global212

Well the energy is roaring in Oaxaca City at the moment. Everything has ratcheted up in this last week. The radical group APPO (Asemblea Popular del Pueblo) has been blocking the streets and highway entrances of the city, setting some cars and buses (without people in them) on fire. The radio station was overtaken midweek by who knows who, and one man was killed in the demonstration march on Thursday. Again, no one seems to know who or why it happened. One report says a medical clinic was going to be bombed and someone from the clinic came out and shot the man. Another report says he was urinating on someone's propery and was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Both are probably unlikely, but no one really knows...The police are not around, making way for these things to occur. It's causing great confusion and tension. Yesterday, Francisco Toledo and other artists and writers called for a dialogue to end the violence. Oaxaca is the state capital, with over half a million people, so these things are not at my doorstep, but in isolated areas of the city - but believe me, I am staying clear. I did happen to be coming back from Tlapa on Thursday evening at 7pm, just when the roadways were shut down and the melee was beginning. People were everywhere - in the middle of the streets, some shouting and yelling, others just calmly ambling about, trying to get home since the buses were shut down. It was quite a mess.
Even with this chaos, it's a pleasure to be back here, as it was a tough two weeks in Tlapa and surrounding small Mixtec pueblos. It was rewarding and enriching to be able to use the language - as much as I can try at this point. The Guerrero variant of Mixtec is a bit different than Oaxaca, and the variants in the three towns I visited were all different as well. The basics of bathing and bathrooming were a bit of a challenge due to the lack of indoor plumbing, but the sweet generousity of the people took away any smelliness.