Oaxaca Update, October 31, City in Flames

With no resolution, Federal police have now taken over the city of Oaxaca by force. Remember, President Fox promised that there would be peaceful resolution but we see the opposite: no resolved issues, and a beautiful city now torn apart psychologically and physically between government, teachers, parents, business owners, and a variety of activists, all with different needs.
Violence has broken out in a variety of ways now that the senate has ruled that they will not remove the Gov. Ruiz but ask him to resign, teachers and other groups have had to split ways, due to different demands and disagreements, and we can watch the revolution fail as the solidarity that once held this movement together falls apart under the pressure of not having any comprimises. (The Gov. does not seem to have the basic human decency to just step down and avoid some of this conflict which has resulted in so much pain.)

Bradley Roland Will, a journalist for IndyMedia, of whom we had been following, was shot to death this past weekend by unknown 'thugs'. Some including the BBC have reported that he was shot by hired hitmen from Ruiz's party.
We will mourn his death, but be grateful to remember how he did his best to get the true story, as a journalist...amongst so many deceptive and sensationalist media sources he was one who cared to live amongst the barricades and take his camera to the source of this revolution.

So our Oaxaca updates will soon end, sadly, by watching a people who worked so hard to grow and to care about equality, their city none for the better now after so many months of trying... and in a few months it will probably look different, the faces of people will be harder, and the kids will be restored to classes... their teachers will need time to heal, the city will be scarred, yet tourists will return, some not aware in the least that this piece of history took place.
We will go to Patzcuaro today for the Days of the Dead and mourn those heroes who died in their attempt to carry on an honest democracy, who stood up to a very corrupt government in the name of democracy, who exercized their rights to civil disobedience. VIVA OAXACA... we won't forget this!

*See New Oaxaca Information sources on the right sidebar.*

Wunderground Travel Log

Calle San Jorge

Yes there's another blog going, (actually it's been around coming up on a year for some of the content) -- more like journal entry style with the focus on photography and weather, climate, and conditions at Wunderground.
It is another outlet for Erika's comments about outdoor photography, and interfaces with a huge selection of amazing photos by photographers around the world, some are on the pro level and it's inspiring to see what people are photographing in the outdoors, in the global neighborhood.
Catch the blog and check out the photos:
"Akirechen's Wunderblog Travel Log"
"Akirechen's Wunderphotos"

New Tlaquepaque Song Released!

Listen to our latest music, made on the road, and written in Jalisco:
"Tlaquepaque Song" is dedicated to our new friends!

Chihuahua Desert; Dia de los Muertos is almost here

Chihuahua Desert, 2006
It is going to be hard not to come back to the states without one of these cutie-pies.

Hawaiian Muertos, 2006

Tony de Carlo is a painter living and working in New Mexico, an escapee from Los Angeles, and one of Erika's favorite visual artists. Tony has been so kind as to share his work and his stories over the internet. His works include themes of the spiritual and the worldly, the abstract and colorful, the latino male experience, puppies, gardens, and more recently, scenes of natural beauty inspired by the New Mexico desert. (All the good stuff!) ...I discovered his work on Valencia Street in San Francisco and have been inspired by it in turn. Check out his website, (thank you, Tony!)
www.tonydecarlo.com

Women, be healthy and free, like a tree

It's true that most Mexican women in traditional communities live with a lot of contradictory ideas about health and beauty, as we do in the United States, though here it may be more exaggerated: Many Mexican women aspire to (and are expected also) to want to preserve traditions, and have the chance to also ascend to their 'modern' abilities and potential personal goals.  It is true that mass marketing and the media re-enforces the image of the irrationally skinny and feminine latina, while at the same time selling products that are ridiculously full of sugar and saturated fats that cause diabetes and cancer.  It is also true that while many Mexican women are underweight until they marry, they then become seriously overweight, I see firsthand that diabetes is a huge problem here.  I won't include statistics (look it up yourself, holmes!) I am concerned with this more than ever, too.  It's hard to balance the act between beauty, health, and self esteem. 
Today I was inspired by an article from a fellow doctor in my community who wrote:
"Eve Ensler, the famous playwright of the "Vagina Monologues", traveled the world asking women across all cultures if they liked their bodies. She was able to find only TWO WOMEN in the world who didn’t have a problem with some body part or another.

One wise African woman explained to Eve, who was having trouble accepting her “not-so-flat post forty stomach”, as she refers to it, to look at the trees. She explained that they all look different, that they are all supposed to look different, and that each one is beautiful in its own right. 

"Each of us custom builds our lives. Pay attention to where you are putting your energy. Build in a balance of work and play, nourish yourself, learn to say no, and if people are getting mad at you, you are probably on the right track! If we nourish ourselves by building a life that we want, we won't have to fill that hole with unhealthy and excessive foods. Make a difference in the world by being all that you can be, your own unique tree. - Carol Bowman, MD


Carol Bowman, MD, ABHM

Oaxaca Update: The People Won't Give In

Eugene and Erika continue to watch all the diverse news sources, from their San Miguel location, piecing together the real story of the Oaxacan People's struggle. This week, more than 20 protesters have started a hunger strike in the center of Mexico City, D.F.

The Following is an excerpt by Bill Weinberg on Oct. 18, 2006 for the WW4 Report:
"As odds for the legal removal of Gov. Ulises Ruiz seemed to narrow Oct. 16, Oaxaca activists camped out in Mexico City's historic center began a hunger strike aimed at pressuring the federal government to find a solution to the five-month crisis. Senate sources indicated to the daily El Universal that a bid to declare the Ruiz administration unable to govern will likely fail in the looming vote. The paper reports that a subcommittee majority has prepared a report concluding that no "disappearance of powers" is justified in Oaxaca. However, Government Secretary Carlos Abascal, who is charged with settling the Oaxaca conflict, seemed to differ with the Senate committee, saying, "The local authorities haven't had the capacity to maintain peace, order and security. That's why what's happening in that state is happening."

Band Practice at Gypsy Cafe and a Child's Funeral

San Miguel de Allende. We have been here for two weeks in our new apartment, in the Colonia San Antonio, which is away from the tourist center (20 minutes by foot) and we like it that way. San Miguel is a town known to be the *most* inhabited ex-pat town in the country of Mexico. That means there's more big dogs here, and it's more dog friendly. That does not mean that more english is spoken as one may expect, though. We need to use our spanish speaking skills always. That's good!

Eugene has been jamming with the 'house band' at Gypsy International Cafe. Today, Lama, Erika, and Eugene hung out there with the staff and their buddies, who have become our local friends. There's Michelle, Miriella, her fiance Ben (another ex-pat our age), and the guys in the band, Fredericko who plays killer guitar, Michelangelo, Miguel and a few more (including a shakuhachi player who we haven't met yet.) They have just opened their cafe within the past 6 months. They have paintings, multi-media art, a small sound stage, breakfast, lunch, snacks, beers (and liquor por la noche.) It's a small place but offers all the things we like. Last week they had a fashion show, and tomorrow night we will dj as "DJ Team Here Are The Facts You Requested".

So, today was band practice - some of the tunes played were Herbie Hancock's 'Camelion', some Stevie Wonder, and a Willie Nelson tune. Erika chipped in some advice about phrasing for the jazz tune, while eating a swiss meatball baguette that was very delicious. Just when the funkiness was settling in, Michelangelo rushed in, yelling, "Stop, Stop, cut the music! Hay una persona muerte in la calle..." a dead person in the street? Everyone hushed and looked out the front door. A quiet moment followed, and then the singing of sad women was heard, as a funeral parade slowly passed by, the men carrying the smallest white coffin we had ever seen, trimmed in gold and adorned with marigolds. The moment lasted only a few seconds, but everyone was silent for what felt like an hour. Pushing through the sadness, Ben suggested getting back to the music and soon we all felt better, and customers came in to rub Lama's belly. Happiness returned.

Cervantino Festival in Guanajuato

A Perfect Combo in Tlaquepaque

Te Amo, Tlaquepaque! Viva The Grand Combination:
Lucha Libre and Tacos at Midnight!

Akire, Shakira, y mas Pop Music

Shakira video, The megastar is coming to Guadalajara October 15. Everyone is very excited.
(After all these years, we just thought Shakira and Akire just had similar stage names in common...now being in Mexico we can really understand the full force that Shakira has over the musical megasphere!) In the D.F. last week she played a concert over 3 1/2 hours long, with great reviews, making the cover of most local newspapers. Shakira was born in Columbia and her musical success didn't happen overnight. Guitar legend Carlos Santana is one of the featured musicians on her latest album. Muy Pop!

"Sussie4" is also a band we have discovered in Guadalajara, pop electronica. This band has a variety of different vocalists who add different dimensions to the band.

Natalia y La Forquetina we saw this band's video 'Casa' in a cafe in Tlaquepaque. The video was very thoughtful and fun to watch. This would be my recommendation for mexican lounge pop mas bonita, you can dance along.



More musical exploration leads us to banda, which is like extra bombastic polka, and the teenagers like to do something like dirty-dancing to it (very high speeds). Very entertaining and very mexican (don't forget the german influence!) THE place to see it live in our neighborhood was La Hacienda Tlaquepaque...While it's the mainstream in Guadalajara, this sort of thing won't be quite the same in the north country.

Stay tuned to Mexican Submarine for more music and videos!

Oaxacan Update on October 2, 2006

photo by Erika, Oaxaca City, 2005

"No one is truly free when others are repressed"

We fellow travelers have been carefully following the Oaxacan conflict since June 2006, since we decided to move there, where we found a heart connection with this community of highly intellectual and artistic people... who are now in danger. Our move was halted by this conflict; when we learned of the situation we decided to follow the news from all available sources. This week the struggle is now being threatened with obliteration. The people of Oaxaca are facing an immenent attack by the federal government. There are many sides to the story, but clearly the use of force instead of sincere diplomacy will result in people being injured, and worse.


Saying Grace: Eugene appreciating Oaxacan Mole; photo by Erika in 2005

If you are able, take five minutes to send an e-mail or fax to the Mexican government to demand they not harm the
Oaxacan people, who have been engaged in peaceful civil resistance for the past four months.
It seems petty to write an email but it is something we can do. This struggle is a mirror of what is going on not-so-quietly in our own country and elsewhere. We can at least raise our voices and show an awareness, that the world is watching, and that we DO care.
You may copy this letter into your own email:

Vicente Fox Quesada
(Presidencia, Los Pinos)
Telephone:
011 52 (55) 2789 1100
011 52 (55) 18 7501 Atencion Ciudadana
Fax: (55) 52 77 23 76
email: vicente.fox.quesada [at] presidencia.gob.mx

Dear President Vicente Fox,

Please do not authorize the use of Federal force to resolve the current
social and political dispute in Oaxaca.

Sincerely,

...If you use email, you can send copies to:

President Elect Felipe Calderón Hinojosa: felipe [at] felipe.org.mx and

Secretary of Government: Carlos Abascal: segob [at] rtn.net.mx

1000 Words

Hey everybody, as requested I added a lot of pictures from the trip, but I've put these back chronologically in time to the day they came from, so everything is in order. This means you should please go back and take a look at the September and August archives, otherwise I've done a lot of uploading for nothing!

Eugenia makes Top Hundred!

Popular names of mexico.