Noche de Rabanos (Night of Radishes) 2016

Noche de Rabanos (Night of Radishes) is a splendid one day creative extravaganza unique to the city of Oaxaca. Imaginative people from around the state have been working on designs for many months, and on December 23 they display their artwork for the enjoyment and amazement of thousands of onlookers, plus they have a chance to win a prize!
Click on any image to enlarge or see a slide show.

Photo by Rick

We begin our day by eating breakfast in one of the outdoor restaurants that surround the zócalo, the main plaza of Oaxaca where the event takes place. We enjoy watching people construct and put the finishing touches to their depictions of daily life, history, religion, and culture. Some of the radish carvings are done at the last minute!   Every tiny piece of the work must be of natural materials – no wire or plastic – and most of the radish figures are held together with toothpicks.

There are three categories of materials: specially grown giant rabanos (radishes), flor inmortal (looks like what I know as straw flowers), and totomoxtle, or corn husks.

Some photos show entire displays so you can see how elaborate they are, and some are of small sections to show the incredible detail. Photographer friend Rick Impett contributed some excellent photos – thanks, Rick!

MERCADOS (MARKETS)

Photo by Rick

MUSIC AND DANCING

Photo by Rick

Photo by Rick

Photo by Rick

RELIGIOUS LIFE

 

Photo by Rick

Photo by Rick

Photo by Rick

WEAVERS

Photo by Rick

NEFARIOUS CREATURES!

Photo by Rick

Photo by Rick

Living lives surrounded with artisans creating textiles, carvings, metalwork, pottery, painting, music and dancing, children of Oaxaca learn to become artists, musicians and craftspeople at a very young age. It’s wonderful to see!

SPECTACULAR PIECE and the ARTIST

WALKING TALL

Thousands of tourists from other parts of Mexico and the world flock to Oaxaca to enjoy the festivities that take place around the Día de Muertos  (Day of the Dead). The plaza and walking streets surrounding the Santo Domingo Church are hubs of activity for art and craft vendors, musical performances, and puestos (booths or stalls) that offer coffee, chocolate, and pan de muertos, which is a sweet bread baked especially for the celebrations. These stilt walkers cruised the area earning pesos from people delighted to photograph them or even be photographed with them!

Lucky to arrive on the scene just as they were donning their stilts, I sat on the curb and watched all the preparations.

Click on any photo to enlarge it

 

Just tie on the stilts…

Get up with a little help from your friends…Make some adjustments…

Then stand around and attract immediate customers!

 

Travel Theme: Details 2

DETAILS IN ARCHITECTURE

DETAILS IN ART

Click on a photo to make it larger.

To enjoy more details click http://wheresmybackpack.com/2015/02/06/travel-theme-details/

The World Has So Much to Offer…

And in this corner of the world is Oaxaca!

Life in Oaxaca is rich with

HUMOR

THE PAST

THE FUTURE

 FOOD

ART

NATURE

WONDERFUL HIDDEN PLACES

I hope  readers will learn from and smile at my photographic stories!

Murals of Zaachila

In honor of the Day of the Dead (November 2), art students have displayed their talents on walls and doors in the town of Zaachila, Oaxaca, Mexico. While recently hiking through the town, we were treated to this wonderful artwork!

Some are humorous…

Click on any image to see it enlarged.

Others not so much…

Some may carry a message or tell a story…

Others are just fun to look at…

But all of them will make you think.

Travel theme: Symbol

Zapotec/Mixtec Symbols

The Zapotec people (in combination with Mixtec groups) adorned their structures with these symbols, which are quite different from those found in other ruins of the area. The archaeological site is located in the town of San Pablo Villa de Mitla, Oaxaca, Mexico.

Zapotec symbols decorate the alebrijes

The symbols are repeated on the whimsical hand carved and intricately painted alebrijes that are created in the villages of Arrazola and San Martín Tilcajete. A workshop that I visited in Arrazola provided a Zapotec explanation of the symbols with the purchase of their stunning artwork.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Nostalgia

Kenaitze Dena’ina Indian
Kenai Peninsula, Alaska

Sqilantnu, an area of the Kenai Peninsula that is now known as Cooper Landing, was historically the home of the Kenaitze Dena’ina Indians, a tribe of Alaska Natives. The K’Beq’ (footprints) Interpretive Site was established to educate visitors about the culture and lifestyle of the Dena’ina. A boardwalk built beside the Kenai River encircles the site of a home that has long since disappeared, but the depression that was the underground section of the home and another small round depression that was the in-ground “refrigerator” remain. Signs with memories of the Elders were posted along the boardwalk.

Guatemala Literacy Project Tour

As our small bus neared the remote villages, the route became more twisted and rocky. Climbing higher and higher, we wondered, “Will this bus be able to navigate the next bend?  Does the driver realize how close we are to the edge? Is he sure this road leads to the village?” Forty Rotarians from across the United States peered skeptically from the windows as the buses lurched up and down the dusty semblance of a road. We had all met in Guatemala City and embarked on a ten-day excursion of learning about the country of Guatemala and the lives and culture of its people.

What Do the Walls Say?

Museum of Oaxaca Culture

Treasures discovered in the ancient city of Monte Albán awe visitors in the Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca, which is a part of the spectacular Iglesia y Ex-Convento de Santo Domingo. Our trip to Monte Albán inspired us to visit the museum, and the extent of the historical objects and information surpassed all expectations.

Turquoise embedded skull found in tomb at Monte Albáan

Looking at the intricate art work created from gold, silver, ceramics, and precious stones makes me wish I could see those past lives in reality for only one day, and I’m sure that wish is shared by many! There is evidence that people have lived in this area for at least 10,000 years, and in this museum you will learn about life in the Oaxaca Valley from that beginning through the Mexican Revolution.

Necklace of gold, turquoise, and coral

By the time we got to the Spanish Conquest our imaginations were saturated, but we will return soon to complete the journey!

Ceiling of Museum Entryway