Category Archives: November 2016
Editor’s Letter
By Jane Bauer
Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That’s because they were able to connect experiences they’ve had and synthesize new things. Steve Jobs Continue reading Editor’s Letter
Black Pottery… A Modern Folk Art
By Brooke Gazer
If you have been to any Mexican craft market, it is likely that you noticed many examples of Barro Negro (Black Pottery), for which Oaxaca is famous. In spite of its overwhelming popularity, this is a relatively new medium of Mexican folk art. For over 2000 years, the village of San Bartolo Coyotepec produced very basic utilitarian pottery. These sturdy vessels, which were used to carry water, oil, or mescal, were rustic with a matte grey appearance. In the early 1950’s a petite Zapotec woman, named Rosa Real Mateo de Nieto, altered the way her people handled clay, and subsequently the economy of her village. She is now fondly known by the honorific name of Doñs Rosa. Continue reading Black Pottery… A Modern Folk Art
Aquathon
By Lenore Harder
The 4th Worldwide Aquathon Day will be held on November 12th, 2016. Rose Hartzenberg from South Africa was inspired to put this event together several years ago. The worldwide event has exploded to include 75 countries and over 175 pools participating. I thought this was an inspiring and motivating event to get involved with, so I signed up as a host in Huatulco, Mexico! Aquafitness and this annual Aquathon are to inspire and unite participants, and introduce them to the benefits of training and exercising in the water, a natural healing environment adapted to exercising effectively little impact on joints and muscles. Continue reading Aquathon
The Schizophrenia that is Oaxaca
By Alvin Starkman, M.A., J.D.
Oaxaca is a wonderful place to live in and visit. The broad theme of this magazine is to praise all that is great about vacationing and residing both on the coast, and in the state’s interior. But it’s high time that readers obtain at least a glimpse of the underside, because like all other locales, Oaxaca is not rosy much of the time for many, in particular for full-time residents, whether transplants or native born. Continue reading The Schizophrenia that is Oaxaca
El Maestro de Los Monos
By Geri Anderson with photographer/translator Marcus Wilkinson
If you’ve ever wandered through Oaxaca City’s Jalatlaco neighborhood to the corner of Niños Heroes de Chapultepec and Calle Aldama, you’ve probably noticed José Octavio Azcona y Juárez, Mexico’s foremost monero (puppet maker) working in his shop, creating monos de calendas (huge dancing puppets). Until retirement three years ago, he might have been changing a tire on a semi-trailer truck right there on the Pan American highway! That was his life’s work for 30 years, that AND making monos, which are sometimes called gigantes because they truly are gigantic creations. Continue reading El Maestro de Los Monos
My Top 5
By Jane Bauer
Huatulco
- Eggs Benedict at Las Parotas
The restaurant at the Las Parotas Golf Course is a delightful choice for breakfast; picturesque, delicious, affordable and open to the public. Continue reading My Top 5
Mexico City Culture: Art Is Everywhere
By Carole Reedy
Art surrounds us, coming straight from the heart and transmitted via various media to all our senses. However, art in the form of painting or sculpture is the literal art to which we refer in this short exploration of art in the city. Continue reading Mexico City Culture: Art Is Everywhere
Wabi-Sabi: The Art in Everyday Life
By Leigh Morrow
Standing on the polished marble floors of the Louvre on Paris’s Right Bank, I was gobsmacked by the sheer size and scale of this world-class collection of art.
My eyes soaked in the armless beauty of the Venus de Milo, stood close enough to see the fine visible brush strokes of the Old Masters, and could almost hear the music playing as Louis XV entered his palace, wearing the bejeweled crown displayed in front of me. The 70,000 pieces of the Louvre’s immense collection are considered the finest art collection on the planet. Continue reading Wabi-Sabi: The Art in Everyday Life
THE BIG LITERARY AWARDS: Who are these finalists?
By Carole Reedy
Stunned and surprise were the first feelings I had after reading the list of novels that are short-listed for the Man Booker Prize and the National Book Award this year. I didn’t recognize one name. At first I thought ‘Mmmmm, a bunch of young whippersnappers.’ But, no, to my surprise most are middle-aged with a cache of published books to their credit. Continue reading THE BIG LITERARY AWARDS: Who are these finalists?
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