It’s been quite the year here in Oaxaca. This place is so vibrant, and full of energy, celebration, and pride in their traditions. The surrounding countryside is equally beautiful – high desert light, huge cactus, beautiful mountains. We’ve had a good year, both here and back in ABQ. Here are 12 shots for 12 months. A memory from each of the months in 2016.
{January – Tres Reyes – kids release their balloons into the night, containing their wishes for the Three Kings, who bring them gifts.}
{February – Kyle and this ginormous cactus on the hill of an ancient mogote (raised hill which used to be a pyramid) in the Oaxaca valley.}
{March – Dancers in China Oaxaqueña dresses dance during celebrations outside the church in Xochimilco}
{April – Pajaros sin Paraiso public art installation – Conceived by the artist Manuel Molina and created in partnership with the city of Oaxaca and more than 300 people, who helped create these birds out of madera & totomoxtle (wood and corn husks) at public libraries throughout the city and its surrounding areas. So beautiful to catch them soaring over Alcalá, the pedestrian street here, in the morning light.}
{May – The all-male stilt dancers from Zaachila, one of the towns out in the Oaxaca valley. They perform the Danza de los Zancudos (the Dance of the Stilts), one of the famous dances from the 8 regions of Oaxaca.}
{June heat produces stark strong light on the landscape of Saguaro National Park in southern Arizona. We managed to hike for a few hours early in the morning before the heat got too bad.}
{July – Street Fireworks with the family in Albuquerque.}
{August – Dance performances by the teens of Soledad and Nazareno during the Guelaguetza celebrations.}
{September – The pre-Colombian site of Monte Alban. Located high on a flat top ridge above Oaxaca City, this was one of the earliest cities in MesoAmerica, and an important Zapotec religious and economic center for almost a thousand years, beginning in 500 BC.}
{October – this woman was kind enough to pose for us in front of Santo Domingo during the lead up to Dia de Muertos}
{November – This beautiful lady was watching over her family members during Dia de Muertos celebrations.}
{December – La Noche de Rabanos – The Night of the Radishes is a huge tradition here in Oaxaca. Artisans carve radishes (both HUGE and small) into elaborate displays. This artist was having a bit of fun after all his hard work.}
We had a really great year here, not only because of all the wonderful people we know here, but most especially because we were lucky enough to host good friends and family here in Oaxaca this year – and share with them a bit of our town and why we enjoy living here so much. We’re still madly in love with living in Oaxaca, and looking forward to spending the first part of the year here, before heading back to Albuquerque for a few months, and then back to Oaxaca and more traveling towards the end of the year. Wishing you all the best in 2017!
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