Holy Water

We've seen a few of these at local churches. This is the most rustic. People filled water bottles from it - for what purpose I don't know.

Meircoles de Ceniza

Despite the fact that Mexico is a very Catholic country, and the church is a strong part of many different aspects of the life and culture here in Oaxaca (not least of which are some of the many fiestas that we have already posted about as well as some that we might get around to posting about later), I thought it was interesting to note that I did not see a single person with ashes on their forehead today.

Besos de Nieve

One of the fun things about being in another place is always exploring the different ice cream flavors they have. Here in Oaxaca, one of the famous flavors of 'Nieve' (the local ice cream, which is often more like a sorbet) is Beso Oaxaqueno (literally meaning 'Oaxacan kiss') and includes apples, nuts, and carrots. A number of the places we have gone also serve Beso Zapoteca or Beso de Angel, although the internet is not as forthcoming about what is in those flavors.

Last night we went to the Plaza de Nieves - yes, there is a whole plaza dedicated to ice cream vendors - right outside the Basilica in town. And one place was serving 'Beso de Judas' flavor. I'm not sure I want to know what is in that one.

Music of the Night

I promised a more full report about our Candelaria evening, so I should probably write one before too long.  We had heard from various sources that there would be processions from the various churches with their baby Jesus dolls all dressed up to commemorate the event. So Saturday evening we strapped E into a backpack carrier and went to the zocalo in search of music.  We weren't sure what to expect, but we got a whole range of exciting activities.

First up, as we passed the Santo Domingo church, we passed a group which was clearly a small version of one of the processions we expected. There were maybe two dozen people, a half dozen Nino dolls dressed in their finest clothes, and a couple of acoustic guitars with singing as they walked by us.

Next up, as we passed the museum of contemporary art we heard music coming from inside that E was intrigued by, so we decided to go in and take advantage of a chance to look at some free art while listening to the live music.  Now, the music was billed as a combination of acid jazz and a Hip Hop DJ, and those of you who know me know that these might be two of my least favorite genres of music to begin with and so it wasnt a very promising combination.  But it was fun to listen to and a lively crowd, and we did indeed get to see some good art (including some very cool outdoor luminescent murals by George Mead Moore) and a good time was had as a diversion.

We continued on to the zocalo but before we got there we found a breakdancing group and again E wanted to stop to watch.  The dancers were pretty exciting, even if the choice of music on their MP3 player (House of Pain! A Hip Hop remix of 'Horse With No Name'!  Some 80's goodies!) left something to be desired.

Then we went on to the zocalo itself, where we ate our free tamales and wandered among some artisans and said hi to some friends.  After awhile we decided we werent going to get to see more processions after all, so we called it a night and headed up to our favorite bakery to get some bread and pan dulces for the coming days.  

But as we left the bakery we stumbled across a large and lively procession through the streets.  It was hard to tell how many of the people were with the original procession, how many were just hangers on, and how many were tourists like us who just thought it was all pretty cool.  It was similar in some ways to the procession we marched with during Esquipulas -- there was a band playing lots of brass instruments and drums, there was a pickup truck with an image of a saint, there were women dancing and the giant puppets and globos that Oaxacan celebrations always seem to have -- but it was both smaller and more festive.  It was clearly a religous calenda, but it was less formal and there was a lot more mescal being passed around.  We ended up dancing with them for many many blocks, and in fact decided to get a taxi home even before they reached their destination.  In the end, we think it had nothing to do with Candelaria and was probably one of the Saints celebrations of a cathedral in a neighborhood across town.

So yeah, modern music and art, teenagers performing in the street, and religious celebrations both quiet and loud...sounds like a typical night in this exciting and fun city!

Senor de Esquipulas

A big chunk of our weekend was taken up by the festival that our neighborhood church (which I say despite the fact that there are at least a half dozen large cathedrals within a five block radius of our house.  But this was one of them) was throwing in celebration of the Senor de Esquipulas, often referred to as the Black Christ.  This is an important and meaningful celebration throughout central America, which you can read about here, but being the heathen that I am I viewed it mostly as a chance to soak in more Mexican culture and traditions.  And this festival was full of them.

Friday night we went to the church in time to hear the end of mass and then watch the churchyard erupt into celebration with music and dancing and chocolate to drink.  We then joined in a calenda, which is a celebratory procession following a truck with the black Christ statue on its back through the streets of the neighborhood, with fireworks and music and giant puppets and dancing.  It was lots of fun.

Sunday afternoon we wandered back over to the church for a cultural festival featuring dance performances from different regions, food, and lots more live music.  E even got to take a turn inside one of the giant puppets:

But the highlight was Sunday evening.  After dinner and some rest at home we returned to the church and watched another procession with the statue, but this one was much more solemn, with quieter music and incense and lots of banners decorated with silver.

 

When the statue returned to the church, the whole place turned back into a party with confetti and more music and dancing.  And a fireworks show.

I know what I said the other day about how fireworks shows were more casual here in Oaxaca, and for the most part I stand by it.  But last night was the exception that proves the rule, as it was just like an American fireworks spectacular in scope, but not in content.  You see, when we arrived at the church on Sunday afternoon we saw what already looked like a pretty big structure covered with firecrackers.

But that was nothing compared to what it looked like later in the evening:

I would guess it was fifty or sixty feet tall.  And covered with firecrackers decorated as words and flowers and Guadalupes and a Christ figure.  And when it was time for the show, it was indeed quite a show.  There was dancing -- including a series of people dancing in a cow costume that was covered with firecrackers that were shooting off while they were dancing! -- and there were angels made out of firecrackers that flew into the air as they were going off.  And there was that structure itself.  Which did not actually seem quite this scary when it was doing its thing, but still sent smoke and debris and sparks everywhere.

I'm not sure I have seen anything quite like this show.  The closest thing would be at a festival that Fort Worth held in conjunction with the 1995 MLB All-Star game, but that had those pesky safety standards that Americans seem to hold dear, whereas this was just lights and colors and noise.  And smoke.  Lots of smoke.  It was quite an event.

Rules

Contemplate this: one of the classroom rules at E's new preschool is
"No decimos rosarios." That is, no saying the rosary.

Unknown Saint

I think these rocks were left for this little painting.

Guadalupe en Arbol

I spotted this blessing in our little local park.

My Favorite

This entry of Tres Virgenes was so different, so artistic. All the energy had gone into carving these beautiful nuanced faces. My iPhone photos don't do justice to the quality.

More Radishes