Clouds, traditional dance, and fireworks

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12.11.24. Due to a very short night for me ( 12 MN to 6 am) and now mass at 7am, this will be just a fragment post until I have time to fill in the details

I got up at 6 and immediately saw that we were socked in with fog, or perhaps more accurately, we are living in the clouds at 10000 feet. Over night a cold front had come through dropping the temps into the mid 40s, and rain always follows a temperature drop here. But as I watched the land outside my common area desk, a ray of light broke through.

The sun tries to break through, but it will fail.
As I stepped out onto the street the fog/clouds where thick..

Ernesto and I walked over to Oswaldo and Griselda family just up the hill, where we were invited for breakfast, as they are “comisionados” and the whole town would be there. We walked in to a multilevel space with live music playing. I was stunned that the music was an amazing jazz mixed with some Mexican elements.

The group Pream was playing a very sophisticated jazz.
The tuba player was Oscar Garza, the comisionado of this house. So cool!
Oskar’s son is somewhat of a musical prodigy and played jazz clarinet solos with the band and also sang. Incredibe.
Today featured walking in parades that are called Calendas with the bands. You can see that they are cold and wet.

Ernesto and I got hungry and we went to a Comedor for lunch.

The owner of a little comedor, and his wife who typically avoids the camera.

Unfortunately I got a little sick after lunch, but had gotten back to the hotel which allowed me to lie down for a rest.

After resting, I felt better and we went down to see what kind of sports competitions were going on in the auditorium

The auditorium court was busy with a basketball tournament from surrounding schools.

Ernesto needed some things at the local store so we stopped in.

Often there are middle and high school students working in stores or family food stands.

We decided to go to the church to see how the decorations were proceeding for the Virgin of Guadalupe display, and to our surprise we ran into the Jimenez family who had hosted us for meals.

Afterwards we stopped to play with the little toy grabber game and the daughter Tajeew got a yellow stuffed animal.

We decied to take a little break during the noon hour and rest since we’ve been going nonstop. As soon as I got back to the room I realized I was hit by diarrhea. What luck to be at my own hotel! I laid around and rested but never felt sick, so it seemed like just a food or drink intolerance, not an illness.

In the evening we did not eat. I wanted to give my stomach a break so we went to the auditorium where the traditional dancing would begin. We found some cold cement seats (openair with a cold breeze) and decided to tough it out with our warmest clothes. It was still in the 40s.

The first dance involved a man wooing a woman with a rooster that he would sacrifice with a machete to show he was serious and able to provide.

I really loved the second dance which involved rows of women and men dressed in traditional Tlahuitoltepec dress.

The dress is so elegant and the well known symbols and colors from here.
This couple was so handsome and moved with elegance, yet respected the humble traditions.
This group was out of range and dance far from each other so I couldn’t really get a good shot, but since we got to know Joseph ( 2nd from the right in the back), I found them after their performance and offered a portrait.
Children dance the Dance of the Feather, usually seen in Teotitlan del Valle.

You saw a couple dancing with a rooster, but how about turkeys?

She will dance with the female turkey and he with the male.

Another beautiful dance, this with a lot more innuendo and inferred physical contact than you see in Mexican dances in GR.

The couple exchanges air kisses as they jump excitedly in the air.
The flower of the pineapple from very warm areas in lowland isthmus region of Oaxaca.

The final dance of the night.
“Monkeys” climb the scaffolding, whichwhen all three towers are combined form a “castle”
The three towers of the castle illuminated by fireworks,

Another beautiful day with some uncertainties had ended and we headed to bed. Tomorrow is a long day, the actual day of the Virgin of Guadalupe.