Nothing new under the Mexican sun

 I  loved Greek ruins- all those unique key designs.... what? They're in Mexico as well?? 
 Yep.  

Meander-Greek Key  

History and Meaning

The meander motif took its name from the river Meander, a river with many twists, mentioned by Homer in  the Iliad. The motif is also known as Greek key or Greek fret.

Meander was the most important symbol in Ancient Greece, symbolizing infinity or the eternal flow of things. Many temples and objects were decorated with this motif, and it is considered that there is a connection with the Cretan labyrinth – indeed - a labyrinth can be drawn using a Greek key.

http://www.culturetaste.com/meander-greek-key-history-and-meaning-66.html

Greek 159-138 BC
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Meanders.jpg

That's your history lesson for today. Back to Mexico!

I was here three weeks ago... look at that stone work. 

Looks like a variation on a Greek key to me.  

"The main distinguishing feature of Mitla is the intricate mosaic fretwork and geometric designs that profusely adorn the walls of both the Church and Columns groups. The geometric patterns called grecas in Spanish seen on some of the stone walls and door frames are made from thousands of cut, polished stones that are fitted together without mortar. The pieces were set against a stucco background painted red.The stones are held in place by the weight of the stones that surround them.Walls, friezes and tombs are decorated with mosaic fretwork. In some cases, such as in lintels, these stone “tiles” are embedded directly into the stone beam. The elaborate mosaics are considered to be a type of “Baroque” design as the designs are elaborate and intricate and in some cases cover entire walls. None of the fretwork designs are repeated exactly anywhere in the complex.The fretwork here is unique in all of Mesoamerica."(Wikipedia)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitla

All this proves I'm not an archeologist. But it was thought provoking to see ancient stone work that looks so similar to work done years earlier in the Mediterranean,across the ocean from Mexico.

By the way- those steps are REALLY big- probably close to 18 inches. You were supposed to go down facing sideways- so your back was never turned to the king/ priest/deity. With nothing to really hold on to, the first step is a huge step of faith and gut wrenching bravery. Or you can sit down and scoot like I did.

It's hard to see but all those designs are multiple pieces of stone, fitted together. Amazing!

 And a weaver in Oaxaca made the design into a rug.  Equally amazing.

Irene Ruiz works in vibrant shades of emerald, evoking early starlight. 

She weaves virgin wool on the handloom with traditional Zapotec techniques, 

employing natural dyes derived from native plants.

Here's another rug with elements of ancient design.

My favorite rug design... now laying on my floor. 

This is the wall of a room inside a Zapotec structure. This is a larger room off an open courtyard.  

There are also tombs underground,  wet and low.  You creep, in a squat, to see the walls.  
The things we do for the sake of exploration.  Oh, never mind- these have been explored for ages!

I was fascinate how this stonework probably inspired the weaving industry.  You are discouraged from photographing rugs- designs are hand created by each weaver. Since there is no copyright protection, a photograph could be used to copy a pattern.

Tile floor in a church-

A women from Oaxaca  doing hand-embroidery on a blouse. 
Her pattern echoes the church floor.

I love textiles- the feel of sturdy cotton and felted wools, the drape of a lighter cotton in a lowly dishtowel, the filmy flounce of a gauze blouse —all music to my fingers.  Then you add color and embroidery and layers of colorful aprons over lace dresses- Mexico is a textile feast for the senses. The ancient sense of style starting with stone work a thousand years old ends with women stitching and men weaving beauty today.  A legacy of color and texture and pride.  Viva Mexico! 

Sounds of Mexico

My casita. 

I wake to the loud tick of the clock and the quiet chirp of the birds.
The lizards skitter into the lush undergrowth along my sidewalk, the cicadas buzz and more birds sing.

That "tree" is a poinsettia. It'll turn red in the winter. 

I walk to school to the sound of roosters crowing, turkeys gobbling and an occasional put-put of a mototaxi or motorcycle.  Both modes of transportation use about the same size engine but one is a taxi cab for two or possibly three (friendly) people.

The gas truck comes by and signals its presence with a series of great moos- like a tortured cow, followed by loud radio news and music, blasting from the driver's open window.

The music doesn't bother the burros. This is the road to town, past the field behind the school. What you can't hear is the buzz of insects and what you can't feel?  The itch of mosquito welts!   That doesnt't seem to concern the burro either. 

The smell of fresh ground chocolate is much better than the sound! 

Lots of construction noise in Mitla's central square. All this dug up by hand. Took a handful of men less than a week with pick axes for the concrete and shovels for the trench. Amazing workers.

Behind my casita is a field hidden behind a screen of tall prickly pear cactus and green trees. One century plant sticks up, a flagpole topped with tiny gourds.  Somewhere in that secret field is a man with a deep, guttural cough/hiccup that he uses to signal the cattle and move them from area to area.  That took me a week to figure out. I can't see anything until the cattle are around the far side of the field, down by the laundry room. Ahh- it's a man herding cows and he's making that very weird noise.

Ok- so it's not cows. I told you...the cows are hidden. The goats are by the other fence. And they have their own sound of maa...ing.

There is usually a thrum of music except at night when the thrum becomes the throb of a full-blown brass band with Mariachi crooners.  Can't capture that in a photo!

But my favorite sound weaves them all together. From most homes and business echoes the clacking of weavers at their looms. Foot operated timeless machines create the backbone industry of Oaxaca- beautiful, handmade textiles.

This man is creating the threads for the looms. He'll wind the threads onto the rack in the foreground and feed it onto the loom in the background. There are two looms back there. All a very labor-intensive process. 

I'll miss the sights...and sounds of San Pablo Valle de Mitla, Oaxaca. Mexico.

A day in the life....

I thought I'd tell you my typical day here in Mitla.  I rise with the sun- about 6:30...unless I need to be at school early, then I sleep in and rush around like a crazy woman looking for protein to get me through the day!  I miss my phone alarm. I miss my phone....

This morning we were supposed to go to a horse ranch today and RIDE! but it rained all night and made a muck of the ranch. I didn't sleep well and the 8am phone call to cancel riding woke me up. So we had school- 9-10:30, then break for recess. We have another two hours session after recess, before lunch and afternoon classes of PE and Art (crafts).

Today it was wet but not raining so the children all played outside. This group of 2nd-8th all play very well together- lots of variations of tag, some stilt walking, some climbing, oops- "No, you cannot climb the tetherball poles!"

Usually, when I have time before going to the classroom, I head from my little casita to the office area. I can only print in color there. This is my process: lock my door AND remember the key- this one's tough, I never lock my house at home;  walk on the sidewalk under the fruited (but not ripe!) pomegranate trees! and head across the common greens for the office.

This is a jade plant in bloom!

Past the communal laundry, down a couple of small set of concrete and stone stairs and through a metal gate. Everything is gated here. Security is not as necessary as it was twenty years ago but no one is forgetting the threats from that time.

Gates have keys, doors have keys, some keys are kept inside locked doors.... arghh! I unlock the "key room" door, retrieve the "office key" for the room with copiers and relock the key room. Walk to said office and unlock it.  Oops- the copier wants bigger paper before it will print and I need to resend the print job.  Next time bring computer!

Return keys and relock doors, return home, unlock my door, get computer, return to office area and repeat.  It becomes a bit of a joke- one key opens all the exterior gates to get off the center and into the school yard, - directly across the dirt road.  It is the Puerto Primario key- Primary Gate, in English.  Nicely engraved with PP- and referred to regularly as the PP key.  "The gate's locked. Do you have your PP key?"  Followed by giggles- clearly we are suited to dealing with silly children.

Must have a guard on duty- no keys necessary right now. Hurrah!

A rare rainblow on the walk to the church.

Lots of rain means it's really green here right now. 

The town square is being rebuilt but the lovely city office building stands strong. 

The fuss with the keys is a minor complaint in a place I have very little to complain about. My casita is comfortable (and filling up with beautiful hand-woven textiles and inexpensive goodies for gifts).  I love walking into town for the market. Today we're going to the Aztec ruins a half a mile away to see the church built on the same grounds and tour the ruins. Afterward, we'll do some more mandatory shopping- supporting the local economy when there are few tourists.

This is where you buy your cowboy gear

And I have four lovely children to teach that make this all worthwhile. But that's a blog for next time!