Ohhhhhhhhh Mexico!

Mexico

My friends Christina and Janna (both from Germany) and I went to San Cristobal, Mexico and Oaxaca. San Cristobal was pretty sweet – it reminded me of Antigua (cobblestone streets, quaint and small but with more colorful buildings. It seemed a bit smaller too. Also it was FREEAZING there.
We stayed a a cute little hostel called Quia with beautiful paintings on the walls. We also shpped quite a bit and I found a book of poems!! Im excited because I can understand most of it and its in Spanish. We also walked up a huge hill to a beautiful church for a view of the ciudad. (Side note – I ate hummus in San Cristobal and was ecstatic because I hadn’t eaten it in 4 months.)
Then we took an 11-hour overnight bus ride that wasn’t very pleasant because I was carsick. But it was worth it because Oaxaca blew my mind. Its a big, beautiful city with so much culture. Even though its touristy, I want to go back because there is still so much more to see! We got there around 10 AM and found a really cute hostel. The view of the city from the deck was oustanding, especially watching the sunset.
We went to the zocalo (central park) several times. It was really nice with a green gazebo in the center surrounded by several huge trees. There are men playing the marimba (which is a huge wooden xylophone), clowns, and a TON of people trying to sell us things. One afternoon, we sat at tables outside the coffee shop in the corner of the zocalo. Within 2 hours, at least 40 people arrproached us trying to sell us something. That is not an exaggeration. I counted 25 people, and before I started counting about 20 people offered us something. Usually they were combs, bracelets, tablecloths, etc.
Oaxaca is famous for chocolate (especially hot chocolate) and mole.. Mole is a red or black sauce made of three different chile peppers, chocolate, and one more ingredient that I can’t recall. (I talked with a cute little old man from Oaxaca who told me the ingredients.)
So, I bought some mole negro in the mercado 20 de noviembre. The market is huge and famous, and is like a flea market, except cool. Then I ate the mole out of a plastic bag which you really aren’t supposed to do – its a sauce that’s usually on chicken or in tamales.
Another Oaxacan delicacy is chapulin: fried grasshoppers. They look and sound disgusting. But my curiosity got hte better off me and I tried some; not bad, actually – they fry them in something flavorful.
Thursday I went to a really cool modern art museaum. It was was small but I psent 2 hours getting lost in the paintings and life-size skulls (not real skulls). There were 5 of them and 2 were painted with brillant colors. I took several pictures.
Then we went into some shops tha were full of decorated skeletons. I asked a woman why skeletons are so popular in Mexico. She said that they like to think of the afterlife in a lighthearted, playful manner. So they decorate skeletons and hope the afterlife is just as fun as life on earth.
This tradition of decorating skeletons stems from Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). The holidy is REALLY big in Mexico – more so than in Guatemala. Por eso, they decorate altars and tombs November 1 every year.
Decorating altars actually comes from the ancient indigenous Zapotecs. (I learned about them in school and really don’t remember anything about them.) But, I read about that tradition when we went ot the ruins of Monte Alban. We looked at a few tombs, and this was where I read about them making offereings to the dead.
The ruins are (as my friend Pam likes to say) glorious. They’re just oustide of Oaxaca in the mountains where 3 vallies come together. The view is magnificent! Monte Alban was the first urban plan on the American continent. The Zapoteces built the city in 500 BC and it was inhabited until 850 AD. Animals were really importnat and some were considered gods. Plants and herbs were thought to be sacred and healing – they were said to be the link between heaven and earth.
Oaxaca also has some really great music! One Thursday night Janna, Christina, and I met up with my roomates Josh, Ruth and Michael for a FREE Lilla Downs concert. I didn’t know her music before but apparently she’s really famous. I liked how she sings abotu different aspects of Mexican culture (she even has a song about Oaxaca). She spoke and sang about uniting different races and indigenous people in Mexico. Apparently she’s revolutionary for doing this.
Also, this woman is extraordinarily talented. She sings in a really deep voice for some songs, and at least two octaves higher in others. Her verbrato is indescribable, as well as the talent of her band. The harpist was especially impressive. He played beautifully! Not only is he an exceptional harpist, but he pulled out the violin and guitar as well.
The following night, the six of us found a bar with live salsa/cumbia/bachata music!! I really loved this band too. We danced a lot, and I loved watching the Mexicans dance because they are amazingly talented.
I think I forgot to mention that it was sunny and in the 70s-80s the whole time we were there. Hopefully I’ll make it back to Oaxaca and see more of Mexico someday!