Category: culturePage 1 of 3
This parrot is carved in stone near the top of the Great Pyramid at the classic Maya site of Uxmal in the Yucatan. “Uxmal” means thrice-built, but archaeologists…
During the fiesta of Santo Tomas (Dec. 21), in Chichicastenango in the Guatemalan highlands, extremely tall pine poles are consecrated and erected in the plaza for the ceremony…
I remember my first arrival in Guatemala, back in the 1970s. I had been studying literature at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, when I got what seemed to be…
Maya culture is among the most persistent in the world. People sometimes say things like “The disappearance of Maya civilization remains something of a mystery.” But anyone…
Over at Frisco Vista I recently posted about my new bitters, called Old Tom’s Maximon Mole Bitters. They will definitely spice up a cocktail. So what better time…
This post will be sticky in the “culture” category. To start with, here are some links that might be helpful. For now, many of these utilize the old…
A team of researchers led by Andrew Somerville of the University of California San Diego, as reported by Cynthia Graber in Scientific American, have produced new evidence that ancient Mesoamericans…
National Geographic has an interesting quiz on the Maya. It’s fairly challenging — anyway, I got two answers wrong.
The portion of this painted ceramic drinking vessel that is shown in this image shows a well-turned- jaguarsporting a knotted scarf and a deer antler. He is a…
Christine Delsol identifies ten revolutionary Maya foods. Chocolate Vanilla Corn Chiles Tomatoes Black beans Avocado Sweet potato Squash Papaya Pretty good list. Read what she has to say…
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy A pair of monumental (26-foot) stucco panels have been discovered at the important classic Maya site…
Yesterday, Sunday Feb. 22, marked the first day of the Maya year 5125, according to the Maya solar calendar, or haab. The haab is also known as the…
I don’t know anything about this. Is it really Maya? .
With Day of the Dead around the corner, Rafael Jesús González’s blog is well worth visiting. He traces the celebration from its ancient roots through the colonial period…
This image of Maximon comes from cito’s photostream .
Wilfredo Lam (1902-19982) was an influential modernist Cuban painter. Among those who acknowledge his influence is the contemporary painter Carlos Luna. While Luna was born in Cuba, his…
?billy thinks it is. He posted the photo on his blog Donde El Viento Me Lleva, along with some recollections of Maximon. . Life has imputantly interfered with…
I’m back after a little medical absence.
This photo of a table top painted with images of colorful fruit, taken in a crafts shop in Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato, Mexico, is from Lucy Nieto’s photostream. .
Juan Soriano (1920-2006) was born in Guadalajara, son of veterans of the Mexican revolution. Something of a prodigy, he developed his distinctive style after moving to Mexico City…
Today’s photo, of chiles in a market in Campeche, comes from malias’ photostream. .
Mexico City’s Museo Nacional de Arte is offering what looks like a strong show of Mexican printmaking from 1920-1950. The full title is México y la Estampa Moderna,…
A fellow named James O’Kon claims that the Maya built the longest bridge span in the ancient world. His theory is based on computer reconstructions derived from a…
That the ancient Maya produced high-quality textiles will come as little surprise to anyone who has traveled through the modern Maya world. But because few textiles are preserved…
This image of the National Palace and downtown Guatemala City at night is from Oscar Mota’s photostream. .
Dale Pendell, author of Pharmako/Poeia, has argued that the “war on drugs” is like a religious war, intended to keep officially sanctioned drugs like alcohol and chocolate dominant….
If figures somehow that Sun Ra would have done a tune called Mayan Temples. Far out? .
and arms, and hearts, and hands, and arrows . . . Geographer Barbara Williams and mathematician Maria del Carmen Jorge y Jorge have, after three decades of labor,…
Worry people are small, rather crude (but charming) dolls, usually sold in batches of several in a bag or box. As far as I know they are particular…
Amparo Ochoa’s take on Mexican history.