Journal #2

Photos of Day 4 (petrified waterfall).
How would you describe the landscape around Hierve El Agua and the atmosphere of the place created by visitors there?
The landscape was very, very rocky, but natural. The sky was crisp and blue. As we walked out near the water, it seemed as if we were on a high cliff, it very isolated. When we walked around the hierve el agua and saw where the water had been petrified, I felt like I was in the pages of a national geographic kid book. I was look, feeling, and experiencing something I had only been able to imagine through small 100x100 pixeled pictures on either the internet or a textbook for class. Something added as an "interesting fact". I never would have been able to guess what the landscape was like from looking at those small pictures. It was rocky, dirty, prickly, and a bit scary, but the fruit of our climbing labour was worth it. In the distance were more mountain tops, cacti, and other exotic plants. The visitors were very calm and happy, making the place seem like a get-away paradise!





What was your first impression of the sacred city of Mitla (600-1000 CE)?
At first, I felt like I was in a history book. It was strange to actually be walking on ancient history! Something I only am forced to read about or google upon random curiosity, I was walking on. So I tried my best to envision the place as it was when it was in its present day. It was very difficult to do. But my first impression was "Wow, I'm walking on a live history book...". I thought it was amazing how geometrical and symmetrical everything was. Its hard to imagine how they did it and apparently it is difficult to answer because no one ever tells you much of the details of how they did their work and when you ask someone, they give a vague answer. I didn't feel any religious awe or anything since I cannot relate to the place. I just had a sense of wonder from stepping many centuries back in history.

How would you describe the craftsmanship and patterns of the stonework?
The stone work was very precise because each block fit perfectly without the use of mortar to hold it. It probably required a lot of trial and error at first because it took them a while to figure out how to keep buildings standing while remaining in an earth-quake prone area. The patterns are very symmetrical and angular. Right angles and the number four were important for this society. The craftmanship of the patterns is impressive because each piece fit exactly. Sometimes, I'd look at the pieces up close and notice cracks or small, tiny pockets of air and thenI realized that those are only there because the piece is incredibly old. There are some pieces that seem perfectly fit and I can only wonder how in the world did they get things to be so clean and precise. I worked on a Habitat for Humanity site and nothing we did there would ever measure up to the precion at Mitla. "Oh, the block is too big? Okay, take off like... an inch more! Yeah, its a little too short, but we can live with that. Let's go." And jee, how many people were working on this that they were able to get it up? I wonder what their poplation was like?

The movement of the sun across the sky causes the pattern of light and shadows to shift continually across the surface of the buildings at Mitla. How does this affect the visual qualities of the patterned stonework?

I guess the shadows made the shapes stand out more and look different depending on the time of day. I personally think when the sun is lower and there are more shadows, the quality of the patterns are better because there is a new dimension added by the shadows. When the patterns would seem to move due to lighting, it would make the stone come to life. If some people had walked around with torches, the walls would seem alive.


Describe the layout of the ancient administrative and palace complexes we visited in Mitla. You can refer to a map of the site and the course readings, if necessary.
Every place was made in a square shape because it had four sides. Four was the magic number for those in the Mitla because it represented North, South, East, and West. There were many columns used to support the structures and their roofs.

Who lived in these buildings at Mitla?
The priests lived in those buildings. Mitla belong to the Great Seer and he kept his court at Mitla. Mitla was a religious place where very high noblemen were buried when they died. There was one very special building with big steps that we had to climb sideways so that we do not face the preists and do not turn our back to the Gods. This is where people came for worship.

The buildings at Mitla were originally plastered and painted red and white, some surfaces with highly complex symbolic imagery. Imagine yourself standing in the open courtyards of the buildings, with Mixtec nobility wearing elaborate textiles and jewelry standing on the platforms and steps (remember what we saw in the museum), the buildings and sky serving as backdrop. What visual and psychological effect do you think this might create for visitors to the Mixtec city during its heyday?
The visitors might have felt in awe. Not only was it very beautiful, but the sky would make visitors feel very connected to their God. One might feel very small in that place and might understand the urge the people have to pray in the courtyard. It is surprising that the conquistadors had the heart to destroy it.

What do you think about the Spanish building a Catholic church on the foundations of one of the ancient buildings (possibly a religious building), reusing some stones from the ancient site?

At the time, they probably did it to save money, but I like that they did do it because at least those people had a bit of their own past and history still in their life. At the same time, I can see how someone can see it as offensive that the Spanish would use their old bricks meant for something else they considered holy for another thing. Now, that I think about it more... destroying their buildings to replace them with new Spanish buildings is just another form of a total take over. So I can definitely see the offense in that.

Just a Few People We Met

Journal #1

Photos from Day 1.
Photos from Day 2 (churches).
Photos from Day 3 (sculptors and carvers).
1) When you decided to go on the Oaxaca program, who were the first people you told about the trip and how did they respond to your plans?

The first people I told was my friend Jaclyn and Yehshen. I told them because Jaclyn is a spanish major and Yehshen is a cool chick. They both sounded really interested, but Jacy decided not to go since it doesn't have any spanish credit and Yehshen said she has to save that money for something else. I mentioned it to Meleah and our friend Christene. Christene is busy working on her singing career or something wild like that. Meleah chose to go to China instead of Oaxaca. They were all excited to go, but because of lack of effeciency of spending (it'd be a waste to spend 5,000 on a trip that doesn't give them what they need for school), they couldn't come.

2) Revisit the discussion question about your first impressions of Oaxaca and your sense of it as a place. You can develop the thoughts you shared with the group or you can use the same comments.

Well, in the group, I said something like "Imagine a big outdoor mall in a big city in America. Only ten times more lively. And instead of everyone being white or mixed, they're all... Mexican." That's basically how I saw Oaxaca in the simplest of terms. In my mind, I was comparing it to Nigeria. I told my Nigerian friend "Oh, its like Nigeria only SO much more colourful! And its cleaner! And safer! And every boy is fiiine, girl." I know this sounds kind of shallow, but that's my FIRST impression of Oaxaca. I was very impressed. Some things I noticed that I thought were cute were the amount of PDA we saw in the park and the many tiny dogs and chihuahuas that people dressed up.

3) We visited the Church of Santo Domingo and the ex-convent, now the Cultural Museum. We also walked through several markets and visited a former convent which is now the Hotel Camino Real. Regarding these places, what 5 characteristics stand out as particularly important in terms of the physical space, the use of these places, and the overall experience? These could be aesthetic, historical, religious, cultural, or other.
These places all had a similar set up. There was a cathedral that was long. At the front was the alter. And in the back, upstairs, was a little deck. And on that back wall was a window which allowed light to come into the cathedral. That light would shine directly onto the alter. The convent and the monastery were connected to the cathedral. The doorways between the two always had the same arch shape. Many of the designs in the church are indicative to the dominican republic, the order of the church that was dominating the area. Also, in all of these churches, you could see elements of the native religion the natives used to believe in. You can tell because of the paintings of the moon and the sun, two important gods of the ancient religion. Also, baby jesus, one of the few things the natives fully accepted is represented in the paintings of baby faces all over the walls and ceilings. With all these hints of attachment to the old religion, you can feel a deep cultural mix when entering the cathedrals. As a Catholic, I am reminded that there are different ways to practice and different traditions even within the Catholic sect of christianity.





4) Which object in the museum was most intriguing or moving to you, and why? Describe the visual qualities of the artwork first; then explain its meaning and function, if known. Do you know if the object was Zapotec or Mixtec?
At the museum, I most liked the section of the wall from the Los Danzantes. I enjoyed that a lot because in the text, the discovers thought the limp limbs meant the figures were dancers, but our tour guide's interpretation was different. She saw it as paintings of different ailments. It is a Zapotec object. The reason this intrigued me the most is because I love the idea of academic debate. Later in highschool, I had come to realize that the textbook is not the end-all-be-all as I had once believed in my early youth. The textbook is written by someone who has studied something or seen something and drew his own conclusions. Someone could argue different conclusions! And getting to hear something that contradicts what the textbook says excites me and reminds me of the battle that goes on in academia. It shows that history can never be for sure. We can never know what really happened.

5) What is your impression of Professor Esther Bonilla so far? What is your favorite Esther moment or story?
So far, I love her. Prof. Esther me recuerda de tia mia. She is very energetic and theatrical which helps makes the history come to life. I have a tendency to get bored very easily. Prof. Esther must talk a lot, but her lecture is more of a performance, so I pay attention better! My favourite moment was the explanation of how mestizos discovered chocolate. (video)

6) Consider your experiences in the hands-on workshops with the potter Valente Nieto Reale in San Bartolo and the wood carvers Jacobo and Maria Angeles and their family in San Martin Tilcajete. What was your experience in the workshops? What struck you as characteristic of their particular art forms?
These were great experiences and people! I enjoyed meeting the artists and their sons and taking photos of their artwork the most! Especially Jacobo! He's was so sweet to me when I interviewed him and he loved my hair. The art forms are very artistic! Some things are simple like a simple cat or dog, and some things have a very good artistic quality. I enjoyed the most the structures that utilized space, making the air around the piece a part of the artwork. Use of curves and angles. For the Reale family, I enjoyed their structures of women and women with children the best. For the Angeles family, I enjoyed the contorted animals the best! They somehow envision the most interesting positions for the animals! And they must have that vision before the carve the wood, which tells me the family is very creative. Also, the painting is done with such detail that I truly admire!





7) How does the life and work of the artist relate to their surroundings?
Para la familia de Reale, it seemed like their surroundings was a lot of dirt and their work comes from exactly that. Dirt. They seem like people who live from the land and all their tools from the bowl, to the carving utensils to the thing that makes it shiny come from the Mother earth. For the Angeles family, you can see their whole home is very colourful and artistic. Likewise, their artwork is colourful and artistic. And many of the animals are someone's birth animal. I'm not sure what you call it, but it reminds me of the Zodiac. Jacobo told me his was the coyote, so I saw some structures of coyote. They also seem to be people who live by the land and so even the colours they use are from the mother nature.

8) At a deep level, how does their way of life differ from your own?
If I was living in Nigeria, their way of life probably wouldn't differ from mine in observation except for the fact that I might be braiding hair or doing house chores or something instead of that kind of art. On a deeper level, I think they would respect the earth and the world a bit more than we would in Nigeria because loving the earth is a part of their tradition and religion. In Nigeria, our religion is catholicism, but in Oaxaca, there seems to be many elements of Zapotec religion which seems more focused on what is on earth than a one and only celestial God. When I am in America, their life is much different. I do not feel much connection with the earth here in America. My artist material comes from a store and is manufactured in a factory whereas these families get their materials from the earth. Family is a very important thing for me (because I am Nigerian), but since my family is in America, we live more like Americans. From time to time we have extended family living with us, but eventually they must live as Americans and have their own house and their own specific and obvious family unit. Here, the families are meshed together. I couldn't tell who was who's wife and who was who's son. Even in-laws are living with the family and working on the craft. There is a lot of simple connections that simply do not exist in America.

Interview with Valente Reale

Dec. 29
Valente Nieto Reale of San Bartólo Coyotepec

Could you please speak more on how the black clay was/ used for healing?

What the black clay is mostly used for is relieving tonsil ailments. It’s shaped like a tortillas and placed over the tonsils. The tortilla is replaced with every four hours with another fresh one.

How did you go about restoring the nose of the God of Rain artifact in the Cultural Museum?

I looked at the artifacts of the other gods and based my interpretation on them and pictures of the Rain God.

How did you react when approached to make the restoration?

I was not happy with initially, but then I became proud and was very satisfied with what I had done.

How did your family discover the polishing technique?

My parents both signed their pottery when they finished a piece. My father would mark the piece with his rock and write his signature; however my mother was illiterate so she would use a rock to make a unique mark. They noticed what their respective signatures produced a shine from where the rock had worked it and out of curiosity they found out they could make the entire piece look so.

Do you have hopes of the legacy continuing with your descendants?

Yes! All four of my sons work with me and three of my grandchildren!

Interview with Jacobo

Dec. 29th
Jacobo Angeles Ojeda of San Martín Tilcajete


Q: How old were you when you started?
A: I started at 12 years old. I began to carve with more formality when I was 18. I won my first competition at 21. (... his answer is even longer! Watch the video!)


Q: How many people live here?
A: 14 and they're all family members.

Q: Do in-laws join in?
A: Yes, there are some here participating now.

Q: What's your favourite art to make?
A: The coyote.

Q: What does the coyote mean?
A: Its my birth animal.

Day 1

Here's our first breath of Oaxaca.



Did you notice while I was filming the costumed fellow, I caught some graffiti? We later learned what exactly that graffiti meant. Its a bit scary.