#Ocotlán Oaxaca

[dknuth]

Oaxaca - Day Trip

We rented a car and made a day trip south of the city.

Our first stop was San Martín Tilcajete, a town famous for Alebrijes, those colorful and often fanciful carved and painted animals that are found in Oaxaca. They were originally invented by an artist in Mexico City, who saw them in a dream. He made them out of paper mache. Later they came to Oaxaca where the woodcarvers picked up on the idea, but carve them from copal wood.

Jacobo and Maria Angeles are the most famous and successful of the alebrije makers. The quality of their work has always been outstanding in terms of inventiveness, sculpture design, painting and finishing. Their work was always expensive, usually thousands of dollars for a piece when much of the work in shops in Oaxaca ranged from a few dollars to less than a hundred.

But their impact on the market was clearly visible on this trip. Many artists are emulating their style. They are asking a lot more than the older style work seen in shops and street markets but still an order of magnitude less than the Angeles.

This panther is a good example of this new grade of work.

The pose is natural and well-shaped, the painting is intricate and well-done. The finish is not as good as the Angeles work but it was hundreds of dollars not thousands.

The Angeles operation has grown considerably in the 15 years since we visited. They now employ over 200 people!

That is very finely detailed painting!

But the prices have increased enough to convince us that the one piece we own is enough.

They have also expanded their operations beyond the alebrijes. Seeing how much copal wood was being cut they planted hundreds of trees outside of town. In the middle of those trees one of the younger generation has opened a restaurant named Almú. It is in amongst the trees of the plantation and is a classic open air restaurant. But more rustic than the large one we were at on Christmas Day.

They cook over traditional open wood fires and on clay comals. The menu is handwritten in a notebook. The food was very good and the atmosphere was great.

In the plantation there was a several story tower with a viewing deck on the roof. It had a great view across the valley to the mountains beyone.

The other goal for the day was to visit a couple more of the Dominican convent churches When Cortez was made governor of the Oaxaca area he invited the Dominican order to help Christianize the populace. So in the early 1500's they proceeded to build large churches with attached monasteries in towns throughout the area.

Last year we traveled to the Mixtec highlands and visited three of them. This year we noted a couple more south of San Martín Tilcajete and decided to check them out.

The first was in Santa Ana Zegache. It was beautifully painted.

The paint has been kept up well.

Inside was also painted.

The large retablos were also in good shape.

The town is off the main road and quite small these days, so it was especially nice to see the attention they have paid to keeping the church in good shape.

The other stop was in Ocotlán Morales.

This town is on the main road to the coast and is a lot bigger.

There's a large market building off the main square, which we didn't visit.

But the church was similar size and configuration. But the details are different. I am amazed that all six of the Dominican churches and monasteries have been so different architecturally given they were built by one organization over only a few years.

To the right of the main altar one of the statues is of St. Peter Martyr with an Axe in his head. He was killed by Cathars during the church's Albigensian Crusade against the Cathars. In the statue he seems pretty unfazed by the axe. In real life it didn't go so well.

The monastery building is still in good shape and is currently used as a museum to Rodolfo Morales, a very famous local painter and one of the principal contributors to Oaxacan becoming a center for the arts.

We couldn't take photos in the little museum, but in the Museum of Oaxacan Painters in central Oaxaca there is a large painting by him.

This is very typical, showing the fields with the mountains in the background, women carrying baskets of fruit and flowers, a town square, church, colonial building, Mexican flag and angels overhead draped in the colors of the flag.

[ernestoalcantara-blog]

Fiesta post-pandemia

Después de dos años de caos mundial y de una emergencia sanitaria que cambió las formas de socialización, regresa un tumulto de personas a la fiesta más grande de Ocotlán: la fiesta de mayo en honor al señor de la sacristía. Una fiesta que no solo está cargada de simbolismos y ritos religiosos, sino que a su vez, contiene dinámicas sociales que la convierten en “la fiesta del pueblo”. 

La fiesta de mayo comienza con la novena y las rendidas de culto de los diferentes gremios, como todos los años, Sin embargo, sensus estrictus la fiesta da inicio con el cambio de sendal de la imagen venerada, para ello es bajada del nicho de su propia capilla y trasladada al camerín, cuando las personas comienzan a bajar al Cristo, es de suma importancia que se rece la letanía de los santos, pues hay testimonios de un año en que la imagen no quiso bajar de su lugar, pues pesaba mucho, y por ello, tuvieron que realizar la fiesta en su capilla, según los abuelos, ha sido el único año en que la fiesta no se ha podido realizar en la nave central del templo. 

Al camerín solo pueden acceder los mayordomos del venerado Cristo y algunas autoridades eclesiásticas, nadie más puede tener acceso. Una vez que se ha concluido con el cambio de sendal, la imagen es trasladada fuera del camerín a la capilla para ser venerada y dar comienzo a su traslado al altar mayor del templo. En procesión el Cristo es llevado en andas, se escucha el tañido de las campanas de rogación que piden la lluvia para los campos de Ocotlán, no puede faltar la música y los niños y niñas que acompañan el cortejo con coronas de rompe capa y flores. El Señor de la Sacristía llega al altar mayor que está preparado con flores, velas y un exquisito cortinaje; el resto del templo se terminará de adornar por la tarde, momento en que se rezan las vísperas y se lleva a cabo la cuelga con pirotecnia y música. 

Al mismo tiempo, la reina y su corte se preparan para arribar el carro alegórico que la llevará a la explanada municipal donde se ha preparado el evento de coronación de la reina de las fiestas de mayo. Aunque esta figura solo es simbólica y honorífica, tiene un fuerte sentido simbólico que representa la cohesión de la comunidad para poder llevar a cabo la festividad anual. Dependerá de la administración municipal en turno para conocer el método de elección de la reina y su corte, así como lo fastuoso o no de la ceremonia de coronación y si habrá o no baile de coronación. Lo cierto es que, mientras se desarrollan las actividades religiosas también lo hacen las sociales que caracterizan una festividad llena de misticismo y espiritualidad. 

Este año, 2023, han regresado las multitudes, las personas sienten más confianza y se pueden ver pasear y disfrutar de la feria sin cubrebocas y haciendo suya, de nueva cuenta, la tradicional fiesta de mayo. 

17 de mayo de 2023

Ernesto Alcántara 

[fatehbaz]

In September 1967, the Mexican president, Gustavo Díaz, issued a decree restricting access to water resources in the Central Valleys of Oaxaca for extractive projects, affecting the hydrological flow in more than one hundred rural towns. Decades of water denial led to changes in the landscape, such as reduced river flow, lagoons being converted into farmland, and notable subsoil humidity impacts. In 2005, a drought strongly affected the life of the local communities and the nonhuman world in the region.

As a result of the limited availability of water and increasing drought, a group of 16 communities in the south of the Central Valleys, in the Ocotlán Valley, began to organize in order to deal with the socio-environmental crisis they were facing. This gave birth to the Coordinadora de Pueblos Unidos por el Cuidado y la Defensa del Agua (Coordinating Committee of Peoples United for the Care and Defense of Water, or COPUDA). With the support of the Centro de Derechos Indígenas Flor y Canto A.C. (Center for Indigenous Rights), COPUDA initiated a dialogue with the Mexican state about repealing the water ban and is also seeking legal recognition of the local knowledge that is used in water management implementation, which is based on what they call “sowing water” -- a rainwater catchment method used as a coping method in the face of the long-standing ecological crisis. In addition to this, COPUDA has recently sought to rename its site of action: the aquifer where the Indigenous and peasant communities it represents are living is now called Xnizaa, which means “our water” in the Zapotec language. [...]

In November 2021, the Mexican state repealed the 1967 water ban after 15 years of social struggle. Subsequently, in August 2022, the federal government issued water concessions to Indigenous communities, legally recognizing their water-management practices in the towns of the Ocotlán Valley. These communities rely on the Xnizaa aquifer and are now officially authorized to manage their water resources using their own knowledge and technologies, including their differentiated territorial perspectives.

---

Text by: Oscar Ulloa Calzada. “Cosmopolitics in the Territories of Xinzaa: The Defense of Water in the Central Valleys of Oaxaca, Mexico.” Environment & Society Portal, Arcadia (Summer 2023), no. 10. Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society.

[friendswithclay]

“Pottery for sale at Ocotlán”

From: “Oaxaca : mountain craft re-gions, archaeological sites, and coastal resorts” by Whipperman, Bruce; 2001.

[semtituloh]

Via galerialamanomagica

Fran Garcia vazquez perteneciente a la familia Aguilar de Ocotlán de Morelos nos presenta esta pieza con un toque de originalidad y expresión artística. Fran ha ganado diversos premios y reconocimientos por sus piezas.

🍉🍉🍉

"Muxe"

Material: Barro policromado

✈️⚠️⚠️⚠️ ¡TAMBIÉN CONTAMOS CON ENVÍOS NACIONALES E INTERNACIONALES! ⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️✈️

📍 Macedonio Alcalá #203, Centro Histórico,

Oaxaca de Juárez, Oaxaca, 68000

www.lamanomagica.com

#galeriamanomagica

[miltacos]

#257 Tacos de salsa y queso (botana en Valles Centrales de Oaxaca)

LA COCINA DE FRIDA, dentro del Mercado Morelos. Calle Pueblos Unidos 104, Colonia Centro, Ocotlán de Morelos, Oaxaca.

En los lugares menos concurridos por turistas, y aún a salvo de la inminente gentrificación, los comedores populares mantienen la tradición de ofrecer a sus comensales diversas botanas que varían dependiendo el giro del negocio. En un lugar de comidas completas es común un plato de salsas rojas de chile de agua y jitomate riñón ligeramente picantes, un par de trozos de queso fresco y tortillas blandas o totopos de diversas variedades de maíz.

Con esto dispuesto y en la espera de ser servidos, los comensales comparten una serie de bocados que son tan variados como los convidados. Gracias al tamaño de las tortillas blandas (aproximadamente 20 centímetros de diámetro) es complicado que se preparen tacos completos, por ello, se corta a la mitad la tortilla y se dispone un mini taco que deja probar lo servido, abrir el apetito sin perder las ganas del plato esperado.

Los tacos de salsa son una especie de bautizo y comprensión de la calidad del negocio en el que se está sentado. Una forma de verificar que el sazón general de quien cocina es adecuado, que las salsas podrán incluirse en los platos servidos, y la mejor manera de estimular las papilas gustativas antes de la comida solicitada.

El taco de queso es una forma divertida de consumir el queso, probar su suculencia, frescura y calidad, y no excederse en contenido láctico o graso antes del plato principal. Combinado con salsa lo hacen un forma de calmar las ansias por comer, otorgar más horas de paciencia a la cocina, y convencerse de que la buena cocina es lenta y el buen comensal espera.

[puntoyaparteoaxaca]

#Oaxaca #Tehuantepec #Veracruz #CDOAX #CDMX

Se busca a los asesinos de la doctora Jasibhe Natalie Díaz Morales.Los homicidas Ricardo Antonio Ortega González alias "El Robin" y José Luis Martínez Cruz, pueden estar en Tehuantepec, Veracruz, en la Ciudad de Oaxaca, Colonia Volcanes, Santa Cruz Xoxocotlán, Ejutla de Crespo, Ocotlán de Morelos. Carpeta de Investigación 33156/FIST/TEHUANTEPEC/2022.

[noticiasvalleocotlan]

https://twitter.com/Oaxaca_Tuxtepec/status/1657035352048128002

Personas lesionadas deja accidente sobre carretera 175, baratillo de san Antonino castillo Velasco, Oaxaca. Protección Civil Ocotlán, San Antonino y SUREP se encuentran en el lugar. https://t.co/zH5BqtIuVM

[rilkeroca]

Grafo Calenda Muy agradecido de haber participado en el festival de streetart @tierradelmural en Ocotlan Oaxaca. ¡Fue una gran experiencia compartir mi trabajo con la gente del pueblo y pintar al lado de grandes artistas! Agradecimientos especiales a la organización por el excelente trato y a Diana la dueña de la casa que nos brindó la pared para realizar el mural. ¡Espero podamos repetir en otras ediciones! . #mural #streetart #oaxaca #calenda #globalstreetart (en Ocotlán de Morelos Centro, Oaxaca) https://www.instagram.com/p/CjQuwEUryen/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[ocotlandemorelos]

Asi terminando el día de hoy. en Ocotlán de Morelos https://t.co/kLZnmN3P3H

[kuramirocket]

Jose Garcia Antonio, Master Sculptor from Oaxaca: “People Think I’m Lying When I Tell Them I’m Blind”

“People think I’m lying when I tell them that I’m blind,”  Maestro Jose Garcia Antonio tells me while working on a sculpture of a fish.

Antonio, is a master clay artist known as “manos que ven” (hands that see) who lost his eyesight in his fifties due to cataracts.

In spite of going blind, he continues to create life-sized sculptures of mermaids, personal portraits, and statues of his wife and muse, Maestra Santa Reyna Teresita.

“When people hear that I am blind, they often say ‘that’s impossible!’ So I invite them to come to my studio and watch,” Antonio says with a smile.

Once his accusers see him in action, they charge him with the crime of being a genius.

Witty, clever, and dressed in traditional garb from his hometown, I tell him I love his hat.

“This thing? How funny, it’s my favorite too.”

It’s a traditional antique hat that older generations used to wear in his hometown. While his hat is stylish, it also serves a purpose––shielding his eyes from the sun.

Now that he is blind, he prefers to work later hours in the night and often sleeps during the day. When it’s dark, he’s more comfortable.

Jose Garcia Antonio’s mermaid at Taller Manos Que Ven | Image: Luisa Navarro

As we continue to talk, he proudly admits that while he does make the pieces himself, his wife, who is also an accomplished artist, helps him smooth out the sculptures to perfection.

They’ve been married for 35 years—she holds his hand and gently guides him around the taller (studio), softly whispering so he knows what is happening and who he is speaking to.

“Mas fuerte que la muerte es el amor (love is stronger than death),” he tells me with lots of passion in his voice.

Jose Garcia Antonio’s sculptures in the oven at Taller Manos Que Ven | Image: Luisa Navarro

And I believe him.

The most beautiful woman he’s ever seen––his wife––with the large mole on the center of her forehead, continues to be his favorite person to sculpt.

Her image is visible all over the taller.

Meeting Jose Garcia Antonio and Maestra Santa Reyna Teresita at Taller Manos Que Ven

And although their studio is located in the small town of San Antonio Castillo Velasco in Ocotlán, their art has managed to travel far outside of Oaxaca and has been featured worldwide in private and public collections.

Visitors who travel throughout the state of Oaxaca, can find Antonio’s statues located in different shops, homes, restaurants, and hotels throughout the region.

Jose Garcia Antonio shows me his most antique and treasured hat. | Image: Luisa Navarro

I was most surprised to discover that while the man in the beautiful antique sombrero has gained worldwide fame, he hasn’t lost touch of where and how the magic began.

When he first learned how to handle clay, he was a little boy, and today he continues to share his knowledge by hosting sculpting classes for young children.

“Hearing their voices and their excitement makes me smile,” he tells me.

[sarapedeneon]

Banda Tierra de Juárez

San Martín de los Cansecos, Oaxaca. México. 2020

[noticiasinter24]

Asesinaron a Ivonne Gallegos candidata a palacio presidencial en Ocotlán, Oaxaca; hace 6 años mataron a su esposo

Ivonne Gallegos. Según información preliminar, Ivonne Gallegos fue asesinada esta mañana en la región del Valle Central de Oaxaca. La mañana de este sábado fue asesinada en un ataque armado, la exdiputada del Partido Acción Nacional (PAN) y aspirante a la presidencia municipal de Ocotlán, Oaxaca, Ivonne Gallegos. Según datos preliminares, el ataque habría sucedido en la carretera federal 175 a la altura de la desviación a Santo Tomás Jalieza, Ocotlán, en la región de los Valles Centrales de Oaxaca. Gallegos era aspirante a ser edil de Ocotlán por la coalición PAN, PRI Y PRD, “Va por Oaxaca”. Según el medio Quadratin Oaxaca, hace seis años fue asesinado su esposo José Luis Méndez Lara. El mismo medio, dio a conocer que mujeres del Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI), habían mostrado inconformidad en fechas recientes por la propuesta de Gallegos como aspirante a la presidencia municipal de Ocotlán de Morelos, uno de los 570 municipios que conforman el estado de Oaxaca. Las protestas de las mujeres priistas se daban porque consideraban que era una imposición su precandidatura. De manera preliminar se había dado a conocer que había muerto un hombre en el ataque, sin embargo, posteriormente se supo que habían muerto dos personas, y además había un herido. El representante del PAN ante el Instituto Estatal Electoral y de Participación Ciudadana de Oaxaca (IEEPCO) Juan Mendoza Reyes, fue quien confirmó el asesinato de Ivonne Gallegos. Read the full article

[miltacos]

#258 Taco de chile de agua al rescoldo relleno de picadillo de Valles Centrales.

LA COCINA DE FRIDA, dentro del Mercado Morelos. Calle Pueblos Unidos 104, Colonia Centro, Ocotlán de Morelos, Oaxaca.

Pocos bocados son capaces de sintetizar la idiosincracia local como los chiles rellenos; y servidos en taco es un boleto de entrada para comprender la profundidad cultural en tres bocados. Los chiles de agua -similares a los xcatic yucatecos y los california o anaheim en el noreste mexicano- son ingredientes torales de la cocina oaxaqueña de la región Valles Centrales.

Para esta versión de chile relleno, los chiles son cocinados sobre rescoldo o brasas casi extintas de encino o mezquite, para después abrirse transversalmente, retirar venas y semillas, y rellenar de un picadillo elaborado con pollo finamente deshebrado cocinado con una base de jitomate, cebolla, ajo, hierbas aromáticas, toque de chiles secos como ancho, mulato o pasilla, almendras y pasas.

En este local el chile relleno se envuelve en una tortilla blanda -de aproximadamente 22 centímetros de diámetro- para regresarse nuevamente al rescoldo para aportar un ligero dorado, cerrar el bocado como un envoltorio similar a un burrito, y hacer que el chile se suavice aún más por el vapor liberado. Un bocado espectacular que vale la pena el viaje entero.

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