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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 19, 2011 19:14:44 GMT
So, I've left the bank lines and the celebrating teens behind and am now proceeding up Álcala. I glance into the lovely colonial building which houses Librería Porrúa and see they have a nacimiento set up in the patio. Oh yeah -- earlier in the thread I blithely said that the custom of setting up nativity scenes came from Spain. I found out that it got to Spain from Italy, with the original one credited to St. Francis of Assisi. Anyway, I'm delighted to see this particular one as it was created by Guillermina Aguilar, one of the Aguilar family of ceramicists from Ocotlán. It features illustrious Oaxaqueños in addition to the usual figures.
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 19, 2011 19:18:49 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 19, 2011 19:24:36 GMT
And continuing up the street, I'm yet again in front of Sto. Domingo. It's a gorgeous day, overcast but with patches of impossibly blue sky. The clouds & the mist rising off the mountains are dramatically beautiful. Yarn bombing!
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Post by mich64 on Dec 19, 2011 19:26:16 GMT
I love the addition of the map Bixa, it is nice to be able to track your routes and get an over all orientation of the city. The line for the bathroom and bank would not be good for me, I am far too impatient for lines like that! Wow! Still enjoying Navidad! Cheers! Mich
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Post by mich64 on Dec 19, 2011 19:29:09 GMT
Why does the tree have a sock on it? Mich
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 19, 2011 19:32:27 GMT
Well, I only came up this street to see if I could find any nacimientos or anything else worth seeing. Mission accomplished so far, so I'll turn around & go back. Hey -- look at this in the entrance foyer of Hostería Álcala restaurant and Amate Books ~~ You never see this particular craft here (is it called trapunto?), nor do you see quilts. As far as I know, they don't have them in other parts of Mexico either. Can you imagine how wonderful Mexican quilts would be?! There it is -- yonder! The elegant tree in the restaurant's courtyard ~
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Post by Deleted on Dec 19, 2011 19:37:26 GMT
Thanks for the map, Bixa. I like to know where I am.
Those nativity cows worry me a bit, particularly the cow-elephant.
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 19, 2011 19:41:02 GMT
Well, that involved a little excursion into Amate Books which was productive. I need to go buy a gift & pick up a couple of the huipiles I use as housecoats, so I cut over to 5 de Mayo. I'm going to the women's collective store shown earlier in this thread. But holy enchanted pumpkin -- what's this?! The princess is trapped in the pumpkin with her little brother because the coach automobile of one of her party is double parked, blocking traffic & causing the water truck guy to repeatedly blow his very loud horn. Crossing the alameda on my way to the car stop, I see this daddy long legs ... except it's a girl. She gave me a nice smile & a thumbs up after I took this picture. So that's it for Saturday. But just wait -- Sunday is coming up with delights beyond imagining!
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Post by lola on Dec 19, 2011 20:51:05 GMT
The Quinceañera and her beau are adorable. These are great, Bixa.
Some of those ceramic portraits are striking. Note to Sra Aguilar: Do Bixa next!
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Post by onlymark on Dec 20, 2011 5:00:56 GMT
Why does the tree have a sock on it? Mich It was talking too much.
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 21, 2011 3:13:09 GMT
Oh, I'm glad the map was a hit with you, Mich & you, Kerouac. Those kinds of lines for banks send me around the bend. There is another map in my head with all the points where I can nip in & go potty. That is a matter of more than mere impatience. Those cow-elephants were a major problem back in Biblical times, Kerouac. Much of that smiting you hear about was cow-elephant-related. Thanks so much, Lola. Re: portraiture ~~ a commissioned Aguilar would be pricey. I'd content myself with getting one of those guys who paints the happy pigs or goats on the sides of eateries to capture me in all my glory. Why does the tree have a sock on it? Mich Oh please, Mark -- everyone knows trees can't talk! It was barking too loudly. pssssst, Mich: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yarn_bombing
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 21, 2011 3:59:55 GMT
I surely hope you all are not sick of all this Navidadding. I have scads of pictures from Sunday the 18th, which I'll now start posting, stopping occasionally to process & host more of them (it's a ton of pictures!). So, Sunday afternoon I set off to see what was going on at the basilica of Our Lady of Solitude, whose feast day is celebrated on December 18. A quick glance as I leave my neighborhood into the space holding the monos. They'll be dancing again for the posada here on the 23rd. There's one more now, isn't there? Now, for you map readers, I am downtown & walking west (really nw) on Independencia. My objective is the church (really basilica) of La Soledad, which you'll see just south of the large yellow area on the upper left of the map. La Soledad has a huge courtyard outside the walled churchyard proper. You all may recall that it was torn up for renovation when I went there during days of the dead. Up one level from the churchyard & bordered on the north by Morelos, is Plaza de la Danza. This was the place with the giant tapetes during days of the dead. Because I'm eternally hopeful, I feel sure all the renovation is finished by now, which is why I'm walking over there on Independia instead of Morelos. We could drop in here for all your Santa Muerte needs. Okay, I recognize The Reaper & I'm pretty sure the standing figure is St. Jude Thaddeus, although what he has to do with the Holy Death cult, I don't know. But who the heck is the guy in yellow? A little further on, I come to a religious supply store that's a Oaxaca institution. A glance up tells me that it's that time again -- Niño Dios time. Here's the Lady whose fiesta we're going to attend: Well, hey -- there are the steps up to the outer courtyard. Some of them aren't capped yet, but it looks fine. At the top, the way is almost blocked by vendors ~
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 21, 2011 4:19:38 GMT
I've squeezed past the vendors and ........................ oh no! The courtyard is absolute rubble! Look at the people scrambling and slipping over this mess, trying to go up & come down from Plaza de la Danza -- What's everyone looking at? ¡Una ardilla! Well, there's nothing for it. I join the throng that's being squeezed like toothpaste as it toils to the upper level. When we get to the top, we find a real bottleneck. There are food stands leaving just a narrow aisle for an opening. I turn to the left, perpendicular to an aisle just like this one: It smells great in this space, cooking plus sweet stuff. See the sliver of church in the upper right?
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 21, 2011 4:50:05 GMT
Once outside the food area, it turns out we need to go down a ramp to get back to the first level & the churchyard, where the action is. Because of the construction, it can't be entered from the outer courtyard like before. Below the ramp is a mini market selling jamoncillo candy and religious pictures, medals, etc. I should have asked about the bundles of black, flattened bananas in their skins. ~?~ Well, here we are at the side of the church, where there's quite a crowd ~ There was a guelaguetza -- celebration of the state's culture -- scheduled for today. When I got closer, I could see one event had just ended & candy was being thrown to the crowd. The announcer gets our attention for the next dancers. There are many programs for retired people, including quite a few for folk dancing. I suspect this couple belongs to one of those groups. HW, take note: sombrero. poncho. And they're off!
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 21, 2011 5:09:38 GMT
We should address the reason all these people are here. It's easy to cynically believe that it's only for the food and fun, but that's not the case at all. This is a line: A long, double line ........ Let's go over to the front of the church. Hmmmm. Don't think we'll be getting inside! Quite a few people, especially the elderly or those with infants, are trying to get out of the crush. Me too!
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 21, 2011 5:18:24 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 21, 2011 5:31:10 GMT
There's a lull as the women remove their resplandores ~ Then the group forms up for another dance ~ We'll leave them to it & go look around some more, okay? That's some crowd!
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 21, 2011 16:42:15 GMT
And continuing our time at La Soledad, we leave the area by the wall where the stage is set up, and move toward the side of the church. We're headed for that little bumped-out section in the corner by the door, which houses another part of the shrine. People are leaving candles there. Let's go to the courtyard in the back of the church. On the way we pass band instruments, and a packed religious supply store ~
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Post by fumobici on Dec 21, 2011 16:52:13 GMT
Okay, I recognize The Reaper & I'm pretty sure the standing figure is St. Jude Thaddeus, although what he has to do with the Holy Death cult, I don't know. But who the heck is the guy in yellow? That's my all-time favorite and always dapper Mexican icon, the fabled Jesús Malverde! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jes%C3%BAs_Malverde
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 21, 2011 17:04:17 GMT
And here we are at the lovely courtyard behind the church, although the museum is closed today. I haven't been to it since my first visit to Oaxaca, when it was a charmingly funky place. The church has since had an extensive face lift. I wonder if the museum is still naively cute. Regardless, the absolutely wonderful metalwork mule train is still in place ~ This sign is a triumph of the run-on sentence. Translation, with added punctuation: On December 18, 1620, on the back of a beast not recognized as belonging to anyone, a wooden box containing the venerable image of Our Lady in her solitude at the foot of the Cross arrived at this site, where a chapel was being raised to the glorious martyr, Saint Sebastian. I have to go do something right now, but will be back in a bit with more.
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 21, 2011 20:57:13 GMT
Didn't see Fumobici's message when I was posting before ~~ bixaorellana wrote: "... who the heck is the guy in yellow?"fumobici wrote: "That's my all-time favorite and always dapper Mexican icon, the fabled Jesús Malverde! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jes%C3%BAs_Malverde"Well, thanks for that, Fumobici! It's a bit of popular culture that I'm embarrassed not to have known. It's a shame that a kind of pro-little-guy, anti-governmental-injustice knight should be coopted by the narcotraficantes. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Let me take this opportunity to apologize for the quality of many of these photos. They were taken on an overcast day late in the afternoon & it shows in their grayness & graininess. Anyway, here we are still behind the basilica. It's lovely back here, both in the garden area & looking back at the church ~ Well, I'm going back out to the churchyard. If there's no sign of the procession, I'm heading back to the center of town, where there is something I really, really want to see.
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 21, 2011 21:08:07 GMT
There's no sign of a procession yet, but huge numbers of people continue to arrive ~ and to depart ~ The tuba reflects the scene and awaits its time to musically shine ~ Backstage, this poor soul shows signs of life ~ Performers wait their turn, and baskets of flowers are ready to be hoisted onto dancing heads ~ Apologies for the cl*wn, but you know that we documentary photographers must unflinchingly look at & record reality. The crowd mills ~ and the show goes on ~
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 21, 2011 21:21:51 GMT
We however, are going to leave this plaza and ease our way up to Morelos street and head to town from there. The outer courtyard presents an almost medieval scene of food and religious item vendors ~ We pass the same jamoncillo vendors we passed on the way down ~ And finally reach the upper level where we must pass through the packed food stands again. I stop here & order a squash flower quesadilla. (see the meal here, #106 & #107)Finally reaching Morelos, I look back at a scene reminiscent of a thousand Christmas cards ~ Please come back to this thread later. I'll be adding pics of The Big Event of the day.
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Post by nycgirl on Dec 22, 2011 16:25:17 GMT
Wow, this is a barrage of colorful sights! I love the beautiful clothing of the dancers. Especially nice to see the clothing from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec make a reappearance.
Terrific shot of the tuba! Looking forward to more!
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 23, 2011 23:44:53 GMT
Thanks so much, NYCGirl. The lack of other feedback on the most recent posts made me worry that everyone was burnt out with this long thread. But it is Christmastime, after all, & people are occupied. Anyway, your kind comments have encouraged me to keep going. So, we've turned onto Morelos, going east back toward the center of town. The side of San José church looms out of the darkness ~ And just look at the lights on this building. Hey Paris, you ain't got nuthin on us! ;D This is the courtyard of a lovely colonial building, now a hotel. Let's go look at their Bethlehem scene. The main event, which has not happened yet. When I lived in Spain as a child, the Magi were moved slowly through this type of scene, not arriving at the manger until January 6. A cow-elephant for Kerouac: I don't know what is going on with the buttocks on that figurine! . I wanna see the itsy-bitsy people who live in those buildings. A lesser-known miracle of Bethlehem -- the growing of cacti 1500 years before contact with the New World. My favorite part -- they appear to have used their souvenirs of Florida to pad out the scene ~
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 24, 2011 0:00:45 GMT
Hmm -- early warning sign of yet another quinceñera. Ah, here we are at the Alameda. Those towers for The Event look really cool at night ~ And coming out of the cathedral, a 15th birthday girl ~ It seems to be a night for turquoise ~ A dance group is performing. I think this is danzón. Now I'm in a quandary. It's not quite quarter of seven, I'm a little tired & somewhat cold, and The Event is not supposed to start until 8:30. Running into a couple I know watching the dancing, I say that I think I'll go on home. They urge me to stay, saying that the spectacle is really worth it.
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 24, 2011 0:14:55 GMT
Well, fine, but now I have to wander around for almost two hours. Spooning on the bandstand ~ Looking through the manger scene to the Govt. Palace. Notice anything odd? {Spoiler} I go up Álcala, not only to see what's going on, but because I know of a bathroom I can use there. And another hey! to Paris ~ The covered shopping area on the Plazuela Labastida (far left, previous pic) ~ I wander into one of the colonial buildings that's been converted into a mini mall. These three look as though they're knee-walking out of the mezcal place ~ No explanation whatsoever for this couple. They were just there, against a blank wall ~ Oops -- I have to go somewhere in Real Life right now. Back later!
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 24, 2011 3:43:16 GMT
I'm back from RL, which means we're back at Sunday again. And back out on the street, I run into this young man trying to find his century ~ What's this? The receding figures are like something from a movie or a waking dream. Whoa -- this is too real. Maybe I'm the one in the wrong century! Oh, thank goodness -- others can see them too! They certainly appear to be friendly. {Spoiler} Blind accordian player ~ Something I don't remember seeing in Oaxaca before -- a street preacher ~
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 24, 2011 3:52:59 GMT
I'm now at the bottom of Álcala, at the wide space bordered by Independéncia. There are always food vendors here, & this is certainly tempting ~ There's one of the cathedral's towers. Nothing going on there yet. I stop to take in some street dancing ~ The front of the cathedral has ephemeral teasers running across it ~ On the side of the alameda closest to the zócalo, a bluesy rock band sets up -- not bad! It's still not time, so I take a turn through the zócalo ~
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 24, 2011 4:00:13 GMT
I'm going over to the other side of the alameda, to where the clothes vendors are set up in front of the post office. As I walk out of the zócalo, I see there are even more people in front of the cathedral & that some nifty things are being sold. On the way over, I see a sight that makes my US heart just shrivel -- this is SO dangerous ~ The stuff she's shifting around on that tippy hot brazier is boiling syrup. I can't even think of the consequences! As I wander through this area, looking vaguely for something warm to put on, my watch & the front of the cathedral warn me that it's almost time. Better get over there!
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