Top 10 Reasons to Visit Oaxaca!
August 16th, 2010
1. Learn about Ancient Civilizations
High on a hilltop overlooking Oaxaca City lies Monte Alban, an ancient Zapotec city that was inhabited for about 1,300 years. Monte Alban, was the center of Zapotec civilzation, where great achievements were made in writing, symbols, calendrics and astronomy. Following the demise of Monte Alban, surrounding city-states, or independent kingdoms in the Central Valley, filled this vacuum. Remnants of these ancient cities are visible today at sites just outside of Oaxaca, including Mitla, Zaachila, Yagul, Lambiteco, and Dainzu.
Oaxaca offers the traveler the opportunity to learn about the birth of civilization in Mesoamerica. In Southern Mexico, early humans evolved from being nomadic hunter-gatherers to creating village settlements, with the beginning of agriculture. Agricultural life did not just “happen”. It was the result of conscious engineering of a singular plant—corn, which allowed for the dawn of civilization. The domestication of corn was the revolutionary event that transformed society from nomadic hunter/gatherers in search of food, to rural village settlers and eventually to small town inhabitants and cosmopolitan urban living in cities such as Monte Alban.
2. Visit Indigenous Communities 
Travel to Teotitlan del Valle, and don’t forget to say, zac xtil, when you arrive in the morning hours. Meaning good day in Zapotec, the members of the community going to the market or in their homes weaving will graciously reply back, zac xtil. Oaxaca is a kaleidoscope of ethnic groups, each having a common and unique language. In addition to sharing a common language, people’s identity is also expressed through dress, geographic location and customs.
The largest populations are the Zapotec and Mixtec. Other groups include the Amuzgo, Huave, Mixe, Triqui, Mazateco, Chinanteco, and Chatino. This vast array of ethnic groups is the result of a rugged topography that contributes to isolation and which has contributed to cultural and ethnic preservation, as well as contributing to marginalization, with less accessibility to essential goods and services, such as medical care and quality education. Dress is a readily identifiable communicator of ethnic identity, where the wearer communicates to the world, “I am a Triqui woman, or I am Amuzgo”, based on their weaving techniques and/or dress ensemble. As the forces of globalization bring homogenization, many of these cultural expressions and identifiers are disappearing.
3. Explore the Ethno-Botanical Gardens
In addition to its vast cultural diversity, Oaxaca is one of Mexico’s states with the greatest biodiversity. This is no accident, as the cultural and bio diversity are integrally linked. The mountainous peaks of Oaxaca are the southern extremes of the two Sierra Madre chains that flank the entire country. They drop off to sea level at the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, later to emerge once again as one travels into Chiapas.
Oaxaca’s vegetation zones include: savannas, deciduous tropical forest, pine-oak forests, tropical evergreen forests, tropical rainforest, arid tropical scrub, cloud forest and the high coniferous forest. If you don’t have time to traverse the entire state, we suggest a visit to the Botanical Gardens in Oaxaca City. Founded in 1993 by Francisco Toledo, the gardens are beautiful, and most importantly they represent a vital rescue and maintenance of many of Oaxaca’s native plants. Here, one can see teosinte pre-domesticated corn, a vast collection of cacti and agaves, important medicinal and natural dye plants. No visit to Oaxaca would be complete without a visit to this very special sanctuary for plant life.
4. Explore Bustling Markets
Did you know that the market system in Oaxaca has been in existence since the pre-hispanic times? The “tianguis” is an open air market, temporary market that is held on certain days in a particular town. This bazaar tradition has its roots well into the pre-Hispanic period and continues, essentially unchanged, in the present day. It was the most important form of commerce in the pre-Hispanic era , and following the Spanish Conquest, this social and economic tradition has remained in tact. Our favorite market towns and days are: Tlacolula on Sundays, Ocotlan on Fridays, Zaachila on Thursdays, and Etla on Wednesdays.
While tourists love to come see the markets, they do not exist FOR tourists. They are vital social and economic institutions that encourage community and personal bonding and provide economic sustenance to community members as they engage in commercial trade of goods. These goods range from produce, flowers, and baskets, to ready to eat food—nopal salad, quesadillas with squash blossoms, bread, meat, chickens, grasshoppers, spices, herbs, commercial housewares and many other consumer basics. They are offer a dazzling display and experience for us travelers who are more accustomed to shopping the gentile and orderly aisles of our local grocery store!
5. Savor Mole and Regional Cuisine
No destination can boast like Oaxaca, when it comes to culinary traditions. While it is commonly referred to as the Land of the Seven Moles, I like to call it the land of a thousand moles, as each mole is as unique and different as the family/person that made it. So, what is mole? Pronounced “MO-lay” the word comes from the Nahuatl (Aztec language) word “mulli”, which means, sauce, mixture, stew, or concoction.
In its pre-Hispanic form, this stew was made of dried chiles, tomatoes, seeds, and chocolate. The king of all moles is the complex black mole, made from over 30 ingredients. The chiles in the recipe alone include; guajillos, pasillas, anchos, and chipotles. Other ingredients include: peanuts, cinnamon, raisins, plantains, chocolate and various herbs.
Oaxaca boasts more ways to eat and drink corn than you can shake a corn husk at: tamales, tlayudas, tortillas, memelas, empanadas, enchiladas, chilaquiles, and if you just want corn, you can get grilled or boiled corn on the cob or “esquites” corn kernals in a cup with lime, mayonnaise, salt and chile (yum!). If you want to “drink” your corn, just ask for tejate or atole, the original energy drinks. The famous Oaxaca, stringy cheese is delicious melted in a tortilla with squash blossoms. Nopal salad (prickly pear) with onion, tomato, cilantro is also delicious and very nutritious. If this is not enough, top it all off with a taco filled with “chapulines” (grasshoppers!). It is said, “if you eat a chapulin in Oaxaca, you will return”. You may want to wash all of this down with a fine mezcal!
6. Meet Talented Weavers and Dyers 
For over 2,000 years, the people of Oaxaca have been spinning, dyeing and weaving. In past times, fibers were cotton, ixtle and silk; dyes were cochineal for reds, wild marigold plants for yellows, purpura pansa mollusks for purples and numerous other wild flowers, nuts, seeds, lichens, etc. Weaving was done using the backstrap method, where the weaver strapped a belt around their back with the working end of the loom near them and the other end tied to a tree. Using this system, the weaver could move their body slightly forward or back to increase or decrease tension on the loom. While these methods are still used today, adaptations have always been present and sometimes necessary, resulting in a creative “tension” between tradition and evolution.
In Teotitlan del Valle, 30 minutes east of Oaxaca City, the entire community is dedicated to the tradition and art of weaving stunning tapestries. Using floor / pedal looms and wool fiber, introduced by the Spaniards, the community maintains a tradition that is over 2,000 years old. Initially utilitarian items such as blankets and clothing were created, but now they have adapted their weavings to items of aesthetic beauty such as wall and floor tapestries. One of our favorite coops is the Centro de Arte Zapoteco Bii Dauu, (meaning sacred wind or breath in Zapotec), where members, such as Mariano Sosa, Rafaela Ruiz, Fausto Sanchez, Margarita, Procolo, Gervasio and the others are dedicated to the preservation of family and community traditions, as well as the environment. Other favorite regions of Oaxaca with amazing weaving traditions include: the Amuzgo in the mountains north of the Costa Chica, the Huave of Santa Maria del Mar in the Isthmus, the silk rebozo weavers of the Sierra Juarez, the weavers of the Costa Chica region of Pinotepa de Don Luis and San Juan Colorado. Each community has a unique weaving pattern and dress, from the “posahuanco” purple, indigo and red wrap skirt Pinotepa de Don Luis to the intricate backstrap woven “huipiles” of the Amuzgo. In Oaxaca City must see stops include: The Museo Textil de Oaxaca (MTO), and Remigo Mestas shop, where he showcases and sells exquisite revival weavings and dress from Oaxaca. His high end revival weavings are worn by women in Mexico City and San Miguel Allende, hence his local name: Remigio Armani!!
7. Meet Artisans and Buy Crafts
The Southern Valley is known as “the craft route”. Artisan communities include: San Bartolo Coyotepec, where Dona Rosa made black pottery famous in the 1960’s. Her family continues the tradition of attracting tourists to their large workshop and showroom, where they demonstrate how this pottery gets its black color (oxygen reduction during the firing stage). They also demonstrate the pre-hispanic method of introducing shine to their wares, through a technique called burnishing, where a stone or another piece of pottery are used to rub the object prior to firing. This brings the object to a high sheen or luster. Glazes were later introduced by the Spanish.
Traveling along the route, one arrives in San Martin Tilcajete, known for the whimsical animal and “alebrije” wood carvings. Alebrijes are fantastical drangon-like figures. While many townspeople are dedicated to carving figures from copal wood, each has their own style and recognizable figures, from rabbits, to dogs on bicycles, lanky and lurching cats, and imaginary, whimsical creatures. A fun community to visit is Santo Thomas Jalieza, where one can find sellers in the central kiosk selling colorful and fun cotton hand woven belts, bags and table runners. As one gets closer to the town of Ocotlan, home of Mexican painter, Rodolfo Morales, the Aguilar sisters can be found with their large, outrageous pottery figurines depicting market scenes, domestic settings and their most famous “women of the night”. There is something for everyone on Oaxaca’s southern craft route.
The Eastern Valley takes you towards the legendary weaving communities of Teotitlan del Valle and Santa Ana del Valle, where the constant “clack-clack, clack-clack” sound of the treadle looms can be heard as weavers continue a tradition dating back over 2000 years. Initially, blankets of cotton were woven on backstrap looms, however, when the Spaniards arrived, sheep (wool) and floor/peddle looms were introduced. Teotitlan del Valle weavers are known for their adaptation to social and economic shifts. Today, they weave some of the finest naturally dyed tapestries in Mexico.
8. Learn of the Modern and Graphic Art Traditions
Oaxaca was the birthplace of several of Mexico’s most talented modern artists: Rufino Tamayo, from Oaxaca City, Francisco Toledo from Juchitan in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and Rodolfo Morales, from Ocotlan, in Oaxaca’s Central Valley. These artists have done great things in their home state of Oaxaca, to promote and preserve art, culture, and nature and to help develop and stimulate future artists, musicians, photographers.
Francisco Toledo, considered one of Mexico’s greatest living artists, has sponsored and funded most of Oaxaca City’s cultural and arts venues, such as the Taller Arte Papel Oaxaca, Instituto de Artes Gráficas de Oaxaca (IAGO), CASA (Centro de Artes de San Agustín) en Etla, Centro Fotografico Manuel Alvarez Bravo, Jardin Botanico, and the Casa de la Cultura in Juchitan, among other institutions. In Juchitan, the Zandunga dance and music can often be heard from behind the walls of the Casa de la Cultura. In Octotlan, Rodolfo Morales lovingly restored the town church and convent, which now houses the Rodolfo Morales Museum. Travel to Oaxaca City and you can occasionally spot Master Francisco Toledo sipping a coffee or mezcal in a local venue. Much of the city’s artistic and cultural vibe are in large part due to his vision and execution of outstanding cultural centers. While Francisco Toledo has worked in almost all media, he is primarily known for his monotone Graphic Works, that demonstrate his dedication to the study and discipline of the craft of lithography and print making. His works fuse the mythical world with the real world. On the other hand, Rodolfo Morale’s colorful and vibrant oil paintings often depict women, angels, dogs, or weddings, in the “magical realism” tradition.
9. Discover Colonial Churches
After the physical conquest of Mesoamerica by the Spaniards in the 1520’s, the spiritual conquest, or evangelization took place. In Oaxaca the Dominicans were predominant, followed by the Franciscans and Augustinians. Churches of the colonial period (1521-1821) dot the region and are predominately in the Mexican Baroque style; they include, Santo Domingo Church and Convent, Basilica de Nuestra Senora de la Soledad, Main Cathedral, San Felipe Neri, San Jeronimo Church in Tlacochahuaya, Chapel of the Senor of Tlacolula and numerous others. There are over 20 colonial era churches in Oaxaca City, alone.
You are likely familiar with the Virgen of Guadalupe, the patron saint of Mexico, who is commemorated on December 12, nationwide. But, in Oaxaca, it’s the Virgin of La Soledad (solitude or loneliness), patron saint of Oaxaca, who is commemorated on December 18.
According to legend, in 1620 a mule train camped outside the city of Oaxaca and noticed an extra mule that did not belong to the anyone in the group. The mule refused to move and when prodded, rolled over and died. When the pack it carried was opened, a statue of the Virgin of Soledad was found. Taking this as a sign from heaven, the inhabitants built a shrine, later a church and finally the imposing basilica which stands today on the spot where the statue first appeared.
Because of this miraculous selection of Oaxaca by the Virgin, she became the patron of not only the city but the entire state, as well as of the mariners who sailed to and from her ports. The special devotion of the sailors was so important that many walked from the coast to worship at her shrine.
10. Experience Annual Festivals
To talk about festivals in Mexico, one would need to include virtually each day of the year! However, to help wrap our arms around the meaning and proliferation of festivals in Mexico, I asked Anthropologist Marta Turok to help out. Here is what she said: “A fiesta is a collective event that requires extensive planning to orchestrate all the people taking part in it. The sponsor is a “mayordomo”or “carguero” and there are musicians, dancers with costume, kitchen helpers and fireworks. The sponsor pays for most of it, and depends on all of his family and “compadres” to help out. It is considered in economic terms as a way of redistributing accumulation in exchange for prestige and being considered a good citizen. Traditional dances with masks and costumes are important because those who participate do so because of a “manda” or promise to the Saint in exchange for health and other favors. In Mexico there are four kinds of religious/ritual fiestas:
1. Festivals that revolve around the agricultural cycle. These have strong pre-Hispanic roots, due to the importance of maize as the base of Mesoamerican culture. Over time, fertility, rain and other ancient gods transformed into Christian Saints and Virgins.
These festivals are observed as a two-part or period system, revolving around the seasons. For example, fall and winter fiestas occur at the end of the harvest, from Day of the Dead up to the Sun Cult, flagellation and penitence observed through Holy Week. Spring and summer fiestas occur during the rainy season in answer to the rain propitiatory fiestas that begin with Dia de la Santa Cruz (May 3) and end in many cases with San Miguel Arcangel on September 29th.
2. Fiestas in honor of patron saints: founding of villages, reinforcement of community ties. These fiestas reinforce community ties, where the “mayordomo” as sponsor of the Fiesta is in charge of the fiesta organization, drawing on “compadres” and other relatives to procure food, music, fireworks for participants. A great deal of planning, financial allocation and community reciprocity takes place for these important fiestas to take place. Honor, prestige and economic transactions are important outcomes of these fiestas.
3. Fiestas of saints and sanctuaries related to miraculous apparitions and pilgrimages: These fiestas are also intimately related to pre-Hispanic deities and places of cult where there were springs, sacred caves, “cenotes” or cross-roads. For example, the Virgin of Guadalupe-Tonantzin (our mother), the Señor de Chalma - Oztoteotl dedicated to Tezcatlipoca, smoking mirror and The Virgin of Juquila are important pilgrimage destinations at specific times of the year in Mexico.
4. Fiestas associated with the family life cycle: baptism, confirmation, coming out: importance of godparents, family ties as first circle, in parallel to community ties.
Our favorite festivals and observances in Oaxaca include: Day of the Dead, The Velas of Tehuantepec, Night of the Radishes/Christmas in Oaxaca, including December 12 in honor of the Virgen of Guadalupe and December 18, in honor of The Virgen de la Soledad, Oaxaca’s patron saint. Based on Marta’s outline, we now know what type of festivals each one of these is!
Want to see more of Oaxaca? Check out Jeff Schneiderman’s photos of Oaxaca!





