Dictionary.com defines community as: a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common; a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals. In Teotitlán I saw and felt this in action.
Casita
Our hostess Norma Schafer lives most of the year in Teotitlán del Valle, about 40 minutes outside of Oaxaca City. (Wikipedia has an interesting page on Teotitlán.) She bonded with a family there while visiting about 14 years ago and ended up building a house AND a relationship. She conserves water since the village reservoir is unseasonably empty due to lack of rain and uses her gray water on her numerous outdoor native plants. She speaks near fluent Spanish with the villagers who greet her warmly and come to her for advice and assistance at times. She wears a specific style of apron to the daily market and buys a alot of her food there as the village women do. Her regular walking schedule takes her into the beautiful high desert “campo” – country – with her dogs Tia and Butch, an experience she’s happy to share with visitors.
Market
The daily market consists of an open air section with flowers, baskets, tlayudas (extra large tortillas), vegetables, turkeys, etc., and an enclosed section where you find meat, eggs, vegetables, prepared foods, and household goods. Women bring their own containers and baskets. I saw nothing in plastic bags. Flowers were wrapped in newspaper. Prepared foods, including jello made from scratch, go into containers brought from home. Conversation abounds. In a mingling of colors and customs. (I’m told the women also have a special place for a morning shot of mezcal.)
Church
The market is right beside the church so it was easy to drop by for a visit. An archeological site is fenced in behind the church, remains of the old Zapotec temple, all but destroyed by the Spanish Catholics. Built from the 1500’s to 1700’s, the Preciosa Sangre de Cristo Church and the market mark the center of village activities.
Wandering through the church yard we came across musicians talking on the patio. When Norma spoke to them in Spanish we were promptly invited to attend the rooftop concert marking the opening of the week’s festivities. We were honored and did not hesitate to climb up the narrow winding staircase. Space was tight but I could not contain my joy. The views and the energy of the music, the inclusion of strangers, was amazing. Back on the ground – or was I? – tears flowed. A small crowd gathered to witness special occasions and the church flowers were changed out by a family who has made a 3 year commitment to service. To their community. Where everyone pitches in.
Artisans
Teotitlán is well known for its handwoven rugs. Weaving has brought the town recognition and income, driving the village leaders to seek Pueblo Magico status (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pueblo_M%C3%A1gico). Norma stopped in front of a wall with a metal gate – “Go knock on the door”. A few minutes later Francisco Martínez Ruiz opened the door to his rug weaving studio, where wool is carded, spun, and dyed with natural elements of the Earth, creating gorgeous colors that are very distinguishable from synthetic colors to a trained eye. For the next hour or so he and his lovely wife Maria Del Lourdes shared their time and talent with us. We walked away with two gorgeous rugs. Maria will be at the well known feria in Chapala (near Ajijic) this November and I look forward to seeing her lovely smile again.
Another knock on a metal door and we stepped into a Master Candlemaker’s studio. Viviana Hipolito is the Master but on this visit her son and daughter in law were in charge. Viviana was across the dirt street helping prepare for a week long celebration, to which we were invited. This family makes all the candles for the church and the services and celebrations it houses. These candles are not dipped. With a bucket and a ladle the candlemakers pour up to 300!!! layers of wax over the suspended wicks. Thicker ones were off limits on this buying trip. They will be used for the church. A medium size yellow candle was skillfully cut in half and carefully wrapped for my journey home.
Celebration of Community
The invitation was given for Norma and her friends to attend mass and meals for the celebration of La Danza de la Pluma (The Dance of the Feathers) in the home of the lead dancer. It is an honor to be chosen as dancers for this Zapotec interpretation of the Spanish Conquest. Costumes are complex and headdresses heavy. This is a 3 year commitment to dance in every festival and set an example for the community. It is taken very seriously. (We were not able to attend the actual dancing due to our schedule but have seen pictures. Maybe next year.)
We watched as the village women worked together for hours on end, smiling, talking, sweating. Working over hot fires in a camp style kitchen. Young and old together passing their secrets and wisdom along. Chili rellanos were in the works for this day. And a special corn dish in the works for the main meal, to be held the following day after the blessing of the dancer’s costumes and “thrones” at a special mass.
With all items blessed and returned to the family altar, the elder spoke his prayers in Spanish and Zapotec then passed through the crowd offering a simple blessing to each person. Afterward the crowd entered the courtyard and the festivities began.
Ernestina and her friends had been grinding corn and fermented cacao beans for tejate for 5 hours by the time we arrived. They are so proud, so steadfast in their dedication to what they are doing, what they do day in and day out. Though perhaps not always on so grand a scale. You wonder how they do it. If they’re content. But who are we to ask the question. We sat and watched and talked with them as they worked. Never have I felt such connection; visceral, grounded, rooted to this Earth. They know, from a young age, where their food comes from. They know it is not to be taken lightly. And they know it is a matter of community.
We came bearing flowers and 20 loaves of market bread, our “admission fee”. Norma spoke in Spanish. I listened carefully, catching alot, speaking a little. It thrilled me when one man complimented me on my pronunciation. I felt accepted. As we sat we were served like everyone else. Market bread, 4 loaves each, and hot chocolate. Chicken in a thick tomato/corn broth. Tlayudas. Men toasted with thimbles of mezcal followed by 2 “short beers”. Women sat with short beers and soft drinks (refrescos), finally to be served by others. Before you could finish one bowl of chicken another one appeared. A green clay pot was placed by each person. Then a shiny green leaf with a ball of dough to be transformed into the special corn/cocoa drink (tejate). I watched as the seated women began to pour their leftover stew into the green pots and cover them with a tlayuda. Then place the extra bread and the dough in their individual baskets. “This is what it’s all about,” says Norma. “It’s about community. It’s about sending food home to feed your community.” A lot of work. A lot of money. Commitment.
I cannot express the depth of what I felt during the time that I shared with this community. I cannot describe their sweetness, their kindness, their generosity in any way that might make sense. I can tell you that I am grateful. I can tell you that I will go back, that the invitations given to us are taken seriously. That I truly want to be with these people again. It is a motivator to learn Spanish. Norma may not be there next time to guide us. She asked me what I would do differently after this experience. The list is long and growing. But I can tell you what the main thing is. Community. Looking out for each other. Wherever we are. Comunidad. Bless you Teotitlán Del Valle.
Once again I thank Ben Dyer for contributing to this photo essay. And Norma Schafer for sharing her time, energy and expertise. Though it is mostly about textiles, I highly recommend a book written by Eric Sebastian Mindling, a resident of Teotitlán, OAXACA STORIES IN CLOTH. It is a fascinating look at the significance of textiles in the state of Oaxaca and includes a few pages about Teotitlán, as well as a description of the bond of community..