There are five more days to enjoy the international Oaxaca Filmfest that is bringing filmmakers and audiences here from throughout the world. So many movies, so little time! From full-length feature films to shorts and short shorts, fiction and documentaries, you can fill your days and nights with movie-going.
Last night I saw the Thin Yellow Line, La Delgada Linea Amarilla, a beautiful, well-crafted, sensitive Mexican film written and directed by Celso R. Garcia, at the Teatro Juarez, one of the venues across from Llano Park. It will play again later this week in other locations where films are being screened around town.
I highly recommend that you see it. Here’ is Variety’s review. The cinematography is delicious, expansive. The film is luxuriously slow and spends time introducing the characters, all men who meet for the first time hired to work on painting the center yellow line on a remote Mexican road. In the course of their 217 km obligation, you find out who they are, why they are there and their developing relationships with each other. It is funny, heartwarming, sad and intelligent.
Don’t worry. The film has English sub-titles if you need it.
All the films are free and open to the public except for the screenings that are fundraisers for local not-for-profits. A modest donation will get you in.
And Saturday at noon, is the Met Opera performing Othello (ticket cost 150 pesos) at Teatro Macedonio Alcala. I hear there are classical guitar concerts around town in the evening this week, too.
I mapped out my schedule and read the separate thick program book first to determine which films I wanted to see. You can get the program schedule at the Oaxaca Filmfest headquarters on Andador Alcala in the interior plaza next to La Brujula coffee shop in the block just before Santo Domingo church.
If you have seen films in this festival that you want to recommend, please comment and tell us why!
Posted onTuesday, July 14, 2015|Comments Off on Let the Guelaguetza Begin: Oaxaca Celebrates Indigenous Roots
The Guelaguetza folkloric dance and traje extravaganza in the auditorium that sits atop the Cerro del Fortin in Oaxaca, Mexico is derived from an ancient indigenous custom of mutual exchange and support. The last two Mondays in July festivities draw people from throughout the world. It is one of Oaxaca’s most important tourist attractions.
There will be an artisan fair on the Alcala near the Santo Domingo Church throughout the next weeks until August 2, 2015. Be sure to find San Juan Colorado weaver Juana Reyes Garcia who works in natural dyes. She sold out at the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market. She will use those proceeds to put a floor into her children’s bedroom.
I’m still in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and will miss the first Monday on the hill. But I’ll be back in Oaxaca in time to capture the second Monday. Meanwhile, tonight is a celebration here for the success of ceramic artist Macrina Mateo and cooperative Innovando la Tradicion. I’m certain there will be lots of Oaxaca traje represented here, too.
Monday, July 6, about 4 p.m., Parade of the Canastas, Church Courtyard. The procession of young women in traditional Zapotec dress and carrying heavy baskets on their heads winds through the cobbled village streets. In front of them is the band and coming up from behind are the Dancers in full regalia. There is no dancing today.
Tuesday, July 7, about 4 p.m., Dance of the Feathers in the church courtyard, continuing until dark, then fireworks display.
Wednesday, July 8, 12:00 noon until about 8 p.m., Dance of the Feathers. This is the big dancing day when those who volunteer for this ritual and tradition continue almost non-stop all afternoon into the evening. Basketball tourney next to market.
Saturday, July 11, 12:00 non until about 8 p.m., Dance of the Feathers, in the church courtyard, followed by grand finale fireworks, and a public dance complete with band in the municipal building courtyard.
There will be carnival rides, a street fair and lots of food vendors. The almost completed new basketball court next to the village market will hold a tournament there on Wednesday, too. Ojala!
Sleep over, if you like. There are good local accommodations at Las Granadas B&B and Casa Elena B&B. You can find them on the internet. I hear some people in the village are renting rooms on Airbnb, too.
Enjoy yourself. Take lots of photographs and post them on our new Facebook page Mexico Travel Photography.
I’m off to the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market for a textile extravaganza on Monday, July 6, so I’ll miss my village’s festivities this year. Send me photos, if you like, to post about what you see and do!
Posted onMonday, July 7, 2014|Comments Off on 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. in Teotitlan del Valle because here, time never changes!
Times are never exact either. So, I suggest if you come today, you arrive around 5 p.m. and go into the inner church courtyard to watch the young women assemble with their elaborate baskets that they will carry on their heads in a procession throughout the village. The baskets are adorned with flowers and religious images. The women, who must be unmarried to participate, wear extraordinary traditional traje or dress that is indicative of this particular village.
Tuesday, July 8, at 8 p.m. there will be the introduction of this year’s Danzantes — the dancers who have made the three year commitment to participate in this ancient pre-Hispanic rite — in the church courtyard. They will dance a short program and then this will be followed by a festive fireworks display.
Wednesday, July 9, at 1 p.m, the Danza de la Pluma will begin in the church courtyard. The dancers will demonstrate their prowess for the next 10 hours, taking intermittent breaks.
Why We Left, Expat Anthology: Norma’s Personal Essay
Norma contributes personal essay, How Oaxaca Became Home
Norma Contributes Two Chapters!
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Norma Schafer and Oaxaca Cultural Navigator LLC has offered programs in Mexico since 2006. We have over 30 years of university program development experience. See my resume.
Study Tours + Study Abroad are personally curated and introduce you to Mexico's greatest artisans. They are off-the-beaten path, internationally recognized. We give you access to where people live and work. Yes, it is safe and secure to travel. Groups are limited in size for the most personal experience.
Programs can be scheduled to meet your travel plans. Send us your available dates.
Designers, retailers, wholesalers, universities and other organizations come to us to develop customized itineraries, study abroad programs, meetings and conferences. It's our pleasure to make arrangements.
Our Clients Include
*Penland School of Crafts
*North Carolina State University
*WARP Weave a Real Peace
*Methodist University
*MINNA-Goods
*Selvedge Magazine
We offer textile experiences in our studio where we weave and work only in natural dyes.You can see the process during our textile tours, dye workshops or customized weaving experiences. Ask us for more information about these experiences, customized scheduling, and prices.
Oaxaca has the largest and most diverse textile culture in Mexico! Learn about it.
1-Day OaxacaCity Collectors Textile Tour.Exclusive Access! We take you into the homes and workshops of Oaxaca State's prize-winning weavers. They come from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, the Mixteca, Mixe, Amuzgos and Triqui areas and represent their weaving families and cooperatives here. For collectors, retailers, buyers, wholesalers, fashionistas.
1-Day Oaxaca Textile Walking Tour When you visit Oaxaca immerse yourself in our textile culture: How is indigenous clothing made, what is the best value, most economical, finest available. Suitable for adults only. Set your own dates.
2022 Going Deep, Not Wide--Extended Tours
July 25-31, 2022. Oaxaca Textile Adventure Tour: Sierra Norte Mountains. Visit two remote mountain villages where silk and cotton are woven into glorious cloth and dyed with natural plant materials. Come early or stay later for Guelaguetza! Not too late to join!
October 28-November 4, 2022: Women’s Creative Writing Retreat in Teotitlan del Valle — Memory and Tradition. Click this link to read about it. ONE SPACE OPEN FOR SHARED ROOM.
October 29-November 4, 2022:Day of the Dead Culture Tour. We meet locals and visit 4 villages to experience this mystical pre-Hispanic observance, awesome and reverent. Still space for a few more!
February 5-13, 2023: Bucket List Tour: Monarch Butterflies + Michoacan. Spiritual, mystical connection to nature. Go deep into weaving, pottery, mask-making and more! We haven't offered this tour since 2019 and we anticipate it will sell out quickly. TWO SPACES OPEN
February 21-March 1, 2023: Chiapas Textile Study Tour--Deep Into the Maya World Based in San Cristobal de las Casas, we travel to distant pueblos to meet extraordinary weavers --Best of the Best! Just a handful of spaces open.
Stay Healthy. Stay Safe. In Oaxaca, wear your mask. Questions? Want more info or to register? Send an email to Norma Schafer.
Maps: Teotitlan + Tlacolula Market
We require 48-hour advance notice for map orders to be processed. We send a printable map via email PDF after order received. Please be sure to send your email address. Where to see natural dyed rugs in Teotitlan del Valle and layout of the Sunday Tlacolula Market, with favorite eating, shopping, ATMs. Click Here to Buy Map After you click, be sure to check PayPal to ensure your email address isn't hidden from us. We fulfill each map order personally. It is not automatic.
Dye Master Dolores Santiago Arrellanas with son Omar Chavez Santiago, weaver and dyer, Fey y Lola Rugs, Teotitlan del Valle
Oaxaca Filmfest This Week to October 17
There are five more days to enjoy the international Oaxaca Filmfest that is bringing filmmakers and audiences here from throughout the world. So many movies, so little time! From full-length feature films to shorts and short shorts, fiction and documentaries, you can fill your days and nights with movie-going.
Last night I saw the Thin Yellow Line, La Delgada Linea Amarilla, a beautiful, well-crafted, sensitive Mexican film written and directed by Celso R. Garcia, at the Teatro Juarez, one of the venues across from Llano Park. It will play again later this week in other locations where films are being screened around town.
I highly recommend that you see it. Here’ is Variety’s review. The cinematography is delicious, expansive. The film is luxuriously slow and spends time introducing the characters, all men who meet for the first time hired to work on painting the center yellow line on a remote Mexican road. In the course of their 217 km obligation, you find out who they are, why they are there and their developing relationships with each other. It is funny, heartwarming, sad and intelligent.
Don’t worry. The film has English sub-titles if you need it.
On Thursday, I’m going to Oaxaca Cineopolis in Plaza del Valle for the 3 p.m. screening of Perdiendo el Norte, followed by the 5 p.m. screening of Diamond Tongues, followed by the 9 p.m. screening of High Sun. Meet me there?
I want to see Speed Sisters, Nicodemus, The Wannabe and El Tiempo Suspendido. Friends tell me Bridgend is another must see. I’m not going to be able to fit it all in.
All the films are free and open to the public except for the screenings that are fundraisers for local not-for-profits. A modest donation will get you in.
And Saturday at noon, is the Met Opera performing Othello (ticket cost 150 pesos) at Teatro Macedonio Alcala. I hear there are classical guitar concerts around town in the evening this week, too.
I mapped out my schedule and read the separate thick program book first to determine which films I wanted to see. You can get the program schedule at the Oaxaca Filmfest headquarters on Andador Alcala in the interior plaza next to La Brujula coffee shop in the block just before Santo Domingo church.
If you have seen films in this festival that you want to recommend, please comment and tell us why!
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Posted in Cultural Commentary, Oaxaca travel, Travel & Tourism
Tagged culture, documentaries, film festival, indy movies, Mexico, Oaxaca, Oaxaca Filmfest, schedule, short films