For one night of the year in Oaxaca, Mexico, the Raphanus sativus, or radish as it is more commonly known, escapes its destiny as root vegetable side dish and becomes art. Thousands upon thousands of radish revelers turn out on December 23rd to check out the newest vegetable-turned-art creations on display in the Zocalo. The artists have […]
Continue Reading
The Mestiza Madonna. La Virgen Ranchera. The Queen of the Americas. Mystical Rose… no matter what name she is called, one thing is for sure: the beloved Virgin of Guadalupe is the mother of all Mexicans. Legend has it that she first appeared on December 9th in 1531 to an indigenous widower by the name […]
Continue Reading
A life-sized Virgin Mary statue with imploring, heaven-raised eyes welcomed me into the courtyard of my favourite café in Oaxaca, Mexico. Dozens of what looked to me to be chia pets surrounded her. While the holy lady shed tears, forever frozen in time, small clay rams and turtles sprout tiny chia leaves all over their […]
Continue Reading
The biggest event of its kind in Latin America, the International Balloon Festival in Leon, Guanajuato, takes place in the middle of November. Attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors over the four-day festival, and some two hundred hot air balloon teams from all over the world, it is a spectacle that justifies the early morning […]
Continue Reading
Celebrations for El Señor de La Conquista (The Lord of the Conquest) completely filled the Jardin Principal of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Hundreds of colourful conchero or “Chichimeca” dancers dressed in pre-Hispanic style outfits arrived from the surrounding towns, representing different styles of dance and dress. Flashes of colour. Hypnotic drum beats. The shake, shake, shake […]
Continue Reading
All around town, people are carrying babies. It takes me a moment to realize, (mostly because they are swaddled in blankets) that they are not real babies but dolls. Then it takes me another moment and a scolding from my new mother-in-law to realize that they are not dolls either. They are Niños Jesus — […]
Continue Reading