Oaxaca Street Life and Re-Entry
On Monday, despite bumping around a bit in the sky atop the last remnants of a tropical storm that painted a picturesque landscape of layered clouds as we came in for a landing, I arrived in Oaxaca. Re-entry was easy. I’m always grateful to pick up my luggage from the conveyor belt after passing through […]
Returning to Oaxaca for Day of the Dead
Day of the Dead in Oaxaca is a magical experience, especially if you spend it in the villages. This December will mark my twentieth year of being there. I’m thinking about how to celebrate and involve you in the celebration! All ideas and suggestions are welcome. In 2007 i began writing this blog, so another […]
Tootling Around the Villages in Oaxaca
We weren’t exactly going off on a tangent, getting sidetracked, or wandering aimlessly. We had a plan. I spent Thursday and Friday last week taking friends to visit artisans down MEX 190 — the Panamerican Highway — to visit makers I have known for years. Oh, and did I say it’s 80 degrees Fahrenheit here […]
Day of the Dead Etiquette and Behavior: Teotitlan del Valle Cemetery
Last year, 2022, Day of the Dead in Teotitlan del Valle was a frenzy. Big tour buses and mini-vans each holding 24 to 36 passengers unloaded face-painted visitors in front of our cemetery. I had made a plan this year to go early and not stay very long, expecting the same thing — travelers looking […]
Day of the Dead Decor + Oaxaca Day Tours
We have some Day of the Dead decorations for sale on our new website Shop Oaxaca Culture. I’m leaving for Oaxaca early Monday morning, so if you want to purchase, please do so before 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 22, to give me a chance to package up and mail to you! Send me an […]
Photo Essay: Sculptor Jose Garcia Antonio, Grand Master of Mexican Folk Art
We had the pleasure of hosting Nancy Craft and Esprit Travel + Tours in Oaxaca for nine days beginning on January 3. Nancy brought a group of fifteen people and we took them to all our favorite places to meet some of the most outstanding artisans in Oaxaca. We spent an afternoon in San Antonino […]
Where is Zacoalpan, Guerrero? Find It on the Oaxaca Coast Textile Tour
The Costa Chica of Oaxaca actually includes the southern part of Guerrero state, stretching from Puerto Escondido north to Acapulco. We don’t go quite as far as Acapulco, but we go deep into Amuzgo territory. The Amuzgo ethnic group encompasses northern Oaxaca and southern Guerrero. As in many parts of the world, political boundaries have […]
2022 Day of the Dead Culture Tour
October 29 to November 4, 2022—6 nights and 7 days— $2,895 for a shared room and $3,495 for a single room. We have 3 single rooms and 4 shared rooms available. Day of the Dead in Oaxaca, Mexico, is meaningful and magical. Celebrations in the villages go deep into Zapotec culture, community, tradition and pre-Hispanic […]
Mexico Art Show Brings Oaxaca Artisans to Lake Chapala, Jalisco–Party Time
The 18th annual Feria Maestros del Arte happened last weekend at Lake Chapala, Jalisco, about 40-minutes from Guadalajara. I had never been before and I decided it was time! Plus, it gave me a chance to spend some time with friends Chris and Ben, who moved to Ajijic from North Carolina last year. I knew […]
If it’s Tuesday, it must be … Where are we, now?
Finally, home to North Carolina and then back to Mexico in two weeks. If you follow me on Facebook you know I’ve been traveling in Eastern Europe. This was a tour offered by one of the largest operators in the world. Their buses and ships zigzag the continents and oceans. See below for a few […]
Textile Fiestas of Mexico: New Guidebook for Smart Travelers
The book, Textile Fiestas of Mexico: A Traveler’s Guide to Celebrations, Markets and Smart Shopping by Sheri Brautigam and published by Thrums Books, is hot off the press. It’s a comprehensive guide to some of Sheri’s favorite Mexican textile villages and towns. I contributed two chapters! Sheri invited me to cover Teotitlan del Valle, the […]
Grits and Urban Revitalization, Durham, North Carolina
My North Carolina visit is coming to a close and I return to Oaxaca on Saturday, April 30. While I’ve been here, I’ve eaten a lot of grits, tomato gravy and fried green tomatoes. I love grits. A particular pleasure is catch up time with important friends with whom I have a deep, long and connected […]
Oaxaca Art Glass Studio Tour: Recycled Beauty Makeover
It’s definitely ugly out there at the industrial park in Magdalena Apasco Etla, Oaxaca, where the experimental glass studio Xaquixe is located. A mound of empty bottles — clear, brown and green — sits at the far end of the property, waiting to be broken up, melted and shaped. There’s a two-story metal silo where […]
2015 Day of the Dead Photography Workshop in Oaxaca, Mexico
Oaxaca, Mexico, is the place to be for Day of the Dead and you will capture it with your camera: parades, cemeteries, family traditions, special food and decor, markets, fiestas and faces. Follow the copal incense and marigold trail. Starts Sunday morning, October 30 and ends Thursday night, November 3. Cost: $995 per person. Price […]
Sleek, Functional Contemporary Oaxaca Pottery with Classical Influences: Innovating Tradition
Oaxaca’s cultural identity is defined, in part, by her ceramic arts. For thousands of years before the Spanish conquest, indigenous artisans were giving shape to local clay to form functional cooking and eating vessels, images of dieties for worship and jewelry for personal adornment. Now, after six years of operating from various temporary locations, La Tiendita […]
On The Road: San Cristobal de las Casas to Palenque
Ugh! I’m glad no one told me the trip from San Cris to Palenque would be so long and grueling! We dropped from 7,000 feet altitude to sea level in what should have been a 4-hour trip under normal circumstances. But the tour van (350 pesos per person arranged by our hostel) made three stops […]
Oaxaca Photography in Teotitlan del Valle
What an incredible photography and cooking class day with Reyna Mendoza Ruiz at her family home. El Sabor Zapoteco is the cooking class program. And we did so much — photographing each other doing the food preparation in the traditional ancient Zapotec way, making mole rojo, the traditional fiesta mole of Teotitlan. The photography expedition […]
Robbins Photography and Summer 2011 Photo Expedition News
Sam and Tom Robbins, wife and husband art photographer team from Columbus, Ohio, are set to lead June 29-July 5 photo expedition in Oaxaca, Mexico. They were just featured in a Columbus, Ohio area newspaper. Read more in This Week News then contact oaxacaculture@me.com to inquire and register. Take a look at their website: robbinsx2.com