To say that I miss Mexico would be a grave understatement. Last week I was waiting in a long line to buy masa at a Mexican deli in the Mission and it was all I could do not to maneuver myself into stranger's conversations. So desperate I was to practice my Spanish and prove that I too am one of them - not just some pocha interloper trying to seem legit. Maybe I responded a little enthusiastically when asked some basic questions about the kind of masa I would be ordering, but I didn't spaz out too horribly... for a pocha interloper.
Back to Oaxaca!
I'm sure there are probably entire fields of study and hundreds of coffee table books on the subject of Oaxacan street art. I could return to do nothing but capture and examine graffiti and then publish my own book, as Oaxaqueños are notoriously expressive in their political and artistic points of view.
I certainly didn't do any studies, but I did my best to use my little cell phone camera to capture images that I found compelling, which were numerous. There were even times I would be silly enough to leave the house without my phone and, without fail, there would be a moment (or several) of regret that I'd left the phone behind. There simply wasn't enough time to go back and find everything I'd missed or search for that which had eluded me. But here is some of what I did get.
Political
As you all likely know, Mexico has a long and very deep history of political corruption which, again, is another field of study altogether. As it happened, I arrived in Mexico shortly after the tragic kidnapping/mass murder of 43 students from a rural teaching college in Ayotzinapa, Guerrero, one state over from Oaxaca. I don't think there was a news outlet anywhere in the world that his particular event didn't get reported. The depth and tragedy of the incident struck the last nerve of the Mexican people, as was reflected in the daily street marches, posters calling for action and graffiti on the street. Even public schools had signage posted calling for the government to take responsibility.
It was months before the city removed the message painted on the front of the Iglesia Santo Domingo, the most tourist-visited cathedral in the center of the city:
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| Missing 43 / It was the State |
There was lots of messaging with the names and images of the murdered students:
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| We are all Ayotzinapa |
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| Justice |
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| They were taken alive, we want them alive |
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| Missing 43 |
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| It's not a dream, it's reality, missing 43 |
Many have asked for Mexican president Peña Nieto to resign.
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| (President) Peña Nieto Assassin, Missing 43 |
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| The drug gangs are the government |
Art
On a lighter, but no less profound note was street art and poetry. Again, I can't really begin to touch the subject of art in Oaxaca because I don't think it's too much to say that Oaxaca is art. From it's crumbling buildings painted boldly, to the endless galleries and workshops, to the daily local craft expos. One cannot go to Oaxaca and not be inspired by both the natural and man-made landscape. These are just a few of the pieces that I found interesting.
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| Christ Saves |
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| I want to read your body in braille |
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| In the common place for words, no longer put your poems |
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| Graffiti Space |
You're not off the hook yet! Stay tuned for continued postings of my adventures in the Madreland.
