Flying to Oaxaca at Christmas time
A latecomer brought by TV and consumerism from El Norte, this Santa, with his reindeer made from local tree branches, was greeted with a mixture of awe and nervousness by the children on the plaza in f...
read more
Sharing the wealth in Mexico
If you hang out in the Zocalo (town square) as much as I do, the beggars get to know you. Depending on how you handle yourself, the nightly encounters can be easy or annoying. The reactions of the othe...
read more
Please stop rocking the bus: Protests in Oaxaca
All roads in Oaxaca state lead to the south side of the Zócalo, facing the state Government Palace. On most days, there is a march and demonstration there by one disaffected group or other. This...
read more
Quien sabe?
I read somewhere that there are three stages to many occurrences in Mexico: the event; the contradictory rumors that are told about the event; and the decision that, given all the preposterous rumors, ...
read more
Shopping on Sunday
Made by art students from sand and other materials, this sculpture in front of the Oaxaca Cathedral was created for Dia de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead). Photography by Diana Ricci ...
read more
Nobody expects the Protestant Inquisition
First written in the spring of 1994, this story has been revised several times as dictated by subsequent events. It has generated more responses than any other. Most of them have been at least somewhat...
read more
Plenty too much everything
Figures made from cornhusks on display at Radish Festival, held on December 24 in the zocalo, Oaxaca. Photography by Diana Ricci
In Oaxaca, having "bastante" (too much) is not consid...
read more
The servant
In early 1994, when this letter first appeared, I did not have any personal knowledge regarding the practices outlined here; nor do I now. I introduced this subject because there had been persistently ...
read more
New kids on the block
In March of 1994, I was contemplating the saying "Mexico: so far from God, so close to the United States", and having a good chuckle over El Sub's interview with Ed Bradley. In March of 1996, Marcos me...
read more
Letters to the editor: June - Nov. 1995
Below are some archives of letters to the editor that Stan has chosen to answer with open responses.
November 30, 1995
The Struggle
Curious, it seems. My wife and I were on a bus...
read more
Screwing the screw fly in Chiapas
San Cristobal in April 1994 looked a lot like the rear command area in any bush war: lots of army, government officials, reporters, human rights observers, and tourists like me. A year after writing th...
read more
The customer is always right... but
Carved figure on display at the annual Radish Festival, held each year on December 23. "Mata rile rile ron" is a children's verse, used in a sort of "musical chairs" game. Photography by Diana Ricci
S...
read more
Excuse me, but do you live here?
This is my first essay, started not long after I arrived in Oaxaca. Later, I added the next-to-last paragraph to reflect my deeper understanding of, and my "upward" movement in, the gringo establishmen...
read more
Right time, wrong place
Protest flag, Zocalo, Oaxaca City, 1996: "Death to the PRI government, responsible for the corruption, misery and killing of the Mexican people" Photography by Diana Ricci.
The local July 4th party wa...
read more
A tale of two students
Meeting the folks in this story was inspiring. It sure blows the stereotype of the "lazy Mexican" all to hell. Photography by Diana Ricci
Pablo was the first in his family to move from their mountain ...
read more
And now for something a little different
The main gate of the central cemetery of Oaxaca decorated for Dia de los Muertos. "Eternity starts here; worldly aggrandizement is dust" Photography by Diana Ricci.
For me, "The Last Waltz", Robert Al...
read more
How ya gonna keep 'em down on the farm?
In the spring of 1994, I met some young people who had come to the big city of Oaxaca. This is a synthesis of what they told me about the life they left. (The cheerful mezcaleros (makers of mezcal) pic...
read more
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...
read more
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...
read more
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
...
read more
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...
read more
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 ...
read more
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...
read more
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...
read more
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...
read more
