Looking For Francisco Toledo In Oaxaca, Mexico

Posted on May 1, 2013 by jaynezak

Looking for Francisco Toledo In Oaxaca, Mexico

” Oaxacan art tends to depict one theme: the appearance in our history of another time and place. A space within another space. A time within another time.”” Alberto Blanco

“I was in Oaxaca once”, said a friend. “When I was in Junior High, I went with my friend to visit her father. He is an artist in Oaxaca. You should see his work. His name is Francisco Toledo. “

When I arrived in Oaxaca at this beautiful hacienda hotel La Casona De Tita http://www.lacasonadetita.com.mx ) I asked about him. ‘ He is the most famous artist in Oaxaca and maybe the most famous living artist in Mexico today.” (breakfast area)

Toledo’s art is imbued with his Mexican heritage of history and mythology. It is Pre -Colombian meets his favorite artists -Goya,Klee Miro Tapies, Tamayo plus Borges and Kafka. He has exhibited in many galleries in Mexico, Europe, South and North America and Asia. He is represented in public and private collections worldwide. Toledo’s work is based in part on the largely misunderstood shamanistic notion of the nagual, the belief that each human’s fate is intertwined with that of an Aztec spirit in animal form.” (Toledo)

The next day I met our local guide Pati Reyes. She is a dancer who loves art and artists. “They are all my friends here. I will introduce you to Francisco Toledo if he is in town,” she said in Spanish.

We go to IAGO (Institute of Graphic Arts in Oaxaca). It has a wonderful art library (66,000 books) and the largest collection of prints (over 7,000 works) in Latin America. The library is free thanks to Toledo who has donated it to the city. Antique presses are used as tables to display books at IAGO. Art openings there can be crazy; mezcal is poured by the gallon from red plastic gas cans.

Quetzalli, the gallery that represents Toledo, is in Casa Oaxaca and because of him other artists come. Writers and artists visit from all over Latin America, including Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez.

The vigor of Oaxaca’s art scene is visible in the galleries that occupy its downtown corners and the colors that pop off the canvas as local arts . Its art is integral to the character of the city, and an outcome of its amazing backdrop. One night we saw an exhibit called Takeda vs Herrera at the Museum of Oaxacan Painters..It was filled with people all talking about the art. The excitement , stimulation and inspiration is felt everywhere.

The Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Oaxaca (MACO) is perhaps the best example of Oaxaca’s artistic tradition and its ongoing contributions to the art world. Its position near the Santa Domingo Plaza and just a few blocks from the zócolo makes MACO a routine stop for both casual tourists and serious art aficionados. Permanent exhibitions are dedicated to Oaxaca natives Francisco Toledo, Rodolfo Morales, Rufino Tamayo, Rodolfo Nieto and Francisco Gutierrez. (exhibit)

I meet Venancio Velasco. He is the twenty year old artist who is the recipient of the Cultural Xplorers Scholarship to continue his studies in art. He works mostly in woodblock printmaking. The scholarship was started by Cultural Xplorers founder Jim Kane who is always looking for ways to make a positive impact on the countries he visits.

When you speak to Venancio, you understand that he has the soul of an artist . Art is about an emotional connection. Either you have one or you don’t. I connected immediately with his work. This is why I think he has the ability to go very far in the art world. It is exciting to see him at the beginning of his journey . I look forward to seeing his work evolve and supporting his career.

Composition, interpretation and values are key to defining an artist. Venancio’s art is straightforward and abstract, blending emotion with the animals and people of his culture. Everything tells a story and Venancio is happy to share the stories with you.

Shinzaburo Takeda is a master printmaker and artist who brought the first Japanese woodblock tools to Oaxaca. He is a professor and chair of the school of art at Benito Juarez University. He is Venancio’s teacher and one of the judges of the scholarship. He believes in Venancio as an artist of great promise and enjoys nurturing his individual vision. (Venancio and Maestro Takeda)

Maestro Takeda feels that Oaxacan artists have a special gift for printmaking. He jokes that there is so much printmaking going on in Oaxaca that it will sink like Venice under the weight of the printing presses.Though he grew up in Japan, his art is infused with Mexican culture. He is devoted to nurturing the artists of Mexico’s poorest families. The Takeda Biennial is an all-Mexico print competition with many extraordinary entries all honoring Shinzaburo Takeda.

I learn about ASARO. It stands for Assembly of Artist Revolutionaries in Oaxaca. ASARO is a printmaking artists collective and was founded in 2006, during a time of barricades, tear gas, and mass arrests. The ASARO group took great risks to paste topical protest prints on the walls in those days.

There are dozens of art venues ranging from libraries, galleries, coffee houses, restaurants, and mescal bars. My room in the hacienda has some extraordinary pieces hanging on the walls. All the artwork at the hotel is for sale. Exhibitions hang for as little as a week, so there might be several openings a night. Oaxaca’s two daily newspapers send reviewers to cover art openings even at small cooperative galleries. I buy two of Venancio’s prints and the most amazing photograph by local artist Pablo Santaella.

Though I don’t meet Francisco Toledo on this trip, his influence is all over the city He is widely known for not only contributing to the art world in Oaxaca and young artists, but he is an unfailing advocate of Oaxaca’s best interests and has the ear of whoever is in power at the time, often affecting big municipal decisions with his passionate pleas to preserve the environment and integrity of Oaxaca and her history. He brought art to the Oaxacan people. (self portrait by Toledo)

One of the things I have learned from traveling is that good art happens everywhere. There are artists working in every field in every medium in every country. I can’t wait to return to Oaxaca and see what they are creating next.

Fly safe,

JAZ

Weird Things I Have Learned In Los Angeles

Posted on April 23, 2013 by jaynezak

Weird Things I’ve Learned In LA

“You’re not going to see people like this again for a long time, he said and I said I always saw people like this & he looked at me for a moment and said, You’re not from around here, are you?” Brian Andreas, Story People

You can drive one block in Los Angeles. In fact most people do.

Parking meters in Venice can only be used for their allotted time. If you try to put more money in, you have to move your car and come back. Is this something new?

The bus system in Los Angeles is a lot like a third world country. The bus is on a major street and for no reason makes a turn to go down a quiet residential block and then come back. I picture the driver saying “Hm that looks like a nice street. I think I will go there.”

The subway system goes no where that I need to be.

Every few blocks in LA is a different city or named something different. Ex Beverly Hills, Beverly Hills Adjacent, Beverly Hills Post Office. Beverly Hills Flats.

Los Angeles is the most populated city in California and the second most populated in the United States, after New York City.

It is illegal to manufacture pickles in the industrial zone of downtown Los Angeles.

When Los Angeles was founded in 1781, 44 people (14 families) lived in El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de Los Angeles de la Porciuncula (Town of Our Lady the Queen of the Angeles of the Small Portion). The population grew, but the name shrank to simply “Los Angeles.”

Animals are banned from mating publicly in LA within 1500 feet of a tavern, school or place of worship. It is a big problem for my dog.

The citizens of Los Angeles are called ‘Angelenos’, which rhymes with casinos.

The Shirley Temple, a non-alcoholic cocktail, was invented in Los Angeles.

Los Angeles is home to over 1.2 million college graduates. Many of them are actor waiters and their parents are not happy.

There are lots of beautiful people in Los Angeles – highly concentrated in upscale nightclubs and expensive shopping areas . There are also lots of ordinary people who make the effort to look their best. Sometimes too much effort leads to scary.

It is not a great place to grow old. I picture plastic surgeons who look at these women who try so hard and say after the anesthesia” Ok, let’s have some fun.”

Los Angeles is considered to be the world’s entertainment center. Here, on an everyday basis, there are over 100 movie and television production crews shooting for their respective soaps/films on location.

Los Angeles is not filed with beautiful blondes. It is 70 per cent non white with Hispanic being the largest percentage. Orange County is filled with beautiful blondes.

There are sixty-five people in Los Angeles who have the legal name Jesus Christ.

The Summer Olympics have been hosted twice by the city of Los Angeles, first in 1932, and then again in 1984.

Jeans and flip-flops go just about everywhere in LA.

The most important industry in LA is manufacturing.

Most of your waiter and waitresses are actors, models, dancers and comedians.

It is illegal for human beings to marry rocks in the City of Los Angeles. But it is not illegal to marry rock stars.

The Rams came to L.A. from Cleveland in 1946. The Dodgers arrived from Brooklyn in 1958, the Lakers from Minneapolis in 1960, and the Kings were an NHL expansion team in 1967. Prior to the Rams’ arrival, the L.A. sports scene centered on UCLA, USC, and two minor league baseball teams

You rarely get a straight answer when asking people in LA what they do for a living. They are between projects or a life coach or a pet psychic etc.

Every year, about 100,000 women in Los Angeles County have their breasts enhanced.

Someone in LA will always tell you when mercury is in retrograde. Someone from NY will never know this.

In LA, they know how to make a great salad but not bagels, chinese food or cannoli.

In LA most people do not come to a complete stop at a stop sign. It is called the California slide or roll. I learned that it is illegal. Long day at traffic school for trying to fit in.

There are four times more hamburgers eaten in Los Angeles County than in the rest of California. Is that because we have more In and Out Burgers?

Fly Safe,

JAZ

Things I Have Learned In Oaxaca, Mexico

Posted on April 22, 2013 by jaynezak

Things I Have learned In Oaxaca, Mexico

“Travel offers the opportunity to find out who else one is.” Rebecca Solnit

Oaxaca is pronounced Wa-Hoc-A. Except in the Mexico City Airport when they are translating into English and they say O–Ax-A-Ca. People who live in Oaxaca are called “Oaxaquenos’. (Photo © Ben Goodman / licensed by Culture Xplorers)

Oaxaca City is said to host a festival of some kind every week. The most famous festivals are “Guelaguetza”, a native arts/dance festival, “Night of the Radishes” Christmas season celebration and the Day of the Dead.. There are always people walking around the city in costumes and native outfits. They are either going to festival, coming from a festival or rehearsing for a festival.

This is not me.

This is either a dress rehearsal parade for Guelaguetza or a celebration because it is Benito Juarez’s birthday today.

Sixteen different indigenous groups are formally registered within the state. Oaxaca State is the original territory of the Pre-Columbian civilizations of the Zapotec and the Mixtec peoples. ( Photo © Ben Goodman / licensed by Culture Xplorers )

Signs at Temple sites are in English, Spanish and Zapotec

The area was conquered in 1486 by the troops of Aztec Emperor, Ahuizotl, and named “Huaxyacac”. In Nahuatl (the language of the Aztecs), Oaxaca means “on the top of the Guaje (Acacia) tree.”

There are many fewer incidences of violence in Mexico now because the new President is with the drug cartels. In Colombia, the president has made a deal with the drug cartels as well. Mexico says their drug problem is caused by keeping up with the high demand for drugs in the United States.

If you are at Ocatlan Market on Fridays you can buy turkeys, chickens, a goat, souvenirs, a saddle for your donkey, native costumes, religious artifacts, medicinal plants, flowers and food. Photo © Ben Goodman / licensed by Culture Xplorers )

When things are good drink mezcal. When things are bad, the same.

By the third sip you start enjoying the flavor of mezcal.

The code of arms in Oaxaca is a severed head.

The feathered serpents was a prominent supernatural entity or deity, found in many Mesoamerican religions. The feathers represent its divine nature or ability to fly to reach the skies and being a serpent represents its human nature or ability to creep on the ground among other animals of the Earth, a dualism very common in Mesoamerican deities

Super jalapeño chips are a pleasant snack.

How to sell pants in Oaxaca.

The term Mesoamerica refers to a geographical and cultural area which extends from central Mexico down through Central America, including Guatemala, Belize, Honduras and El Salvador.( Photo © Ben Goodman / licensed by Culture Xplorers )

Many important ancient civilizations developed in this area, including the Olmecs, Zapotecs, Teotihuacanos, Maya and Aztecs. They all ate corn, beans and squash, had a calendar system, some form of writing, and played that game with the rubber ball. (Mt Alban Photo © Ben Goodman / licensed by Culture Xplorers )

Tiny bananas are much sweeter than the larger ones.

Teotitlan Del Valle (Place of the Gods) is a village east of Oaxaca City. It has about 5000 inhabitants and most homes have a workshops for weaving. The wool used today came with the Dominicans and the Spanish as a replacement for the cotton that was grown there We had a full demonstration at El Encanto.

The wool is washed with amole a root when mixed with water creates suds. The wool is carded and spun into yarn. They are natural colors. Some of the colors are created by mixing the different natural colors of wool grey brown black and white. They had indigo and charcoal for blue, pecan shells for shades of brown, marigolds for yellow and moss for green. Cochineal which creates reds comes from an insect that lives on a cactus. Adding lemon will change it to orange and adding baking soda will turn it to purple. The weaving designs are inspired by traditional patterns from the Zapotecs.

Hierve el Agua is a natural warm spring which contains air trying to escape, hence the name “Hierve el Agua”which means “the water boils”. The water is also full of minerals, so as it runs off of the edge of the nearby cliff, calcium carbonate and magnesium in the water create a petrified waterfall, and the sulphur ads nice yellow accents in places. There are only two such sites in the world, the other one is in Turkey. ( first two photos © Ben Goodman / licensed by Culture Xplorers – frozen waterfall, “water”, mineral pools,)

San Martín Tilcajete is one of three main Zapotec villages where most of the residents earn a living from carving and/or painting colorful figures. Often generically called alebrijes, they are shaped from the branches of the copal tree. The other villages are Arrazola and La Unión Tejalapan. The carving alone takes up to a month. The figure is then left to dry for up to ten months, depending on its overall size and thickness.

Theories abound about the beginning of the modern-day manifestation of the art-form. Some say that because hallucinogenic mushrooms are native to this part of Mexico, drug induced revelations caused the imaginations of some to wander, ultimately becoming expressed in their carvings. The better explanation appears to be that knowledge of colorful, large, papier maché alebrijes or dragon-like forms that originated in the State of Mexico.

Honey acts as a mordent, making the color permanent and a little shiny. Powdered limestone, baking soda and lime juice changes the color base . Bases are made from natural substances like pomegranate seeds, indigo, corn fungus and cochineal. A beautiful place to see and buy these pieces is the home workshop of Jacob and Maria Angeles. They both came from wood carving families and I noticed many collectors returning as I will. Once you buy one of these, you want more. http://www.jacoboymariatilcajete.org/

Cultural Xplorers is a cool company to travel with. http://www.culturexplorers.com/ (the tourist, local amazing guide/new friend Pati Reyes, founder of Cultural Xplorers Jim Kane)

Oaxaca City is a place of ever-changing light and colors. It is a city for artists.

Viaje con cuidado,

JAZ

PS. Muchas Gracias Ben and Pat.

Food Rules I Have Learned While Traveling

Posted on April 15, 2013 by jaynezak

Food Rules I Have Learned While Traveling.

“Travelers never think that they are the foreigners.’ ~Mason Cooley

You can eat sushi with your hands.

Sashimi is always eaten as a first course before sushi. You can’t eat sashimi with your hands.

Don’t eat anything with your hands in Chile.

You can eat with your hands in Burma (Myanmar). People eat food with their hands in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. People eat with their hands in other countries in Africa and Asia also.

Always keep your hands above the table in Mexico.

Eat only with your right hand in Egypt. (This is true for many Middle Eastern countries) Salting your food is a huge insult.

In Germany, eat your meat with a fork. Use a knife only if it is necessary. If you eat meat with a fork, it lets the cook know the meat is tender.

Pad Thai is always eaten with a fork and a spoon. Thai people eat most of their food with a spoon in their dominant hand and a fork in the other. Chopsticks are only served for soup.

Mezze (small plates) come before a meal.

Pasta is not a main course.

In Uganda, eat fried grasshoppers with your hands like chips. In Mexico eat them on a taco with guacamole and cheese. In Thailand eat them on a stick. In Burma, peel off the head and wings and gulp.

In Burma, they say that anything that walks on the ground can be eaten.

Margherita Pizza is really the only thing Italians consider pizza and should be eaten with a knife a fork. The pies are usually served unsliced. It is not a hard and fast role like never cut your spaghetti with a knife and fork.

In Mexico, never eat tacos with a knife and fork.

In France, don’t eat the bread before the meal.

Never turn down vodka in Russia or tea in Turkey.

In France, eat frogs legs like you would eat fried chicken –with your hands in a casual setting, with a knife and fork in a formal restaurant.

In Kenya drinking cows blood mixed with milk is a special treat.

Chinese people do not eat fortune cookies for dessert but oranges for good luck. It is illegal to eat an orange in a bathtub in California.

In China you are expected to leave a small amount of food uneaten on your plate. If you finish everything, you are sending the insulting message that not enough food was served to you.

It is rude to burp at a table in Japan. It is not rude to burp at a table in China.

In Singapore gum chewing is illegal.

In Mexico Men make toasts, women do not.

In Russia, Do not drink until a toast has been made.

In Armenia, if you empty a bottle into someone’s glass, it obliges them to buy the next bottle.

In restaurants in Portugal don’t ask for salt and pepper if it is not already on the table. Asking for any kind of seasoning or condiment is to cast aspersions on the cook. Cooks are highly respected people in Portugal.

Eating from individual plates strikes most people in Ethiopia as hilarious, bizarre, and wasteful. Food is always shared from a single plate without the use of cutlery.

In Japan it is acceptable to loudly slurp noodles and similar foods. In fact, it is considered flattering to do so, because it indicates that you are enjoying the food.

Do not eat fugu from an unlicensed chef. The Japanese pufferfish, or fugu, is a delicacy in Japan. It’s also potentially one of the most poisonous foods in the world, with no known antidote. Japanese chefs train for years to remove the deadly portion of the fish before serving it, though generally the goal is not to fully remove it, but to leave just enough of a trace to generate a tingling sensation in the mouth, so the customer knows how close he came to the edge. This was one of my best meals in Japan and I have lived to write this.

At this moment, someone is making a food etiquette mistake.

Fly safe,

JAZ

M and M in Mexico -Mt Alban and Mitla

Posted on April 6, 2013 by jaynezak

M and M in Mexico – Mount Alban and Mitla ‘

It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.” — J.R.R. Tolkien

Monte Alban is a large pre-Columbian archaeological site in the Santa Cruz Xoxocotlan Municipality in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca. Besides being one of the earliest cities of Mesoamerica, Monte Albán’s importance stems also from its role as the pre-eminent Zapotec sociopolitical and economic center for close to a thousand years.

Large-scale scientific excavations were done under the direction of Mexican archaeologist Alfonso Caso . Much of what is visible today in areas open to the public was reconstructed at that time. (cool glasses!)

One characteristic of Monte Albán is the large number of carved stone monuments one encounters throughout the plaza. The earliest examples are the so-called “Danzantes” (literally, dancers). They represent naked men in contorted and twisted poses, some of them genitally mutilated. The figures are said to represent sacrificial victims, which explains the morbid characteristics of the figures. The 19th century notion that they depict dancers is now largely discredited, and these monuments, dating to the earliest period of occupation are now seen to clearly represent tortured, sacrificed war prisoners. Dancers, tortured prisoners – it is a common mistake.

A different type of carved stones is found in the center of the Main Plaza. You can see inserted within the building walls are over 40 large carved slabs dating to Monte Albán II and depicting place-names, occasionally accompanied by more writing and often characterized by upside-down heads. Alfonso Caso was the first to identify these stones as “conquest slabs”, likely listing places the Monte Albán leaders claimed to have conquered and/or controlled. How strange this sounds to us in the present day – a Zapotec male talking about his conquests.

The Mesoamerican ballgame or ōllamaliztli was a sport with ritual associations played since 1,400 B.C. by the Pre-Columbian people of Ancient Mexico and Central America. The sport had different versions in different places during the millennia. A modern version of the game, ulama, is still played in a few places by the local indigenous population. It was like racquetball. The ball was made of solid rubber and weighed as much as nine pounds. The ballgame served as a way to defuse or resolve conflicts without warfare – to settle disputes through a ballgame instead of a battle. The game had ritual aspects including human sacrifice but was also played by women and children. Human sacrifice? we havent had that yet at halftime at the Superbowl. ( playing field)

Mitla is the second most important archeological site in the state of Oaxaca in Mexico, and the most important of the Zapotec culture.

Mitla is one of the areas which represents Mesoamerican attitudes towards death, as the most consequential part of life after birth. It was built as a gateway between the world of the living and the world of the dead. The lower world was not a bad place – it was where the dead went. The word Mitla comes from the Náhuatl word Mictlan, meaning place of the dead or underworld. In the Zapotec language this place is called Lyobaa, meaning place of rest or burial-place.

The ancient people of Mitla wanted to keep their dead buried near them. They believed the dead went into a different sphere.They took out the bones and dressed them up to share in special occasions. Archaeologists figured this out by the many bones that were in the wrong places when they put them back. You see a lot of this in Beverly Hills and Hollywood as well.

Mitla was inhabited since 100CE by both Mixtecs and Zapotecs. It was still functioning as a religious site when the Spaniards arrived in 1520.The high priest, called the Uija-tào resided at Mitla, and the Spanish likened him to the pope. Nobles buried at Mitla were destined to become “cloud people” who would intercede for the population below.[

The main distinguishing feature of Mitla is the intricate mosaic fretwork and geometric designs that profusely adorn the walls of both the Church and Columns groups None of the fretwork designs are repeated exactly anywhere in the complex. The fretwork here is unique in all of Mesoamerica.

The two main concerns for the Mitla site are the eroding effects of wind, rain etc. and graffiti. The latter, which is mostly painted or etched, has been a serious problem at least since the early 20th century. To protect the ruins, especially the grecas, shelters have been constructed over a number of the rooms of the Palace or Columns Group. These shelters are palm thatched roofs supported by wooden beams and columns, and are intended to mimic roofs that were common in the Mesoamerican period.

The Spaniards though that the name meant hell. As it was an important site of religious significance, many of the buildings were destroyed by the Spanish. The remains were used as building materials for the churches that sit on top of the ruins.

for more Oaxaca info go to https://havefunflysafe.wordpress.com/2013/04/01/foods-i-have-learned-in-oaxaca-mexico/

Viajen Con Cuidado,

JAZ

Foods I Have Learned In Oaxaca, Mexico

Posted on April 1, 2013 by jaynezak

Foods I Have Learned in Oaxaca, Mexico

“Good painting is like good cooking: it can be tasted, but not explained.”  Maurice de Vlaminck

Mexico introduced chocolate, corn, and chilies to the world.

Corn smut (Ustilago maydis) is a plant fungus that causes smut disease on maize. The fungus forms on all above-ground parts of the corn , and is known in Mexico as huitlacoche; it is eaten, usually as a filling, in quesadillas and other tortilla-based foods, and soups. Test results published in the journal Food Chemistry reveal that an infection that U.S. farmers and crop scientists have spent millions trying to eradicate, is packed with unique proteins, minerals and other nutritional goodies. It can be sold for more than the corn it ruins. It is supposed to taste good –I couldn’t do it. It is hard to get past the fact that it is sold in the street and it looks like a fungus brain disease before cooking.

Traditional Oaxaca chocolate is prepared in a number of ways. It is often ground with sugar, cinnamon, and almonds, and formed into bars which can be used to prepare hot chocolate and other dishes. You may hear this form of Oaxaca chocolate referred to as “Mexican chocolate”, and is often in beautifully packaged octagonal boxes with thick wedges of chocolate. It is always good to visit a city famous for chocolate

Eating at a taqueria in Oaxaca involves not only pork, chicken or beef but what part of the pig you will have in your tacos. Will it be lard-simmered skin or tongue, liver or heart, ear, kidney, stomach or surtida, a mixed bag?. I was definitely the tourist ordering chicken at a place that would run out of pig snout by lunchtime.(the pork, the tacos)

The city of Oaxaca is considered by many as “Mexico’s Culinary Capital” and is nicknamed “The Land of the Seven Moles”. The national dish is “Mole Poblano”. Mole Poblano, the original chocolate version of this complex, gorgeous sauce, was created by a nun in 17th-century Puebla. It was in Oaxaca, however, that mole evolved into high art: There are seven varieties, which come in a surprising spectrum of colors with a vast range of ingredients.

Mole Negro is a sauce made from many ingredients. Every family has their own recipe and replications are difficult unless you spend time learning with the original maker. Most recipes are passed down the maternal line of the family and each recipe is proclaimed as the most deliciosa.

Made mostly of barbequed grasshoppers, “Chapulinas” is a coveted Oaxacan delicacy. It is good on tacos with guacamole and cheese . We had it every day. Sometimes twice They taste like those peanuts with chili and lime –just a little more leggy. If you do not eat bugs in Mexico, you are the weird one.

Maguey worms ( you know them as the worms in the Mescal bottle) are wrapped in a mixiote (a fleshy maguey leaf) and then barbequed or just roasted directly on a hot pan until they become slightly golden and crispy. It is possible to bite into a taco and find one. Mexico is on the US Travel List of Countries that Eat Insects in case you do or don’t want to have them.

When McDonald’s planned to open an outpost in the Zócalo area of Oaxaca, renowned artist Francisco Toledo and his friends set up a stand in front of the proposed location and gave away tamales, atole and other deeply regional foods—and McDonald’s skulked away to the suburbs.

Atole is a traditional masa-based drink of Mexican and Central American origin. Chocolate atole is known as champurrado or atole. It is typically accompanied with tamales, and very popular during the Christmas holiday season (Las Posadas) The drink typically includes masa (corn hominy flour), water, piloncilo (unrefined cane sugar), cinnamon, vanilla and optional chocolate or fruit. The mixture is blended and heated before serving. Although atole is one of the traditional drinks of the Mexican holiday Day of the Dead, it is very common during breakfast and dinnertime at any time of year. Atole is usually sold as street food.

If you like to cook, do not miss the cooking class of Oscar Carrizosa at Casa Crespo. If you like to eat, do not miss the meal prepared by your friends at the cooking class. Not only was the food delicious but the beautiful eighteenth century house with its collection of local artwork is a wonderful place to hang out and watch them cook. (Oscar, place setting with cucumber and lime juice, guacamole and mango, mole) http://www.casacrespo.com/

One of Oaxaca’s best-known products is mezcal, an alcoholic beverage similar to tequila but distilled from varieties of cactus –agave. . The plant must be six to eight years old before it can be harvested. Bottles of mescal always used to include a worm, a practice that originated in the 1940s when Jacobo Lozano Páez accidentally discovered that a worm enhances the flavor of mezcal. They don’t use it so much anymore.

For a great Mezcal tasting and food pairing go to In Situ and have Ulises teach you about Mezcal. He has written a beautiful book about mezcal and will be glad to sign it for you. This is not the commercial rotgut with the worm pickled inside which tastes like formaldehyde. Some of his beautifully bottled Mezcal is as sophisticated as the finest single malts. Ingredients from the earth enter into almost every stage of the process. The piñas are roasted over wood charcoal in a stone-lined pit covered in plant matter and earth, then ground, fermented in wooden vats and distilled into a husky, fiery liquid. So Mezcal ends up tasting like Mexico.

Viajen con cuidado,

JAZ

Things I Have Learned In Myanmar (Burma)

Posted on March 24, 2013 by jaynezak

Things I Have Learned In Burma (Myanmar)

“By the old Moulmein Pagoda, lookin’eastward to the sea, There’s a Burma girl a-settin’, and I know she thinks o’ me; For the wind is in the palm trees, an’the temple bells they say: ‘Come you back, you British soldier’; come you back to Mandalay!’   Rudyard Kipling  ‘Mandalay’. (Bagan)

Things I Have Learned in Myanmar (Burma)

In 1989 the military government officially changed the name of the country from Burma to Myanmar. It is a contested issue. Many countries and opposition groups in Burma do not recognize the new name. The US, UK and Canada do not recognize it. The United Nations does.

In Burma the greeting is Mingalaba. It means may all auspicious luck fall to you.

Homosexuality is not allowed in Burma.

Air Bagan is the preferred airline of the Military Junta in Burma.

There are no federally regulated airlines in Burma.

Spending money in Burma is not easy. They don’t accept credit cards and only accept flat crisp money-mostly in one hundred-dollar bills. If you have that kind of money you can go to the official money exchange. If you don’t, you must go to the unofficial one. This entails going up a betel nut stained staircase to a fifth floor walk up dwelling. Your friends with the good money wait in the car. I ask the tour guide if he has been here before and he says no but the driver knows him.

The Military Junta was officially dissolved in 2011 following an election in 2010 and a nominally civilian government installed. They still keep enormous influence.

There is no ATM, 7-11 or cell phone service. ( or at least there wasn’t a year ago)

The economy is one of the least developed in the world, and is suffering the effects of decades of stagnation, mismanagement, and isolation. Key industries have long been controlled by the military, and corruption is rife. The military has also been accused of large-scale trafficking in heroin, of which Burma is a major exporter.

The iconic sight of Inle Lake is the leg rowing Intha fishermen. The traditional fisherman still use this technique. They stand at the stern and wrap one leg round an oar whilst gripping the hull of the boat with the other foot.

Burma is the most religious Buddhist country in terms of the proportion of monks in the population and proportion of income spent on religion.

Hillary Clinton made a landmark visit to Burma in December 2011 – the first by a senior US official in 50 years – during which she met both President Thein Sein and Aung San Suu Kyi. President Obama followed suit in November 2012, signaling Burma’s return to the world.

Aung San Suu Kyi is the Burmese opposition politician and chairperson of the National League for Democracy in Burma. She remained under house arrest in Burma for almost 15 of the 21 years from 20 July 1989 until her most recent release on 13 November 2010. She now holds an elected seat in the Parliament. She would be unable to be elected president because of a new ruling about foreign-born children. Aung San Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 while under house arrest and was unable to give her acceptance speech. Here is the beginning of her speech which was given in 2012. You can view the whole speech on youtube .

Burma ranks the lowest for health care.

If you are going to Burma, do something to help. There are many orphanages and schools. Teach English for a day or bring things to the orphanages or hospitals or schools. If you do some research, you will find many opportunities –or just wait till you get there and ask.

Burmese traditionally eat with their hands. Chopsticks and knives and forks are becoming more popular. The meal is served on a low table and the Burmese sit on mats on the floor.

The Burmese are snackers. ( and who isn’t?) There are many stalls selling snacks on the streets.

Burma is known for its legendary golden Buddhist pagodas. The Schwedegon Pagoda in Yangon is the most famous. The stupa sours 100m into the air and can be seen from far away. The seven tiered crown has 5000 diamonds and 2000 rubies.

In the poorer Shan and Chin states, insect larvae, ants and grasshoppers are added to the traditional rice and curries, cooked vegetables, lentils and spicy salad.

The Burmese women wear thanaka on their faces. It is a yellowish white paste and is used as a skin protection and sun screen and often applied with designs..

Try to stay in privately owned hotels and eat in privately owned restaurants. Do your shopping at personal businesses. This way you are helping the Burmese people and not the military junta.

When I was there, (almost year ago but I wasn’t a blogger) the Burmese were willing to talk about Aung San Su Kyi and point out the street where she was under house arrest. The consensus was then if she leaves that she wont be allowed back. (this was before she was elected –things have changed.)

Burmese spelling is easier than Thai spelling or even English spelling.

The Strand Hotel in Yangon Myanmar, home to Somerset Maugham and Rudyard Kipling when it was Rangoon, Burma, looks exactly the way you picture it.

There is internet in the Strand Hotel in Yangon, Burma though we were told there wouldn’t be, it works better than the internet in the Penninsula Bangkok.

There is a half hour time difference from Thailand to Burma.

At some point in your trip to Burma, you will be followed.

There is no freedom of speech and press for residents and tourists in Burma.

You are not allowed to take any pictures of the military in Burma even if they are just guarding a monument.

Photographing monks is allowed if you ask first or you happen to be one.

In Burma they say that “anything that walks on the ground can be eaten” such as barbecued pig organs on a stick, fried crickets, ( take off the head peel off the wings and gulp), fried beetle (suck out the stomach and chew the head) and insect larvae ( best eaten raw because it is good for the stomach). (this would be chicken feet)

In Southeast Asia people chew on the betel nut ( still very prevalent in Yangon and sold on the streets) –mixed with the leaf and lime it acts as a mild stimulant. The ancient lacquer boxes show how socially acceptable having black teeth and red gums and stained floors from spitting is. You can see the dark red stains in stairwells and streets all over Yangon.

There are rules to wearing longyis ( sarongs worn by both men and women. There are rules for the placement of the knots and folds. They are different for men and for women. Sexual orientation is also shown by the placement of the knots.

Myanmar ( Burma) has the largest children’s army in the world. No, we didn’t see that. There are black zones that you are not allowed to cross into.

Burma is the second largest country in Southeast Asia.

A Burmese person asked me if I thought that the Burmese people had done bad things in another life to have such a difficult life now. I was thinking of my own karma at the time wondering the same about myself, having to leave trip of a lifetime and it brought me back to reality. I thought that individually they were good people but maybe there was a time when things were wrong with the world and it was a collective karma. I know karma is a very strong theme for these very Buddhist people so I felt I had to answer like that. It is so hard to understand so much cruelty and hardship in such a strong Buddhist culture. He thanked me for my answer and I thanked him for his question.

for more info go to https://havefunflysafe.wordpress.com/2012/11/23/how-to-leave-myanmar/

Fly Safe,

JAZ

How to Avoid The Paparazzi Or How To See Celebrities In Los Angeles

Posted on March 16, 2013 by jaynezak

How To Avoid the Paparazzi or How To See Celebrities In Los Angeles

“Everything is funny as long as it is happening to somebody else.” ~Will Rogers

Since many of you who read this blog don’t live in Los Angeles, you may be planning a trip. Most people in LA do not use their feet as a method of transportation. We jog or walk our dogs. Streets are never crowded. Paparazzi in LA are very noticeable. They don’t blend in like they do on the crowded streets of New York or Rome.

It is one thing for paparazzi to stand outside a trendy restaurant or club. We anticipate that. We expect to see them on Robertson Blvd looking for Kim or Paris ( Do we still care about Paris?). On a Saturday afternoon, we know that they will be outside Barneys, the Beverly Wilshire Hotel and Rodeo Drive. But it is another thing to encounter them all day long. So I thought I would tell you how to avoid the paparazzi or places to see celebrities in LA, which ever you prefer.

1. I was eating my lunch ( tuna salad and green juice – it is LA after all) in a beauty salon. The door was open. I looked out and saw three paparazzi aiming their cameras at the open front door. I was about to be the background shot for whoever walked out that door. I was going to be unknown woman with a mouthful of tuna. Luckily it was my turn. (Anastasia, BH)

2.Lately, they hang out at the parks. You can see them hiding behind trees like pedophiles with cameras. They need to get that photo of a child on a swing who happens to have a famous parent. My dog peed on their camera cases. To distract them, I said “Doesn’t that look like JLo and the kids?.” They ran. (Santa Monica Park)

3.There is always the market. Am I the only person who doesn’t care that Jennifer Garner’s daughter can push the shopping cart? Is there something I am missing? Is she a grocery cart pushing prodigy? Is it really necessary for me to be woman who ran into the market to get ice cream because she was depressed, in the background of this shot? (Vicente Foods, Brentwood)

4. The traffic is stalled on Ventura Blvd. I am in the right lane. I edge up and notice that at least eight cars in front of me have no one in them. As I slowly maneuver into the left lane, I see all the paparazzi at the newsstand – It must be for the Stars Are Like Us section – yes, some stars still buy their own magazines. It probably isn’t someone as famous as Beyonce or anyone who thinks they are like Bravo’s Real Housewives. It might be someone who grew up in the valley and knows this newsstand – like the Kardashians or the Jacksons. Unlike us, they don’t have to explain why they are late for work because the paparazzi stalled traffic. (Newsstand on Van Nuys and Ventura, Sherman Oaks)

5. Paparazzi Heaven is Malibu – so many celebrities in such a small area. . Malibu shopping center used to be charming. It felt like a small town. It has been redone with many expensive stores and trendy restaurants. I was having breakfast with a friend at an outside table when she said ,”Turn around”. I did and faced the camera lenses of twenty paparazzi, aimed for the door right behind our table. “How can you eat like this?,” I asked. She replied, “No problem, I used to be a model.“ (Malibu Kitchen, Malibu)

6. There were two homeless people sleeping on Carbon Beach. . This is a stretch of beach with multimillion dollar beach houses. I had never seen that before. When I got closer, I could see the cameras under the layers of clothing. Really guys? Did you think they wouldn’t notice? You are the only people sleeping on an empty beach in winter clothes. (Carbon Beach, Malibu)

7. I had a bad cold and ran out to the pharmacy wearing pajama bottoms and a sweatshirt. The paparazzi is standing at the front door. “Don’t shoot,“ I yell as I run through the door. I do not want to be mystery woman in pajamas behind reality TV star in sweats running to the pharmacy. (Longs Drugs, now a CVS – and you can tell the difference, Brentwood.)

8. The woman who walks my dog when I can’t get home during the day, told me that my dog has a girlfriend. It is the dyed pink poodle of a famous celebrity and she cannot tell me who it is. She said that my dog ended up in paparazzi shots the other day. If you want to see a celebrity that owns a dyed pink poodle, follow them home from Barrington Dog Park in Brentwood. They go on Wednesdays.

9. The famous ex-governor/ movie star/ cheater and father of housekeeper’s child lives in a gated community on my street. I live in a canyon. It is a small road that you can’t park a car on. During all the commotion , you would drive down the quiet road to a circus of paparazzi and tv vans everywhere. I’m glad no one cares about him anymore.

10. One day, I walked out of a frozen yogurt store and there were thirty paparazzi across the street. Their cameras were aimed at the entrance to the spray tanning store next door. It’s true. Your favorite celebrity has a fake tan. A bus load of Japanese tourists pulled up. They all jumped out and stood next to the paparazzi with their cameras poised ready to have their LA paparazzi moment . Now that was funny. (Portofino, BH)

Im sure the LA people have more stories.

Say cheese and fly safe,

JAZ

Things I Have Learned In Thailand

Posted on March 9, 2013 by jaynezak

Things I Have Learned In Thailand

“If your mind is happy, then you are happy anywhere you go. When wisdom awakens within you, you will see truth wherever you look. It’s like when you’ve learned how to read — you can then read   anywhere you go.” Phra Ajarn Chah (Thai Buddhist monk)

Bangkok has the longest city name in the world; written out it’s actually: Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Phiman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit.

In Thailand, it is required to stand for the national anthem when it is played (in the street, in the cinema, in the airport, in the train station, in the bathroom or at the beach etc, (Phu Quoc island location of “The Impossible”)

The first case of HIV Aids was reported in Thailand. Thailand has the highest prevalence of HIV Aids in Asia.

Thailand has one of the worst child sex trafficking records in the world.

In Thailand it is deemed impolite to ask someone their age or salary.

Thailand is home to the world’s largest gold Buddha, the largest crocodile farm, the largest restaurant, the longest single-span suspension bridge, and the world’s tallest hotel.

Several years ago, Bangkok was named the hottest city in the world by the World Meteorological Organization. Stay hydrated.

You can be jailed for not wearing underwear in Thailand.

Every Thai male has to become a monk at some point in his life even if only for a short period, and at almost any age between completion of school and the beginning of a career or married life. it is a period of about three months. The reason being is to do it for your mother so when she died she would hold on to your monk’s robe and go to heaven.

In Thai tradition, touching the head is severely looked down upon. The Thai people believe that the soul resides in the head, which makes it an extremely sacred place that should not be touched.

The Kings head is on all Thai currency, therefore if you step on a banknote or coin, it is considered to be kicking the king in the face. They love this king. His face his everywhere.

All Buddha images, no matter how small, tacky or ruined are sacred and should never be used as a backdrop for your photo. (Ayuthetta)

In Thailand, the left hand is used for going to the bathroom and the right hand is used for eating and greeting. Unfortunately, I am left-handed so I am rude in Thailand.

Thai boxing has a spiritual and ritualistic part. There is music and sacred clothing decorated with Buddhist symbols, There are different significant bows and a dance. Then they try to beat the crap out of each other.

In Thailand, the children do everything for the parents. They are grateful to them for being born, for giving them food , clothing, shelter and education. In America, the parents do everything for the children. They are grateful to them for being born and give them food, clothing ,shelter and education.

The ‘King and I “ is banned in Thailand. Anyone caught smuggling in the “King and I” will be arrested.

The gold stupa in the Emerald Temple in Bangkok has a monkey and a giant on it to carry the world. Everyone must carry their own burdens in this world but the giant and the monkey also carry all the human burdens.

It is cheaper to buy Chang Mai hillside tribe products in Chatuchak weekend market in Bangkok (biggest market ever) than it is in Chang Mai.

Putting on sarong pants is more complicated than it looks. There are rules for the placement of the knots and folds. They are different for men and for women. Sexual orientation is also shown by the placement of the knots.

Ayutthaya was the old capital of the Thai kingdom resembling a graveyard of temples and headless Buddhas (beheaded by the Burmese in the thirteenth century) and ruins showing what it might have looked like.

Thai people greet and bow in the traditional way with palms touching. Most people great each other in this way and say “sa wat de kah” It is based on the ancient Thai culture. They were always working in the rice fields and their hands were dirty so this became the most polite greeting.

Thailand is the only country in Southeast Asia that has never been under foreign control. Burma and Malaysia were part of the British empire. Laos and Cambodia were under French control. (Putthaya)

Condensed milk is a staple in Thailand and Thai coffee. You can find it in every Seven Eleven and in bulk at Tesco.

An ice cream sandwich in Thailand is ice cream between two pieces of white bread. They don’t serve bread with meals but rice instead.

Thai is a tonal language which means one word can have many meanings depending on how it is pronounced. Thai people think is very funny the way we pronounce Kwai in Bridge on the River Kwai. Apparently the way we say it, it means male sex organ.

Thai people eat most of their food with a spoon in their dominant hand and a fork in the other. Chopsticks are only served for soup..

95 per cent of the people are Buddhists.

Thailand was called Siam until 1939.

Shopping at Siam Paragon and MBK are just like shopping in any other huge shopping mall.

The first Thai massage school was started 417 years ago at the Pho temple in Bangkok. People today still learn the same techniques and the original drawings show that each part of the body has a meaning.

In Bangkok, “best quality fakes” are near “best quality hotels.” It does involve hidden stores behind other stores up staircases in back alleys but one block from the Shangri La Hotel and Penninsula ferry stop.

In ballet, the shape of the feet is important, in Thai dancing it is the shape of the hands, the length of the fingers and if they are double jointed, that is the most important.

It is often nicknamed as the “Land Of Smiles,” because of the perceived gentleness of its people. The country is really populated by smiling, inviting, and receiving people. Thais are really gentle, polite, soft-spoken, friendly, and hospitable human beings. (great tour guide Gift www.privatetourthailand.com)

For more info go to Looking For Buddha In Bangkok

https://havefunflysafe.wordpress.com/2012/07/14/looking-for-buddha-in-bangkok/

Sa Wat De Kah and Fly Safe

JAZ

Things I Have Carried

Posted on March 4, 2013 by jaynezak

“Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful we must carry it with us or we find it not “ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Things I Have Carried

1. I have this GIANT CONCH SHELL on my kitchen table. It is from a pink sand beach in Eleuthera,Bahamas. It is one of those giant shells you see in stores and think it isn’t real. There it was on the beach one morning when I was walking. I carried it back to my room and then proceeded to carry it back on the plane with a three-year old and a six-year-old. I see that shell every morning and it reminds me of a pink sand beach and a happy very young family.

2. My friends told me about the perfect gift to bring from Munich – DAS MURMELTIER DER ALPEN ( singing animal in the chipmunk family) They told me to buy them at the airport –more carry on bags. I put them in the overhead compartment and went to sleep. Weisswurst breakfast is very heavy in the morning (white sausages and a pretzel) Suddenly everyone on the plane is in a panic. There is a clicking noise and no one can figure out what it is. Our first thought is that it must be a bomb. As they are about to call security, the yodeling and drinking songs in German begin. The chipmunks had started singing in the overhead compartment. Travelers are way too stressed out these days.

3 The Maneki-neko (beckoning cat) is a sign of good luck in Japan. They are made of ceramic ( most common) and usually come in pairs. You can find them everywhere in Japan. The beckoning right hand means money and the left hand means happiness. BECKONING CATS are found often in Japanese businesses and homes. Since I felt that everyone in my family needed Japanese luck, I bought several pairs of the cats. Between the Starbucks mugs from every city in Japan and the several pairs of cats, they overflowed into my carry on luggage. I’m pretty sure airport security in Osaka would have laughed at me while looking at the x-ray machine, if it wasn’t Japan and they weren’t so polite.

4. The following year I had to carry the protective and breakable lions from Okinawa. They are called SHISAS and are half lion half dog from Okinawan mythology. They come in pairs. The shisa on the left traditionally has a closed mouth, and the one on the right has an open mouth. The open mouth is to ward off evil spirits and the closed mouth is to keep the good spirits in. They are usually guarding the entrances to homes and businesses. They are sold everywhere in Okinawa. I feel that anything to ward off evil spirits makes an excellent gift.

5 Betel nut is a mild stimulant that is chewed throughout Asia. It involves, betel nut, fresh pepper leaves (or other spices), powdered lime and damp tobacco leaves. It is wrapped in a betel vine leaf forming a wad or quid. The last ingredient is saliva . ,Your gums , teeth and tongue turn bright red when chewing it. Eventually, you spit it out. It is one of the most used addictive substances in the world. It creates a buzz and curbs hunger. The streets and stairwells of Burma are stained with red betel nut. It is customary to use special compartmentalized boxes to hold the ingredients for the betel nut quids. When guests visit, they are presented with a fully stocked box. Some of them are quite beautiful. I brought BETEL NUT BOXES back from Burma.(but no betel nut)

6 There is a Shang Hai Tang store in the Hong Kong airport and it was having a sale. Shang Hai Tang is DESIGNER CHINESE CLOTHES. Their flagshop store is in Hong Kong but was always one of my shopping stops in NY. Changing planes in Hong Kong, I managed to add to my already bulging hand luggage , two sweaters, a shawl and some Chinese shirts in beautiful fabrics. You can’t go to Hong Kong without shopping – even if it is just in the airport.

7. My goal when skiing in Cervina, Italy was to find a pair of those FLUFFY WHITE AFTER SKI BOOTS It was many years ago and I had never seen them when I was skiing in Vermont. I finally found the perfect pair in a shop next to my favorite cappuccino bar. The best thing was to wear them on the plane since they took up so much space. It was April and we had been spring skiing. Changing planes in Brussels, we were walking slowly and my friends and I got bumped from the plane. I remember thinking it was odd that the teacher left us there. The four of us were sixteen and seventeen. I felt really embarrassed walking around the city in those after ski boots, ( the weather was quite warm) but having an unexpected free day and night in Brussels was very cool.

8. There is a craft market in the Plaza del Armas in Old Havana not far from El Floridita. (Hemingway’s hangout where he used to drink his daiquiris not mojitos) They sold WOOD CARVINGS OF DANCERS The woman who was helping me spoke English with no accent. She told me her father was the linguistics professor at the university and she spoke twenty languages . She was selling wood carvings for a dollar. They were quite nice but very delicate . . I had to put them in my carry on bag and hold it very carefully. Still,many of them arrived with missing limbs. It looked a bit like a war when I unpacked them. Arms and Legs all over. –luckily there is no shortage of crazy glue here. They were great gifts for all our dancer friends.

9. Hvar,Croatia is where some of the highest quality of lavender is grown in Europe. I bought a lot of small glass bottles of LAVENDER OIL I figured if something broke, it would be better in my carry on bag. . Lavender would have a calming effect on the nervous post 9/11 fliers.

10 Coca leaves have been part of the Andean Culture for 5000 years. COCA TEA is made from the coca plant. It is not cocaine like grapes are not wine. Neither drinking or chewing turns it into cocaine. It is a mild stimulant without the speedy effect of caffeine. However when airport security sees a word like coca, they are paranoid. I thought the best thing to do was put some in my luggage and carry a few in my hand luggage as well. If I got stopped, this would show that I was innocent. (I watch a lot of Locked Up Abroad episodes) The guide in Peru was trying to find out once if it was ok to bring back coca tea to the states. She asked airport security in Miami and was questioned for four hours. I didn’t want to bring it up.I walked through customs in Miami right passed the sniffing dogs with no problem.

Some things are good to carry with us and others should be put down or left where they were. We choose the things we carry.

Fly Safe,

JAZ