Five Days in Oaxaca, Mexico

We took a tour of Oaxaca through Ancestros, which focuses on Zapotec artisans.  It was so relaxing to have the itinerary and transportation arrangements made for us.  Our guides were excellent and added a lot of insight into the culture of the area.  We arrived at the small, but efficient airport (OAX).  We were through passport control and customs in minutes.  The airport doesn't have gates, so passengers walk down a flight of stairs from the plane.  The airport is about 20 minutes from downtown, if there is no traffic.

We stayed at Hotel Casa de Sierra Azul.  (see post).

I have separate posts for some of the places we visited.

Day One:  Monte Alban (see post), El Tallador de Suenos (see post) and a visit to the studio of Magdalena Pedro Martinez, who works in traditional black clay.

                                                    The detail is exquisite!

Day Two: A visit to Dona Julia's candle-making studio.  She makes candles by commission which are beautifully decorated.

                                                        The forms and red wax make pink wax flowers

Then, we visited the studio of Porfirio Gutierrez, textile artist, working in the Zapotec tradition (see post).

Day Three:  We explored the Zocalo area, which has several beautiful churches and the fascinating Museum of Oaxacan Culture.  This has a small, but rich collection of finds from Tomb 7 of Monte Alban.  There is a skull decorated with turquoise and worked gold pieces.  The downtown has many pedestrian-only street, shops with local art and a large police presence.  The city is the capital of the state of Oaxaca.

In the afternoon, we went to the Atzompa area for lunch at a collaboration between chocolate makers and Oaxacan chefs.  We helped prepare the meal.  

                                                        Our dessert

Day Four: A visit to Centro de las Artes de San Agustin Etla.  This is a wonderful gallery and community art center created by noted Mexican artist Francisco Toledo.  We saw a great mixed media show and participated in a felting workshop.  The building is a former textile factory and looks more like a government center than an art center.  




It was a short walk to the studio of Alberto Valenzuela, who makes paper from scratch.  At his Taller de Arte Papel Oaxaca, we saw how local plants were turned into beautiful sheets of paper.  He was a wonderful and inspiring man to listen to.  He was one of the most memorable people we met during the trip.  We had lunch at A Medios Chiles in San Pablo Etla.  This mezcal experience included a tour of the plant nursery, the roasting oven, aging vats and tastings.

Day Five: Our last day included a studio tour of the studio of Tlacolulokos.  This is an artistic cooperative that tells the story of contemporary Oaxaca by using ordinary people as subjects.  The artists are all self-taught and have had exhibition in Mexico and the U.S.  For examples of their work: 

 https://artsandculture.google.com/story/oaxacalifornia-through-the-experience-of-the-duo-tlacolulokos/rgKSchUnEFMFLg

We stopped at the large market in Tlacolula, which offered fresh breads, rugs, live and wriggling meal worms and much, much more.

We also visited the "Women of the Red Clay" potters community in San Marcos Tlapazola.  These women gather red and yellow clay and use it to create hand-built vessels and figurines.  They have their own kiln.  They now use a Japanese-designed, wood-fired kiln which has more consistent firing and better ventilation.  The women told an interesting and inspiring story of coming from a life of extreme poverty and finding international recognition for their work.  You can read a New York Times article about them here: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/12/t-magazine/san-marcos-tlapazola-pottery.html




We had lunch at Mo-Kalli (see post).

It was an amazing trip - meeting the artists and learning about their techniques and also how the Zapotec culture influences their artistry.  The area is very safe.  In the neighborhoods, the roads tend to be unpaved and challenging.  It is easy to wander around the downtown area on your own.  If you want to venture into the outlaying areas, I recommend a tour, because the roads are difficult.  I would not have felt comfortable driving on my own.

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