Gayle Brennan Spencer – sending random thoughts to and from South Austin
Above, “El Guardian del Barrio,” Uli Martinez
Street art in Oaxaca entices you to wander down many side streets you might otherwise miss. It’s a colorful kaleidoscope mirroring the cultural heritage, contemporary concerns, heart and soul of its residents. Here’s another installment.
Continue reading “Postcard from Oaxaca, Mexico: Where blank walls are canvases”
Above, nine “migrants” from Alejandro Santiago’s “2501 Migrantes” haunt a balcony inside Museo de Arte Contemporaneo, MACO
There is a Zapotec saying…. “Why leave when you have it all here?”
Alejandro Santiago in 2501 Migrants: A Journey, directed by Yolanda Cruz, 2010
“Returning to his native Mexican village after many years, the artist was startled by what he didn’t see. ‘Where are my friends, my relatives?’ Alejandro Santiago asked the remaining residents of the town, Teococuilco de Marcos Perez, in a remote mountain area of Oaxaca state. Upon learning that most of them migrated from southern Mexico to the United States in search of work, he vowed to honor the departed and ‘repopulate’ his impoverished hometown.”
“Alejandro Santiago dies at 49,” Valerie J. Nelson, Los Angeles Times, July 28, 2013
Continue reading “Postcard from Oaxaca, Mexico: Santiago’s ‘Migrants’ and protesters haunting MACO”
Above, orchids blooming in a patio of La Casa de los Ladrillos in Santiago de Queretaro
The Secret Garden was what Mary called it when she was thinking of it. She liked the name, and she liked still more the feeling that when its beautiful old walls shut her in no one knew where she was. It seemed almost like being shut out of the world in some fairy place.”
Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden, 1911*
Offering a colorful bouquet in gratitude for the hospitality extended by our host last week in the historic center of Queretaro. Of course, we plucked these flowers virtually from his own garden filling all his patio space with plants that would rival those of any nursery. He has succeeded in creating a magical, soothing respite in the heart of city.
Continue reading “Postcard from Queretaro, Mexico: Bouquet from a patio of Eden”
Postcards from Barton Springs 