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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 6, 2018 1:05:26 GMT
Awww ~ thank you, Whatagain! I appreciate that & like how you think. Your comment about Halloween is interesting. I guess in the church calendar it was only the day before All Saints. When I was a kid a nun told us that the custom of Halloween with scary costumes came about in England during the Reformation and was meant to make fun of Catholic beliefs. I have no idea if that is true or not. I think the custom of Muertos here makes some fun of the living for forgetting that this short earthly life is not all there is and also makes light of the universal fear of death. And of course there are many people here who believe that the dead visit for a quick hello at this time of year, so never fail to celebrate that. As for your third comment, I don't think it is off topic at all and agree with you about having a personal cemetery. Even though I've visited many of the cemeteries around here where I have no family buried, I've stopped going to the ones that are crammed with tourists. That's getting harder and harder to do. The single one I visited at night this year had so many of my compatriots that I might as well have been in Cleveland. But really, I can't blame them. This city and state offers its population almost nothing in terms of opportunity, but tirelessly promotes tourism, so there you go.
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 6, 2018 1:31:42 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 6, 2018 6:40:19 GMT
And finally we are coming to the end of this, the 10th annual Anyport report on Day of the Dead. In thread time it is November 1st. I decide to go check out the Xochimilco churchyard and cemetery. On the way up Porfirio Díaz, we pass this bony baker ~ They're going full bore at decorating the churchyard ~ Last year when I was admiring the curtains of marigolds in this churchyard, a lady told me they were done by UC Davis. No idea what the connection is ~ This fond couple is sitting in front of a replica of the forgotten dead's cross in the main Oaxaca cemetery ~ This passenger seems extremely pleased with the ride ~
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 6, 2018 6:49:30 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 6, 2018 7:13:18 GMT
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Post by kerouac2 on Nov 6, 2018 15:13:47 GMT
I think these are the best set of pictures so far. As you said "Xochimilco is different." Something about it seems more authentic and homemade without all of the international influences and overly elaborate makeup. And of course, there are not the big crowds of the major places. I don't need the parades and the musicians, even though they can be fun, too, just like the children who are always incredibly cute, but they are just being subjected to what the adults have decided to do with them. It's like dressing up dogs, sort of.
What are muertitos? Cute little dead nibbles?
I completely understand how you feel that you have exhausted the subject after all of these wonderful years. My Paris Christmas reports have definitely been toned down over the years, although I know that I will continue to do the Christmas windows because they try so hard to come up with new ideas every year. (I made a point of passing the windows a couple of days ago and they are all black curtained as this year's amazing items are installed.) I am hoping that in spite of your Muertos photo burnout, you will relent and at least give us a mini report in the future. This would please test-guest (not that any of us want you to please that person) and at least console the rest of us.
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Post by lugg on Nov 6, 2018 19:18:04 GMT
What another fabulous report Bixa - I absolutely love all your reports of the Day of the Dead for so many reasons but I guess for me its the vibrancy and colour of ALL YOUR photos illustrating the joy / concentration/ ( insert a whole range of emotions) on the faces of those taking part. Plus the cultural significance for the people taking part shines through - as opposed to the crassness of Halloween in many other countries . And --- what an incredible amount of hard work it must take for all to become involved.
I personally hope that you change your mind and you will treat us to another report at some point .
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Post by casimira on Nov 7, 2018 14:43:17 GMT
After all these years I think you have gone above and beyond the call of duty in sharing with us all the aspects of this festival. Each year you capture a variety of people and places not only with fabulous photos but reporting/educating those unfamiliar with the cultural traditions that you yourself have taken the time to learn.
These reports take an enormous amount of time and energy and you have most certainly committed yourself, selflessly for the people who care to indulge in your efforts.
For this I am enormously grateful and full of admiration and respect.
I would like for you to take the time to enjoy the festival at your own pace and leisure and should the urge to snap a few photos overcomes you I'm sure we would enjoy you sharing them.
Thank you for yet another whimsical, wonderful, and exhaustive display of the cultural experiences you so generously chose to share with us.
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Post by breeze on Nov 7, 2018 15:43:55 GMT
Casimira, you have put it perfectly. I agree with everything you've said.
I'll be sorry to see you lay this down, bixa, but I do realize that you've trained your replacement. I'm speaking of kerouac. Kerouac, please order your plane tickets soon, or get on a slow boat and head to the land of marigolds and skeletons.
Bixa, your photography is always fabulous no matter how gray the region you're traveling in, but Mexico abets you with brilliant colors. They amaze me whenever I open one of your threads.
Loved the little kids.
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Post by casimira on Nov 7, 2018 16:15:14 GMT
Ahem, Breeze...I think that perhaps several others of us, (and I mean you Breeze) should consider forming a contingent and converge upon Oaxaca and take in and report our impressions and take in this fete.Not that I would want to impose on Bixa to serve as hostess extaordinaire but the hotel rates and airfares are more than reasonable especially from the US. I had the enormous pleasure of being there some 15-20 years ago (I forget the exact year, all that mezcal ...) at this time of year and it was one of the highlights of my very limited travels anywhere. I found the people of Oaxaca to be so incredibly generous, gracious and have a beauty unsurpassed by anywhere I have ever travelled. I made so many "friends" while out and about solo and also with Bixa who was relatively new to her new home. (I really did not realize that when I was there it was her first experience of this marvelous celebration until she reminded me recently.). With that, I would encourage you, myself, and my husband who has a longing to go there to the point of "dreams of Oaxaca") and others to seriously consider making the trek there together.
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Post by mossie on Nov 7, 2018 18:48:46 GMT
I would join in with the others and praise you for these very colourful reports.
As for visiting, regret that is out of the question as I now suffer from mobility and senility problems.
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Post by breeze on Nov 7, 2018 20:03:16 GMT
Casimira, I've looked into flying to Mexico. Even more than Muertos, the food festival Bixa wrote about really tempted me and at that time I looked into a trip. But from PA it's lengthy, complicated, and expensive. I'll ask my sister how she does it from CT. Now you live closer and your husband is rarin' to go there....
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Post by kerouac2 on Nov 7, 2018 20:54:40 GMT
For those of us who live in Europe, it is hard to imagine people living in North America finding it hard to get to Oaxaca. Yes, I know it is all relative. But basically, if you can get to Mexico City, you don't even need to find a connecting flight -- the bus services are excellent.
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Post by lagatta on Nov 7, 2018 21:44:32 GMT
I especially loved the family vigil for their lost loved one(s). I don't believe literally in the return of the dead, but very much love the idea, and the importance of memory in culture. Yes, someone who popped up might say it was a tad out of focus, but it portrayed the mood and the devotion of at least three generations of a family to their lost ones.
Chopped-up Jesus was best avoided, but once again there was an altar with Catholic imagery and the one beside it with Mesoamerican Indigenous imagery. Maize! And a pyramid common to several peoples in the greater region.
I do hope to get there in not too long. There are direct flights between Mtl and CDMX now. Yes, I'd stay in a cheap but decent hotel; much as I want to commune with Bixa and the canine crew, nowadays I like times alone as well.
Bixa's perrit@s look muy viv@s... and deserve many pats and besitos.
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 8, 2018 1:09:39 GMT
I am completely overwhelmed, flattered, grateful, and of course happily wallowing in the generosity of all of you! Thank you so much for the time invested in reading this endless thread and for the thoughtful, pertinent, and exceedingly kind comments. I personally hope that you change your mind and you will treat us to another report at some point . Lugg, I greatly appreciate that, but at this point I think I owe it to myself and others to make a Muertos report from someplace entirely different. Better yet if you and others would come and make your own reports while I accompany you! What are muertitos? Cute little dead nibbles? Since I had my cute little live nibblers with me, I couldn't go in & find out! I'm wondering if they were something like gingerbread men. I do realize that you've trained your replacement. I'm speaking of kerouac. *cough* Yes, Kerouac did do a bang-up job of covering Mexico City, Puebla, & Oaxaca when he visited, but as for "training" him ~ I like to remind everyone every chance I get that the whole thing of using this forum format to tell our personal stories with pictures was totally Kerouac's idea. 1997, Casimira! A long time ago. I moved here in October, then you came for Muertos that same month. Quotes from:{Casimira} I think that perhaps several others of us, (and I mean you Breeze) should consider forming a contingent and converge upon Oaxaca and take in and report our impressions and take in this fete. ... I would encourage you, myself, and my husband who has a longing to go there to the point of "dreams of Oaxaca") and others to seriously consider making the trek there together. {Breeze} Even more than Muertos, the food festival Bixa wrote about really tempted me and at that time I looked into a trip. But from PA it's lengthy, complicated, and expensive. {Mossie} As for visiting, regret that is out of the question as I now suffer from mobility and senility problems. {Kerouac} ... basically, if you can get to Mexico City, you don't even need to find a connecting flight -- the bus services are excellent. {LaGatta} I do hope to get there in not too long. There are direct flights between Mtl and CDMX now. Yes, I'd stay in a cheap but decent hotel And Bixa replies ~ Casimira, yes! An anyport get-together in Mexico would be fabulous, whether at Muertos or not. Breeze, the next cooks' encounter will be in the Spring. It's a hot time of year, but the amount you learn and see at that festival is worth gold and rubies. Really, the way to search flights when the starting point to Oax results are prohibitively long or expensive, is just to figure out the best way to fly into Mexico City. There are flights to Oaxaca from there that can be arranged separately and, as Kerouac points out, the bus system is excellent. As for expense ~ I don't deny it. I've had too many people blurt out about coming here "But I could fly to Europe for that amount!" Don't know if that is totally accurate, but I think it's a matter of expectation. Yes, once in Europe there are excellent trains and you can manage to see several countries on one trip. But the trains & lodging there are not free, of course. I think a big problem is that people have trouble envisioning what Mexico has to offer in terms of culture, history, and differentness. Talk to others who have visited without going the sanitized tour or all-inclusive route and I think they'll tell you it's so worth it. Oh, pish-tosh, Mossie! Few of the anyport regulars are physically of mountain goat agility anymore, and your brain is both agile & bright. For those who hate marathon trip sequences, the way to do it is from somewhere that flies directly into Mexico City, with perhaps a nice stopover in that starting point both coming and going. Mexico City itself is fabulously worth seeing. When Htmb & Kerouac visited Mexico, I met them in Mexico City and we had a few days there before proceeding to Puebla (a 2 to 3 hour bus ride) and thence to Oaxaca. A more direct and faster way would be flying into Mexico City as stated above, then flying into Oaxaca. Kerouac, thanks for that plug for the Mexican bus system, which is quite nice and so much less of a cattle-drive than the average plane ride. For the benefit of others, if you don't mind, I invite you to be brutally honest about whether or not Mexico is worth a visit in terms of travel, time, expense, etc. LaGatta, wonderful news about direct flights from Montreal to Oaxaca. As for hotels, let's address that now: if one plans to come during a major festival, do plan well ahead. Especially for Muertos, hotels & airbnbs fill up. If an anyport get-together in Oaxaca (which could be any time of year) actually comes about, we'll deal with that in terms of everyone finding accommodation in a convenient point. I think Kerouac will corroborate that one gets a pretty decent hotel room in either Mexico City or Puebla for a quite reasonable price. Oaxaca has always been more expensive for lodgings, but I think there are way more possibilities now than the last time I had to look for something.
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Post by breeze on Nov 8, 2018 13:11:00 GMT
To quote you, Bixa, quoting me, about "training" kerouac, I should have said "showed him the ropes of Muertos."
My sister says to avoid Mexico City airport and fly Houston to Tuxtla, but Kerouac's suggestion of the buses opens up a new-to-me approach. On the other hand, we can't even manage to find time get to Florida in the winter. I'm married to the anchor.
Do we have some volunteers willing to step forward and commit to next year in Oaxaca? I'll cheer you on from my keyboard.
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 8, 2018 15:35:47 GMT
"married to the anchor" ~ The only reason I can think of for flying Houston to Tuxtla would be because someone wanted to start off a trip to Mexico by visiting San Cristóbal & Tuxtla Gutierrez in Chiapas. But as a route to come to Oaxaca, it's really impractical. A bus ride from there would be endless, & by plane it's expensive. And there is a direct flight from Houston to Oaxaca! For spousal units who might be unenthusiastic about visiting here, there are attractions you all can mention to your life companions. To wit: hiking, archeology, horseback tours, bike tours, museums, churches & monasteries, markets, crafts and craft towns, food and even foodie-type restaurants, mezcal and its manufacture, etc. etc. And really, Oaxaca is such a small city that a spouse not willing to hang out with a bunch of anyporters could wander around alone and find plenty of interest on the streets.
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Post by casimira on Nov 8, 2018 16:45:18 GMT
Breeze, the airport in Mexico City upon arrival totally overwhelmed me. It is huge and like a city onto itself. I had adequate time before my connecting flight to Oaxaca City to explore and transition/transform myself into the adventure ahead of me.
The return flight not so good an experience. Unbeknownst to me and Bixa there was a hurricane brewing and my flight was the very last flight out of Oaxaca. I was seated in the rear of the plane and I had a really small window of time between flights. There was a "cluster f**k and I did not have the proper paper work, boarding pass or whatever to get past the security checkpoint and the "Federali's" were not at all sympathetic or helpful in any way whatsoever.
And so, I missed my connection to Dallas and had a near meltdown. A very kind woman witnessed my angst for lack of a better word and took me under her wing leading me the way. A true Boddisatva.
All that aside, I would love to be able to commit to joining up with any and everyone next year but, it is impossible at this point to do so as our finances are in such flux.
I can only hope that this nightmare involving the sale of our family homestead will long be over but, there is no assurance of what lies ahead in that arena.
My husband and I travel well together and it's really a blessing because he will research and want to explore places I may not necessarily be keen on, we often go about on our own. I am an early riser and he on the other hand likes to "ease" himself into the day. I also enjoy exploring places in the early morning before the rest of the city is awake. Oaxaca is the perfect place for doing that. And, I know that he will enjoy gong out and about with Bixa on his own (they knew one another before we met and she and a couple of other old friends were "cupids" of sorts in our joining together and both have a particular fondness for one another apart from me.) while I might choose to go a wandering on my own and meet up later at a designated spot.Likely in the main zocalo over a cold Bohemia). I felt safer there than I have ever felt in a "foreign" country.
So, we shall see what happens... I hope you can pull it off along with others.
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Post by kerouac2 on Nov 8, 2018 16:56:16 GMT
I bet that if Airbnb has an entire villa to rent in the center of Oaxaca, interest will perk up.
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Post by mickthecactus on Nov 8, 2018 18:14:39 GMT
Mrs Cactus and I would be more than interested and we might just have some extra income next year to make it possible..
She hits the magic age next year that had already afflicted some if us abd it would be a nice surprise.
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Post by kerouac2 on Nov 8, 2018 18:25:58 GMT
One year ahead of time is the perfect time to start making plans. And I can assure you that nobody will regret such a trip -- particularly, people who have never been attracted to Mexico, who will be even more amazed.
I can only think of one thing that could bother some people -- those who absolutely do not like Mexican style food. No problem -- all sorts of other food is available, too. Oaxaca even has a Walmart.
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 8, 2018 20:33:12 GMT
Re: Mexico City airport ~ It is indeed big & split into two parts. But it has all the usual stuff to move you around the airport. And yes, kind of a pain, but I have never been in an airport that did not have its own special brand of weirdness. I bet that if Airbnb has an entire villa to rent in the center of Oaxaca, interest will perk up. Click here to see airbnbs <-- Note that the 3rd & the 7th houses may or may not be the same house. (?) In any event, those two are a stone's throw from my house. "Casa ABA" is also well situated, just on the other side of the pedestrian street from the plaza where last year's magna comparsa formed up & a quick easy walk from my house. I arbitrarily put 7 people and 7 nights required. That would mean that one of the more expensive ones, the "hermosa casa centrica" for $177 a night would wind up costing each of the 7 people @200 bucks for the entire week -- or 30 usd a night! When perusing these choices, concentrate on offerings below Hwy 190 marked in yellow. Mrs Cactus and I would be more than interested and we might just have some extra income next year to make it possible.. She hits the magic age next year that had already afflicted some if us abd it would be a nice surprise. You know how much I love Mrs. Cactus, and you too of course, Mick. Would be so thrilled if you made it here. One year ahead of time is the perfect time to start making plans. And I can assure you that nobody will regret such a trip -- particularly, people who have never been attracted to Mexico, who will be even more amazed. I can only think of one thing that could bother some people -- those who absolutely do not like Mexican style food. No problem -- all sorts of other food is available, too. Oaxaca even has a Walmart. Thanks, Kerouac! Tenemos dos Walmarts.
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Post by lagatta on Nov 9, 2018 0:56:23 GMT
i thought it was odd that our friend Don Cuevas liked Walmart, but they might be the best option for many things. We had a lovely, authentic in so far as a place so much farther north can be authentic, family Mexican restaurant - with trained chefs, a wee bit upscale but not expensive, just around the corner. Unfortunately they closed. The owners were educated people and might well have found employment or business opportunities closer to their own fields of study and enterprise. Most of the little places that feature some Mexican food around here are actually Salvadorean or Guatemalan. I like their food, though it is much simpler than Mexican food. Here is an article that has some bearing on the return to the realm of the living: www.theguardian.com/science/2018/nov/08/scientists-prove-10000-year-old-mummy-is-native-american-ancestorI haven't checked on what is now Nevada was once part of Mexico. Bit tired.
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Post by nycgirl on Nov 11, 2018 2:59:35 GMT
This is your last Day of the Dead report? Say it ain't so! Well, I think I speak for all of us when I say these reports have been an annual treat and we never tire of vicariously attending the festival with you. What I especially enjoy every year is the colorful array of traditional clothing from various parts of Mexico (the Isthmus of Tehuantepec being a particular favorite) and the adorable little kids. It would be so cool to again see a group of anyporters converge in one spot and enjoy their various takes on a subject. I would love to attend the DOTD festival myself, but unless I make a complete career change, it's not possible (because teachers obviously are allowed to vacation in the fall).
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 11, 2018 7:16:03 GMT
Well, the fall-back order for people initially dubious about Mexican food is a milanesa -- pounded, breaded, & fried fillet of chicken, pork, or beef. It is generally accompanied by flavorful rice and a small simple salad.
NYCGirl ~ super kind of you to say all that, but we all know it's gotten to the point where I can only repeat myself. I love that you've zeroed in on the Tehuana clothing, as I find it easy and natural to picture you in it -- really, it's perfect for you. I see your point about teachers not being able to sneak away at that time of year, but if you knew well in advance that there would be a bunch of anyporters making the trip, maybe you could figure out something. Of course I'd be thrilled to see you, NYCBoy, and Little Miss NYC whenever and however.
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 12, 2018 5:20:17 GMT
Heard something wonderful today: starting December 19, American Airlines will be offering a non-stop route between Dallas and Oaxaca.
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