A Culture of Kindness in Japan
Some of you may know that I have a creative writing site on Substack called Digging Deep, Then Deeper: Something to Say. Today, I published an essay about my take on Japanese culture based on my observations of acts of kindness, cleanliness, and respect. Rather than repost it in its entirety, you can read it […]
Mother’s Day in Mexico is Always on May 10
Feliz Dia de las Madres! Happy Mother’s Day The sentiment is the same around the world wherever Mother’s Day is celebrated: love, gratitude, and appreciation. It is a day to honor and celebrate mothers and those who have stepped into this role as surrogates. We show appreciation for their care and contributions to us as […]
Day of the Dead in San Pablo Villa de Mitla
Each Oaxaca village celebrates Day of the Dead a bit differently, according to their own customs. In Mitla, the spirits (difuntos) leave their tombs and follow the scents of copal and marigold back to the family homes on November 1. The transition from the underworld back to the world of the living happens in the […]
Chiapas Textile Study Tour 2021: Deep Into the Maya World
The Maya World of Chiapas, Mexico, spans centuries and borders. Maya people weave their complex universe into beautiful cloth. Symbols are part of an ancient pre-Hispanic animist belief system. In the cloth we see frogs, the plumed serpent, woman and man, earth and sky, the four cardinal points, moon and sun, plus more, depending on […]
Wedding Fiesta: Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca
Mucha Fiesta! I knew it would be BIG when two giant tents went up three days ago beyond the tall concrete walls that separate my neighbors from me. I steeled myself for a really BIG party. I even thought I should high tail it to the city for the night to escape the sound of […]
The Other Guelaguetza in Santa Maria del Tule: Affordable and Accessible
Access to the BIG Guelaguetza under the big top on the Cerro del Fortin of Oaxaca, Mexico, is limited to those who can a) afford to buy a ticket at 1,121 pesos and 908 pesos each plus Ticketmaster fees, and b) those who can stand in line overnight for the limited number of upper deck seats […]
Chiapas Notebook: Tenejapa Textiles and Thursday Market
Tenejapa, Chiapas is a regional center in the highlands of Chiapas about an hour- and-a-half beyond San Cristobal de las Casas. It’s a regional administrative center, about midway between the city and the remote village of Cancuc, past Romerillo. Most roads splay out from San Cristobal like spikes on a wheel hub, dead-ending down a canyon […]
Preparing for Day of the Dead, Dia de los Muertos
Day of the Dead is coming soon. Festivities in Oaxaca will begin in the next few days, and people are now gathering what they need for home altars to honor their deceased loved ones: palm branches to create an arch over the altar through which loved ones pass from the otherworld — a gateway to […]
Semana Santa–Easter Holy Week in Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca
As I write, someone is in the bell tower pulling the rope that rings the campana — a clarion call to gathering. Today is El Lunes Santo in Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca. You still have time to catch a taxi or colectivo from Oaxaca to arrive for the 9 a.m. mass in the Preciosa Sangre de […]
Annual Basket Fair in San Juan Guelavia, Oaxaca: River Reed Weaving
The Feria del Carrizo is happening this week in the Zapotec village of San Juan Guelavia. The last day is February 7. This annual fair is growing and this year there were hundreds of people on opening day, Sunday, January 31. I have made this an annual tradition and this was my fourth year here. I […]
Happy Holidays From Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca: Procession on the Calle
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 […]
Another Year in Santa Cruz Xoxocotlan, Oaxaca, Day of the Dead
It’s my habit, practice, custom, wish to leave Oaxaca city at 3:00 p.m. to arrive at the old cemetery (panteon) in Santa Cruz Xoxocotlan by 4:00 p.m. to celebrate Day of the Dead/Dia de los Muertos. I go there first and spend at least an hour and half in this sacred space. It’s just before […]
Day of the Dead in Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca: Guiding the Disfuntos Home
The bells in the Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca church tower start ringing on November 1 at 3:00 p.m. and continue all night and into the next day, November 2, giving the disfuntos (the visiting souls) the sound to follow home. They follow the trail of scent, sight and sound: marigold flowers, copal incense, simmering […]
Traditional Altars: Dia de los Muertos in Oaxaca, Mexico
After a night spent in the Santa Cruz Xoxocotlan cemetery on October 31 for Dia de los Muertos in Oaxaca, Mexico, I headed back to the Tlacolula Valley on Sunday morning. I was invited to San Pablo Villa de Mitla by friends Arturo Hernandez and Epifanio Ruiz Perez to visit for Day of the Dead. […]
Rosa and Abraham’s Wedding in Teotitlan del Valle: Let’s Party
It’s been a week since Abraham and Rosa got married. With this last and final post about the wedding, I get to relive the day. I hope you enjoy it. Chapter III: The Wedding Party Weddings in Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca can be grand affairs that include a sumptuous multi-course fiesta dinner complete with […]
Day of the Dead, Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca: Gate to Heaven Closed on Sunday
In Teotitlan del Valle, loved ones who come back to visit their families from the great beyond on Day of the Dead, usually arrive on November 1 and depart on November 2. This year it’s different. They get an extra day on earth and leave on Monday, November 3. Why? Because the gate to heaven […]
Christmas in Oaxaca: Teotitlan del Valle Posadas
For nine days and nights leading up to Christmas eve, the Zapotec village of Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca, Mexico recreates the journey of Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem. Each night they sleep on the road, which means they arrive at the home of a host family who welcomes them to their courtyard, then altar […]
Santa Ana, California Zapotecs Return Home: Dance of the Feather — Danza de la Pluma
They were born or raised in Santa Ana, California, which they call Santana. They keep sacred Zapotec traditions alive by practicing life cycle events from their Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca homeland. Most especially, these young men know what it means to be a Danzante — a dancer. The Dance of the Feather or Danza de la […]
Viviana Alavez Hipolito, Grand Master of Oaxaca Folk Art–Beeswax Candlemaking
It takes over one hundred passes of hot dripping wax poured over a four or five-foot tall woven cotton wick to create a handmade ceremonial beeswax candle. We are in the Teotitlan del Valle home workshop of traditional candlemaker Viviana Hippolito Alavez, who is recognized as one of the Grand Masters of Oaxaca Folk […]
Oaxaca Guelaguetza is Authentic: True or False? and Tickets
The week-long Guelaguetza, the last two Mondays in July folkloric dance event on the Cerro Fortin, is Oaxaca’s biggest tourist event of the year. Tickets for reserved seats are expensive, from 900 to 1,250 pesos, and now also hard to come by. There are two performances left, one at 10 a.m. and one at […]
San Pablo Villa de Mitla in Black and White: Oaxaca Archeology and Photography
It was one of those perfect Oaxaca days where the skies were cerulean blue and filled with puffy white cumulus clouds scattered like pillows across the horizon. Our photography workshop participants set out by van for the ancient village of San Pablo Villa de Mitla at the far end of the Tlacolula Valley about 35-40 […]
Indigenous Languages Sustain Cultural Heritage: At Risk of Extinction
Zapotec, Mixtec, Huave, Nahuatl and the other 12 indigenous languages of Oaxaca have fewer and fewer native speakers. As young people want to become part of the “mainstream” Spanish-speaking culture they leave their mother language and their culture behind — often out of the strong desire to assimilate. And continuing education requires commitment, resources, and […]
Oaxaca, Mexico: Who Knew You Could Fall in Love With a Place?
Hola, Norma! I just wanted to thank you so so much for arranging/leading the photography workshop in Oaxaca. I feel that, with the expert instruction of Sam and Tom [Robbins], I was able to improve my photography skills greatly throughout the course of the workshop. Also, the subjects we were able to shoot thanks […]
Oaxaca Artists Fair & Sale: Please Pass the Poster!
Don’t miss this wonderful opportunity to meet 10 great artists and artisans, and see some of the best work in Oaxaca. The art is representative of several genres: weaving, silver jewelry making, folk sculpture, mixed media, embroidery, woodcarving and painting, and ceramics. Contact Sarah Starkman at Casa de Las Bugambilias for more information.
Oaxaca Festivals: Dance of the Feather, Teotitlan del Valle 2011
One of the great Oaxaca festivals is the Dance of the Feather in Teotitlan del Valle — a must-see for every Oaxaca resident and tourist. It is a story of honor, conquest, survival and endurance. As a dance, its roots are pre-Hispanic and with most rituals and traditions in Oaxaca, it has evolved to blend […]
Oaxaca Festivals: Parade of the Baskets, Teotitlan del Valle 2011
Summer is a great time to travel to and explore Oaxaca, Mexico. The famed Parade of the Baskets, or Calenda de las Canastas, begins in the church courtyard on the late afternoon of July 5 and kicks off the five-day patron saint day celebration of Teotitlan del Valle. It is called Parade of the Canastas […]
Oaxaca Portraits: Parade of the Baskets, Teotitlan del Valle 2011
Oaxaca festivals are more than colorful. They are a sacred experience. Every year beginning on July 5 and lasting for a week, the Zapotec village of Teotitlan del Valle celebrates its Catholic origins and saint day to honor the church–La Iglesia de Preciosa Sangre de Nuestro Senor Jesucristo. The festival includes an opening celebratory parade […]
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 […]
Video: Day of the Dead, Oaxaca, Mexico
Day of the Dead or Dia de los Muertos is a sacred celebration that welcomes back the souls of departed loved ones between All Saints Day and All Souls Day. This is a joyful, festive time in Mexico and nowhere is it more so than in Oaxaca, where indigenous pre-Hispanic traditions blend with Catholic ritual […]
Manta Cotton: Handwoven in Oaxaca, Mexico
I’ve been getting quite a few inquiries lately about whether Manta cotton is still being woven in Mexico and if it is available with natural dyes. What is Manta cotton? It is 100% natural unbleached cotton also known as “cotton crudo” or “wild cotton” or organic cotton. Typically it is used to make men’s shirts, […]