Attractions in and around Oaxaca, Mexico

The competitive crafts industry in Oaxaca, Mexico, has a new art form to compete with barro negro and alebrijes, and perhaps more significantly the handcrafted colorfully painted clay sculptures of the Aguilar sisters of Ocotlán. Las hermanas Aguilar have a longstanding tradition of fashioning figures representing women in Oaxacan regional garb. But add the image of famed Mexican artist Frida Kahlo to the mix, and make dolls out of cloth rather than clay, and you have Friduskas.

La Casita Azul Grupo Friduskas Casa Taller de Tradiciones (Friduskas) is a small scale craft enterprise owned and operated by transplanted Veracruzana designer – artisan Dolores Leycegui. In her workshop just outside of the town of Arrazola, near the city of Oaxaca, Leycegui creates, hand embroiders and paints cloth dolls in a variety of sizes, each with the uni-brow facial feature of Frida Kahla. And when she makes male figures, they of course have a likeness to Diego Rivera. In both cases dress is true to local custom, thus wholly representative of the region (and era) which Leycegui seeks to portray in her artistry. The authenticity is remarkable.

The multi-talented Leycegui began sewing at ten years of age. She explains:

“I knew from an early age that I’d end up with a career using my hands, especially sewing and embroidering. For about 30 years I’ve been making embrooidered cloth dolls, and for the past 18 years I’ve have had my own business; initially in Veracruz, subsequently in Chiapas and Michoacan, and now here in Oaxaca. I plan to stay in Oaxaca for the rest of my life. The state is so stimulating for me; at least sixteen distinct indigenous cultures, each with different dress; and there have been so many changes over the generations and the centuries in the clothing styles of both native groups and the Spanish.”

Indeed, with only two years of residence in Oaxaca under her sash, Leycegui has already begun to further tap her creative energies. Her first collection of dolls epitomized the dress of the eight regions of the state. It’s her initial, and naturally still best – selling series. However she’s more recently begun working on a compilation of outfits customarily worn by the women of African – Mexican culture living in the Costa Chica of Oaxaca, near its border with Guerrero; and on a collection from the Porfiriato (1867 – 1911), the era of Mexican president Porfirio Díaz. “For decades to come I’ll have the inspiration all around me,” she explains, “to produce dolls based on the different designs of dress of this one state alone. I travel around the different cultural, climatic and physical regions, and meet with and learn from the people; and of course I also read and look at photographs and drawings of how people of both indigenous and immigrant roots used to dress. Just like we’ve changed the way we dress over the years, so have many of the peoples whose ancestors arrived in Mexico thousands of years ago.”

In addition to her doll collections, Leycegui also makes wood and fabric marionettes, often with the images of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, some in regional dress, and others with different imagery such as Día de los Muertos (day of the dead). Her talent extends even further. Just as a hobby, the collector of vintage sewing machines makes her own machines from clay, papier maché , fabric, and even by using recycled materials, exemplified by the miniature made using a plastic bottle cap as its base. “The bodies for this pair of dolls are made from plastic soda bottles,” she divulges with pride while revealing their hollow undersides.”

Virutally all of her ideas emerge from the deepest recesses of her soul, at the outset as dream revelations. She believes that hers is a pre-ordained mission. She thanks god on a daily basis for setting her on a particular path of continual creativity.

But the founder of Friduskas fulfills yet a further calling, one advanced through secular not spiritual assistance. Leycegui’s workshop is federally sponsored by FONAES (Fondo Nacional de Apoyo par las Empresas en Solidaridad), a branch of Mexico’s Secretary of the Economy. One of its missions is to aid small rural businesses in their efforts to assist specified sectors of the populace in self – determination.

In her own workshop Leycegui conducts classes for the local population and for urban Oaxacans, as well as for tourists to the region, in both making dolls and as an integral part of embroidering. She has coined the phrase “bordaterapia,” (embroider – therapy) which she explains as relaxation and development through the creative art of embroidering.

Through the auspices of downtown Oaxaca’s Casa de la Cultura (house of culture) she instructs a course known as Bordando Jugando y Rescatando (embroidering, playing and rescuing). The thrust of the project is to preserve the art of making traditional, regionally based hand – embroidered products including, of course, dolls. But just as importantly, she teaches Oaxacans of extremely modest means, those with special needs, and single mothers, segments of society often forgotten or allowed to wallow in predicaments often resulting from circumstances beyond their control.

Leycegui’s work with these less fortunate members of Mexican society began several years ago, prior to the birth of her own special needs child. Sebastián is the youngest of her four children. He has Downs Syndrome. “He’s the most beautiful person I know,” she gleams, then continues. “Yes, it was a turn of fate that I gave birth to a child with a condition I had already dedicated my life to helping through providing these classes. This workshop in now for Sebastián, and through it I’m training him to be an artisan, to be self – sufficient.”

Sebastián is symbolic of but one category of beneficiary of Leycegui’s artistry. Others include tourists to Oaxaca wanting to take home a colorful, 100% handcrafted memento of Mexican indigenous cultures; collectors of ethnic dolls of the world; and visitors to Oaxaca interested in commissioning a custom piece of Mexican folk art, with the face of Frida, Diego, or perhaps based on their own self – image.

Alvin and Arlene Starkman operate Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast (http://www.casamachaya.com). Alvin has written over 250 articles about culture and life in Oaxaca. He assists visitors to Oaxaca to plan their excursions through the state’s central by helping them to plan tours, including for a visit to Friduskas.

The reclusive US based Sociedad de Mezcaleros began and ended its insatiable exploration in the city of Oaxaca de Juárez, as should any tour focused on an in depth education of the manufacture of mezcal (aka mescal), its use as a cooking ingredient, and of course flavor nuances and tasting notes – based on varietal of agave, means of production, terra firma, altitude, water source and aging. After all, the world’s finest mezcales are distilled in and around the central valleys of the southern Mexico state of Oaxaca.

After well over a year of planning, the truly comprehensive mezcal tour of Oaxaca proceeded with flawless precision in March / April 2012; even through random heavy downpours and the occasional earth tremor. Every hour of the itinerary was scheduled with visiting palenques to expand mind and palate; sampling, eating and imbibing to often bacchanalian proportion; and visiting both off-the-beaten-track sights as well as a selection of Oaxaca’s not-to-be-missed traditional cultural attractions.

The Sociedad presidente had virtually demanded that his man-on-the-ground in Oaxaca maintain the grueling schedule for the group. “Leave it the way it is; I know these guys and they can handle it,” he exclaimed. “With each assembly of agave aficionados we bring down we have to look at their personalities and primary motivation; these particular people want to learn as much about mezcal in the shortest period of time possible, and most of them simply don’t have the luxury of touring at a leisurely pace.”

Indeed most of the charter members of the Sociedad spent only four full days in Oaxaca. But a few did stay on longer to take in what less than a week of intensive day and night activity could simply not accomplish.

In the end, most of the newly inducted members of the mezcal order:

• met with eight or more palenqueros ranging from producers using modern innovative roasting and fermenting techniques, to those employing more traditional methods, to purists distilling and storing utilizing only clay pots, known as cántaros;
• participated in the ceremonial filling of an in-ground oven with agave piñas;
• had the opportunity to ask their every question of palenqueros ranging from the most rural campesino to the most exacting and detail oriented chemical engineer;
• sampled from not only production facilities in Oaxaca’s central valleys, but also from downtown Oaxaca mezcalerias and tasting rooms, and restaurants noted for their diversities of mezcales using a cornucopia of agave types – arrequeño, cuish, tobalá, jabalí, mexicano, tobasiche, espadín, san martin, and the list goes on (pulque was also featured in selected rural and urban venues);
• ate in the most quaint comedores imaginable where they were invited into rural roadside kitchens, as well as dined in Oaxaca city’s upscale eateries oft reserved for politicians, literati and others in Oaxacan haute society;
• participated in the almost lost technique of making hot chocolate from scratch with a rural Zapotec family beginning with grinding toasted cacao beans on a stone metate over fire, and at the other end of the continuum learned from internationally acclaimed urban chef Pilar Cabrera Arroyo the art of preparing modern Oaxacan cuisine incorporating mezcal into recipes – marinated skewered shrimp, fruit and veggies al mezcal flambé, and requesón cheese pie with Oaxacan chocolate and mezcal;
• were the special invited guests at the inauguration of a photo exhibit entitled Mezcaleros de Oaxaca, by renowned Mexican – American photographer Spike Mafford;
• at their option participated in private guided tours of a smattering of Oaxaca’s UNESCO recognized sights, and in demonstrations by some of the most talented craftspeople in the state, the latter with either agave or mezcal thematically connected.

Organizers kept many details of the tour under wraps and unknown to participants until the hour dictated disclosure. “When it comes to mezcal and agave in Oaxaca, there’s just so much more we can do,” beamed el presidente, leaning over a fine oak bar one earlier morning towards the tour’s end. No doubt other surprises are in store for new initiates into the Sociedad de Mezcaleros.

Alvin Starkman operates Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast (http://www.oaxacadream.com) with wife Arlene. Alvin’s interests lie in all things mezcal, pulque & agave; helping tourists to the region to get the most out of their Oaxacan vacation; and writing to promote Oaxacan travel and tourism.

When most visitors to Oaxaca think of Oaxacan art, the first thing that usually comes to mind is folk art; alebrijes (carved, fancifully painted wooden figures), barro negro (black pottery), tapetes (hand-made wool rugs), and other craft products. They don’t realize that Oaxaca has a longstanding fine art tradition which continues to thrive today. Indeed Oaxaca, the south central Mexico UNESCO World Heritage Site, has produced internationally renowned artists such as the late masters Rufino Tamayo and Rodolfo Morales, and contemporary artists Francisco Toledo and Demián Flores.

Within a ten block radius of the heart of downtown Oaxaca you can find well over 30 art museums and galleries, and spend half your vacation marveling and eventually buying. But many travelers to the city simply don’t have the time or patience to seriously tour all of Oaxaca’s galleries.

So to get you started, here’s a summary of Oaxaca’s two most well respected art museums, and two galleries with stellar reputations for a broad diversity of fine art. I highly recommend visiting these institutions in order to get some initial inspiration, before beginning to pound the pavement in search of unique and provocative images to grace your home.

Museo del Arte Contemporáneo (MACO, Alcalá 202) has recently been refurbished. It’s housed in a large colonial building on the city’s main pedestrian walkway, Alcalá. The second floor retains some of the structure’s original frescos, adding to the sense of history which is imparted as you walk the hallways and gallery rooms. Colonial tradition is smartly juxtaposed against stark minimalist design. The placement of art provides both contrast and continuity, while at the same time enhances one’s ability to appreciate the art as well as the building. Exhibits of artists from both Mexico and abroad are changed bi-monthly.

Museo de Pintores Oaxaqueños (MUPO, Independencia 607) is located across the street from the cathedral and central post office. As its name suggests, it’s dedicated to celebrating the works of Oaxacan artists. It too has rotating exhibits, featuring up and coming artists, those who have already made their mark, and the grand masters of Oaxacan art. The current exhibition of the works of Rodolfo Morales runs through June, 2012. Once or twice a year the museum hosts fine art auctions to benefit worthy charitable causes, provide financial assistance to local artists and assist in enhancing their reputation.

Arte de Oaxaca (Murguía 105), just east of Alcalá, has been promoting the work of both upcoming and established Oaxacan artists since 1987. It has a permanent room dedicated to the work of Rodolfo Morales. Its range of reasonably prices lithographs is impressive. As in the case of the two museums, it’s housed in a typical two level colonial building with courtyard in the middle, though it’s physically smaller than the museums. There are rotating exhibitions of oils, watercolors, lithos and sculptures.

Galería de Rolando Rojas (Alcalá 102) is owned by artist Rolando Rojas who is also
the proprietor of the adjoining restaurant, La Catrina de Alcalá. It usually contains a mix of larger oils, both traditional in terms of Oaxacan style, and abstract which often pushes the envelope. At times one comes across large impressive pieces painted by a group of prominent Oaxacan artists. The gallery also contains smaller pieces including lithos and grabados, as well as rotating exhibits. As with the others, this gallery is a must.

And how do you go about buying art in Oaxaca? Here are few pointers, each of which has made me aesthetically wealthier:

• If you hesitate, it may be gone tomorrow;
• When something catches your eye, or better yet if both of you are drawn to it, buy at all cost…you’ll never regret it;
• If a piece seems absolutely enchanting but is curiously inexpensive, don’t shy away for fear you won’t be purchasing quality; next year you may not be able to afford it since the reputations of many Oaxacan artists shoot up meteorically as they encounter patrons is Mexico City, New York and other major urban centers;
• Never purchase for investment first; if you’re really lucky the piece will appreciate, but remember:
(i) you have to live with it;
(ii) your children may end up selling it in a contents sale;
• Compare what you see in terms of quality, imagery and price,
to what you already have; in my case, all I have to do is
recall my two pieces by the late R.C. Gorman, influenced by Mexican
masters such as Orozco, Rivera and Siqueiros; and buying becomes
easier;
• Most of today’s promising artists have been influenced by the foregoing
masters as well as the likes of Oaxacan greats including
Tamayo, Morales and Toledo, so if a piece which draws you in
appears to have a special quality, it probably does;
• Resist snobbery; lithographs and grabados are originals, of a limited number. Even posters of exhibition openings and festivals constitute an art form unto itself. As with other mediums, they often evoke interesting images. They are affordable for the most budget conscious, and framing is modest. They provide at least some of what we seek when selecting our artwork – color and coverage.

Keeping these tips in mind, and spending a day or even a few hours visiting Oaxaca’s art museums and galleries guarantees that you’ll go home with at least one piece to grace that barren wall that’s been crying out. More importantly you’ll leave Oaxaca with an enhanced appreciation of an important part of contemporary Oaxacan culture, and more generally Mexican fine art.

Alvin Starkman operates Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast (www.casamachaya.com). He has been collecting Oaxacan art for 20 years. You can email Alvin at oaxacadream@hotmail.com for gallery recommendations based on your particular taste. Alvin takes couples and families to visit artists outside of Oaxaca, as well as to craft towns. However he specializes in more off-the-beaten-track sights.

Alvin Starkman, M.A., J.D.
December 22 and 23, 2011, mark the inauguration of an exciting initiative sponsored by the state and municipal governments of Oaxaca as well as private enterprise. It’s aimed at enabling both tourists to Oaxaca, as well as its residents, to participate in a broad range of cultural experiences. According to Eric Monrroy, developer of the concept, “at Noches Mágicas de Guelaguetza I want people, in one single evening, to be able to take part in and learn as much as possible about Oaxaca; its gastronomic excellence, its music and dance, its color and pageantry, its diversity of crafts, and of course its signature chocolate, coffee and mezcal.”

Many visitors to Oaxaca book to spend only two or three days in the city, without realizing the richness of the region’s offerings until they arrive and it’s too late to change their travel plans. Some are in Oaxaca within the context of a longer vacation during which they do a whirlwind tour of several Mexican cities, while others visit the city for a day or two, en route to or returning home from a beach vacation in Huatulco or Puerto Escondido.

On each of these dates, beginning at 5 p.m., those interested in participating will have an opportunity to:

• Take part in a calenda (parade), complete with live band music, dancers in colorful regional dress, and fireworks, beginning at the Santa Domingo church and concluding at the evening’s main site, a spacious colonial restaurant known as Fuego y Sazón located in the quaint Jalatlaco downtown Oaxaca neighborhood
• Sample Oaxacan chocolate, the state’s renowned coffee, and of course different types of mezcal
• Speak with well known artisans displaying their quality crafts products such as naturally dyed tapetes (wool rugs), alebrijes (whimsical brilliantly painted carved wooden animals), hand-embroidered blouses and dresses, barro negro (black pottery), cotton table cloths and draperies, and hand-painted clay figures
• Treat the palate to a traditional Oaxacan dinner with just enough gastronomic flare to titillate the senses
• Listen to a Oaxacan singer whose repertoire includes songs in both Spanish and Zapoteco (the predominant indigenous language of the region)
• Marvel at a Guelaguetza, the celebration of Oaxaca’s 16 native cultures through dance, dress, song and humor

“The preliminary indication I’ve received from state officials is the hope that this event will be held three or four times a year,” Monrroy continues. “Our government recognizes that in only a few short hours we can expose visitors to the city to an extensive array of Oaxacan traditions; even Oaxacans come out to rejoice and enjoy, largely because of our sense of pride in who we are.”

Organizers of Noches Mágicas de Guelaguetza are enticing the public by providing a further incentive. Tickets are 500 or 600 pesos depending on seat location in the restaurant; but each ticket has a 200 peso voucher attached, redeemable at the event towards the purchase of all crafts, mezcal, chocolate or coffee, making the effective ticket price only 300 or 400 pesos. Tickets are available at tourism offices and kiosks, travel and tour agencies, Aerotucan offices and other select locations. For further details and ticket information email Monrroy at ericmonrroy@hotmail.com, or call 0449511978767 or 0449511842420.

Alvin Starkman is a paid contributing writer for Mexico Today, a program for Marca País – Imagen de México. He and his wife operate Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast (http://www.casamachaya.com). Alvin has spent the past 20 years supporting tourism in Oaxaca, throughout which time he has gained an in-depth knowledge of the rich cultural traditions of Oaxaca and its central valleys.

Alvin Starkman, M.A., J.D.
When we think of mushrooms and the southern Mexico state of Oaxaca, the first thing which traditionally comes to mind is María Sabina, Huautla de Jiménez and hallucinogenic “magic” mushrooms. But slowly that’s all changing as a result of the groundbreaking work of Josefina Jiménez and Johann Mathieu in mycology, through their company, Mico-lógica.

Based in the village of Benito Juárez, located in Oaxaca’s Ixtlán district (more commonly known as the Sierra Norte, the state’s main ecotourism region), Mico-lógica’s mission is threefold: to train both Mexicans and visitors to the country in the low-cost cultivation of a variety of mushroom species; to educate about the medicinal, nutritional and environmental (sustainable) value of mushrooms; and to conduct ongoing research regarding optimum climatic regions and the diversity of substrata for mushroom culture.

The French-born Mathieu moved to Mexico, and in fact to Huautla de Jiménez, in 2005. “Yes, coming all the way to Mexico from France to pursue my interest in mushrooms seems like a long way to travel,” Mathieu explained in a recent interview in Oaxaca. “But there really wasn’t much of an opportunity to conduct studies and grow a business in Western Europe,” he continues, “since reverence for mushrooms had been all but completely eradicated by The Church over the course of centuries; and I learned that Mexico still maintains a respect and appreciation for the medicinal and nutritional value of hongos. Mexico is far from mycophobic.”

Huautla de Jiménez is more than a five hour drive from the closest metropolitan center. Accordingly, Mathieu eventually realized that staying in Huautla, while holding an historic allure and being in a geographic region conducive to working with mushrooms, would hinder his efforts to grow a business and cultivate widespread interest in learning about fungi. Mathieu became cognizant of the burgeoning reputation of Oaxaca’s ecotourism communities of the Sierra Norte, and indeed the Feria Regional de Hongos Silvestres (regional wild mushroom festival), held annually in Cuahimoloyas.

Mathieu met Josefina Jiménez at the summertime weekend mushroom event. Jiménez had moved to Oaxaca from hometown Mexico City in 2002. The two shared similar interests; Jiménez had studied agronomy, and for close to a decade had been working with sustainable agriculture projects in rural farming communities in the Huasteca Potosina region of San Luis Potosí, the mountains of Guerrero and the coast of Chiapas. Mathieu and Jiménez became business, and then life partners in Benito Juárez.

Mathieu and Jiménez are concentrating on three mushroom species in their hands-on seminars; oyster (seta), shitake and reishi. Their one-day workshops are for oyster mushrooms, and two-day clinics for the latter two species of fungus. “With reishi, and to a lesser extent shitake, we’re also teaching a fair bit about the medicinal uses of mushrooms, so more time is required,” says Mathieu, “and with oyster mushrooms it’s predominantly [but not exclusively] a course on cultivation.”

While training seminars are now only given in Benito Juárez, Mathieu and Jiménez plan to expand operations to include both the central valleys and coastal regions of Oaxaca. The object is to have a network of producers growing different mushrooms which are optimally suited for cultivation based on the particular microclimate. There are about 70 sub-species of oyster mushrooms, and thus as a species, the adaptability of the oyster mushroom to different climatic regions is remarkable. “The oyster can be grown in a multitude of different substrata, and that’s what we’re experimenting with right now,” he elucidates. The oyster mushroom can thrive when grown on products which would otherwise be waste, such as discard from cultivating beans, sugar cane, agave (including the fibrous waste produced in mezcal distillation), peas, the common river reed known as carriso, sawdust, and the list goes on. Agricultural waste which may otherwise be left to rot or be burned, each with adverse environmental implications, can form substrata for mushroom cultivation. It should be noted, though trite, that mushroom cultivation is a highly sustainable, green industry. Over the past several years Mexico has in fact been at the fore in many areas of sustainable industry.

Mathieu exemplifies how mushrooms can serve an arguably even greater environmental good:

“They can hold up to thirty thousand times their mass, having implications for inhibiting erosion. They’ve been used to clean up oil spills through absorption and thus are an important vehicle for habitat restoration. Research has been done with mushrooms in the battle against carpenter ant destruction; it’s been suggested that the use of fungi has the potential to completely revamp the pesticide industry in an environmentally friendly way. There are literally hundreds of other eco-friendly applications for mushroom use, and in each case the mushroom remains an edible by-product. Take a look at the Paul Stamets YouTube lecture, 6 Ways Mushrooms Can Save The World.”

Mathieu and Jiménez can often be found selling their products on weekends in the organic markets in Oaxaca. They’re both more than happy to discuss the nutritional value of their products which range from naturally their fresh mushrooms, but also as preserves, marinated with either chipotle and nopal or jalapeño and cauliflower. The mushroom’s vitamin B12 cannot be found in fruits or vegetables, and accordingly a diet which includes fungi is extremely important for vegetarians who cannot get B12, most often contained in meats. Mushrooms can easily be a substitute for meats, with the advantage that they are not loaded with antibiotics and hormones often found in industrially processed meat products.

Mico-lógica also sell teas and extracts made from different mushroom species, each formulated as either a nutritional supplement, or for their medicinal properties. While neither Mathieu nor Jiménez has the pharmacological background to prescribe mycological treatment for serious ailments, Mathieu’s own research points to the medicinal use of mushrooms dating from pre-history, to the present. He notes properties of mushrooms which can help to restore the immune system, and thus the use of fungi as a complement in the treatment of cancer and AIDS, and their utility in controlling diabetes and treating high cholesterol.

“We should all be embracing the organic production of mushrooms,” Mathieu concludes. “It’s so easy, it involves a minimal capital investment, and it provides significant rewards, both for those ingesting hongos for nutritional and medicinal reasons, and for the producers, even small scale. Mico-lógica also sells dried mushrooms. Yet most of the dried mushrooms sold in Mexico are imported from China, and are not organic. It’s a real shame on numerous levels.”

Mexico and mushrooms have come a long way since the era of Oaxaca’s María Sabina. With the continued efforts of Mathieu, Jiménez and Mico-lógica, it should not be long before the world understands and embraces the magic of mushrooms within a much broader context.

Mico-lógica
http://micologica.mex.tl
micologica.oaxaca@gmail.com

Alvin Starkman traveled to Huautla de Jiménez to experience the magic of mushrooms in the 1960s. A former Toronto litigation lawyer, Alvin now lives in Oaxaca where he takes couples and families to sights in and around Oaxaca’s central valleys, works with documentary film companies, and writes about life and cultural traditions in the region. With over 230 articles about Oaxaca to his credit, Alvin is a paid contributing writer for Mexico Today, a program for Marca País – Imagen de México. Alvin and his wife Arlene operate Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast (http://www.casamachaya.com).