Real Oaxaqueños

What's the difference between Oaxaqueños and other Mexicans?
Real Oaxaqueños eat chapulines!

During a visit to Oaxaca's central market, I led Adi to the Plaza de Chapulines where dozens of farmers sit behind sacks of freshly-roasted grasshoppers.  She was intrigued, approached one of the open sacks, and for the first time, tasted a pinch.
"Not that bad"  She exclaimed.
I could never understand why a Korean woman, whose favorite snack is boiled silkworms (bundaegi), abhors grasshoppers.  However, the situation was about to change.  Adi proceeded around the square, sampling and rating the merchandise.
"Best so far."  "Too salty"  "Too lemony" and so on, until we settled on one sack, and bought a small bag.  At home, we followed a friend's recommendation and sauteed the chapulines with garlic.

Chapulines are not cheap.  Oaxaqueños eat them as a garnish on a taco, or as a side dish to a mezcalito.  In the photo is a Mexican, American, Israeli fusion dish:  Home made whole-wheat bread topped with cream cheese, avocado, and chapulines.  We are now real Oaxaqueños.

Theater in Oaxaca

Readers of this blog know that Oaxaca is rich with music, dance, and art. However, theater in Oaxaca is not a strong point, and due to my rudimentary Spanish I did not attend any performance.  This week, a drama festival opened with El Ostrakón, a local production.  It would be presented in wonderful (and comfortable) Teatro Macedonio Alcala.  In addition, an English synopsis was available on the web (here), and the performance was free.  It was an offer I could not refuse.
"Worst case," I consoled Adi, "If we won't understand, we'll leave in the intermission."

The play is an allegory of modern society.  The leading character is the Narrator who assumes the roles of several authority-figures as they guide/misguide the hero Gabriel from birth to adulthood.  Portrayed in short, sketch -like scenes, The Doctor, Teacher, Priest, and Banker, cause Gabriel's life to go from bad to worse.  Finally, desperate Gabriel shoots the Narrator, who immediately bounces back to life.
"You can't kill the system," he says, "the house always wins."
In the next and final scene, the Narrator offers Gabriel a way out.  He hands him a potsherd (the Greek Ostrakon) and sentences him to exile.
"He is now free," claims the Narrator as Gabriel slowly crawls up the center aisle, "as fee as our dreams."


To add color and local flavor, the Crowd in the play is portrayed by three monos de calenda.  These are three-meter-tall costumes, which usually lead religious parades (here).  The monos never utter a word, but their blank paper-mache faces, mute-like sounds, and highly choreographed movements, make them the more emotive characters on stage.  For a change of pace, the play includes a risque scene between Gabriel and Sandra, his love interest.  They kiss, and Gabriel sheds everything but his jog-strap. As Sandra's shirt came off, you could feel the vacuum created by the gasping audience.  Luckily, the action froze (the bra stayed on), and pink smoke engulfed the couple's embrace.

I enjoyed the play despite the naive script.  The performance did not include intermission, yet I am sure we would have stayed even if we had the chance to leave.  On our walk home through the Zocalo, we caught a mini-Guelaguetza dance performance.  Never a dull moment in Oaxaca.

Voter's Dilemma

Recently, I realized that I am in a leveraged position to affect the coming presidential elections.  I am a resident of one of the "swing" states, and for the first time, I am in possession of an absentee ballot.  The ongoing clash between President Obama's brilliant oratory, and his dismal results, erased the natural instinct of voting for a sitting president.   Now,  I am faced with the grave responsibility of choosing.

I am not a one-party nor a one-issue voter.  I vote for a candidate following a gut-feel assessment of his personality, platform, and previous accomplishments.  I realize that none of these factors are an indication of future performance, but that's all we have.  I liked Barack Obama's personality in the previous elections, and I still think he is a nice guy.  Mitt Romney was an unknown, and therefore suspect.  His 47% comment didn't help.  However, in the presidential debate, the haze lifted, and he emerged as a clear-speaking clear-thinking politician.

The platforms of the two candidates are clearly different.  My economic views are in line with what Mitt Romney presented.  I am for small government, lower taxes. and I have reservations about Obama-care.  Mitt Romney's foreign policy is a bit more hawkish than I would like, but I hope that the lessons of Iraq and Afghanistan will prevent him from initiating an unnecessary war.  President Obama, the presumed dove, dismayed me with the surge in Afghanistan, and his subsequent actions around the globe indicate a naive and ineffective statesman.

The score so far:  Personality- Both are acceptable, with Obama leading; economic policy-Romney; foreign policy-Romney.  Yet I feel queasy with this outcome.  I am not sure that I can vote for a man that thinks abortion should be illegal, and belongs to a party that is dominated by radical christians.  I can't explain why this concern became so prominent now, and not with previous Republican candidates.

The dictionary defines Dilemma as "A situation requiring a choice between equally undesirable alternatives."  Any comments that would get my ass off the uncomfortable horns of this dilemma, would be greatly appreciated.