| BARRIOZONA |
| Bilingual Community Expression Published by the Hispanic Institute of Social Issues |
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| HISI © 2007 |
The truth and the answer to these questions, which are captured in words and colors unfamiliar to the natural
colors of cathedrals, streets, walls, and colonial buildings, beg us to revive what happened in the beautiful streets
of Oaxaca, and to stop, as tourists, chastising the Oaxacan people with indifference. Oaxacans have contributed to
the entire world with so many valuable things yet so inexpensively; undoubtedly, the people who love Oaxaca
wouldn’t have defaced their own cathedrals with graffiti.
Who hasn’t purchased precious hand-made rebozos, wooden craftworks delicately carved by hand, or silver
jewelry designed by our indigenous people, and which enhances the beauty of any woman? Or who hasn’t be
delighted with its innumerable delicious dishes such as turnovers filled with yellow sauce, mole, tasajo or
tlayudas*?
A blending of anger, indignation, and sadness is caused when observing –while comfortably sitting at a coffee shop
in the main plaza, or from the window of a car driving through, the most distant and impoverished remote small
villages of Oaxaca– the Oaxacan indigenous citizen arduously working with the hope to be able to sell some of his
creations, and to know that his only happiness is just to have something to eat. Then, who were those who
caused damage and defaced with graffiti the cathedrals and buildings? Was it the people that proudly live in
Oaxaca, or was it people from somewhere else, people who know that they will be paid, even if they don’t work?
This battle in someone else’s land, though, did not destroy the people’s heart and the core of their beings. Just a
few weeks later after the arrest of the APPO’s** leader, I sensed a more beautiful than ever Oaxaca, and its
people smiling more than ever, like a child waking up in his mother’s lap after a nightmare. That peace, like a
morning’s breeze emerging from the green quarry, I was able to capture and share it with more people.
Those written messages (see photo gallery), next to the poinsettias of the flowerbeds of the Zócalo Plaza,
sometimes expressing gratitude and peace and in some others indignation, are a sign of what happened,
something the merchant or the craftsperson never approved. “Arise, Oaxaca, I trust in God that you never be
kidnapped again. An Oaxaca’s merchant; JMS family” (a hand-written sign reads.) Also, the conversations I had
with many merchants who described their happiness to see so many tourists from Mexico and abroad, confirmed
this fact to me.
Of everything that happened during the six-month conflict in Oaxaca, today it could be seen that only some streets
surrounding the Zócalo were being watched by Oaxaca ’s preventive police.
Let’s go to Oaxaca ! It is waiting for us with open arms!
colors of cathedrals, streets, walls, and colonial buildings, beg us to revive what happened in the beautiful streets
of Oaxaca, and to stop, as tourists, chastising the Oaxacan people with indifference. Oaxacans have contributed to
the entire world with so many valuable things yet so inexpensively; undoubtedly, the people who love Oaxaca
wouldn’t have defaced their own cathedrals with graffiti.
Who hasn’t purchased precious hand-made rebozos, wooden craftworks delicately carved by hand, or silver
jewelry designed by our indigenous people, and which enhances the beauty of any woman? Or who hasn’t be
delighted with its innumerable delicious dishes such as turnovers filled with yellow sauce, mole, tasajo or
tlayudas*?
A blending of anger, indignation, and sadness is caused when observing –while comfortably sitting at a coffee shop
in the main plaza, or from the window of a car driving through, the most distant and impoverished remote small
villages of Oaxaca– the Oaxacan indigenous citizen arduously working with the hope to be able to sell some of his
creations, and to know that his only happiness is just to have something to eat. Then, who were those who
caused damage and defaced with graffiti the cathedrals and buildings? Was it the people that proudly live in
Oaxaca, or was it people from somewhere else, people who know that they will be paid, even if they don’t work?
This battle in someone else’s land, though, did not destroy the people’s heart and the core of their beings. Just a
few weeks later after the arrest of the APPO’s** leader, I sensed a more beautiful than ever Oaxaca, and its
people smiling more than ever, like a child waking up in his mother’s lap after a nightmare. That peace, like a
morning’s breeze emerging from the green quarry, I was able to capture and share it with more people.
Those written messages (see photo gallery), next to the poinsettias of the flowerbeds of the Zócalo Plaza,
sometimes expressing gratitude and peace and in some others indignation, are a sign of what happened,
something the merchant or the craftsperson never approved. “Arise, Oaxaca, I trust in God that you never be
kidnapped again. An Oaxaca’s merchant; JMS family” (a hand-written sign reads.) Also, the conversations I had
with many merchants who described their happiness to see so many tourists from Mexico and abroad, confirmed
this fact to me.
Of everything that happened during the six-month conflict in Oaxaca, today it could be seen that only some streets
surrounding the Zócalo were being watched by Oaxaca ’s preventive police.
Let’s go to Oaxaca ! It is waiting for us with open arms!
| Let's go to Oaxaca! |
| Following a socio-political conflict that lasted for six months, the Oaxacan people try slowly to recover their peace in the midst of the marks left by the fires, the barricades, and the graffiti. |
| Text and Images by Irma Sofia Navarro Viloria |
Oaxaca City, Oaxaca.− Would
you destroy or cause damage to
something you love and is yours?
Would you stain with fluorescent
phrases the most valuable and
precious thing you have,
something the entire world
admires and is even a cultural
heritage for humanity?
you destroy or cause damage to
something you love and is yours?
Would you stain with fluorescent
phrases the most valuable and
precious thing you have,
something the entire world
admires and is even a cultural
heritage for humanity?
After the storm
* Mole: sauce of cocoa and chiles.
Tasajo: a folded tortilla in a bean sauce with a piece of steak sliced extremely thin.
Tlayuda: large tortilla - sometimes 12 inches in diameter - strewn with beans, aciento, tomato, avocado, quesillo (a string
cheese found only in Oaxaca.)
** APPO: Asamblea Popular de los Pueblos de Oaxaca (Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca). Author refers to
incarcerated leader Flavio Sosa, arrested in México City on December 4, 2006, shortly after new Felipe Calderón became
president.
Tasajo: a folded tortilla in a bean sauce with a piece of steak sliced extremely thin.
Tlayuda: large tortilla - sometimes 12 inches in diameter - strewn with beans, aciento, tomato, avocado, quesillo (a string
cheese found only in Oaxaca.)
** APPO: Asamblea Popular de los Pueblos de Oaxaca (Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca). Author refers to
incarcerated leader Flavio Sosa, arrested in México City on December 4, 2006, shortly after new Felipe Calderón became
president.
Oaxaca Goverment - Official Site
Some pages are in English.
Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca
APPO's official site is in Spanish
Some pages are in English.
Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca
APPO's official site is in Spanish
| Internet Resources on Oaxaca |
links
| b a r r i o z o n a |
| Blogs |
Protests erode the rule of law in Mexico's
Oaxaca state
By Rebeca Romero
The Associated Press - The Seattle Times
Once again, Oaxaca begins to right itself
Tourists are trickling back to the Mexican city
known for charm, not violence.
By Patrick Healy, Special to The Times
Oaxaca
By Jane Smiley / The New York Times
Two Forces Maintain Siege of Oaxaca
Facing Uncertainty, Mexican City Shuts Down
By Manuel Roig-Franzia
Washington Post Foreign Service
Oaxaca state
By Rebeca Romero
The Associated Press - The Seattle Times
Once again, Oaxaca begins to right itself
Tourists are trickling back to the Mexican city
known for charm, not violence.
By Patrick Healy, Special to The Times
Oaxaca
By Jane Smiley / The New York Times
Two Forces Maintain Siege of Oaxaca
Facing Uncertainty, Mexican City Shuts Down
By Manuel Roig-Franzia
Washington Post Foreign Service
| Media |
| Irma Sofia Navarro Viloria, has lived in Darmstadt, Germany for the last seven years. A Mexican citizen, Irma Sofia is pursuing a BA in Political Science at the Darmstadt University of Technology, currently in her eight semester. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Mexican-German Circle in Frankfurt, Germany. |
| Oaxaca On-line Newspapers (Spanish) |
El Imparcial
The best daily newspaper of Oaxaca
Noticias
Voice and Image of Oaxaca
Tiempo de Oaxaca
The best daily newspaper of Oaxaca
Noticias
Voice and Image of Oaxaca
Tiempo de Oaxaca
| Informacion relevante en BARRIOZONA |
What is the Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca?
Brad Will: An independent reporter killed during the riots
in Oaxaca
Brad Will: An independent reporter killed during the riots
in Oaxaca
| Hispanic Institute of Social Issues © 2007 All rights reserved. webmaster@hisi.org |
barriozona.com
| INTERACTIVE |
| Weaving Machine in Oaxaca |
| Video by Irma Sofía Navarro |
| Irma Sofía Navarro Viloria © 2007 |
Radio Plantón
Free, unlicensed community radio station in Oaxaca.
Free, unlicensed community radio station in Oaxaca.
| Radio (Spanish Broadcast) |
| INTERACTIVE |
| (Translated from Spanish by Eduardo Barraza) |