We found lots of fresh veggies and fruits - tomatoes, cilantro, limes, grapes, bannanas, peppers. Also got some bread. We discovered a huge section of the market with Mexican arts and crafts. Basically this is the section for the tourists. They had everything we could possible want under one roof and along one long row: baskets, alebrijes, clothes, pottery, etc. Abby and Scott have been eyeing a molcajete, the stone grinding bowls for making salsa and guacamole. Scott bought some chorizo to make those yummy potato and chorizo tacos. Needless to say, Kelsey had to wait in a meat-free zone while Scott made the purchase. Scott got a handsome molcajete and proceeded to ask around for how to make the local salsa. Kelsey got an alejibre - a cool red dragon. She had been looking at some devil-like creatures but settled on a pretty nice dragon with big ears, wings, and a long red tail.
They headed back home to make some lunch. Kelsey wanted to buy potatoes for potato salad and she got right to work boiling eggs and the spuds. Scott had some eggs and chorizo - still not sure about whether he liked it or not. He better, he bought a pound! Scott also tried to make some salsa and had moderate success, though the hunt continues.
Saturday night was Noche de Luces - night of the lights. Apparently this happens on the 15th or closest Saturday each month (though not sure). It is sort of a huge party in the central historic district. Museums stay open late and there are all sorts of cultural events - dancing, music, etc. We headed to the Zocalo for a rhythmic gymnastics performance that was supposed to start at 5pm but never started. The Zocalo was particularly hopping that night, swarming with people and crowded with vendors that are not usually there selling all sorts of stuff (mostly junk). We have decided to give the kids an allowance so they can make some purchases on their own. They were excited by their newly found purchasing power and Kaya wasted no time making her first buy. You guessed it, a long, skinny balloon to throw around on the plaza. We found out that if you get a hole in your balloon the vendors will tape it and blow it up again, extending the life nearly indefinitely. In fact, last night we had to go before the balloons were popped, so we kept them with the intention of blowing them up later and extending the life of our 50 cent balloons.
A huge crowd was forming on one end of the Zocalo and we realized that a parade signifying the beginning of Gueleguetza was coming toward and eventually to the Zocalo. So we stayed put to wait for the procession to come to us. We found a pretty good viewing spot - this is not hard give the short stature of most Oaxacans. The procession began with two guys with little cows on their heads. When they arrived they lit firecrackers and sparklers that were attached to their cow hats (see video below). Then a long procession of delegations from surrounding villages passed by dancing and yelling - "¡Viva la Guelaguetza! ¡Viva Oaxaca!" An interesting thing we have observed is that at these sorts of events, men walk around with mezcal or other alcohol and they pass out shots. Several of the delegations in the procession were handing out booze, maybe contributing to the hyper festive mood of the night.
Among the more interesting delegations were: the devil dancers (a Kelsey favorite), which had devil masks, complete with horns, all dressed up in suits; the rag dancers, which had head-to-toe costumes made of what seemed like rags; and the pineapple ladies - Kaya's favorite.
There are lots of gringo tourists here but I think many Oaxacans are still enamored of us, especially the kids. Every once in a while a woman will stop in her tracks and reach out to touch the kids, stroke their face, and sometimes kiss them. It is pretty cute. They call "gueros", presumably "white." But they call the kids "little white." This does not seem to be pejorative, but it grates a bit, sort of like "toubab", which is what Malians call white people. But last night was especially interesting. As we were throwing the baloons around, a man walked up and asked if he could take a picture of his son with Kaya. We said sure (thinking that we are gawking at them and admiring their culture; the least we could do is pose for a few pictures) and Kaya stood next to this little Oaxacan boy smiling awkwardly. A little while later a group of Oaxacans walked by and said - "what a handsome boy." Then, as if they could not help themselves, the women came up and touched Max's face, kissed him, and asked him to kiss them. Max, normally pretty shy, obliged, smooching them on the cheek. Then they asked if they could snap some photos with Max. They put two young girls on each side of him and he put his arms around them. It was as if Max was a celebrity.
Max was a bit nonplussed by the whole thing and commented afterwards that maybe they wanted to take his picture because he was wearing his cool long-board shorts bathing suit.
Shortly after the photo shoot, we say a vendor whom we have seen around. He has only one leg and sells little knit pouches. We called him over and bought a couple, his name is Godofredo (like Godfried). He showed us how he knits them, I guess to show their authenticity as homemade - see below.
After our experience in El Magote, when the young girls gave us bracelets, we decided to bring some little gifts to give out. We brought our origami book (that Pat our babysitter gave the kids - it is a great book and we are having tons of fun learning all the shapes!) and have been making cranes - we tell people they are "pajaros de paz" - peace birds. So, after Max's photo shoot, we gave the little girls some peace cranes. We have gotten a mix of reactions from Oaxacan children when we give them out. Some kids flat our reject our advances, others reach out with glee to take possession of the little birds.
We forgot to mention that amidst most of the above, it was raining. It rains frequently in Oaxaca this time of year, but usually it brings cool winds and cools things off. Not that it is too hot, but the sun can be very hot - 5,000 ft above sea level and closer to the equator that home. So, we walked around in the rain taking in the Noche de Luces. Fireworks were scheduled for 11pm but even on the best of days the Anders family cannot make it that late. So, we headed home about 9:00 pm to get some rest.
No comments:
Post a Comment