La Malinche: Mexico’s Mestizo Origins

For those who don’t know, La Malinche was the young woman-child and slave sold to Hernan Cortes on the Maya coast of Mexico in 1521. She was traded by the Chontal Maya along with 19 other 12-year olds. Her narrative is complex and formidable. An exhibit at the Albuquerque Museum examines her role as survivor, […]

La Reina de Mexico: Celebrating the Virgin of Guadalupe

I’ve been corrected. The Virgin of Guadalupe is not a saint. She is Our Lady of Guadalupe, giver of miracles. In reality, she is the quintessential symbol of Mexican syncretism, combining indigenous roots/beliefs with Spanish Catholicism. In reality, she is more indigenous than Catholic receiving much more attention than the Virgin Mary or Jesus. As […]

Taking Big Leaps–Dance of the Feather, Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca

Wednesday, July 10, 2019–This group of new dancers start their three-year commitment to church, community and family this year. The most touching moment for me was to be in the home of the Moctezuma, the lead character in the Danza de la Pluma just before they set out to the church plaza to dance for […]

Parade of the Canastas and Dance of the Feather, Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca

Opening ceremonies for the Dance of the Feather in Teotitlan del Valle always begin with a 5:00 PM Monday convite starting in the plaza courtyard. Convite translates into banquet, invitation, feast. Here, it is a procession that by my definition is a Feast For the Eyes. Today, Tuesday, July 9, Los Danzantes de la Pluma […]

The Dance of the Feather Begins in Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca

Today is the official start of Teotitlan del Valle’s Dance of the Feather, or Danza de la Pluma. It is a perfect example of how our village celebrates community with a promise and commitment by young people to their people, their church, their history and their culture. The celebration honors the 16th century church, Templo […]

Preview: Teotitlan del Valle Celebrates Village Life with Basket Parade

The fiesta in Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca, is an annual event, always celebrated the first week in July. This year it continues through July 9.  I’m posting the schedule below for those of you in Oaxaca. This is a festival that honors the village church, Preciosa Sangre de Nuestro Senor Jesucristo. This is a religious […]

Dance of the Feather Tribute to the Virgin of Guadalupe, Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca

Teotitlan del Valle‘s Los Danzantes are famous throughout the Valles Centrales de Oaxaca. They make a commitment to the church four years before they actually begin their three-year term to perform La Danza de la Pluma — The Dance of the Feather — at all village festivals. Honoring the Virgin of Guadalupe, Queen of Mexico, […]

Teotitlan’s Dance of the Feather: Taking Big Leaps

The Dance of the Feather — Danza de la Pluma — is a cultural phenomenon in the Valles Centrales de Oaxaca — Oaxaca’s central valleys. It’s especially true here in Teotitlan del Valle where the church feast day celebration is perfected to an art form. If you are in Oaxaca now through the weekend, you […]

Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca, Celebrates Her Patron Saint Today

The patron saint of Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca, Mexico is the Virgin of the Nativity — La Virgen de la Natividad. It is celebrated here on September 8, today. There are two days of fiestas that started on September 6 with a Parade of the Canastas, this year’s group of Las Danzantes de la Pluma […]

2015 Schedule, Danza de la Pluma, Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca

The Dance of the Feathers, or Danza de la Pluma, is an annual tradition in Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca, Mexico. This year festivities start on Monday, July 6 and end on Saturday, July 11, 2015. Here is the schedule. Monday, July 6, about 4 p.m., Parade of the Canastas, Church Courtyard. The procession of young […]

2014 Dance of the Feather Schedule: Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca

Today, Monday, July 7, the Zapotec weaving village of Teotitlan del Valle begins its weeklong fiesta to celebrate its Catholic Church of the Precious Blood with a calenda de las canastas — the parade of the canastas.  This starts in the church courtyard today around 6:00 p.m. Oaxaca time.  Which means, it starts at 5 p.m. […]

Oaxaca Photography Workshop Tour: Dance of the Feather, Festival & Traditions

Come to Oaxaca, explore indigenous culture, cuisine and traditions, and use your digital SLR camera to capture, record and document it all, including the amazing Dance of the Feather — Danza de la Pluma,   This is cultural immersion at its best! July 5-13, 2014 — 8 nights, 9 days The annual Dance of the Feather […]

Dance of the Feather Grand Finale and Rain

I’m finally settled into Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca, after a whirlwind two days in Mexico City and a six-hour bus ride south.  It’s raining here and has done so for days. Evenings are chilly enough for a blanket. The afternoon sky is filled with dramatic shades of gray cumulus clouds punctuated with intermittent sunlight. The […]

Cultural Dialogs: Dance of the Feather in Teotitlan del Valle

On Wednesday night this week, the San Pablo Academic and Cultural Center hosted the first in a series of community dialogs about indigenous life in Oaxaca.   The restored chapel was filled to standing room only with Teotitecos and friends who came to hear a panel discussion introducing the new book, La Danza de la […]

Oaxaca Photography Workshop: Market Towns + Artisan Villages Summer 2012

TWO SPACES LEFT!   9 Days- 8 Nights,  June 29 –  July 7, 2012      Discover how to better know and use your digital camera in daily learning sessions.  Then, apply what you learn “on location” to capture your Oaxaca, Mexico travel adventure.  The program focuses on the use of  digital SLR photography to capture, record and document […]

Oaxaca Dance of the Feather: Always Carry a Second Battery

It was late afternoon on July 6, 2011 when the dancers assembled in the church courtyard to begin.  They would dance into the night until almost 10 p.m.  The day was balmy with a light breeze.  Perfect weather. I arrived just as they were getting started, after I had hiked out into the countryside, wandering […]

Oaxaca Festivals: Dance of the Feather, Teotitlan del Valle 2011

One of the great Oaxaca festivals is the Dance of the Feather in Teotitlan del Valle — a must-see for every Oaxaca resident and tourist.  It is a story of honor, conquest, survival and endurance. As a dance, its roots are pre-Hispanic and with most rituals and traditions in Oaxaca, it has evolved to blend […]

The Last Dance of the Feather

The Dance of the Feathers, or Las Danzantes de la Pluma, is a three year commitment.  The group that just finished its commitment self-assembled and went to the Teotitlan del Valle Committee (the leaders of the communitarian cummunity) and asked to be named to represent the village, making the promise to god and community that […]

Dance of the Feather in Santa Ana, California

Yesterday I had the good fortune to meet Claudio Gutierrez, a 21 year old from Tustin, California, which is between Santa Ana and Laguna Beach.  I met Claudio on YouTube yesterday when he commented on the documentary film we made about the Dance of the Feather  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cpr4dBi-6h4 Claudio, whose nickname is Kalo, was born in […]

Dance of the Feather–A Promise & Commitment: Documentary Film

Dance of the Feather: A Promise & Commitment is a short film written, filmed and directed by Betty Hutchins and Scott Switzer during the Oaxaca Documentary Filmmaking Workshop: Visual Storytelling, held in Teotitlan del Valle from January 31 to February 6, 2009.  The film makers explore the meaning of the dance with Uriel Santiago, who […]

Documentary Filmmaking in Oaxaca: Before We Begin

The essential part of creating an extraordinary learning experience is to have everything confirmed in advance.  We still had some loose ends which we discovered on Saturday, the morning after our arrival.  The language and cultural differences created a challenge that even I, a seasoned Teotitlan traveler, discovered.  Mikel had been trying to reach Uriel […]

Dance of the Feather: Danza de la Pluma

Coming Wednesday, July 9, 2008, Teotitlan del Valle Nine young Zapotec men in their 20’s and 30’s bedecked in bold primary colors – red, green, yellow, black — and crowned with feathered headdresses the size of a large moon, leap and twirl into the air, shake rattles and raise a carved and painted wooden talisman […]

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