The Government of Mexico has partnered with Toronto's Harbourfront Centre Hot & Spicy Food Festival, to invite Oaxacan chef Pilar Cabrera to compete in its Iron Chef competition. The festival, which runs from September 4th through the 7th, will feature Chef Cabrera competing against a chef from Louisiana, USA, in a semi-final scheduled for Sunday September 6 at 4:30 pm. The winner of this and the other semi-final will compete for the Iron Chef title the following day. This appearance for Chef Cabrera adds to the earlier noted dates of her Toronto culinary tour. The full calendar of events, with websites in most cases indicating chef Cabrera's attendance, now reads as follows (not including private dinner party engagements:
Harbourfront Centre Hot & Spicy Food Festival, Iron Chef Competition, Sept 6
http://www.harbourfrontcentre.com/worldroutes/festivals.cfm?id=1284
Frida Restaurant, Sept 16
http://fridarestaurant.ca/events.html
Frank Restaurant, Art Gallery of Ontario, Sept 21
http://www.ago.net/latin-inspirations
Nella Cucina Cooking School, Sept 22 & 24
http://www.nellacucina.ca/cucina/event.html?Year=2009&Month=9
Veritas Local Fare, Sept 23
http://localfare.ca/
Torito Tapas Bar, Sept 28
http://www.toritorestaurant.com/index.php (not yet noted on website)
The Chef’s House, Sept 29
http://www.thechefshouse.com (not yet noted on website)
Alvin Starkman, Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast
8/15/2009
Canadian artist Fiona Dunnett: Images of self and death in Oaxaca are muted with comic style and collage
Alvin Starkman, M.A., LL.B.
Comic strips, a young Canadian’s self portraits, and photographs of violent deaths in a Mexican daily newspaper, make strange bedfellows. But they constitute a major part of the driving force for the creative energies of Fiona Dunnett.
Ottawa-born Dunnett has been living in Oaxaca since 2005. As in the case of so many artists who now reside in this city in southern Mexico, her arrival has been rather circuitous. And like so many others, her artistic talent has been influenced at virtually every stop along the way. At age five she left Canada for Bangladesh with her Canadian diplomat mother and the rest of her family. After three years it was back to Ottawa, and then a further three years in Zimbabwe.
“When I left Zimbabwe I felt close to South Africa. I took a course in stone sculpture while there, so yes, I suppose living in Zimbabwe has had somewhat of an influence on what I do today,” she surmises. But it was her upper level academic training, first at the Canterbury School of Arts, followed by British Columbia’s University of Victoria from which she graduated with an Hons. B.A. in Fine Arts, which exposed her to the personages who have impacted her creativity the most.
“I’ve had a strong interest in the work of Gustav Klimt [1862 – 1918],” Dunnett reveals. The Austrian symbolist painter was one of the most prominent members of the Vienna Art Nouveau movement, yet a controversial figure in his time, criticized for his works being too sensual and erotic. She continues: “But it’s Lichtenstein whose art I’ve actually made more of a conscious effort to respect and carry forward, imprinting it with a bit of my own personality and life experiences.”
Roy Fox Lichtenstein [1923 – 1997] was a prominent American pop artist, whose work was heavily influenced by both popular advertising and the comic book style. The latter clearly shines through in Dunnett’s more recent works, and in an earlier piece which graces a wall in her home in Oaxaca’s Xochimilco neighborhood which she shares with her boyfriend and three others: “That one’s based on a dream I had, certainly with overt comic book imagery; in the particular dream there was a calenda (parade), with bodies being dragged through the streets. I once did a series based on my dreams. I dyed the red sky forming part of the background of this canvas with cochineal [the minute insect with naturally produces carminic acid, and was an important export industry for Oaxaca during colonial times].”
Dunnett is much too modest. Since moving to Oaxaca there’s no doubt that she’s put her own mark on the comic style, with her un-daunting desire to learn, and innovate. The geographical, cultural and political environment in which she lives provides her with diverse opportunities for artistic inspiration. She attended a workshop to learn about the use of natural dyes such as flowers, plants and of course cochineal, at the educational and research facility known as Centro de Difusión de la Grana Cochinilla Tlapanochestli. “For quite some time I’d been thinking about using natural dyes in my work, but it wasn’t until a couple of years ago that I realized that here in Oaxaca [actually a few kilometers out of the city, in Santa María Coyotepec] I had the opportunity to learn about their use from an expert, Manuel Loera Fernández, the chemist at Tlapanochestli. There’s just so much artistic stimulation in Oaxaca that it’s hard to resist taking advantage of everything available.”
Dunnett has also participated in more traditional hands-on seminars, at the well-known Graphic Arts Institute of Oaxaca (IAGO) and at a couple of other institutes in the city. Towards the other end of the spectrum, she credits two local graffiti stencil art groups with providing her with additional inspiration, which becomes apparent after an examination of her work.
“I began moving out of realism and into stylized, surreal works towards the end of my Canadian academic training. It was about the same time that I began working with mixed media, my strong preference at this stage of my development.” Coming to Oaxaca was perhaps the catalyst she required in order to begin more experimental work, within the context of an extremely encouraging environment.
Aside from a leaning towards the use of natural colors for backgrounds on her canvasses, one of the major identifying features of Dunnett’s work is her use of collage --- cut-outs from newspapers, magazines and comic books. Another is using photographs of her own head and face to provide the stimulus for her portrayal of expressions and poses she seeks to capture for each subject. Almost every head in every work is based on a self-photographic portrait:
“I started doing self-portraits when I began doing photography several years ago. Then when I moved into painting, I had this corpus of self-photos, so I was able to draw from them for my art. Although I wanted to shoot other people, I never felt at ease doing so. And though my boyfriend and I have been together for close to four years, I still don’t feel comfortable photographing even him. So it’s all me, perhaps because of being shy when it comes to shooting others. But that red one over there, textured with corn husks from tamales, it’s an experiment, using a face that’s not my own --- I think it’s best if I stick to my own face.”
Each face evokes different emotions, and images of self. “The faces make eye contact; viewers’ eyes move around each work and then return to the eyes and face,” she explains. It’s undeniable that Dunnett’s own pleasing facial features, and her comport, once transferred to canvas, play a significant role in directing the viewer. She has masterfully photographed her head and upper body at every angle and with a plethora of facial expressions for use in her work.
But there’s another reason we return to the images of Dunnett’s facial expressions: The torso and limbs of each primary subject portrayed is far too troubling --- each is a digitalized version of a photograph of a person who has died a violent death, usually in a traffic collision or as a consequence of domestic conflict, captured by Dunnett from both print and online versions of a Oaxacan daily, Noticias Voz e Imagen de Oaxaca. But in the artist herself, there is a sense of calm.
“I started using those photographs because they just began to jump out at me. You never see anything like it in Canada. In Oaxaca, it’s on the street corners and in the newsstands. Death here seems to be an everyday thing, and attitudes towards death are so different than from where you and I come from, not so hidden away.”
Dunnett stresses that her intention is not to invoke feelings of horror, nor reveal the gruesome. The facial expressions she initially captures with a lens, then transposes onto canvas with brush, lead us away. In the case of her work with a collaged iguana, it’s curiosity in her face, rather than demonic imagery of death, which draws one in.
The juxtaposition of death against the aesthetics of comic imagery is striking, almost as much as the multiplicity of presentations of Dunnett’s own self. It’s that combination which maintains the viewer’s awe of and transfixation upon her work. Perhaps Fiona Dunnett never should break out of her reticence about photographing the faces of others.
Alvin Starkman has a Masters in Social Anthropology from Toronto’s York University, and a law degree from Osgoode Hall Law School. Alvin ceased practicing law in 2004, when he and his wife Arlene began living permanently in Oaxaca. Since that time, Alvin has written over 90 articles about life and cultural traditions in and around Oaxaca and its central valleys, for newspapers, magazines, and websites promoting tourism in Mexico and abroad. Alvin and Arlene operate Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast (http://www.oaxacadream.com).
Comic strips, a young Canadian’s self portraits, and photographs of violent deaths in a Mexican daily newspaper, make strange bedfellows. But they constitute a major part of the driving force for the creative energies of Fiona Dunnett.
Ottawa-born Dunnett has been living in Oaxaca since 2005. As in the case of so many artists who now reside in this city in southern Mexico, her arrival has been rather circuitous. And like so many others, her artistic talent has been influenced at virtually every stop along the way. At age five she left Canada for Bangladesh with her Canadian diplomat mother and the rest of her family. After three years it was back to Ottawa, and then a further three years in Zimbabwe.
“When I left Zimbabwe I felt close to South Africa. I took a course in stone sculpture while there, so yes, I suppose living in Zimbabwe has had somewhat of an influence on what I do today,” she surmises. But it was her upper level academic training, first at the Canterbury School of Arts, followed by British Columbia’s University of Victoria from which she graduated with an Hons. B.A. in Fine Arts, which exposed her to the personages who have impacted her creativity the most.
“I’ve had a strong interest in the work of Gustav Klimt [1862 – 1918],” Dunnett reveals. The Austrian symbolist painter was one of the most prominent members of the Vienna Art Nouveau movement, yet a controversial figure in his time, criticized for his works being too sensual and erotic. She continues: “But it’s Lichtenstein whose art I’ve actually made more of a conscious effort to respect and carry forward, imprinting it with a bit of my own personality and life experiences.”
Roy Fox Lichtenstein [1923 – 1997] was a prominent American pop artist, whose work was heavily influenced by both popular advertising and the comic book style. The latter clearly shines through in Dunnett’s more recent works, and in an earlier piece which graces a wall in her home in Oaxaca’s Xochimilco neighborhood which she shares with her boyfriend and three others: “That one’s based on a dream I had, certainly with overt comic book imagery; in the particular dream there was a calenda (parade), with bodies being dragged through the streets. I once did a series based on my dreams. I dyed the red sky forming part of the background of this canvas with cochineal [the minute insect with naturally produces carminic acid, and was an important export industry for Oaxaca during colonial times].”
Dunnett is much too modest. Since moving to Oaxaca there’s no doubt that she’s put her own mark on the comic style, with her un-daunting desire to learn, and innovate. The geographical, cultural and political environment in which she lives provides her with diverse opportunities for artistic inspiration. She attended a workshop to learn about the use of natural dyes such as flowers, plants and of course cochineal, at the educational and research facility known as Centro de Difusión de la Grana Cochinilla Tlapanochestli. “For quite some time I’d been thinking about using natural dyes in my work, but it wasn’t until a couple of years ago that I realized that here in Oaxaca [actually a few kilometers out of the city, in Santa María Coyotepec] I had the opportunity to learn about their use from an expert, Manuel Loera Fernández, the chemist at Tlapanochestli. There’s just so much artistic stimulation in Oaxaca that it’s hard to resist taking advantage of everything available.”
Dunnett has also participated in more traditional hands-on seminars, at the well-known Graphic Arts Institute of Oaxaca (IAGO) and at a couple of other institutes in the city. Towards the other end of the spectrum, she credits two local graffiti stencil art groups with providing her with additional inspiration, which becomes apparent after an examination of her work.
“I began moving out of realism and into stylized, surreal works towards the end of my Canadian academic training. It was about the same time that I began working with mixed media, my strong preference at this stage of my development.” Coming to Oaxaca was perhaps the catalyst she required in order to begin more experimental work, within the context of an extremely encouraging environment.
Aside from a leaning towards the use of natural colors for backgrounds on her canvasses, one of the major identifying features of Dunnett’s work is her use of collage --- cut-outs from newspapers, magazines and comic books. Another is using photographs of her own head and face to provide the stimulus for her portrayal of expressions and poses she seeks to capture for each subject. Almost every head in every work is based on a self-photographic portrait:
“I started doing self-portraits when I began doing photography several years ago. Then when I moved into painting, I had this corpus of self-photos, so I was able to draw from them for my art. Although I wanted to shoot other people, I never felt at ease doing so. And though my boyfriend and I have been together for close to four years, I still don’t feel comfortable photographing even him. So it’s all me, perhaps because of being shy when it comes to shooting others. But that red one over there, textured with corn husks from tamales, it’s an experiment, using a face that’s not my own --- I think it’s best if I stick to my own face.”
Each face evokes different emotions, and images of self. “The faces make eye contact; viewers’ eyes move around each work and then return to the eyes and face,” she explains. It’s undeniable that Dunnett’s own pleasing facial features, and her comport, once transferred to canvas, play a significant role in directing the viewer. She has masterfully photographed her head and upper body at every angle and with a plethora of facial expressions for use in her work.
But there’s another reason we return to the images of Dunnett’s facial expressions: The torso and limbs of each primary subject portrayed is far too troubling --- each is a digitalized version of a photograph of a person who has died a violent death, usually in a traffic collision or as a consequence of domestic conflict, captured by Dunnett from both print and online versions of a Oaxacan daily, Noticias Voz e Imagen de Oaxaca. But in the artist herself, there is a sense of calm.
“I started using those photographs because they just began to jump out at me. You never see anything like it in Canada. In Oaxaca, it’s on the street corners and in the newsstands. Death here seems to be an everyday thing, and attitudes towards death are so different than from where you and I come from, not so hidden away.”
Dunnett stresses that her intention is not to invoke feelings of horror, nor reveal the gruesome. The facial expressions she initially captures with a lens, then transposes onto canvas with brush, lead us away. In the case of her work with a collaged iguana, it’s curiosity in her face, rather than demonic imagery of death, which draws one in.
The juxtaposition of death against the aesthetics of comic imagery is striking, almost as much as the multiplicity of presentations of Dunnett’s own self. It’s that combination which maintains the viewer’s awe of and transfixation upon her work. Perhaps Fiona Dunnett never should break out of her reticence about photographing the faces of others.
Alvin Starkman has a Masters in Social Anthropology from Toronto’s York University, and a law degree from Osgoode Hall Law School. Alvin ceased practicing law in 2004, when he and his wife Arlene began living permanently in Oaxaca. Since that time, Alvin has written over 90 articles about life and cultural traditions in and around Oaxaca and its central valleys, for newspapers, magazines, and websites promoting tourism in Mexico and abroad. Alvin and Arlene operate Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast (http://www.oaxacadream.com).
8/13/2009
September final itinerary for Oaxaca culinary month in Toronto
For those who reside in Southern Ontario or will be visiting Toronto, September offers a rare opportunity to indulge in authentic, Oaxacan food, prepared by one if the best in the business, native Oaxacan chef Pilar Cabrera.
Pilar Cabrera, owner of Casa de los Sabores Cooking School and Restaurante La Olla, will be in Toronto from September 10th through the 29th, as honoured guest chef at several Toronto restaurants; and teaching the art of Oaxacan gastronomy at a popular cooking school. And for a limited number of dates, Pilar will also be available for private dinner parties for those wishing to showcase the rich tradition of Oaxacan cuisine to friends and family in their own home. (Scroll down for details of an up-to-date schedule of dates and events).
Those who attend one of Pilar’s events will be able to participate in a raffle for a complimentary week’s accommodations in Oaxaca, to be awarded to two lucky couples.
For Americans and Canadians who have not had an opportunity to learn about Oaxaca’s rich culinary heritage by taking one of Pilar’s classes or dining at her restaurant, a brief biographical sketch is in order.
Pilar grew up in Oaxaca, enveloped by the state’s history of culinary diversity and unique ingredient and flavour combinations. She learned the basics and the cuisine’s subtleties from her mother and grandmother. After completing a food engineering and nutrition degree in Mexico City, she worked in research and development for the food giant Herdez-McCormick before returning to her true passion – cooking.
Pilar has found a growing fan base of intrigued foodies through her “House of Flavours” cooking school. As well, she has taught both novice and renowned chefs from around the globe. Well known American chef and owner of Chicago’s Frontera Grill, Rick Bayless, regularly brings his own staff as well as private groups of food aficionados to Oaxaca, where they dine at Pilar’s restaurant, and attend her classes – at his insistence. Chef Bayless recently had this to say about Pilar:
I would strongly urge anyone with an interest in Mexican food to take advantage of any opportunity to learn from and experience the Oaxacan cuisine of Pilar Cabrera. She is one of the greats!
And if that praise isn’t enough, both New York Times and Bon Appetit have echoed similar sentiments.
Pilar’s schedule of September attendances in Toronto, thus far, is as follows:
· Wednesday, September 16th at Frida (http://www.fridarestaurant.ca/index.html ) - arguably Toronto's best Mexican restaurant where Pilar will be cooking with the chef/owner of Frida- Jose Haddad. That will likely be a six-course dinner event- half the menu prepared by Pilar, half by Chef Jose;
· Sunday the 20th, Private Dinner Party;
· On the 21st of Sept., Pilar will be at the Art Gallery of Ontario’s Frank Restaurant, preparing a Prix Fixe Menu with the talented Chef Anne Yarymowich and her team. That evening will also feature Latin American/Mexican art for diners to enjoy. http://www.ago.net/frank-restaurant-contemporary-comfort-cuisine-toronto
(we’re hoping to get Mexican artist Gabriela Campos to participate);
· On the 22nd of September (Tuesday), Nella Cucina's Cooking School under culinary Director Joanne Lusted's guidance, is hosting Pilar for a cooking class. To order your spots on-line- go to: http://www.nellacucina.ca/cucina/event.html?Year=2009&Month=9 or feel free to call the school if you'd prefer. It will be an, interactive demo class where you'll learn how to make Oaxacan classics from Pilar herself and take home the recipes too;
· On the 23rd of September, Chef Pilar joins the Food Network Canada's Brad Long at VERITAS located on King Street East for a special multi-course, prix fixe meal. http://www.dine.to/profile_features.php?feature=website&id=3710 - the focus here will be on using as many local, seasonal and sustainable products from Ontario as possible, in keeping with Chef Long's philosophy;
· Nella Cucina’s Cooking School has reserved this date for members of the Women’s Culinary Network;
· The 28th of September- Pilar will prepare a Botanas-based menu for Torito Tapas Bar & Restaurant in Kensington Market. She'll join Torito´s talented team to bring Torontonians Mexico's version of tapas which are sure to please: http://www.toritotapasbar.com/ ;
· On the 29th, the culinary students and professional chefs of George Brown College's "The Chef's House" will host Pilar for her last guest cooking spot in Toronto. She'll craft a special menu prepared by her and the students for her farewell dinner to Toronto. http://www.thechefshouse.com/ .
Feel free to contact whichever venue interests you to ascertain hours of operation and further details. Alternatively you can contact Toronto food researcher, writer and TV producer, Mary Luz Mejia, who has been instrumental in orchestrating Pilar’s visit, at 416 -763-3455; or email, mluzy@hotmail.com.
This culinary tour is the first of hopefully several forays by Oaxacans who are at the pinnacle of their careers, into Canada. All proceeds from this series of events will go directly to Pilar. Proceeds of future tours, by others, will follow suit.
Alvin Starkman - Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast
Pilar Cabrera, owner of Casa de los Sabores Cooking School and Restaurante La Olla, will be in Toronto from September 10th through the 29th, as honoured guest chef at several Toronto restaurants; and teaching the art of Oaxacan gastronomy at a popular cooking school. And for a limited number of dates, Pilar will also be available for private dinner parties for those wishing to showcase the rich tradition of Oaxacan cuisine to friends and family in their own home. (Scroll down for details of an up-to-date schedule of dates and events).
Those who attend one of Pilar’s events will be able to participate in a raffle for a complimentary week’s accommodations in Oaxaca, to be awarded to two lucky couples.
For Americans and Canadians who have not had an opportunity to learn about Oaxaca’s rich culinary heritage by taking one of Pilar’s classes or dining at her restaurant, a brief biographical sketch is in order.
Pilar grew up in Oaxaca, enveloped by the state’s history of culinary diversity and unique ingredient and flavour combinations. She learned the basics and the cuisine’s subtleties from her mother and grandmother. After completing a food engineering and nutrition degree in Mexico City, she worked in research and development for the food giant Herdez-McCormick before returning to her true passion – cooking.
Pilar has found a growing fan base of intrigued foodies through her “House of Flavours” cooking school. As well, she has taught both novice and renowned chefs from around the globe. Well known American chef and owner of Chicago’s Frontera Grill, Rick Bayless, regularly brings his own staff as well as private groups of food aficionados to Oaxaca, where they dine at Pilar’s restaurant, and attend her classes – at his insistence. Chef Bayless recently had this to say about Pilar:
I would strongly urge anyone with an interest in Mexican food to take advantage of any opportunity to learn from and experience the Oaxacan cuisine of Pilar Cabrera. She is one of the greats!
And if that praise isn’t enough, both New York Times and Bon Appetit have echoed similar sentiments.
Pilar’s schedule of September attendances in Toronto, thus far, is as follows:
· Wednesday, September 16th at Frida (http://www.fridarestaurant.ca/index.html ) - arguably Toronto's best Mexican restaurant where Pilar will be cooking with the chef/owner of Frida- Jose Haddad. That will likely be a six-course dinner event- half the menu prepared by Pilar, half by Chef Jose;
· Sunday the 20th, Private Dinner Party;
· On the 21st of Sept., Pilar will be at the Art Gallery of Ontario’s Frank Restaurant, preparing a Prix Fixe Menu with the talented Chef Anne Yarymowich and her team. That evening will also feature Latin American/Mexican art for diners to enjoy. http://www.ago.net/frank-restaurant-contemporary-comfort-cuisine-toronto
(we’re hoping to get Mexican artist Gabriela Campos to participate);
· On the 22nd of September (Tuesday), Nella Cucina's Cooking School under culinary Director Joanne Lusted's guidance, is hosting Pilar for a cooking class. To order your spots on-line- go to: http://www.nellacucina.ca/cucina/event.html?Year=2009&Month=9 or feel free to call the school if you'd prefer. It will be an, interactive demo class where you'll learn how to make Oaxacan classics from Pilar herself and take home the recipes too;
· On the 23rd of September, Chef Pilar joins the Food Network Canada's Brad Long at VERITAS located on King Street East for a special multi-course, prix fixe meal. http://www.dine.to/profile_features.php?feature=website&id=3710 - the focus here will be on using as many local, seasonal and sustainable products from Ontario as possible, in keeping with Chef Long's philosophy;
· Nella Cucina’s Cooking School has reserved this date for members of the Women’s Culinary Network;
· The 28th of September- Pilar will prepare a Botanas-based menu for Torito Tapas Bar & Restaurant in Kensington Market. She'll join Torito´s talented team to bring Torontonians Mexico's version of tapas which are sure to please: http://www.toritotapasbar.com/ ;
· On the 29th, the culinary students and professional chefs of George Brown College's "The Chef's House" will host Pilar for her last guest cooking spot in Toronto. She'll craft a special menu prepared by her and the students for her farewell dinner to Toronto. http://www.thechefshouse.com/ .
Feel free to contact whichever venue interests you to ascertain hours of operation and further details. Alternatively you can contact Toronto food researcher, writer and TV producer, Mary Luz Mejia, who has been instrumental in orchestrating Pilar’s visit, at 416 -763-3455; or email, mluzy@hotmail.com.
This culinary tour is the first of hopefully several forays by Oaxacans who are at the pinnacle of their careers, into Canada. All proceeds from this series of events will go directly to Pilar. Proceeds of future tours, by others, will follow suit.
Alvin Starkman - Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast
7/30/2009
Retire in Oaxaca, on international radio July 29 / 09
Go to this page, quickly download, and you'll find a 3 minute or so piece on retiring in Mexico, Oaxaca being the featured destination. Published by The World. Short and sweet:
http://www.theworld.org/2009/07/29/retire-in-mexico/
http://www.theworld.org/2009/07/29/retire-in-mexico/
7/28/2009
SWINE FLU (NOT) IN OAXACA ... COMMITMENT OF THE MEMBERS OF THE OAXACA BED AND BREAKFAST ASSOCIATION
Swine flu cases in the state of Oaxaca are rare, and in fact reported cases are no more prevalent per capital in Mexico than in the US, and much less prevalent than in Canada. However, in an effort to provide prospective visitors to our establishments with all reasonable assurances as to their safety, each member of the Oaxaca Bed and Breakfast Association commits to do the following for every guest at our member B & Bs in Oaxaca and its central valleys, until every prospective traveler to Oaxaca has had an opportunity to be vaccinated against the H1N1 virus:
1) gratuitously deliver any guest with signs and / or symptons of flu or cold to their choice of a private medical clinic in the city of Oaxaca, a public hospital in the city of Oaxaca, or an English speaking doctor in the city of Oaxaca;
2) gratuitously deliver any guest to a pharmacy in the city of Oaxaca for the purpose of buying cold / flu medications;
3) gratuitously assist any guest in translating an reasonable medical forms regarding diagnosis and treatment of cold or flu symptoms, from Spanish to English, for the purpose of facilitating reimbursement of medical / medication costs from an American or Canadian insurer.
1) gratuitously deliver any guest with signs and / or symptons of flu or cold to their choice of a private medical clinic in the city of Oaxaca, a public hospital in the city of Oaxaca, or an English speaking doctor in the city of Oaxaca;
2) gratuitously deliver any guest to a pharmacy in the city of Oaxaca for the purpose of buying cold / flu medications;
3) gratuitously assist any guest in translating an reasonable medical forms regarding diagnosis and treatment of cold or flu symptoms, from Spanish to English, for the purpose of facilitating reimbursement of medical / medication costs from an American or Canadian insurer.
7/19/2009
It's time for Mexico's Calderón to act against Canada
Alvin Starkman, M.A., LL.B. (July, 2009)
As much as president Felipe Calderón is doing to combat drug trafficking in Mexico, he’s doing little if anything to combat Canadian anti-Mexico sentiment. And the result has been taking an enormous toll on tourism to previously popular Mexican tourist destinations. Now is the most opportune time for Calderón to strike back.
It’s fine for the Canadian government to warn against travel to Mexico. In 2006 travel advisories were rampant against travel to the southern state of Oaxaca as a result of civil unrest there, despite the fact that no Canadian (or American) tourist was harmed or even threatened – videographer Bradley Will was not a tourist but rather a wannabe journalist electing to embed himself, video camera in hand, with the far left in the midst of conflict with government troops.
Just two short months ago Canada did it again, telling its citizens to not venture to Mexico because of the swine flu.
Mexico just sits back, while its economy continues to take hits to the head.
Just last month The Toronto Star’s Linda Diebel scared the heck out of Canadians through her series of articles about the Mexican drug trade. She began by tracing the problem to conflict and violence in British Columbia. So where was Calderón? Should he not have been issuing warnings to his people against venturing to war-ravaged British Coloumia?
And where has he been more recently, with new statistics regarding reported cases of swine flu indicating 20 per 100,000 Canadian residents, yet only about 7 per 100,000 of his own countrymen? Should he not be warning against travel to Canada? “Stay on the American side of Niagara Falls, folks, where reported swine flu cases are no more than they are here in Mexico.”
The most recent example of the Mexican government’s lackadaisical approach to tourism and Canada is how it has sat back and let the new visa requirements pass, without significant protest. At least the Czech Republic had the cajones to make a statement, through its actions.
Isn’t it time for Mexico to strike back against Canada, for all that the Canadian government and its journalists have done to adversely affect travel to Mexico? A plea to President Calderón: teach a lesson to Canadians who rely on tourism from Mexico for their livelihood. You’ve got the swine flu, the visa requirements, B.C.’s drug violence – and just take a look at the Greater Toronto Area pages of The Toronto Star newspaper, every day, if you want to see how dangerous it is in Toronto; teen killings, children disappearing, and the continual violence in the northwest corridor of Toronto known as Jane-Finch. Just one strong travel advisory should teach Canada a lesson, and convince its weak and impressionable Prime Minister Harper to think, independent of the U.S., before he acts.
Former Toronto resident Alvin Starkman now resides in Oaxaca, where he operates Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast (http://www.oaxacadream.com), boasting all the attributes of downtown Oaxaca hotels, with the quaintness and personal touch of country inn style accommodations. Alvin is also a writer and tour guide, taking couples and families to the ruins, craft villages and market towns in Oaxaca’s central valleys.
As much as president Felipe Calderón is doing to combat drug trafficking in Mexico, he’s doing little if anything to combat Canadian anti-Mexico sentiment. And the result has been taking an enormous toll on tourism to previously popular Mexican tourist destinations. Now is the most opportune time for Calderón to strike back.
It’s fine for the Canadian government to warn against travel to Mexico. In 2006 travel advisories were rampant against travel to the southern state of Oaxaca as a result of civil unrest there, despite the fact that no Canadian (or American) tourist was harmed or even threatened – videographer Bradley Will was not a tourist but rather a wannabe journalist electing to embed himself, video camera in hand, with the far left in the midst of conflict with government troops.
Just two short months ago Canada did it again, telling its citizens to not venture to Mexico because of the swine flu.
Mexico just sits back, while its economy continues to take hits to the head.
Just last month The Toronto Star’s Linda Diebel scared the heck out of Canadians through her series of articles about the Mexican drug trade. She began by tracing the problem to conflict and violence in British Columbia. So where was Calderón? Should he not have been issuing warnings to his people against venturing to war-ravaged British Coloumia?
And where has he been more recently, with new statistics regarding reported cases of swine flu indicating 20 per 100,000 Canadian residents, yet only about 7 per 100,000 of his own countrymen? Should he not be warning against travel to Canada? “Stay on the American side of Niagara Falls, folks, where reported swine flu cases are no more than they are here in Mexico.”
The most recent example of the Mexican government’s lackadaisical approach to tourism and Canada is how it has sat back and let the new visa requirements pass, without significant protest. At least the Czech Republic had the cajones to make a statement, through its actions.
Isn’t it time for Mexico to strike back against Canada, for all that the Canadian government and its journalists have done to adversely affect travel to Mexico? A plea to President Calderón: teach a lesson to Canadians who rely on tourism from Mexico for their livelihood. You’ve got the swine flu, the visa requirements, B.C.’s drug violence – and just take a look at the Greater Toronto Area pages of The Toronto Star newspaper, every day, if you want to see how dangerous it is in Toronto; teen killings, children disappearing, and the continual violence in the northwest corridor of Toronto known as Jane-Finch. Just one strong travel advisory should teach Canada a lesson, and convince its weak and impressionable Prime Minister Harper to think, independent of the U.S., before he acts.
Former Toronto resident Alvin Starkman now resides in Oaxaca, where he operates Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast (http://www.oaxacadream.com), boasting all the attributes of downtown Oaxaca hotels, with the quaintness and personal touch of country inn style accommodations. Alvin is also a writer and tour guide, taking couples and families to the ruins, craft villages and market towns in Oaxaca’s central valleys.
7/12/2009
Principles of universal design and cohousing, as well as economic necessity, spur green housing project in Oaxaca, Mexico, for aging North Americans
Alvin Starkman M.A., LL.B.
At first blush David Hornick appears to be the most unlikely candidate to be spear-heading a housing development in the state of Oaxaca, one of the southernmost and poorest states in Mexico; his Spanish is sparse to be generous, until earlier this year he had never ventured to this part of the country, he’s never designed or built a home, and he’s lived virtually all his life in Schenectady, New York, leading a more or less typical, middle-class Jewish existence.
But Hornick had a vision, born of other life experiences which made him more qualified than most to proceed with the project. “One thing about me,” he explained on his first trip to Oaxaca, “is that once I decide to do something, you know it’s already been thoroughly considered – and then there’s no stopping me.”
For more than three decades Hornick has been a family physician, diagnosing and treating exclusively aging Americans … through home visits. He and wife Roberta, his partner in the medical practice, have learned that where and how we traditionally live is rarely conducive to graceful and easy aging from a position of economic security.
The answer, as I’ve come to conclude over the past several months of tutelage from Hornick, at least for creating a blueprint for the solution, is to import some of the characteristics of collaborative housing (cohousing) and as many key elements as practicable of universal design, into a region of the world where the concerns can best be addressed – Oaxaca … for starters. And that’s exactly what Hornick’s done.
Collaborative housing
Cohousing communities are usually designed as a series of attached or single-family homes along one or more pedestrian walkways or clustered around a courtyard. While the concept originated in Denmark, since the early 1980s it has been promoted in the U.S., and since then similar communities using the basic concept have developed throughout other countries in the Western World such as Canada, France, Germany and New Zealand.
Each community includes a larger building facility, a “common house,” constituting the social center of the complex where neighbors can meet, dine, attend to activities which traditionally are not required on a daily basis (i.e. laundry), and even host guests in small apartments. The latter two points have implications in terms of minimizing overall cost for each resident, since space not normally occupied on a daily basis is omitted from individual homes.
While in the purest of models residents actively participate in the design of their own neighborhood, in this case prospective members are spared that effort – Hornick has devoted his entire adult life assessing the needs of Americans as their stages in life change. Accordingly, substantial progress for the Oaxaca project has already been advanced, and in fact there is a website in place, addressing those interested in pursing a lifestyle change in the foreseeable future. It currently includes photographs of the two proposed tracts of land, site plans and architectural drawings of the two models of home (http://www.mexicommunity.com).
Hornick prefers to avoid commonly used terms such as intentional or collaborative housing, as well as cohousing, in favor of simply “neighborhoods” and “communities.” The former import the idea of consensus decision-making, which he does not believe is workable. He does envision, however, a “resident council” (perhaps similar to a condominium’s board of directors) to assist with suggestions relating to the neighborhood. This indicates that his approach is realistic and his model is feasible. The project does require, he stresses, participants’ acceptance of, and working together to promote, certain basic goals: energy efficiency; respect for the environment; the utilization of locally produced “green” materials (in construction and otherwise); affordability; and universal design which enables people of all ages to grow and mature well.
Universal design
Universal design (UD) can be defined as the creation of products (including communication systems) and environments (including landscapes) which are usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design. It has often been associated with exclusively addressing the elderly and infirmed. And in fact there should be no doubt that within the context of the Oaxaca project the concept will be extremely attractive to those in their fifties and older, many winding down their careers and embarking upon a new phase of life, “retirement.” But the project’s use of universal design addresses more – compatibility with a natural progression of functional changes throughout the lifespan, according to Hornick.
So how does UD address all ages and levels of capability, and thereby make the project attractive to families at every life stage? Hornick explains:
“We’re all born helpless and short. We can’t reach most light switches until we are about four years old, long after we can stand and walk. Functional capability improves (normally) up to our mid- to late-teenage years, then begins to decline.
“Light switches can be lowered to three feet to be reachable by children as well as people in wheelchairs with limited shoulder mobility. Round door knobs can be replaced by lever handles that accommodate arthritic hands, but also permit people encumbered with arms full of groceries to open a door with a free elbow. Steps can be replaced by ramps, even at the entrance to a home. Lighting intensity can be adjustable to accommodate vision as it dims with age. Shower stalls can be built without that little step-up-and-over. And there are literally a hundred or more other alternate designs and products available in the marketplace which can be considered, which do not detract from either ‘normal’ functionality or aesthetics of the home.”
Hornick has been consulted on seniors’ apartment retrofitting projects involving production of state-of-the-art adaptive design prototypes. The Oaxaca project enables his wealth of knowledge and experience to be put into action using a slightly different orientation.
We’re in an era when an increasing number of individuals and couples in North America are becoming disillusioned with the work-until-you-drop mentality, the less-than-optimum environments in which they’ve felt compelled to live and raise their families, increasing inaccessibility to basic goods and services including healthcare, and much more recently both insecurity in the workplace and shrinking nest eggs.
The Oaxaca blueprint
Based upon Hornick’s due diligence, Oaxaca proved to be a potentially attractive location to develop a prototype for what he initially labeled, when he first contacted me for advice in November, 2008, a “retirement community.” That initial characterization was probably meant to pique my initial interest without having me ask too many hard-to-answer questions. I fell for it, and have been enthralled ever since, hosting David at our home, introducing him to a number of professionals he could potentially tap to advance the project, and advising him regarding prospective plots of land.
Latin American locations have distinct advantages over Canadian and American prospective project sites. While remaining north of the Rio Grande may initially appear attractive because of language, ease of access for friends and family as well as for return visits, and cultural familiarity, Oaxaca was selected because of its own unique set of pluses:
1) Access via ground transportation is consistently being improved and upgraded through Mexico’s system of toll roads, already extending from various locations along the the U.S. border, directly to the City of Oaxaca; and via more convenient flight paths (such as being able to avoid Mexico City by using Continental’s non-stop service from Houston, and Mexicana’s from Los Angeles);
2) Its highly agreeable climate, 12 months a year, attractive both on an individual personal level and for providing solar energy;
3) Proximity to Pacific Coast beach destinations such as Puerto Escondido and Huatulco;
4) A modest cost of living (i.e. labor, public transportation, entertainment, food and taxes) relative to the U.S. or Canada, and even to the northern half of the country;
5) Availability of reasonably priced tracts of land, fertile enough and with sufficient rain and ground water to support partial self-sufficiency in terms of agricultural production;
6) A number of prospective development locations from which to choose, no more than a half hour’s drive from downtown Oaxaca, assuring proximity to restaurants and cafés, galleries, museums and other cultural institutions, as well as health care professionals and hospital facilities;
7) Its burgeoning expat community (including programs facilitated through the English language Oaxaca Lending Library) together with support from the Canadian and American consulates;
8) Local populations which welcome non-Mexicans, motivated by both a recognition that Canadian and American immigration translates into more work and higher wages for a relatively depressed economy, and an innate desire to embrace foreigners with open arms;
9) An understanding on the part of many of its professionals, trades and business people, and government, of what the project hopes to achieve, and the potential for the growth of more of the same in other parts of the state.
Each of the two “eco village” sites identified on Hornick’s website is equally attractive, meets all criteria, and easily facilitates advancing the set of common goals. The San Juan del Estado development consists of 25 acres and is about 30 minutes from downtown Oaxaca, and San Lorenzo Cacaotepec sits on 75 acres and is only 15 minutes from the city. Each is about 10 minutes from the town of Etla, known for its bustling Wednesday marketplace and production of dairy products, in particular the well-known Oaxacan cheeses (queso, and the more popular “string cheese,” known as quesillo).
Each of the two developments will contain 30 detached homes of about 1,000 square feet, the common house, sheltered walkways, green and garden areas, and its own sources of water and energy as well as waste-disposal facility, thereby providing for independence from the vagaries of municipal, state and federal government utilities.
Hornick emphasizes that with more than 300 sunny days per year, the communities will be able to generate and store electricity using photovoltaic technology. Hot water will be produced using solar water heaters. Interior temperatures will be kept comfortable all year round using passive solar heating and cooling techniques – such as constructing walls of locally mined stone (known as “cantera”), clay brick or adobe, depending on relative direction of the sun and prevailing winds.
But self-sufficiency has its limits, and to some extent dependence on the broader Oaxacan community will be a key element. Hornick plans to develop relationships with residents of nearby towns and villages who are interested in employment as housekeepers, gardeners and personal care aides. In addition, there’s a well entrenched practice in the state of Oaxaca whereby expats engage locals in an intercambio language arrangement, whereby a couple of hours a week informal meetings are held to help Oaxacans with their English and expats with their Spanish.
Hornick assures: “…both [locations] will have access to health care services via home care professionals who will live onsite and also via internet video teleconferencing with professionals at recognized centers of excellence.” For several years he has been advancing his own medical practice along such lines. Naturally, in today’s technological world he does not see distance, political boundaries, or differences in language and other aspects of culture, as impediments. “Of course there are challenges, but with perseverance they are readily overcome,” he continues. “Look at where I was just a few months ago, with merely an idea and my index finger pointed to a strange location on a globe – and look at where we now are.” Indeed, Hornick with his team of professionals (including Prometeo Sánchez Islas, Dean of the School of Architecture at a Oaxacan university) continue to work diligently on the project.
While visiting Oaxaca Hornick paid particular attention to indicia of cost of living, to the point of photographing sale prices in a supermarket (which attracted the attention of store management). He is currently attempting to pin down other costs such as transportation; medical insurance and other expenses; housekeeping, maintenance, landscaping and gardening (although he believes that it’s important for residents to participate in such activities for exercise and to maintain a sense of function and purpose). “I’m trying to come up with a ‘soft’ figure to enable interested parties to determine if they can survive on social security alone.” he reassures. But one thing is for certain – cost of living should be less than 50% of what most live on in the U.S. or Canada.
The horizon
Hornick plans to begin pre-selling houses at summer’s end or perhaps into autumn, at a small discount for those electing to participate early on in the project, as a kind of kick-start to the development. For him, and for most on his team, the motivation is pure altruism, having identified a sense of urgency on the part of many American, Canadians, and even Mexicans, and being in the enviable position of being able to address it in this fashion, without profit motive.
In a sense he’s a pioneer, having started with a dream for a better, more respectful, easier and self-fulfilling life for others in a new environment, virgin land to continue with the metaphor. He plans to lay down roots in Oaxaca, and carry on a medical practice, encouraging others of similar means to follow suit.
It was clearly different for those who had the fortitude and the instinct to find something better hundreds of years ago in opening up the American frontiers. Today there’s more of a necessity, yet with virtually no gamble involved. After all, investing between $100,000 and $150,000 to have a quality constructed new home, in a safe, secure southern climate, while at the same time substantially cutting expenses through supporting a sustainable living environment, shouldn’t be too difficult a lifestyle decision to make – especially for those who have already been contemplating change.
Alvin Starkman received his Masters in Social Anthropology in 1978. After teaching for a few years he attended Osgoode Hall Law School, thereafter embarking upon a career as a litigator until 2004. Alvin resides in Oaxaca, where he writes, leads personalized tours to the villages, markets, ruins and other sights, is a film consultant, and operates Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast ( http://www.oaxacadream.com ), combining the comfort and service of a Oaxaca hotel with the lodging style of a quaint country inn .
At first blush David Hornick appears to be the most unlikely candidate to be spear-heading a housing development in the state of Oaxaca, one of the southernmost and poorest states in Mexico; his Spanish is sparse to be generous, until earlier this year he had never ventured to this part of the country, he’s never designed or built a home, and he’s lived virtually all his life in Schenectady, New York, leading a more or less typical, middle-class Jewish existence.
But Hornick had a vision, born of other life experiences which made him more qualified than most to proceed with the project. “One thing about me,” he explained on his first trip to Oaxaca, “is that once I decide to do something, you know it’s already been thoroughly considered – and then there’s no stopping me.”
For more than three decades Hornick has been a family physician, diagnosing and treating exclusively aging Americans … through home visits. He and wife Roberta, his partner in the medical practice, have learned that where and how we traditionally live is rarely conducive to graceful and easy aging from a position of economic security.
The answer, as I’ve come to conclude over the past several months of tutelage from Hornick, at least for creating a blueprint for the solution, is to import some of the characteristics of collaborative housing (cohousing) and as many key elements as practicable of universal design, into a region of the world where the concerns can best be addressed – Oaxaca … for starters. And that’s exactly what Hornick’s done.
Collaborative housing
Cohousing communities are usually designed as a series of attached or single-family homes along one or more pedestrian walkways or clustered around a courtyard. While the concept originated in Denmark, since the early 1980s it has been promoted in the U.S., and since then similar communities using the basic concept have developed throughout other countries in the Western World such as Canada, France, Germany and New Zealand.
Each community includes a larger building facility, a “common house,” constituting the social center of the complex where neighbors can meet, dine, attend to activities which traditionally are not required on a daily basis (i.e. laundry), and even host guests in small apartments. The latter two points have implications in terms of minimizing overall cost for each resident, since space not normally occupied on a daily basis is omitted from individual homes.
While in the purest of models residents actively participate in the design of their own neighborhood, in this case prospective members are spared that effort – Hornick has devoted his entire adult life assessing the needs of Americans as their stages in life change. Accordingly, substantial progress for the Oaxaca project has already been advanced, and in fact there is a website in place, addressing those interested in pursing a lifestyle change in the foreseeable future. It currently includes photographs of the two proposed tracts of land, site plans and architectural drawings of the two models of home (http://www.mexicommunity.com).
Hornick prefers to avoid commonly used terms such as intentional or collaborative housing, as well as cohousing, in favor of simply “neighborhoods” and “communities.” The former import the idea of consensus decision-making, which he does not believe is workable. He does envision, however, a “resident council” (perhaps similar to a condominium’s board of directors) to assist with suggestions relating to the neighborhood. This indicates that his approach is realistic and his model is feasible. The project does require, he stresses, participants’ acceptance of, and working together to promote, certain basic goals: energy efficiency; respect for the environment; the utilization of locally produced “green” materials (in construction and otherwise); affordability; and universal design which enables people of all ages to grow and mature well.
Universal design
Universal design (UD) can be defined as the creation of products (including communication systems) and environments (including landscapes) which are usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design. It has often been associated with exclusively addressing the elderly and infirmed. And in fact there should be no doubt that within the context of the Oaxaca project the concept will be extremely attractive to those in their fifties and older, many winding down their careers and embarking upon a new phase of life, “retirement.” But the project’s use of universal design addresses more – compatibility with a natural progression of functional changes throughout the lifespan, according to Hornick.
So how does UD address all ages and levels of capability, and thereby make the project attractive to families at every life stage? Hornick explains:
“We’re all born helpless and short. We can’t reach most light switches until we are about four years old, long after we can stand and walk. Functional capability improves (normally) up to our mid- to late-teenage years, then begins to decline.
“Light switches can be lowered to three feet to be reachable by children as well as people in wheelchairs with limited shoulder mobility. Round door knobs can be replaced by lever handles that accommodate arthritic hands, but also permit people encumbered with arms full of groceries to open a door with a free elbow. Steps can be replaced by ramps, even at the entrance to a home. Lighting intensity can be adjustable to accommodate vision as it dims with age. Shower stalls can be built without that little step-up-and-over. And there are literally a hundred or more other alternate designs and products available in the marketplace which can be considered, which do not detract from either ‘normal’ functionality or aesthetics of the home.”
Hornick has been consulted on seniors’ apartment retrofitting projects involving production of state-of-the-art adaptive design prototypes. The Oaxaca project enables his wealth of knowledge and experience to be put into action using a slightly different orientation.
We’re in an era when an increasing number of individuals and couples in North America are becoming disillusioned with the work-until-you-drop mentality, the less-than-optimum environments in which they’ve felt compelled to live and raise their families, increasing inaccessibility to basic goods and services including healthcare, and much more recently both insecurity in the workplace and shrinking nest eggs.
The Oaxaca blueprint
Based upon Hornick’s due diligence, Oaxaca proved to be a potentially attractive location to develop a prototype for what he initially labeled, when he first contacted me for advice in November, 2008, a “retirement community.” That initial characterization was probably meant to pique my initial interest without having me ask too many hard-to-answer questions. I fell for it, and have been enthralled ever since, hosting David at our home, introducing him to a number of professionals he could potentially tap to advance the project, and advising him regarding prospective plots of land.
Latin American locations have distinct advantages over Canadian and American prospective project sites. While remaining north of the Rio Grande may initially appear attractive because of language, ease of access for friends and family as well as for return visits, and cultural familiarity, Oaxaca was selected because of its own unique set of pluses:
1) Access via ground transportation is consistently being improved and upgraded through Mexico’s system of toll roads, already extending from various locations along the the U.S. border, directly to the City of Oaxaca; and via more convenient flight paths (such as being able to avoid Mexico City by using Continental’s non-stop service from Houston, and Mexicana’s from Los Angeles);
2) Its highly agreeable climate, 12 months a year, attractive both on an individual personal level and for providing solar energy;
3) Proximity to Pacific Coast beach destinations such as Puerto Escondido and Huatulco;
4) A modest cost of living (i.e. labor, public transportation, entertainment, food and taxes) relative to the U.S. or Canada, and even to the northern half of the country;
5) Availability of reasonably priced tracts of land, fertile enough and with sufficient rain and ground water to support partial self-sufficiency in terms of agricultural production;
6) A number of prospective development locations from which to choose, no more than a half hour’s drive from downtown Oaxaca, assuring proximity to restaurants and cafés, galleries, museums and other cultural institutions, as well as health care professionals and hospital facilities;
7) Its burgeoning expat community (including programs facilitated through the English language Oaxaca Lending Library) together with support from the Canadian and American consulates;
8) Local populations which welcome non-Mexicans, motivated by both a recognition that Canadian and American immigration translates into more work and higher wages for a relatively depressed economy, and an innate desire to embrace foreigners with open arms;
9) An understanding on the part of many of its professionals, trades and business people, and government, of what the project hopes to achieve, and the potential for the growth of more of the same in other parts of the state.
Each of the two “eco village” sites identified on Hornick’s website is equally attractive, meets all criteria, and easily facilitates advancing the set of common goals. The San Juan del Estado development consists of 25 acres and is about 30 minutes from downtown Oaxaca, and San Lorenzo Cacaotepec sits on 75 acres and is only 15 minutes from the city. Each is about 10 minutes from the town of Etla, known for its bustling Wednesday marketplace and production of dairy products, in particular the well-known Oaxacan cheeses (queso, and the more popular “string cheese,” known as quesillo).
Each of the two developments will contain 30 detached homes of about 1,000 square feet, the common house, sheltered walkways, green and garden areas, and its own sources of water and energy as well as waste-disposal facility, thereby providing for independence from the vagaries of municipal, state and federal government utilities.
Hornick emphasizes that with more than 300 sunny days per year, the communities will be able to generate and store electricity using photovoltaic technology. Hot water will be produced using solar water heaters. Interior temperatures will be kept comfortable all year round using passive solar heating and cooling techniques – such as constructing walls of locally mined stone (known as “cantera”), clay brick or adobe, depending on relative direction of the sun and prevailing winds.
But self-sufficiency has its limits, and to some extent dependence on the broader Oaxacan community will be a key element. Hornick plans to develop relationships with residents of nearby towns and villages who are interested in employment as housekeepers, gardeners and personal care aides. In addition, there’s a well entrenched practice in the state of Oaxaca whereby expats engage locals in an intercambio language arrangement, whereby a couple of hours a week informal meetings are held to help Oaxacans with their English and expats with their Spanish.
Hornick assures: “…both [locations] will have access to health care services via home care professionals who will live onsite and also via internet video teleconferencing with professionals at recognized centers of excellence.” For several years he has been advancing his own medical practice along such lines. Naturally, in today’s technological world he does not see distance, political boundaries, or differences in language and other aspects of culture, as impediments. “Of course there are challenges, but with perseverance they are readily overcome,” he continues. “Look at where I was just a few months ago, with merely an idea and my index finger pointed to a strange location on a globe – and look at where we now are.” Indeed, Hornick with his team of professionals (including Prometeo Sánchez Islas, Dean of the School of Architecture at a Oaxacan university) continue to work diligently on the project.
While visiting Oaxaca Hornick paid particular attention to indicia of cost of living, to the point of photographing sale prices in a supermarket (which attracted the attention of store management). He is currently attempting to pin down other costs such as transportation; medical insurance and other expenses; housekeeping, maintenance, landscaping and gardening (although he believes that it’s important for residents to participate in such activities for exercise and to maintain a sense of function and purpose). “I’m trying to come up with a ‘soft’ figure to enable interested parties to determine if they can survive on social security alone.” he reassures. But one thing is for certain – cost of living should be less than 50% of what most live on in the U.S. or Canada.
The horizon
Hornick plans to begin pre-selling houses at summer’s end or perhaps into autumn, at a small discount for those electing to participate early on in the project, as a kind of kick-start to the development. For him, and for most on his team, the motivation is pure altruism, having identified a sense of urgency on the part of many American, Canadians, and even Mexicans, and being in the enviable position of being able to address it in this fashion, without profit motive.
In a sense he’s a pioneer, having started with a dream for a better, more respectful, easier and self-fulfilling life for others in a new environment, virgin land to continue with the metaphor. He plans to lay down roots in Oaxaca, and carry on a medical practice, encouraging others of similar means to follow suit.
It was clearly different for those who had the fortitude and the instinct to find something better hundreds of years ago in opening up the American frontiers. Today there’s more of a necessity, yet with virtually no gamble involved. After all, investing between $100,000 and $150,000 to have a quality constructed new home, in a safe, secure southern climate, while at the same time substantially cutting expenses through supporting a sustainable living environment, shouldn’t be too difficult a lifestyle decision to make – especially for those who have already been contemplating change.
Alvin Starkman received his Masters in Social Anthropology in 1978. After teaching for a few years he attended Osgoode Hall Law School, thereafter embarking upon a career as a litigator until 2004. Alvin resides in Oaxaca, where he writes, leads personalized tours to the villages, markets, ruins and other sights, is a film consultant, and operates Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast ( http://www.oaxacadream.com ), combining the comfort and service of a Oaxaca hotel with the lodging style of a quaint country inn .
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