Temazcal is akin to the Iroquois sweat lodge. Who would have thought that we could ever have such a first-hand experience during modern times? Curandera Doña Mariana chants while controlling your body with the laying of water over hot rock, as the mysterious meandering of a range of herbal bouquets piques the olfactory sense. Traditional healer, or […]
Continue ReadingIf expats want to be accepted into the broader society, then they must act the part and treat custom and societal standards with the respect they deserve. It’s not enough to throw money at causes and do charitable work. When one attends a cocktail party in the US one dresses appropriately. It’s the same for […]
Continue ReadingDon Isaac recounts awaking at 4 a.m. then walking from his village of Matatlán, with his mule, to Oaxac. He arrived some 14 or 15 hours later… just to buy a large cántaro, the traditional clay vessel then used for making and transporting mezcal. Often he would stop en route, at Santa María el Tule, for a […]
Continue ReadingAdvice to heed before heading out the door to the airport, questions you’ll have after landing, and money issues that will arise in the course of your vacation You don’t need to take travelers’ checks. ATMs are common, safe and reliable and, while pesos and American cash rule, a VISA card will get you through […]
Continue ReadingThe options are innumerable. It’s simply a matter of doing a bit of homework – asking, and then committing yourself to a vacation dedicated in large part to your children. Oaxaca has traditionally been known as an adult travel destination, steeped in ruins, colonial churches, museums and a tradition for fine art and handicrafts. But […]
Continue ReadingThe third week of May, 2008, Hertz in Oaxaca changed its downtown location from a side street to the main drag, the pedestrian walkway known as Alcalá about a block and a half up from the zócalo. The new digs are larger and storefront. However, in one of the windows four or five 125 cc […]
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Most tourists have no idea that only a couple of hundred yards off the main highway, a minute or two from the black pottery village, is one the most fascinating destinations that the state of Oaxaca has to offer children and adults alike. And yet the majority of travelers have at least heard or read […]
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Jacobo Ángeles’ work is prominently displayed in The Smithsonian, Chicago’s National Museum of Mexican Art, and elsewhere throughout the continent and further abroad, in museums, art colleges and galleries One would be hard-pressed to search the Americas and find creators of folk art with more form, symbolism and importance to the development and sustenance of […]
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“Look at that female warrior over there… notice the belt I made for her, with penises hanging from it, her trophies.” Artist Manuel Reyes aspires to exhibit his work in art galleries in Oaxaca and Mexico City. Give him that exposure over the next couple of years, and there’s little doubt his genius will be […]
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Porfirio Santiago is at his loom, diligently weaving a massive 2 x 3 meter rug with traditional designs, from memory, with representations of Zapotec diamonds, rainfall, maize and mountains… just as his father Tomás, grandfather Ildefonso and great grandfather before him. Wife Gloria is carding a mix of white and caramel colored raw wool. Behind […]
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