February 1997 Oaxaca is called “Tierra del Sol,” and it a landscape blessed with a spring-like climate and plenty of sunshine. The city of Oaxaca is located in a picturesque valley with an altitude of 1,546 meters. Two chains of the Sierra Madre Occidental converge in the center of the state of Oaxaca, creating a […]
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In December 2000, I watched the sleepy fishing village of Puerto Escondido wake up from its summer slumber. When I arrived during the first week of the month, this beach town south of Oaxaca city hadn’t even begun to yawn and stretch from its months’ long, low-season nap. You could shoot a cannon down the […]
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History of Oaxaca – Part 3 – Modern Era Also, see: Part 1 Pre-Hispanic Era Part 2 Colonial Era Let us continue our overview of life in Oaxaca, past and present. In this final section, we will review the period from Independence in 1821 through 1999 and the incalculable changes which these few years have […]
Continue ReadingYour cab deposits you outside the arched entrance to the pastel stucco hotel, and as you pass through its main portal, you are transported to another dimension, another time, to a village in Spain perhaps, or to a romantic hacienda or convent of the colonial era. You pinch yourself, thinking this unusually attractive place cannot possibly be […]
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A first visit to Oaxaca, capital of Mexico’s southern state of Oaxaca, should begin at the zócalo, the town plaza. There’s always something going on there, for Oaxaca is a town of festivals: the Night of the Radishes on December 23, where farmers display fantastically carved giant radishes; the Festival of Lunes del Cerro (Monday of the Hill) in […]
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Puerto Escondido is a travelers’ and vacationers’ market right now. Tourism is down this year to perhaps a third of its normal level. One government official told us that if it were not for “old timers like you we would have no one here.” [ Aside: The “old timer” comment referred to the fact that we’ve been […]
Continue ReadingMexican Kitchen The longer one lives and travels in Mexico, the more meaningless the term “Mexican food” seems to become, for the true cuisine of Mexico contains such distinct regional differences that some people claim that they can tell what part of the country they are in just by tasting the food. This may be […]
Continue Reading[” Rompe – Cabeza ” (ROM-pe ca -BAY-sa, literally “head breaker”), is a term that Mexicans apply to all puzzles, from crosswords to mazes.] As you stroll through the Alameda, the vest-pocket park in front of the Cathedral plaza in Oaxaca, around 7:00 in the evening, keep an eye out for Ignacio Cervantes. He’s the elderly, white-goatee’d […]
Continue ReadingNovember first is children’s day in the series of remembrances and festivities that are known as Dias de los Muertos (days of the dead). On this day, the souls of departed children migrate to the homes of their still living relatives to take a sip of chocolate off the altar which has been constructed to […]
Continue ReadingThis was the course that I prepared during class, and although it is an impressive dessert, it is much easier than it will seem to guests, because the crepes, filling and sauce can all be made ahead. Naturally, we used the delicious requesón that we bought that morning at the Etla market, but farmer cheese […]
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