TRAVEL

Oaxaca City
By Nancy Seeley

Mexico abounds with places that are truly feasts for our senses, but in Oaxaca City, be prepared for sensory overload, starting with the visual and eventually encompassing smells, sounds, tastes and the unique Oaxaqueñan touch of superb handicrafts.

There are tree-shaded promenades, colorful dress from 16 ethnic groups, street vendors singsonging their wares, mariachis strumming as they stroll, an enchanting zócalo replete with taste-tempting fragrances from numerous restaurants, well-tended public gardens and parks, an abundance of museums, scores of colonial buildings, oodles of churches, a cadre of language schools, a burgeoning number of art galleries, a host of mezcal distilleries, quality crafts produced by skilled artisans, excellent food, and important archaeological sites.

Besides being Mexico’s 5th largest state, Oaxaca is arguably its most diverse, and the capital city – also called Oaxaca – is a World Heritage Site which more than 260,000 people call home. Oaxaca City sits on a mile-high plateau in the Sierra Madre del Sur mountains about a 12-hour drive (16 by bus) east of Zihuatanejo. To get there, drive as far as Cuernavaca by autopista to Mexico City, then head east for Puebla and continue southeast to Oaxaca City. Bus fare will cost you about 710 pesos one way.

The zócalo is the heart of the historic central city, and Sundays are a perfect time to soak up the ambiance. Choose one of many cafés situated under arched porticos surrounding the flower-filled square and order Oaxaqueña eggs, tasajo, or tlayudas. The eggs come soaked in a spice-laden salsa; the tasajo is thin-sliced beef high in flavor, chewy like jerky, and often covered with a succulent gravy; and tlayudas are giant tortillas topped with veggies and meat resembling pizza with a chile kick. Then there’s Oaxaca cheese and chocolate (somewhat gritty rather than creamy in texture…try it in a “chocolate con leche” drink), many varieties of mole, tamales oaxaqueños, and lots more.

Free concerts on the zócalo start around 10 a.m. on Sunday. The day we were there, students passed out programs listing nine numbers the state-sponsored orchestra would perform, ranging from a John Philip Sousa march and a “paso doble” to an operatic overture and a soothing waltz. A few minutes away, the Alameda de Léon offers shoppers way too much to choose from, and if that isn’t enough, there are another half dozen markets within walking distance. And if THAT isn’t enough, take a bus to outlying villages in the “valles centrales” area like Coyotepec and Ocotlán for even more black pottery, textiles and rugs made with natural dyes and fashioned on back strap looms, baskets, leather work, blankets, serapes, placemats, shawls, jewelry, iron work, and cutlery. Don’t forget to check out the colorfully-painted “alebrijes,” whimsical hand-carved wooden figures of mythical animals. I couldn’t resist handmade diaries fashioned from the bark of amate trees…which reminds me that one of the best English language bookstores in all of Mexico, called “Amate,” is located about four blocks from the zócalo in the midst of a pedestrian mall at Plaza Alcalá.

Oaxacan women in regional dress.Photo by Guillermo Aldana

Hiking around to see the ornate 16th century Templo de Santo Domingo with its adjoining botanical garden, the ex-convent of Santa Catalina (now Hotel Camino Real), and the plethora of religious, cultural, and government buildings is not a sweaty proposition given that temperatures hover in the mid-70’s much of the year. If you do get pooped, take a break at one of the many “tiendas” offering samples of a dozen types of mezcal, and if you get really hooked on tequila’s second cousin, take a side trip to one of several distilleries in the area. A couple of tour companies specialize in visits to a string of Dominican ex-convents built centuries ago (San Augustín, completed in 1722 outside the city, is especially beautiful), and still others offer day trips to archaeological masterpieces like the old Zapotec capital of Monte Alban and the stone mosaics of ancient Mitla, some depicting human sacrifices more than 600 years ago. Admission fees are reasonable, and photo ops will keep you busy clicking the shutter.

Oaxaca City is truly an art lovers’ paradise. The number of galleries and international art dealers doing business there grows larger with each passing year. You can easily spend a day or more strolling from one gallery to the next, and it costs nothing to browse inside.

Likewise, museums are plentiful, and many showcase their offerings in restored colonial buildings. One of my favorites is the Instituto de Artes Gráficas, housed in an old colonial house donated by well-known Oaxaqueño artist Francisco Toledo, still productive today at 65. Ever the bargain hunter, I was initially lured by the free admission but found myself entranced by the well-stocked library’s vast assortment of books on printing, art history, and paintings. Whether your forté is modern art, stamps, war memorabilia, or everyday Oaxacan life generations ago, there’s a museum for it.

Historically speaking, Oaxaca City began as an Aztec settlement. Its name comes from a Nahuatl word meaning “in the nose of the guajes,” the latter being edible pods from a tree growing abundantly in the area. Oaxaca has been dubbed “Ciudad de Jade” (City of Jade) because so many of its buildings are made of green stone. Officially, it’s Oaxaca de Juárez in honor of Mexico’s beloved 19th century president and national hero Benito Juárez, who was born a scant 60 kms. away, orphaned at three, and walked to Oaxaca City at age 12, looking for work. A bookbinder took him in, saw something special in the boy, and paid for his education. The rest, as they say, is history. Even directionally-challenged people like me can find their way around the central city, which Spanish settlers who followed Cortés’ conquistadores in 1532 laid out in a grid pattern.

Although we didn’t get to see it ourselves, we learned about the “Guelaguetza,” Oaxaca’s most well-known annual celebration, originally dedicated to the prehispanic corn god Centéotl and held the first two Mondays after July 16 each year. Guelaguetza is a Zapotecan word meaning “barter” or “mutual gifting,” and today’s observances of “los lunes del cerro” (Mondays on the hill) are held in an auditorium on Fortin Hill, about two kms. from the center of town. The main attraction is extravagantly costumed folk dancing from Oaxaca’s seven regions, culminating in two favorites, the Pineapple Dance and the Feather Dance. The Camino Real Hotel, among others, regularly puts on its own version of the Guelaguetza for tourists Friday nights at 7 p.m. all year around.

During our visit to Oaxaca, we stayed at a charming bed-and-breakfast in the northern suburb of San Felipe del Agua. Walking there from the zócalo at a comfortable pace takes about 75 minutes. You see an interesting cross-section of the city as you make your way through commercial areas and contrasting residential districts, passing the “Fuente (Fountain) de 7 Regiones” en route. The panoramic view from our rooftop terrace included mountain peaks, striking orange-blossomed tabachin (acacia) trees, a lone spired church and acres of unspoiled countryside. Parque Comunal de San Felipe, with its miles of hiking trails and bird-watching opportunities, is nearby.

Befitting its appeal as an increasingly popular tourist destination and cultural center, there are hundreds of restaurants and hotels throughout the area. Check out some of the 15.6 million “Oaxaca” Internet sites listed on “Google” to narrow down your choices. Two of the most informative are www.oaxaca-travel.com and Oaxaca Magazzine, http://oaxaca.magazzine.net, also available in hard copy format. A recent issue of the magazine proclaimed, “Nowhere else in the world can one visit and come to know a place with more than 10,000 years of uninterrupted evolution and history.”

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