The alarm went off at 2:30 AM for the beginning of numerous flights to Oaxaca, Mexico. The first airport was right here in Charlottsville, which was a pleasant surprise, easy in and out. Once in Oaxaca, there is the happy search for food because it's hard to find a bad meal in this beautiful place. Some of my most memorable meals have been here, sometimes accompanied by Spanish singers with guitars, or a view of the Cathedral of Santo Domingo de Guzman.
The art group and its participants were almost all there, and tours around the city would begin the next morning. One of the wonderful things about traveling to this part of Mexico are the many art forms, from fabric, print making, clay, and wood carving, days if not weeks could be spent on just one - inspiration comes from them all. It was also Carnival week, so numerous parades were passing on the streets. Clowns, devils, and a few skeletons serve as evidence of the power of evil prior to repentance.
One of our tours led us to Zoologico Magico, home to one of the only female Alebrije carvers which are the colorful wooden animals painted with insane detail. We learned about the symbolism of patterns, colors, and animals as well as the long period of internship in all facets of building these creatures (and on a side note, almost all tours begin with a bit of local Mescal).
This is probably my 4th time to visit the shops of Alebrije makers and it's always a learning experience. I noticed that the smallest bit of paint detail came from a syringe filled with paint.
Between class time there are the walks into the center of town. A large part of what made this trip so wonderful were the lack of big crowds. For the Day of the Dead festivities, it's very, very crowded. For this trip we were able to walk into restaurants that are usually booked and/or overcrowded, even able to pick excellent seats with vantage points for people watching.
On Fat Tuesday or the true day for Carnival, we visited a small village were men and woman, young and old, cover themselves in used motor oil. The parade begins early and cowbells hang from their waist as they dance their way down the acala. Most are covered in black oil, a few use orange or red oil. Masks are made of everything imaginable; skulls, wood, Paper Mache, and cloth. A band travels along and the beating of bells and music make it hard to miss. In our circle they are called the "Oily Boys" and we were warned about wearing old clothes in case we were hugged. We literally ended up in the middle of the parade, but with some quick maneuvering, only my purse was oiled (I see it as a pleasant reminder of a crazy day).
We also visited some incredible cathedrals, an art installation of Raku vases, and of course admired the crazy array of street art.
So much happened in the space of 10 days that it seemed like a month. Oh, and we made art too. The theme for this visit was "Altered Egos" with interactive art or a way to move or add heads. I had hoped to finish a male and female piece but was only able to finish one. He turned out better than I envisioned, so it was a successful art trip.
His extra heads fit into slots on the bottom, and there are a total of 4. Hopefully I will be including more photographs of the finish and his female counterpart.
The trip was hosted by Michael deMeng, and our daily tour guide was Mija Matriz, both of which made this my favorite trip to Mexico so far!
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