Category: Travel

Postcard from Burgos, Spain: Pilgrims should indulge in Santiago’s symbolic seafood

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Above: Broiled zamburinas, Gallaecian scallops, at La Cantina Burgos

Bronze scallop shells embedded in the streets of Burgos lead pilgrims along the Camino de Santiago route to the Cathedral. The trail of shells conveniently passes right by La Cantina de Burgos, where one can find perfectly prepared grilled zamburinas, Gallaecian scallops. Earlier in this same trip, a blog post explains both the shell’s connection to Saint James and the bicolored anatomy of the bivalves.

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Postcard from San Martin Tilcajete, Mexico: Chaotic Carnaval ushers in Lent

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Not sure how the Oaxacan town of San Martin Tilcajete, known for its colorful and imaginative alebrije creatures, ended up with such an unusual wild and wacky celebration of Fat Tuesday, but it definitely is fun.

Instead of traditional Mardi Gras royalty, a bride and groom united in a mock ceremony reign over the festival. The bride is always a man dressed in drag and fittingly attired in an elegant white gown.

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Postcard from Oaxaca, Mexico: ‘Nobodies’ populate walls

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Above: Detail of “Los Nadies,” or “The Nobodies,” woodblock print murals by the Colectivo Subterraneos in the Xochimilco barrio of Oaxaca

Existimos, porque resistimos. Por los oprimidos, por los invisibilizados, por aquellos que quisieron enterrar, los subterraneos, existimos.

We exist, because we resist. For the oppressed, for the invisible, for those who wanted to bury, the underground, we exist.

Artist Statement of Colectivo Subterraneos

The one-story building at the corner of Calle Jose Lopez Alavez and Calle Bolanos Cacho, Barrio de Xochimilco, was a deep burnt red color until a team of enthusiastic artists armed with rollers gave it a new coat of deep pink this fall. They quickly papered the rough stucco canvas with a series of large, exquisitely detailed woodblock prints the young artists created as part of Colectivo Subterraneos.

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