Whilst it’s difficult to pronounce Oaxaca, once you’ve mastered this, the only struggle you will have is leaving. Phonetically pronounced ‘wa-ha-ca’, this incredibly photogenic colonial city will have you admiring every colour saturated street corner. The region is well known in Mexico for its cultural heritage, where over half of the population identifies as indigenous, bringing with it artisanship in textiles, pottery and cuisine.
On arrival, start by exploring the streets – this is a walking city and everything is reachable on foot. To keep your sense of direction, all you need to know is that north is uphill and south is downhill. Calle Macedonio Alcalá is the city’s main pedestrian thoroughfare for shopping but the Zocalo is always buzzing with activity – children eating paletas (ice pops), vendors selling elotes (corn cobs topped with mayonnaise, lime and chilli powder) and street performers sharing music. The atmosphere is bursting with joy and you’ll inevitably catch a festival whilst you’re there.
On the opposite side of the coin, Oaxaca has quiet, peaceful churches dotted all over the city. The Basílica de Nuestra Señora de la Soledad is dedicated to the patron saint of Oaxaca. The ornate exterior is carved from green cantera stone, whilst inside, angels hold up the chandeliers. Many say that the Oaxaca Cathedral is less impressive, no doubt it has less gold, but it has a more understated type of grandeur that is worth a look.
Meanwhile the Templo de Santo Domingo is the star, a place that resists the tourist definition of ‘just another church’. Destroyed by both earthquakes in the 1600s and politics in the 1900s, it was restored to its current glory in the 1970s, costing 12 million pesos. More than 60,000 sheets of 24 carat gold leaf was used to gild the ostentatious altar featuring the Virgin of Guadalupe, who as the patron saint of Mexico, is seen as both a religious and patriotic icon. But it’s the baroque ceilings that will undoubtedly steal your attention, with carvings depicting the family tree of Saint Domingo and gold vines filling every other spare inch.
The Ethnobotanical Garden is set on the grounds of Templo de Santo Domingo. Originally built as a convent, it was mostly utilised as military barracks throughout the 19th and 20th century. When the army moved out, the government wanted to build a luxury hotel but the locals protested and managed to secure it as a cultural centre. Oaxaca has unparalleled biodiversity being only the fifth largest state yet accounting for 50% of all species in Mexico.
The ethnobotanical garden was established in 1998 to celebrate Oaxaca’s relationship between people and plants. One that took my interest was the copal tree, also known as a leper tree due it’s peeling bark, which is used to make the incense burnt on the Day of the Dead. There was the humorous ‘marriage tree’ bristling with thorns, with each said to represent a problem. The barrel cactus, which became endangered as it’s eaten as a popular Mexican candy.
We were also shown grana cochiniya, an insect that when crushed, created a red dye that was one of the most valuable commodities in the 17th century. Oaxaca’s exportation of cochineal made it one of the richest cities and essentially built the city we can still see today. If you’re as fascinated as I am, make sure to visit at 11am on a Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday, as currently access is only available during guided tours.
After an afternoon of exploring, you deserve a relaxing afternoon cocktail with an unbeatable view. For this, you just can’t miss Terraza Los Amantes which overlooks Templo de Santo Domingo and the surrounding mountains. Enjoy a Mezcalito de Jamaica (made with hibiscus) and watch the stones of the church change colour as the afternoon sun goes down and the fairy lights come to life.
Then head to Mercado de 20 Noviembre for what promises to be one of your most memorable dining experiences in Mexico. For carnivores, the ‘Pasillo de Carnes Asadas’ is paradise. This smokey aisle is lined with food vendor after food vendor calling for your business, each displaying raw tasajo (beef), cecina (pork) and chorizo.
Order a kilo or so of your selected meats from one of the vendors, who will then beckon over another vendor to sell you however many tortillas you want to go with it. Pop by yet another stand to select and purchase trays of salsas and condiments – limes, avocado, pico de gallo, radishes, guacamole – the choices are cheap and bountiful. You’ll then be whisked over to communal seating to wait whilst your meal is cooked over hot coals. Once seated, you’ll be offered drinks and this is your chance to add a large glass bottle of Coca Cola to your meal for less than a dollar. Your last job is to assemble your tacos and demolish them.
Another day could bring you to explore the Barrio de Xochimilco, the oldest area of Oaxaca. This neighbourhood is defined by an old aqueduct that used to bring water from the mountains to the city, but for me, it’s also the most aesthetically beautiful. Here the colour is dialled up another notch, a patchwork of bright adobe houses with unusual number of classic VW bugs parked on the cobblestone streets. Do seek out the Cruz de Piedra or the ‘cross of stone’, an avant-garde design homed in a charming square.
Whilst you’re north of the centro, you should also stop at Itanoni for a bite. Everything here is made from maize and you’d be surprised at the diversity that the different varieties of corn and different methods can produce. All of the preparation is visible and you can watch the women cook over a traditional white clay comal. The menu is Spanish only – a sign you’re in the right kind of place.
A speciality is the ‘de ese’ – a tortilla with a hoja santa leaf, which has an anise taste, tucked inside. Other highlights from the menu include ‘tascalate’ (a cold beverage made from toasted maize, cocoa, cinnamon and achiote), ‘tamal de mole’ (meat steamed in banana leaves with a local chilli based sauce) and ‘tetelas’ (triangle shaped tortillas stuffed with ‘quesillo’ or oaxacan string cheese).
Alternatively for a taste of Oaxacan nature, Hierve Al Agua is calling your name. From the second class bus terminal, take the bus to Mitla (1 hr, 20 pesos) and from where you are dropped off, switch to a camioneta (1 hr, 50 pesos). This is a bumpy ride with at least 8 other passengers in what is essentially a pick up truck – but enjoy the adventure of getting there. Hierve Al Agua translates to ‘the water boils’ but everyone will tell you that the infinity pools are actually cold, so you can swim in them if you wish.
Admire the views from the top pools, but don’t stop there. The reason for the name is the calcified waterfall that cascades down the side of the mountain and you’ll get the best view of this by taking the trail to the right hand side. You can also take another path down to the base of the falls for another incredible view.
We did plan to stop at Teotitlán del Valle, a small Zapotec village known for their traditional methods of colouring wool and weaving rugs, on the way back. Unfortunately waiting for the camioneta to fill up on the way back meant we ran out of time. Whilst we loved having all the time to explore Hierve Al Agua without the pressure of a tour schedule, this was a disappointment, so either schedule an extra day or book yourself a tour.
Last, but not least, you cannot leave Oaxaca without trying mezcal. For a good introduction to mezcal, head to In Situ Mezcaleria, an intimate bar specialising in this small batch spirit. Vie for a countertop seat where the bartender will set up a tasting of three mezcals alongside tasting notes for 200 pesos. For us, it was a penca verde (selected because of its likeness to whisky), a smoky flavoured tobala (a rare varietal of agave) and a jabali (a challenging agave to work with because of its soft texture). A spirit that was virtually unknown not so long ago, living in the shadow of tequila, is now experiencing a boom.
Mezcal is made from agave plants and many distilleries (known as palenques) can be found in the mountains surrounding Oaxaca, with more types of agave growing in the region than across the rest of Mexico. Most people don’t realise that tequila is actually a specific type of mezcal made solely from Blue Agave, whilst Mezcal has more variation in flavour, as it can be made from over 100 different varieties of agave.
When the agave is harvested, the leaves are hacked off to reveal a pineapple-like centre, appropriately called the pina. The pina is then cooked in a pit in the ground (the cause of it’s smokey flavour) before being crushed, fermented and distilled in a clay or copper pot. Some varieties of agave are easy to cultivate – espadin takes less than a decade to mature and yields up to ten bottles of mezcal per pina. Others only grow in the wild, can take up to 35 years to mature and yield far less. Once the agave is uprooted, the plant cannot reproduce, so if you do the math it becomes apparent that the growing popularity of mezcal presents a question of sustainability. As Dana Goodyear wrote, ‘every previous sip both supports a traditional craft and hastens its extinction’. This is Oaxaca in a nutshell, a place where tradition is in focus and the future demands the right kind of attention.
