Zapotec Post-Earthquake Reconstruction | Oaxaca MX

Hi there, we are very happy to share what is going on with our community during these days. Although the international situation has been very difficult because of COVID-19, we are trying our best not to suspend every activity. We had to stop most of them, like many others have had, and we are trying to adapt our interventions in the community to the actual needs respecting security measures for personal safety.

That’s why we started the project “Solidary speaker”. We adapted a speaker to the UMPOmovil, and we drive across the community sharing messages of joy, poems, songs, stories and health recommendations, both in spanish and in zapoteco (our native language). All of the shared audios, are sent in by friends from within and without the region. ¡You can send yours too! The objective is to provide courage to people from our community through the confinement, and to strengthen our bonds in spite of the lengthy lockdown and the lack of visits. We believe positive emotions such as humor, love and hope boost our immune system.

You can listen to some of the audios we have shared in the links below.

We are also joyous to tell you that before the confinement started, two of our favorite workshops met their goal. Two groups of women learned a new craft, which could empower them as a new mean of productivity.

The first one was hand making of colorful plastic woven bags and purses. “This technique helps us reduce pollution in our town, since common plastic bags can be substituted by these. I mean, it impacts on the environment and of course on my family finances. I was still taking the workshop when people started buying my designs”, said Karina, one of the most entrepreneurial students.

The second craft was woodwork for women, where we have learned how to make our own wood products without making big investments on tools or machines.

This kind of workshops are intended to help people with low economic resources. They might represent an opportunity to improve their quality of life by introducing them to new means of productivity such as those described.

We will have more good news to share soon. We are planning to continue our learning programs with the help of technology available to everyone. Wherever you are reading this message, we can share this with you: the earthquake taught us that adversity is the fuel of great projects, and resilience our best weapon. Thank you for making UMPO dreams come true.

Links:

• Video Solidary Speaker

I have great news for you! There are two new amazing murals to visit in our town. Really! you have to visit us soon, to enjoy their beauty and to meet the people who inspired them. 

Both murals were made in honor of the crafts that represent, not only arts, but wisdom and traditions. This time the guards of traditional crafts were Na’ (Mrs)  Alicia, a traditional stew cooker and Gamaliel, a pottery artisan. 

We asked Na’ Margarita, a traditional cooker, what inspired women like she and Na’ Alicia to cook, and she told us “I learned from my mom, one day she told me: Girl! if you don’t learn how to make the estofado (stew) we will lose the seasoning of your grandma. So, little by little I learned, and I think that now, what I cook tastes like grandma’s”. 

In the mural you can see all the vegetables, fruits and ingredients of the estofado. That is what Mar de Lío, the painter of this mural, explained “I named this mural as Estofado, a family treasure, because the recipe of this typical dish is only share between the closest members of the families. The mix of ingredients is something amazing because the variety of colors that compose it. I think color, is the way that stew dishes fill the traditional parties with life and taste.” 

People say: “Estofado for the parties, bread and wine to reaffirm the commitment and clay pots for the sones de mediu xhiga (a typical dance during weddings)” 

During the weddings stew is essential, but the products of many other artisans are fundamental too. That is the case of the other craft of the day, the pottery. It is one of the most ancient productive practices of mesoamerica, the indigenous people of America used pottery for tell their stories, it is the only art that use the classical elements of the nature: earth, water, wind and fire. 

That is why Oscar Axo, was chosen for represent another face of this traditional craft  “I made this mural in honor to the alchemists of Ixtaltepec who shaped with clay the colorful dreams of the zapotecas hearts. Inspired in the work of Sergio Cabrera  or Tata Dios one of the most important sculptors of the region. In other hand I included the work of Gamaliel, who represents all the artisans that design pots, jars and comales, painting them all around with flowers.” Oscar named his mural as Binni hraapa beñe"  that means the guards of clay, masters of earth and fire. 

For us, Gamaliel and his family are examples of constance and discipline. Many years ago Gamaliel traveled to San Diego, to live the american dream, there, he learned about ceramics, new technics and design theories. He decided to return to his home and combine the ancestral pottery knowledge, that’s why his work is so detailed and innovative. 

Supporting this campaign made this two new emblematic murals in our town to be real. Thank you! 

Zapoteca* original culture of the region

Links:

• Esta manana News, a note from Gerardo Valdivieso