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Saturday, November 10, 2018

Pitching A Oaxaca Music Tour To My Rock-n-Roll/Blues Band

Oaxaca Day of the Dead

 Compas,

On January 23rd I leave for Oaxaca and will stay in Mexico until April 3rd.

 The two places my well-traveled friends most want to re-visit in this world are Barcelona and Oaxaca.

I have been visiting Oaxaca since 1970 and know the city well.

For years I operated Oaxaca-based "Medical Spanish Immersion," and although we accepted students from all over the United States and Canada, most of my business came from Duke and UNC's medical schools.

Since "spinning off" Medical Spanish Immersion, I have focused my "workplace efforts" on guiding educational tours in-and-around Oaxaca, and this coming February I will lead two such groups (one of them comprised of students from my Monday night Spanish class).

After 48 years visiting Oaxaca, I know the city deep down - and from the inside out.

Even if we were not making music in Oaxaca, I think you would have a Great Time. 

 I believe most (if not all) of you will be eager to return, perhaps venturing to Oaxaca's Pacific Coast, or to the Beatles' magic mushroom "mecca" in Huatla, or to the cloud forest that runs through the Mixtec homeland. (There are 17 tribes in Oaxaca state which still speak their native language. Often these native Americans speak no Spanish or only broken Spanish.)

Image result for sea turtle mazunte


Video: Flying Over Thousands Of Turtles On Oaxaca's Pacific Coast
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mY29SNy0Y9Y

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Related image

Huautla Journal; The Place for Trips of the Mind-Bending Kind - The ...


https://www.nytimes.com/.../huautla-journal-the-place-for-trips-of-the-mind-bending-ki...
May 8, 2002 - But without Huautla (pronounced WOW-tla), a generation of Americans might never have turned on, dropped out or played a Beatles record ...

Disney's 2017 animation, "Coco" (currently streaming on Netflix), is based on Oaxaca's Día de los Muertos celebration -- a tourist attraction in itself and one of the few places where you can still see the candlelit practice of exhumation and "bone polishing." My student Lonnie Coleman (an Orange County judge) has vivid memories of his after-dark walk through Oaxaca's Cementerio Municipal, and suddenly seeing a man standing in the dug-out burial plot of an ancestor, holding his skull, plucking off the few remaining bits of hair.)

Day Of The Dead In Oaxaca:
https://www.tripsavvy.com/day-of-the-dead-in-oaxaca-1588968

 National Geographic Tour: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/expeditions/destinations/north-america/journeys/day-of-the-dead-mexico-tour/

As I may have mentioned before, I consider Oaxaca (and environs) a front runner for "most creative place on earth." 

One of the city's many charms is that something is "always going on," often "right on the streets": music, theater, dance, performance art, sculpture installations, civic and liturgical events - and a host of galleries featuring the area's art and artisanry in a wide range of admission-free venues.

Oaxaca's Regional Museum is superb and, although you could spend a week just visiting the city's grand colonial churches, British writer D.H. Lawrence considered La Iglesia Santo Domingo "the most beautiful church in the world."

On the music front...

I have arranged for us to play at 5 rock-n-roll venues: "Txalaparta," "Guns and Beer," "Desestresse," "McCarthy's Irish Pub" and "La Villada" - and a just-discovered, well-reviewed Oaxaca "antro" called "Funky Cat Blues and Bar" where I'm confident of "making a deal." 


McCarthy's Pub: https://www.facebook.com/McCarthysAndador/

 Desestresse: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g150801-d2193433-Reviews-Desestresse_Bar-Oaxaca_Southern_Mexico.html

 Guns And Beer: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g150801-d13820579-Reviews-Guns_And_Beers_Oaxaca-Oaxaca_Southern_Mexico.html

All of these venues (with the tantalizing possibility of "Funky Cat") will pay us real money, not a lot, but more-or-less enough to cover the cost of needed rental equipment. 

During the five weeks I am in Oaxaca prior to March (which is the target month for 19's "tour") I will make arrangements for rental gear and its delivery.

I understand that most band members think that nine days is their maximum "time away." 

 But if Mark, Alger or John want to stay longer to play guitar for a "scaled down" band, I have a drummer willing to accompany us for additional gigs, and I'm sure my Oaxaca connections can steer me to a decent bass player. (I am assuming Dan that will have trouble "getting away" from work obligations at Lowe's for more than a brief visit.)

I think it highly likely that the venues where we play will want us back in future years, so that Oaxaca could become an annual retreat where 19 can enjoy the city's pleasures and "peak experiences," while escaping "the dead of winter" in North Carolina.

Furthermore, once we develop a Oaxaca "following," I think some of these venues will pay us more. 

This past March, when I spoke with Nicolás, manager of "Guns and Beer," he was so enthusiastic about our album that he started speculating about renting a larger space -- perhaps an outdoor stadium -- in order to sponsor a well-promoted "rock concert."

Another important detail...

One of Oaxaca's attractions is its nearly ideal climate, in large part due to the city's "mile high" elevation. 

In March, daytime temperatures usually peak in the low 80s and overnight temps dip into a cool comfort zone, with lows around 60 but sometimes low enough to require a light blanket in addition to a sheet. 

Something to consider...

Please keep in mind that I am currently living in my "bonus round" - which is what I call a person's remaining years once s/he has exceeded the biblical alotment of "three score and ten." 

When I return from Oaxaca next April, I will be but 4 months from my 72nd birthday.

We never know how much "vitality" remains in our life, but I will consider myself lucky if I have another five or six years with the band. 

But...

For the time-being, I am still spry.

My voice works.

And our tour is "set up," just "waiting to happen."

 Use me while you can.

Furthermore, I know Oaxaca's historic center better than I know any city on earth and, as a professional tour guide, I can show you a Really Good Time. (You're also welcome to strike forth on your own if that's your cuppa.)

Having said all that, it's no secret that "shit happens" - and so it is impossible to rule out unexpected adversity.

Blessedly, Oaxaca is a very healthy city - and with FAR less violence than Durham. 

Where we will lodge in Oaxaca -- in, or near, the Historic Districtc -- has always felt warm, welcoming and often magical.

Here is a description of the lodging where my friends Julieta and Isaias Sibaja are offering us each night's lodging with a Big Breakfast next morning for $17.00 (U.S.) - based on double occupancy. 

La Villada
Retiro "Pájaros De Nieve"

If you prefer to stay at a more traditional hotel, any one of which would be more centrally located than La Villada, here is a hyperlinked list of hotels which I have chosen for their attractive combination of quality and economy.   













 Other Costs:

Most cab fares run between $3 and $4 dollars and the Nissan Tsurus that nearly all cabbies operate accommodate up to four people. Furthermore, cabs are everywhere and there is NO problem flagging one down.

Because Oaxaca is one of the world's great "foodie centers" you can, on the one hand, find elegant restaurants where "the sky's the limit."

However, among the many places where I eat lunch and dinner, I usually spend between $5 and $10. (I will note in passing a funky little hole-in-the-wall where I love the pozole rojo which combines the plato fuerte (main dish) with jamaica (or soda) and a small postre... for a buck fifty.
Top Things To Do In Oaxaca, TripAdvisor:
 https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g150801-Activities-Oaxaca_Southern_Mexico.html

 Lonely Planet: 

 Oaxaca City
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/mexico/oaxaca-city/top-things-to-do/a/poi/361604

 Oaxaca State
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/mexico/oaxaca-state

 Oaxaca's Pacific Coast
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/mexico/oaxaca-coast/top-things-to-do/a/poi/1330556



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