It’s festival season in Teotitlan del Valle. It was a full moon, a large globe of yellow light illuminating the path and all who walked it. On Christmas Eve baby Jesus is carried on a pillow through the winding cobblestone streets by the patron of the *last posada. He is followed by a litter holding statues of Mary and Joseph shouldered by four young women.
A moment’s rest. Christmas Eve Procession, Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca, 2015
The procession is flanked on one side by men, the other side women, each carrying lit decorated beeswax candles adorned with handmade wax flowers. Firecrackers boom out in front. A man swings a copal incense burner. The aroma is sweet, intense. Children and adults tweet whistles. The drummer keeps the pulse of the crowd throbbing.
We pick up people along the way to join in. Some stand at street corners or in doorways. Even the smallest of children participate. Early acculturation to custom and tradition.
The timing is precise. The procession must arrive at the church exactly at 10 p.m. for the evening mass to return the figures to their rightful resting places for another year, when the cycle will be repeated again with different actors.
Waiting to kiss and bless Baby Jesus before the church procession.
My son, sister and brother-in-law are here and I’ve had the joy of being a tourist in my own town for the last few days. This night, we got to the house of the patron a little after 7 p.m. to learn that the procession that would leave the house to get to the church wouldn’t begin until 8 p.m.
La Dueña holds the infant as guests line up to bless him and await the procession.
Being the wonderful, hospitable people that Teotitecos are, we got invited in to see the creche and the blessing ceremony before the group gathered to walk the streets of the village.
Outdoor kitchen for food preparation, Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca
My sister, a flautist, struck up a conversation with the band leader who invited her to join them at a special morning band ceremony on December 31 that will welcome in the new year. Start time? 4 a.m.! I’m not sure Barbara is going to make it.
Along the procession path, a pop-up restaurant
Tradition in this village is to have a family meal at midnight after the mass ends to welcome the birth of Dios Niño. This is a feast of tamales, wine, mezcal, salad, chicken, stuffed pork, turkey or whatever other favorite entree the family likes. There may be beans, rice, fresh vegetables from the fields, ponché (like a sweet fruit cider), fresh fruit and an extravagant dessert.
It is an honor to be in the procession lighting the way.
There is no big festival meal served during Christmas Day here like in the USA. Families relax, stroll, play games. So, I asked Josefina if she would prepare a carry out. Roasted chicken spiced with salsa roja, mixed with carrots, green beans, squash and potatoes, served with organic rice and beans. Surprise, Lupita shows up with a gift of handcrafted chile rellenos stuffed with chicken.
Blessings before the altar at the home of the Patron.
We finished on the rooftop terrace with wine and a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree view of the Tlacolula Valley. The red sun vanished in the west.
Almost midnight Christmas Eve dinner, Barbara, Ixcel Guadalupe, Ernestina
*The Last Posada: La Ultima Posada, is actually on December 23, when Mary and Joseph move to the Casa de la Patron for the final evening before the birth of Jesus. The baby appears at this house on December 24, is cradled by the woman of the household, then is held by the patron under a canopy as the procession leaves the house and moves through the village to the church. This December 24 event is called La Procession.
Wishing you the season’s best with health and joy always.
Technical issues: My USB internet connection is REALLY slow these last days. It takes about 30 minutes to upload one photo! So this is a delayed post. Lots of intervening activities since I wrote this: The radish festival, a trip to Hierve El Agua, and a mezcal exploration to the remote mountain village of San Juan Del Rio. More to come.
From Oaxaca, Mexico: Feliz Fiestas y Navidad, Merry Holidays, Chag Sameach
Wishing you all the blessings of peace, contentment, safety and good health at this joyous time of year when we think of renewal, looking beyond the Winter Solstice as the earth turns, the days grow longer and all is well in the land.
Feliz Fiestas from Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca. Poinsettias. Mexico’s gift to the world.
We are dormant now. Slower. More thoughtful, perhaps. In ancient cultures our attention might turn to the spring planting. May our seeds of new life bring forth all the richness of life that we each deserve.
Christmas in Mexico Photo Gallery: Mexico Travel Photography
Barbara and David Garcia’s magnificent Christmas Tree, Chula Vista, California
For all my Jewish, Christian, Hindu, Jain, Muslim, Parsi, Buddhist, Bahai, agnostic, atheist friends around the world, and those whose religions I do not know, it is my fervent hope that 2017 becomes the year of reconciliation, cross-cultural acceptance and understanding. We have the opportunity to act locally to make change and bring us together.
Whew, I’m finally home in Oaxaca!
Honoring the altar/manger, Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca Christmas
After a long night of delayed flights due to weather in Tijuana, a bumpy ride, followed by a five-hour nap, and a late night of traditional Christmas Eve celebration with my beloved Chavez Santiago family in Teotitlan eating stuffed turkey laden with plenty of tryptophan, I am awake to a new day. Almost normal.
The last posada, Christmas Eve, Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca
I’m drinking a great cup of strong Oaxaca coffee. The sun is up and it’s going to be a glorious day.
Celebrating Mohammed’s birthday with Salim Wazir and family, Bhuj, Gujarat, India
This year, Christmas and Hanukkah converge once more. Feliz Navidad. Chag Sameach. Two weeks ago, in Bhuj, Gujarat, India, I celebrated Eid and Mohammed’s Birthday with Salim Wazir and his family. We sat on the floor around a feast covered tablecloth and ate together. My Muslim friends wore white, a symbol of purity.
Boundary line, border crossing, USA and Mexico. #No wall!
My son Jacob and I crossed over the bridge linking the USA to the Tijuana, Mexico, airport. I met a 16-year old returning to Oaxaca who hasn’t seen his mother and sisters in four years.
I said to him, I bet you have a story to tell.
Yes, he nodded.
I could only imagine.
May love and an open heart prevail as we move into 2017.
I saw a mix of people carrying USA, Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua passports going home for Christmas to visit family. I am reminded how connection is so important in our lives. How the Berlin wall fell. That walls cannot break us.
Sparklers light the way for La Ultima Posada, the last posada, on Christmas Eve
In Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca, this morning I awakened to cojetes — firecrackers — and the sound of music. Christmas music. Tunes we are familiar with — Silent Night, White Christmas, Joy to the World and Feliz Navidad — sung in Spanish, blared out over a loud-speaker from somewhere in the village. Tunes whose origins are German, American, Latin, religious and secular, some composed by a Jewish immigrant Irving Berlin.
Bedecked for the holidays on the Zocalo, Oaxaca, Mexico
In the past thirteen years since I first started coming here regularly, it seems that USA popular culture has infiltrated our local villages more and more. Blinking holiday lights, reindeer on rooftops and x-Box games on big screen TVs are more prevalent than ever.
Oaxaca’s radish festival. Even Porfirio Diaz got kicked out.
Change happens. It is neither good or evil. It is to be discussed, explored, researched and understood. Whatever the next Man in D.C. tries to do, I defy him to build a wall that separates families. He is not my president.
Another babe in arms. Zocalo, Oaxaca, Mexico
This is what dads do in Mexico. They kiss and hold their babies. They don’t want to be separated.
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Posted in Cultural Commentary, Oaxaca Mexico art and culture, Photography, Teotitlan del Valle, Travel & Tourism
Tagged #nowall, #teotitlandelvalle, Christmas, immigration, Mexico, Oaxaca, politics, popular culture, posada, procession, Teotitlan del Valle, the wall