Hola family and friends! Maggie and Hannah B. will be your lovely blog writers for the week:The city center (the zocalo) was buzzing all week in anticipation of the second annual APPO (La Asamblea Popular de los Pueblos de Oaxaca, a grassroots organization) congress. People from all over the state are convening to discuss the future of APPO and its horizontal structure of organization.
A woman grinding cochanilla, a small beetle
that thrives on Nopale, a cactus. The beetle is ground
and is used to dye the wool a beautiful red. (Click
on any photo to enlarge)
In addition, this was our last week of classes with Gustavo. The week included discussions about migration, Mexico´s deep culture of corn, and a definition of the common good. As usual he pushed us to think outside of our usual realm of ideas. We learned the effects of GMO (Genetically Modified) corn on the enormous bio diversity of corn in Mexico. Oaxaca is said to be the place where corn was first created. As we have been experiencing in our daily corn tortillas, we also talked about the role of corn as a staple food in Oaxaca. Gustavo also talked to us about the creation of a ´´common good´´ through friendship, which is a big theme in his lectures.
Together with a few friends it is difficult, but possible, to share a definition of what a good life is. This takes time, and the definition is flexible.Our final class, on Friday, was preceded by a two day stay in the village of Santa Ana de Valle. Our time there directly illustrated the drastic effects of globalization and migration on a Oaxacan village.
Learning to spin and card wool.
The livelihood of the village relies heavily on the revenues from the artisan rugs made there. Unfortunately the rug making is no longer a sufficient source of income, and
one third of the population migrates both nationally and internationally. Many young people go to the United States or to Mexico City. Our main host in the village has several children in the USA and when he began his introduction of the town, he assured us that it was not a ghost town.And we visited a curandera and students
were able to receive a "limpiar" or cleansing.
We all stayed in homes of the village. We visited a rug maker and saw a demonstration of the entire rug making process, from shearing the sheep, to dying the wool with ground up cactus larva, to the weaving process itself. A good sized rug takes a average of twelve
full days and sells for a mere 900 pesos (about 80 dollars). We also visited the only traditional candle maker left in the town who demonstrated the process of creating highly ornate candles used for special occasions.We ended our time there discussing the effects of migration on the town with Gustavo. He asked us what we would do if our lives had begun in this village, faced with the challenges of a dying craft and drastic population drop. We thanked him and said our formal goodbyes. However, he will be around assisting many of us in our independent projects, or even just to talk if we want.
These candles are made for religious ceremonies as well as used for when a man asks for a woman's hand in marriage.
We arrived back to the city Friday night, and Lindsey´s visiting boyfriend, Byron, made us a delicious meal of avocado salad, cheesey rice and tostadas to name a few of the many dishes. We were all very grateful. Afterwards, a few of us hoped on a bus and went to the beach for the weekend, which is where we are writing from now.The day at Sta. Ana de Valle ended
with a spontaneous game of basketball with
some young men and boys from the pueblo.
Time in Oaxaca is flying by quickly. It is hard to think that one class has ended, and in a week, Spanish will also be over. We are still learning so much and will keep you posted on the coming weeks!!!!
Maggie and Hannah B.
