Away and apart

"Oaxaca," writes Kathryn S. Blair, "is a land unto itself..."  She goes on to describe "a southern State spread high in the mountains, extending in the west to the Pacific Ocean and in the east to the State of Verzcruz on the Gulf of Mexico."  These words come from her book entitled  Forging a Nation, which is a history of the Mexico from the time of the Aztecs to the present.*  Over the past days, I had the chance to visit this historical, beautiful, and captivating city.  Tuesday was a national holiday in Mexico, the Day of the Worker -- something like the US holiday of Labor Day (more about this in a later post) -- so I decided to take a 'long weekend' and leave Mexico City after Church on Sunday and stay through Monday and Tuesday to get away away and see another part of the country. 

This flag flies from the Government Palace, which is on the Zocalo, the main square in the center of the city, which is the heart and soul of Oaxaca. 

The two pictures above are of one of the streets in the historic district (colonial center) of the town.  Most fascinating of all is the appearnace of the streetscape, many elements of which seem to have changed little from the colonail era.  You can see from the photos the quintessential design elements of the Spanish colonial period -- large windows, thick walls, balconies. and wrought iron balustrades.  All along this street (and there were literally HUNDREDS of people on this street on a weeknight) -- there were vendors of food, handmade clothing, rugs, baskets, blankets and jewelry.  In some ways, Oaxaca is a city frozen in time,  Yet in other ways, it is utterly contemporary.  On the last night I was there, one of the streets was blocked off so that a series of documentary films (one on the subject of  astrophysics!)  could be shown outside at a huge makeshift theatre that had been created by erecting a huge screen and putting several hundred folding chairs in front of it. 

Oaxaca is, indeed, a land unto itself.  Contemporary and ancient, modern and classical, sophisticated and simple, predictably conservative and wildly avant garde.  I'll probably take a few days to blog about all that I saw and experienced in Oaxaca (I took over 200 pictures in only two full days -- so there's a lot to show.)

*Kathryn S.  Blair is a member of Christ Church in Mexico City.  Her book is published by San Miguel Historical Press of Mexico City.  I don't know if it is also available available in the US, but it is well worth seeking out.  While the multi-faceted story of Mexico is fascinating in its own right, Ms. Blair's prose is accessible, engaging, and even entertaining.  I recommend it highly.