Is Mexico’s Day of the Dead Like Halloween? Muertos Photos in Black and White.
We just finished a week of publishing a Day of the Dead Photography Challenge over at the Facebook site I manage, Mexico Travel Photography. You might want to jump over there to take a look at some amazing shots of this spiritual celebration of life and death. Consider joining and participating if you are not […]
Names, Identity and Change: Why Norma Schafer
Perhaps you have noticed, or not, that my name on the masthead of this blog has changed to Schafer. I thought I might offer an explanation. If you don’t care, just stop reading, delete this post and Move On. This is not about Oaxaca or Mexico or my recent trip to Spain. This is personal. […]
Oaxaca’s Guelaguetza 2014 Thrills Crowds, Still Controversial
Tickets to sit close to Oaxaca’s Guelaguetza Auditorium stage are costly, about $100 USD per person. Up high in the upper galleries, the seats are free and people start lining up hours in advance of the opening to be able to capture one. The controversy lies in the accessibility to this annual folkloric performance […]
Another Tlacolula Market Sunday: Guajolote Shopping
We didn’t set out to buy two cute, baby guajolotes. It just happened. An impulse purchase, you might say. My impulses tend to center around clothes, jewelry, or maybe a larger than necessary size ice cream cone. My Zapotec neighbors, on the other hand, covet what they can add to their barnyard. Where I live […]
How to Felt Wool: For Beginners
Ten women gathered together at the Museo Textil de Oaxaca for a felting workshop with Jessica de Haas from Vancouver, Canada. All but one of us were raw beginners. I had knitted and then agitated my wool in a washing machine, but Jessica was quick to say this is NOT felting. Rather it is called […]