I just got word that Frank Hunter’s photographs are published in today’s New York Times. They accompany an essay When the Saint Came Marching In by writer Allan Gurganus.
Frank Hunter is the workshop leader for our Day of the Dead Photography Expedition that starts October 28 — less than two weeks away. And, there are still spaces open.
Why not? If you live in Oaxaca, I can adjust the lodging cost. If you don’t, there are still reasonable airfares out there.
Comments Off on New York Times Features Day of the Dead Photography Instructor
Posted in Oaxaca Mexico art and culture
Tagged class, day of the dead, Frank Hunter, Mexico, Oaxaca, photography, workshop
The top news in The New York Times today comes from international desk writer Damien Cave, who offers us a human perspective about what Mexicans think about the shenanigans in our nation’s capitol: It’s not good for the U.S. and it’s not good for the rest of the world. We hear the voices of regular people from Russia, Greece, and Egypt — countries that have been in economic default. The people pay the price and world opinion matters.
The Mexican peso is closely tied to the U.S. dollar and Mexican employment and economic well-being depends upon U.S. stability. There is concern about the gravity of the situation in the halls of Congress and what this means for the U.S. as a world leader. At the moment we are not in high regard!
I’m sharing this story with you as I wait in Chicago for my flight to Mexico City, sipping Moroccan mint tea and thinking about the impact of our budget crisis on the people in Mexico, who are deeply intertwined with our country. This is not only about the United States. It is our responsibility as citizens of the world to fix what’s wrong with congressmen and congresswomen who are obstructionists to the workings of government and playing havoc with our future.
Comments Off on How Mexico (and the rest of the world) views the U.S. budget crisis
Posted in Cultural Commentary
Tagged budget crisis, Mexico, Republicans, Tea Party, United States, world opinion
Madrid was my gateway city to and from Morocco. I planned two full days there on the way back for arts immersion. (It wasn’t enough time!) What was quickly revealed were the inextricable links between Spain, Mexico and the Americas, and North Africa. This last stop on my journey tied it all together. Our histories are linked, intertwined, related.
Flanking the entrance to the Palacio Real in Madrid are greater than life-size marble statues of Moctezuma, Mexico’s Aztec ruler (above right), and Atahualpa, Peru’s Inka king. The conquest of Mexico and Peru provided Spain with extraordinary New World wealth and power including gold, silver, cochineal and labor.
These sculptures acknowledge the subjugated people of Mexico and Peru on whose backs the Spanish Empire was built during the reign of Holy Roman Emperor and King Charles (Carlos) V. The sculptures also represent Spanish religious will to convert the world to Catholicism through whatever means. The Baroque 18th Century palace built by Phillip (Felipe) IV honors the role his grandfather King Charles played in empire building and solidifying his succession.
At the beginning of the 16th Century, Spain defined herself as defender of orthodoxy. At the same time as Cortes and Pisarro were funded to plunder and convert the Americas, the Spanish kings were coalescing territory and power on the Iberian Peninsula. The Spanish Inquisition, started in 1492 by Ferdinand La Catolica and Isabel la Catolica (as they are known in Spain and Mexico), to purify Spain and purge her of Moslems and Jews, continued until 1834 and extended to Mexico and her territories in the American southwest. At the same time, the growing Protestant movement promised to threaten traditional faith.
As I walked the magnificent Palacio Real halls, grander than Versailles, surrounded by a collection of Renaissance art second only to Italy, handwoven Belgium tapestries, crystal chandeliers, sterling silver, gilded mirrors, and all the adornments of royalty, I could not stop thinking about the human cost to the indigenous peoples of the Americas to finance Habsburg Spain, European Machiavellian politics, and the Thirty Years War.
Velazquez, Titian, Botecelli, Rubens, Hieronymus Bosch, Goya, Rafael and Tintoretto are only of the few artists commissioned and collected by Spanish monarchs and on exhibit at the Museo el Prado. The collection in the Museo el Prado is extraordinary. At the Palacio Real, I was able to see an exhibition open to the public for the first time of paintings decorating the walls of El Escorial, the monastery and mausoleum constructed as a religious retreat center by Phillip IV, located 45 miles from Madrid.
When I returned to Hostal Don Juan — fabulous and affordable — I conveyed my experience to Juan Antonio. He replied wistfully that Spain was once the most powerful country in the world. Ah, yes, I said, things change, don’t they? America is on the wane and now China takes her turn. Then, I returned to my favorite tapas bar Mercado de la Reina, where locals sip great beer on tap and delicious red table wine starting at 11 a.m.
The Spanish may no longer be a world power, but they sure know how to live!
Back home in North Carolina after 14 days in Morocco, the quintessential shopping bazaar, with a 2-day stopover in beautiful Madrid, Spain. Now, I prepare to return to Oaxaca, but not before a final set of Morocco recommendations to share with you.
Tisnet tagines photo copyright Norma Hawthorne
Spice market, photo by Norma Hawthorne
They saw a live one coming!
Essaouira, Morocco photo copyright Norma Hawthorne
L’Heure Bleue patio, photo by Norma Hawthorne
Argan oil, nuts photo by Norma Hawthorne
Abraham Touarez, photo copyright Norma Hawthorne
How to get from Marrakech to Essaouira? It’s a two to four hour bus ride depending upon which company you choose. SupraTours and CTM offer first class direct service and have their own stations. Any bus that you take from the Gare Routiere will stop in every hamlet and crossroads along the way. Avoid El Mahabba Voyages, second class, shabby. Prices are about the same. You choose. And, don’t get swindled by somebody who wants a tip to reserve a seat for you! Bags are extra 5-10 dh each depending on which service you choose.
Below, dinner at L’Heure Bleue. C’est magnifique.
Posted in Dining and Lodging, Food & Recipes, Jewelry, Textiles, Tapestries & Weaving, Travel & Tourism
Tagged bus, carpets, Essaouira, food, Jewish quarter, Marrakech, mellah, Morocco, rugs, shopping, travel, where to stay
In Mexico City: Where to Buy a Bus Ticket to Oaxaca
This is no longer the location.
For the new location, click here.
Where to buy a bus ticket to Oaxaca in Mexico City’s historic center? This has been a dilemma and frustrating for foreign travelers for many years. We cannot use non-Mexican credit cards to buy an ADO bus ticket to Oaxaca (or anywhere ADO operates) online. Heretofore, the only solution was to go to Mexico TAPO (the regional bus station) to buy an advance ticket (45-minute taxi ride one-way) or show up on the day you want to leave and hope there is a seat.
Don’t blink! You might miss it.
After a frustrating hour on my computer and then again with the concierge at my otherwise absolutely wonderful and affordable Hotel Catedral, I accepted that I could not change the system. They suggested I might buy a ticket at OXXO (the convenience store). Not wanting to waste another moment, I went on to spend three wonderful hours at the Secretaria de Educacion Publica (SEP) to view and review 1923-1928 Diego Rivera murals. My hope was that sometime later, aka mañana, perhaps I would source a ticket location.
I went in search of OXXO. No OXXO where it was supposed to be. Then, I went into a hostel to ask and was directed to a street but no address. I kept walking, hoping I could find the Hotel Majestic where someone else said there was a travel agency. Instead, I found myself in front of the Holiday Inn Zocalo and entered, hoping they could sell me a ticket. The bell captain, in reply to my query, said, Oh, someone was here last week saying an ADO ticket office just opened around the corner. Go out, turn right and then turn left at the first street. It’s down there somewhere. Not far. I was skeptical, yet decided to trust. This is important in Mexico. Trust takes you to many places and then eventually to the right one. (By the way, did I say I’m traveling alone, sola?)
So, I followed his instructions, but I crossed Calle Monte Piedad from 5 de Mayo to walk on the Zocalo side turning left and heading away from the Cathedral as instructed. No store where the bell captain said there should be one. Exasperated, I pivoted. Un milagro!
Don’t blink! You might miss it: A teeny, weeny sign hung high above and to the side of an arcade entryway leading to restaurants and artisan collectibles on the upper floors. I was deluged by eager young people promoting said establishments and in the obscurity of the arched tunnel could not see the small, portable stand with signage facing the opposite wall promoting bus ticket sales. So, again, after seeing the street sign, I said, Where is the bus ticket office? There, they said, pointing about five feet away.
Now, here’s what you’ve been patiently waiting for:
MultiMarca ticket stand, Ave. Monte Piedad #11, between 5 de Mayo and Francisco I. Madero, across from the Zocalo and next door to McDonald’s soft serve. Open daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Cash only if you are a foreigner! One-way, 6-hour bus ticket to Oaxaca on ADO GL is $584 pesos. No phone. They use wide-band Telcel USB to connect to the Internet and process tickets.
In case you forgot, this is the landmark!
Like this:
36 Comments
Posted in Cultural Commentary, Oaxaca Mexico art and culture, Travel & Tourism
Tagged ADO, bus, Diego Rivera, Mexico, Mexico City, Oaxaca, SEP, ticket, tourism, transportation, travel