Art in Oaxaca, Mexico

I'm not a visual artist. I'm a writer. But at a friend's suggestion, I joined her for this: http://www.artworkshopsinoaxaca.com

With the focus on Day of the Dead, I decided my project would be an altar box dedicated to my mother. The instructors were fantastic, and the box, I think, honors my mother's life, her beauty, and her spirit. I also included her twin sister. That 's my aunt on the left and my mom on the right. These are the doors on the outside of the box

Below is the complete view of the inside of the box.

Here's a close up of the inside side panels which reflect her life in California and her last birthday party.

This last picture is a close-up of the center inside panel.

Visiting the cemeteries

Day of the Dead in Oaxaca is a celebration as deep and wide as a field of marigolds. While All Souls Day is November 1st, the towns stagger their celebrations so people can visit more than one cemetery. I came to El Dia de Los Muertos in Oaxaca for the first time last year. My mother had been dead for only seven months, my boyfriend Dan for a little more than two years. I brought their photos to place on the altar of the place I stayed and prayed for a glimpse of them or some sense of their presence. My mother was elusive, but I saw Dan in the base player of the ensemble who played at the graveside party for the husband of my hostess. Once or twice in the crowded streets, he seemed to be ahead of me before turning a corner and vanishing into another throng of people.

This year the artists hosting the workshop took us to three cemeteries. The care in cleaning and decorating the tombs, the density of the flowers, the whole place awash in candlelight after the sun sets, the mix of solemnity and celebration as evidenced by the loud music, the children playing among the graves is like nothing I've ever experienced in a cemetery in the U.S.. I think I saw a sign at the cemetery where my parents are buried prohibiting live flowers. Or did I dream that? After a week here, it seems like that can't be real. Here in Oaxaca, you can sit next to your loved one in the candlelight, breathing in the scent of marigolds while waiting for the cotton candy vendor to come by.

The four photos below are from Xoxochotlan.

We also visited the large urban cemetery in Oaxaca City.

On the way into the cemetery, there's plenty of food and games.

 

 

San Felipe Cemetery might have been the most beautiful. The photos below were taken there.

 

Archways of marigolds mark the doorways of houses, businesses, offrendas, and tombs so the dead can find their way back to visit the living.

Overheard in the streets of Oaxaca

Two acquaintances or old friends  run into one another on the street and exchange greetings. I can't talk long, she says, I've got get to my class.
Oh, you're studying Spanish again, he says.
Yeah, but my Spanish still sucks, she says.
Mine too, he says, but I don't go hungry.

squash soup

street food/fresh made tortillas with Oaxacan cheese and pumpkin flowers

sopa azteca

shrimp with mole negro and tamarind

I didn't really come here to eat. I came for Day of the Dead and to create a piece of art as an homage to my mother. Somehow I did manage to do those things in between eating these beautiful meals.

Parades and Preparations: Oaxaca, Day of the Dead

The Parades have been going on for days already. They're family friendly.

Many people get their faces painted, and businesses like this bakery have a side hustle doing the painting.

These giant spheres appear in the parades and parties. The design varies and the meaning or significance of them remains a mystery.

This is Not a Food Blog

But this was my lunch today.

There's a lot of beauty in Oaxaca.

The sink  in my hotel room looks like a shrine.

While out and about in Oaxaca today, I think I found the stairway to heaven.

I think that's where these folks are headed.