Inditas

These are the girls dressed as indigenous for the Day of the Virgen of Guadalupe. They wear ethnic skirts, embroidered blouses and necklaces. Occasionally there is a little girl dressed as the Virgen.

Juandieguitos

Today is the Feast of the Virgen of Guadalupe, the most important religious figure in Mexico. Little boys are dressed as Juan Diego to whom the Virgen appeared. They will wear sombreritos, huaraches, special shirts and pants. Many have a beard and moustache and sideburns.

Manual labor

Most all the construction in Oaxaca is done by hand! See those people down below street level? They dug those holes and ditches by hand. See those large squares of greenish cantera stone (natural to Oaxaca and comes in green, rose and white)? Each piece was carried by hand and placed just so. Another thing that is interesting about road construction here is that the streets aren't closed to pedestrians. You are free to walk right through the area, sometimes stepping over the cavernous holes.

La Virgen de Juquila

December 8 is the day to celebrate the Virgen de Juquila. Pilgrimages to the small pueblo of Juquila located on the southern coast of Oaxaca where the small statue of the Virgencita, as she is affectionately called, is located, are made on foot or on bicycle, but also by car, truck or bus. From Oaxaca by foot is six days on a road through mountains which is water-covered and non-existent in some spots. Thousands of people of all ages go: babies, disabled, seniors, teenagers. The season to visit the Virgen is from November 28. Once there, there are mariachi bands, food and of course, souvenirs. Here in Oaxaca, the cojetes (fireworks) started at 4:30 a.m. and continued throughout the day. In the evening there was a parade starting in the Zocalo with a brass band, a painting of the Virgencita as well as a statue (actual size) and a very large arrangement of red roses.

Rosas

For some reason I have had trouble getting breakfast before school lately. So this morning I made an effort to leave the apartment early with enough time to buy the papers, eat and get to school without breaking into a sweat. Well that plan was short-lived because just a few blocks down from the apartment was The Flower Lady sitting on the sidewalk arranging bunches onto the straw mat that would be rolled up and slung over her back. Then she walks through the area looking for buyers. A couple weeks ago she came into the coffee shop and I asked her how much for a bunch. Thirty pesos. I would take two bunches. She could not calculate the price for two so a clerk told her sixty pesos. I knew that at times she had roses so I was waiting for our paths to cross again. Breakfast could wait for another day. I picked out red and pink roses and returned to the apartment to trim and arrange the roses in a vase. The photo is taken on my patio.

Papayas

This photo was to be part of the previous blog but uploading four photos of fruit proved to be too much fiber for the system. I just couldn't let this photo of papayas be omitted.

The Official ChristmasTree

The governor of the state of Oaxaca lit the official Christmas tree that is located on the Zocalo in front of the Governor's Palace. It could be cheesy because of it's artificialness but I love it anyway. It is a very tall white fabric cone that is covered with gold garland and lit from inside. I love the effect.

Fruit

Fruit in Mexico is so enticing and alluring that I can not resist eating it in vast quantities. Eating fruit here is such a different experience that it is difficult to believe they are the same fruits as in the United States. I love some fruits in Mexico and do not care for them at all in the United States. Mexican fruits are brilliant, the flavors intense. Fruits in the United States are big, beautiful and without flavor. Papayas in Mexico have no equal in the United States. I have had papaya juice, or papaya cut in pieces and sprinkled with limon (key lime) and chile (chile powder). In the markets there are great expanses of platanos (bananas)--red, purple, dominicans, green and many yellow kinds. They have hardly a blemish on them as they have just come from someone's trees. As you can see in the photo, a bunch can have 15 or more bananas and heaven help you if you ask for less. It would be easier to get world peace. Although when you are paying $1 for that many, just go with the flow. Fruit is offered cut up and para llevar (to-go) or freshly squeezed in almost every block. My favorite puesto (movable stand) offers juices and fruits that you can top with granola, yogurt, honey and amaranth, as well as limon and chile. Today in the mercado (market) I bought guayabas (guavas) and duraznos (peaches). Peaches here are very small and look like an apricot. They can be so small that you could put them in a dixie cup and roll them around. And don't get me started on orange juice that is so common that garbage smells like oranges. You'll have to trust me on this until they come up with blog-a-smell..

Candy

This afternoon I was on the way back to the apartment after meeting with my intercambio when I gave a closer look at a puesto (street cart) that is stacked with candy. I was surprised to find that the vendor is making all of the candy herself in the style of Puebla which is a state just north of the state of Oaxaca and is famous throughout the country for its candy. Of course I had to do some taste-testing for research purposes. All the candy is made with fruits, vegetables, seeds and nuts. The large round dark red paste is tamarindo, It is delicious but contains the seeds so with every bite you have to spit out a seed or two--and the seeds are the size of raisins. The yellow round is pineapple and coconut, and tastes exactly like that. The pink cylinder is very special, strawberry and sweet potato, and tastes just like that. Candy made with sweet potato is classic in Puebla. There are other fruits with sweet potato like coconut, pineapple, zapote. The white cylinder was my favorite in this group, coconut with cajeta. Lastly, the most special and impressive is lime filled with coconut. There is only the outer shell of the lime which is candied then filled. It is delicious! This puesto was quite a find. Who could mind eating their fruits and vegetables this way?

Nochebuenas

Last night thousands of pointsettias, or nochebuenas, were delivered to the Zocalo. Everywhere you looked, there they were. In the photo there is an iron park bench in the midst of pointsettias wrapped in brown paper sleeves. Then they started planting them just before 8 p.m. This morning, the Zocalo is red and ready for Christmas.