Forums > Areas > Southern Mexico

RonMader

Dec 21, 2006, 5:00 AM

Post #1 of 17 (964 views)

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Radish Night in Oaxaca

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Saturday is Radish Night in Oaxaca City. It's hard to know what to expect -- a peaceful exhibition, an alternative radish display? Who knows?! That said, I'll be updating
http://www.planeta.com/.../oaxaca/rabanos.html

Photos
http://www.flickr.com/...planeta/sets/1401300

RonMader

Dec 22, 2006, 12:39 PM

Post #2 of 17 (925 views)

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Simply Radishing

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Simply Radishing - Michelle Heimburger/Yahoo Spark
http://dir.yahoo.com/...312/simply-radishing

Radish art is fleeting. For just a few hours, the zocalo is transformed into a magical world of tiny radish people in a crunchy red and white landscape. At the end of the night, the winning carver is announced, and the radishes of Oaxaca can rest easy for another year.

MazDee

Dec 22, 2006, 7:58 PM

Post #3 of 17 (899 views)

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Re: [RonMader] Simply Radishing

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Thank you, Ron. Were you there? I am far away from Oaxaca, but would like to see that sometime. Geri, did you see this radish festival? I am missing your posts about Oaxaca! Dee

RonMader

Dec 23, 2006, 7:32 PM

Post #4 of 17 (869 views)

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Re: [RonMader] Radish Night in Oaxaca

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adding new pics
http://www.flickr.com/...planeta/sets/1401300

and surprise, surprise, the link from yahoo spark has brought in about 7,000 views in the past day alone. everyone loves the radishes.

Bubba

Dec 23, 2006, 9:04 PM

Post #5 of 17 (859 views)

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Re: [RonMader] Radish Night in Oaxaca

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Ah, yes. Radish sculpture in Oaxaca. Exceeded only by the ice sculptures of Reykjavak for festive nonsense. Finally, a use for the wooden and bulbous, overly ripe and tasteless radishes of Mexico where they wouldn´t know a delicate French style and flavorful radish from a hole in the ground and so they spend endless hours carving tacky reminiscences of the Virgin of Guadalupe with these bulbs and foreigners such as the above correspondent (no offense intended) cannot say enough about how important this use of excessive radish cultivation is even though this festival is on a par with tomato throwing festivals in Southern Italy where there is not a soul taking part with an IQ over 35.

(This post was edited by Bubba on Dec 23, 2006, 9:08 PM)

RonMader

Dec 24, 2006, 3:41 AM

Post #6 of 17 (845 views)

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Re: [RonMader] Radish Night in Oaxaca

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Hundreds of people circled the Zocalo last night to see the radish art. Fave exhibits depicted the Arquitos de Xochimilco as well as a food stand from the 20 de Noviembre market.

jacpowell

Dec 25, 2006, 12:07 PM

Post #7 of 17 (807 views)

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Re: [RonMader] Radish Night in Oaxaca

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Looks like the "real" Bubba is back in all his glory.

Bubba

Dec 25, 2006, 1:02 PM

Post #8 of 17 (802 views)

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Re: [jacpowell] Radish Night in Oaxaca

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I hope I didn´t offend you Jackie.

How could I possibly ignore "radish night"? I mean, here is this wonderful and delicate vegetable the French serve while young and succulent (not the French but the radish) with French bread and sweet butter and the Mexicans grow to wooden and undesirable excrescence and would rather carve into statuary than actually eat because they don´t have any idea what a sweet and delectable treat this vegetable is when appropriately served and how can I not have fun with that?

jacpowell

Dec 25, 2006, 1:21 PM

Post #9 of 17 (797 views)

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Re: [Bubba] Radish Night in Oaxaca

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For one thing, I don't like radishes in any way, shape, or form.

Second, maybe these folks find that it's more fun to grow them into carvable size and display them than it is to consume them when they're dainty and then gift (what a new verb!) everyone near them with radish breath and other unpleasantness. I think it's a fun thing, and hate to see someone with such superior knowledge and tastes sneer (however gentlemanly) at the "village folk." Get down from the Big House, Bubba.

Bubba

Dec 25, 2006, 1:35 PM

Post #10 of 17 (793 views)

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Re: [jacpowell] Radish Night in Oaxaca

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OK, Jackie:

You do understand that I was having fun with Ron Mader´s dressing of a pig in fine cloth rather than making fun of the local radish festival even though that is one silly idea if there ever was one. I am soon to be a resident of Chiapas and frequent visitor to Oaxaca so I certainly do not wish to be perceived to be observing local customs from the "Big House".

I find this hard to say without sounding supercilious but, the fact is that the lowly radish is a vegetable of great delicacy which, in Mexico, is grown improperly and, thus, not enjoyed as it should be.

All that having been said, had I moved to Mexico for the food I would just go ahead and shoot myself having failed my life´s goal.

Rolly

Dec 25, 2006, 1:50 PM

Post #11 of 17 (792 views)

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Re: [Bubba] Radish Night in Oaxaca

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I agree with Bubba -- the typical Mexican radish is not very good.

I grew up during WWII when nearly everybody had a Victory Garden. My folks had a big one. My sister and I were given a little corner for our gardens. I grew radishes because I liked them. I always pulled them up when they were still small and tender. They were so good. When they stay in the ground too long, they get woody and blah tasting. And that's what I find at the market in Mexico -- and most of the USA, too.

I'll bet most people don't know how a radish is supposed to taste.

Rolly Pirate

E-visit me http://Rollybrook.com
This is a good time to be living in Mexico.
A clean house is the sign of a broken computer.

geri

Dec 25, 2006, 3:37 PM

Post #12 of 17 (780 views)

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Re: [MazDee] Simply Radishing

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Yep, I saw the radishes. I went about 4 p.m. when they were setting up and crowds were not as overwhelming as later in the evening. There was also an "alternative" radish display in the park adacent to Iglesia Carmen Alta. It was put on by APPO people, with music, radishes who looked like you-know-who in the form of helicopters, rats, monsters, etc. The atmosphere was festive. The area (small) was VERY crowded. No problems as far as I know. Police were everywhere.

Governor URO walked through the zocalo with bodyguards and police protection. There were even police on the top of buildings which is interesting to me because on Fox' first day in office, he came to Oaxaca. That would be six years ago, right? I was on top of a building about 1/2 block from him with my telephoto lens. Had a direct shot. Not a policeman in sight on any of the building tops. My how times have changed.

There's not much to say about Oaxaca these days. Except for a lot of local police (Feds are around, I think, but not in great numbers and they do not have a presence. They've broke camp in the zocalo and Cathedral area), things are festively normal. Who knows what the New Year will bring, but Oaxaca right now is full of music and dancing in the streets. All night fireworks have returned. Of course, there are still a lot of unresolved issues. Travelers who defied all warnings and came for the holidays are amazed!

RonMader

Dec 26, 2006, 12:43 PM

Post #13 of 17 (743 views)

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Good eating radishes

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There are some very tasty radishes in Mexico, though one needs to know where to look. I'd suggest the Pochote market:

http://www.flickr.com/...os/planeta/331111051
http://www.flickr.com/...os/planeta/331111053

I like the slice them and put the veggies in cold water, plucking them out with a toothpick and then adding some spicy mustard. Mmmmmm ....

Bubba

Dec 26, 2006, 1:38 PM

Post #14 of 17 (736 views)

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Re: [RonMader] Good eating radishes

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Im sure you are right, Ron. I have also found tasty radishes in Mexico. it´s just that often they are grown too large and, thus become woody and less succulent.I´ve seen ´radishes in the indigenous market in San Cristobal that look as if they would be quite tasty.

I was having a little fun with the notion of radish carving as art which, you must admit, is a very amusing concept, and no offense was intended.

I am actually inspired to head back to my native Alabama and start the first annual South Alabama Rutabaga Carving Festival in which both the roots and greens are eligible for inclusion. Don´t tell anyone but I already have a concept for a Dolly Parton statuette utilizing the entire rutabaga plant including the greens and the vinegar pepper bottle and I expect people to come from as far away as the very next county to enjoy this fabulous display of folk art.

(This post was edited by Bubba on Dec 26, 2006, 1:51 PM)

wendy devlin

Dec 26, 2006, 5:14 PM

Post #15 of 17 (712 views)

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Re: [Bubba] Good eating radishes

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>plans for a Dolly Parton statuette

Start getting in a big ol' store of knives...and... sharpeners.

The rutabaga might have to weigh in 10-15 pounds to capture Dolly's rubenesque features. You're going to have to wittle for all your worth.

arbon went once as a druid on Halloween. He got one of our big rutabagas from the root cellar after reading that the Druids carved turnips to make their jack-o-lanterns. Pumpkins arriving after the Armada.

He carved and carved that sucker some more

Was an uglier lantern ever lit? Heavy too.

sfmacaws

Dec 26, 2006, 5:36 PM

Post #16 of 17 (707 views)

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Re: [wendy devlin] Good eating radishes

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Does anyone remember a short story in spanish about a radish carver whose wife died? I loved that story and read it in one of my spanish classes. Unfortunately I can't remember anything about who wrote it or what the name was. I have googled Las lagrimos de rabano and various other combinations and get so many results I can't wade through them.

Jonna - on the road, click here for our current location (#1013). Follow our travels on our blog Blah Blah Blah Ginger!

geri

Dec 29, 2006, 10:15 AM

Post #17 of 17 (643 views)

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Re: [wendy devlin] Good eating radishes

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Funny, Wendy. Only on an Oaxacan forum could the simple radish cause so much discussion!!! Love it! I have a collection of the Rabanos posters for the past six years. Just now in re-arranging them, I discovered I have two of the same one. As they saying goes: they all look alike!!