A small taste of Oaxaca
Written: Oct 28 '02 (Updated Sep 21 '03)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Strong indian culture, green and tropical, cheap hotels and prices, lots to see.
Cons: None worth mentioning
The Bottom Line: The greatest thing about this state is it's people
|
|
|
| jesse12's Full Review: Oaxaca |
Oaxaca City is located in southern Mexico. The state of Oaxaca is next to Puebla to the north, Veracruz to the east, and to the west by Guerrero and the Pacific Ocean. Oaxaca City and state is one of the most indian in culture of all Mexico. The strong indian flavor and the charming colonial capital have endeared many tourists to this region of Mexico. Many travelers love Oaxaca. Oaxaca is one of Mexico's poorest states. I think that the Mexican governments neglect for the indian populations of Mexico has much to do with this. This attitude towards the indians has its roots in the old days, when Spain ruled Mexico. You see most of the leaders and wealthy people of modern day Mexico are of mostly Spanish blood. Despite that, the city of Oaxaca is an extremely tourist friendly city, as much of the indian's income comes from tourists.
Weather and geography:
Oaxaca state is mostly tropical. The mountainous state of Oaxaca is full beautiful jungels. In some places even more so than Veracruz. It rains often in these places and it's very green. But it differs in the northern areas of the state, where Oaxaca city is located where it's much drier and more desert like.
The people of Oaxaca:
The people of Oaxaca are descendents of the Miztec and Zapotec indians. Many of the people still carry on their old indian traditions.
My experience in Oaxaca:
I took a three-week trip to Mexico in the summer of 2000. Towards the end of my trip, I was staying in my girlfriend's house in a small town in the Mexican State of Puebla. On the last couple of days of my three-week trip, we decided to head out to Oaxaca. We took a bus in another small town, about a half an hour from my friend's town (there is no bus stop in her town). The bus stopped in the City of Puebla, and then we transferred to another bus, which went to Oaxaca. The road through Oaxaca winds up and around many mountains. Because of this, the trip takes allot longer than if the road were to go straight through flat terrain. The part of the state that I was in was very mountainous and dry. There was allot of cactus along the mountains and in the valley below. After about a five or six hour journey we arrived in Oaxaca city.
Oaxaca City:
I was in Mexico during the election of President Fox, and the fall of the PRI. The first thing that I saw as the bus entered the city was a big protest. They were protesting against the fall of the PRI. The young protesters blocked off the road with rocks. All traffic leading into the city was stopped. The young collage students tried to make certain that nobody could enter the city. Our bus was stuck there for a good hour. I waited for the police to do something, but they just stood there and watched the protest. Suddenly our bus driver made a daring decision, and turned the bus off the road, to a back road, and escape that mess while the rest of the traffic was stuck for who knows how long.
The city of Oaxaca has two very different sides to it. The outer city of Oaxaca is very poor, where unfortunate families live in impoverished shantytowns. But the Historic center and the surrounding downtown area are very nice and clean. After we passed through the poor outer city, we got off at the Oaxaca bus station. We took a taxi, and as we got closer to the historic center, the city started to change from poor to more developed and clean looking. A big reason, I think that this part of the city puts on such a good face is because many tourists are drawn to this city, and consequently much of the city's wealth is from tourism. Despite having such a strong indian flavor, Oaxaca's colonial center has a European look to it. Oaxaca's historic center might look European in architecture, but its people are absolutely indian. It is said that the indian influence is greater here than any state capital in Mexico.
Walking through Oaxaca, one would see many indians walking around, selling beads, necklaces, indian crafts, rugs, food, and many other things. On the sidewalk many indian women sit on rugs and sell various things. The poor indian people take advantage of the many tourists who visit the city. The indians are aggressive sales people, and it seems that everywhere you go, someone is trying to sell you something. But hey, these people need to eat too.
After we got a hotel and got settled, we set out to explore the city. It seemed to me that Oaxaca's historic center, and downtown area was among the cleanest that I had seen in southern Mexico. Almost as clean as Guanajuato's, which is located in central Mexico. Old colonial churches dominate the main plaza. In the main plaza, I saw indians selling crafts, shoe shiners, and people relaxing in the shade. The European architecture and the indian people were a great contrast. They represented the nature of modern day Mexico. A mixture of indian and Spanish influence. Many of the indian sales people (particularly the women) dressed in traditional indian clothes.
My friend is Mexican. But when she was walking through the streets of Oaxaca, there were many times when she could not understand the conversations of some of the locals of the city. Many of the indians of Oaxaca still speak in their indian language. These people are fluent in both Spanish, in addition to their old indian tongue. My friend noticed that Oaxacans speak Spanish a little different than the people in other parts of Mexico. After walking around in the beautiful plaza, and surrounding area, we went to a mercado(indoor market). I believe the name of this mercado is Mercado 20 de Noviembre. The mercado is very large. We walked passed many indians selling various things. I spotted some indian women selling large insects as food. There is also many small shops selling all sorts of things in the Mercado. There is an ice-cream stand with a wide range of flavors in this mercado (Mexican ice cream is real good). There were some musicians playing some nice sounding music, as many indian people walked by selling things. We sat down at one of the food shops and got a bite to eat. I don't think that ever in my life, have I ever so many people try and sell me something as many times, as the time when I was eating in the mercado of Oaxaca. It seemed like after every bite that I took, that someone else was trying to sell me beads, indian crafts, or necklaces. There was one indian woman in particular. One indian women walked to my table offering necklaces. I asked about the price, and was surprised at how much she asked for. She must have come back to my table five other times. She was probably hoping that I would not recognize that she was the same person. After the fifth time that she came back to my table, I gave in, and bought the necklace. Her persistence was impressive. I understand that these people need the money and work hard for it.
There was another indian woman who was selling things at our table, when the cook told her to leave. The woman got very angry and spat on the ground. Like I said, the indians of Oaxaca are very aggressive sales people. After all, that we set out to see the pre Hispanic ruins in Mitla.
Santa Maria de Tule:
Before we went to Mitla, a taxi dropped us of in the small town of Santa Maria de Tule, which is located 6 miles from Oaxaca City. Due to how close the town is to Oaxaca city, Santa Maria de Tule seems like another part of the city of Oaxaca.
Santa Maria de Tule is a very quiet and peaceful town. It is also pretty. The plaza is not typical of most Mexican plazas, and is somewhat like a small park. The plaza is shaded by many trees, and has many kinds of plants and flowers. There is a small lovely white church of graceful architecture, and peaceful craft market making up the rest of the plaza. The town is very nice and peaceful, and is a great place to relax in.
What makes this town famous is a gigantic, 2000-year-old ahuehuete tree, which is located in the center of the plaza. This tree is the widest in the Americas.
We then went to a bus stop near the plaza, in order to take a bus to Mitla.
Mitla:
Mitla is a poor small town on the decline of Monte Alban, which has Zapotec ruins, within the town. Mitla means place of the dead in the indian tongue, and was one of the most important centers of the Zapotec culture. Actually, Mitla existed as far back as 900 years before Christ, and were a sacred place to the Zapotec people. This place was used by the Zapotecs as a burial place and religious purposes. Mitla was latter occupied by the Miztecs until the conquest by the Spaniards.
The modern day town of Mitla is quiet and indian in nature. The first thing we did was get a bite to eat, and then set out to explore the town. The Zapotec ruins are visible all throughout the town. It is interesting how the modern day town of Mitla and the Zapotec ruins blend together. The town is like a time machine. It's ancient Zapotec-Miztec past, Spanish colonial rule, and the daily life of modern times is displayed for all to see. As I walked through the town, indian women, dressed in red, walked past me carrying baskets on their heads. We then walked through a dirt road side street, which led to a small hill with a church on top of it. We made our way up the hill and to the church. Upon entering the church, I found out that it was not a church but a shrine. The shrine looked abandoned, run down and the inside looked a little dirty, which seemed to give it a sort of mysterious quality. There were candles that were still burning up on a small stone altar in the catholic shrine.
After that, we made are way to the town center. The church Of San Pablo is built right into the Zapotec ruins. The Spanish used the very stone of the Zapotec ruins to build the church. There is a craft market right outside the church, which sells many neat things, so I recommend that you check it out. I noticed that the church has interesting architecture as I made my way inside. The altar on the inside of the church is all decked out in flowers, candles, and other decorations. It looked very nice. The church's patio on the other side, looked old and its walls were interesting in architecture.
We then went to the Zapotec ruins that were right next to the church.
The Zapotec ruins looked very exotic. The stone carvings on the ancient structures looked Greek in design. It was interesting to look at all the different designs carved on the stone. One of the two underground tombs contains the Columna de la Vida. Legend says that if one embraces this column, the space left between your hands is the amount of years that you have left to live. And if the column moves, then that means you are about to die. Scary. I then explored the many tombs and sacred structures.
I did not stay in the state of Oaxaca for very long, nor did I see much of the state. But from the places that I had been in Oaxaca, the town of Mitla is my favorite thus far in the state.
Going through Chiapas again 2003:
On my way to Chiapas on my third trip to Mexico, our bus passed through much of Chiapas. I never knew that Oaxaca was so tropical. I mean even a little more tha Veracruz. Unlike the north part of the state, central and southern Oaxaca does not sport many colonial curches or flashy shrines. It's mostly jungels with very small towns that look more like villages.
Conclusion:
Though I did get a good taste, to tell you the truth, I did not see enough of the state of Oaxaca. Two days is not nearly enough time, to know the state, or even the city. There are so many towns and villages in the state that I didn't see. By visiting these towns, I could get a better understanding of the state and it's people. But there were so many other places in Mexico that we were visiting that we simply did not have enough time to explore Oaxaca more thoroughly. But I do know that Oaxaca is a great place, and it's people wonderful.
Other places of interest in Oaxaca, which I have not been to:
Monte Alban:
One of the most famous places in Oaxaca, and was the most important city of the Zapotec people.
These large ruins include small pyramids among other things. This place is highly recommended, and is a great place to learn more about the Zapotec people. The ancient ruins of Monte Alban are located right next to the city of Oaxaca.
The Oaxaca coast and it's resorts:
Oaxaca has great beaches. Puerto Escondido, Puerto Angel, and Huatulco are Oxaca's best known resorts.
Huatulco is probably the most developed of the three.
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Friends
Best Time to Travel Here: Anytime
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
jesse12
|
|
Reviews written: 16
Trusted by: 2 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.