2/17/2007
Walking Tours of Colonial Churches of Oaxaca
Walking Tours of Colonial Churches of Oaxaca: A tour for the devout, the lapsed, and the never-were. These two hour tours are guided by a U.S. artist who lives in Oaxaca and discusses art, architecture and history. The tour group meets in front of the Cathedral near the Zocalo at 10 a.m. on Tuesdays and Saturdays. A donation of 95 pesos per person is suggested which goes to the Estancia Fraternidád, a sort of Ronald MacDonald house for families and individuals from out of town who are undergoing outpatient treatment at the local charity hospital.. To schedule the tour at OTHER times, contact Linda Martin at ridgecliff@hotmail.com
2/12/2007
Sí Señor, Will that be Testicles or Head?
Some say it’s one of the oldest professions in Oaxaca, yet it garners little if any respect from most of the population notwithstanding the tradition and ceremony that has been its trademark for generations: the chivero, or slayer and preparer of goat, and its barbequing in an in-ground oven. There are a number of caprine cattle that are cooked in the ancient style, including ram and sheep, but since the early nineties the most popular (read unlucky) of these inhabitants of the hills has been the borrego pelibuey. Frequently one sees signs at roadside restaurants on Sundays offering BARBACOA, which although generally not prepared in the fashion as described below, affords an opportunity to taste, and tempt the buds for another occasion when the art, science and pomp of the process can be witnessed.
The ritual, reserved for larger fiestas marking rites of passage such as special birthdays and anniversaries, though variable, begins with the purchase of the appropriate number of candidates at a private farm or livestock market…unless you’ve been raising your own. If attending at the latter, arrive early since the best are bought up briskly. Count on 900 – 1100 pesos per beast, each one of this size feeding about 25. Plumping them up for a few days never hurts, if you have the space and inclination.
The chivero, frequently with associate and/or young apprentice, arrives early a day before the comida to survey and give instructions before beginning. Are the vessels, additional accessories, related foodstuffs and oven appropriate for the tasks at hand, or will there have to be last minute purchases or adaptations? Considerations include: type, dimensions and quantity of leña (firewood); requisite river rocks; age, size and composition of oven; type of grate; and even sufficiency of loose soil.
The better part of that afternoon consists of the slaughter and skinning, cutting and cleaning, with procedures marked by care and precision, right down to evacuating the insides of each and every inch of intestine with the nimblest of digital movements, akin to, and no less delicate a process than spinning yarn from raw wool. Nothing is wasted. Virtually every entrail, organ and liquid is gathered, prepared and saved for use. No less important to the ultimate creation of a culinary coupe, parallel provisions are attended by others elsewhere in or around the home, principally the select array of vegetables is cored, cut and cubed, and herbs and seasonings sequestered. Best to have a healthy compliment of friends and relatives on hand.
By evening the maestro is ready to begin the process of curing the oven. One which measures roughly 3’ x 3’ x 4’ should accommodate 4 – 5 animals for a party with upwards of 150 guests---the terracotta blicks used to line the pit need not have been fired to the same extent as those used in usual construction, for example of homes, and the better view is to build the oven with minimally baked blocks. Logs are lit by nightfall, the chivero having the option of thereafter returning home for a brief break, or napping on site until the madrugada, perhaps 2 or 3 in the morning, when he must add further firewood to ensure continued consistency of heat. Then atop this layer is strategically placed a stratum of rounded river rocks which will absorb and hold the heat pending completion of the cooking stage.
At about 7 or 8 am the previously prepared produce, with select innards, is placed on the scorching stones in an oversized cast aluminum casserole with water, over which is placed an iron grate sufficiently forged to hold the weight of the quartered meat including head and organs…either plain, or enchilada. The blood is readied for simmering in a hefty metal saucepan. A similar receptacle contains large corn kernels. All is covered with leaves of both avocado tree and maguey plant. But the coverture of the contents continues. On top of all is placed the petate, a large mat of dried palm leaf or reed, following which a sheet of laminated metal covers the entire pit so as to ensure that heat cannot escape. A sheet of plastic or vinyl is optional. For further assurance a mound of dirt is then shoveled on top of the lamina. Tradition dictates that once the oven and its contents are sealed for baking, a bottle of mezcal is placed within the hill of earth.
The foregoing steps, from when the first match is lit, are much more than mere convention. They are carefully calculated, much in the same fashion as the most specific time and temperature stipulations contained in a difficult baking recipe in a gourmet cookbook. However I have yet to determine the scientific roll played by the wooden cross set on the crest of the mountain of tierra firma.
Guests tend to arrive between 2:30 and 4:30 pm, by which time the blood has curdled to the consistency of a succulent accompaniment, and entrée has been grilled to perfection, its juices having dripped into the casserole thereby creating a thick, flavorful, bouillabaisse style vegetable and meat potage. At their option, males in attendance at the chosen hour may take a shovel and assist in the unearthing of the oven, with the one encountering the piping hot bottle of mezcal, its contents by then smooth to the extreme, being given the privilege of serving shotsful to others in the fraternity of helping friends.
The gumbo is served, followed by the most tender and tasty meat imaginable with sides of sangre and the cooked large grain, preferably to the sound of live music. And yes, a limited number of guests are presented with the available crania having been opened so that they can scoop brain and/or eye into tortilla and top with salsa before indulging. Care must be taken to avoid insulting one to whom a head has been promised. At a joint birthday bash I threw with a fellow Aquarian, en route to delivering the delicacy to a comadre I wished to honor, a friend stopped me at his table and by the time I’d arrived with the prize to its ultimate destination, almost all but bare skull remained. Finally, the testicles should be offered to others worthy of special tribute. But once again be mindful. At that same celebration, a five-goat-affair, someone absconded with all ten testicles.
Resident Oaxacan Alvin Starkman can sometimes be seen scouring the markets for his livestock selections for his next big fiesta. He owns and operates Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast ( http://www.oaxacadream.com ).
The ritual, reserved for larger fiestas marking rites of passage such as special birthdays and anniversaries, though variable, begins with the purchase of the appropriate number of candidates at a private farm or livestock market…unless you’ve been raising your own. If attending at the latter, arrive early since the best are bought up briskly. Count on 900 – 1100 pesos per beast, each one of this size feeding about 25. Plumping them up for a few days never hurts, if you have the space and inclination.
The chivero, frequently with associate and/or young apprentice, arrives early a day before the comida to survey and give instructions before beginning. Are the vessels, additional accessories, related foodstuffs and oven appropriate for the tasks at hand, or will there have to be last minute purchases or adaptations? Considerations include: type, dimensions and quantity of leña (firewood); requisite river rocks; age, size and composition of oven; type of grate; and even sufficiency of loose soil.
The better part of that afternoon consists of the slaughter and skinning, cutting and cleaning, with procedures marked by care and precision, right down to evacuating the insides of each and every inch of intestine with the nimblest of digital movements, akin to, and no less delicate a process than spinning yarn from raw wool. Nothing is wasted. Virtually every entrail, organ and liquid is gathered, prepared and saved for use. No less important to the ultimate creation of a culinary coupe, parallel provisions are attended by others elsewhere in or around the home, principally the select array of vegetables is cored, cut and cubed, and herbs and seasonings sequestered. Best to have a healthy compliment of friends and relatives on hand.
By evening the maestro is ready to begin the process of curing the oven. One which measures roughly 3’ x 3’ x 4’ should accommodate 4 – 5 animals for a party with upwards of 150 guests---the terracotta blicks used to line the pit need not have been fired to the same extent as those used in usual construction, for example of homes, and the better view is to build the oven with minimally baked blocks. Logs are lit by nightfall, the chivero having the option of thereafter returning home for a brief break, or napping on site until the madrugada, perhaps 2 or 3 in the morning, when he must add further firewood to ensure continued consistency of heat. Then atop this layer is strategically placed a stratum of rounded river rocks which will absorb and hold the heat pending completion of the cooking stage.
At about 7 or 8 am the previously prepared produce, with select innards, is placed on the scorching stones in an oversized cast aluminum casserole with water, over which is placed an iron grate sufficiently forged to hold the weight of the quartered meat including head and organs…either plain, or enchilada. The blood is readied for simmering in a hefty metal saucepan. A similar receptacle contains large corn kernels. All is covered with leaves of both avocado tree and maguey plant. But the coverture of the contents continues. On top of all is placed the petate, a large mat of dried palm leaf or reed, following which a sheet of laminated metal covers the entire pit so as to ensure that heat cannot escape. A sheet of plastic or vinyl is optional. For further assurance a mound of dirt is then shoveled on top of the lamina. Tradition dictates that once the oven and its contents are sealed for baking, a bottle of mezcal is placed within the hill of earth.
The foregoing steps, from when the first match is lit, are much more than mere convention. They are carefully calculated, much in the same fashion as the most specific time and temperature stipulations contained in a difficult baking recipe in a gourmet cookbook. However I have yet to determine the scientific roll played by the wooden cross set on the crest of the mountain of tierra firma.
Guests tend to arrive between 2:30 and 4:30 pm, by which time the blood has curdled to the consistency of a succulent accompaniment, and entrée has been grilled to perfection, its juices having dripped into the casserole thereby creating a thick, flavorful, bouillabaisse style vegetable and meat potage. At their option, males in attendance at the chosen hour may take a shovel and assist in the unearthing of the oven, with the one encountering the piping hot bottle of mezcal, its contents by then smooth to the extreme, being given the privilege of serving shotsful to others in the fraternity of helping friends.
The gumbo is served, followed by the most tender and tasty meat imaginable with sides of sangre and the cooked large grain, preferably to the sound of live music. And yes, a limited number of guests are presented with the available crania having been opened so that they can scoop brain and/or eye into tortilla and top with salsa before indulging. Care must be taken to avoid insulting one to whom a head has been promised. At a joint birthday bash I threw with a fellow Aquarian, en route to delivering the delicacy to a comadre I wished to honor, a friend stopped me at his table and by the time I’d arrived with the prize to its ultimate destination, almost all but bare skull remained. Finally, the testicles should be offered to others worthy of special tribute. But once again be mindful. At that same celebration, a five-goat-affair, someone absconded with all ten testicles.
Resident Oaxacan Alvin Starkman can sometimes be seen scouring the markets for his livestock selections for his next big fiesta. He owns and operates Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast ( http://www.oaxacadream.com ).
2/10/2007
Burger King in Downtown Oaxaca
For a decade, famed Oaxacan chef Esperanza Chavarria Blando operated Restaurante Quickly, a traditional Mexican eatery a block away from the Zócalo on Macedonia Alcalá, the high-traffic pedestrian walkway. Not only lauded in most Mexico travelogues, Quickly was patronized by local merchants, bank employees, street vendors and artists, including on occasion Oaxaca´s current native son, famed artist Francisco Toledo who a few years ago spear-headed the successful opposition to McDonalds opening in the Zócalo.
Without apparent opposition, in mid-September, 2005, Burger King unveiled its signage at M. Alcalá 100B, the former Quickly locale, after having seemingly clandestinely completed its renovation of the premises. A week earlier there was no clue that the fast-food giant was set to open.
The landlord, a Oaxacan gentleman of means with other downtown holdings, had been increasing Ms. Chavarria’s rent, significantly. The last straw was the demand for a 5000 peso per month increase to take effect in January, 2004. She could no longer afford to stay in business…the late nineties earthquake and 9/11 had already taken their toll, and continuously raising menu prices was neither what she wanted nor figured the market could bear.
Word on the street was with Quickly gone, the landlord was now looking to double the previous rent. After several months, Apetito, a sterile fast-food establishment opened. I never saw many people in the place, for good reason. During the summer of 2005 it closed its doors, presumably as a result of a lack of business and the landlord misreading the extent to which his yearning for top dollar would pay dividends. A couple of months later voilá, The Whopper appeared.
So what happened? Should we not be looking to protect the entire Centro Histórico? Is the Anador Turística that much less preservation-worthy than the Zócalo? Were Burger King and the landlord in cahoots, to the extent that they kept the plan secret? Was Mr. Toledo out of town? Surely the landlord must feel that since Oaxaca, a tourist mecca in part because of its old-world quaintness and ambience, has enabled him to lead a comfortable lifestyle, he accordingly owes a duty to preserve even what the State and City have apparently not mandated as a priority? Apparently not.
There’s enough blame to go around. I don’t fault Burger King, my own leftist anti-capitalist politics having evaporated decades ago. It’s greed winning out over altruism and pride in one’s city, together with a lackadaisical, to be generous, government. There is a solution, even though it would mean yet another layer of bureaucracy…but this one well worth the cost and effort. Every business that proposes opening its doors in the Centro Histórico ought to submit an application to the municipality answering a simple question: is there a parent company, affiliate, subsidiary or franchise either American owned or otherwise with multi-national or extra-Mexico interests? All negative responses would result in rubber stamping. Otherwise the request would go to a sitting panel comprised of a broad diversity of individuals. Without a unanimous decision, public hearings would be held.
Sam’s Club, Pizza Hut, Sears and the rest have a place in our city, and to that extent the area outside the downtown core known as Plaza del Valle provides an important function. But if what’s happening now is not checked, tourist dollars will evaporate even without media reports of civil unrest such as occurred in the latter half of 2006, and we won’t have patrons with funds to support such enterprise, anywhere. The next time we pass by a downtown building under renovation or construction, we should worry that Wal-Mart might be set to open.
Alvin Starkman is a resident of Oaxaca, and together with wife Arlene own Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast ( http://www.oaxacadream.com ).
Without apparent opposition, in mid-September, 2005, Burger King unveiled its signage at M. Alcalá 100B, the former Quickly locale, after having seemingly clandestinely completed its renovation of the premises. A week earlier there was no clue that the fast-food giant was set to open.
The landlord, a Oaxacan gentleman of means with other downtown holdings, had been increasing Ms. Chavarria’s rent, significantly. The last straw was the demand for a 5000 peso per month increase to take effect in January, 2004. She could no longer afford to stay in business…the late nineties earthquake and 9/11 had already taken their toll, and continuously raising menu prices was neither what she wanted nor figured the market could bear.
Word on the street was with Quickly gone, the landlord was now looking to double the previous rent. After several months, Apetito, a sterile fast-food establishment opened. I never saw many people in the place, for good reason. During the summer of 2005 it closed its doors, presumably as a result of a lack of business and the landlord misreading the extent to which his yearning for top dollar would pay dividends. A couple of months later voilá, The Whopper appeared.
So what happened? Should we not be looking to protect the entire Centro Histórico? Is the Anador Turística that much less preservation-worthy than the Zócalo? Were Burger King and the landlord in cahoots, to the extent that they kept the plan secret? Was Mr. Toledo out of town? Surely the landlord must feel that since Oaxaca, a tourist mecca in part because of its old-world quaintness and ambience, has enabled him to lead a comfortable lifestyle, he accordingly owes a duty to preserve even what the State and City have apparently not mandated as a priority? Apparently not.
There’s enough blame to go around. I don’t fault Burger King, my own leftist anti-capitalist politics having evaporated decades ago. It’s greed winning out over altruism and pride in one’s city, together with a lackadaisical, to be generous, government. There is a solution, even though it would mean yet another layer of bureaucracy…but this one well worth the cost and effort. Every business that proposes opening its doors in the Centro Histórico ought to submit an application to the municipality answering a simple question: is there a parent company, affiliate, subsidiary or franchise either American owned or otherwise with multi-national or extra-Mexico interests? All negative responses would result in rubber stamping. Otherwise the request would go to a sitting panel comprised of a broad diversity of individuals. Without a unanimous decision, public hearings would be held.
Sam’s Club, Pizza Hut, Sears and the rest have a place in our city, and to that extent the area outside the downtown core known as Plaza del Valle provides an important function. But if what’s happening now is not checked, tourist dollars will evaporate even without media reports of civil unrest such as occurred in the latter half of 2006, and we won’t have patrons with funds to support such enterprise, anywhere. The next time we pass by a downtown building under renovation or construction, we should worry that Wal-Mart might be set to open.
Alvin Starkman is a resident of Oaxaca, and together with wife Arlene own Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast ( http://www.oaxacadream.com ).
2/09/2007
I Say Miracle Whip, You Say Mayonnaise
The fixation with mayonnaise in Oaxaca, Mexico, is subtle, as one would imagine with any condiment, yet manifests in an extraordinary supermarket phenomenon unrivalled elsewhere in North America. Venture through one of the Gigante chain of grocery stores and you’ll find no less than 39 different sizes, types and brands occupying 6 shelves, each 32½ feet long: original, lime, chipotle and other chili flavors; squeezable and not; Gigante brand, economy manufacturer, national brands, and no less than three familiar American producers; and, regular, light and 0% fat (rather stunning since Mexico tops even Florida in the obesity sweeps). To put the marvel into perspective, this singular versatile dressing garners pretty well the same respect from marketing mavens as does the whole range of breakfast cereals and soft drinks.
Oaxaca will simply not let mayonnaise take a back seat to its deep red cousin or to mustard, and not for a lack of sophistication of the Mexican palate. You’ll find your Dijon, Maille, provencale, deli and the rest, at one end of the mayo mantels, and your catsups and ketchups at the other, but that’s just the point…they envelope and draw your attention to the aisle’s star attraction, just as bookends provide functionality and little more.
Much in the same way as liberals, progressives and others of a reasonable bent decline to appear on Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly show, the Gigante executives declined to grant an interview to assist in unraveling the mystery, leaving this writer to glean an understanding from elsewhere, using: a background in sociological fieldwork, a keen eye for observation, on-the-street interviews, and a death wish to rapidly put on weight (otherwise known as, amongst anthropologists, “going native”).
If you think it’s hard to find the beef in a Big Mac, it’s even more of a treasure hunt in Oaxaca when eating a hamburger on the street loaded with, you guessed it, our dreamy white wonder. Be it burger or dog, when your merchant of the finest meat you’ll find on the corner is finished grilling your fare, he’ll likely ask “con todo” (with everything), the local retort invariably being a simple nod in the affirmative; mustard relish and onions is a virtually unheard of request. The twin temptations of elotes (boiled corn on the cob) and esquites (the same, but off the cob and in a styrofoam cup) are similarly finished off with the works, in this case juice squeezed on the spot from a lime, crumbled Oaxacan cheese, chili, and a healthy dollop of mayo. For this Oaxaca-street-corner-food junkie, as well as his family, life doesn’t get much better than stirring up a steaming cup of fully garnished cooked kernels.
Now your industrial size jar of mayonnaise finds greater application in more stationary eateries, but who would have thought in the snootiest of fine restaurants? “Oui monsieur, boot of coors I’ll brling you mor.” And in high end marisquerías, even before your appetizer of crab bisque, shrimp cocktail or mixed seafood salad is brought to your mesa, a mountain of mayonesa alongside freshly fried tostadas and cellophane swathed saltines arrives. Your middle-of-the-road restaurants never progressed beyond the sixties, and so in bistros and buffets alike one finds every imaginable side and salad smoothed over: pea and carrot; waldorf; boiled broccoli; and virtually every other fruit and vegetable combination, all whipped up with miracle.
For linguistically challenged travelers transfixed on sandwiches and tortas, alongside musts for remembering from your Spanish phrasebook such as “donde está el baño,” and “la cuenta, por favor,” mark in “sin mayonesa, por favor.” Otherwise, be it chicken, pork, beef or cheese, and regardless of whether or not it’s already been greased from the grill, as automatic as corned beef on rye with mustard, that additional layer will be levied.
Finally there’s the home, where in many respects one encounters a similarity with commercial use, particularly in the kitchen. However, venturing into dining and living rooms reveals even a greater dedication to daubing than hereinbefore noted, where devotees ranging from toddler to teen, and adult to aged are frequently found indulging in buns and breads spread with nothing more. But we dare not venture down the corridors to the bedrooms, leaving that to the imagination.
Alvin Starkman is a resident of Oaxaca, and together with wife Arlene operates Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast: http://www.oaxacadream.com .
Oaxaca will simply not let mayonnaise take a back seat to its deep red cousin or to mustard, and not for a lack of sophistication of the Mexican palate. You’ll find your Dijon, Maille, provencale, deli and the rest, at one end of the mayo mantels, and your catsups and ketchups at the other, but that’s just the point…they envelope and draw your attention to the aisle’s star attraction, just as bookends provide functionality and little more.
Much in the same way as liberals, progressives and others of a reasonable bent decline to appear on Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly show, the Gigante executives declined to grant an interview to assist in unraveling the mystery, leaving this writer to glean an understanding from elsewhere, using: a background in sociological fieldwork, a keen eye for observation, on-the-street interviews, and a death wish to rapidly put on weight (otherwise known as, amongst anthropologists, “going native”).
If you think it’s hard to find the beef in a Big Mac, it’s even more of a treasure hunt in Oaxaca when eating a hamburger on the street loaded with, you guessed it, our dreamy white wonder. Be it burger or dog, when your merchant of the finest meat you’ll find on the corner is finished grilling your fare, he’ll likely ask “con todo” (with everything), the local retort invariably being a simple nod in the affirmative; mustard relish and onions is a virtually unheard of request. The twin temptations of elotes (boiled corn on the cob) and esquites (the same, but off the cob and in a styrofoam cup) are similarly finished off with the works, in this case juice squeezed on the spot from a lime, crumbled Oaxacan cheese, chili, and a healthy dollop of mayo. For this Oaxaca-street-corner-food junkie, as well as his family, life doesn’t get much better than stirring up a steaming cup of fully garnished cooked kernels.
Now your industrial size jar of mayonnaise finds greater application in more stationary eateries, but who would have thought in the snootiest of fine restaurants? “Oui monsieur, boot of coors I’ll brling you mor.” And in high end marisquerías, even before your appetizer of crab bisque, shrimp cocktail or mixed seafood salad is brought to your mesa, a mountain of mayonesa alongside freshly fried tostadas and cellophane swathed saltines arrives. Your middle-of-the-road restaurants never progressed beyond the sixties, and so in bistros and buffets alike one finds every imaginable side and salad smoothed over: pea and carrot; waldorf; boiled broccoli; and virtually every other fruit and vegetable combination, all whipped up with miracle.
For linguistically challenged travelers transfixed on sandwiches and tortas, alongside musts for remembering from your Spanish phrasebook such as “donde está el baño,” and “la cuenta, por favor,” mark in “sin mayonesa, por favor.” Otherwise, be it chicken, pork, beef or cheese, and regardless of whether or not it’s already been greased from the grill, as automatic as corned beef on rye with mustard, that additional layer will be levied.
Finally there’s the home, where in many respects one encounters a similarity with commercial use, particularly in the kitchen. However, venturing into dining and living rooms reveals even a greater dedication to daubing than hereinbefore noted, where devotees ranging from toddler to teen, and adult to aged are frequently found indulging in buns and breads spread with nothing more. But we dare not venture down the corridors to the bedrooms, leaving that to the imagination.
Alvin Starkman is a resident of Oaxaca, and together with wife Arlene operates Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast: http://www.oaxacadream.com .
Angélica Vásquez Cruz
Master ceramicist Angélica Vásquez Cruz has set herself apart from other sculptors, not only in her hometown of Atzompa, itself known for a longstanding tradition of villagers handcrafting fine figures, kitchenware and fanciful forms, but throughout the central valley of Oaxaca. Since age 7 Angélica has been innovating and adapting her artform using different clays and natural substances to produce variations in texture and color for her unique and thought-provoking pieces.
Atzompa is one of a plethora of quaint little craft towns which can be visited by travelers to Oaxaca. It’s most often known for the workshops of potters who make green glazed and pastel colored ceramics. However, as is the case in other villages peppering the region, on the rarest of occasions the odd maestro with something truly unique and special to offer emerges, and in Atzompa, Angélica is that angel.
Angélica’s work has been heavily influenced by her own family as well as Mexican history and legend. Her belief in the importance and strength of the matriarch in Oaxacan cultures shines through her work. What immediately strikes the eye upon entering her “showroom,” a small space set aside in her home / workshop, are two important features of her mastery: the complexity of detail; and flowing natural movement so rarely captured by her colleagues. Of peers she has very few.
Atzompa is a 15 minute drive from Oaxaca, easily accessed by taxi. Angélica’s home, on Avenida Independencia, is several blocks up from the main downtown artisans’ market. She or one of her children will warmly welcome tourists into their charming and quaint world, a well-kept homestead featuring an abundance of colorful flowering plants, shrubs and fruit trees. She can be reached at (951) 558-9061.
Resident Oaxacan Alvin Starkman, together with wife Arlene operates Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast ( http://www.oaxacadream.com ). He includes a stop by Angélica’s on one of the tours he offers.
Atzompa is one of a plethora of quaint little craft towns which can be visited by travelers to Oaxaca. It’s most often known for the workshops of potters who make green glazed and pastel colored ceramics. However, as is the case in other villages peppering the region, on the rarest of occasions the odd maestro with something truly unique and special to offer emerges, and in Atzompa, Angélica is that angel.
Angélica’s work has been heavily influenced by her own family as well as Mexican history and legend. Her belief in the importance and strength of the matriarch in Oaxacan cultures shines through her work. What immediately strikes the eye upon entering her “showroom,” a small space set aside in her home / workshop, are two important features of her mastery: the complexity of detail; and flowing natural movement so rarely captured by her colleagues. Of peers she has very few.
Atzompa is a 15 minute drive from Oaxaca, easily accessed by taxi. Angélica’s home, on Avenida Independencia, is several blocks up from the main downtown artisans’ market. She or one of her children will warmly welcome tourists into their charming and quaint world, a well-kept homestead featuring an abundance of colorful flowering plants, shrubs and fruit trees. She can be reached at (951) 558-9061.
Resident Oaxacan Alvin Starkman, together with wife Arlene operates Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast ( http://www.oaxacadream.com ). He includes a stop by Angélica’s on one of the tours he offers.
Motorcycle Diary
My longtime passion for riding a motorcycle took a twenty year hiatus until taking up residency in Oaxaca. I ignored the foreshadowing and warnings. While my story pales compared to the epic journey of Ché Guevara popularized in the film Motorcycle Diaries, there is a tale to be told, with observations and advice for those with such suicidal ideations.
For Oaxacans, it’s part economic necessity and part climactic permissiveness, with street logjams and a parking crisis factored in, as well as, dare I opine, a somewhat different attitude towards life and living amongst those at and below a certain socio-economic level…fatalistic. What’s striking is the paucity of helmeted riders, and prevalence of entire families (the record number of family members seen on one bike is currently five) who take to negotiating the jammed streets on a single motorbike often mechanically unfit, each member including young children bare-headed and unsafely dressed (no gloves, leathers, jeans, etc.). A helmet law and mandatory education might help. Educators must remember to teach that the helmet is to be worn on the head, not simply slung over an arm. Additionally, owners of deliver services such as and by example, Chuchos Tortas y Mas, should watch their couriers leaving the premises to ensure helmets are worn and not carried.
For my part, I’ve been accused of having yet another mid-life crisis at 55, having recently purchased a 150 cc. Honda “Bros”, off road moto for use on the streets, complementing our car and pick-up. Perhaps each above-noted reason applies to me, despite leading a middle class existence.
I sold my Suzuki 550 in the mid 1980s when my wife became pregnant. But now, in quasi-retirement, family grown, life insurance policies kept current, I was only minimally fazed when Canadian Consul Frances May warned that she’s lost three friends to motorcycle accidents. And compadre Pancho was in three accidents within about 2 years. He once took me on a trip with some of his motorcycle buddies through the mountains to the town of Sola de Vega. It was the first time in 15 years that I’d been on a bike. I forgot a cardinal rule: never brake while negotiating a turn on gravel. I recall regaining consciousness, covered in blood, with severe knee pain, in the back room of some pharmacy, to teary-eyed Pancho, shaking me with hands on my shoulders while screaming “¡compadre, compadre!”
But by adopting and adhering to a number of simple riding guidelines, some of which are admittedly difficult to follow, I’ll hopefully stay out of the hospital and my 19-year-old daughter will never “benefit” from my being over-insured. My less-impetuous and more level-headed wife surprisingly enough enjoys riding with me despite serious reservations.
For those unattached and in their 20s and 30s, I’ll indicate which of the following rules I’ve set for myself you’ll likely want to break and how to minimize the adverse implications of so doing:
1) Don’t ride at night unless absolutely necessary. Alcohol-related and other driving deaths increase when road conditions are less than perfect. Lighting and highway markings are often absent.
2) If you know that it’s likely the weather will become inclement (i.e. during the rainy season) consider another means of transportation, or at minimum dress appropriately and check your tires.
3) Try to follow the rules of the road to the extent you can discern them, and when in doubt fall back on the highway traffic laws with which you grew up.
4) Try to resist the temptation to weave, as difficult as it will be. Once you’re in your fifties you’ve likely lost much of your neck range-of-motion, so if you must weave, rely on your peripheral vision and mirrors.
5) Always use full-face helmets, appropriate footwear and leathers, gloves and jacket at minimum. It’s better to be hot and uncomfortable than require jaw surgery and extensive skin grafting. Leather provides that first layer of defence and it gives…cotton, wool and polyester each will simply rip, along with your skin.
6) Never permit an unhelmeted passenger to ride with you.
7) If you’re a tourist and have an opportunity to rent a motorcycle, unless it’ll be used strictly for cross-country, or you have a great deal of experience driving in third world congested cities and are certain of the condition of the bike, resist the temptation. As my father often said, “don’t be an idiot.” It’s not worth the risk.
8) When buying, make it a new cycle, and keep it in top condition.
9) Don’t buy a small scooter or anything under 125 – 150 cc. You may need power to extricate yourself from danger caused by other drivers. The most popular bike in Oaxaca is the Honda 125, used by a plethora of businesses. If you can afford a Japanese make, or better, go for it. Many Oaxacan friends have cautioned against, for example, the Chinese models. My off-road Honda 150 was carefully selected, even though it’s smaller than those that I’d been accustomed to riding in my former life. It’s an off-road model given the numerous topes and state of disrepair of the streets. Motor size is 150 because it’s the smallest engine I feel comfortable gets my wife and I up the steep hill to our home, is light and has sufficient power for defensive maneuvers. It’s small enough so that it helps me resist the temptation to do highway touring.
10) Think twice before opting for a larger bike that you may use on the carreteras. There’s nothing like open highway touring, but the danger increases exponentially the higher the speed of vehicles. By contrast, while living in Toronto I always felt safer riding on the highways than in cities…more control, drivers more vigilant and experienced, and easier to avoid potential dangers. By contrast, in Oaxaca the highways aren’t as good, many motorists drive under the influence, and vehicle mechanical condition is generally questionable, leading to less control by drivers. If you are set on touring, make it at least a 550 cc. model, the minimum power with which I felt comfortable and safe on the open roads with a passenger.
Apart from organized cycling groups that meet periodically for generally weekend off-road challenges, there is at least one traditional motorcycle club in Oaxaca, Los Caballeros Templarios. These riders are the exception to most of what I’ve indicated. The individuals, at least when touring outside of the city, follow virtually all of the rules I’ve set out. The group is comprised of mainly shopkeepers, tradesmen, restauranteurs, and professionals such as doctors and accountants, average age being 40 something. Their bikes are kept in excellent condition, they dress appropriately, complete with leathers embossed with club and rider name and logo, and they host and attend national conferences as well as enjoy frequent local get-togethers and regional excursions of one to several days. The camaraderie is strong, warm and welcoming. And thus with my little Honda 150, I continue to resist invitations to fulfill the initiation requirement and join…until the purchase of a larger bike, and with that a divorce.
Resident Oaxacan Alvin Starkman operates Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast ( http://www.oaxacadream.com ).
For Oaxacans, it’s part economic necessity and part climactic permissiveness, with street logjams and a parking crisis factored in, as well as, dare I opine, a somewhat different attitude towards life and living amongst those at and below a certain socio-economic level…fatalistic. What’s striking is the paucity of helmeted riders, and prevalence of entire families (the record number of family members seen on one bike is currently five) who take to negotiating the jammed streets on a single motorbike often mechanically unfit, each member including young children bare-headed and unsafely dressed (no gloves, leathers, jeans, etc.). A helmet law and mandatory education might help. Educators must remember to teach that the helmet is to be worn on the head, not simply slung over an arm. Additionally, owners of deliver services such as and by example, Chuchos Tortas y Mas, should watch their couriers leaving the premises to ensure helmets are worn and not carried.
For my part, I’ve been accused of having yet another mid-life crisis at 55, having recently purchased a 150 cc. Honda “Bros”, off road moto for use on the streets, complementing our car and pick-up. Perhaps each above-noted reason applies to me, despite leading a middle class existence.
I sold my Suzuki 550 in the mid 1980s when my wife became pregnant. But now, in quasi-retirement, family grown, life insurance policies kept current, I was only minimally fazed when Canadian Consul Frances May warned that she’s lost three friends to motorcycle accidents. And compadre Pancho was in three accidents within about 2 years. He once took me on a trip with some of his motorcycle buddies through the mountains to the town of Sola de Vega. It was the first time in 15 years that I’d been on a bike. I forgot a cardinal rule: never brake while negotiating a turn on gravel. I recall regaining consciousness, covered in blood, with severe knee pain, in the back room of some pharmacy, to teary-eyed Pancho, shaking me with hands on my shoulders while screaming “¡compadre, compadre!”
But by adopting and adhering to a number of simple riding guidelines, some of which are admittedly difficult to follow, I’ll hopefully stay out of the hospital and my 19-year-old daughter will never “benefit” from my being over-insured. My less-impetuous and more level-headed wife surprisingly enough enjoys riding with me despite serious reservations.
For those unattached and in their 20s and 30s, I’ll indicate which of the following rules I’ve set for myself you’ll likely want to break and how to minimize the adverse implications of so doing:
1) Don’t ride at night unless absolutely necessary. Alcohol-related and other driving deaths increase when road conditions are less than perfect. Lighting and highway markings are often absent.
2) If you know that it’s likely the weather will become inclement (i.e. during the rainy season) consider another means of transportation, or at minimum dress appropriately and check your tires.
3) Try to follow the rules of the road to the extent you can discern them, and when in doubt fall back on the highway traffic laws with which you grew up.
4) Try to resist the temptation to weave, as difficult as it will be. Once you’re in your fifties you’ve likely lost much of your neck range-of-motion, so if you must weave, rely on your peripheral vision and mirrors.
5) Always use full-face helmets, appropriate footwear and leathers, gloves and jacket at minimum. It’s better to be hot and uncomfortable than require jaw surgery and extensive skin grafting. Leather provides that first layer of defence and it gives…cotton, wool and polyester each will simply rip, along with your skin.
6) Never permit an unhelmeted passenger to ride with you.
7) If you’re a tourist and have an opportunity to rent a motorcycle, unless it’ll be used strictly for cross-country, or you have a great deal of experience driving in third world congested cities and are certain of the condition of the bike, resist the temptation. As my father often said, “don’t be an idiot.” It’s not worth the risk.
8) When buying, make it a new cycle, and keep it in top condition.
9) Don’t buy a small scooter or anything under 125 – 150 cc. You may need power to extricate yourself from danger caused by other drivers. The most popular bike in Oaxaca is the Honda 125, used by a plethora of businesses. If you can afford a Japanese make, or better, go for it. Many Oaxacan friends have cautioned against, for example, the Chinese models. My off-road Honda 150 was carefully selected, even though it’s smaller than those that I’d been accustomed to riding in my former life. It’s an off-road model given the numerous topes and state of disrepair of the streets. Motor size is 150 because it’s the smallest engine I feel comfortable gets my wife and I up the steep hill to our home, is light and has sufficient power for defensive maneuvers. It’s small enough so that it helps me resist the temptation to do highway touring.
10) Think twice before opting for a larger bike that you may use on the carreteras. There’s nothing like open highway touring, but the danger increases exponentially the higher the speed of vehicles. By contrast, while living in Toronto I always felt safer riding on the highways than in cities…more control, drivers more vigilant and experienced, and easier to avoid potential dangers. By contrast, in Oaxaca the highways aren’t as good, many motorists drive under the influence, and vehicle mechanical condition is generally questionable, leading to less control by drivers. If you are set on touring, make it at least a 550 cc. model, the minimum power with which I felt comfortable and safe on the open roads with a passenger.
Apart from organized cycling groups that meet periodically for generally weekend off-road challenges, there is at least one traditional motorcycle club in Oaxaca, Los Caballeros Templarios. These riders are the exception to most of what I’ve indicated. The individuals, at least when touring outside of the city, follow virtually all of the rules I’ve set out. The group is comprised of mainly shopkeepers, tradesmen, restauranteurs, and professionals such as doctors and accountants, average age being 40 something. Their bikes are kept in excellent condition, they dress appropriately, complete with leathers embossed with club and rider name and logo, and they host and attend national conferences as well as enjoy frequent local get-togethers and regional excursions of one to several days. The camaraderie is strong, warm and welcoming. And thus with my little Honda 150, I continue to resist invitations to fulfill the initiation requirement and join…until the purchase of a larger bike, and with that a divorce.
Resident Oaxacan Alvin Starkman operates Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast ( http://www.oaxacadream.com ).
Fonda Mexicana Oaxaca Restaurant Review
What a joy to happen upon a good, “safe”, traditional Oaxacan restaurant with a reasonable fixed price luncheon menu (comida corrida) in the Benito Juarez market district (aka 20th of November) a couple of blocks southwest of the Zócalo. Owners Roberto and Clara Loranca seem to always be on hand to ensure their patrons receive fast, hearty, tasty offerings, from the a la carte menu or the diverse daily full meal specials.
After wandering the aisles of the market looking for gifts, crafts, foods or simply chácharas under the awnings outside the main building, it can’t get any better than to find a pleasant respite right under your nose.
The ambience is classic Oaxacan: the walls in deep pink and mauve with yellow and blue accents are adorned with vintage photos, pottery pieces and textile; glass topped pine tables and comfortable chairs are set off with bright green tablecloths; and the music is traditional taped Mexican, when a trio or lone troubadour is not passing by. There’s always an unusually adequate compliment of smartly uniformed staff to greet and ensure that you have a tall cool glass of the water of the day virtually upon being seated…a prerequisite after negotiating the market or crowded streets.
The menu is diverse both in terms of breakfasts which range from 15 to 30 pesos, and comidas from 18 to 45 pesos. The comida corrida is 40 pesos and offers a wide variety of choices. While la carta is easily readable and well organized into, for example, delicious meal-sized Salsas (egg, cheese, chorizo or chicharón), Carnes, and Traditional and Mexican Plates, we invariably opt for the daily specials. For this visit the comida corrida consisted of, in addition to bottomless water of the day, dessert and tortillas, your choice of soup, then flavored rice or green bean salad, followed by one of four entrées…an aromatic roast chicken breast plate with refried beans and fresh salad, a beef and bacon dish similarly garnished, pork spine in amarillo sauce or mole negro (naturally with chicken).
We tend to gravitate to comidas built around one of the 7 moles, and did so for this visit. You can’t go wrong. But first, the soups were pasta with vegetables, and cream of broccoli with croutons, each of which were flavored in a subtle and mild fashion, deliberate so as to not overshadow the main courses, enabling the meal to build up to a tangy and piquant crescendo. The saffron rice contained the prerequisite peas and carrots and the cooked green beans included onion and tomato, topped with crumbled cheese.
Each of the moles finish the palate with a little bite, but not so much as to mask or overtake the classically distinct Oaxacan flavors. The chicken mole was extremely flavorful in terms of easily being able to discern the chocolate and chili components. While the sauce was rich, at the same time it seemed light, reminiscent of all the times I’d lamented if only I could have the taste and tang without the oil and fat. My yearning was not in vain this day. Similarly the pork spine in amarillo had a nice kick to it, this time from ancho and guajillo chilies, also prepared with the bare minimum of artery clogger. The meat easily fell off the bone as it should, and the sauce, containing green beans and chayote, garnished with onion, had that tell-tale avocado leaf flavor. Roberto and Clara are proud of their moles, so much so that if you manage to finish your main course including sauce, all you have to do is ask and management will be proud to oblige by bringing you some extra sauce, with tortillas to help you along. The chilled gelatin dessert proved to be a perfect finish to a memorable meal. And so whenever we have guests to the city, hidden-away Fonda Mexicana is always on our list for a spur-of-the-moment impressionable Oaxacan treat.
Notes:
Lunch and breakfast offered
Fixed meal offered
Beer and mezcal
Average price full meal incl. beverage 40 – 60.
Traditional Oaxacan
One word: moles
Roberto and Clara Loranca López
Fonda Mexicana
20 de Noviembre Num. 408
Tel. 51-43121
Food critic Alvin Starkman, a resident of Oaxaca, together with wife Arlene owns Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast http://www.oaxacadream.com
After wandering the aisles of the market looking for gifts, crafts, foods or simply chácharas under the awnings outside the main building, it can’t get any better than to find a pleasant respite right under your nose.
The ambience is classic Oaxacan: the walls in deep pink and mauve with yellow and blue accents are adorned with vintage photos, pottery pieces and textile; glass topped pine tables and comfortable chairs are set off with bright green tablecloths; and the music is traditional taped Mexican, when a trio or lone troubadour is not passing by. There’s always an unusually adequate compliment of smartly uniformed staff to greet and ensure that you have a tall cool glass of the water of the day virtually upon being seated…a prerequisite after negotiating the market or crowded streets.
The menu is diverse both in terms of breakfasts which range from 15 to 30 pesos, and comidas from 18 to 45 pesos. The comida corrida is 40 pesos and offers a wide variety of choices. While la carta is easily readable and well organized into, for example, delicious meal-sized Salsas (egg, cheese, chorizo or chicharón), Carnes, and Traditional and Mexican Plates, we invariably opt for the daily specials. For this visit the comida corrida consisted of, in addition to bottomless water of the day, dessert and tortillas, your choice of soup, then flavored rice or green bean salad, followed by one of four entrées…an aromatic roast chicken breast plate with refried beans and fresh salad, a beef and bacon dish similarly garnished, pork spine in amarillo sauce or mole negro (naturally with chicken).
We tend to gravitate to comidas built around one of the 7 moles, and did so for this visit. You can’t go wrong. But first, the soups were pasta with vegetables, and cream of broccoli with croutons, each of which were flavored in a subtle and mild fashion, deliberate so as to not overshadow the main courses, enabling the meal to build up to a tangy and piquant crescendo. The saffron rice contained the prerequisite peas and carrots and the cooked green beans included onion and tomato, topped with crumbled cheese.
Each of the moles finish the palate with a little bite, but not so much as to mask or overtake the classically distinct Oaxacan flavors. The chicken mole was extremely flavorful in terms of easily being able to discern the chocolate and chili components. While the sauce was rich, at the same time it seemed light, reminiscent of all the times I’d lamented if only I could have the taste and tang without the oil and fat. My yearning was not in vain this day. Similarly the pork spine in amarillo had a nice kick to it, this time from ancho and guajillo chilies, also prepared with the bare minimum of artery clogger. The meat easily fell off the bone as it should, and the sauce, containing green beans and chayote, garnished with onion, had that tell-tale avocado leaf flavor. Roberto and Clara are proud of their moles, so much so that if you manage to finish your main course including sauce, all you have to do is ask and management will be proud to oblige by bringing you some extra sauce, with tortillas to help you along. The chilled gelatin dessert proved to be a perfect finish to a memorable meal. And so whenever we have guests to the city, hidden-away Fonda Mexicana is always on our list for a spur-of-the-moment impressionable Oaxacan treat.
Notes:
Lunch and breakfast offered
Fixed meal offered
Beer and mezcal
Average price full meal incl. beverage 40 – 60.
Traditional Oaxacan
One word: moles
Roberto and Clara Loranca López
Fonda Mexicana
20 de Noviembre Num. 408
Tel. 51-43121
Food critic Alvin Starkman, a resident of Oaxaca, together with wife Arlene owns Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast http://www.oaxacadream.com
Azucena Zapoteca: Oaxaca Restaurant Review
For literally decades, Oaxacans waited for a restaurant with quality food and pleasant ambience to open along the highway traversing the villages of San Bartolo Coyotepec (black pottery), San Martín Tilcajete (alebrijes) and Santo Tomás Jalieza (cotton textiles) en route to the Friday market town of Ocotlán. Azucena Zapoteca Restaurant and Gallery opened its doors in October, 2004, and since then rarely have I made the trek to the villages without stopping by for comida. Located about 30 minutes out of Oaxaca on Highway 175 right at the entrance to San Martín Tilcajete, you can’t miss the brilliantly painted rotunda-style oasis in this otherwise culinary desert.
The operation has recently expanded into two distinct parts with the gallery, kitchen and washrooms housed in one building and the restaurant in another. Regarding the former, owners Jacobo and Maria Ángeles have gathered the works of about 15 of the best quality artisans in the region. Together with their own pieces, the gallery’s walls and ceiling are filled with splashes of striking color in glass, pottery and wooden masterpieces. At times a family member is present, painting a fanciful wooden figure with the most intricate of predominantly Zapotec designs. Ask the significance of each symbol and the process by which the paints are made from all natural, primarily vegetable products.
But we’re here mainly for the comida. After seating you either inside, or along the open air three-sided patio, friendly and attentive staff promptly come by with drinks and complimentary snacks of tostadas, salsa and guacamole. Ask for a pitcher of the agua del día, perhaps guayaba, watermelon or papaya. In an appropriately understated fashion, contemporary soft Latin music fills the air. What immediately strikes you about the menu is the number of unique plates often not brought together in a single restaurant. For this review it is in order to provide a brief summary of a previous visit’s dishes before noting this delectable sojourn. The diverse offering of tamales was flavorful and moist, yet greaseless as we can often only yearn to experience; the empanada of amarillo tasted as if made by a comadre with decades of experience preparing meals for her extended family; the salsa de huevo arrived steaming and savory; and finally, what a treat to be offered chiles en nogada when out of season without having to worry if it will be up to par. If you’ve never tried this dish, here’s the place…a poblano chili filled with a seemingly odd concoction of carefully chosen and blended spices, pork, chopped and braised fruits and vegetables, topped with a distinct sauce of walnut, cream or goat’s milk cheese, sugar and another spice mixture, garnished with pomegranate seeds. It’s a national treasure, complete with its green, red and white presentation. On a recent visit with family members from Canada, one exclaimed that this was the best dish she’d ever tasted, anywhere.
For our most recent outing we each started with sopa Benito Juarez, a light bean soup with small cubes of queso and slight hint of pork and fresh epazote, garnished with a crisp twirled tostada. As my main course I chose tinga, rolled into three large tacos, placed over a bean purée and heavily topped with shredded lettuce and crumbled queso. Tinga is a mix of shredded pork, tomato and onion, nicely seasoned without any significant “heat.” A friend ordered pipian, chicken pieces arriving stew-like in a large bowl with a green sauce of miltomate and white beans, the predominant flavor and texture coming from the roasted, ground squash seeds. Another guest opted for the zegueza, which arrived piping hot. With beef as the main ingredient, it is made with chili guajillo in a tomato based sauce with subtle clove essence. Its crunch and body is created from coarsely ground corn kernels. By the time we had finished what was left of these splendid sauces (with the help of tortillas to wipe our bowls clean), all there was left to do was relax and listen to the music while sipping on café de olla and sharing a serving of plantain with cream.
Two helpful tips:
1) If you opt for comida, consider planning your day so you arrive after having visited most of your selected stopovers so you don’t feel compelled to rush…it would be a waste to not get the most out of this dual sensory experience;
2) Since dishes are made fresh and may take some time to prepare, to help balance the odds that each entrée will arrive fairly close in time to one another, ask your waiter to do his best to bring all the main courses together.
NOTES:
8am to 7 pm daily
Km 23.5 Puerto Ángel, San Martín Tilcajete
Tel: 510-7884
Price: 60 – 85 pesos
Resident Oaxacan Alvin Starkman frequently takes private tour groups to the foregoing and additional villages and sites en route to Ocotlán. He and wife Arlene own and operate Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast ( http://www.oaxacadream.com ).
The operation has recently expanded into two distinct parts with the gallery, kitchen and washrooms housed in one building and the restaurant in another. Regarding the former, owners Jacobo and Maria Ángeles have gathered the works of about 15 of the best quality artisans in the region. Together with their own pieces, the gallery’s walls and ceiling are filled with splashes of striking color in glass, pottery and wooden masterpieces. At times a family member is present, painting a fanciful wooden figure with the most intricate of predominantly Zapotec designs. Ask the significance of each symbol and the process by which the paints are made from all natural, primarily vegetable products.
But we’re here mainly for the comida. After seating you either inside, or along the open air three-sided patio, friendly and attentive staff promptly come by with drinks and complimentary snacks of tostadas, salsa and guacamole. Ask for a pitcher of the agua del día, perhaps guayaba, watermelon or papaya. In an appropriately understated fashion, contemporary soft Latin music fills the air. What immediately strikes you about the menu is the number of unique plates often not brought together in a single restaurant. For this review it is in order to provide a brief summary of a previous visit’s dishes before noting this delectable sojourn. The diverse offering of tamales was flavorful and moist, yet greaseless as we can often only yearn to experience; the empanada of amarillo tasted as if made by a comadre with decades of experience preparing meals for her extended family; the salsa de huevo arrived steaming and savory; and finally, what a treat to be offered chiles en nogada when out of season without having to worry if it will be up to par. If you’ve never tried this dish, here’s the place…a poblano chili filled with a seemingly odd concoction of carefully chosen and blended spices, pork, chopped and braised fruits and vegetables, topped with a distinct sauce of walnut, cream or goat’s milk cheese, sugar and another spice mixture, garnished with pomegranate seeds. It’s a national treasure, complete with its green, red and white presentation. On a recent visit with family members from Canada, one exclaimed that this was the best dish she’d ever tasted, anywhere.
For our most recent outing we each started with sopa Benito Juarez, a light bean soup with small cubes of queso and slight hint of pork and fresh epazote, garnished with a crisp twirled tostada. As my main course I chose tinga, rolled into three large tacos, placed over a bean purée and heavily topped with shredded lettuce and crumbled queso. Tinga is a mix of shredded pork, tomato and onion, nicely seasoned without any significant “heat.” A friend ordered pipian, chicken pieces arriving stew-like in a large bowl with a green sauce of miltomate and white beans, the predominant flavor and texture coming from the roasted, ground squash seeds. Another guest opted for the zegueza, which arrived piping hot. With beef as the main ingredient, it is made with chili guajillo in a tomato based sauce with subtle clove essence. Its crunch and body is created from coarsely ground corn kernels. By the time we had finished what was left of these splendid sauces (with the help of tortillas to wipe our bowls clean), all there was left to do was relax and listen to the music while sipping on café de olla and sharing a serving of plantain with cream.
Two helpful tips:
1) If you opt for comida, consider planning your day so you arrive after having visited most of your selected stopovers so you don’t feel compelled to rush…it would be a waste to not get the most out of this dual sensory experience;
2) Since dishes are made fresh and may take some time to prepare, to help balance the odds that each entrée will arrive fairly close in time to one another, ask your waiter to do his best to bring all the main courses together.
NOTES:
8am to 7 pm daily
Km 23.5 Puerto Ángel, San Martín Tilcajete
Tel: 510-7884
Price: 60 – 85 pesos
Resident Oaxacan Alvin Starkman frequently takes private tour groups to the foregoing and additional villages and sites en route to Ocotlán. He and wife Arlene own and operate Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast ( http://www.oaxacadream.com ).
Bastball at its Best: Los Guerreros of Oaxaca
Where else but in Mexico can you park two blocks away from the ballpark, buy a pair of field level seats beside the dugout, eat a personal size pizza, have a beer, pastry, lollipop and tic-tacs, and be entertained for more than three hours during a warm, breezy evening, all for about $15 USD.
The Mexican baseball season begins each March, with Oaxaca’s team (the Guerreros, being one of 16 in this two division league) playing its games at the Lic. Eduardo Vasconcelos stadium, a short walk from downtown. When my wife and I attended our first game ever, we were thoroughly impressed, not without noting some both interesting and amusing differences as compared to attending Skydome (now known as The Rogers Centre) to see the Toronto Blue Jays. I preface my comments by indicating that the league is equivalent to Triple A, meaning that the quality of play is extremely good, with potential and former Major Leaguers on the teams…in 2005 the Guerreros had Felix Jose, former quality batter for the Cardinals in the early 90’s.
I attended at the park to buy tickets a couple of days in advance of the scheduled game, wanting to ensure that I got premium seats, only to be told that tickets go on sale at 4 pm, game day. To my surprise, the ticket wicket opened shortly before the hour. My wife asked for a pair of “the best”. When she returned to the car, I noticed that the 55 peso tickets did not appear to be in sequence, so I sent her back to inquire, and exchange the seats if necessary. I was right…one seat was a row above the other. Who knew that when you ask to buy a pair of tickets, you should stipulate that you want them beside each other? The attendee gave my wife a hard time, but finally relented and exchanged the seats.
We returned to the park for the 7:30 opening pitch, easily finding a parking space on the street…no $20 charge to park in a lot. But where exactly were our seats? We asked no less than four stadium employees, no one being able to point us to our seats, until finally someone took the effort to direct us appropriately. WOW. Not only field level beside the visitors’ (Mexico City) dugout, but covered in the unlikely event of a drizzle, and alongside the bull pen.
The game followed the typical AL format, with designated hitter (Felix Jose for the Guerreros), and the announcer doing the same job as his counterpart in the Majors, not without prefacing each upcoming batter’s name and position with an advertisement for one of the numerous sponsors whose presence is up front and center, both on the players’ uniforms and across the field walls. The scoreboard provided no surprises, but it took a while to figure out some of the positions of the players by merely seeing the letter designations…no problem with SS, 1B, 2B and 3B. But what about JI, CF and JD? I thought I had it down pat with the Center Fielder, but the other two threw me off. Then the announcer introduced the Right Fielder, the Jardinero Derecho (JD), which literally translates to “Right Gardener”. It made sense after a moment since he does tend to the grass in right field…but why is the Center Fielder’s position not similarly adapted to the Mexican style of designation? All fell into place in short order, with each player having a number on his jersey, but with VOLKSWAGEN being the only name appearing on the backs.
The ten cheerleaders were a pleasant surprise, doing an admirable job, albeit neither choreographed nor synchronized as well as in the NFL or NBA. However, what a treat to see these young women at the ballpark with a bit of flesh on their bodies, instead of the anorectic look which we have become accustomed to see and regretfully accept north of the border. The music on the audio system was a unique mix of what one finds at MLB and NHL games with the standard “CHARGE” preambles and the like, traditional Oaxacan tunes including the Pinotepa, and well-known American and Canadian numbers by artists such as M.C. Hammer and Creedence Clearwater Revival. The fifth inning cleaning crew did their job, although without the Lone Ranger theme song to egg them on; there was the traditional on-field contest for the kids; and hawkers prevailed upon us to buy raffle tickets.
While I must confess that while baseball is the most boring of the main North American spectator sports (the list in descending order being basketball, hockey, football, soccer and baseball), since the gradual changeover in Major League ballparks to permitting the consumption of alcoholic beverages I’ve come to enjoy getting out to the game from time to time to chat with a friend or business associate, soak up some rays and fresh air (when the retractable dome in Toronto has been left open), and have a beer and my fill of dogs, doughnuts and deliciously rich ice cream bars. Pigging out Oaxacan style proved to be similarly orgasmic, although not being able to imbibe a mezcalito or three does put a damper on the libido. There was the tempting taco stand a few steps from our seats, in addition to the customary vendors winding their way through the stands. The range of fare includes, naturally Corona, soft drinks, hot tacos by the plastic and foil wrapped plateful, warm personal size boxed Domino’s Hawaiian pizza with all the ketchup packages you want, a wide variety of cellophane packaged nuts, seeds and dried fruit colorfully presented on a display card, esquites (piping hot large corn kernels in a Styrofoam cup topped with mayonnaise, chili powder, lime and grated cheese), as well as the typical street corner stand items including gum, chocolates, hard candies and cigarettes.
Perhaps the greatest similarity to attending an MLB game was that the home team lost… just like in Toronto after the two aberrations in the early 90’s. While I wouldn’t expect that attending a Guerreros game would be on a list of priorities for tourists spending only a week in the city, for both residents and travelers vacationing here for longer stays baseball in Oaxaca provides an entertaining and relaxing way to spend a few hours. The regular season runs through the end of July, with the four playoff series beginning thereafter, running through the beginning of September. You can attend at the stadium to learn more about the promotions including T-Shirt and Cap days, and Mothers Day and Fathers Day.
Alvin Starkman, M.A., LL.B., is a former Torontonian who gave up his Raptor, Blue Jay and Maple Leaf season tickets in favor of taking up residence in Oaxaca. He and his wife own Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast ( http://www.oaxacadream.com ).
The Mexican baseball season begins each March, with Oaxaca’s team (the Guerreros, being one of 16 in this two division league) playing its games at the Lic. Eduardo Vasconcelos stadium, a short walk from downtown. When my wife and I attended our first game ever, we were thoroughly impressed, not without noting some both interesting and amusing differences as compared to attending Skydome (now known as The Rogers Centre) to see the Toronto Blue Jays. I preface my comments by indicating that the league is equivalent to Triple A, meaning that the quality of play is extremely good, with potential and former Major Leaguers on the teams…in 2005 the Guerreros had Felix Jose, former quality batter for the Cardinals in the early 90’s.
I attended at the park to buy tickets a couple of days in advance of the scheduled game, wanting to ensure that I got premium seats, only to be told that tickets go on sale at 4 pm, game day. To my surprise, the ticket wicket opened shortly before the hour. My wife asked for a pair of “the best”. When she returned to the car, I noticed that the 55 peso tickets did not appear to be in sequence, so I sent her back to inquire, and exchange the seats if necessary. I was right…one seat was a row above the other. Who knew that when you ask to buy a pair of tickets, you should stipulate that you want them beside each other? The attendee gave my wife a hard time, but finally relented and exchanged the seats.
We returned to the park for the 7:30 opening pitch, easily finding a parking space on the street…no $20 charge to park in a lot. But where exactly were our seats? We asked no less than four stadium employees, no one being able to point us to our seats, until finally someone took the effort to direct us appropriately. WOW. Not only field level beside the visitors’ (Mexico City) dugout, but covered in the unlikely event of a drizzle, and alongside the bull pen.
The game followed the typical AL format, with designated hitter (Felix Jose for the Guerreros), and the announcer doing the same job as his counterpart in the Majors, not without prefacing each upcoming batter’s name and position with an advertisement for one of the numerous sponsors whose presence is up front and center, both on the players’ uniforms and across the field walls. The scoreboard provided no surprises, but it took a while to figure out some of the positions of the players by merely seeing the letter designations…no problem with SS, 1B, 2B and 3B. But what about JI, CF and JD? I thought I had it down pat with the Center Fielder, but the other two threw me off. Then the announcer introduced the Right Fielder, the Jardinero Derecho (JD), which literally translates to “Right Gardener”. It made sense after a moment since he does tend to the grass in right field…but why is the Center Fielder’s position not similarly adapted to the Mexican style of designation? All fell into place in short order, with each player having a number on his jersey, but with VOLKSWAGEN being the only name appearing on the backs.
The ten cheerleaders were a pleasant surprise, doing an admirable job, albeit neither choreographed nor synchronized as well as in the NFL or NBA. However, what a treat to see these young women at the ballpark with a bit of flesh on their bodies, instead of the anorectic look which we have become accustomed to see and regretfully accept north of the border. The music on the audio system was a unique mix of what one finds at MLB and NHL games with the standard “CHARGE” preambles and the like, traditional Oaxacan tunes including the Pinotepa, and well-known American and Canadian numbers by artists such as M.C. Hammer and Creedence Clearwater Revival. The fifth inning cleaning crew did their job, although without the Lone Ranger theme song to egg them on; there was the traditional on-field contest for the kids; and hawkers prevailed upon us to buy raffle tickets.
While I must confess that while baseball is the most boring of the main North American spectator sports (the list in descending order being basketball, hockey, football, soccer and baseball), since the gradual changeover in Major League ballparks to permitting the consumption of alcoholic beverages I’ve come to enjoy getting out to the game from time to time to chat with a friend or business associate, soak up some rays and fresh air (when the retractable dome in Toronto has been left open), and have a beer and my fill of dogs, doughnuts and deliciously rich ice cream bars. Pigging out Oaxacan style proved to be similarly orgasmic, although not being able to imbibe a mezcalito or three does put a damper on the libido. There was the tempting taco stand a few steps from our seats, in addition to the customary vendors winding their way through the stands. The range of fare includes, naturally Corona, soft drinks, hot tacos by the plastic and foil wrapped plateful, warm personal size boxed Domino’s Hawaiian pizza with all the ketchup packages you want, a wide variety of cellophane packaged nuts, seeds and dried fruit colorfully presented on a display card, esquites (piping hot large corn kernels in a Styrofoam cup topped with mayonnaise, chili powder, lime and grated cheese), as well as the typical street corner stand items including gum, chocolates, hard candies and cigarettes.
Perhaps the greatest similarity to attending an MLB game was that the home team lost… just like in Toronto after the two aberrations in the early 90’s. While I wouldn’t expect that attending a Guerreros game would be on a list of priorities for tourists spending only a week in the city, for both residents and travelers vacationing here for longer stays baseball in Oaxaca provides an entertaining and relaxing way to spend a few hours. The regular season runs through the end of July, with the four playoff series beginning thereafter, running through the beginning of September. You can attend at the stadium to learn more about the promotions including T-Shirt and Cap days, and Mothers Day and Fathers Day.
Alvin Starkman, M.A., LL.B., is a former Torontonian who gave up his Raptor, Blue Jay and Maple Leaf season tickets in favor of taking up residence in Oaxaca. He and his wife own Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast ( http://www.oaxacadream.com ).
The Oaxaca Shoeshine: Relaxing and Rejuvenating
If you’re a Wall Street Wizard it might be an integral part of your weekly routine. For the rest of us who have spent most of our lives in an American or Canadian city, we don’t think much about getting a shoeshine on the street…too expensive, too busy, or just not something that regular people do. And so naturally when I moved to Oaxaca a couple of years ago, along with me came the best Bar Mitzvah gift I’d received some 42 years ago, still ticking, the electric shoeshine machine. But now it gathers the dust of Juarez.
The Ritual
Young boys will approach while you’re sitting at a café on the Zócalo, but they don’t appear to have the experience or range of polish colors and other accessories required to enable you to get the most out of the service. Better to stop by one of the seasoned professionals and relax in a chair, feet raised to the optimum working level, and read a page or two from a local daily you’ll be offered. If you struggle with your Spanish, ask for “Noticias” and look for the selection from The Dallas Morning News. It’s usually part of the Classifieds.
With your pant legs raised and sock guards inserted, before going further your purveyor of polishes may ask you to choose, if he’s not quite certain that the dye he’s selected is right for those dark wine shoes. Then you’ll be ready to sit back under the shade of the enormous trees lining Oaxaca’s central square or elsewhere close to one of the city’s numerous marketplaces, while the balance of the ceremony unfolds.
Dust is briskly brushed off, following which a soapy liquid is applied then dried off with a soft cloth. The shoes are brushed once more, and then dye is applied with at least two different sizes of paint brush…the large for the tops and sides, and then the smaller for the sole edges and creases joining them to the sides. A colored paste is then rubbed on, followed by a clear cream. After a further brushing another layer of transparent cream is applied, and then a good buffing. We’re not finished yet. If there is any doubt about the color of the sole edges being correct, remedial measures are taken, to be sure. Are they to be black, or match the shoe tops? Another brushing ensues, then more of the transparent, still yet another brushing, and finally, the last hearty series of buffs. After sock guards are removed and newspaper has been returned, you’re ready to stand, look at yourself in the mirror at your feet and pay.
The Economics
At 10 pesos a pop there’s no better bargain in town to help you to look and feel better. It’s pretty well impossible to resist providing a tip if the ritual has consisted of anywhere close to the foregoing steps. Regardless of your personality type, budget or any other excuse you may come up with to not indulge, if you didn’t bring at least one pair of leathers with you, you’re missing out, unless you can find at least a couple of strips of cowhide on those runners.
I met my favorite shiner, Pedro (his name has been changed to protect him from la hacienda, the Mexican equivalent to our tax narcs), about a year ago when he was working as an unskilled laborer with aspirations of becoming an apprentice bricklayer. He was earning no more than 150 pesos a day when he could get work. An opportunity arose for him to start a new vocation whereby he could be his own boss and the maker of his financial fate, at least to some extent.
By Oaxacan standards these tradesmen don’t do all that badly in terms of eking out a living, considering that the average annual wage in the state according to the most recent figures is about 56,000 pesos.
Pedro works his designated spot daily from about 9 to 6, on the south side of Independencia across from the Museo de Pintores Oaxaqueños, at the Alameda de León. The location and chair are leased from his patron. He’s responsible for all the tints, polishes, rags and brushes, and for paying the weekly storage fee to have his tools of the trade secure at night, since he lives in a town perhaps a half hour’s bus ride away. Apart from paying for his polishes and related accessories, his costs including stowing at night-time total 675 pesos monthly. This 22 year old entrepreneur grosses on average 150 to 200 pesos per day, working six days, nine hours per, so we can now do the math (gross of 4,546.50, less 675, for a net of 3,871.50 pesos monthly, with a day off, and not working horrific hours). At about 46,500 pesos annually, while below state average, there’s the potential for more if evenings are worked…and he’s his own boss. However, when was the last time you fessed up to how much you actually earn? Furthermore, if a week arises when Pedro has an opportunity to work elsewhere and make more, all he has to do is tell his boss and his spot will be held for him, without penalty. From the perspective of his lessor, if Pedro is reliable on an ongoing basis, it’s better to forego a week’s rental income once in a while than lease to someone else who may prove to be less conscientious about fulfilling his contractual obligations. And of course there’s always the option of he himself working the spot for the week and retaining the gross.
Remember
When in Oaxaca there’s always more to do than even the most enlightening of tourist guidebooks can detail.
Alvin Starkman (M.A., LL.B.), now a resident Oaxacan, has stopped writing legal briefs in favor of articles on topics which really matter. He and wife Arlene own Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast ( http://www.oaxacadream.com ).
The Ritual
Young boys will approach while you’re sitting at a café on the Zócalo, but they don’t appear to have the experience or range of polish colors and other accessories required to enable you to get the most out of the service. Better to stop by one of the seasoned professionals and relax in a chair, feet raised to the optimum working level, and read a page or two from a local daily you’ll be offered. If you struggle with your Spanish, ask for “Noticias” and look for the selection from The Dallas Morning News. It’s usually part of the Classifieds.
With your pant legs raised and sock guards inserted, before going further your purveyor of polishes may ask you to choose, if he’s not quite certain that the dye he’s selected is right for those dark wine shoes. Then you’ll be ready to sit back under the shade of the enormous trees lining Oaxaca’s central square or elsewhere close to one of the city’s numerous marketplaces, while the balance of the ceremony unfolds.
Dust is briskly brushed off, following which a soapy liquid is applied then dried off with a soft cloth. The shoes are brushed once more, and then dye is applied with at least two different sizes of paint brush…the large for the tops and sides, and then the smaller for the sole edges and creases joining them to the sides. A colored paste is then rubbed on, followed by a clear cream. After a further brushing another layer of transparent cream is applied, and then a good buffing. We’re not finished yet. If there is any doubt about the color of the sole edges being correct, remedial measures are taken, to be sure. Are they to be black, or match the shoe tops? Another brushing ensues, then more of the transparent, still yet another brushing, and finally, the last hearty series of buffs. After sock guards are removed and newspaper has been returned, you’re ready to stand, look at yourself in the mirror at your feet and pay.
The Economics
At 10 pesos a pop there’s no better bargain in town to help you to look and feel better. It’s pretty well impossible to resist providing a tip if the ritual has consisted of anywhere close to the foregoing steps. Regardless of your personality type, budget or any other excuse you may come up with to not indulge, if you didn’t bring at least one pair of leathers with you, you’re missing out, unless you can find at least a couple of strips of cowhide on those runners.
I met my favorite shiner, Pedro (his name has been changed to protect him from la hacienda, the Mexican equivalent to our tax narcs), about a year ago when he was working as an unskilled laborer with aspirations of becoming an apprentice bricklayer. He was earning no more than 150 pesos a day when he could get work. An opportunity arose for him to start a new vocation whereby he could be his own boss and the maker of his financial fate, at least to some extent.
By Oaxacan standards these tradesmen don’t do all that badly in terms of eking out a living, considering that the average annual wage in the state according to the most recent figures is about 56,000 pesos.
Pedro works his designated spot daily from about 9 to 6, on the south side of Independencia across from the Museo de Pintores Oaxaqueños, at the Alameda de León. The location and chair are leased from his patron. He’s responsible for all the tints, polishes, rags and brushes, and for paying the weekly storage fee to have his tools of the trade secure at night, since he lives in a town perhaps a half hour’s bus ride away. Apart from paying for his polishes and related accessories, his costs including stowing at night-time total 675 pesos monthly. This 22 year old entrepreneur grosses on average 150 to 200 pesos per day, working six days, nine hours per, so we can now do the math (gross of 4,546.50, less 675, for a net of 3,871.50 pesos monthly, with a day off, and not working horrific hours). At about 46,500 pesos annually, while below state average, there’s the potential for more if evenings are worked…and he’s his own boss. However, when was the last time you fessed up to how much you actually earn? Furthermore, if a week arises when Pedro has an opportunity to work elsewhere and make more, all he has to do is tell his boss and his spot will be held for him, without penalty. From the perspective of his lessor, if Pedro is reliable on an ongoing basis, it’s better to forego a week’s rental income once in a while than lease to someone else who may prove to be less conscientious about fulfilling his contractual obligations. And of course there’s always the option of he himself working the spot for the week and retaining the gross.
Remember
When in Oaxaca there’s always more to do than even the most enlightening of tourist guidebooks can detail.
Alvin Starkman (M.A., LL.B.), now a resident Oaxacan, has stopped writing legal briefs in favor of articles on topics which really matter. He and wife Arlene own Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast ( http://www.oaxacadream.com ).
2/06/2007
MEZCAL IN OAXACA
Alvin Starkman M.A., LL.B.
Think of mezcal as you would a single malt scotch, or better yet when comparing red wines of different vintages from the regions of France. Or perhaps grape varietals from the diversity of valleys and coastal areas in Australia. Forget about the worm for the time being, and forever the reputation with the college crowd of mezcal’s better known sister, tequila.
INTRODUCTION
Mezcal is made from the agave plant, often referred to as maguey. Its production, according to most recent evidence, actually pre-dates the Spanish Conquest. Many of today’s facilities use the same age-old technique, although some of the tools of the trade have been changed, for example from the use of clay pots for manufacture and storage, to copper serpentine for distillation, and oak and glass for aging and transporting.
It is estimated that there are about 5,000 production facilities in the State of Oaxaca (where most mezcal is produced), less than 150 of which are members of the regulated association. Most are tiny mom and pop operations serving a local community and its hinterland, some produce the spirit for distribution in primarily the City of Oaxaca, and there are a handful catering to the export market. However, in all three instances there is a broad range of quality in terms of smoothness, flavor nuances and smokiness. In fact the well-entrenched tradition of Oaxacans discerning personal palate-worthiness of different mezcals, manifests not through sampling store-bought designer bottles with smart labels, but rather from acquiring multi-liter receptacles from towns and villages in different regions of the state.
Product diversity exists for three primary reasons. Firstly, as is the case with grape varieties in wine production there is a range of agave suitable for mezcal production. Secondly, we find micro-climates yielding plants with subtle differences based on for example soil composition and length and quality of growing season, again similar to what we find regarding vineyards. Finally there is significant variation in the means of production as determined by the mezcalero, or brewmaster if you will. Each decision is crucial in determining the quality of the finished product, beginning with choosing the precise time when the plant is ready for harvest.
PRODUCTION
In Oaxaca there are well over 50 varieties of maguey, roughly 18 of which are used in the production of mezcal. However, about 90% of mezcal is made with the espadín agave, perhaps 5% uses tobalá, and the remaining types, found predominantly in the wild, comprise the balance. Espadín is similar to the blue agave traditionally used in the production of tequila. However, since blue agave grows in different climates than does espadín, the geographical distinction alone is enough to create a differentiation in taste. But the main difference between mezcal and tequila is that the latter is produced using stone ovens or stainless steel tanks for cooking, while the former in most instances still employs the centuries old method of baking the agave in an in-ground oven over firewood and river rocks.
The investment of time required to produce a bottle of mezcal begins with 8 years, being how long one must usually wait between transplanting a tiny agave plant produced from runner or cut from its tall stock, and harvest. Towards the end of the growth period, the stock shoots up, signifying the initial stage of readiness. The stock is cut down, and for several months thereafter nutrients gather in the base of the plant known as the piña because of its appearance once the leaves are removed. It is this central core of the agave which is transported by truck or on the backs of donkeys to market (the factory), and not the spiny succulent leaves which in effect are discarded once cut from the piña, the spherical form of which is only then revealed. It takes approximately 7 tons of raw piña to produce 1,000 liters of mezcal, depending on the type of mezcal being produced.
A pit dug into the earth and measuring about 8’ deep by 12’ in diameter is preheated for a couple of days with thick smoldering logs, on top of which are then placed river rocks. After the rocks have become red-hot, a thin layer of discarded fibrous material from another stage of the process is often placed atop, serving to insulate the rocks from the piñas which are piled on top of the heated rocks, forming a mound, perhaps 4’ - 5’ above ground level. Traditionally the small hill would then be covered with a woven palm leaf mat known as a petate, but now a sheet of synthetic product such as grain sack material is used, sometimes in conjunction with the petate. Then all is covered with earth so as to ensure the contents of the mound remains airtight. Finally and for good measure a few logs are placed on top of the heap of earth.
The agave bakes for 2 – 3 days, absorbing the characteristics of the earth, any clay brick used to line the pit, charred wood and smoke. (It’s important to keep in mind the particulars of each step during which distinct flavor and smokiness may be imparted.) Carbohydrates or starches are converted into fermentable sugars. With its now carmel-like sweetness, the piñas are ready to be removed, then cut into small pieces with the use of a machete, and thereafter crushed by a horse or donkey dragging a multi-ton circular concrete wheel over a round, low-walled area in which the charred piña pieces have been placed.
The pulverized cooked agave together with any extracted juices is then pitched into large pine vats where it is left to ferment for between 5 and 15 days depending on the then prevailing climactic conditions. Only a bit of water is added to the wooden receptacles which are either covered with plastic or left exposed to the air. No chemicals or other substances or agents, either man-made or natural, are added.
The fermented by-product at about 6% alcohol content is then placed in a brick still, heated with firewood. The vapor rises into copper piping which leads to a companion vat filled with water and the continuation of the copper piping, serpentine in shape entering the tank of water. The water cools the vapor in the tubing. A small spigot at the bottom allows a liquid, mezcal, to slowly drip out into a provisional receptacle. It is normally distilled for a second time, often with the addition of further fermented agave, using a recipe determined by the master mezcalero, to bring the finished product to the desired alcohol content, usually about 40% alcohol by volume. Mezcal is now in its purest form, known as blanco, before aging or the use of additives such as herbs, fruit or the worm.
THE GUSANO
The gusano worm is in fact not a worm, but rather a caterpillar, an infestation to which the agave plant is susceptible. However, in the production and sale of mezcal it has served three primary functions over the years. Firstly, prior to there being any labeling or regulation of mezcal, a gusanito was inserted into a bottle of mezcal as proof to the purchaser that the liquor had a sufficiently high alcohol content. The worm’s preservation in the mezcal, without any decomposition, signified that the alcohol content ought to be acceptable to the purchaser. Secondly, today the worm is a valuable marketing tool. Often the one to finish the bottle is expected to ingest the gusano remaining at the bottom. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, it adds a distinct and appealing flavor to the mezcal as well as smoothness, particularly crucial if the mezcal is otherwise not particularly suave or has not yet been aged in wood.
The gusano has been a staple in Oaxacan cookery for generations, often purchased live in the marketplace, or dried, sometimes with 100 strung up into a necklace. Some of the finest prepared salsas are made with ground gusano. And of course there is sal de gusano, a combination of salt, chili and worm, used not only in the ritual of imbibing, but also to bring out and add flavor to fruit, to rim glasses used to serve other alcoholic beverages, and more.
TASTING NOTES
The three main types of traditional mezcal one encounters are blanco or joven (young), reposado and añejo. The first represents mezcal which has come directly from the still without any aging whatsoever, except while in glass or plastic receptacles awaiting bottling or sale. It can be quite sharp or strong, but is also encountered in a rather smooth state depending on the skill level of the mezcalero, percentage alcohol, number of distillations, and so on.
Reposado literally means lying down, resting, or reposing, so when one finds mezcal reposado it’s been aged, in theory in oak barrels anywhere from 3 to 18 months or so, but frequently simply allowed to sit for a period of time with fruit in it which imparts flavor and smoothness. Añejo, by contrast, signifies mezcal which is mature or aged, having been kept for generally 3 or more years in French or American oak barrels sometimes previously used for wine or brandy, or perhaps charred inside to produce a distinct taste. A good añejo which has been carefully distilled and aged has a fine, smokey essence and is extremely smooth.
One can encounter joven or reposado with gusano, but virtually never an añejo with the worm because the latter has already had a great deal of time and effort expended in producing a product of the finest of quality. Notwithstanding that industry controls are by and large lacking apart from with those producers which are members of the association, it’s rare that one finds a small operation which even purports to produce añejo. However they may have other varieties in addition to the foregoing three or four staples.
In Spanish “pechuga” means breast. Within the context of mezcal manufacture, true mezcal pechuga has been made by hanging a raw chicken breast in the still during production, imparting in the spirit a subtle flavor nuance and a bit of body created by the minute percentage of fat which has been allowed to vaporize. One should exercise caution in purchasing what is purported to be true mezcal pechuga, once again because of the matter of lack of industry control. In some rural operations one sometimes encounters pechuga which is dark in color. The mezcalero may state that indeed it has been made with chicken breast, the color having been derived from aging with fruit. Whether chicken has actually been used in production is not certain unless you witness the process. That is not to state that the mezcal should be avoided since we’ve sampled some excellent rural pechuga….only to warn that with what the mezcal has been made might be debatable.
The balance of mezcals one is apt to taste fall into two broad categories. The first is a spirit similar to the above-noted selections, with no additives except a particular herb or fruit zest. Regarding the latter, one well-known producer, Mezcal del Amigo, has a citrus mezcal. Similar to the citrus mezcal is cedrón, a local herb producing a pleasant lime-like aroma. Then comes the more herbaceous products such as poleo, often also used to make a tea to cure stomach ailments. The sweet mezcals, referred to as cremas are made with a range of exotic fruits, but almost always contain a sweetening agent, most often honey, sugar or cane alcohol. The percentage mezcal used in such production is frequently quite small, and in fact there is currently controversy in the industry regarding whether or not the word mezcal ought to be used in labeling the beverage. Some cremas are made with cream or milk, while others are not, but can nevertheless be mixed with either, perhaps on the rocks, or in making desserts, for example poured over vanilla ice cream. Those who reside in Oaxaca have the opportunity to purchase bulk blanco mezcal and experiment with their own private recipes such as peach-honey, raisin-apple, guava, rosemary, and innumerable others.
Regardless of any preconceived notions you might have about mezcal, have a taste, whenever the opportunity arises, and of whatever is being offered, if only enough to discern differences and develop a palate for one or more types you prefer from the broad array of flavors, agings and degrees of smokiness.
Alvin Starkman, owner of Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast ( http://www.oaxacadream.com ), tours couples and families throughout the Central Valleys of Oaxaca and into the nearby mountains, to visit small mezcal operations at various stages of production, and for tastings.
Think of mezcal as you would a single malt scotch, or better yet when comparing red wines of different vintages from the regions of France. Or perhaps grape varietals from the diversity of valleys and coastal areas in Australia. Forget about the worm for the time being, and forever the reputation with the college crowd of mezcal’s better known sister, tequila.
INTRODUCTION
Mezcal is made from the agave plant, often referred to as maguey. Its production, according to most recent evidence, actually pre-dates the Spanish Conquest. Many of today’s facilities use the same age-old technique, although some of the tools of the trade have been changed, for example from the use of clay pots for manufacture and storage, to copper serpentine for distillation, and oak and glass for aging and transporting.
It is estimated that there are about 5,000 production facilities in the State of Oaxaca (where most mezcal is produced), less than 150 of which are members of the regulated association. Most are tiny mom and pop operations serving a local community and its hinterland, some produce the spirit for distribution in primarily the City of Oaxaca, and there are a handful catering to the export market. However, in all three instances there is a broad range of quality in terms of smoothness, flavor nuances and smokiness. In fact the well-entrenched tradition of Oaxacans discerning personal palate-worthiness of different mezcals, manifests not through sampling store-bought designer bottles with smart labels, but rather from acquiring multi-liter receptacles from towns and villages in different regions of the state.
Product diversity exists for three primary reasons. Firstly, as is the case with grape varieties in wine production there is a range of agave suitable for mezcal production. Secondly, we find micro-climates yielding plants with subtle differences based on for example soil composition and length and quality of growing season, again similar to what we find regarding vineyards. Finally there is significant variation in the means of production as determined by the mezcalero, or brewmaster if you will. Each decision is crucial in determining the quality of the finished product, beginning with choosing the precise time when the plant is ready for harvest.
PRODUCTION
In Oaxaca there are well over 50 varieties of maguey, roughly 18 of which are used in the production of mezcal. However, about 90% of mezcal is made with the espadín agave, perhaps 5% uses tobalá, and the remaining types, found predominantly in the wild, comprise the balance. Espadín is similar to the blue agave traditionally used in the production of tequila. However, since blue agave grows in different climates than does espadín, the geographical distinction alone is enough to create a differentiation in taste. But the main difference between mezcal and tequila is that the latter is produced using stone ovens or stainless steel tanks for cooking, while the former in most instances still employs the centuries old method of baking the agave in an in-ground oven over firewood and river rocks.
The investment of time required to produce a bottle of mezcal begins with 8 years, being how long one must usually wait between transplanting a tiny agave plant produced from runner or cut from its tall stock, and harvest. Towards the end of the growth period, the stock shoots up, signifying the initial stage of readiness. The stock is cut down, and for several months thereafter nutrients gather in the base of the plant known as the piña because of its appearance once the leaves are removed. It is this central core of the agave which is transported by truck or on the backs of donkeys to market (the factory), and not the spiny succulent leaves which in effect are discarded once cut from the piña, the spherical form of which is only then revealed. It takes approximately 7 tons of raw piña to produce 1,000 liters of mezcal, depending on the type of mezcal being produced.
A pit dug into the earth and measuring about 8’ deep by 12’ in diameter is preheated for a couple of days with thick smoldering logs, on top of which are then placed river rocks. After the rocks have become red-hot, a thin layer of discarded fibrous material from another stage of the process is often placed atop, serving to insulate the rocks from the piñas which are piled on top of the heated rocks, forming a mound, perhaps 4’ - 5’ above ground level. Traditionally the small hill would then be covered with a woven palm leaf mat known as a petate, but now a sheet of synthetic product such as grain sack material is used, sometimes in conjunction with the petate. Then all is covered with earth so as to ensure the contents of the mound remains airtight. Finally and for good measure a few logs are placed on top of the heap of earth.
The agave bakes for 2 – 3 days, absorbing the characteristics of the earth, any clay brick used to line the pit, charred wood and smoke. (It’s important to keep in mind the particulars of each step during which distinct flavor and smokiness may be imparted.) Carbohydrates or starches are converted into fermentable sugars. With its now carmel-like sweetness, the piñas are ready to be removed, then cut into small pieces with the use of a machete, and thereafter crushed by a horse or donkey dragging a multi-ton circular concrete wheel over a round, low-walled area in which the charred piña pieces have been placed.
The pulverized cooked agave together with any extracted juices is then pitched into large pine vats where it is left to ferment for between 5 and 15 days depending on the then prevailing climactic conditions. Only a bit of water is added to the wooden receptacles which are either covered with plastic or left exposed to the air. No chemicals or other substances or agents, either man-made or natural, are added.
The fermented by-product at about 6% alcohol content is then placed in a brick still, heated with firewood. The vapor rises into copper piping which leads to a companion vat filled with water and the continuation of the copper piping, serpentine in shape entering the tank of water. The water cools the vapor in the tubing. A small spigot at the bottom allows a liquid, mezcal, to slowly drip out into a provisional receptacle. It is normally distilled for a second time, often with the addition of further fermented agave, using a recipe determined by the master mezcalero, to bring the finished product to the desired alcohol content, usually about 40% alcohol by volume. Mezcal is now in its purest form, known as blanco, before aging or the use of additives such as herbs, fruit or the worm.
THE GUSANO
The gusano worm is in fact not a worm, but rather a caterpillar, an infestation to which the agave plant is susceptible. However, in the production and sale of mezcal it has served three primary functions over the years. Firstly, prior to there being any labeling or regulation of mezcal, a gusanito was inserted into a bottle of mezcal as proof to the purchaser that the liquor had a sufficiently high alcohol content. The worm’s preservation in the mezcal, without any decomposition, signified that the alcohol content ought to be acceptable to the purchaser. Secondly, today the worm is a valuable marketing tool. Often the one to finish the bottle is expected to ingest the gusano remaining at the bottom. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, it adds a distinct and appealing flavor to the mezcal as well as smoothness, particularly crucial if the mezcal is otherwise not particularly suave or has not yet been aged in wood.
The gusano has been a staple in Oaxacan cookery for generations, often purchased live in the marketplace, or dried, sometimes with 100 strung up into a necklace. Some of the finest prepared salsas are made with ground gusano. And of course there is sal de gusano, a combination of salt, chili and worm, used not only in the ritual of imbibing, but also to bring out and add flavor to fruit, to rim glasses used to serve other alcoholic beverages, and more.
TASTING NOTES
The three main types of traditional mezcal one encounters are blanco or joven (young), reposado and añejo. The first represents mezcal which has come directly from the still without any aging whatsoever, except while in glass or plastic receptacles awaiting bottling or sale. It can be quite sharp or strong, but is also encountered in a rather smooth state depending on the skill level of the mezcalero, percentage alcohol, number of distillations, and so on.
Reposado literally means lying down, resting, or reposing, so when one finds mezcal reposado it’s been aged, in theory in oak barrels anywhere from 3 to 18 months or so, but frequently simply allowed to sit for a period of time with fruit in it which imparts flavor and smoothness. Añejo, by contrast, signifies mezcal which is mature or aged, having been kept for generally 3 or more years in French or American oak barrels sometimes previously used for wine or brandy, or perhaps charred inside to produce a distinct taste. A good añejo which has been carefully distilled and aged has a fine, smokey essence and is extremely smooth.
One can encounter joven or reposado with gusano, but virtually never an añejo with the worm because the latter has already had a great deal of time and effort expended in producing a product of the finest of quality. Notwithstanding that industry controls are by and large lacking apart from with those producers which are members of the association, it’s rare that one finds a small operation which even purports to produce añejo. However they may have other varieties in addition to the foregoing three or four staples.
In Spanish “pechuga” means breast. Within the context of mezcal manufacture, true mezcal pechuga has been made by hanging a raw chicken breast in the still during production, imparting in the spirit a subtle flavor nuance and a bit of body created by the minute percentage of fat which has been allowed to vaporize. One should exercise caution in purchasing what is purported to be true mezcal pechuga, once again because of the matter of lack of industry control. In some rural operations one sometimes encounters pechuga which is dark in color. The mezcalero may state that indeed it has been made with chicken breast, the color having been derived from aging with fruit. Whether chicken has actually been used in production is not certain unless you witness the process. That is not to state that the mezcal should be avoided since we’ve sampled some excellent rural pechuga….only to warn that with what the mezcal has been made might be debatable.
The balance of mezcals one is apt to taste fall into two broad categories. The first is a spirit similar to the above-noted selections, with no additives except a particular herb or fruit zest. Regarding the latter, one well-known producer, Mezcal del Amigo, has a citrus mezcal. Similar to the citrus mezcal is cedrón, a local herb producing a pleasant lime-like aroma. Then comes the more herbaceous products such as poleo, often also used to make a tea to cure stomach ailments. The sweet mezcals, referred to as cremas are made with a range of exotic fruits, but almost always contain a sweetening agent, most often honey, sugar or cane alcohol. The percentage mezcal used in such production is frequently quite small, and in fact there is currently controversy in the industry regarding whether or not the word mezcal ought to be used in labeling the beverage. Some cremas are made with cream or milk, while others are not, but can nevertheless be mixed with either, perhaps on the rocks, or in making desserts, for example poured over vanilla ice cream. Those who reside in Oaxaca have the opportunity to purchase bulk blanco mezcal and experiment with their own private recipes such as peach-honey, raisin-apple, guava, rosemary, and innumerable others.
Regardless of any preconceived notions you might have about mezcal, have a taste, whenever the opportunity arises, and of whatever is being offered, if only enough to discern differences and develop a palate for one or more types you prefer from the broad array of flavors, agings and degrees of smokiness.
Alvin Starkman, owner of Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast ( http://www.oaxacadream.com ), tours couples and families throughout the Central Valleys of Oaxaca and into the nearby mountains, to visit small mezcal operations at various stages of production, and for tastings.
2/03/2007
grana cochinilla fina ... The Best Kept Secret in Oaxaca
by Alvin Starkman
Most tourists have no idea that only a couple of hundred yards off the main highway, a minute or two from the black pottery village, is one the most fascinating destinations that the state of Oaxaca has to offer children and adults alike. And yet the majority of travelers have a least heard or read a snippet about the natural red dye which comes from a tiny insect and is used to color the rugs they buy in Teotitlán del Valle, and other products including some of the foods and beverages we eat today…the grana cochinilla fina, commonly known as simply cochineal.
I suspect that from reading their guidebooks or speaking to tour guides and taxi drivers, visitors are not generally made aware of the importance of this little bug on the world stage over centuries; or perhaps they think it’s enough to buy a tapete and be told it’s been dyed with cochineal, and see and touch a few dried insects…rather than spend 40 or 50 minutes in amazement. It might be different if they knew that during the conquest era, next to gold and silver cochineal was the most valuable commodity known to mankind, and that in 1758 Oaxaca exported over 1.5 million Spanish pounds of it to Europe, Africa and Asia for a multitude of uses including the dying of fabrics including uniforms worn by British nobility and cavalry.
Together known as Tlapanochestli, the quaint research facility, museum, ranch and open-air teaching environment is located at Santa María Coyotepec off a dirt road only 15 minutes from downtown Oaxaca. The attraction is designed to hold the interest of travelers of all ages and all backgrounds, from layperson to academic or professional.
Upon entering Tlapanochestli you’ll be greeted by one of the employees who works the ranch, or perhaps one of the two scientists who run the research and teaching programs, Engineers Manual Loera Fernández and Ignacio del Río Dueñas. You’ll learn about the lifecycle of the cochineal, how it attaches itself to and feeds off of a certain variety of nopal cactus, and about its harvesting and preparation for use as a dye. Both kids and grownups will delight and be awe-struck at having either a live or dried bug squished on their palm yielding the scarlet pigment. You’ll be taught why not all types of nopal cactus are suitable for production of cochineal, which ones are used to make salads, and about varietals which produce the sweet red edible fruit known as tuna, seasonally sold in marketplaces just as apples and oranges, and just as often encountered as a sorbet flavor or fresh fruit juice.
But your tour is not only about the insect and its host, but includes learning about a plethora of other natural products used to dye foods and fabrics, such pecan shells, oyster conch, pomegranate, marigold, moss, onions, and the añil plant which produces our blues and indigos. Combining some of these dyes with the cochineal results in yet a further spectrum of color. You’ll also discover how to use cochineal in combination with lime juice or baking soda and with different colored natural wools to produce orange and purple hews.
One cannot help but marvel at the diversity of commercial products which utilize the cochineal as a coloring such as lipsticks and makeup for those allergic or sensitive to synthetic red and orange tones, Danone yoghurt, Campari, and even Campbell’s soup. Often artists have opted to employ cochineal and other natural colors for their work, and accordingly witness walls adorned with examples of fine art created without the use of chemical-based paints. The photos of Prince Charles’ attendance at Tlapanochestli is a testament to the world’s continued fascination with the historical and contemporary significance of the grana cochinilla fina. In the gift shop there’s an opportunity to purchase dried cochineal for your own use, ink in an attractive wax-sealed bottle, paints and pastes, balls of yarn, soaps, clothing, and for the children perhaps a paint set consisting of dried cochineal to crush using the miniature clay pestle and mortar, along with coloring pages with instruction sheet directing how to use the kit and produce your own shades of red, orange and pink.
A short video puts the production of cochineal into its proper historical context using facts, anecdotes and mythology, along with colorful imagery, narrated using language easily understood by children. At the same time those with a background or interest in the sciences will have all of their questions answered. The film outlines the pre-hispanic use of the pigment; the development of an internationally regulated industry attracting the attention of worldwide heads of state from The Conquest forward; its importance in the global marketplace as the strongest and most brilliant dye known to humankind; and its decline in the mid 1800’s upon the invention of synthetic coloration and the subsequent adverse impact on the Mexican economy. While Oaxacan production and export never did recover from 19th century recessionary factors, the video concludes on a upbeat note documenting the industry’s resurgence in recent decades in the face of widespread health concerns regarding the continued reliance on synthetic substances to dye commercial products.
After your cinematic journey back into history, and having gained knowledge about how natural dyes are produced and used in a multitude of applications, your perception of not only Oaxaca but also the Western World will have been enhanced forever…whether you’re in Oaxaca shopping for rugs, watching the native vendors in a market or ordering ice cream; or sitting in the comfort of your home and sipping a Campari and soda.
Alvin Starkman, M.A., LL.B., resides in Oaxaca. For information about combining an excursion to Tlapanochetli with a daily tour which includes other sites, Alvin can be reached at Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast (http://www.oaxacadream.com)
Most tourists have no idea that only a couple of hundred yards off the main highway, a minute or two from the black pottery village, is one the most fascinating destinations that the state of Oaxaca has to offer children and adults alike. And yet the majority of travelers have a least heard or read a snippet about the natural red dye which comes from a tiny insect and is used to color the rugs they buy in Teotitlán del Valle, and other products including some of the foods and beverages we eat today…the grana cochinilla fina, commonly known as simply cochineal.
I suspect that from reading their guidebooks or speaking to tour guides and taxi drivers, visitors are not generally made aware of the importance of this little bug on the world stage over centuries; or perhaps they think it’s enough to buy a tapete and be told it’s been dyed with cochineal, and see and touch a few dried insects…rather than spend 40 or 50 minutes in amazement. It might be different if they knew that during the conquest era, next to gold and silver cochineal was the most valuable commodity known to mankind, and that in 1758 Oaxaca exported over 1.5 million Spanish pounds of it to Europe, Africa and Asia for a multitude of uses including the dying of fabrics including uniforms worn by British nobility and cavalry.
Together known as Tlapanochestli, the quaint research facility, museum, ranch and open-air teaching environment is located at Santa María Coyotepec off a dirt road only 15 minutes from downtown Oaxaca. The attraction is designed to hold the interest of travelers of all ages and all backgrounds, from layperson to academic or professional.
Upon entering Tlapanochestli you’ll be greeted by one of the employees who works the ranch, or perhaps one of the two scientists who run the research and teaching programs, Engineers Manual Loera Fernández and Ignacio del Río Dueñas. You’ll learn about the lifecycle of the cochineal, how it attaches itself to and feeds off of a certain variety of nopal cactus, and about its harvesting and preparation for use as a dye. Both kids and grownups will delight and be awe-struck at having either a live or dried bug squished on their palm yielding the scarlet pigment. You’ll be taught why not all types of nopal cactus are suitable for production of cochineal, which ones are used to make salads, and about varietals which produce the sweet red edible fruit known as tuna, seasonally sold in marketplaces just as apples and oranges, and just as often encountered as a sorbet flavor or fresh fruit juice.
But your tour is not only about the insect and its host, but includes learning about a plethora of other natural products used to dye foods and fabrics, such pecan shells, oyster conch, pomegranate, marigold, moss, onions, and the añil plant which produces our blues and indigos. Combining some of these dyes with the cochineal results in yet a further spectrum of color. You’ll also discover how to use cochineal in combination with lime juice or baking soda and with different colored natural wools to produce orange and purple hews.
One cannot help but marvel at the diversity of commercial products which utilize the cochineal as a coloring such as lipsticks and makeup for those allergic or sensitive to synthetic red and orange tones, Danone yoghurt, Campari, and even Campbell’s soup. Often artists have opted to employ cochineal and other natural colors for their work, and accordingly witness walls adorned with examples of fine art created without the use of chemical-based paints. The photos of Prince Charles’ attendance at Tlapanochestli is a testament to the world’s continued fascination with the historical and contemporary significance of the grana cochinilla fina. In the gift shop there’s an opportunity to purchase dried cochineal for your own use, ink in an attractive wax-sealed bottle, paints and pastes, balls of yarn, soaps, clothing, and for the children perhaps a paint set consisting of dried cochineal to crush using the miniature clay pestle and mortar, along with coloring pages with instruction sheet directing how to use the kit and produce your own shades of red, orange and pink.
A short video puts the production of cochineal into its proper historical context using facts, anecdotes and mythology, along with colorful imagery, narrated using language easily understood by children. At the same time those with a background or interest in the sciences will have all of their questions answered. The film outlines the pre-hispanic use of the pigment; the development of an internationally regulated industry attracting the attention of worldwide heads of state from The Conquest forward; its importance in the global marketplace as the strongest and most brilliant dye known to humankind; and its decline in the mid 1800’s upon the invention of synthetic coloration and the subsequent adverse impact on the Mexican economy. While Oaxacan production and export never did recover from 19th century recessionary factors, the video concludes on a upbeat note documenting the industry’s resurgence in recent decades in the face of widespread health concerns regarding the continued reliance on synthetic substances to dye commercial products.
After your cinematic journey back into history, and having gained knowledge about how natural dyes are produced and used in a multitude of applications, your perception of not only Oaxaca but also the Western World will have been enhanced forever…whether you’re in Oaxaca shopping for rugs, watching the native vendors in a market or ordering ice cream; or sitting in the comfort of your home and sipping a Campari and soda.
Alvin Starkman, M.A., LL.B., resides in Oaxaca. For information about combining an excursion to Tlapanochetli with a daily tour which includes other sites, Alvin can be reached at Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast (http://www.oaxacadream.com)
2/02/2007
OAXACA SCULPTOR EXTRAORDINAIRE: ADOLFO CRUZ
Alvin Starkman M.A., LL.B.
The use of locally mined stone in hews of green, pink and yellow is a tradition in Oaxaca dating to pre-Hispanic times. “Cantera,” as it’s locally known, was fashioned into foundations for temples and administrative buildings of, amongst others, the Zapotec and Mixtec civilizations. The material was also used to sculpt deities and other adornments.
Working with cantera for both utilitarian and purely aesthetic purposes has continued to date throughout much of the state of Oaxaca. One of the tradition’s most well-known and respected sculptors is Adolfo Cruz, recently retired from his fine arts teaching post at the Benito Juarez University in Oaxaca. In addition to having developed an international reputation as a master of stone and bronze art forms, Maestro Adolfo is continually being called upon by both government and church to restore and refurbish historic buildings which have suffered from the wear of centuries and periodic earthquakes, as well as by architects wanting to maintain a connection with the past in their contemporary projects.
Those with an interest in art or architecture now have an opportunity to meet with this grand maestro in his facility in Magdalena Etla, a ten minute drive beyond the well-known Wednesday market town of Villa de Etla.
You’ll have an opportunity to learn about the varied applications of the three types of cantera; the state-of-the-art machinery recently acquired by Adolfo enabling him to create with much more precision; and the process by which he fashions sculptures of cantera, as well as of bronze using a rather rudimentary foundry, the only such bronzing facility in the state. For the collector and art aficionado a rare opportunity exists to purchase one-of-a-kind pieces at a fraction of American costs for similar quality.
One of Adolfo’s three daughters, Nely, is an artist in her own right, and follows in her father’s steps, now teaching at the fine art college. She works with a variety of media, but what “pays the rent” are her fine-cut cantera jewelry pieces, predominantly earrings and pendants.
For those with a particular artistic orientation who are visiting Oaxaca, a trip to Magdalena Etla provides a uniquely rewarding experience, in particular if combined as part of a full day tour with stops at the nearby artistic glass factory, the hand-made paper facility, the art institute and gallery at San Agustín, the home of one of the finer ceramicists in Atzompa, and perhaps a stop by one of the smaller Zapotec ruins with a quaint community museum.
To get to Adolfo Cruz’s home and studio, follow the highway beyond the town of Etla, taking the first left onto a dirt road after you pass the well-marked signage of the Oaxaca Industrial Park.
Alvin Starkman together with wife Arlene operates Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast ( http://www.oaxacadream.com ). Mr. Starkman
accepts tour requests along the foregoing as well as other routes in the valley of Oaxaca.
The use of locally mined stone in hews of green, pink and yellow is a tradition in Oaxaca dating to pre-Hispanic times. “Cantera,” as it’s locally known, was fashioned into foundations for temples and administrative buildings of, amongst others, the Zapotec and Mixtec civilizations. The material was also used to sculpt deities and other adornments.
Working with cantera for both utilitarian and purely aesthetic purposes has continued to date throughout much of the state of Oaxaca. One of the tradition’s most well-known and respected sculptors is Adolfo Cruz, recently retired from his fine arts teaching post at the Benito Juarez University in Oaxaca. In addition to having developed an international reputation as a master of stone and bronze art forms, Maestro Adolfo is continually being called upon by both government and church to restore and refurbish historic buildings which have suffered from the wear of centuries and periodic earthquakes, as well as by architects wanting to maintain a connection with the past in their contemporary projects.
Those with an interest in art or architecture now have an opportunity to meet with this grand maestro in his facility in Magdalena Etla, a ten minute drive beyond the well-known Wednesday market town of Villa de Etla.
You’ll have an opportunity to learn about the varied applications of the three types of cantera; the state-of-the-art machinery recently acquired by Adolfo enabling him to create with much more precision; and the process by which he fashions sculptures of cantera, as well as of bronze using a rather rudimentary foundry, the only such bronzing facility in the state. For the collector and art aficionado a rare opportunity exists to purchase one-of-a-kind pieces at a fraction of American costs for similar quality.
One of Adolfo’s three daughters, Nely, is an artist in her own right, and follows in her father’s steps, now teaching at the fine art college. She works with a variety of media, but what “pays the rent” are her fine-cut cantera jewelry pieces, predominantly earrings and pendants.
For those with a particular artistic orientation who are visiting Oaxaca, a trip to Magdalena Etla provides a uniquely rewarding experience, in particular if combined as part of a full day tour with stops at the nearby artistic glass factory, the hand-made paper facility, the art institute and gallery at San Agustín, the home of one of the finer ceramicists in Atzompa, and perhaps a stop by one of the smaller Zapotec ruins with a quaint community museum.
To get to Adolfo Cruz’s home and studio, follow the highway beyond the town of Etla, taking the first left onto a dirt road after you pass the well-marked signage of the Oaxaca Industrial Park.
Alvin Starkman together with wife Arlene operates Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast ( http://www.oaxacadream.com ). Mr. Starkman
accepts tour requests along the foregoing as well as other routes in the valley of Oaxaca.
2/01/2007
ARMANDO LOZANO RAMÍREZ, MASTER SCULPTOR AND JEWELER
First in a series of brief articles showcasing certain Oaxacan artisans who are at the top of their game, true maestros in their particular fields:
ARMANDO LOZANO RAMÍREZ, MASTER SCULPTOR AND JEWELER
“Oaxaca’s Man of Steel”
Alvin Starkman M.A., LL.B.
Some 30 years ago, a youthful 27 year old acquired a piece of machinery by chance. Not knowing exactly what to do with it, or how it could somehow become a positive factor in his life, he took a gamble and purchased some modest tools and metal. Armando Lozano Ramírez was then living in Puerto Vallarta, at a time and within an environment where a rich crafts tradition had been emerging. It was within this context that he began experimenting with then innovative techniques, out of necessity using one of the more affordable precious metals…brass.
Today, entering the combined home, workshop and gallery of Maestro Lozano, tucked away just off the main highway running through San Bartolo Coyotepec, a short drive from Oaxaca, one cannot help but be stunned by both the diversity and uniqueness of his work in terms of form, function and size. Entrancing best describes the overall impression when viewing his exceptional art: jewelry and sculpture, handcrafted in brass with acid-induced hews of aquamarine accenting most pieces. The intricacy of each one-of-a-kind design, with not only pre-Hispanic but also African influences is remarkable, perhaps surprising given that we’re in the midst of a Zapotec cultural tradition perceived to be manifest in works of iron and silver, stone, clay and wood.
Apart from the foregoing historical and contemporary sources, Maestro Lozano receives his inspiration musing through his daily walks and bicycle rides which characterize his early morning ritual, or otherwise through quiet contemplation and meditation. When his creative forces somehow manage to escape through a lack of discipline, going out and viewing a film sometimes spurs their return.
Armando’s financial fortunes are at times similarly fleeting, fluctuating with seasonal tourism and his ability to attract patrons. While he is sometimes out of state doing expositions and workshops, it’s his home sales upon which he primarily relies for his livelihood, without displaying his works in downtown shops and galleries.
Whether you’re greeted by the Gran Maestro himself, his son who carries on the tradition, or his wife whose paintings and etchings grace the walls of the studio, one cannot help but be impressed by the overall humility. The welcome may at first appear muted, but within seconds the warmth of the family draws you in. Each piece is marked with a code on the back, referencing a price which must be looked up, easily enough. This means of “marketing” might appear to signify lofty pricing, but in fact the opposite is the case. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at the affordability of such tasteful and functional original works of art, whether your interest is in a thought-provoking sculpture to adorn a coffee table or mantle, a necklace, pendant, bracelet or earrings.
Armando Lozano Ramírez, Independencia 26, San Bartolo Coyotepec, Oaxaca.
Tel: (951) 55-10095
Resident Oaxacan Alvin Starkman, together with wife Arlene operates Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast ( http://www.oaxacadream.com ). He includes a stop by Armando’s on one of the tours he offers.
ARMANDO LOZANO RAMÍREZ, MASTER SCULPTOR AND JEWELER
“Oaxaca’s Man of Steel”
Alvin Starkman M.A., LL.B.
Some 30 years ago, a youthful 27 year old acquired a piece of machinery by chance. Not knowing exactly what to do with it, or how it could somehow become a positive factor in his life, he took a gamble and purchased some modest tools and metal. Armando Lozano Ramírez was then living in Puerto Vallarta, at a time and within an environment where a rich crafts tradition had been emerging. It was within this context that he began experimenting with then innovative techniques, out of necessity using one of the more affordable precious metals…brass.
Today, entering the combined home, workshop and gallery of Maestro Lozano, tucked away just off the main highway running through San Bartolo Coyotepec, a short drive from Oaxaca, one cannot help but be stunned by both the diversity and uniqueness of his work in terms of form, function and size. Entrancing best describes the overall impression when viewing his exceptional art: jewelry and sculpture, handcrafted in brass with acid-induced hews of aquamarine accenting most pieces. The intricacy of each one-of-a-kind design, with not only pre-Hispanic but also African influences is remarkable, perhaps surprising given that we’re in the midst of a Zapotec cultural tradition perceived to be manifest in works of iron and silver, stone, clay and wood.
Apart from the foregoing historical and contemporary sources, Maestro Lozano receives his inspiration musing through his daily walks and bicycle rides which characterize his early morning ritual, or otherwise through quiet contemplation and meditation. When his creative forces somehow manage to escape through a lack of discipline, going out and viewing a film sometimes spurs their return.
Armando’s financial fortunes are at times similarly fleeting, fluctuating with seasonal tourism and his ability to attract patrons. While he is sometimes out of state doing expositions and workshops, it’s his home sales upon which he primarily relies for his livelihood, without displaying his works in downtown shops and galleries.
Whether you’re greeted by the Gran Maestro himself, his son who carries on the tradition, or his wife whose paintings and etchings grace the walls of the studio, one cannot help but be impressed by the overall humility. The welcome may at first appear muted, but within seconds the warmth of the family draws you in. Each piece is marked with a code on the back, referencing a price which must be looked up, easily enough. This means of “marketing” might appear to signify lofty pricing, but in fact the opposite is the case. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at the affordability of such tasteful and functional original works of art, whether your interest is in a thought-provoking sculpture to adorn a coffee table or mantle, a necklace, pendant, bracelet or earrings.
Armando Lozano Ramírez, Independencia 26, San Bartolo Coyotepec, Oaxaca.
Tel: (951) 55-10095
Resident Oaxacan Alvin Starkman, together with wife Arlene operates Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast ( http://www.oaxacadream.com ). He includes a stop by Armando’s on one of the tours he offers.
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