Dance of the Feathers

Pictures from Monte Alban

 

Some pictures from Oaxaca City

some people protesting the recent election results

Dancers in the Zocalo

Alter room in one of the churches

More protesters 

Pictures of El Tule

Day 9 (Final Day)

Today was my last day in Oaxaca and I can't believe how quickly this trip has gone by! Today Emily, Omar and I spent the day in the city. We just walked around the city getting a personal tour from Omar and seeing his favorite spots. We went into a beautiful church that was having a quinceanera service and tried to see a photography exhibition, but it was closed. Later as we were walking through the Zocalo we saw a huge group of people protesting the recent elections. Tonight we decided to go see the  fireworks that were at the carnival. My last day was very relaxed. I enjoyed everyday I spent in Oaxaca and I hope I will be able to come back in the near future.

Day 8

Today was the final day of the workshop. In the morning after I breakfast I walked around the local market and took some polaroid pictures of some of the women. During most of the day today I was preparing my portfolio for our final presentation, "Best of Week". We had a nice buffet style dinner with tacos, fruit, and delicious brownies outside and then showed our favorite photos from the week. I have one more day in Oaxaca and it seems like time has gone by very quickly!

Day 7

Today we ventured to El Tule and the City of Oaxaca. El Tule is a tree that is over 2,000 years old and it is huge, weighing over 600 tons! Capturing the entire tree with a camera is impossible. After seeing El Tule, we went into Oaxaca City and had a day to do whatever we wanted. I did a lot of shopping at street venders in the Zocalo. Later some of us went to lunch with Omar's sister, Janet, and got a tour of an old church that is being restored and turned into a cultural center. Janet works there and helps put on exhibitions and knows so much about a lot of different cultures. Back in Teotitlan we walked around the carnival and got to practice taking night shots. Tomorrow is the last day of the workshop. It's hard to believe the trip is almost over!

Best of Day

 

 
 

 

Day 6

Today I had a very early and exhausting day. At 6 a.m. this morning a group of us got up to climb the mountain of Picacho. None of us expected it to be an strenuous hike, but it was very difficult. Because of the altitude change breathing was much more difficult and almost everyone got a headache. Although it was not the leisurely hike we expected, the view from the top of the mountain was breathtaking. During the day we went to see the Dance of the Feathers. The dance is a reenactment of the Spanish taking over the indigenous villages. The dancers start at noon and don't stop until 10 p.m.! It was amazing to watch and photograph.

Day 5

Today we had another jam packed day. We got an early start at 7:30 and got on a bus to Monte Alban which are ancient Aztec ruins on top of a mountain. The view was amazing and seeing and seeing architecture from over a thousand years ago was incredible. After the ruins we headed to the pottery village of Aztompa for a demonstration from one of the women. Her work was so detailed and unbelievable. After visiting the pottery village we headed to the village of Arrazola which specializes in woodcarving. We saw another demonstration and watch the woman intricately paint an armadillo and looked through all her amazing art work. After a long day and a long bus ride we finally arrived back at Las Granadas.

Day 4

Today we had a very busy in the village of Teotitlan. We started our morning with a cooking class taught by a local. Rena, our master chef, took us to the market to buy all the ingredients necessary for making our meal. We made chicken with a red mole, cream of corn soup, salsa and guacamole, and an orange cake. After lunch we went to a weaving demonstration and the Chavez's house. They use all natural dyes and create beautiful rugs with extraordinary designs. In the evening we photographed the parade of the canastas which is an old Zapotec tradition. Girls from all over the village dress up and parade through the town with baskets on their heads with images of Jesus and the Virgin de Guadalupe. This is just the first of many celebration throughout the week.

Best of Day

 

 
 

Day 3

On day number 3 we started out with another learning session from Tom and Sam. Our technical assignment today was to focus on our shutter speeds and our style assignment was to "shoot from the hip" as we ventured through the Tlacolula Market. Everything was so busy and overwhelming that it was hard to stop and take photographs so shooting from the hip with a fast shutter speed was very helpful. I, personally did not enjoy this assignment as much because I enjoy composing my photographs, especially using film. However, I did enjoy it and got some good shots out of it! After lunch at the Commodore Mary, we took the bus back to Teotitlan. The day was also made a little bit more hectic because today was election day throughout Mexico and voting station were set up all over. After some rest we all regathered to show our best 10 photos of the day and dinner afterwords. Over all a good day.