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Destination: OAXACA, Mexico
Oaxaca's great summer fiesta
By ROBERT ADLER and JO ANN WEXLER -- Special to Canoe Travel
Oaxaca, an enchanting colonial capital in southeastern Mexico, is an exciting place to visit at any time. The excitement peaks in late July, when the dazzling Guelaguetza fills the city with brilliantly costumed dance troops from every corner of the state. "Guelaguetza" (gay-lah-gets-ah) means offering in the Zapotec language, spoken by Oaxaca's largest indigenous group. Every July, Zapotecs, Mixtecs, and Mazatecs, along with representatives of the rest of the state's rich cultural mixture, flock to the capital to offer visitors a sample of their history, myths and lifestyles in a great festival of folkloric music and dance. During the Guelaguetza, the plaza in front of the 16th-Century Santo Domingo de Guzman church and convent-a UNESCO World Heritage Site--becomes one of the stages where dance troops from Oaxaca's seven regions mesmerize onlookers with their richly embroidered costumes, fantastic headdresses and dramatic dances. It's just about impossible to resist joining one of the calendas, or processions, that start at Santo Domingo and several of Oaxaca's other beautiful old churches and weave through the cobblestone streets. With their tubas, trumpets and drums, feathered dancers, and twirling paper-mache gigantes, they are an exuberant expression of Oaxacan culture. This year, the Guelaguetza spans the eight days starting Monday, July 19. The main shows take place on the 19th and the 26th at the 11,400-seat Guelaguetza Auditorium on Fortin hill overlooking the city. Tickets to the Monday shows should be purchased well in advance from the state tourist office (about $30 each). Call 52 951 515 2510 or email for information. You can also buy tickets through travel agent Oscar Carrizosa. Hotel rooms will be scarce, so reserve well in advance. One of the most dramatic events takes place at nightfall on the last Sunday of the Guelaguetza. It's a dramatic recreation of the history of the ceremony, which dates back to prehispanic times when a virgin would be sacrificed to Centeotl, the goddess of maize, to ensure fertility. Nowadays, a beautiful young woman is still chosen to honor the maize-goddess, but happily, is no longer sacrificed. On both Mondays of the Guelaguetza, musicians and dancers from Oaxaca's seven regions perform for hours at the open-air auditorium on Fortin Hill. The elaborate regional costumes worn by the women are dazzling. Some of the dances are graceful and stately, some lively and athletic, and some, such as the "scandals" in which male and female dancers take turns insulting each other, are hilarious. After sunset, the daylong kaleidoscope of dance and pageantry is topped off with a great fireworks display.
The Guelaguetza is a brilliant spectacle, but Oaxaca has a lot more to offer. Oaxaca's other attractions Like guardian angels, more than twenty churches and ex-convents brood over Oaxaca. The star is the 16th-Century Santo Domingo de Guzman, on the pedestrianized street called Alcala. I kept going back just to look at the Renaissance facade of the church as it changed its mood hour by hour with the shifting light. The inside, described as "exuberant baroque," is overwhelming, with acres of gold leaf and religious iconography. The beautifully restored ex-convent attached to the church houses the Museum of Oaxacan Cultures (closed Mondays), which is well worth a visit. Its sixteen rooms trace Oaxaca's roots from prehispanic artifacts through the conquest and on to today's multicultural mix. Make sure you find Room III, which displays the intricately wrought golden treasures from Tomb 7 of Monte Alban-the monumental archaeological site just outside of town. The grand old Teatro Macedonia Alcala (corner of Independencia and Cinco de Mayo) reopened on March 22 after six years of restoration. Its white and gold hall is the perfect setting for Oaxaca's best music, dance and theater. Friends of ours caught the opening performance and thought it was great.
The Museo Rufino Tamayo, at Morelos 503 (closed Tuesdays), houses the famed artist's impressive personal collection of prehispanic, colonial and modern art and artifacts. If you're an art lover, you should also check out the Museum of Contemporary Art (MACO) at Alcala 202 and the Institute of Graphic Arts at Alcala 507 (both closed Tuesdays). Be sure to dive into the ever-lively covered markets Benito Juarez and 20 de Noviembre, and the Artesans' Market on J.P. Garcia between Mina and Zaragoza. Near the markets, follow your nose to the factories grinding Oaxacan chocolate by the shovelfull. Most offer free tastes. See which mix of fresh cocoa, cinnamon, almonds and sugar you like the best. Out and About Monte Alban is the star attraction outside of the city itself. Occupying a hilltop high above Oaxaca, the reconstructed ruins of this great Zapotec capital and ceremonial center are impressive, mysterious and extremely photogenic. We were particularly intrigued by "Building J," an arrow-shaped structure, maybe once an observatory, that is unlike anything else in ancient Meso-America. Archaelogists know the Zapotecs started building Monte Alban around 500 BC, and occupied it for nearly fourteen centuries. Nobody has been able to decipher its hieroglyphics, apart from names and numbers, nor determine why it was abandoned around 850 AD.
Nor have experts agreed on a convincing explanation for Los Danzantes, a collection of large carved figures that show hunchbacks, dwarves, and mutilated people in grotesque postures. Were they captives? Sports of nature? Medical cases? Your guess is as good as any. We really enjoyed a side-trip to Teotitlan del Valle, famous for its tapetes, hand-woven wool rugs. In Teotitlan nearly every house is a taller, ranging from large and tourist-oriented to tiny and humble. We've had great fun wandering from house to house to check out the small family operations. Our favorite is the tiny taller of Joel Gonzalez and his charming family, up the main street at Juarez 43. At the other end of the spectrum of fame is internationally known Arnulfo Mendoza. You can see his amazing creations at his workshop in Teotitlan, along the main road at kilometer 4, or in Oaxaca at La Mano Magica, Alcala 203. We always make sure that our visits to Teotitlan del Valle include a late lunch at Tlamanalli (Avenida Juarez 39, Teotitlan del Valle, expensive, closed Mondays, Thursday, and Good Friday). Abigail Mendoza Ruiz and her sisters prepare delicious comida Zapoteca from scratch in their tiled kitchen, open for all to see.
With its great food, music, dance, colonial buildings, cobblestone streets, friendly people, colorful handicrafts, and surrounding villages and archaeological sites, Oaxaca is a superb destination. You can get a taste of it in a day, see most of its major attractions in a week or two, yet, like us, return year after year and still be intrigued. Getting to Oaxaca: Athough we spotted some U.S. and Canadian license plates, most North Americans get to Oaxaca by air through Mexico City. Airlines serving Oaxaca from Mexico City include Aeromexico, Aviacsa and Mexicana. Smaller airlines that fly from Oaxaca to other Mexican destinations include Aerotoucan, Aerovega and Azteca.
Getting around You can easily find your own way around town on foot thanks to the helpful maps of the centro historico (historic center) handed out by hotels, shops and the main tourist office on Independencia at the corner of Garcia Vigil. Guided tours are probably the best way to see the surrounding sights, including the striking ruins of Monte Alban and charming arts-and-crafts villages such as Teotitlan del Valle. Most hotels will connect you with a reliable tour company. We had good luck with the Agencia de Viajes Marques del Valle, in the Marques del Valle Hotel, on the north side of the cental zocalo.
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