A twenty-something's guide to traveling the world.

ZIPOLITE AND MAZUNTE: NUDIES, YOGA, AND SUN

March 16, 2013 · by howthisgirltravels · in Places, Transportation

Zipolite and Mazunte in a Nutshell

Zipolite and Mazunte are two beach towns in Mexico’s state of Oaxaca and are located about 10 minutes apart, by car. Zipolite is known for being one of Mexico’s only clothing optional (i.e. nude) beaches. Meanwhile, Mazunte is home to the National Mexican Turtle Centre, and apparently turtles like its beaches as a nesting ground (however, ít wasn’t the season when I went in February).

Sunrise at Playa Zipolite

Getting There

While I was freezing my ass off in San Cristobal de las Casas, my friend Toya suggested that I meet her in Zipolite. The idea of a nude beach frightened me slightly (will I have to go COMPLETELY naked? will I be grossed out by the sight of naked people - thin, fat, and everything in between?), but the word “beach” alone was enough to lure me. An overnight bus from Tuxtla Gutierrez got me to Pochutla, Oaxaca for about $320 MXC. From Pochutla, I took my first ride on the back of a camionetta (modified pick-up truck) for $10 MXC to get to Zipolite.

By the way, I thought I was being smart by trying to take combi’s – collective vans - all the way from San Cristobal de Las Casas to Pochutla. My logic being that I made it from Palenque to San Cris in combi’s for a bargain. Nope! Made it as far as Tuxtla Gutierrez, where I was disappointed to find out that the only way to go on was by bus… and that I would have to wait hours and hours in a city where there’s not much to do or see (actually, there’s a really great zoo, which of course happened to be closed on the day I went). Moral of the story: ask around before you try to get somewhere far in a combi!

Accomodations

On my arrival to Zipolite, a German couple pointed me towards Shambhala as a chill place to stay. Shambhala is a spiritual centre with dorms, rooms, and cabanas, as well as a meditation centre on top of a hill. With dorms at $120 MXC, it was a bit pricier than other locations in town, but the moment I saw the view of the beach from the dorm room, I had to stay.

The story behind Shambhala is that the lady who owns it (Gloria) was one of the first Americans to take advantage of the area’s beauty. Back in the hippy days, the police would give shit to the nudies, and she would sound a horn when she saw the police coming in order to warn people that they should clothe themselves, pronto. In a way, she is responsible for making Zipolite what it is today. However, a few years ago a hurricane did some serious damage to her property. Thanks to a volunteer named Dan, I signed up to help bring life to Shambhala by selling some beers on the beach and making signs, in exchange for a free place to stay.

View from Shamblaha dorms

Shambahla

Making some signs to bring life to Shambhala

The Scene

I dropped off my bags in the dorm rooms of Shabhala at 8:30 am. By 10 am, I had given my first attempt at surfing and seen way more more old-man penis than I was hoping for. The days consisted of early-morning swims, followed by a bit of work, cooking dinner, and a party on occasion. Zipolite doesn’t have too much of a night life, but one night we attended a trance party on the beach (not my type of music, btw).

Getting ready to fiesta at Zipolite

In the evenings, the main street of Zipolite was lined with artists selling their goods. My favourite was a dude who made necklace charms by cutting the negative space out of coins from all over the world.

Artist who makes charms out of coins at Zipolite

Artist who makes charms out of coins at Zipolite

One more thing about Zipolite: the main beach is knows as La Playa de los Muertos (The Beach of the Dead). If that wasn’t creepy enough, two days before my arrival somebody drowned just meters away from where I was staying. To add to the scare factor, during my week-long stay, I saw a dead parrot, two dead fish (one blowfish and one small tuna), and a dead meter-long turtle on the beach. Right. Playa de los Muertos.

Mazunte is a short ride away by camionetta (at $6 MXC), and has some beautiful beaches as well.

Rocky shore near Mazunte

Beach near Mazunte

Art at Mazunte

When we passed by Mazunte, a circus festival was happening. Workshops were being offered in juggling and other circus skills

Mazunte circus workshop

I had a chance to see the work of an artist named Jean-Charles Vignal, who has a travel blog at Petit JC en Amerique (in French).

Jean-Charles Vignal and his art

Art by Jean-Charles Vignal

In Mazunte, a lady was selling fresh fish at three for $10 MXC.

Fresh fish for sale at Mazunte

Comida y Bebida (Food and Drink)

My days at Zipolite usually involved orange juice, coconuts in one form or another, and coconut ice cream (the best).

Coconut on the beach at Zipolite

Zipolite lacked economic food options. As a result, we took advantage of the fire grill outside our (temporary) home. My friend Toya made a great chef on the grill (check out her blog - Breakfast in Montreal)!

Toya cooking  meat and veggies at Shambhala

Breakfast crepes with veggies on the grill at Shambhala

Still, one of my Zipolite food highlights was sharing a shrimp omlette and strawberry smoothie at a hotel called Nude.

Shrimp omlette and strawberry smoothie at Nude (Zipolite)

One affordable food option at Zipolite was sopes (a form of tortillas with beans and cheese) for $5 MXC each.

Sopes at Zipolite

At Oralel Cafe, owned by a Quebecois dude, I had some amazing Aztec soup (broth with avocado, cheese, and tortilla chips, $45 MXC) with the best coffee in town ($20 MXC, Americano with milk).

Oralel Cafe

Aztec soup at Cafe Oralel, Zipolite

At Pochutla, I had the best meal that $10 MXC will buy – a doblada with pollo con salsa roja (chicken in red sauce) and rajas con crema (chile peppers with cream). They also had a bunch of other fillings to choose from!

Doblada stand at Pochutla

Playa Zipolite Map

Playa Zipolite: A Fabulous Beach Paradise for Nudists and Other People

March 24th, 2011 by EileenLeave a reply »

Playa Zipolite is a tiny lazy beach town, off the beaten path, with enough cafés, convenience stores, restaurants, bars, and lodging to be hospitable to travelers. It is also Mexico’s only officially sanctioned nude beach, though I hadn’t heard that in advance (and didn’t even really notice it until I had been on the beach for a couple of hours). One doesn’t stumble across Zipolite; one has to intend to get there. I had heard some good things about Zipolite from a guy I’d met in Puerto Escondido, and after making a day trip to check it out, decided to come back and set up camp for a little while.

The vibe of the town is both very local and very international bohemian. No one wears anything more complicated than sarongs, swimsuits and shorts (if they’re wearing anything at all); in fact, it’s almost a hassle to put flip-flops on. The nude beach aspect is very secondary to the character of the town. Only about 10 to 20 percent of the people on the beach are fully nude; there are topless women as well. So, whatever you care to wear or not wear is fine with everyone. Most services are available (internet, laundry) but there are no ATMs here … that is a short colectivo or taxi ride to neighboring Puerto Angel.

The nearby rehab center and school for the disabled, Piña Palmera, is a big part of the town, and you see more than the average number of people on wheelchairs. In fact, I am sitting at a waterfront cafe watching a guy who arrived at the beach in a wheelchair with boogie board in tow …he’s out there now boogie boarding with a surfer buddy of his.

Zipolite has a number of ex-pats … the woman who turned me on to my hotel, for instance, is from California and runs a great café. I think the people who own the local cinema are also ex-pats. I heard you can smoke a joint there while watching a movie (from someone who would definitely know) but can’t confirm that firsthand. But, it’s mostly a local town. English is spoken here … quite well by the high-end resorts, like Nude, and many locals have some knowledge of English. However, a few Spanish words and phrases will get you far in the locals’ estimation.

It’s my third day here, and I like it enough that I just paid for Internet access for a month, which is how I am able to update this blog from a lovely vantage point on the sand. All the beach chairs and hammocks along the waterline are so inviting at any time of the day or early evening, and I have to force myself now to sit at a table … it’s hard to be productive in paradise.

Here is a quick video I made in which I discover Playa Zipolite, gawk at frisbee-playing dudes and realize that HEY Zipolite is a nude beach:

- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – -

To get to Zipolite from Puerto Escondido (all prices mentioned are as of March 2011) :

Take either a local bus (drop-off is the triangular bus stop diagonally across from the ADO bus station in downtown Puerto Escondido) or a luxury bus (at the ADO station). Local was 23 pesos and I didn’t bother looking into luxury prices because the local buses are fine. You could also rent a private taxi, though I didn’t look into that either. Ask the bus driver to alert you when you get to the Zipolite drop-off.

The drop-off is at a corner of the highway with an OXXO convenience store. Across the street from OXXO is a stand for private taxis, which will charge from 70-120 pesos to get to Zipolite, depending on how good your negotiating skills are. About a hundred paces down the road, at the rear of the convenience store, is the stop for a colectivo, a covered pickup truck/ public bus that charges 10 pesos to get to Zipolite, the last stop on the route. It is about a 20-30 minute ride.

If you take a colectivo, you will be dropped off in front of the Piña Palmera rehab center and school for the disabled. It is a five-minute walk down this street to the beach and town center.

chill out GENERATION

Buceando en Huatulco con mi Hermano

Amaranth: Another Ancient Wonder Food, But Who Will Eat It? An ancient, nutritious crop might make a comeback in Oaxaca.

Amaranth: Another Ancient Wonder Food, But Who Will Eat It?

An ancient, nutritious crop might make a comeback in Oaxaca.

Amaranth is a broad-leafed, edible plant that some say may hold the answer to improving diet in the world's most obese country—Mexico.

Photograph courtesy Roque Reyes

Brian Clark Howard

National Geographic

Published August 12, 2013

Grown by the Aztecs and then all but eliminated in the Spanish conquest, the ancient crop amaranth may become the next quinoa. Advocates hope amaranth can help Mexicans eat healthier, better connect to their roots, and lessen their impact on the environment. But will people eat it?

Amaranth is a broad-leafed, bushy plant that grows about six feet (1.8 meters) tall. It produces a brightly colored flower that can contain up to 60,000 seeds. The seeds are nutritious and can be made into a flour. Not a true grain, amaranth is often called a pseudocereal, like its relative quinoa. Both plants belong to a large family that also includes beets, chard, spinach, and lots of weeds.

There are around 60 different species of amaranth, and a few of them are native to Mesoamerica. For the last decade, the Oaxaca-based advocacy group Puente a la Salud Comunitaria (Bridge to Community Health) has been working to promote the plant's virtues.

Pete Noll, the group's executive director, argues that his work couldn't come at a more important time. In July, the United Nations announced that Mexico had overtaken the United States as the world's most obese country. According to the report, 32.8 percent of Mexican adults are obese, compared with 31.8 percent of American adults.

"Obesity is a devastating problem in Mexico," Noll said. "Amaranth may be part of the solution. It is a whole, healthy food that can be produced locally, and it may create the possibility of change."

Noll pointed to widespread availability of fast food, urbanization, lack of physical activity, and heavy advertising of junk foods as culprits in the obesity epidemic. As evidence of the devastating effects, he noted a recent media report about a 13-year-old Mexican boy who died of a heart attack.

At the same time, many people in Mexico still struggle with hunger. Some 10,000 children die from malnutrition in the country each year, Noll noted. "These issues are linked: Childhood malnutrition makes people seven to eight times more likely to be overweight or obese as adults," he said.

"Oaxaca has a cuisine that is known worldwide, but it also has food deserts," Noll added, referring to areas where it is difficult for consumers to find fresh, healthy foods.

Nutritious Plant

Amaranth is gluten free and its seeds contain about 30 percent more protein than rice, sorghum, and rye, according to a USDA Forest Service report. It is also relatively high in calcium, iron, potassium, magnesium, and fiber, according to Puente.

"Amaranth's amino acid profile is as close to perfect as you can get for a protein source," Noll said. The plant contains eight essential amino acids and is particularly high in the amino acid lysine, which is largely lacking in corn and wheat, he explained.

"So if you make a tortilla with amaranth and corn, you give people a low-cost, culturally acceptable, healthy basic foodstuff," he said.

Florisa Barquera, a doctor and nutritional expert at the Universidad Anáhuac, Mexico City, and a member of the Mexican Academy for Obesity, told National Geographic that amaranth has been recommended by the World Health Organization as a well-balanced food and recommended by NASA for consumption in space missions. The variety of amaranth consumed in Mexico is 16 to 18 percent protein, she said, compared with 14 percent protein in wheat and 9 to 10 percent protein in corn.

Some studies have shown that amaranth also contains beneficial omega-3s and may help reduce blood pressure, said Barquera, who writes and speaks frequently about nutrition in Mexico but is not affiliated with Puente.

A young boy plants amaranth in the San Isidro community of Oaxaca.

Photograph courtesy Alice Stafford

Amaranth's Bloody History

During the pre-Columbian period, the Aztecs cultivated amaranth as a staple grain crop, according to Kate Seely, a co-founder and the president of the board of Puente. But things changed when the Spanish conquistadors arrived.

In addition to its use as a core food crop, amaranth had been used in a religious context. "Native folks would pop the seeds and mix them with sacrificial human blood," said Seely, who is now based in Oakland, California. "They would form the seeds into sculptures and then eat them in religious ceremonies. This was seen as pagan [by the Spanish], so it was outlawed."

Amaranth crops were seized, fields were burned, and those who tried to grow the plant were punished. According to Noll, the locals replaced their former staple by eating more corn.

But amaranth cultivation did survive in a few isolated pockets. The grain lived on in a traditional treat called alegria (joy), in which popped, whole-grain amaranth is made into bars with honey and sunflower and pumpkin seeds. The bars are often enjoyed during Day of the Dead and other festivals.

"What we're trying to do is bring amaranth back into cultivation and consumption," said Seely. "It has high levels of micro- and macro-nutrients that are lacking in the Oaxacan diet, and it is a source of vitamins and nutrients that can help combat malnutrition," she said.

Fighting Birth Defects

Seely first identified amaranth's potential after doing research in Oaxaca in the summers of 2001 and 2002. She and a group of other students were doing research on neural-tube birth defects for the Oaxacan Secretary of Health. The rate of such defects is high in southern Mexico. Seely learned that folic acid is largely absent from the local diet, which increases the risk of the birth defects.

Invited to run educational programs on the importance of folic acid, the students "didn't want to be vitamin proselytizers," Seely said. They looked for a local, natural source of the nutrient, and found amaranth.

In 2003, Seely turned that project into an organization by founding Puente with Katherine Lorenz, who was doing similar humanitarian work in the region. Lorenz is currently the Puente board's treasurer and secretary.

Puente now operates in three regions of Oaxaca, serving three different indigenous groups. It works at the national level on agricultural policy reform, and works at the community and individual levels to convince farmers to plant amaranth and consumers to eat it.

Puente teaches classes, broadcasts on community radio, and runs ad campaigns. The group is also working with a network of some 250 small-scale farmers. Staffers hand out starter seeds and provide training and technical assistance. Puente is also building a regional network of markets to sell the amaranth locally.

A woman demonstrates how to prepare amaranth on a comal, a griddle traditionally used in Mexico.

Photograph courtesy Nikhol Esterás Roberts

Environmental and Cultural Benefits

Amaranth may have some environmental advantages over corn, noted Seely. The plant needs less water to grow, which is particularly important in water-stressed areas like much of Oaxaca. "Amaranth can exist up to 40 days without rain and still produce seeds, unlike corn," said Seely.

Amaranth also grows fast and is easy to harvest, and can help reduce reliance on imported food, said Seely.

Farmers can get three to four times more money for a bushel of amaranth than a bushel of other grains, said Noll. Even so, adoption of the forgotten plant has been slow. Puente estimates that about 200 acres is planted with amaranth in Oaxaca now, compared with two million acres of corn in the state.

"We are at the very beginning of a long journey," Noll said.

Seely added, "The most common response when we started the program was, 'My grandparents used to farm this,' or 'I know this through alegria [the traditional treat].'" People aren't used to farming it today.

Even if farmers are convinced to take a gamble on amaranth, it typically takes two to four years for them to start seeing much production, said Seely. She said it takes practice for farmers to learn to get everything right at all stages of production on their land, from sowing to tending and harvesting. Technical assistance helps, but there is still some trial and error to the process.

Perhaps the hardest step is convincing Mexican consumers to eat it on a large scale. Besides baking the meal in tortillas, Puente encourages people to experiment more with eating amaranth leaves, by putting them in soups or blending them in juices. Puente even distributes an amaranth cookbook.

Barquera says few people in Mexico are aware of the nutritional properties of amaranth. "Why do people prefer corn? Maybe it has to do with the fact that we are exposed to it in many different forms since childhood, and because it is so accessible," she said.

It may also have to do with the fact that amaranth is currently far more expensive than corn, running around $1.50 a kilogram versus 40 cents a kilogram for corn in Mexico. Barquera counters that relying too much on corn has nutritional costs; she would like to see people eat a more varied diet.

Barquera advises consumers to consider choosing products that incorporate amaranth into processed foods like bread, chips, pasta, and even desserts like marzipan and ice cream. Puente tries to distance itself from such products, instead promoting consumption of amaranth in as pure a form as possible.

U.S. Market?

Seely said health-conscious consumers in the U.S. and other developed countries would likely gobble up Oaxacan amaranth, but Puente is "not ready" to begin an export business.

"We're very conscious of not wanting to make amaranth a cash crop," Seely added. "Our focus is consumption within the household, and then whatever is left is sold on a small scale locally."

Seely said she doesn't want to drive an amaranth bubble along the lines of what has happened to quinoa. In Bolivia, high international demand for quinoa has driven conversion of natural areas to big fields, and the price has soared so much that some locals can no longer afford their native food.

In 1977, Science magazine called amaranth "the crop of the future," thanks to its hardiness and nutritional profile. The advocates of Puente hope it will become an important crop of Oaxaca, today, but there's no telling yet if it will take off.

Follow Brian Clark Howard on Twitter and Google+.

Noche de Talentos La Puesta antro-bar

Pochutleco Orgullosamente la playa principal de puerto angel oaxaca hace algunos años....

Pochutleco Orgullosamente

9 hours ago 

la playa principal de puerto angel oaxaca hace algunos años....  — with Andres Ruiz.

333 Nina Salerosa

Los Angeles immigrant community pushes to keep Zapotec language alive Home | Stories | Politics and Society | Los Angeles immigrant community pushes to keep Zapotec language

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Los Angeles immigrant community pushes to keep Zapotec language alive

Home | Stories | Politics and Society | Los Angeles immigrant community pushes to keep Zapotec language alive

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Published 09 August, 2013 11:36:00 PRI's The World

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In Los Angeles recently, people from the small town of San Bartolome Zoogocho, located in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca, honored their patron saint. (Photo by Ruxandra Guidi.)

In an area of Los Angeles heavy with immigrants, there's a movement to keep an old language from a Mexican village alive. The Zapotec language is at risk of dying out by 2050, but it could be saved by people who have immigrated to Los Angeles.

It’s 6 p.m. on a Friday. About a dozen people gather inside a small office space in Los Angeles — in the MacArthur Park neighborhood, where many immigrants live.

Sitting around a circle, they recite words in Dizha’ Xhon, also known as the Zapotec language.

Aaron Huey Sonnenschein, a linguistics professor at California State University, Los Angeles, is leading the group, focusing solely on the sound of Zapotec words. It’s called the “phonics” method of learning. Sonnenschein adds it's a methodology that linguist Leanne Hinton, a professor emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley, has innovated. He said it works especially well with indigenous languages like Zapotec, which counts few native speakers.

The idea is to avoid the “years it would take to create a full language program and create one as we go along,” he said.

Aside from their Friday night meet-ups, the group in Los Angeles is creating a digital archive on Facebookfeaturing Zapotec words. It also has photos illustrating their meaning and their translation into English.

The web-based, interactive archive is meant for young, English-speaking Oaxacan Americans like 15-year-old Alison Morales.

“My whole family speaks Zapotec,” said Morales. “My grandma would always say hi to me in Zapotec and I didn’t know what it meant. So I decided to learn a few words here and there.”

His mom, Celerina Montes, couldn’t be happier — or more proud.

“I’m really proud to be Oaxacan,” Montes said. “Of course, I’m also proud to be Mexican, and to speak Spanish.”

But, she adds, that with people who she knows speak Zapotec, she always bids them a good afternoon by saying “patir” rather than “buenos tardes.”

In Los Angeles, Montes constantly runs into people from her Oaxacan village, San Bartolome Zoogocho. So, the class is also a place to see old friends, and to get the latest gossip from back home. But San Bartolome Zoogocho is shrinking.

There are only about 400 people left there these days. On the other hand, Los Angeles is home to about 1,500 Zoogochenses.

“Most of us live here. We have a ghost town, basically, at home,” said Odilia Romero, director of the L.A.-based Binational Organization of Indigenous Communities. It’s hosting the Zapotec classes. “If the language was to be rescued, it would be here in LA. But if we don’t do anything about it, by 2050, it’ll be gone,” Romero added.

On a warm Sunday afternoon, Romero and more than 50 other Zoogochenses stand outside a home in South L.A., holding red gladiolus flowers. They wait for the brass band to start playing. Then, they march behind a framed 8-by-11 photo of an effigy of their patron saint, San Bartolome.

The photo is taken inside a home and placed on an altar, surrounded by incense and more flowers. The display is similar to the type of ritual done back in the Mexican village, with the original effigy.

With flowers in his hand, Ted Lazaro says this little procession is one way of keeping his village’s traditions alive. Speaking Zapotec is another.

“To say that you’re indigenous is a dirty word for many people still. It implies that you have no education,” Lazaro said. “But these days, our kids go to school and learn about many cultures, including their own. So now it’s the kids that talk to their parents and grandparents here, and tell them, 'Look, your culture is important.’”

Lazaro is a computer programmer by day. Lately, he’s spent evenings and weekends practicing Zapotec with his children and making traditional masks. On Aug. 24, dancers will wear those masks at a fiesta organized by people in Los Angeles with ties to San Bartolome Zoogocho.

It's something they have done in LA for nearly 45 years.

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Rubbens Rooger

HERMOSO LUGAR!!! ZIPOLITE

BEAUTIFUL PLACE! ZIPOLITE (Translated by Bing)

El Otro Sound System Zipolite en vivo

Retablos 2013 - Region Oaxaca Costa / Pochutla

playas de zipolite, barra de la cruz, mazunte, san agustinillo, paniqueada, aragon etc..

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SASO to perform in Mexico for Oaxaca Opera Festival

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KELLY PRESNELL / ARIZONA DAILY STAR 2012

Linus Lerner has been conductor and music director of the Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra since 2008.

7 hours ago  •  Cathalena E. Burch Arizona Daily Star

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The Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra is starting its 2013-14 season early with its first-ever trip to Mexico this weekend.

Of course, international touring is nothing new for the volunteer orchestra. Last year it made its second tour of China since 2009.

SASO, under the baton of music director and conductor Linus Lerner, will perform at the inaugural Oaxaca Opera Festival Saturday and Sunday. The orchestra will be joined by a chorus and 16 soloists from Mexico who competed for their slots in the festival.

Lerner, who also is artistic director and founder of the Oaxaca Opera Festival, will lead the performance of selections by Bizet, Donizetti, Gounod, Handel, Mascagni, Massenet, Mozart, Puccini and Verdi. SASO will perform the overture to Verdi's "Nabucco" and the intermezzo from Mascagni's "Cavalleria Rusticana." The orchestra, soloists and chorus will join in for four Verdi selections - "Brindisi," "Gypsy Chorus" and "Matadors' Chorus," all from La Traviata, and "Va Pensiero" from "Nabucco."

The opera festival is part of Oaxaca's fourth annual Festival of the Historic Center. SASO performs Saturday in the Teatro Macedonio Alcalá and Sunday at the Church of Santo Domingo.

Lerner, who left for Mexico last week, said in a written statement that both venues "are absolutely outstanding acoustically."

"The Teatro Alcalá resembles a mix of Carnegie Hall of New York and Teatro La Scala of Milan," he added.

Lerner has led SASO since 2008. The University of Arizona alumnus also is music director of the Symphony Orchestra of Rio Grande do Norte in Brazil and has conducted orchestras, operas, choruses and ensembles in his native Brazil, Bulgaria, China, the Czech Republic, Mexico, Spain and the U.S.

Contact reporter Cathalena E. Burch at cburch@azstarnet.com or 573-4642.

Zipolite Klaus Summer Fest 2013 Schedule