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.