Julio -- mes de la Guelaguetza en Oaxaca

[bixaorellana]

Yep, it's July and as happens every July, Oaxaca puts on a huge party called the Guelaguetza, from a Zapotec word meaning gift or offering.

My house is right down the hill from the big stadium where the events are held on the last two Mondays in July. And my house is right up the hill from the little plaza of the Cruz de Piedra where many of the parades form up. So I get to hear the music and the excited crowds on the Mondays and to get into the thick of things when I walk my dogs in the evening. There are also the exciting encounters around town, as you'll see.

Back in 2010 Bjd posted a great article from the BBC on this festival. That thread still has working links, even though my laboriously crafted threads were treated like 52-pickup by the "upgrade" to V5.

July is also the month of Our Lady of Mount Carmel / Nuestra Señora del Carmen. Oaxaca has two churches dedicated to her -- the Templo de Carmen Alto and the church of Carmen de Abajo. That means that pretty much all of July has festivities, stands of stuff for sale, food booths, fireworks ...... you know, all the stuff that makes life worth living.

My first up-close encounter with July fun came on the fourth of July, when I glanced out the window of the restaurant where I was picking up a food order to see this lovely sight ~
                     

Hustling outside, I seemed to be plunged into the past ~




The combined unconscious grace of the girls made them -- dare I say it -- as pretty as a picture ~
                                

But the guys, if not as colorful, certainly got up to some interesting stuff ~




As if that weren't enough excitement for one day, we ran into our canine protectors & their human companions at the top of the hill toward home ~




Well, speaking of dogs, it's time for mine to go for their evening constitutional.
Please stay tuned, as there is much, much more to come.

[bixaorellana]

July is a rainy month.
As the clouds gather in the afternoon, a crowd gathers as well, anticipating something below ~


My house is only a stone's throw from Carmen Alto and look -- the festivities are coming my way.
A guy is preceding them with the all-important fireworks. My poor dogs!


Standing around, waiting for everyone to catch up ~




In this picture you can clearly see how close the Guelaguetza stadium is to my street ~

I got such a kick out of these two, an old guy and a young guy.
I stood right behind them as they talked & repeatedly mirrored each others gestures ~


Food & beverages were passed around to the crowd ~


The woman dancing in the lower right is carrying favors to throw to the crowd ~

And off they go to parade around the neighborhoods.
I have much more to show, so please keep checking back.

[bjd]

On the one hand, it's a bit of a shame that people in the procession are just wearing jeans. But on the other, you get the impression that everybody just participates, not only those in special units and outfits.

Were the cops and dogs for crowd control?

[bixaorellana]

Well, there are two festivals happening simultaneously. The people in the procession above are parishioners of Carmen Alto marching in their religious procession, so there was no reason for them to do the regional dress thing. The two women in the fancy dresses from the isthmus of Tehuantepec may be from that region, as those women often retain the regional clothing.

The next day, though, there was an explosion of cuteness and regional clothing coming up my street ~

Trust me when I tell you that by the time this thread is finished, your eyes will be crossing from all the regional dress!

[tod2]

This is awesome Bixa! I can see now why so much of Mexican attire is started with basic white and then shows off all those vibrant colours! The children seem to be enjoying it immensely which is so nice to see.
I love the way you captured the man wearing the headscarf!

[htmb]

Your photos are fabulous. I especially live the way you've captured the smiles on the faces of the children!

[bixaorellana]

Thank you so much, ladies!

Bjd, I didn't mean to ignore your question about the dogs. They seemed to be on their way somewhere when I saw them. The dog & cop teams are a fairly recent innovation which seems to be part of the friendlier, more helpful police image that's being promoted. The beat cops are clearly marked as such on their uniforms. The ones with dogs are very proud of them & happy to answer questions and allow you to approach and even pet the dogs.

I really apologize by how slow this thread is going. I'm having terrible internet problems, which means it's taking forever to upload pictures. It's very frustrating, especially since every time I leave the house I run into more and better photo opportunities. Bear with me, please, especially since I'm being so slow to respond to all the excellent threads by others.

[bixaorellana]

A little night music, from two different nights:

This was on my street ~












From the big street perpendicular to mine ~








Okay, that blurry batch is out of the way. Please check back later for

SPOILER: Click to show

{something immensely cool <-- click those three words!}

[mossie]

Very entertaining and colourful. I particularly liked one shot of a parade with children, one of whom is giving you a very old fashioned look.

[Deleted]

Fabulous pics Bixa! You really captured the festiveness perfectly!!

(My favorite photo is the B&W of the trio of girls with their musical instruments).

Great thread, thank you.

[bixaorellana]

Thanks so much, Mossie. Are you referring to the little girl with the extreme sideways glance?

Oh, thank you, Casimira! And thanks for noticing the b&w photo, of which I'm particularly fond as well. What you've seen up to this point is a drop in the ocean of what I'm going to show, so I hope everyone will please keep checking back.

At any rate, it's time for what I consider a stellar highlight of this thread. I've been dying to see these guys close up for ages. The last time I saw them on the street, I didn't have my camera, so it was a great thrill to run smack into their parade the other day. I wrote a little about them in this thread, and hope that everyone can share my enthusiasm for them here ::

















*sigh* There they go to continue their lofty boogying around the streets of the city ~


There's a little more to the parade, but it's hard not to see it as anticlimactic after the stilt dancers ~




The cops obviously think that their role in the parade is really great ~

[Deleted]

I love the photos, but there is something ominous about them. While the children look happy, most of the adults look... possessed. There is definitely good movie material in this.

I have to admit that the Wildcat Trail vehicles provide a surprising contrast from all of the rest!

[bixaorellana]

We finished our errands and went to the zócalo for a restorative beverage.
What luck to wind up with a ringside table for more parade ~

Some of the crowd were most blasé about the proceedings ~

Yaaay :: Here come the Zancudos again! Teenaged boys will be teenaged boys.

[bixaorellana]

Thanks, Kerouac. Look -- there are happy adults in the picture above & in these below.  I love watching all this, but I know most of the adults were thinking the same thing I was, which was "Damn it's hot!" It was so sunny as well. Can't imagine how the jolly dancers keep going in their heavy garments.

Of course you all have realized that all the stilt dancers are male, right?












Possibly no one wants to hear these words, but ......... stay tuned :: there's lots more to come!

[bjd]

Do these celebrations usually take place on weekends or just any day of the week?

[Deleted]

Yes, the new photos look definitely more festive and also definitely more exhausting. Even though you have not provided a shot of a thermometer, that looks like hot and sweaty activity. At least for me.

[breeze]

This gets better and better! You said two of the month's parades take place on the last two Mondays of July. Is there some agreement that some groups will march on certain days? Or can they march both days? I know I'd want to march twice, if I could wear a big colorful skirt and flounce it.

I love the corn stalks with the big flowers and the kerchiefed man who hid his face, then looked back at you. I like the young women at the beginning with their striking long black braids. The red and black marching band.

The four little girls with the circlets of twisted scarves on their heads may be my favorites so far. They look so serious and so do the two little boys with them.

The two women in navy blue skirts with simple white tops, and the shawls over their shoulders tied at the waist--so stylish.

[htmb]

Fantastic photos, Bixa. I feel like my brain is on overdrive trying to take all this in and that's without hearing the sound of the event! Wow!!!

[mich64]

So enjoyable to go through these photos Bixa. While I do enjoy all the variety of costumes and traditional dress, I particularly liked the little girl in the hounds tooth coat, very refined for a little miss. The parades must be so much fun to watch, so many things going on.

[bixaorellana]

Thank you ~~ you all are so nice & encouraging! Thank goodness, because I have scads more pictures.

Bjd, looking at the calendar to check the days of the week when the pictures were taken, I see things took place as often as not on a weekday.

Kerouac, since it started raining this year in May, July seems steamier than usual.

Breeze, thank you so much! And thank you for your close attention to the pictures. Apologies about not being clear on the two Mondays. They're called "Lunes del Cerro", Mondays of the Hill. That's a reference to the the big major events that take place in the auditorium on the Cerro del Fortín. If you'll look at Reply #2, the fifth photo, you'll see the auditorium in relation to my house. The big events there are extravaganzas of folk dance, music, and gift-throwing. People buy tickets to it a year in advance. Today was the second Monday, so I've been hearing bands, cheering, and music all day long. They had the grand finale about 20 minutes ago -- over ten minutes of magnificent, unceasing fireworks. Hope my pics come out!

As far as the parades and marching -- I'm really showing a teensy bit of what's gone on since early July. And I'm pretty sure that I've recognized some of the participants in more than one parade. When you come, we'll be sure to get you the flounciest skirt possible and you can sashay to your heart's content. Women dressed like that are "chinas Oaxaqueñas" & it's supposedly the costume for the valleys of Oaxaca.

Htmb, it's funny that you mentioned the sounds. After I posted the pictures today I realized that I was hearing the soundtrack in real time & simply assuming you all could hear it too! Truly, I'm not crazy. It's just that there's been so much of it for so long I forget it's not filling everyone elses ears too.

Thank you, Mich! Yes, it really is fun and there is no way to take it all in. I'm trying to play catch-up here and really do have some amazing stuff to show, so I hope you'll stick around. That little girl does look precious in her spiffy coat. Note that Mom is also wearing a fairly heavy jacket. Whew!

[bixaorellana]

Another day, another bunch of parade sounds coming from the street perpendicular to mine.
I go outside to see an ambulance which is apparently only for short people ~


Yaaay :: here comes a band!


In 2006 Oaxaca had an uprising in which a consortium of the populace -- the APPO -- supported the teachers in their strike. The teachers ultimately responded by stabbing the APPO in the back. Nevertheless, they have co-opted some of the revolutionary rhetoric in their endless strikes and grandstanding. Because of the protests in 2006, the Guelaguetza was not held that year. However, there was a people's Guelaguetza, free to all, which has been carried on since then. Apparently this is something else the teachers' union has glommed onto as its own, since the parade I'll now show & the one the following day seem to have been sponsored by the union -- CNTE, sección 22. Whatever, it was a good show.

Here they are celebrating the fact of being jerks ~


But on to the jolly bits!

[bixaorellana]

It's hot. It's really, really hot!


The man inside the giant woman ~

This is not a participant in the parade, but an onlooker -- just an old lady who retains her traditional dress.
And yes, she's every bit as tiny as she looks in this photo ~

Incidentally, the photo above was taken right where the parade street intersects with my street. The different angles in the photos are because I ran up and down the parade line.

[bixaorellana]

Here are just a few shots of bits & pieces around town.

This is a good opportunity to see people from other states who retain their traditional clothing. For instance, this lady is from the area around Orizaba, Veracruz They come here to sell plants. Her skirt has petticoats with lace just as elaborate as that on her blouse ~


A Huichol man and his little boy. I really don't remember seeing Huichol in Oaxaca before, but have seen several this year ~
                                

Huh! I appear to have no photos of the many food booths set up around the church of Carmen Alto, despite having enjoyed their food on a couple of occasions. There is also a micro-mini midway in the same area ~


Although small, free-standing versions of the classic movie popcorn machine are quite common and although their product is usually only five pesos, this guy must like doing it the hard way ~




I mentioned in another thread about the many booths set up in El Llano park selling great stuff from all over the state ~


And look, Mich ~~ here is another long arcade of booths on the pedestrian street selling more regional items ~


Sometimes it's hard to tell where one celebrations ends and another begins, as in this colorful troupe of dancers kicking up their heels in front of Sto. Domingo after a wedding. Look, Breeze ~~ this could be you!




All that dancing involves practice, practice, practice ~




Little interesting surprises all over, such as this particularly lovely Tehuana outfit & the tall guy on his way somewhere ~
                                

It's past my bedtime, but please tune in tomorrow. I'm working up to showing something quite out of the ordinary.

[bjd]

Brilliant coloured outfits, but I do find it spoils the effect when the men surrounding the women in white with shawls on their head are carrying cell phones and tablets -- and even consulting them! At least the women aren't doing so.

[bixaorellana]

I have no idea what the dress of the men is supposed to represent. Perhaps it is to evoke an era of the dim past, when the teachers actually went into the classrooms and taught children. Yes, the tablets are a jarring note. But all through the parade pictures you'll see the compulsive use of phones & texting.

The following day there was another parade by the same group, but much bigger. Again, it came right up the street a half block from my house. There was an enormous amount of just standing around. Most of these photos were taken not as the parade moved past me, but as I walked up and down the unmoving line.

[bixaorellana]

I'm fascinated by these "rag men". One of them told me they are "viejitos" -- old men.

There is more to this parade, including when it actually moves along. But right now I have to go deal with the plumber.

[htmb]

Are these parade days local holidays, so that most people are off work?

[mossie]

So varied and oh, so colourful. Thanks Bixa for a wonderful display

[bixaorellana]

Htmb, I don't think it's an official day off and most places seemed to be open for business. No doubt there are many people granting themselves extra time off, though.

Thank you so much, Mossie, but please don't go away yet! We're still in the middle of this parade & I have something really different to show after that.

At any rate, allow me to help rest everyones eyeballs after all that color ~

Referring back to Htmb's mention of the sound, here is a video (not mine) of the very people in these two parades. I recognize some of the faces from my photos. But this is of the complete version, with many more people and a sight more lively than they were by the time they'd dragged themselves up the hill to my neighborhood. Imagine three solid weeks of this music & fireworks. Today is so blessedly silent!

Still more to come!

[bixaorellana]

And the viejitos dance!

And off they go!


I imagine y'all are feeling all paraded out, but you really don't want to miss the muxes on parade. Stay tuned!