Friday day was very low key, something that is just fine with me these vacation days. I will have to figure out how to incorporate these into my regular routine.
In the morning we met Salime and her husband, Enrique, and infant, Leo. Slaime and Enrique are part of an artist collective, doing a lot of printmaking, and focusing on the spiritual aspects of male and female. He teaches art at the university, and she teaches dental hygiene there; like most artists, they need thier day jobs to fund their art-making.
Salime is the artist who made the praying mantis print that graces our living room in Tieton. It was the lead for the first printmaking show in Tieton. Sandra had gotten in touch with her with her usual diligence and persistence, contacting three different people to track her down. We had a very nice conversation with them over coffee and desserts. They gave us their 2012 calendar, and it was good for Sandra to talk about art.
We studied Spanish in the afternoon and then went out. Clearly, this was going to be a big party night for the town. There were vendors setting up everywhere, and the strollers were out in force early. We got down to the zocalo around 6:30. It was already jammed with people standing in line waiting to see the radishes. Now, these aren’t your everyday radishes, some growing very large. The artists set up tableaux, some, but not all, having to do with a nativity scene, or scenes of Oaxaca or regional traditions. In addition to the radishes, there are also exhibits using calendula blossoms, and (our favorite) leaves of the totomoxtle (the wild plant from which the many corn varieties come). The exhibition tables are set up 3/4 around the square, with double ramps to accommodate the viewers.
But before you can see these, you have to stand in line. And what a line…the equivalent of 7 city blocks when we got there, snaking back and forth on 3 streets, shepherded (if that’s the correct word) by city and federal police. We spoke briefly with a young journalist who was covering the evening for a local paper. She had a lot of good energy, is learning French as her 3rd language, and was very congenial.
While inching through this line, at no point did Sandra or I feel the slightest edginess from anyone in the crowd. There were many families there, very old folks and very young, and people were in a good mood. It wasn’t raucous, no one was drinking and virtually no one was smoking, either. It was a great opportunity for people watching. Some amazing and beautiful faces, smiles, gazes. Sandra and I have both noticed how people seem to look at each other here more than in the states. It’s not to say that people are unguarded, just that there seems to be more directness to many of the gazes.
We finally made it to the exhibit, hurrying through a police cordon the final steps. There was a lot to see. Some were more spectacular than others, some had terrific attention to detail. and most seemed to be the result of a lot of work. Fireworks on the square next to exhibit went off while we were halfway through. They were really close, and would never have made it through US safety laws. The Mexican (boys) sure love their fireworks, and this week at night has been filled with them, some so big they set off store and car alarms.
We made our way to the end and then headed back for a snack. We saw the drummers from the previous night, and it turns out they’re from Oaxaca itself. The next morning, all the exhibits were gone.
