After the final surge to get things put away neatly and create an inviting apartment for our dear friends' - Julieta y familia - visit later (I am the same person here as in Eugene - the bookshelf covered with a wide assortment of art, photos, and other paraphenalia: a loving photo of our Tia Maria cuddled under the covers with Jerry,photos of our wonderful family in a photo album, children's paintings - Sonya Esmeralda and Rafael's scenes of Oaxacan mountains and pine trees, and a sweet little puppy and sweet "Te Amo"paintings; drawings from our Luisa, Mafer and Gabriel's daughter and our sponored Oaxacan Streetchildren and their family and friends; origami from some of the kids; a Valentine globo (balloon) on a stick with "te quiero" from Sonya; a fluffy tiny sheep from Rosalba; paper cut-out flags in orange red, green and yellow from the huge Guelaguetza Fiesta attented with Juan; and gifts from adult friends - barb's red poppy, Joy's painting of the Virgin of Soledad and of the Mezcal bottle "Para todo mal, Mezcal; Para todo Bien, Tambien", and Bryan and Judy's card with a photo by Rosa Blum of rebosos of blue, yellow, red, gold, magenta, narrow and wide stripes and solid, with wispy fringes.)
...we finally got out of the door to pick up Jerry's belt loop (it broke and fell into the toilet just as we were leaving Eugene at 5 a.m!.) from the shoe repairman on Gonzalez Ortega, shop for groceries at La Noria Mercado, and purchase some fresh, authentic tortillas from the Native women who sit outside the Hotel Camba on Xicotencatyl.
We were very happy that Cesar was in when we arrived since it was "Siesta" time. Businesses sometimes close from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. to eat the hearty meal of the day and take a siesta although it is becoming less frequent now. They open at 5 p.m. until 8 p.m.
Cesar was reading a book, so he was taking a small break, but was happy to give us the perfectly repaired loop. He sewed a piece of leather to join the two ends instead of stapling it, as it was done before. Now the loop will probably outlive the belt!
While standing there as Jerry and he made the exchange of dinero, I noticed a huge collaged screen. Cesar had glued various photos and articles of artists, musicians and dancers onto a board to create privacy. I asked him about it and he then went on to tell us that he is a shoe repairman but that is only one of his pursuits. He showed me the most beautiful silver Filigree earrings that he was working on (2,200 pesos - about $200 U.S.), the journal that he had made and the cloth-covered leather heels. He also teaches classes at the university on Theater Arts!
Cesar invited us to return soon. He plans to clean and clear his tiny space, making it into a comfortable place to gather! We know that he has a lot of work to do, but it will be exciting to see what this very special man creates.
Then we went to the market - where we usually get empanadas with champinones, flor de calabaza y quesillo - a large tortilla filled with mushrooms, squash flowers and Oaxacan cheese - and a GRANDE jugo de naranja (fresh squeezed orange juice) but today was purely for buying bananas, the only thing left needed, for our guests. Well, thirty minutes later we left with our large bag full of canela molida (ground cinnamon), aguacates, tomates, ham, huevos (eggs) one kilo cacajuates (peanuts) and pasas (raisins). It is such a pleasure to buy from individuals at a mercado rather than a supermercado (supermarket). There are smiles, personal help asking questions about the products and gratifude .
We finally made it home shortly before our guests arrived. For those new to our life in Oaxaca, Julieta had a cafe across the street from our apartment complex for a few years, Jerry began eating breakfast there, and i struck up a friendship with Julieta and her family! They had to leave the cafe since they were not earning enough to keep it going but we kept in contact. Julieta and I have adopted each other as hermanas (sisters) and Jerry and I are Madrina and Padrino to the three children.
Julieta and Sarai came first; we hugged and kissed individually then all together - yes, I grabbed Jerry into the circle, too. I brought out yogurt and cinnamon, apples and bananas, salad, peanuts and cookies, jugo de durazno (peach juice - heavenly), Good Earth tea and pure water. The good news is that the new governor, Gambino Cue, has begun to give scholarships to low-income families! Sarai receives over 800 pesos monthly (about $75) which may not sound like much to us, but is a huge help to her and her family. Last year, we were very fortunate to get she and her sister into the Oaxaca Streetchildren organization so with the governor's new program and our help she is able to continue at the university!
Soon, Sarai's tia (aunt) arrived, Petra, and her 5 year old son, Andres. Petra is the sister of her father and Julieta's husband, Severiano.Petra's husband, whom we heard was a wonderful man, was killed in the protest of 2006. An architect, warm husband and father to his baby boy, is greatly missed. Petra has a book that was written in honor of him, in Spanish, English and French, that she will bring next time. She is selling the book for over 600 pesos, making a hefty profit for herself to help, with other small jobs, to support herself and her young son. Petra told us that the governments has offered 20,000 pesos to help her, as a widow, but she will not accept it since money cannot make up for her husband's death. Julieta told us that she thought Petra should take the money to keep in the bank for Andres, for his education, if needed in the future. With the terrible sadness, Petra and Andres are very fortunate to have a large extended family - 8 brothers and sisters - that are devoted and close. Julieta, besides selling rotisserie chickens, and Severiano repairing refridgerators, care for Andres whenever Petra needs help.
On a lighter note, we perused the stack of photos I had made from Severiano's mother's 70th birthday party last year. We had the honor of being invited to the huge party at his mother and father's home in a small village, Totolapan, about 1.5 hours from Oaxaca, just east of Mitla. We were picked up early in the morning, and arrived home shortly before midnight! It was a day full of preparing and eating a big feast, talking and dancing.. I'll never forget Jerry volunteering to carry a huge, thousand-pound speaker to the dance area, not knowing that it was up a steep hill! Thankfully, he was rescued by a couple of young guys! We were happy to be included in such a close family event full of babies and young children and people of all ages who had come from their villages and cities to celebrate. Jerry smiled a lot and spoke with a couple guys who could speak English....and he enjoyed the cerveza and mezcal! The men and women were separated most of the time, the women busily helping prepare the meal and watching the children besides lots of talking; the men mostly talked and drank together. Two of the brothers were great DJ's, and performers, making the mountaintop rock!
Sarai took us on a tour of the area, the beautiful little chapel and the surrounding countryside of rolling hills and pine-forested mountains. There are huge expanses of wild succulent plants growing in the arid soil as well as small streams with flowering plants nearby. We hiked for a while under the great blue sky.
Elena, one of her tias (aunts) es muy Catoloca - very religious Catholic. She told Sarai that I was okay, even though I am not Catholic, because Jesus was Jewish!
When I told Sarai that I had lots of photos and a photo album for her abuelitos (grandparents) and copies for all the family, she said "aren't you coming this year?" I said no. These photos and photo album were a gift for the family to thank them for inviting us to one of their most important celebrations. I was glad, however, that she did not press me further. It was truly special to share that day last year, but family events are hard to share with strangers, at times. The family was very welcoming and warm but it was a very long day and night.
Rafael, Sarai's brother, is in high school but not doing well. The Oaxaca Streetchildren has an imposed limit, by the government, of two children per family, so he cannot become a part of that organization until Sarai leaves. Julieta is a very strong mother who wants her children to be educated and have choices more than anything. She is stumped by what to do for Rafael, whose friends leave school instead of attending classes.
My son, Mateo, gave me $100.00 to donate to the organization. I asked if I could use that to help Rafael and he said I could. I will speak with Cliff, the part-time director,who helped create the organization,in the late 1980s, for his advice.
Andres colored a stack full of drawings - my favorite gift! It is obvious that he is loved and cherished.
After a warm, lovely evening of catching up, we planned our next get-together on December 21. We will have Julieta and the three kids (Severiano does not fell comfortable coming to our apartment) for dinner on December 21. She will cook a pork dish for Jerry (milanesa de cerdo) and the family, black beans, guacamole and tortillas and salsa for me.
After 4 hours, we parted with more kisses and hugs.
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