The three-day celebration in Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca, Mexico, leading up to December 12 to honor Mexico’s favorite saint, the Virgin of Guadalupe, started on December 10 with a 5 p.m. calenda (procession) that began in the church courtyard.
Parade of the Canastas winds through village streets for three miles
But, I arrived early, at 1 p..m., to find a couple celebrating a wedding in the church, followed by a group of cyclists from Teotitlan who arrived at 2 p.m. at the end of their journey from Juquila. They had pedaled 36-hours in a caravan complete with altar and bicycle repair sag wagon.
Bikes parked in church courtyard while cyclists receive blessings inside
A photo diary of the afternoon:
Celebrants holding fragrant poleo, part of the calenda ritual
You need to understand that in the hierarchy of religious symbols, the Virgin of Guadalupe is at the top. She is the embodiment of the pre-Hispanic corn goddess melded with the Virgin Mary by the conquerers. She is mother earth, goddess of nature and symbolic of life and the empowerment of women. God and Jesus are next in line. It’s what we call syncretism here.
Cousins Maya and Alicia were among the hundreds of young women chosen
Men volunteer to accompany, carry the bamboo baskets for relief
Onlookers at street corners take photos, applaud, acculturate children
And the band plays on, actually two of them!, accompanying Los Danzantes
At intervals, Dance of the Feather participants stop with a dance
Grandma Juana, Baby Luz, and Mama Edith along the way
Little girls are acculturated early to the importance of community ritual and tradition
This serape is old, woven in the 1960’s I was told
The young women started out at the homes of the Mayordomos, Fidel Cruz and Bulmaro Perez, who both live on the main entry road to the village, almost to the main highway, MEXICO 190 (Panamerican Highway). At the end of the night, they were tired. Mayordomo definition: The chief sponsor, organizer and funder of an major village event.
Yes, these baskets are very heavy. They walked at least five miles.
Watching from the second story along the parade route.
Ixcel Guadalupe gets ready to start the calenda from the church courtyard.
This dancer’s protective shield was hand-woven by his father years ago
After all had assembled in the church courtyard, the procession began: first the children holding papier-mache stanchions of turkeys, ducks, chickens, and dogs. Then came the chief of the fireworks, sending spiraling smoke bombs into the air, then Secundino (age 90+) playing the traditional Zapotec flute.
Barbara, David and Jo Ann came from California and New Mexico
He was followed by the Danzantes (Dance of the Feather participants), then the young maidens in traditional dress holding elaborate, heavy baskets on their heads.
All ages enjoy the pageantry
Since there were two mayordomos, there were two bands and two groups of young women, sponsored by each. It was quite a spectacle.
The calenda: firecrackers, music, giant balloons, children with duck, turkey flags
I decided to follow and the pace was easy enough that I found myself often midway or at the front of the group — until I recognized village friends, stopped to chat, and got left behind, only to dash to catch up again. The three miles went quickly.
The Virgin of Guadalupe, Queen of Mexico
Dance of the Feather group with Moctezuma, La Malinche and Doña Marina
At the end, I joined Barbara, David, J0 Ann and Beverly for a quiet dinner of homemade memelas, yogurt jello, atole, and fruit provided by host Bulmaro Perez and family. I brought the cuishe mezcal!
Assembly in the church courtyard at the end of the calenda, at dusk.
Tonight, Monday, the fireworks start at 9 p.m. The last fireworks I attended announced for 9 p.m. got going around 11 p.m.
I’m not sure I can stay up that late!
I took the dogs on a long, three-mile walk out to the border of our neighboring village, and I’m not very energetic.
Today’s walk in the campo, with a new discovery: swimming hole
Tomorrow, Tuesday, December 12, the Dance of the Feather begins in the church courtyard, they say at noon and will go until 8 p.m. or 9 p.m. followed by another calenda of the church committee.
Leaping Danzantes. They get off their feet.
The Juquila bicyclists’ sag wagon
Long live the Queen of Mexico, Virgin of Guadalupe
Happy New Year — Feliz Año Nuevo — Let’s Celebrate with Pozole
I decided to have a very small New Year’s Eve birthday celebration, invite a few Zapotec friends and the family I live with to lunch, and prepare pozole. I made this in North Carolina for Dia de los Muertos, but adapted the recipe for ingredients I could find there.
Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca, Mexico — Feliz Año Nuevo
Here, in the Teotitlan del Valle market, I could find fresh Mexican oregano, organic and native corn hominy made by a local family, and tender pork from the local butcher that cost a mere $7 USD for the best cut.
Grilling onion, garlic and jalapeño pepper on the comal to bring out flavors
2 kilos of tomatillos, peeled, disinfected, simmered 20 minutes
After three trips to the car to unload my shopping basket, I sat down at the corner market stand for fortification — a fresh juice cocktail with beets, pineapple, carrot and orange.
Fresh juice respite, Teotitlan del Valle market, with shopping list
Almost everything here in the village market is criollo — or native species. The small heads of garlic come from the neighboring village of Tlacochuaya. You can only buy the heads with giant cloves at commercial grocery stores.
Pepitas on the comal — griddle, toast before peeling
I did have a glitch in my preparation. My search for shelled pumpkin seeds (called pepitas) failed. So I bought whole seeds in a bulk bag from a spice and chili vendor. When I got home, I proceeded to try to take the skin off. The pumpkin seeds are essential to the green pozole because when ground, they become a natural sauce thickener.
Blend onion, garlic, cilantro, peppers, tomatillo, pepitas to a paste
Then my friend Lupita came over. Much easier, Norma, to toast the seeds on the comal, she told me, then the shell will come right off. She taught me how to toast until the seeds start to pop like popcorn. It took me two hours to yield 1/4 cup of shelled pumpkin seeds, the amount my recipe called for. She sat down to help me and in thirty minutes the amount doubled.
Pozole verde: hominy, pork, chicken bits, spices in casserole
I love green pozole. And, I remembered how easy it was to make this one-pot meal in North Carolina. But, all fruits and vegetables here in Mexico need to be disinfected. I often rinse them several times to get rid of the soil. Picked fresh organic cilantro and radishes are sold roots and greens. Just to get the ingredients ready was another lesson in paciencia.
Crock pot does the trick for slow cooking pork/chicken with sea salt, garlic, onion
For this Green Pozole (pozole verde) recipe, I adapted ingredients and instructions culled from Rick Bayless, Mama Latina Tips, and Food Network. I prepared the pork-chicken/onion/garlic mix in a crock pot first, cooking for six hours.
Pozole toppings: radish, onion, cilantro, oregano, cabbage, jalapeño
When lunch ended it was almost dusk. Lunch starts here around three or four o’clock and can end several hours later depending on the quantity of food and mezcal. We had our fair share of both.
A few lunch guests, family and friends
For the next feast we would gather at 10:30 p.m. for a midnight meal with my host family to celebrate the New Year. This is a long-standing tradition in Teotitlan del Valle, along with the annual pilgrimage to Las Cuevitas.
Pozole, or fresh hominy, rinsed, disinfected and drained
For the interlude, I went up to the rooftop terrace to wait, climbed into the hammock, and gazed at this December 31 Supermoon. In the distance I could hear the village band playing at the sacred caves — Las Cuevitas. Cohetes, or firecrackers, exploded like gunshot at irregular intervals. Dogs howled. Probably a few coyotes, too.
Vegetarian version with choyote squash, hominy and green sauce
On this first day of 2018, as my Teotitlan del Valle family and I sat around the table at lunch, we each shared our wishes for 2018. I wish for continued good health, for continuing to walk three to four miles a day with my adopted dogs, for nothing more than what I already have, except to see my son more often and perhaps the possibility of a man in my life. Vamos a ver!
Supermoon from my hammock on the casita rooftop terrace, Teotitlan del Valle
As this year begins anew, as we each move through the passage of time, I wish for all of us a year of peace, satisfaction, contentment, love and abundance. There is nothing more important than the support of family and good friends.
Thank you all for following Oaxaca Cultural Navigator, for reading, for joining me to discover and explore textiles and natural dyes, and for caring about Mexico.
Happy New Year. Feliz Año Nuevo.
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Posted in Cultural Commentary, Teotitlan del Valle, Travel & Tourism
Tagged celebration, green pozole, hominy, las cuevitas, Mexico, new year, Oaxaca, pozole verde, Teotitlan del Valle