Ooooops

(View of Oaxaca from the Cerro de Fortin via wikipedia)

I just spent half an hour in the post office line to send off my application to participate in this summer's NEH Spotlight on Oaxaca institute. I got to the head of the line and was just about to seal the envelope when I decided to check one more time. And I had brought the wrong copy of the essay with me, the one that I marked-up for final revisions over the weekend before the NEH Florence ladies arrived for our annual Presidents' Weekend reunion. Ack! So, off I go again.

Of course, I'm returning this summer whether or not I'm accepted to the institute. There was so much there that got my creative and intellectual juices flowing after a bit of a dry spell that I couldn't resist making the apartment reservation last July and determining to go back no matter what.

But it would be nice to be in a structured study environment. There's a fine line between being a Renaissance woman and being a scatterbrain, and sometimes in my enthusiasm, I cross it before I realize what's happened! ;-)

Food wasn't the only thing I loved about Oaxaca, but . . .

(I have to say that pictures taken with an iPod are not as good as a digital camera despite assertions to the contrary.)


On Thursday last week, I was lucky to be invited by KC to a Members Only event at the Museum of the American Indian. The topic was chocolate and its many manifestations in Mexican cuisine. In addition to a chocolate-infused tequila and white wine, the tastings included turkey with an almendrado mole, pork in a chocolate chili sauce, tamales with chicken and black mole, and some sublime desserts, my favorite being the flourless chocolate cake. This last was washed down with hot chocolate and chocolate egg creams. All of the food was prepared by Zarela Martinez, an authority on Mexican cooking and the stories behind the recipes. She owns a restaurant that was the best place to get authentic Mexican cooking in NYC.

I say "was" because yesterday I saw the news that Zarela's would be closing after 23 years. Sad news indeed!

Apartment in Oaxaca

I decided last summer to spend July in Oaxaca whether or not I'm accepted to the NEH Spotlight on Mesoamerica institute. While I was there, I stumbled on a hotel that reminded me of some of the motor hotels we used to stay in when we drove across the Southwest from Los Angeles to New Orleans in the 1960's. I met the family who runs the Hotel Villa de Campo and saw some rooms and junior suites and knew then that I would be back. The price -- about $750 a month for a double suite -- can't be beat, and the location, in a quiet neighborhood not far from the Santo Domingo complex where many of the Guelaguetza performances were held, is perfect. I figured I could spend the month studying Spanish and visiting all the villages and churches I missed last summer, returning to the papermaking cooperative at San Agustin Etla, and investigating the political situation more thoroughly.

But I am looking forward to being back in Mexico this summer. Long before I fell in love with Italy, I loved and dreamed of Mexico as the place I would escape to and looked forward to our trips to the border towns when my dad's job took him there. Last summer Oaxaca felt like it was in a time warp, very 1960's in some ways and nostalgic for me. But I loved it for itself, the mountains and villages, the kindness of the people, the layers and layers of history, and the sense of something bubbling just beneath the surface, almost hidden from tourist eyes, a real grassroots movement to be reckoned with. I expect to be back to my old self by the spring, in fact, even better than I was before the surgery and treatment, rested from my sabbatical and more fluent in Spanish. So NEH or no NEH, I'm psyched to have the opportunity to return.

A hot topic

Gang killings in Oaxaca force response from governor

While drug killings are practically nil in Oaxaca province, political violence is not unknown. This is the latest in a long line of recent bloodshed, some of which was happening under our very noses last summer.

For example, the last day we were in Oaxaca, a priest in his 80's was tortured and killed in a supposed botched robbery at one of the beautiful church/temple complexes downtown. This would be odd enough since most churches' treasures are not hidden away and you wouldn't need to torture anyone to find out where they were. But this priest was also an outspoken advocate for indigenous human rights, a very dangerous position to take in a country where the oligarchy is still pretty powerful.

And then there is the ongoing situation in San Juan Copala which has gotten very little press in the US, and the murder of an American expat in August whose body was just discovered in October, and . . . . I could go on and on. Even so, if I had to choose between navigating drug violence and political violence, I'd say political violence is easier to avoid. I thought I was alert and open to what was going on beneath the surface, but I clearly missed a lot of what was happening right under my nose. However, I never felt threatened or endangered. And when you think of it, a lot goes on right under our noses in our own communities with very little effect on our daily lives.

Oaxaca or bust redux

Images via www.rivieramaya.net

The following paragraph appeared on the NEH Oaxaca website last week:

"Thanks to funding from the NEH, the Summer Institute for Teachers will be happening in Oaxaca from July 4 to 29, 2011. We will begin accepting applications in March. Spanish-language ability is not a requirement for applying to this Institute."

So, hooray! The institute will be offered again in July, beginning a week earlier than last year, but still encompassing the Guelaguetza performances that made our trip so super last year. Fortunately, the dates coincide perfectly with the plane/apartment reservations that I already made.

Now I just need to be chosen again! :-)

The Cramp

A quiet movie about a disaffected young Frenchman in a small Oaxacan village on the Pacific coast. It dragged in a few places but was ultimately very satisfying emotionally and visually. Sadly, there was very little dialog, and a lot of it was in French and English as well as Spanish, so I didn't get to practice my new skills in espanol. But it was a great choice for my birthday movie, and I ate the best mole verde I've had since Oaxaca at El Ranchito del Agave. BB didn't like her food or drink, but I will definitely go back there again.

Discovery of the night: There are delicious cupcakes in New York, and they're made by Mitchell London!

Frugal Traveler

Seth Kugel is making his way through Mexico this summer on his quest to travel frugally. Read about his adventures in a small village in Oaxaca below:

TRAVEL | August 17, 2010
Frugal Traveler: Picking a Spot, Any (Undiscovered) Spot, in Mexico
By SETH KUGEL
San Juan Teitipac, a corn-farming hamlet in Mexico, is jammed with intriguing customs, welcoming residents, unforgettable meals, beguiling landscapes and rich history. .