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, ... read more

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... read more

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 ... read more

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.

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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... read more

Maestro (master, teacher) Rodolfo Morales, one of the most prominent native Oaxacan artists, succumbed to cancer of the pancreas in a Oaxaca City hospital, at 9:30 p.m. on January 30, 2001. Photography by Diana Ricci

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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... read more

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... read more

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 ... read more

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".... read more

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... read more

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 ... read more

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... read more

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... read more

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... read more

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... read more

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... read more

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... read more

There's nothing like leaving home to help a person see things a new way. Traveling from my home in Oaxaca to the U.S. in the spring of 1996 provided exactly such an experience (Pictured is a performance artist doing her thing on the plaza in front of the Cathedral.). read more

When I wrote "Getting And Giving Back", in the spring of 1996, I had no idea that I would be meeting Gerardo a few weeks later. (This statue is in the ex-convent in Cuilapan, near Oaxaca.) Photogr... read more

The church in Ocotlan de Morelos, near Oaxaca, that artist Rodolfo Morales had restored as a gift to his community. Photography by Diana Ricci Much of Mexico is poverty-stricken, but only in economic... read more

An Easter pageant in Tlacolula, near Oaxaca. Photography by Diana Ricci We're out of here! Our bags are almost packed, except for a few last minute gifts for the kids and the grandkids. Arrangements ... read more

"BORDERING ON CHAOS": READ IT, BUT BE A SKEPTIC Andres Oppenheimer, a Central America hand reporting for the Miami Herald, has put out a very interesting book on the roots -- and likely outcome -- of ... read more

The panteon (cemetery) in San Felipe del Agua, a suburb of Oaxaca, decorated for Day of the Dead. Photography by Diana Ricci All my life, I have been a coward about death and dying. It's all so unsan... read more

Hi. Please pass this on to all the people who have been getting communications from me, through you. It is meant to be a semi-final report. I just got back from a lunch meeting at Casa Colonial, and ... read more