| Hola!
In this issue we bring you humor, politics, art and praise. Many of you have asked us about the changes taking place in everyone's favorite zocalo. We offer some up to date information and opinions about that. Also here is a laugh-out- loud article on studying Spanish in Oaxaca; Oaxaca's hand made craft as toy and an insightful article in praise of Oaxaca's many rich pleasures. We hope you enjoy them all.
| Save the Toys |
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Local non-profit group uses creative means to preserve traditions
There is hope that for Mexican children everywhere, as well as toy-deprived adults, the childhood traditions of a bygone era can be preserved; Juguetearte (Toy art), a project dedicated to preserving toy traditions while cleverly disguising them as art (or is it the other way round?) is on the scene.
Full story....
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| Celebration of Life's Pleasures |
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Life in Oaxaca seems exactly the opposite of arduous. The food, especially the rich and spicy mole sauces and the locally produced chocolate, is famously good (vegetarians find much more to eat here than in other parts of Mexico) and the weather combines the cool clarity of high altitude with the warmth of proximity to the tropics. The people are friendly and welcoming in the way that those who feel comfortable at home can afford to be. There is plenty to see, but somehow it gets seen without a sense of touristic obligation; there is plenty to to buy but nothing frantic about its purchasing
Read on....
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| The Boy in the Garden |
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The problem with learning a language is that you must start with the most elementary. For almost five hours we discuss the notebook on the table, the boy in the garden, the picture on the wall. We have learned only two verbs -ser ("to be") and estar (another version of "to be"). Knowing only two verbs is limiting, especially when they are more or less the same.
I wonder how many years will go by before someone asks me, in Spanish, if the boy is in the garden.
In cooking class, I thought that Soledad, the teacher, said we would be cooking a baby, but it turns out that she wanted to know whether anyone was thirsty (beber apparently means "to drink").
Full story....
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Backyard Politics
(Oaxaca's zocalo) |
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Two years ago, artists and architects banded together to stave off McDonald's from opening on the main square in Oaxaca. Now some of those same activists are under attack themselves, over their plan to evict another foreign invader - - the towering Indian laurel trees that shade the historic plaza. Opponents say the idea is political correctness run amok.
The designer of the present day Zocalo, Jaime Ortiz Lajous, says that the Zocalo's destruction should result in criminal proceedings against the Oaxaca State governor, Oaxaca City mayor and any others found to be involved.
Find Out More....
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