Red, White and Green

Today is a national holiday for the birthday of Benito Juarez with banks and many stores closed. Here is some red, white and green in honor of their national pride.


Benito Juarez served five terms as President of Mexico, and was very popular for lessening the power of the Catholic Church and standing up for the indigenous. Benito was from the town of Guelatao, about an hour outside of Oaxaca. He was orphaned when he was three, raised by his uncle and aunt, and spoke only Zapotec, the language of the largest indigenous group in Oaxaca. He was illiterate until he was 12 when he started school in Oaxaca and learned Spanish. Later he went to law school. Oaxaca is extremely proud of their Benito, who is on the 20 peso bill. There are two monuments to Benito here and--trivia alert--one in Chicago on Michigan Avenue.

Flags are flying large today. There isn't much wind in Oaxaca so it is not easy to get a waving flag. One flag is in the zócalo. The other flag at one of the Benito Juarez monuments, several miles away. I was walking up my street and it caught my eye because it is not usually there.

Triqui Women

The Triquis are one of the 16 indigenous groups in Oaxaca, with only 8000 speakers of their language. It is one of the poorest and most marginalized ethnic groups, with much violence directed towards them. They govern through indigenous customs and do not recognize existing government.

The Triquis are easily recognized through the red huipiles that the women wear. Here they are at the south end of the zócalo setting up their stands with blouses, shawls, scarves, change purses, keyrings and headbands.

Lent

They decorate for Lent here with Easter being the most important holiday in Mexico. Besides doorways, they put bows or ribbons along the windows. To give you an idea of the weather, they used crepe paper for this doorway without fear of it being ruined in the rain.

Zaachila Market

Thursday is market day in the village of Zaachila, about 20 minutes south of Oaxaca. I went there for the first time this week and was very pleasantly surprised at the size of the market and the wide selection of products. As typical of markets in Mexico, abundance is in everything, see the woman surrounded by mangoes and oranges.

La señora makes caramelized popcorn and colors the caramel with red, yellow and green. It was SO good, I was sorry I had only bought one package. I wanted a photo of the popcorn, she thought I wanted her photo and immediately posed while the ladies adjacent to her gave her posing advice. I had to shift my camera from the popcorn to her face so fast as I didn't want to miss an opportunity.

Baskets are used to carry products to market or for washing clothes. The clothes are placed in the baskets and water is poured through.

Different types of beans on this table including the red beans in the center which I bought. Note the large sized grayish black beans in the front, very unusual.

A box of sugar, called panela or piloncillo. It is very hard and is broken apart or grated or melted. This is the sugar used to caramelize the garbanzo beans from a previous post.

Children's Parade

There was a very well-attended children's parade this morning with preschools and kindergartens represented. Its theme was respect of nature and the environment so the costumes were bunnies, lions, butterflies, bees, ladybugs, and so on. And of course, every parade needs a king and queen.

This is how you back your horse into a parking spot

In Cement

Such pretty forms made out of cement, including a very sad angel in a cemetery.

The vertical form is the trunk of a palm tree that looks like it is of cement but it is not.

Cemetery in Xochimilco

Welcome to the cemetery at the Xochimilco church in the neighborhood just north of the center of Oaxaca. The lilac entry is charming but once through, you enter an area jammed with graves with just inches between. You know how you are taught to be respectful and not to step on the graves? Well, it is near impossible here.

Some graves have not been tended to ever and are barren. Others are lush with plants. There was a small grave for a child.

This is the oldest grave that I could find, from 1942, which doesn't seem so old by Mexican standards. It is for a child Hector who died at age four months. There is a second marker for a parent who died much later. It is common to stack burials in one site.

Name This Flower

This is my newest favorite flower but what is it?

Fountains in Oaxaca

For a place that has a serious water shortage, I find it ironic that there are so many fountains. However I love the beauty and ambiance from them and hope they are always a part of Oaxaca.

Delicious Treats from the Mercado

The mercados of Mexico have the most delicious food in my opinion. It is the food of the people of Mexico. Eating in the markets or from the food carts on the sidewalks, is el sabor of Mexico.

There is jugo verde, a blend of spinach, celery, parsley or cilantro, orange juice and pineapple. You can drink it from a large fluted glass at the stall, or take it to-go in a baggie tied around a straw.

Warm rice pudding topped with caramelized garbanzo beans is an unforgettable taste memory. This stand sells the arroz con leche on its own, as well as the garbanzos on their own, or combined. The glass on the far left is lechesilla, vanilla pudding. This clever vendor keeps the desserts warm by placing the tray over a ceramic bowl filled with hot water.

Take Your Pick

Support is available when ever you need it, where ever you are.

More Wrought Iron

This house is noteworthy for its painted forged iron window grates.

Fridays during Lent

Catholics don't eat meat on Fridays here but how they eat! Today at Comedor María Teresa they are serving chiles de agua stuffed with a picante filling of fish. In the Ocotlán market they are selling dried salted red snapper which is prepared by washing off the salt then dipping in batter and frying--a fish fry! (There is a blue tinge to the photo because this area of the market is under a blue plastic covering.)