Subcomandante Marcos and life in Oaxaca

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Zapatistas entering TierrAdentro

Subcomandante Marcos and life in Oaxaca

 North America » Mexico » Oaxaca » Oaxaca By Maggie Pettit
March 31st 2007
Maggie Pettit
Zapatistas entering TierrAdentroLets try the picture thing again. And something new - a very cool video! 😉

more on oaxaca in the next blog... amazing place

un abrazo, maggie

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Photos

Subcomandante Marcos and another comandante
Yes, I took this photo. We changed our plans and stayed two more days in San Cristobal (before leaving for Oaxaca) because we heard that on Sunday there would be a "encuentro" of the Zapatistas in TierrAdentro (cafe where we hang out all the time) and it would be something we couldnt miss.

host family in San Cristobal
they are usually smiling and happy, not the most flattering photo

Acteal
this is a community in the mountains of Chiapas called Acteal. this foto was taken during a ceremony on the 22nd of March. The ceremony occurs every 22nd of the month to remember a masacre that occurred in the village. that wooden shack in the left of the photo is the church where the masacre occurred on Dec 22, 1997, by paramilitaries, killing 45 people, the majority women and children, during mass. The community empathizes with the Zapatistas, but they choose to recognize themselves as a different group, dedicated to nonviolence.

thats my teacher!
the woman in the center is Maria Elena. She was the emcee of the Zapatista encuentro and she taught our academic seminar.

broadcasted to Brazil
The Zapatista encuentro announced the 2nd phase of the Otra Campana (Other Campaign). This is a project of the Zapatistas where they tour the country, having public meetings in order to unite the social movements of the country, from "below." It is not a political campaign for election, rather the exact opposite, to create an alternative to the political paradigm. During the encuentro, we connected via Skype with leaders in Brazil (of the Peasants without Land movement) and Honduras.

Our buddy Gustavo Esteva
This is Gustavo Esteva. He is an amazing author that writes about sustainable development. We had three chats with him. He is brilliant.

Comments

[Mom]

Video
Your video gave me the feeling of being right there in the moment with you. Your adventures continue to amaze me! Love, Mom

[Dad]

I like the dog
I like the golden lab in the picture. He looks like he is well cared for. The pictures work great, and the video came through perfectly. Thanks for the birthday call. Love, Dad

[Joan]

Maggie: I was struck by the light in the photo of Oaxaca, with the mountains beyond - it's lovely! Your room and your host family's home seem comfortable. I still can't get used to the masks!