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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 14, 2009 5:55:56 GMT
I had to go to the Abastos Market today, so took my camera along, as a Sunday near Christmas is vibrant. Sheet moss, bromeliads, and Spanish moss are use extensively to create elaborate scenes of Bethlehem, either inside or in front of homes. They endeavor to have a running water feature, although sometimes must settle for illusion. The cellophane cones are for carrying candles in the posadas that go through neighborhoods, and you'll see costumes for angels, the three kings, etc. Of course there are lots of piñatas. The funny lighting is caused by the colored tarps over the vending areas. Come on ~~ let's plunge in! We're entering through the produce section and are greeted by the classic Christmas colorsAn angel-hair waterfall plus bits and pieces for a Bethlehem tableau
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 14, 2009 5:56:36 GMT
Isn't this wonderful?! The beam of sunlight illuminated the antlers exactly like that painting of the the elk that appeared to St. Hubert. Some people will be more familiar with it as the image on the Jägermeister bottle.Few people know that 2,000 years ago, the Holy Land was mostly populated by people from Mexico and Africa.
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 14, 2009 5:57:51 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 14, 2009 5:58:40 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 14, 2009 5:59:20 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 14, 2009 6:00:06 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Dec 14, 2009 6:37:14 GMT
Your photos are always so magnificently colorful, Bixa. A lot of those items look like they would easily overlap into other holidays, but I thought it was interesting to see all of the creche material. Except for the niche market of ' santons' in France, the religious imagery of Christmas has just about totally disappeared unless you go into a church. All of those plants are just for Christmas decorations, or are they also on sale at other times? I love the kneeling white animals, but I am not sure if they are cows, sheep or goats.
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 14, 2009 7:27:22 GMT
Thanks, Kerouac. The first picture is a little joke, as green and red aren't the Christmas colors here, since they're the national flag colors.
I hope I see a Bethlehem scene so I can get a picture. Usually the whole town is depicted, not just the manger scene. All of the stuff for the arrangements, including all those plants, will disappear on December 24, since that is when the three kings will start being moved through the little landscapes toward the stable. That's what happens with all seasonal stuff in the markets. The day after November 2, for instance, it's as though Day of the Dead never happened.
They must be sheep, specifically rams, since all but one have horns.
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Post by happytraveller on Dec 14, 2009 7:41:35 GMT
So colourful, wonderful ! Beautiful photos bixa, I am a little envious, I miss mexico !!
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Post by lagatta on Dec 14, 2009 11:37:02 GMT
Lovely. Have we seen a couple of those vendor ladies before?
I'm glad you worked in a Mother and Child.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 14, 2009 12:19:45 GMT
Yes,that mother and child shot is beautiful. Great colors as always B. Not being the Christmas person and my disdain for most associated with,I can just get past that attitude looking at these photos,something so naiive and innocent in. But,you wouldn't find me by the little figurines and nativity scenes. Would have to drag me away from those bromeliads! Thanks for this. great post!
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 14, 2009 15:07:23 GMT
HappyT, the solution is to come back!
Oh gosh, LaGatta ~~ my fear is that all of my market posts are starting to look alike. I agree the 2nd vendor lady in #2 does look awfully familiar.
I'm pretty anti-Xmas myself, but as I went through the market yesterday, I did start thinking how much fun putting together a mossy Bethlehem might be.
I figured you'd flip over the bromeliads. Much as I enjoy seeing all that stuff en masse, I shudder to think about how it must be collected from the forests.
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Post by imec on Dec 14, 2009 18:23:10 GMT
Fabulous - so many colours! I love the guy with the cross.
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Post by fumobici on Dec 14, 2009 22:46:01 GMT
This thread should come with a warning. Those colors might actually prove fatal to a Protestant Great pics!
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Post by hwinpp on Dec 15, 2009 2:01:58 GMT
I like the watermelons, the little wooden wells in the second last installment and also the kneeling animals. I think from lefty to right they're cows, a billy goat, sheep and a ram. I also saw some running giraffes... Oh, the giraffes are actually spotted Mexicainian reindeer
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 15, 2009 4:26:23 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 15, 2009 4:37:58 GMT
This is one of the many open-air kitchens set up all over the park for the fair.
On the comal are fried molotes ("bobbins"), probably filled with a potato mixture.
The white stuff in the foreground is Oaxacan string cheese. It will get topped with squash flowers and epazote, then folded over to finish cooking with the other quesadillas.
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 15, 2009 4:50:13 GMT
Christmas is pretty minimal downtown in the daytime. It's probably more in evidence at night, since I saw many Christmas lights strung up here and there. Something was mentioned earlier about religious imagery. Every year there is a manger scene in the zócalo. It was so crappy this year, I didn't even take a picture of it. In past years, various forms of local folkcraft has been incorporated, which is delightful. This year's was a walk-through Bethlehem made out of something that looked like crumpled paper, with plaster figurines more suited in size to a mantle, rather than to outdoor public display. Something else to hate the present administration for. Anyway, this seems as good a place as any to display this picture that clearly shows how all religious buildings in Mexico are owned by the state. This is the cathedral: Lots of doomed-to-die poinsettias fill the garden areas around the alameda (in front of the cathedral) and the zócalo (main square). There were also a couple of these on the alameda, and the zócalo had two of these modern "trees".
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Post by hwinpp on Dec 15, 2009 5:04:00 GMT
Jesus looks a bit grungy but he's celebrating the US-Mexicanian friendship! On a Chinese hurricane!
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Post by Deleted on Dec 15, 2009 6:03:18 GMT
Poinsettias are used sparingly in France, but I remember how they were everywhere in the U.S. when I was little. It seemed more or less obligatory to buy a pot for the house at Christmas time.
I love the art on the rides. You can see many of the same sort of thing in France or even Vietnam or Indonesia. I think that what makes it so special is that the carnies obviously do these paintings themselves.
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Post by existentialcrisis on Dec 15, 2009 11:35:04 GMT
I think that picture would be considered quite controversial to the Christian community... at least, in USA/Canada?
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Post by traveler63 on Dec 15, 2009 13:57:24 GMT
Bixa,
The colors, oh the colors !!!!! I love the festive nature and always look at the Central and South American culture as being alive and colorful. Thank you for a great post.
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Post by lola on Dec 15, 2009 16:34:48 GMT
Joy. Beauty, too.
Thank you, bixalita.
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Post by lola on Dec 15, 2009 16:36:39 GMT
Everyone knows that Jesus was blue eyed with curly blonde hair.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 15, 2009 18:05:26 GMT
I was wondering if he was hiding the devil's horns inside those weird curls of hair. Of course, in France we are just like the Mexicans and all of the churches belong to the state, so we are suspicious of these religious characters.
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Post by imec on Dec 15, 2009 18:46:18 GMT
Oh! Your WTF ride is a smaller version of what is known in Britain as a " Waltzer" - which I happen to think is one of the most amazing mechanical creations of all time! If I ever win the multi-million $ lottery I will have a special room built to house one and I'll have parties there every Friday night - unlimited champagne - all invited! (sorry for the threadjack - been meaning start a favorite (or most terrifying) fairground ride thread)
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Post by Don Cuevas on Dec 16, 2009 19:05:22 GMT
"I hope I see a Bethlehem scene so I can get a picture. Usually the whole town is depicted, not just the manger scene."
Last year, I peeked into a modest hotel, I think on Av. Pino Súarez, (Oaxaca) that held a very complete nacimiento. As far as I was concerned, nothing was lacking. It was just south of El Llano.
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Post by traveler63 on Dec 20, 2009 13:38:38 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 23, 2009 15:46:36 GMT
Ha ~~ I am looking at my own thread because I'm here in Oklahoma having American Christmas. Being a fan of anything festooned with lights, this is pretty good too. Thanks so much to all of you for the kind feedback. Imec, "waltzer" is a great nugget of trivia. Is that name, or chinese whirlwind more appropriate, do you think? T63, thanks for that link. It's particularly wonderful, plus being the perfect illustration of a good nacimiento. Don Cuevas ~~ no pics to share of navidad in your vecindad? A note about the poinsettia ~~ it's a native of Mexico, although named after an American. It turns into a big gangly, semi-naked shrub when grown outdoors. Here are some fun facts about it: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euphorbia_pulcherrima
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Post by Deleted on Dec 23, 2009 18:34:56 GMT
We are however awaiting your photos of oil derricks decked out as Christmas trees.
And I'm sure that all of us city dwellers always see construction cranes with festive lights on them at this time of year.
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