St. Anthony’s Feast and Candlemas Day—Oaxaca

Never having been to Oaxaca in winter, I walk into the market nor knowing quite what to expect. The usual women are not selling sautéed grasshoppers at the entrance. I do recognize the old woman sitting selling tamales wrapped in banana leaves just inside the entrance. She wears traditional Zapotee winter clothing, a hand-loomed woolen skirt held up by a brightly colored ja/o (belt) and a tunic covered all over with red, green, and black geometric designs. She is warming herself over homemade charcoal smoldering in a brazier made out of a square tin shortening can.