

 

Photo 6 (left) details a Day of the Dead altar, complete with the four levels of ascending and descending to earth, pan de muerto, candles, candy skulls, papel picado — colorful cut out tissue paper in fanciful DOTD designs.  Photo 7 (right) is a marvelous detail of scented day lilies at a gravesite.  The aroma is strong, sure to guide the spirits.

Connie says, “Visiting the Xoxocotlan panteons (old and new cemeteries) was outstanding, despite the rain!  It was an experience for all the senses. The decorations and attention to the memory of the ancestors was unlike anything else I’ve experienced.”

   

Photos 7, 8, 9:  These scenes at the Xoxocotlan cemetery reflect Connie’s sensitivity to people and her sense of humor.  The photo on the upper right is serious and somber with mother holding a child and sitting vigil by gravesite.  It is a lovely snapshot about the seriousness by which Oaxacaquenos reflect upon and observe Day of the Dead.  The large photo candidly combines the traditional with the contemporary as the young woman sits vigil while she is texting on her hand-held device, the light from the screen reflecting on her face.

Best of Week Day of the Dead Photographs: Deby Thompson

“I signed up for the adventure and to learn, says Deby Thompson, “and I got both.”  Deby is a legal videographer from the historic restored mill town of Glencoe, NC. Her clients are attorneys who engage her to interview children whose health has been severely comprised by accidents or other mishaps.  In this respect, Deby is a seasoned documentarian.  She came to our Day of the Dead Photography Expedition wanting to use her DSLR camera to tell a story much in the same way she uses video.

Photo 1:  Deby calls this photo Family Market Time. She shot it in one of the jam-packed narrow walkways of Benito Juarez Market in Oaxaca city.  It captures the hubbub of shopping for tortillas, underwear, Day of the Dead altar accoutrements, t-shirts, duffle bags and lots more.

 

Photo 2 (Left), A Time for Prayer, and Photo 3 (Right), Early Evening, give us a glimpse into the solemnity of the Xoxocotlan cemetery on October 31 as well as the simple beauty of wildflowers growing in front of an iron-framed window.

“I had a wonderful week with my camera and new friends,” Deby says. “The night in the Xoxocotlan cemetery was amazing.  As an instructor, Bill Bamberger was very easy to work with, and I felt completely safe wherever I went.”

Photo 4: October 31 Preparations features the gathering of fruits from the corner market stall.  Family members will use these to adorn Xoxocotlan grave sites.  Last minutes preparations were necessary that night because the torrential rains prevented people from getting to the cemetery early enough to clean and decorate.

Photo 5:  Deby calls this shot Whipping that reflects the character in yellow on the right of the photo just about ready to crack the whip.  This group from San Augustin Etla gives us a preview of what their La Muerteada will look like when they carouse in their village on November 1.

 

Photos 6 and 7:  Deby along with Liz Thomas were guests in the home of weaver Pedro Mendoza in Teotitlan del Valle on November 2.  This connection with Pedro’s family was one of the most memorable experiences during Deby’s time in Oaxaca.

Photo 8:  At the Mendoza family altar the copal incense guides their ancestors to return to their graves at 3:00 p.m. in the afternoon.  In the distance, we have heard the church bells ring for the past 24 hours, signifying that the spirits have been here on earth.

Photo 9:  Candles sit at the foot of the Mendoza family altar, with a winter squash added for decoration, perhaps a favorite food of one of the deceased.

Photo 10:  A 24-hour votive candle or veladora provides a constant light.  Many faith traditions use the 24-hour candle to evoke the memory and/or spirit of the dead loved one.

Best of Week Day of the Dead Photographs: Erin Loughran

Coming from Brooklyn, NY, this was Erin’s first visit to Mexico!  She studied film photography in college and used a SLR for years.  Of late, Erin said she got lazy  using a point and shoot camera or keeping the SLR on automatic. Her goal in attending the Day of the Dead Photography Expedition was to expand her photography skills and make more thoughtful choices about lenses, flash, lighting and night photography.  She also wanted to practice getting more comfortable taking photos of people  she did not know.

Photo 1:  Host Luvia Lazo at the family altar.  Erin says, “The family visit was amazing.  Being invited into a family’s home and hearing their personal stories and explanations about life in the village and the Day of the Dead was very special.”

Photo 2:  Luvia’s family altar.  Every family will create their own altar arrangement based upon family traditions and aesthetics. There is always the cane arch by which the dead enter and leave the world, candles, copal and wild marigold to guide the path.

“I’ve always wanted to visit Mexico during the Day of the Dead.  I figured this program would be culturally respectful and a creative way to engage with the celebrations.  I’d also like to build my photography skills and hopefully leave with some great memories and pictures,” Erin said on her registration form.

 

Photo 3: (Left) Laundry at the potter’s house.  Photo 4:  (Right) Portrait at the pottery.

Photo 5:  Sitting vigil at the Xoxocotlan cemetery.  Erin used a Nikon D40 camera. She got great night shots without flash using a tripod despite the fact that the camera’s ISO only goes to 1600.  Despite the limitations of her camera to bring more light into the exposure, Erin got great foreground detail and composition.

Photo 6:  Cemetery at Xoxocotlan.  The darker the conditions, the greater need there is to raise the ISO.  If Erin’s camera had the capability to go to ISO 3200 or beyond, she would have gotten more light into the lens to create a brighter photo.

Photo 7:  The magic of the altar includes a photo of the deceased family member, cups of hot chocolate and piles of special Pan de Muerto (bread of the dead) to refresh them for the journey to/from the underworld.  Erin captured the mystery of the family altar beautifully.

Photo 8:  The playfulness of the comparsa [sometimes also called a muerteada].  The street parades go on for days in Oaxaca during Day of the Dead, from October 30 to November 2.

“The responsiveness to the needs and interests of the group was really impressive.  The thoughtfulness with which matches with host families were made was wonderful,” says Erin. [Norma says, “Thank you, Erin.]

Photo 9: There are also parades that feature indigenous dress so that visitors can see the colorful handmade clothing that is woven and embroidered in villages throughout Oaxaca.

Photo 10:  The Children’s Comparsa.  This parade is not to be missed.  It happens on October 30.  Erin caught the mood perfectly.

Photo 11:  Symmetry and Asymmetry.  A doorway in Teotitlan del Valle.

“I felt safe and comfortable even on my own throughout Oaxaca,” says Erin. Thank you, Erin, for the joy of your company.