the first annual final four contest award show

photos from oaxaca

We recently returned from our weeklong Mexican adventure. We had been planning the trip for several months, lured by the promise of great food, magnificent architecture, mysterious archaeological ruins, and colorful art and culture.

We weren't disappointed. In Oaxaca, we discovered a vibrant capital city filled with dancing, parades, music, balloons, and friendly people. Buildings painted in candy-colored hues line every street, where vendors sell ice cream cones, hot dogs, and elotes, and indigenous women offer their beautiful crafts—intricately embroidered blouses, woven baskets, and bookmarks.

Attending church in Oaxaca was a particularly lovely experience. Everyone was eager to say hello and welcome us to the ward. The bishop invited us to have lunch with his family; we helped his wife prepare meat and cabbage for the delicious pozole we ate, and we had an interesting conversation with his son, who had just returned from a mission in Hermosillo. He said that the narcos would give the missionaries rides all the time.

While we were able to see a lot of Oaxaca in one week, including the historic sites of Monte Alban, Mitla, and the crafts villages of Teotitlán del Valle and San Bartolo Coyotepec, there still remains much more of this wonderful place to explore. We can't wait to visit again some day.

Below are a ton of slideshows from various parts of our trip. Sorry if you can't see the big play buttons to start the slideshows — I don't know what's up with that, at least in Firefox on our MacBook. But you can click on the slideshows to open up a larger version in Picasa.

Parks



Oaxaca City has many public spaces for people to gather: parks, plazas, and gardens. Here are just a couple of them.

Primavera



In Oaxaca City, you're almost guaranteed to stumble across some kind of celebration. On our first day, we saw a group of kids dressed up in various animal costumes, riding their decorated bikes around Conzatti Park. The parade was part of Primavera festivities, which celebrate the arrival of spring.

Monte Alban



The ruins at Monte Alban, one of the first cities in Mesoamerica. The ancient Zapotec metropolis emerged as the center of political and economic authority in the valley of Oaxaca. It was founded around 500 BC and flourished until AD 750.

Chocolate



Chocolate shops on Mina Street in downtown Oaxaca City, which grind and mix their own chocolate. Each shop offers samples of delicious chocolate in many flavors, including canela, vanilla, leche, nuez, and moka.

Teotitlán del Valle



We visited a workshop in the Zapotec village of Teotitlán del Valle, which is famous for its colorful weavings made with natural dyes such as indigo for blue, pericón flowers for yellow, and cochineal beetles for red.

Mitla



The ruins of Mitla, which served as an important place of burial during Zapotec and Mixtec times. At its height in AD 1350, Mitla reached a population of about 10,000 people. The walls of Mitla's buildings are characterized by distinctive geometric mosaics.

Food, Glorious Food



Oaxaca is well-known for its amazing culinary traditions. We sampled at least five different moles, tlayudas (giant, crispy tortillas covered with cheese and other delicious toppings), tamales, ice cream, the best pizza ever, tacos, chiles rellenos, and chapulines (grasshoppers, a Oaxacan delicacy). Fortunately, our daily feasting was offset by the miles of walking we did everyday.

Markets and shopping



Oaxaca's busy streets and markets are filled with stalls where vendors sell food, clothing, bags, leather goods, and a variety of other items. A favorite place to shop in Oaxaca City is MARO, a store run by native Mexican women artisans dedicated to preserving traditional handicraft techniques.

Iglesia de Santo Domingo



Built mostly between 1570 and 1608, Oaxaca City's Igesia de Santo Domingo is named for the Spanish monk who founded the Dominican order. The massively impressive Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca is housed within the monastery buildings adjoining the church; from the open windows you can get great views of the city and the monastery's garden.

Wedding at Santo Domingo



We were just walking around when we came across a traditional wedding celebration at Santo Domingo church, complete with big band, dancing, dancing giants, and a big balloon with the happy couple's names.

Baseball



We attended a few innings of a Mexican League baseball game between the Oaxaca Guerreros and the Pericos de Puebla. The game was nearly sold out when we got there and we could only get seats beyond the outfield in a section called los jardines. It cost about 10 pesos (or 75 cents) per ticket. We didn't stay for the whole game partly due to the fireworks being launched right behind our seats after each homerun, but Oaxaca ended up winning 8 to 6.

El Tule



In the small town of Santa María del Tule is El Arbol del Tule, a massive cypress that is thought to be at least 2,000 years old.

Around the Zócalo



Views around the zócalo, the primary public gathering place in Oaxaca City. A great place to relax and get your shoes shined. In front of the Oaxaca Cathedral, located in the northwest corner of the zócalo, you can always see children tossing and chasing around their globos (large tube-shaped balloons) in the open space next to the cathedral.

Miscellaneous



Pictures that I couldn't/was too lazy to fit into the categories above.

what's at stake

For the winner of our March Madness contest (clockwise from top left): market bag from Chocolate Mayordomo; cinnamon-flavored chocolate from La Soledad; black pottery keychain from Dona Rosa's workshop in San Bartolo Coyotepec; chocolate from Chocolate Mayordomo; a tortuga alebrije from the MARO shop in Oaxaca City; and two postcards with Dia de los Muertos-themed artwork.

Thanks for entering!

Check back later for pictures from our trip.

hundreds—okay, maybe three—will enter, but only one will win

It's March Madness time once again. Here's a sneak peek at our picks for the Final Four and the championship game:

Lauren

Wake Forest
UConn
Pittsburgh
Syracuse

Title game: the Orange will take it all in an epic rematch against their 6 OT rival UConn.

TJ

Wake Forest
Marquette
Pittsburgh
UNC

Title game: the Big East will prove their dominance in college basketball when Pittsburgh beats Wake Forest in a landslide victory.

Which teams do you think will make it to the Final Four this year? Post your prediction in the comments, and whoever gets the most right wins a sweet prize from Oaxaca, to be determined, but specially handpicked by us. In the event of a tie, we will randomly generate a victor from among the winning entries.

For reference, here are the teams playing in the tournament, in bracket format.

If you want to play, please get your picks in before 12:20 PM ET/9:20 AM PT on Thursday, March 19. Good luck!

countdown to oaxaca

In a few days we'll be taking off for the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca, known for its colorful markets, colonial architecture, traditional folk art, social justice rallies, archaeological sites, and rich culinary traditions (I will probably try to hoard as much Oaxacan chocolate as I can in my backpack).

Coincidentally, Beirut just released a lovely double EP called March of the Zapotec/Holland. It's served as a nice soundtrack as we've prepared for our trip. The first half contains Mexican-influenced songs that Zach Condon recorded with a 19-piece church band in Teotitlán del Valle, a small village about 15 miles southeast of Oaxaca City.


This is a song from the EP called "La Llorona," which is based on a famous legend in Latino culture. There are many variations to the story, but it's basically about a woman who killed her children then herself after she was rejected by the man she loved. Consequently, her ghost is doomed to endlessly weep and wander in search of her niños.

Anyway, we are really excited about this trip. We've both been in dire need of a break from Santa Barbara (believe it, friends) and the daily grind.

on the return of prop 8

As I type, the California Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments on whether Prop 8 will stand. The main question at hand is whether Prop 8 amends or revises the state constitution—the difference being that an amendment is a small change or addition that can be placed on a ballot and approved by a simple majority of voters, while a revision is a more substantial alteration that must be approved by 2/3 of each house in the state legislature before going to the voters.

You could probably guess which conclusion each side wants the court to take. So far, various reports seem to indicate that the justices will uphold Prop 8, but at the same time, recognize existing same-sex marriages.

By posting this, I don't mean to set off another discussion on whether gay marriage is right or wrong. Here's my question: does it bother anyone else that this issue seems to suggest that any right can be taken away by any group through a simple majority on a ballot measure?

In the LA Times article on the current hearings, there was a passage describing an exchange between Ken Starr (scrub, rinse, repeat) and one of the justices on the court:

Asked by Corrigan if the people's power to amend the Constitution extended even to changes deemed "unwise," Starr said it did, and that it remained up to the people to decide what was or wasn't a wise amendment.

"It's not for another branch to say otherwise?" Corrigan asked.

"Absolutely," Starr told the justices.

So listen up, people: if you want to take away the rights of gay people or racial minorities or journalists or anyone else you don't agree with or simply don't like, have at it. The Constitution? Checks and balances? Whatev. Do what you will because your power is unlimited.

Tyranny of the majority was a common point of discussion among the framers of the Consitution. In 1788, James Madison wrote in a letter to Thomas Jefferson: "Wherever the real power in a government lies, there is the danger of oppression. In our Governments the real power lies in the majority of the Community, and the invasion of private rights is chiefly to be apprehended, not from acts of Government contrary to the sense of its constituents, but from acts in which the Government is the mere instrument of the major number of the Constituents." And here is Madison again, in Federalist #51: "It is of great importance in a republic not only to guard the society against the oppression of its rulers but to guard one part of the society against the injustice of the other part. If a majority be united by a common interest, the rights of the minority will be insecure."

I hope we can heed those pieces of warning and advice. Women's suffrage, interracial marriage, school integration—take your pick. It's scary to think where this country might be today if a majority of voters, with no checks on their zeal, were able to sacrifice the rights of others.