The Durham Bulls baseball team became legendary in the 1988 film Bull Durham. In honor of the 25th anniversary of the movie, Bull City Summer: A Season at the Ballpark and Beyond will document the 2013 season of the minor league team based in Durham, NC.
The creative team of writers and photographers includes Duke University Center for Documentary Studies instructor and photographer Frank Hunter, who leads our 2013 Day of the Dead Photography Expedition in Oaxaca, Mexico starting October 28. Spaces open! Contact Norma.
Photography is a cultural art, it invites and demands our full attention to capture people, a scene, a moment in time never to occur again. It involves technical knowledge, for sure, but also requires spunk, courage, and spontaneous response as well as practice, dedication, and patience. Photography is about framing, cropping, coloring and exposure. Being in Oaxaca gives you an enriching opportunity to explore all that photography is in a dramatic, inspiring place.
My sister Barbara and I were in Puebla, Mexico recently and during our three-day stay we ate at El Mural de los Poblanos Restaurant three times. We can’t get enough of Chef Lizette Galicia’s good food. We each have a favorite salad there. Barbara loves the fresh nopal cactus tossed with tomato, onion, cilantro, queso fresco, radishes and little slices of fresh serrano chiles. I love the sunflower sprout salad tossed with toasted pecans, sunflower seeds, radishes and a light olive oil and lime dressing. Everything goes crunch. Be patient. There is a recipe and photos below!
This week I bought three nopal cactus paddles at my organic market, spines and all. I buy them in the Teotitlan del Valle market already trimmed, diced and waiting to be cooking. Those spines pricked me in the market and the check-out clerk had to cover her hand in a plastic baggie. Today, I put on my thick rubber dishwashing gloves to handle them. It was much easier than I thought. With paring knife in hand, I scraped off the spines and trimmed the edges. Facile.
Based on the ingredients in my kitchen and Chef Lizette’s method for preparing perfectly crunchy, delicious nopal, here is my recipe I know you will find tasty. It is a merging of these two salads we love, a blend of nopal and sunflower sprouts.
Norma’s No-Cook Nopal Cactus Salad with Fruit, Sprouts, Seeds
Ingredients (Norma’s Innovation)
3 cactus paddles, cleaned and diced
2 cups fresh sunflower sprouts, washed, dried
1/4 c. sunflower seeds
1 small romaine or bibb lettuce, washed, dried, torn into 1-2″ pieces
8 strawberries (mine are organic, small, flavorful), whole
1 medium mandarin orange, peeled, segmented
1 mango, ripe, seeded, cut into 1/2″ cubes
1/2 small red onion, diced
1 T. coarse sea salt
2 T. vinaigrette salad dress (scratch or bottled Cesaer)
Method (attributed to Chef Lizette Galicia, El Mural de los Poblanos)
Put the diced cactus in a small bowl. You should have about 3/4 to 1 cup. Add coarse sea salt. Stir. Let sit for 10 minutes.
Add the diced red onion to the cactus. Stir. Let mixture sit while you prepare the other ingredients.
Wash and dry lettuce and sprouts. Put into mixing bowl.
Soak berries in water for 2 minutes with 1 T. of white vinegar to clean. Drain. Dry. De-stem. Add to salad.
Add mandarin segments to salad.
Prepare mango by cutting it in half along the seed plane. Score each half as if it was a tic-tac-toe board in 1″ cubes. Fold the skin under and peel flesh from skin with paring knife. Add to salad.
Go back to nopal cactus and onion mixture. Turn out into a mesh strainer. The mix will be slimy like okra. Run under cold water for 5 minutes or until the water is clear. Taste for saltiness. If too salty, continue to rinse.
Drain cactus and onion well over a bowl. Put bowl in refrigerator for 10 minutes until mix is cold. Add to salad.
Toss salad well with sunflower seeds. Dress and serve.
Serves 4.
Enjoy!
The health attributes of nopal cactus is legendary. Years ago, Andrew Weill, M.D., exclaimed that by eating nopal cactus you would get more vitamin C, reduce cholesterol and add fiber to your diet. Health experts say it also reduces blood sugar to help keep diabetes under control and is great for weight loss. Lore has it that it can prevent a hangover and control hypertension, too. Let’s eat more nopal! Just be careful not to prick yourself 🙂
I am planning to make this again next weekend for the TMM-Day of the Dead Photography Workshop 2012 Reunion. I’ll be writing more about that. Suffice it to say, seven women in the workshop last fall connected and wanted to get together again. They are coming to North Carolina from all over the U.S.
Here is an amazing assortment from my personal collection of Josefina Aguilar clay figures for sale. Josefina is from Ocotlan, Oaxaca, and creates clay sculptures in herr home pottery studio on the road leading into town. She is famed for her whimsical interpretation of the world, including the life of Frida Kahlo. I also have a few pieces for sale by her sister Guillermina, equally talented who lives right next door. What’s amazing is that I got all these back to the U.S. intact, whole, with no cracks or broken pieces!
1. Calavera Lady with Purple Boa. $165. Signed Josefina Aguilar. She stands almost 12″ high. Blue umbrella is attached. The boa is a series of purple glittery petals, and the detail work is extraordinary. In perfect collectible condition. Price does not include shipping or insurance. It includes excellent packing.
2. To the right, Foxy Lady of the Night with Glitter Dress and Red Hair. $95. Signed Josefina Aguilar. She is wearing a fox boa — indeed you can see the fox head and tail! Her fingernails are painted bright red to match her hair. The glitter is shimmering purple, and she sports a yellow flower in her hair. Price does not include shipping or insurance. It does include excellent packing.
3. Serene Woman with Flowers and Bowl on Her Head. $95. Signed G.A.A. (Guillermina Aguilar). Stands almost 13″ high. Stunning sculptural figure in natural clay, unpainted, holding a water bowl on her head. The bowl is filagreed and is balanced and held on the head by two metal prongs that protrude from the clay braid. The flowers and stars that decorate her body are also solidly held by metal rods that are baked into the clay. Price does not include shipping or insurance. It does include packing.
4. Day of the Dead Calavera with Flowers and Bowl, $50. Signed G.A.A. (Guillermina Aguilar) 9-1/2″ tall in natural clay. That bowl rests securely on her head. She is a wonderful representation of the lightheartedness by which Oaxacans celebrate this October holiday — with marigold flowers, lots of good food and fond memories of their departed loved ones. Price includes packing. Does not include shipping or insurance.
5. Frida Kahlo with Three Monkeys. $60. Josefina Aguilar. I loved the sculptural quality of this piece which is why I bought it at Josefina’s studio before she painted and signed it. Any collector would recognize it as pure Josefina just by the sculpting of the nose! You can see how she attaches the pieces of the leaves and monkeys to the body with slip clay because this is a different color from the clay body. Price includes packing. It does not include shipping or insurance.
Please send me an emailto let me know you want a piece BEFORE you make a PayPal payment. Include your shipping address and let me know if you want insurance. I will confirm it is still available and send you an invoice based on your location and desire for insurance. Thank you.
Now that I’m back in North Carolina, I am looking at my Oaxaca folk art collection of whimsical, carved wood and hand-painted alebrijes. Wow, there are a lot of beautiful alebrijes from San Martin Tilcajete and San Antonio Arrazola, including some by famed Jacobo Angeles and his wife Maria. It’s now time to sell as I prepare to spend more months each year in Mexico in smaller space. I brought them here carefully, one by one, over the years with no damage. I don’t want to risk it going the other way! So, here they are up for sale. I will definitely consider all good offers, too.
If I don’t sell these here this week, I will list them on eBay. So don’t hesitate!
1. From master wood carvers Jacobo and Maria Angeles in San Martin Tilcajete, a carved and painted jaguar mask, $165.
This is a stunning addition to any mask collection!
Jacobo and Maria Angeles are the most famed woodcarvers of San Martin Tilcajete. They have exhibited worldwide, are in private collections and their work is impeccable. They also operate Azucenas Zapoteca Restaurant and have a gallery on Macedonio Alcala in the historic center of Oaxaca.
2. Flying Hummingbird #1 by Jacobo and Maria Angeles, San Martin Tilcajete, Oaxaca. This one is hand-painted with all natural dyes — cochineal, nuts, moss. wing span 6″ and from beak to tail, 5″ long. $85 USD.
3. Flying Hummingbird #2 (below) by Jacobo and Maria Angeles, San Martin Tilcajete. Magenta with blue and yellow accents. Wing span 5″ and beak to tail 5-1/2″. $60 USD.
4. Exquisite Lizard by Rocio Ramirez, Xoxocotlan, Oaxaca. Just look at that tail! This is one entire piece of copal wood, carefully carved and beautifully painted in perfect condition. 18″ long and 10″ wide, from tail to end of left claw! Impressive. $295 USD.
5. Hector Lopez carved this rhinoceros in his home village of Arrazola about seven years ago. I have had it as a prominent part of my collection ever since. The painting detail is incredible and it is carved from a single piece of copal wood, except for the detachable tail and ears. From tail to end of front horn, 17″ long. Stands 8″ high. $325 USD.
6. And, finally, a wonderful Black and White Bear by famed Maria and Candida Jimenez Ojeda, San Martin Tilcajete, Oaxaca. 8″ long x 4″ high x 3″ wide. Small and mighty. The detail painting is stunningly Maria! $125 USD.
Send me an email and please refer to item number and description when inquiring. Price does not include shipping or insurance. Please tell me if you want this, along with your mailing address and I will send you an invoice that includes shipping and insurance based on your location.
Gema Cruz Ambrosia has been cooking at Gabriella Cafe in Santa Cruz, California for the past eighteen years. Gema, (pronounced HAY-mah with a throaty H) whose name means gemstone, came to Santa Cruz twenty-eight years ago from a small village just beyond Oaxaca city called San Pablo Huixtepec.
Her entire family is here in Santa Cruz, including a twenty-seven year old daughter. Gema looks to be not much older. Her eyes dance and her wide smile broadens as she talks about integrating Oaxaca native foods into the California farm-to-table organic fusion menu of the cafe. Gema is hard-working and resourceful. Owner-manager Paul Cocking introduces Gema to me as the cafe’s sous chef. She started out washing dishes and takes pride in her place of importance in the kitchen today. There are stories like this everywhere.
This was my second visit there this week, first with Leslie Larson for lunch and then with Bella Jacque for dinner, both past participants in Oaxaca Cultural Navigator workshops. I’m in love with the food.
The menu reflects Gema’s influences: Rich, complex sauces, perfectly seared fish, house-marinated anchovies that tops crispy fresh greens. The Sunday brunch features Gema’s roots: Huevos rancheros, chicken or pork with mole pipian, quesadillas with flor de calabaza, black beans with hierba santa, tamales flavored with chipil, large homemade tortillas fresh from the comal. Gema talks about Oaxaca food as if it were her twin sister. All the fresh ingredients, she tells me, are easily available locally. She only has difficulty getting the large clay comales from Oaxaca on which to make the tlayuda-size tortillas. They often arrive broken. (When they do come intact, they need to be seasoned with lime powder or calc before using.)
Gema says there is a big Oaxaca population in Seaside, California, which is on the Monterey Bay, about an hour from Santa Cruz. Census figures of 2010 count 43.3% of the population as Latino or Hispanic.
In the village of Teotitlan del Valle where I live, most immigrants from the village gravitate to Moorpark, Simi Valley and Oxnard, although there is a large Zapotec community from Oaxaca living in Santa Ana, California (which they call Santana).
I am constantly meeting Oaxaqueños in North Carolina, too. The cross-cultural influences are strong, not only through the sharing of food and recipes. The Oaxaca people I know work hard, are honest, care immensely about their families, and value traditions. They take pride in their roots even when living in the United States. Beyond recipes, there is a lot to learn from them and share.
Why We Left, Expat Anthology: Norma’s Personal Essay
Norma contributes personal essay, How Oaxaca Became Home
Norma Contributes Two Chapters!
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Our Programs: Study Tours + Workshops
Dye Workshops All Year. Set Your Own Dates.
Individuals & Groups Welcome!
Hands-on Dye Workshops + Textile Experiences
We offer textile experiences in our studio where we weave and work only in natural dyes.You can see the process during our textile tours, dye workshops or customized weaving experiences. Ask us for more information about these experiences, customized scheduling, and prices.
Oaxaca has the largest and most diverse textile culture in Mexico! Learn about it.
1-Day OaxacaCity Collectors Textile Tour.Exclusive Access! We take you into the homes and workshops of Oaxaca State's prize-winning weavers. They come from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, the Mixteca, Mixe, Amuzgos and Triqui areas and represent their weaving families and cooperatives here. For collectors, retailers, buyers, wholesalers, fashionistas.
1-Day Oaxaca Textile Walking Tour When you visit Oaxaca immerse yourself in our textile culture: How is indigenous clothing made, what is the best value, most economical, finest available. Suitable for adults only. Set your own dates.
2022 Going Deep, Not Wide--Extended Tours
July 25-31, 2022. Oaxaca Textile Adventure Tour: Sierra Norte Mountains. Visit two remote mountain villages where silk and cotton are woven into glorious cloth and dyed with natural plant materials. Come early or stay later for Guelaguetza! Not too late to join!
October 28-November 4, 2022: Women’s Creative Writing Retreat in Teotitlan del Valle — Memory and Tradition. Click this link to read about it. ONE SPACE OPEN FOR SHARED ROOM.
October 29-November 4, 2022:Day of the Dead Culture Tour. We meet locals and visit 4 villages to experience this mystical pre-Hispanic observance, awesome and reverent. Still space for a few more!
February 5-13, 2023: Bucket List Tour: Monarch Butterflies + Michoacan. Spiritual, mystical connection to nature. Go deep into weaving, pottery, mask-making and more! We haven't offered this tour since 2019 and we anticipate it will sell out quickly. TWO SPACES OPEN
February 21-March 1, 2023: Chiapas Textile Study Tour--Deep Into the Maya World Based in San Cristobal de las Casas, we travel to distant pueblos to meet extraordinary weavers --Best of the Best! Just a handful of spaces open.
Stay Healthy. Stay Safe. In Oaxaca, wear your mask. Questions? Want more info or to register? Send an email to Norma Schafer.
Maps: Teotitlan + Tlacolula Market
We require 48-hour advance notice for map orders to be processed. We send a printable map via email PDF after order received. Please be sure to send your email address. Where to see natural dyed rugs in Teotitlan del Valle and layout of the Sunday Tlacolula Market, with favorite eating, shopping, ATMs. Click Here to Buy Map After you click, be sure to check PayPal to ensure your email address isn't hidden from us. We fulfill each map order personally. It is not automatic.
Dye Master Dolores Santiago Arrellanas with son Omar Chavez Santiago, weaver and dyer, Fey y Lola Rugs, Teotitlan del Valle