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Celebration of life's pleasures
is a year-round theme of Oaxacan life
Excerpted from an article by
JANE SMILEY
When I ask a friend of mine who comes from Mexico City what other Mexicans say about Oaxacans, she begins, of course, with the fact that they are widely considered to be incredibly hard workers.
Life in Oaxaca seems exactly the opposite of arduous. The food, especially the rich and spicy mole sauces and the locally produced chocolate, is famously good (vegetarians find much more to eat here than in other parts of Mexico) and the weather combines the cool clarity of high altitude with the warmth of proximity to the tropics. The people are friendly and welcoming in the way that those who feel comfortable at home can afford to be. There is plenty to see, but somehow it gets seen without a sense of touristic obligation; there is plenty to buy but nothing frantic about its purchasing.
We are in a world that is new to us, but feel no sense of isolation. No wonder people come back here, natives, other Mexicans and foreigners, time and time again.
Persisting certainly seems to be a general quality of Oaxaca, which overlooks the conjunction of two broad and fertile valleys in the southern waist of Mexico, where the Pacific coastline curves sharply toward Guatemala.
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MAJOR HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS IN OAXACA
• Guelaguetza
• Food of the Gods
• Day of the Dead
• Night of the Radishes
• Christmas/New Year
[Holiday Calendar] |
Themselves productive and welcoming, the valleys are cut off from the coast to the south and west, and the rest of Mexico, to the northwest, by steep mountains and arduous roads. The foods, the people, the arts and crafts and the commerce are largely home-grown, and Oaxaca State contains the largest percentage of indigenous Indian peoples in the Western Hemisphere, most of them (some 100,000) descendants of the very same Zapotecs who built Monte Alban between 250 B.C. and A.D. 750, or of the Mixtecs who came later, after the inhabitants of Monte Alban abandoned their mountain city and moved into the valleys.
When I smile at strangers in the street, their return smiles are quick and full. I am disarmed.
But the celebration of life's pleasures is a year-round theme of Oaxacan life. Oaxaca and the surrounding villages are famous for arts and crafts. In the village of San Bartolo Coyotepec, everyone makes the famous black-glazed pottery. In the village of San Martin Tilcajete, families produce brightly painted animals in fantastic shapes, and boxes and furniture. In Teotitlan del Valle, the famous rugs of Oaxaca are made on enormous wooden looms. In many villages, backstrap-loomed shawls and bags are the specialty. Oaxaca is full of commerce and full of art. What is for sale is made here, and often sold by the artisans themselves or their families.
Oaxaca offers everything in a land that has everything to offer
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At Oaxaca Tours it is always our pleasure to be of assistance. If we can be of any help while you are visiting, please feel free to call us.
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