Happy 85th , Diana:

Last month we sat down with about 14 good friends and true, to celebrate a milestone. Held in the dining room of the Oaxaca Ollin bed and breakfast (donated by the owners, our pals Jon and Judíth), with food prepared by Sophia their cook, while incidental music was played by cellist Luís Zárate, it was a simple but elegant affair. Diana's eldest daughter and granddaughter were on hand. Most of the photos in this edition were taken in the course of “doing Oaxaca ” with them, starting with the masthead photo of granddaughter Tisha posing with the monos outside the Artisan's Co-op on Matamoros and Garcia Vigíl.

Sorry we're late:

We haven't forgotten you. It's just that I've been ill. Another case of the cure being – at least in subjective real time – worse than the disease. I was diagnosed in July with early stage, well-contained prostate cancer, and given a hormone shot (Lupron Depot) to shrink the prostate and reduce the testosterone that feeds this type of cancer. We returned to Oaxaca , and very soon thereafter the side effects – about like the worst cases of menopause among the women I have talked to about it – has been (how best to describe it?) kicking the stuffing out of me.

Rather than go through another three months of this agony, which among other things has made sleep difficult, I have returned to California to begin a rather more strenuous course of treatment, known as brachytherapy, in which radioactive seeds are implanted in the prostate to kill the cancer, allegedly forever, though after having been told that the hot flashes would be mild and would disappear in a few weeks I will hang on to my skepticism. My first appointment with the radiation oncologist is in two weeks.

At long last, with the help of a medication whose purpose is to diminish the bad side effects of Lupron, I seem to be functioning on a higher – though not what passes for me as normal – level. Thus, this Newsletter.

[Maya shopping for mole at the 20th of Novembe Market. I bought some powdered brown mole mix, and brought it up with me this time. It has a much more "rustic" taste than the prepared pastes I have been used to.]

Please do not send me well wishes: I will assume them, and there are a lot of you, too many to read, let alone to answer. I have been through most of the web sites, so please don't write just to recommend one to me. However, if any of you have had, or have friends who have had, brachytherapy, I'd be interested to know how others have experienced it. You or they can write to me by going to http://www.realoaxaca.com/ and clicking on the “ask a question” button. Thanks.

[This sculpture, and the one that follows, were on display as part of a show at the "Painter's Museum" on the corner of Independencia and Garcia Vigil. It's all wood (except for the towel and the soap).]

Repression grows along with diversions:

One of the lessons I have learned by observation is that despots and illegitimate rulers and socially privileged people require, as their fame or their wealth or their impunity increases, more and more people to safeguard their interests. Lots and lots of people get employment as police, bodyguards, gophers, publicists, attorneys, etc. Their job is to make sure that those what got, get more.

These jobs tend to come and go, as fortunes shift, and they serve only to lift a few out of a life of poverty for a period of time. Unless of course they want to join their friends in dope or gun smuggling or kidnapping. Many ex-police do armed assaults of one kind or another: they already own the requisite equipment, since they had to buy their own gun. Basically, though, no matter how much they try, they rarely rise above their brethren, since addiction, prison, gang rivalry, or police street justice, usually cuts their careers short.

The "upper strata" appears to be growing more slowly lately, but still, less than 20% of everybody owns more than 80% of everything. The "lower classes" on the other hand appear to be growing by leaps and bounds, with more and more "middle class" people joining their ranks as the economy falls and the folks on top demand more and more.

[What does all this have to do with us Gringos? Why even mention it? The answer is clear, if you subscribe.]

[The Alvarez Bravo photography museum had a dramatic and disturbing show of photos, taken during the 2006 rebellion, and blown up to very large dimensions. ]

A whole new Monte Alban :

It has been announced by the national archeological ministry (INAH) that beginning sometime next year, a completely new section of Monte Alban , located closer to Santa Maria Atzompa, will open for public viewing. Among other attractions, it will sport three “ball courts”, two of which are larger than the largest in “old” Monte Alban . Thought to have been a “bedroom community” for the more familiar complex on top of the hill, built about the time of the historical peak of old MA, it is part of the increasingly robust investigation and re-creation of what is still, archeologically, a vast and as-yet under-developed pre-Hispanic city.

[This is just the beginning. To get more news about the developments at Monte Alban, and other historical and cultural sites, subscribe ]

Will UNESCO take away Oaxaca 's “ World Heritage City ” designation?

In the 15 years that I have lived in Oaxaca , I can remember at least three occasions when this rumor gained some traction, and as far as I can tell, none of those foretold crises even came close to happening. Now, it's being raised again.

As we have noted several times in these pages, Oaxaca suffers a plague of ugly, senseless, and pointless graffiti (even though there is much graffiti of high artisitic quality as well). Anarcho-punks disguised as radical anarchists and Communists (strange bedfellows?) smear “Fuera Ulises” (get out (of the governorship) Ulises) on government buildings, venerable edifices, and churches. Gangstas spread their crude tags on newly painted surfaces. The political stuff is usually painted over more quickly than the gang tags: the government dislikes criticism far more than it abhors mere ugliness.

[ There may be more to this than meets the eye, especially a jaundiced and cynical eye such as mine. Want to know what I think? Subscribe! ]

“A” is for Armando; “M” is for Moisés:

I read an article in the San Antonio Express-News on August 23, about a new book, “AbeCendarios”, which uses photos of alebrijes (the carved and painted wooden animals) made by the Jimenez family of Arrazola to illustrate words and concepts, in the service of teaching Spanish to children and slow adults such as myself: “A” is for “armadillo”, for example.

What I found most interesting about the article was the description of the differing expectations of the author and two of my favorite characters, Armando and Moisés. You don't have to know them (as I do, from dealing with them on behalf of others) to appreciate the story, but knowing them is sure to add to the experience. The article can be found at http://blogs.mysanantonio.com/weblogs/fine_print/2009/08/

[Part of a show at the old Governor's Palace, now functioning as a multi-purpose facility, and calling itself a Museum.]

Medicare said to be considering covering patients at the ABC Hospital :

The fanciest, most up-to-date, most English-speaking (ABC stands for American / British / Canadian) hospital in Mexico , located in Mexico City, and affiliated with Methodist Hospital in Texas , is negotiating with Medicare, according to a press release from the ABC. If that happens, it will be a great boon to folks like me who have to come all the way back to the States because they can't afford the full price in Mexico – as low as it is – even if they can find the treatments (20% co-pay in the States still is cheaper).

Here's that little class thing again: According to a recently released government report, in Oaxaca 72% of the population lack medical services. Infant mortality since 2000 went up. The National Institute for Nutrition declared that 76.9% of the Oaxaca population is undernourished and only 10% are well fed. In 2005, the population in 337 municipalities suffered severe malnutrition. Of 100 municipalities named nationally as the worst off, 45 are in Oaxaca , the majority indigenous, with curable illnesses, infections and parasites rampant among the children. 34% of children over age five don't attend school. In the agricultural sector where 51.39 % of the population works, federal investment fell from 3.03 % to 2.9% of funds available. The sale of maize suffers from NAFTA rules. Add to that a severe drought, and output this year is predicted to be less than 25% compared to last year.

Rosa vs. Wade:

Oaxaca just passed a very strict anti-abortion law, with exceptions for rape, possible maternal death, or “deformed fetus”. That makes 16 states so far.

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