Jazz in a Tropical Garden

Jane Robinson of Casa Colonial has put on Jazz in a Tropical Garden with Miguel Sampiero (right) and friends for roughly six years on the first Sunday of the month from 4 to 6 PM. The setting is lovely. They have a bar and comfy chairs on the lawn. The weather cooperates. The music is lovely and no telling who might show up to sit in. For more info on Casa Colonial check their website. For more pictures check my picasa web album.

Museo de los Pintores Oaxaqueños

The Museo de los Pintores Oaxaqueños hosts shows for emerging local artists. The building itself dates from 1695 and in 2004-5 under went restoration emerging as the art museum you can visit today. Located at the corner of Independencia and Garcia Vigil across from the Alameda de León and the Catedral de Oaxaca.

Desarrollo Luminoso by Rola Vallejo

Oaxaca has a long tradition in the arts from Monte Alban, continuing with Rufino Tamayo, and today has the artist Francisco Toledo as its most prominent representative. Since ancient times the people of the valleys of Oaxaca have been encountering the peoples of the Anahuac valley of central Mexico. Also stepping from the plateau to the isthmus they encountered the Mayan culture. There is evidence of this cultural wealth in Monte Alban and Mitla. This heritage, that the people of Oaxaca are innate artists, is evident in the Mixtec codices and murals Huijazó's Tomb. The sensitivity and creativity of the Oaxacan people is expressed in the highest aspiration of its painters. The painters are the eyes, hands and hearts of people. Their paintings leave evidence of the spiritual greatness and love for life, which for millennia has characterized the people of Oaxaca. From the ancestors who decorated the walls of the centers of knowledge in Mitla and Monte Alban, or the pictorial art in the Mixtec codices, to Miguel Cabrera, a painter of the colonial era, who left masterworks in many temples of New Spain. Now we must think about Rufino Tamayo, Rodolfo Nieto and Rodolfo Morales, as they have crossed the river on their long road to Mictlan (the underworld of Aztec mythology). Today, Francisco Toledo lives not only as a universal artist, but also as a generous patron who has given the pleiades of Oaxacan artists a cultural center, where altruism towards cultural and natural heritage is recognized. This altruism derives from Gozona, which is a word from the Zapotec that can be defined as similar to the Golden Rule. The Gozona means giving and receiving, and sharing with neighbors by paying homage to their deities as the saints are insatiable. In this art is part of the village ritual and beneficial to our imagination and our sensibilities, always tuned and alert. What is better than art and music to entertain the ceremonies? Through the mist of the mountain, the Copel, flowers, and dancing, the community reaches its exquisite fullness. The art of the party remains active with its vibrant colors, dances, ceremonies, fireworks, unusual costumes, and surprises found in the inexhaustible cascade of fruit, candy and objects found these days in public squares and markets. Oaxacan art is an expression from this feeling of community.

The Museum of Oaxacan Painters was created with the aim of providing an open space to development of contemporary visual and graphic arts in the state, offering exhibitions to promote and publicize the work of artists from Oaxaca.

Cortando Flor de Zempazuchitl, by Pedro Tapia.

Today these include Juan Alcazar, Laura Armenta, Roman Andrade, Fernando Andiacci, Modesto Bernardo, Marco Bustamante, Enrique Flores, Federico Flores, Justina Fuentes, Irma Guerrero, Sergio Hernandez, Maximo Javier, Yvonne Kennedy, Ruben Leyva, Abelardo López, Emiliano Lopez, Francisco Lopez, Gonzalo López, Luis José, Eddie Martinez, Ariel Mendoza, Arnulfo Mendoza, Felipe Morales, Guillermo Olguin Guillermo Pacheco, Tomás Pineda, Rolando Rojas, Samuel Rojas, Cecilio Sanchez, Jorge Sanchez, Emilio Sanchez, Virgilio Santaella, Alejandro Santiago, Santiago Filemeón, Crispin Valladares, Jose Villalobos, Emilia Winter and Luis Zarate.

The museum has three main objectives the promotion of the work of graphic artists from Oaxaca, encouraging contact with different streams of visual and graphic arts in Mexico and the world and promoting Oaxacan artists by linking them with other museums and galleries Mexico and abroad. 
The museum is administered by the Trust Units of Cultural Services and Tourism of the State of Oaxaca which defines the museum’s vocation as a cultural center open to all art forms, to accommodate not only exhibitions but also concerts, lectures, conferences and workshops.

The museum features various activities, both within the museum and in communities across the state. Guided tours, children's workshops, lectures and exhibition of local cultural activities, national and international. It also has a valuable and enthusiastic group of "friends of the museum" to support the activities that take place.

There are more photos in a picasa web album here. The album works from a current show back through a couple of shows in 2010 and 2009.

Fireworks

It has been sort of quiet since Felipe Calderon came through town. For fireworks of a friendlier nature, back in December, Francisco Toledo and a number of other artists put on a concert and a pyrotechnics display. There’s really not much story just pictures. Mostly it followed the fireworks show formula but there were two unusual parts, some mechanical turtles shooting out of a large flaming cylinder and the flight of some luminaries or unmanned hot air balloons. It's really amazing that they could get away with the luminaries as dry as things are in the winter. It probably hadn't rained in over two months prior to letting the balloons fly and it hasn't rained for two more months since. I hope that by placing a couple of pictures here that will tempt you to visit my Picasa web album.

Jardin Etnobotánico

Oaxaca is not only the Mexican state with the most ethnic groups and where the most indigenous languages are spoken; it is also the state where there are the most species of plants and animals. Many of these plants have provided aesthetic and intellectual stimulation to the people of Oaxaca for over twelve thousand years, and served as food, fuel, fiber, medicines, flavorings and colorings. The Jardin Etnobotanico celebrates the state of Oaxaca’s exceptional botanical diversity. Blessed with a geologic complexity that includes deserts and cloud forests, beaches and temperate woodlands, Oaxaca is one of the richest ecosystems in the world, boasting, for example, more species of cycads, and agaves and varieties of chili peppers and maize than anywhere else on earth.

The Garden is part of the Santo Domingo Cultural Center, which occupies the former convent built in the 16^th and 17^th century by the Dominican friars. The site of the Garden was part of the old convent garden. This space served as a military garrison from the mid-nineteenth century until 1994. In colonial times it had uses related to convent life, as seen in the remains restored the interior of the Garden: Irrigation and drainage canals, ponds, lime kilns, laundry facilities, a kiln and a paved road for the wagons that supplied food and fuel. Making used of the convent’s 16th century courtyard, the artist Francesco Toledo, fellow painter Luis Zarate and ethno biologist Alexandro de Avila, sought to build not just a decorative garden but one that would tell the story of the relationship between the people and the plants of Oaxaca. Emphasis has been placed on indigenous plants, both past and present, for medical, household, food and religious purposes.

Started in 1998 the Jardin Etnobotánico has been planted in plant varieties originating from different climatic regions of the state of Oaxaca. It covers almost 6 acres with over 7,000 collected specimens of 965 different species (11% of the flora of the state). The garden is organized in different climatic zones, most importantly into wet and dry zones. You may visit via guided tours in Spanish or English. English language tours are at 11 AM on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, last for two hours, and provide an excellent overview of both the flora of Oaxaca and its traditional uses. The cost of 100 pesos will be the best spent in you visit to Oaxaca.

The following provides a short list of some of the main features of the garden.

• A sculpture, created by Toledo out of a massive piece of Montezuma cypress clad in mica greets visitors at the courtyard’s entry. Red-dyed water drips over the cypress block, representing the importance of the cochineal.

• Francisco Toledo and Luis Zárate, artists from Oaxaca, helped in the design of the garden. The "Court of Huaje" and source "La Sangre de Mitla" are the work of Maestro Toledo. The source "Cuanana Mirror" and the sculptures that change the level and direction of water along the canals are the work of Zárate. The Garden also has wood and stone works of artists Jorge Dubon, Jose Villalobos and Jorge Yazpik.

• Newer archaeological remains, those found in the courtyard – irrigation canals, pools, the lime kilns where mortar was prepared during the construction of Santo Domingo, laundry basins used by the novices, a pottery kiln – contribute to the garden’s cultural importance and understanding of the everyday life of Dominicans in the seventeenth century.

• A garden of cycads, plants that evolved over 230 million years ago during the Jurassic age of dinosaurs, was donated by Conzatti Casiano. Oaxaca has more than 20 species of cycads, most of them endemic.

• A section of the garden is devoted to species found at Guilá Naquitz, a small cave located near Mitla in the Valley of Oaxaca. It was known to have been occupied by hunters and gatherers between 8000 and 6500 BC. Archaeologists found the remains of plants used for thousands of years, including acorn, pinyon, cactus fruits, and evidence of cultivated bottle gourds and squash and beans, and the oldest remains of corn reported to date - at 10,000 years old, these are the earliest remains of agriculture known so far in the Americas.

• The garden has a library open to the public specializing in natural sciences and environmental conservation ethno biology, open from 9:00 to 19:00 hours Monday to Friday and from 9:00 to 13:00 on Saturdays.

• Perhaps the plant that attracts the most attention of visitors to the garden is a large barrel cactus weighing over 5 tons and several centuries old.

• The garden has the largest rainwater collection system in the State of Oaxaca, with a capacity of 1,300,000 liters. Rainwater stored in the tank feeds the irrigation system, canals and ornamental ponds, and the cultural center.

To view more pictures visit Jardin Etnobotánico.

The Garden in figures:

• Total area of the Garden: 2.32 hectares

• Area planted to date: 2.10 hectares

• Total material collected to date: 7.330

• Total species: 915 representing 474 genera and 140 botanical families

• Total will plant species: about 1.300

• Over 100 Communities have provided plants, stone and earth to the Garden

Contact information:

Ethnobotanical Garden of Oaxaca

Reforma s / n corner Constitution, AP 367. Centro, Oaxaca, Oax.

Oaxaca de Juárez

Oaxaca Mexico 68000

Telephone Number: (951) 516 53 25 516 79 15 & 51 6 90 17

Web Site: http://www.jardinoaxaca.org

Institution Email Address: jetnobot@prodigy.net.mx

San Bartolo Coyotepec

Oaxaca has a wealth of folk art: telar de cintura (backstrap weaving), pottery, alebrijes (wood carvings), tin work, rugs, jewelry, ceramic figurines, embroidery, totomoxtle (corn husk figures), leather work, and more. The Museo Estatal de Arte Popular de Oaxaca (State Museum of Popular Art) in San Bartolo Coyotepec is filled with fine examples of each. On the main floor the museum displays pieces from its permanent collection. On the second floor the museum displays special exhibits which recently has been “Tres Colores — Indigo, Cochineal y Caracol” an exhibition of telar de cintura from throughout the state of Oaxaca curated by Remigio Mestas from his personal collection. Remigio works with only the most talented weavers and has a gallery on Macedonio Alcala in Oaxaca. The colors refer to the natural dyes of blue, red and purple indigenous to the region.

San Bartolo Coyotepec is also home to the famous barro negro pottery. You can visit talleres y tiendas (workshops and stores) where you can see the whole process and buy more than you can lug home. A traditional craft of the Zapotecs and Mixtecs, examples of barro negro pottery have been found at a number of archeological sites, fashioned mostly into utilitarian items. Originally the pottery was matte and grayish and very sturdy. In the 1950s, Doña Rosa Real discovered that she could change the color and sheen by polishing the clay with a quartz stone and firing at a slightly lower temperature. After firing, the piece emerges a shiny black instead of a dull gray. Barro negro pottery is not glazed, its color is due to the properties of the clay. Traditionally modern potters’ tools are not used, the clay is molded on plates balanced on rocks to that can be spun by hand. Large pieces, such as cantaros are fashioned from the bottom up adding clay as the piece grows. After they are shaped, drying can take up to three weeks in a well-insulated room to protect them from sudden changes in temperature. Pieces intended to be shiny black when finished are polished when the piece is almost dry. The surface of the piece is lightly moistened and then rubbed with a curved quartz stone. This compacts the surface of the clay and creates the metallic sheen and dark color during firing. This is also when decorative accents such as clay flowers or small handles are added. The pieces are then fired in underground pits or above ground kilns, using wood fires that heat the objects to between 700 and 800 °C. When they emerge, the polished pieces are a shiny black and the unpolished ones have a grey matte finish.

From barro negro many different objects are made including whistles, flutes, bells, masks, lamps, animal figures, pots with most being decorative and not for storage of food or water. One exception is the use of cantaros from San Bartolo Coyotepec to age and store mezcal at many distilleries. These large jars are not polished and retain the ancient gray matte, which allows them to be resistant to liquid. Cantaros are also used as musical instruments, struck like a bell producing a crystalline sound. A famous barro negro object is chango mezcalero or mescal monkey which holds between 700 ml and 1 liter of mescal with a cork or corncob stopper. It is not polished and either left grayish with detailed etchings or painted in bright colors.

You can reach San Bartolo Coyotepec via second class bus or colectivo. You can reach the museum website here. It’s in Spanish but there are links to an extensive photo gallery under the link Colecciones. Norma Hawthorne’s website ‘Oaxaca Cultural Navigator’ has more information including a youtube video on the “Tres Colores — Indigo, Cochineal y Caracol” exhibit. I have about 30 more photos in a picasa web album here.

Flamenco Guitar

For Valentine’s Day a very fine flamenco guitarist David Jenkins played during dinner at the restaurant Los Danzantes. David lives on the coast of Oaxaca in Puerto Angel and plays in the city of Oaxaca frequently. Sorry but this blog doesn’t have a soundtrack, yet. This started out to be sort of a Valentine Card but Los Danzantes is fairly dark at night not conducive to photography. So to cover Señor Jenkins we go to plan B. Last year David did a concert with a singer, Kat, at the Museo del los Pintores Oaxaquenos. That night the concert was special so to celebrate a few friends headed over to Mason Olivo, a Spanish restaurant a few blocks away. Most everything in Oaxaca is just a few blocks away, or a few more. After much wine and an impromptu second concert, which made everyone at Mason Olivo’s happy, Señor Olivo pulled the plug on the party at around 2 AM. All in all it was an evening with more light and more photo opportunities. After the big splash of color in the Ocotlán post you can see that I’m trying the opposite this time. I hope you enjoy the photos. There are a few more here. If you live in Oaxaca and want to get in touch with David Jenkins, he has a website. In fact if you go there you can have a soundtrack from him while you go through the photos. I hope all of you had a happy Valentine’s Day.

Ocotlán and Rudolfo Morales

The head of Morales rests in his mother's hands on the upper left.  His head also appears in the upper right viewing his end and return to his mother.

Rodolfo Morales was a Mexican surrealist painter often referred to as the Chagall of Mexico. His work has been described as surrealistic, dream-like, fertile and heavily based in folklore often depicting indigenous people, especially women set amongst rural buildings, churches, and town squares. Rudolfo Morales, Rufino Tamayo and Francisco Toledo made Oaxaca a centre for contemporary art.

A daytrip to Ocotlán can take in quite a few different stops. In Ocotlán itself there is enough for making the trip. Start with the Templo de Santo Domingo restored under the direction of Rudolfo Morales. Go on to the ex-convent which houses a museum devoted to Morales and other local artists including the Aguilar sisters. As you head to the market stop in the government buildings for murals by Morales. Market day is Friday but there is a permanent market which holds some surprises. After the market it’s a short walk to the home of Morales which is open and houses the Morales foundation. Further along on the road to Oaxaca are the workshops of Aguilar sisters who make ceramic figurines. If that isn’t enough between Oaxaca and Ocotlán stop at the town of San Martin Tilcajete which specializes in alebrijes (carved wood figures) or San Tomas Jalieza which specializes in backstrap weaving. Closer to Oaxaca is the town of San Bartolo Coyotepec where you’ll find the famous black pottery. San Bartolo Coyotepec is also home to the Museo Arte Popular de Oaxaca which has a broad range of folk art of the highest quality as well as temporary shows. It’s not possible to do all of this in a day and do anything justice. This post will focus solely on Ocotlán and mostly on Morales.

Morales, a native Zapotec born to working class parents in the small town of Ocotlán de Morelos, studied art at the Academy of San Carlos in Mexico City graduating as a drawing teacher and began a 32-year career as an art teacher at Escuela Nacional Preparatoria. In 1975 with Morales approaching 50, he held his first solo exhibition at the Casa de las Campanas Art Gallery in Cuernavaca. Here he came to the attention of Rufino Tamayo who helped Morales make contacts with art critics and galleries around the world, leading to a number of joint and solo exhibitions.

By 1985, Morales had earned enough money to stop teaching and to return to Oaxaca where he dedicated himself to both his art and restoration. Using income from his art he founded the Rodolfo Morales Cultural Foundation devoted to the restoration of buildings in Ocotlán. In all, he funded restoration of fifteen churches including the 16th century Convent of Santo Domingo and a 17th century church in the town of Santa Ana Zegache, as well creating cultural spaces throughout Oaxaca's central valleys.

Morales ensured that the restoration work done was by locals who, by developing skills, were able to later find employment elsewhere. His other notable Foundation work included setting up a computer room for local youths to learn information technology skills, providing materials to aspiring artists, producing of prints to help Frente Común Contra SIDA educate against the spread of AIDS and planting new copal trees not only to enhance the landscape but also to provide wood for the creation of hand-painted animals.

Women and memories appear to be at the heart of his work. Morales once explained, “Mexico would be lost without the steadfast work of women. They bear the burden of day-to-day living and find solutions to those problems to which men simply resign themselves.” Characteristics of his work include rich use of color, exaggerated hands and feet, over-sized faces, women (often brides), puppies, flowers, angels, bicycles, musical instruments and the dreamy floating of figures. While most of his work was oil on canvas he also produced a number of murals, highly decorated wooden furniture, many collages often in a set arranged to tell a story, and pillars which arranged together create a kaleidoscope of image and color as the viewer walks around them.

For more pictures go here. For some of the Morales paintings be sure to use the magnify ikon (upper right) to blow them up. Once full screen you can zoom in with the + ikon (upper left).