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Post by bixaorellana on May 30, 2009 5:12:42 GMT
Today as I emerged from the beautiful colonial building that houses the office of immigration, I faced the diocesan building attached to the north side of the cathedral and this piece of graffiti ~ The bit you can see to the left of the image above is this ~ I feel a "watch this space" attitude for this building, as it was the canvas for some of the most incisive and amusing graffiti in 2006. You can still see the thick layers of paint from all the times commentary has been painted over ~ Orlando Sosa Lopez is an imprisoned member of the APPO Press Committee. A wall of the cathedral ~ This is the north side door of the cathedral ~ Continuing around the church onto the Alameda -- the parklike square in front of it -- I found a panel addressing the crowd. It doesn't look like much of a crowd here, but the loudspeaker reached the attentive shade-seeking people seated all around the space ~
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Post by bixaorellana on May 30, 2009 5:13:21 GMT
The bandstand in the center of the zócalo is occupied by the families of political prisoners ~ And rather appropriately, this bit of character commentary is posted on a women's porta-potty ~ Let's check this out more closely: The picture shows Elba Esther Gordillo supposedly getting married to Felipe Calderón, president of Mexico. She is saying, "We'll have a beautiful baby, and we'll name it A.C.E" * Below the couple is the slogan, "The wedding of the sexenio". (The sexenio is the 6-year term limit for a Mexican president.) On the right, Gordillo holds the baby, with the slogan at his back reading "The most wanted child". Emerging from his little butt and running into the bride's veil are, from top to bottom: "farts of the little Fecal" **; "The A.C.E. - fecal alliance"; and "swine influenza virus". The other text reads, "May 15 -- for education and justice in Oaxaca. + imprison Ulises Ruiz + free political prisoners + stop the repression of the peoples of Ocotlán + reject the a.c.e + elimination of the ISSSTE law (a pet project of Gordillo's having to do with teachers' retirement & pensions) * A.C.E. = Alliance for Quality in Education. ( Here, if you can read Spanish) The striking teachers consider this a high-sounding trick of Gordillo & Calderón to further repress the union and the people. **Felipe Calderón is frequently referred to as Fecal by his detractors. Means the same thing it does in English. There are some huge banners in the zócalo. This one hangs on what was the government building until URO moved the seat of government well away from the center of town ~ This one faces the one above. WARNING: graphically violent. The poster is a sarcastic take-off on the many positive p.r. official government billboards. This is one of the famous photos of the government officials who fired upon the demonstrators in the suburb of Sta. Lucia in October 2006. The sign says, "Juan Manuel Martinez Moreno is innocent!" "These are the real murderers of Brad Will" A large banner demanding Martinez Moreno's immediate, unconditional release ~ And one more biggy ~
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Post by bixaorellana on May 30, 2009 5:14:17 GMT
The passageway under the arches of the ex-governmental palace is declared APPO territory ~ A close-up of the two posters next to that slogan: these are pictures of some of the disappeared, with a demand for their return alive ~ "Today it is I, who will it be tomorrow?" and underneath, "Juan Manuel Martinez Moreno, unjustly accused of the murder of Brad Will is innocent." I glance back as I leave the zócalo. I never did get the story on all the abandoned-looking makeshift stands ringing the plaza. Heading towards the market, I caught these two ladies enjoying the day ~ These were the last of the political statements, on the side wall of the ex-govt building. It's hard not to laugh seeing one of the figures always represented on the FPR posters -- hey, folks, Stalin was not one of the good guys! The other poster says "Education is a right, not a privilege." It's an announcement of a meeting of aspirants to the public university ~ A mere block south of all the main plaza, the downtown market appeared completely normal. It was quite nice downtown with less traffic! However, these ladies look as though they'd appreciate more customers for their cactus fruit & avocados ~ Wearily I trudged the many blocks to get past the barricade and catch a colectivo home. There was a group of teachers under a tarp attached to a bus used to block the road. Some of them were embroidering and crocheting -- a hallmark of the 2006 movement, as people have to do something all day while they're striking. I thought I'd capture an art shot to wind up this presentation, however one woman was afraid people would think they weren't sufficiently serious and snatched up a National Geographic to show she was improving her mind. As I explained my motivation, the other strikers starting teasing her and then me. Whereas it was fun, it derailed my planned poignant shot, & I only got this picture of a lady showing off her embroidery ~
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Post by Deleted on May 30, 2009 5:37:19 GMT
That's a great report, Bixa. I absolutely love the creativity of political posters and graffiti. In any case, you have inspired me to go looking around Paris. Since we're having the European elections in a week, there are quite a few weird slogans out and about on the walls of the city.
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Post by Deleted on May 30, 2009 10:20:03 GMT
So interesting. Thanks for putting those up Bixa.
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Post by imec on May 30, 2009 14:06:59 GMT
Wow, lots of issues! I really appreciate seeing pictures of the "real" Mexico - all I've seen is the sanitized tourist version (although parts of TJ are a bit raw). Thanks for this.
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Post by bixaorellana on May 30, 2009 14:21:03 GMT
Thank you, Imec. Hope one day you get down here. Mexico is an immensely varied country, and always lively. I'll use this opportunity to direct people to the visually boring Part One of La Lucha Sigue, if they want a little insight into some of the issues addressed in the posters.
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Post by Deleted on May 31, 2009 3:50:31 GMT
I can't help but think of the lovely young men I met there Bixa,a small group of intellectuals,artists,writers and one teacher. They entertained me one my birthday and we sat and drank Bohemias( and maybe a little mezcal). They gave me a gorgeous book of contemporary Oaxacan artists with some of them featured. One of the most haunting paintings in the book was done by my favorite of the group,Fernando Olivera,titled El Desaparecido (Dissappeared). I thought about he and his friends so many times in 2006 in particular ,wondering where they were ,and what happened to them. Reading and seeing this reminds me again of the strife they tried to describe to me that day in the Zocalo. Thanks for this. It would be difficult for me to post all this if I lived there as you have all these years,seeing and hearing,watching it all happen.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 1, 2009 23:54:37 GMT
So many families live with the torment of not knowing what happened to the relatives who disappeared in '78. Because of your openness in getting to know some of the locals in your brief time here, you have an insight into that pain.
On another note ~~ Uncle Joe reared his head again. I was sitting on the bus today and glanced out the window when we were at a stop light. There on a banner was his handsome, cruel face gazing out from a lamp post. It was a smallish white banner with "J. Stalin" under the image, & was on the opposite side of the pole from a similar sized banner with the hammer and sickle.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 2, 2009 21:41:37 GMT
My "watch this space" comment above referred to the fact that during '06 the entire city was filled with grafitti. Athough that was painted over after the Movement was muzzled, they've never been able to suppress all of it, as was chronicled in Elaine Sendyk's book.. This is a great video for looking at some of the street art of 2006: And to give an insight into why people feel exploited and cheated by their politicians, look at this video. Although it's a positive look at helpful programs, it also graphically shows the reality of rural life and how hard work doesn't get you ahead, but just might get you fed. (remember all embedded youtube videos can be viewed directly by double-clicking on them)
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Post by Deleted on Jun 2, 2009 21:56:36 GMT
Both of those videos are magnificent and reinforce my interest in modern Mexican events (as opposed to the historical/folkloric stuff). I am very glad to have access to modern Mexican movies in Paris, because they portray a reality that most people do not imagine.
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Post by bixaorellana on Feb 28, 2013 4:43:47 GMT
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Post by lola on Feb 28, 2013 6:18:31 GMT
That is one scary looking product of the plastic surgeon's art. 200 million would buy a lot if it, I guess.
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Post by lola on Feb 28, 2013 6:20:13 GMT
Hard to imagine what about Stalin would catch anyone's fancy, unless maybe ruler of N. Korea.
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Post by lagatta on Feb 28, 2013 23:47:19 GMT
She looks rather terrifying. The ladies de edad who've had nothing "done" you've shown in Oaxaca look much nicer.
The Stalin thing is weird in this day and age. Some workers' movements (beyond hardcore Party faithful) had good reason to disbelieve what the mainstream press said in the 1930s and 40s, given wide support for fascism among the powerful, and there was little real news from the then Soviet Union. Stalin was like the ultimate corrupt and murderous bureaucrat: Gordillo could only dream of such misused power.
I went to La Jornada's site but it is down - too much traffic?
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 1, 2013 22:00:52 GMT
Yeah, I'd say the inclusion of Stalin in the pantheon of Communist luminaries shows a shocking lack of historical knowledge. Re: plastic surgery ~~ you have to watch Mexican soaps to see what horrors can be wrought on the female human face by "elective surgery". It gets to the point that when a male actor comes on, you think, "oh yeah -- that's how people really look". This is Irma Serrano in her youth: Just checked the La Jornada site, & it seems to be fine now: www.jornada.unam.mx/ultimas/
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Post by lagatta on Mar 3, 2013 14:42:07 GMT
The Jornada site, being a newspaper, changes frequently so she is no longer there, and I didn't happen to find her via busqueda. I could have done busqueda avanzada, but just googled here instead.
Yes, terrifying indeed, though in fairness time also did to her what it does to all of us if we should live so long. She is very elderly now, born in 1933.
The cosmetic surgery abuses seem rife throughout all parts of Latin America prosperous enough for some to afford it. Brazil and Argentina are addicted to it, and not just entertainers or the upper class.
I know talking about my "inner Stalin" is on a par with "soup Nazi" jokes in terms of dubious taste, but said inner Stalin would force those cosmetic surgeons to spend some years volunteering to restore the faces and other visible parts of people injured in fires, wars, accidents and domestic violence including women deliberately burnt or subjected to acid attacks, and people with terrible birth defects or maimed by surgery for cancer or other diseases. Plastic surgery is very important - think it got its real start in the wake of the two World Wars - but it is so terribly misused.
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