The photography at the Post Office in Oaxaca is very interesting!

 

The massive post office just of the zocalo in Oaxaca is extremely interesting.  Grand photos of Oaxacan women, marble floors,

an old flatbed railroad cart, 

old fashion mail slots for the city, all of Mexico, the United States and Europe...  But what is really striking are these large photographs of Oaxacan ladies dressed in their regional attire.  

Not much is known of the photographer except for the name above and the address of the studio in Mexico City.   I would guess these photos were shot around 1930.

There is a dance celebration every July in Oaxaca called The Guelaguetza which represents the eight regions of Oaxaca: Valles Centrales, Sierra Norte, La Cañada, Papaloapam, La Mixteca, La Costa, Sierra Sur and Istmo de Tehuantepec.  The Guelaguetza features traditional costumed dancing and each costume, or traje, and dance usually has a local indigenous historical and cultural meaning.

This lady is representing the Valles Central.  Also known as the Chinas Oaxaqueñas, she is “a working woman", typically found in the city’s markets, of a deep Catholic faith, who honors the Virgin or a particular saint with floral offerings and their dance.

They are also known for their jewelry and their long braids.  They carry a cross that represents their religion. And a small charm holding a portrait which may be of a loved one or the image of a saint or the Virgin de la Soledad, a patron of Oaxaca.

In the Sierra Norte region, the huipils are commonly woven from wool and cotton using back-strap looms.  The costumes of this region are characterized by being more sober in color but very rich in texture, adapting to a cooler climate.

From the  Istmo region, the traditional dress of the Tehuanas was known nationwide to be the symbol of the most independent and proud indigenous women in all of Mexico with their opulent huipils and velvet skirts embroidered with local flowers.  Frida Kahlo adapted this style of dress from her mother who was from this region.  Their hair is a crown of braids, although what stands out most is the silk bun and the flowers.  There is the resplandor, a headdress unique to the women of the Tehuantepec Isthmus which consists of starched white lace and can be worn two different ways.  One is on the top of a woman’s head for festivals and the Guelaguetza and the other, at religious events, where it is positioned so that it frames the face.

After my group and I took in all the photographs, we wandered over to the zocalo and low and behold there were a group of ladies in their traditional dress representing the various regions!

Oaxaca has maintained its artistic identity.  The culture, folk art, contemporary art, murals, native dress, cuisine.  

A traditional Mexican proverb proclaims,

 "What you don't see, the heart can't feel."   How true in Oaxaca!

The Center for Arts in San Agustín Etla and Francisco Toledo

One of my favorite places to visit when in Oaxaca is the Center for the Arts in San Agustín Etla, after of course coming from having several delicious tamales in the market in Etla on a Wedneday, their market day.  

I always stop at "Tamales Maty".  That morning I bought Flor de Calabazas (squash blossoms), Pollo y Salsa Verde (chicken with green sauce) and Rajas (roasted poblanos).  Just delicious.  And she remembered me from my previous visit!  She always throws in one or two different tamales as an extra treat.

 

 

The Fabrica de Hilados y Tejidos La Soledad (La Soledad Yarns and Fabrics Factory) was founded in 1883 in the small community of San Agustín Etla. It was abandoned less than a century after its inception.

 

In 2000, Juchitan-born artist Francisco Toledo (17 July 1940 - 5 September 2019) spearheaded an initiative to turn the then-derelict building into an ecological arts center, which opened in 2006. 

Today, water features, gardens, and abandoned industrial machinery dot the complex.

The trees surrounding the complex are just magnificent .

The current exposition in the main building is the work of Francisco Toledo.  This main expansive space is just stunning.  The steel columns came from Chicago Steel & Iron.

Toledo works in every conceivable medium—oil, watercolor, ink, metal, he makes cloth puppets, lithographs, tapestries, ceramics, mosaics and much, much more.

He designed tapestries with the village craftsmen of Teotitlán del Valle.  These two weaving demonstrate his opposition to the introduction of genetically modified corn into Mexico, something that has been a huge issue in the Oaxaca valley.
 

His iron works are wonderful.

 

Toledo was heavily influenced by Zapotec myths and legends, and the wildlife and flora of a his rural upbringing. His work is filled with the many Zapotec deities, the bat god, the gods of rain and fire, and the sacred animals—rabbits, coyotes, jaguars, deer and turtles.

Toledo's devotion to social and cultural concerns did not stop here.  He participated in the establishment of an art library at the Instituto de Artes Gráficas de Oaxaca (IAGO), in the founding of the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Oaxaca (MACO), the Patronato Pro-Defensa y Conservación del Patrimonio Cultural de Oaxaca, a library for the blind, a photographic center, and the Eduardo Mata Music Library. 

 

He fought against the building of a McDonald's in Oaxaca City, right in the zocalo.

He announced that he would take off all his clothes and stand naked in front of the  proposed site.  He would enlist the help of a few fellow artists and hand out free tamales to anyone who joined the protest, reminding them of their true native food.
Hundreds of people marched in the 2002 event, chanting “Tamales, yes! Hamburgers, no!” In the end,  Toledo did not find it necessary to take off his clothes.

 

And how fortunate my group and I were there for this latest exhibition, especially honoring the artist who was instrumental in restoring this outstanding complex.  What a beautiful setting!