Subterranean redsgreensblues & Hecho en Oaxaca

[bixaorellana]

Dear me, this is embarrassing. I was looking for a thread I made in order to share it, but it appears that .............
I never actually made the thread.

If the phantom thread turns up after I make this one, that would be even more embarrassing.
Oh well. I'm pretty -- I don't have to be smart.

Every July Oaxaca has a huge celebration called the Guelaguetza, which culminates in giant folk dance presentations held on two consecutive Mondays. They're held in a large auditorium atop the Cerro del Fortin, which can be reached by endless stairs or by a shortcut through a tunnel under the highway. A friend told me about the murals in the tunnel this year, so we set off to photograph them. (map & directions, for those wishing to duplicate our route)

The tunnel was a grim and graffitied place before, so our first sight of it is encouraging ~
















           

[bixaorellana]

                                



And that took us all the way through the tunnel & out on the left-hand side.
Let's go back in now & look at the back wall and at the right-hand side.







                                

[bixaorellana]

                     







That's it -- a fun way to spend a hot day.
In some of those last pictures you are looking at part of the 30,000 mile long Pan-American Highway.

[htmb]

Love it! Your photos are very nice and seem to capture the place well. I especially like one of the last photos with the white birds.

[tod2]

Bixa, what a tremendous exhibition of street art! It is some of the best I have ever seen. Vibrant in colours and interesting in subject matter!
Thank you so much for showing us this beauty!

[bjd]

Great -- thanks! Is this "officially sanctioned" street art? I mean that it all looks fresh and not painted over repeatedly.

[Deleted]

Fantastic Bixa!!
Oaxaca has so many cool and interesting places and things to see.
I'm always amazed at the varied reports you post from there.
Thanks for this, great photos.

[questa]

Bixa, your subterranean series is mind blowing. Such colours, variety of subjects and genres. You do them proud, it must take a lot of patience to wait for a clear shot.

[Deleted]

Those are excellent tunnels. They remind me of the underpasses of the Auvers-sur-Oise train station, but also of the walls of the endless staircase of the Abbsesses metro station. But these are much greater in scope and execution. Only time will tell if they remain respected or if other graffers decide that they need to add or replace détails. Unfortunately, in Paris just about everything gets a tag almost immediately but the greater the quality of the artwork, the more discreet the tag... or the addtion of other ones.

[bixaorellana]

Many thanks to you all for the lovely compliments!

Very nice work gets tagged here, too, although lately it seems to take more time for the art to be marred.

Kerouac, it's a pretty dinky tunnel. Here's a pic I forgot I had, taken back in February of 2012. It shows how boring & utilitarian it is:
          

Dec 30, 2013 21:45:24 GMT questa said:

it must take a lot of patience to wait for a clear shot.

Not really, Questa. We visited the tunnel on a non-Guelaguetza day & almost had it to ourselves.

Dec 30, 2013 8:20:44 GMT bjd said:

Great -- thanks! Is this "officially sanctioned" street art? I mean that it all looks fresh and not painted over repeatedly.

Bjd, I'm pretty sure these walls were commissioned by the city or state for the occasion of the Guelaguetza. They're pretty & fun, but most of them don't have the full-blown artistic imagination of great street art.
But also back in July, the Museum of Contemporary Art here mounted a brilliant show both inside the museum and on walls around the city. Here is an article with photos and a video (not mine), followed by some pictures I took around town of the excellent street art.
"Hecho En Oaxaca" Indoors and On The Street <-- click

Starting off on my street ~








           

I don't know if this was part of the official Hecho en Oaxaca program, as it's much smaller than the other pieces. Itwas on the wall of a house on my route to the local market & has since been removed.

Stay tuned, please. I've got to go out now, but there's more to show.

[bixaorellana]

There is a nice array on the outer and the stair walls of the market next to La Soledad church ~

[bixaorellana]

Going east down Allende toward Sto. Domingo ~















And finally, a peek into the Museum of Contemporary Art when Hecho en Oaxaca was there ~

[bjd]

A lot of that looks like paper stuck on -- since much of the drawing is very finely done, I guess they can take their time. You certainly live surrounded by bright colours, Bixa.

Not much minimalism in Mexico, huh?

[mich64]

Wonderful Bixa! I admire the talent people have artistically and even more so on larger scales like this. Their imagination and creativity is beyond my understanding.

[mossie]

WOW

[bixaorellana]

Jan 1, 2014 7:57:56 GMT bjd said:

Not much minimalism in Mexico, huh?

;D

Bjd, many of those are paper. I'd love to see them applied, as some of them are so big it must be done in stages. Kind of cool that elements can be reused in different ways in different places. If you look at the next-to-the-last picture in #9, you can see how the paper covers over a hole in the wall.

I so agree with you, Mich. Street art seems particularly generous, as it might introduce the idea of art to people otherwise intimidated by something they think is hoity-toity. And it really does seem like getting a gift when you turn a corner to be confronted by something big, colorful, and imaginative.

You said it all, Mossie!

[lugg]

Such fabulous colours, certainly brightening those dank and dismal tunnels. Bixa, your photos are wonderful too of course .

What does the "Huaxyacac" refer to please ?

I wondered about the art on the buildings , some of which look like homes, presume permission has to be sought ?

[bixaorellana]

Thanks so much, Lugg!

Huaxyacac is the Nahuatl word for the very common local tree now called a guaje. It's a messy tree with tiny leaves, prized for its edible flat seed pods which are enjoyed raw. Think of a tough snow pea pod that leaves a bad taste in your mouth like Cheetos, & you'll have a good idea of this delicacy.

Nahuatl (which is a living language) was the language of the Aztecs, who gave the name Huaxyacac to the valley of Oaxaca. Not surprisingly, when the Spaniards came along, they had trouble with the pronunciation, thus Oaxaca.

I've wondered about the business of permission, etc. on painting those walls. The market walls presumably belong to the city, so there'd be no problem. Perhaps homeowners give permission in return for eventually having their buildings painted over?

[Don Cuevas]

Great stuff, Bixa! We must come and visit you soon, so we can see this street art for ourselves.

[questa]

I keep coming back to these pictures to cheer me up...specially the tunnels. Those fabulous colours and artwork. Takes me ages to scrutinise each photo. Your presentation is a work of art in itself.

[Deleted]

Yes, I came back to look at the bright colours again, too. Paris is so monochrome at the moment that this is the perfect antidote.

[lugg]

Think of a tough snow pea pod that leaves a bad taste in your mouth like Cheetos, & you'll have a good idea of this delicacy.

Aha thanks Bixa, sounds yummy