To avoid the inevitable pitfalls of returning to Manhattan this week, after a two year hiatus in Oaxaca, Mexico, I've decided to give myself a set of rules and reminders to help weather the transition. Draw in sketchbook every day -- religiously. Left: Madre Mexico, Time Travels. Right; Buggin' Out! From Peter Kuper's sketchbook, copyright and courtesy of the artist. Avoid peppering every … Read the full Story >>
Police NavidadTwas X-mas night in Oaxaca and all through the town,not a teacher was stirring (they're in jail, not around).The graffiti of protest has been covered with paint and police roam the streets to enforce that it's quaint.All barricades gone, tear gas dissipated,burning buses removed and encampments have faded.It's like nothing has happened,Gov'nor Ulises pretends, no cheating, nor violence, he'll declare 'til the … Read the full Story >>
For ages Mexicans have been the butt of jokes for their purported "Manana -- I'll get to it tomorrow" attitude. Synonymous with slow service, drawn out lunches and siestas, they're said to live their lives at a snail's pace. For a Manhattanite like myself, our move to Mexico was a potential threat - might I be forced to reduce my usual comet-like speed to … Read the full Story >>
While Halloween in the USA is already a sweet memory, here in Mexico things are still warming up for Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). Last year at this time, Oaxaca was exploding with a teachers strike, federal troops were swarming over the town square and journalist Brad Will was lying dead in a morgue. This year, Oaxaca has, by outward appearances … Read the full Story >>
It has been over a year since the U.S. State Department lifted its travel warning against visiting Oaxaca, Mexico. This had been a death sentence to the economy, which is largely dependent on tourism. Hotels were empty, restaurants empty, tour buses empty, pockets empty. Flash forward to the end of last December. The streets are now full of vendors selling an explosion of colorful … Read the full Story >>
Since DART: Design Arts Daily launched in September 2006, artist/illustrators and their sketchbooks have been a constant presence, starting with Peter Kuper’s Oaxaca Journal on November 10, 2006. The series continued with another 15 installments, which resulted in the publication of Diario de Oaxaca (Bilingual, PM Press, 2009)—a beautifully produced volume with a linen cover. The book saw some high visibility, and … Read the full Story >>
I may be suffering from PDN (Pre-Departure Nostalgia) as we get closer to our stateside return from Mexico this July. Whatever the diagnosis, all my senses seem to be strangely heightened. My eyes constantly watch for new subjects, and drawing in my sketchbook has become a daily obsession. My ears are sharply attuned to the daily parade of sounds, from the ravens that wake … Read the full Story >>
Here in Oaxaca, Mexico they say to foreigners— “If you eat the chapulinas (grasshoppers) you will always return.” This magic formula has certainly held true for me– since I downed a few back in 2006, I’ve been returning annually. On this latest visit—a three-month stay– I’ve decided to get a booster dose while expanding my palate to include ants, caterpillars, and several other arthropods. … Read the full Story >>
This week, The Nation, founded by abolitionists in 1865, launched a new series of artistic dispatches from the front lines of resistance. Spearheaded by celebrated artists and illustrators Andrea Arroya, Steve Brodner, and Peter Kuper, OppArt will showcase fresh content daily online as a diverse group of artists take aim and draw. Launched on Monday with art by longtime DART contributor, Peter Kuper, … Read the full Story >>
AFTER EXPERIENCING MONTHS OF OAXACA CITY'S TRAVAILS, we decided to enjoy the bigger picture of Oaxaca State during the holidays. This region of Mexico boasts a greater variety of ecological environments than any other part of the country, from dusty brown mountain ranges to deep blue coastlines. An especially incredible area includes the beaches surrounding Puerto Escondido, or Hidden Port. I first visited there … Read the full Story >>
The first question I'm usually asked these days is, "What made you decide to live in Oaxaca, Mexico?" This brings to mind some dialogue from the movie Casablanca: Captain Louis Renault (Claude Rains): "What in heaven's name brought you to Casablanca?" Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart): "My health. I came to Casablanca for the waters." Captain Renault: "The waters? What waters? We're in the desert!" … Read the full Story >>
With a new president only days away from assuming power, Oaxaca, Mexico, where I spent two years living between 2006 and 2008, has been on my mind. Given the perspective the president-elect has put forward that Mexicans are mostly rapist and murders, it seemed like a good time to counter that fearful black and white snapshot with a palette of color. Oaxaca isn’t only … Read the full Story >>
In a blink, two years has past since our departure from Oaxaca. If I went by the reports about Mexico in the US press we would have been too terrified to ever return. Between the drug war murders and the swine flu pandemic (Oaxaca State was said to have the first reported death from H1N1) one would have the impression the entire country was … Read the full Story >>
According to experts there are about 10,000,000,000,000,000,000 (that is, 10 quintillion) insects in the world. I estimate that roughly half of them are in our backyard here in Oaxaca, Mexico. My fascination with entomology, which dates back to my first reading of Sam and the Firefly, at the age of four, has been reawakened since we began our sojourn in Mexico over a year … Read the full Story >>
One of the prominent features of the political struggles that have taken place here in Oaxaca, Mexico has been street art. Sometimes it takes the form of beautifully designed posters announcing an event; sometimes artists combine bold stenciled graphics with political slogans like The revolution will not be televised; and sometimes they're more like an open canvas that becomes an expanding dialogue between … Read the full Story >>
Editor’s note: Alternative comics artist and illustrator Peter Kuper, a longtime contributor to DART, emailed me last week after cutting short his visit to Oaxaca, Mexico. Following is his report from the time he recently spent there.—PR Once again my wife Betty and I returned to Oaxaca for an extended stay and this visit we rented a place right in the center … Read the full Story >>
A couple of mornings ago I was fixing breakfast for my daughter, Emily, when the entire kitchen began to shake as if a freight train was racing past the back door. It lasted all of ten seconds, punctuated by a shout from my wife asking if I'd felt the earthquake. Hitting 6.4 on the Richter scale, it immediately made news around the world. I … Read the full Story >>
When Peter Kuper, the cartoonist widely known for his Spy Vs. Spy strip in MAD magazine, told me that he was moving his family to Oaxaca City, Mexico three years ago, I asked if he would be interested in posting stories for DART. Without hesitation, he agreed, and his first article appeared on November 10, 2006. The last story, Oaxaca Journal V. 14, … Read the full Story >>
Before the idea of becoming an artist was even a scribble in my mind, I was determined to become an entomologist, or "bugger", as I declared to a friend of my parents, who worked at the Museum of Natural History. The study of insects, especially butterflies, was my first love. Almost as soon as I became enthralled, I heard about a seemingly mythical place … Read the full Story >>
It’s a beautiful mid November afternoon and I’m sitting at an outdoor café in the Zocalo. Scanning the bustling scene I see a woman in a dazzlingly colorful dress, carrying a basket of fruit on her head. Near a baroque gazebo, an old man is selling hand- carved animal figures next to a group of musicians playing some perfect Latin rhythm. The sun … Read the full Story >>
