LECTURE ON WEDNESDAY

          The maid arrived so I headed for Sam's Club to buy a gallon of Carlo Rossi for $15.  They didn't have pickles, asparagus, Crocs, Christmas or Birthday Cards, or drinking glasses.  I was happy until I caught the wrong bus and ended up in the center of town carrying a gallon of wine around.  I took a taxi the short distance and he requested 50 Pesos...30 is the price but we settled for 40.  There goes all my savings from going to Sam's Club.

Restaurante Typical

     This afternoon I left to attend a lecture by the Blogger I follow in :  

 View from Casita Colibri 

...Shannon Sheppard and her sometimes sidekick Christopher Stowens who also has a blog:       Oaxacanyear. 

The Danza de la Plume is a story of the Conquest of Mexico by the Spanish.  The Dance originated in 1930 and there are different Danza de la Plumes from different villages...maybe 15-20.  The dancers come from the Pueblo and pay for their own costume...$5000 average..and commit to 3 years, the end of which a whole new dance group is picked and the cycle starts over. Friday, I will go to one of the villages to see a performance.  Last year I saw the different groups get together and perform as one. Each is a bit different than another, music, dance steps, costumes, but the story is the same.  
     I stopped in Llano Park where it was being transformed to celebrate Our Lady of Guadalupe Celebration.  Carnival and festive atmosphere.

   

  Thursday:      I finished shopping today but still no Crocs or Christmas Cards.  Off to watch the Russian Ballet performance of the Nutcracker Suite at the Opera. 
      That was the plan but on the bus I realized I left my camera, tablet, Mi Pad, Kindle, etc...back at the Hacienda...so passed up the Ballet (saw them perform one last year) ...truthfully I was tired and after eating, I would fall asleep before the intermission.  Then there were two art gallery openings (in my neighborhood) a lecture on corn but another on The Yanhuitlan Codice- Complete after 3 Centuries...now that interested me.  History that goes back 2-3,ooo years that was written in carved stone .   A language where symbols NOT letters were the way to communicate and just now, after 300 years since the discovery of this documented history, we find out what it SAYS.  Like having to wait 300 for the Freedom of Information Act to disclose the truth...of what happened 2-3000 years ago.  The Spanish Conquerors destroyed all but 3 or 4 of the Codices.  They were the key to interpreting the Symbols carved in stone.
       I returned to the Tres Bistro at the Zocalo for the first time in a couple weeks.  My view from the balcony, had I remembered my camera would have shown an Indian Shaman cleansing people, one after another all evening ...for a fee and tips from the crowd.  Wearing a headdress made from Palm fronds and naked from the waist with a straw skirt...blowing Sage from a smoldered bouquet he waved around he upright person, while shaking a gourd and chanting something.  Then he would pull on her arms or crack her neck, massage her neck...or his neck..like a masseuse.  
     I finished a nice salad then some Croquettes while washing it all down with a 1/2 liter of Red wine.  Their 1/2 liter when filled , equalled 3/4 liter or a full bottle of wine.  I struggled to get up after paying then noticed my neighbors back in La Noria...a couple of Tacoma , Washington fishermen that spent the last thirty years on Kodiak Island in Alaska, fishing for Diver Scallops and King Crab.  He had mocular degeneration and both lived in Sun City, Arizona.  They traveled around Mexico and have a son in England they will visit this summer.  I had coffee, we exchanged cards and said our goodbyes...they return to Phoenix Monday but may return to Oaxaca next year.
       When I arrived home, my Mexican neighbors were leaving their home with their 5 children to be blessed at the church.  It was dark and they all carried lit candles and formed a procession on the way to church.  Thanks to View from Casita Colibri: 

 Guadalupe

    I promise to take my camera Friday on my tour and lunch to see the Danza de la Plume for the second time BUT at their village this time.

Montezuma and Cortez's Concubine

Cortez's Interpreter being photographed by Shannon Sheppard

Chris filming Cortez's Concubine

American Citizen from Orange County..also direct descendant from this village Teotitlan and a Zapotec.  He was chosen to be a dancer so accepted a Three year required position. He flies back and forth to do the average 4 performances a year with his village dance group. He speaks fluent English, Spanish and Zapotec.

I was still watching the dancers when I noticed my group I came with was gone.  Exiting with haste the leader greeted me after she did her head count.  No man left behind.  We traveled a short distance to view some of what Teotitlan village is famous for...the textiles.  Every household owns a loom or weaves.  A small throw rug could take 4 months and a large rug over a year.  We also had lunch at the family's home.

Our Host serving..Mescal

Dyes made with Cochineal insect parasite of Cacti