Mercado San Juan

Here are photos of some of the seafood found in Mercado San Juan in the center of Mexico City. The goose barnacles took me back to my days at Everest Restaurant where these were served steamed. The cross-section of ahi tuna looks like a face, doesn't it?. A happy cat in a fish market? The vendor told me that the orange fish was a blowfish but I have my doubts. It was some type of fish that used air to raise and lower itself. Finally dorado, also known as mahi mahi, is very colorful.

Making Chocolate

Chocolate is made by putting cocoa beans, cinnamon bark and almonds in the hopper of a grinder at the molino. Sugar goes in the chute since it doesn't need to be ground. Each family has their own preferences and chooses the proportions. During grinding, the chocolate is heated by the grinding stones and comes out as a liquid. The mix is ground two more times, each time with a finer grind. This molinero still has all his fingers.

Flowers

Three types of flowers arranged for my apartment.








The colors of the green wall and the red roses are true and taken in natural light on a pation in Diaz Ordaz, Oaxaca.











Roses outside of the church in Teotitlán de Valle.

It is hard to get the perspective of this yellow
bell-shaped flower but it is as big as my head.

Graffiti Art

Signs

Here a some signs that send great messages.

Rat poison as "the last supper" for rats of the two- and four-legged variety.

You need to park your Rolls somewhere else.

And finally, how handy would it be to have this Silence sign?

Stir-me Truck

This is how they do cement mixers in Mexico. The designs are fantastical or Aztecan or whatever the company likes. No plain stripes for Mexico.

Exercise Bike

This guy sharpens knives, scissors, tools, whatever has an edge, for housewives, salons or restaurants. The bicycle has been modified so it has one wheel and a grinding stone mounted on the handlebars. He pedals to turn the grinding stone. When he is done, he tips the bike and pushes it down the street on its wheel, onto the next customer.

Knife sharpening is a tough way to make a living, very low pay. There is a saying that goes, you are as poor as the knife sharpener's dog who eats the sparks in order to have something hot to eat.

Cooking with Reyna Mendoza

I had a second cooking class with Reyna Mendoza at her house in Teotitlán de Valle. The class covered everything we could think of on the topic of corn especially what happens before we eat tortillas, empanadas, memelas, tlayudas, etc.

Oaxaca is the birthplace of corn. This corn has not been genetically modified in any way and has a taste that is truly of corn.

We used Reyna's outdoor wood-burning grill to cook the tortillas,etc and used the embers to roast chiles and cook chorizo.

Protest

The President came to visit today. There were thousands of troops, federal, state and municipal in the Centro blocking traffic. While that was going on, protesters damaged cement walls in the Zócalo and started a truck on fire. No police were there.

Santa Ana Zegache, interior

Here are photos from the interior of Santa Ana Zegache church being restored through the Rodolfo Morales Foundation.

The pain and angst on this woman's face intrigues me.

This saint must have a splitting headache. Does anybody know who he is?

There are several images of Our Lady of Guadalupe but only one of Juan Diego with the image on his shirt.

This little guy caught my eye.

The paintings adorning the interior were done with natural pigments and are being restored with the same.

The church has few windows, so to bring in light, mirrors are placed strategically to reflect light. The mirrors are about 10-inches wide by 12-inches high with varying frames.

Santa Ana Zegache

Today I visited the 17th century church of Santo Ana Zegache about 30 minutes south of the city of Oaxaca. It is called a painted church for the beautiful facade between massive yellow towers. This architecture is designed to resist earthquakes.

The church is being restored through a foundation of Oaxacan painter Rodolfo Morales. Through the restoration work the church was restored, the area was revitalized and the local people learned trades.

The walkway up to the church is lined with flowers. Here are photos of the exterior with close-ups for details.

What a great idea!

Imagine this. You are sitting around after supper thinking about getting something to eat and the doorbell rings. It is a guy asking if you would like dessert! He is selling freshly baked heavenly desserts. To your door. Three pesos each (about 25 cents).

This is una lechecilla, a light-as-a-feather raised dough filled with light vanilla filling. It is lighter than a paczki, like a puff. If a person had six pesos, he would be very happy.

Santo Domingo

Santo Domingo is the most famous church in Oaxaca. It was built through the Domincan order and dedicated in 1611. The simple exterior does not give a clue to the jaw-dropping Baroque interior almost completely covered in gold. It's easy to see why so many brides and quinceañeras want their Mass in Templo Santo Domingo.

The church is huge and these photos show some embellishments, and a bit of the ceiling.

Super Bowl

Packer colors. Signs for the Super Bowl. A Packer fan. Two Steelers fans.

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