I'm not the person I used to be
One of several "living statues" created by artist / lithographer / framer Gerardo De La Barrera, for the anniversary of a local bistro situated just far enough off the tourist trails. Photography by Di...
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Bless this restaurant
Habañero peppers, among the world's hottest. There is probably enough energy here to blow up the whole Central de Abastos (central market), if only someone could figure out how to harness it. Photogr...
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Sunday in the Zocalo
Zocalo, 1996. "For the right to freely unionize under our government's patronage: hunger strike" A reminder that in the midst of all the tourist magic, regular life goes on. Photography by Diana Ricci
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Letters from Mexico
Carlos Salinas de Gortari, in the ashcan of history. Part of a demonstration in the zocalo of Oaxaca, October 1966. Sign reads "Deposit here: political corruption, bosses and gun thugs, narcopolitics a...
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Central headquarters
Sra. Ruth Gonzales, Librarian, who knows everyone's card number by heart. Photography by Diana Ricci
Remember how quiet libraries used to be? How everyone talked in whispers at the desk, and when you ...
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Ring them bells
Part of the Dominican church and convent under restoration in Yanhuitlan, about a half hour drive from Oaxaca. Photography by Diana Ricci
There are about 75 churches in Oaxaca, a city of about 100,000...
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Letters from Mexico -norange, anyone?
Pan de Yema, a slightly sweetened egg bread prepared for holiday celebrations. This picture was taken the day before Days of the Dead (Nov 1 & 2), in the Central de Abastos (main market), Oaxaca. P...
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A conscientious civil servant
The Oaxaca State Flag, being paraded on November 20, "Revolution Day". It reads "Respect for the rights of others is Peace". Photography by Diana Ricci
Ernesto is a Mexican of average size, about 55 y...
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A dying breed
Musicians outside the Artisan's Market attract shoppers during the Christmas shopping season in Oaxaca (1996). Photography by Diana Ricci
He is about five-foot-four, and nut brown. His hair is white, ...
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Paradise is a lot like home
Flower sculpture on display at the Radish Festival, December 23, 1966, in the Oaxaca zocalo. Photography by Diana Ricci
Living in paradise would be a lot more idyllic (and a lot less interesting) if i...
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The meeting
This beautiful detail is from a mural painted inside the state government palace of Oaxaca. The artist, Arturo Garcia Bustos, finished the mural, which actually occupies three spaces in and around the ...
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The Oaxaca Newsletter volume 5, No. 14: August 15, 2000
Five years ago, the Cuota (toll road) from Mexico City to Oaxaca was opened. In effect, the Cuota cut the distance between Mexico and Oaxaca in half. Trips that used to take ten hours on the hazardous, twisting, and often potholed road through Huajuapan de Leon, now can be completed in five on a relatively straight, level, smooth roadway. The result was inevitable, although most of us down here in our sleepy little village failed to understand the forces at work until they became manifest in the last couple of years.
read moreInterview with the curandera
The Eagle struts during the "Sol y Luna" (Sun and Moon) performance at Monte Alban, in which the tale of the Universe's birth is told. Photography by Diana Ricci
"Maria" (not her name) is a curandera...
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A visit to the curandera
Amid the reconstructed pyramids of Monte Alban, a pageant is performed commemorating ancient legends of how the sun and the moon and the Earth were born, and were set free to roam the heavens. Designed...
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Letters to the editor
Stan offers relevant comments by readers --
and sometimes answers them
Since going on the World Wide Web, I have received many letters from readers of my column. Reprinted below i...
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Sauce for the goose
A detail on the facade of the Governor's Palace at Uxmal, a Mayan ruin in Yucatan province. Photography by Diana Ricci
Yesterday, the shoe dropped from the other foot. You may recall that I recently ...
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Non-students, then and now
The champion Oaxaca state high school band, playing in the courtyard of the ex-convento de Santo Domingo. Few will go to University. Of those who do, some will be students and some may become "porros"....
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Behold, a flock of tourists
A tomb in the panteón (cemetery) of San Felipe del Agua, outside of Oaxaca City, decorated for Day of The Dead. Photography by Diana Ricci
It has been a quiet summer season, and the zocalo (town squ...
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Dodging rockets in Oaxaca
The author and mate /photographer Diana Ricci, at the entrance to their 100-year-old Apartment building in Oaxaca in 1996. Photography by Diana Ricci
Miracles are part of everyday life to the people ...
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Columbus Day in America
In Parque La Venta, Villahermosa, Tabasco, rests an artifact from the Olmecs, who flourished some 3,500 years ago. Photography by Diana Ricci
Yesterday was Columbus Day in the U.S. of A. There were p...
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The more things change, the more they are the same
The ruins at Yagul, a few miles outside Oaxaca city. Photography by Diana Ricci
I read a very interesting newspaper article the other day. It was a wire service feed from Pacific News Service, writte...
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Dancing in the streets
A French theater troop presents a "son et lumiere" performance of an ancient indian legend, in the reconstructed ruins of Monte Alban (1995). Photography by Diana Ricci
One of Oaxaca's many fine ar...
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Music in the streets
The Oaxaca State Band plays a Sunday Concert in the Zocalo. Photography by Diana Ricci
The trucks arrive about 11 a.m. Two small flatbed trucks, piled high with folding chairs. Half a dozen workers m...
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Borders suck
Sitting in California, Old Mexico, in July 1996, I realize how much of my time is wasted dealing with borders, particularly the one between here and the Old Country (Pictured is a fruit stand on the ro...
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Thank you and goodbye
See Stan and Diana.
See them change.
See how their hair has gotten grayer.
See how Stan has on a shirt, for a change, not a t-shirt.
Can you tell Stan is...
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