Search by Topic
Stay Connected!
LIKE Us on Facebook!
Social Media Connections
-
Connect: email, text or WhatsApp +1-919-274-6194, FB Messenger, IG
-
Why Travel With Us: Help sustain regenerative traditions.
-
- We know the culture! This is our land! We are locally owned and operated.
- Eric Chavez Santiago is tri-lingual --Spanish, English, Zapotec.
- Eric was founding director of education, Museo Textil de Oaxaca + folk art expert
- Norma Schafer has lived in Oaxaca since 2005.
- Norma is a seasoned university educator.
- We have deep connections with artists and artisans.
- 63% of our travelers repeat -- high ratings, high satisfaction.
- Wide ranging expertise: textiles, folk art, pottery, cultural wisdom.
- We give you a deep immersion to best know Oaxaca and Mexico.
-
We organize private travel + tours for museums, arts, organizations, collectors + appreciators.
-
Creating Connection and Meaning between travelers and with indigenous artisans. Meet makers where they live and work. Join small groups of like-minded explorers. Go deep into remote villages. Gain insights. Support cultural heritage and sustainable traditions. Create value and memories. Enjoy hands-on experiences. Make a difference.
-
What is a Study Tour: Our programs are learning experiences, and as such we talk with makers about how and why they create, what is meaningful to them, the ancient history of patterning and design, use of color, tradition and innovation, values and cultural continuity, and the social context within which they work. First and foremost, we are educators. Norma worked in top US universities for over 35 years and Eric founded the education department at Oaxaca’s textile museum. We create connection.
-
OCN Creates Student Scholarship at Oaxaca Learning Center Giving back is a core value. Read about it here
-
Meet Makers. Make a Difference
-
Oaxaca Cultural Navigator LLC has offered programs in Mexico since 2006. We have over 30 years of university, textile and artisan development experience. See About Us.
-
Programs can be scheduled to meet your independent travel plans. Send us your available dates.
-
Arts organizations, museums, designers, retailers, wholesalers, curators, universities and others come to us to develop artisan relationships, customized itineraries, meetings and conferences. It's our pleasure to make arrangements.
-
Select Clients *Abeja Boutique, Houston *North Carolina Museum of Art *Selvedge Magazine-London, UK *Esprit Travel and Tours *Penland School of Crafts *North Carolina State University *WARP Weave a Real Peace *Methodist University *MINNA-Goods *Smockingbird Kids *University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
-
Tell us how we can put a program together for you! Send an email norma.schafer@icloud.com
PRESS
- WEAVE Podcast: Oaxaca Coast Textiles & Tour
- NY Times, Weavers Embrace Natural Dye Alternatives
- NY Times, Open Thread–Style News
- NY Times, 36-Hours: Oaxaca, Mexico
Our Favorites
- Cooking Classes–El Sabor Zapoteco
- Currency Converter
- Fe y Lola Rugs by Chavez Santiago Family
- Friends of Oaxaca Folk Art
- Hoofing It In Oaxaca Hikes
- Living Textiles of Mexico
- Mexican Indigenous Textiles Project
- Museo Textil de Oaxaca
- Oaxaca Lending Library
- Oaxaca Weather
- Taller Teñido a Mano Natural Dyes
Post-Thanksgiving Gratitude, Wishes, Stuffing and Stuff
To all my friends and readers near and far, to my family whom I adore, Gracias, Gracias por todos, thank you for everything. Your love, caring, generosity, support, guidance and just being you means everything to me. You are numerous — my world is big and inclusive. Consider yourself part of life’s blessings in Thanksgiving, today and always. Gracias.
I don’t know why I woke up hungry today, Black Friday. Maybe because I’m thinking about how to best avoid the crush, rush of Internet and store message bombardment to my inbox. Food is so soothing when faced with the anxiety of impulse shopping because there might be a bargain out there.
Thanksgiving Day in Santa Cruz, California was a marathon food fest with two giant meals. The first was at our mother’s retirement community where residents, children, grandchildren and friends attended a lavish buffet. My sister thinks this was the first time my mother (being germ-cautious at age 97-1/2) kissed her on the mouth. My sister forgot to put on lipstick. It was a moment of sharing. Thank goodness this meal began at noon!
Next up: My brother-in-law brought Ernestina’s mole negro back with him from Oaxaca with the intention of making Thanksgiving turkey mole. Ernestina is my friend and neighbor who lives down the lane in Teotitlan del Valle.
Her spicy black chocolate sauce, which she served us on All Souls Day before going to the village cemetery, is among the best we’ve ever tasted. Someday, I will watch her prepare it and share the recipe. I know she takes her chocolate beans (which she roasts herself) to the molina and adds the secret proportions of sugar, cinnamon, almonds and vanilla to yield a thick, rich paste. I know this because I bumped into her there.
At 4 p.m. when Barbara and George’s guests arrived, I was at the stove making Chanukah potato latkes (see recipe below), enough for 30 people, although there were eight of us. B&G have been sharing Thanksgiving with the wine making Ahlgren family for over 25 years. They arrived with vintage bottles of early 1990’s bottles of Chardonnay and Merlot. We started with champagne, moved on to the wine, and topped off the dinner with a mezcal tasting. Thank goodness it took me an hour to make the latkes and we didn’t sit down to eat until six o’clock.
Our menu included homemade applesauce, turkey mole (George grilled the turkey breast, sliced it, and then added it to Ernestina’s mole to simmer for a couple of hours before serving), potato latkes, Shrimp Louie salad, homemade poppyseed cake with lemon curd and vanilla ice cream.
Oops, can’t forget the Tucson Tamale Company tamales — turkey and cranberry, and sweet potato. Sister had them shipped frozen, overnight delivery, only waiting to be steamed and served.
So, for me, Thanksgiving is about making sure we have more than sustenance in our lives. It says, it is important to live in abundance. It is valuable to express gratitude to those who love us, care for us, come into our lives if only for a moment. It is our opportunity to reach out to friends and family to share our harvest. It is a time to appreciate all that we do have and being satisfied.
Which is why it is so strange that Black Friday follows the day after — promoting a yearning for more, the frenzy of acquisition, the quest for stuffing our homes, closets and lives with more stuff. Certainly the Thanksgiving stuffing should be enough!
Best wishes to you all for a season of peace, abundance and connection.
Norma’s Original Thanksgivvukah Potato Latkes
Add potatoes to a food processor bowl with the chopping blade inserted. Pulse 6-8 times until the mixture is a coarse chop, with 1/4″ pieces. Remove to bowl of water. Let sit for 5 minutes. Drain to remove the potato starch. Return to food processor bowl. Add onion and garlic. Pulse 2-3 times. Add salt and pepper. Pulse 2-3 times to stir. Add matzo meal. Pulse to stir. Add eggs. Pulse to stir.
Pour 1-2 c. oil into fry pan and heat on medium high burner until oil sizzles. Test with flick of water. If water jumps, oil is ready. Using a large tablespoon, put 1/4 c. of potato mixture into hot oil for each latke (pancake). Flip when one side is golden brown. Continue cooking until both sides well-browned. Remove. Drain on paper towels. Serve hot.
Serve with applesauce and sour cream. We had a jar of homemade hibiscus flower jam from El Diablo y La Sandia B&B in Oaxaca, which was an extra treat to go with the latkes.
Like this:
4 Comments
Posted in Cultural Commentary, Food & Recipes, Oaxaca Mexico art and culture
Tagged Black Friday, gratitude, philosophy, potato latkes, recipe, Thanksgiving, Thanksgivvukah