Liann, Txi, Gerardo & Pat in Queretaro

Waiting with hot chocolate in the cold for the show to begin.

Originally uploaded by txiwhizz.

Pastorella

Originally uploaded by txiwhizz.

The Pastorella we saw had two campesinos looking for the baby Jesus, an angel, some kings, Mary & Joseph, wife & mother of one farmer, and two convincing bad guys and a wicked vixen.

Nativity in Bernal

Originally uploaded by txiwhizz.

In the park in the Church Square in Bernal, where we went to view
the third largest rock in the world La Pena,
there was this unique creche scene.

Mexico City

This sculpture flexes its concrete muscles in Mexico City,
close to Alejandra & Clay'sneighborhood, where I had a good time.
Originally uploaded by txiwhizz.

Left Leaning Group

This left leaning group of Laura the Bunny, Flying Max, the daughter/mother team of Margaret & Shannon were part of the group celebrating Camp Winnarainbow at Hiroko's Country Station Sushi Bar at 2140 Mission in San Francisco on Dec. 23, 2004.

Hiroko Drawing on Chip's Gourd

Hiroko Drawing on Chip's Gourd
Originally uploaded by txiwhizz.

Finally Photographs!

I have finally figured out how to post photographs to this blog! I have my son Adad to thank for gently walking me through the process. At least I was able to post two days ago, with Adad by my side. Today I am going to attempt to post by myself.

However before I do, I would like to caption the four photos posted the other day. The first are lizards at the zoo in Tuxtla Gutierrez, the capital city of Chiapas. This zoo houses only indigenous Chiapas plants and animals in spacious environments that reflect their natural situation. It was oppressively hot in the concrete flatlands of Tuxtla and the several hours we spent walking in the zoo were cooler under the lush canopy of jungle trees and vines.

That is Francisco Gallo on top of the Radio Ombligo sign. Radio
Ombligo (Umbilical Radio) is the show that he and his wife Aleli create collaboratively for children and their parents, that is broadcast five mornings a week from 7 till 8 - an hour designedto be a good way to wake up and start the day.

The next picture is Gallo in the hat looking Buster Keatonish, with Roque holding Gallo's daughter Kamila and I taken by Aleli in the zoo - other odd animals we are.

And the last photo is a churchyard in San Cristobal de las Casas that was on one of my regular walking routes around town.

Leaping Lizards Greet the Cement Sky

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Originally uploaded by txiwhizz.

Gallo Atop Radio Ombligo

txi pictures 034
Originally uploaded by txiwhizz.

Tutxla Gutierrez Zoolologico

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Originally uploaded by txiwhizz.

San Cristobal de las Casas

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Originally uploaded by txiwhizz.

And the Beat Goes On

The workshop with local actors went well. We all had a great time & together developed a site specific dance/theatre piece for the walking street that leads to the theatre. Unfortunately the police on the local beat were less sympathetic than the general public & in the end we did the piece in the theatre with no lights or audience. Still we felt satisfied with our efforts. Last night I again went to see the show the actors perform five nights a week, mostly for tourists. Last night I brought my friend Alejandra with me & her two nephews & niece. The kids were slightly surprised with the generous show of body, but liked the piece a lot. They have just moved here from Cancun & are momentarily in a state of physical shock, due to the altitude & the difference in temperature.

Today I have been asked to do a workshop on the morning of the day my bus leaves here. This one is at a rehabilitation centre for drug & alcohol abusers. I am quite excited to see how my teaching plays with this new crowd. The trip here this month has been a big stretch, as I have taken my skills beyond theatre & dance to include other groupings in the local community. It has been good.

Yesterday was the last day of the festival around the Virgin of Guadalupe & today starts the festivities around Santa Lucia. That means that the party just moves to another neighborhood. There is always some neighborhood that is partying. And since San Cristobal is so small, it just means walking in a new direction to dance.

I hope you are all well & that it is easy for you to find a neighborhood party when you need one.

Globally Warming Guadalupe

It is raining here. It rained 3 days in a row now. People are swearing to me that that never happens. And me without an umbrella.

The entire town is celebrating the day of the Virgin of Guadalupe, which is this Sunday, but has a run-up of 8 days of various events. There are parades, torches coming to San Cristobal from all over Chiapas with teams of torch runners, & yesterday an incredible procession for hours with families with their children dressed up, not unlike Halloween, except that the children are all dressed in some form of local dress. I have taken hundreds of pictures & will happily share them when I return.

My workshops are going extremely well. I am inspired & excited. Tomorrow is the last workshop with the actors from a the play Senor de la Tierra, based on Mayan paintings at the ruins of Bonampak. They will perform tomorrow as a conclusion to the workshop.

Now I am going to walk across town where I have been invited to dinner at the home of a Mexican family. I have bought my bus ticket & will be going north to Queretaro on the 16th, arriving there on the 17th, spending 14 hours on buses. Oh well!

The sounds of celebration

San Cristobal is wild these days. If you are driving a car it is a nightmare, as you have to rush around the police who are closing roads for the multiple parading school groups, church groups, etcetera, that are processing in honor of the celebration of the Virgin of Guadalupe. The actual day of festivities is this coming Sunday & the place to be is the Church of the Virgin of Guadalupe, which sits on a hill overlooking the town.

The other aspect of celebration are the constant explosion of fireworks. It begins every morning at 6am & continues late into the night. To my ears it sounds much more like war than celebration, but then, I am a horse of another culture.

Yesterday I shared lunch with some indigenous friends, which sadly lead to an evening of Montezuma's quick revenge. Luckily, I think I have recovered, but it was grim for a few minutes last night. I am grateful for my strong stomach. Today I am taking it easy on the eating front.

I purchased my bus ticket to Mexico City today, an indicator that my stay in Chiapas is coming to an end. I am saddened to have to leave here, but excited by the gifts the future holds. And that includes an Equity co-op fundraising poker party at my home in Vancouver on New Year's Eve. So if you will be in the vicinity & want to lose your money to a good cause, think about joining us for the fun.

Back in the Mountains

I returned last night to San Cristobal after four days in Tuxtla Gutierrez, the capital of Chiapas. Tuxtla is a concrete platform in a valley surrounded by mountains. There are almost a million people living there. It is hot & noisy, but I did have a spectacular time none the less. My friends live in a sweet home with a huge, beautiful garden. There are two generations living on either side of this garden. Gildardo & Edit are almost my age & their daughter Aleli is about the age of my son Adad. Aleli's husband Gallo & their baby Kamilla live at the back of the garden. They have two big dogs & a duck that live with them. I was made to feel absolutely at home, as in mi casa es tu casa.

On Thursday last I traveled to Tuxtla in a van with 4 women & one young man from the indigenous theatre group FOMMA. I watched several dance performances & then the theatre piece of FOMMA, all part of Festival Maya Zoque. After that we said our goodbyes & I took a ride to Gallo & Aleli's house.

On Friday we ate, laughed, played with the baby & translated aspects of my workshop into Spanish. This is a spectacular way to learn a language. We also spent several hours at the Tuxtla zoo. This zoo is known worldwide for its innovations. It only has animals that are indigenous to Chiapas, which makes it quite educational. There are these inspirational plaques all along the 4 miles of paths that we walked as we observed the local animals in their usual environments. The zoo was opened in 1942 with strong principles that are still honored by the daughter of the original founder & director. I had met her the evening before at Festival Maya Zoque & she invited us back to her home where we did much of the eating & laughing. Becky's husband is a musician & we listened to Hugh Frazer, a Canadian jazz musician.

Friday we also visited the studios of Radio Ombligo, or Radio Belly Button, where Gallo & Aleli both work. It is a radio program for children from 7-8am five days a week. Gallo produces the shows & Aleli does the graphic arts for Radio Ombligo, the website, t-shirts & posters for Tuxtla.

Saturday & Sunday were my workshops at the big Teatro de la Ciudad, the City Theatre. There were 12 students & we worked for 5 hours each day. Gallo, Aleli & Gildardo participated. After the first workshop day several of us went to eat together & then we played into the night at Gallo & Aleli's home. The second day we returned to the house after the workshop, ate & I took the bus back to San Cristobal. I am getting quite comfortable giving workshops & finding my way around in this different language.

The first workshop morning we couldn't get into our room until noon, so I taught in the park in front of the theatre. It was great & gave us a rich public for our introductory performances. I taught many little rhythm sequences & then asked the group to be 4 small groups & create an introduction with their names & 3 rhythmic sequences. As we were leaving the park we saw a group of performers from the Festival trying to recreate what we were doing. It was good. I feel a genuine exchange here. I teach & I learn & it is rich & satisfying.