Playa Zipolite. Welcome To The Beach Of The Dead!

A little about Playa Zipolite, The Beach of the Dead . . .

Playa Zipolite, Oaxaca, Southern Mexico, on the Pacific Ocean. A little bit about my favorite little get-away on this small world of ours.

Zipolite, a sweaty 30-minute walk west from Puerto Angel, brings you to Playa Zipolite and another world. The feeling here is 1970's - Led Zep, Marley, and scruffy gringos.

A long, long time ago, Zipolite beach was usually visited by the Zapotecans...who made it a magical place. They came to visit Zipolite to meditate, or just to rest.

Recently, this beach has begun to receive day-trippers from Puerto Angel and Puerto Escondido, giving it a more TOURISTY feel than before.

Most people come here for the novelty of the nude beach, yoga, turtles, seafood, surf, meditation, vegetarians, discos, party, to get burnt by the sun, or to see how long they can stretch their skinny budget.

I post WWW Oaxaca, Mexico, Zipolite and areas nearby information. Also general budget, backpacker, surfer, off the beaten path, Mexico and beyond, information.

REMEMBER: Everyone is welcome at Zipolite.

ivan

Thursday, July 4, 2013

Shambhala Sept 2012

Indigenous gays celebrate traditions in Mexico

The Associated Press

Posted: Wednesday, Jul. 03, 2013

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Eduardo Verdugo - AP Photo

In this June 29, 2013 photo, a person known as a muxe, center, poses for a photo at a party in Mexico City. Zapotec indigenous homosexual men known as muxes gathered last weekend for a "vela," as community parties are called in the Zapotec city of Juchitan in the southern state of Oaxaca, to share their traditions with people in the Mexican capital. According to anthropological studies, some women in Juchitan encourage sons' muxe leanings because they tend to stay home and care for their parents rather than getting married.

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MEXICO CITY Wearing a long skirt, headdress and loose blouse embroidered with bright flowers, Mariana de la Noche road on a float in Mexico City's recent gay pride parade. The float was for "muxes," Zapotec indigenous men who dress and behave in ways associated with women.

The 33-year-old restaurant cook was picked as queen of the "muxes" (pronounced MOO-shays) living in Mexico City, where for the first time Saturday they celebrated a "vela," as community parties are known in their hometown of Juchitan, a city of Zapotecs in the southern state of Oaxaca.

Gay men, transvestites and transgender people are generally accepted in Juchitan and often work as home helpers, embroiderers, decorators, cooks and entertainers.

Like Mariana, most of the muxes at her crowning wore Tehuana dresses from the Juchitan area, popularized around the world by Mexican artist Friday Kahlo, along with the region's traditional large gold earrings and necklaces and "resplandor," headdresses made from a starched veil worn around the face like a halo.

It was a party to have fun but also an opportunity to reaffirm the muxes' presence in the capital and celebrate their traditions from back home, said David Kelvin, who organized the event.

"We want to bring the party here, but through the party we want to have a (message) about exercising our rights, of respect, of dignity, of culture," Kelvin said.

The contact between muxes and the gay men from Mexico City has led to the fusion of urban and indigenous cultures, said Kelvin. The gathering was important "to rescue our culture, to rescue who we are and show the rest of the people in this city how we live our sexuality, how we exercise our rights," he said.

According to anthropological studies, some women in Juchitan encourage sons' muxe leanings because they tend to stay home and care for their parents rather than get married.

"Muxes are a blessing from God because they look after you when you are sick more than a woman would," said Vicenta Toledo, who attended the party with her gay son. "They are a very important part of life."

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/07/03/4146586/indigenous-gays-celebrate-traditions.html#storylink=cpy