Sunday, January 3, 2021

My Best "Short Guide" To Oaxaca, The Mexican City Where I Live And Work Over Winter

         

Updated Oaxaca Restaurant Recommendations

*****

Don't miss Oaxaca state's two most important archaeological ruins, Monte Alban and Mitla
At Monte Alban, be sure to set aside 30-60 minutes to visit the onsite museum.
At Mitla, be sure to visit the open air craft market that is nearly adjacent to the Mitla's ruins. The handcrafts here are quite reasonably priced.

Monte Alban


Mitla:

Zapotec Civilization:

*****

Mezcal
Oaxaca's most famous beverage

Here is a good article about mezcal and upscale mezcaleria tours.

A good mezcaleria tour is to be had at El Rey de Matatlan:
(There is also a good (free) mezcaleria tour right at the turnoff to Mitla from the main road heading east out of Oaxaca City.)

For a down-home, hole-in-the-wall experience of Mexico's oldest alcoholic beverage (still unavailable in the United States) visit Pulqueria ????? It is located on Calle Porfirio Diaz (NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH Calzada Porfirio Diaz), and is a tiny but high-spirited pulqueria where there is often live campesino music. Sadly, I cannot remember the name, and I can't find it by googling. This pulqueria is on the west side of Calle Porfirio Diaz (just a couple blocks from the north end of the historic district, and, in turn, just a couple doors north of Mercado Municipal Sanchez Pascuas (a municipal market which itself is worth visiting).    

If you cannot locate the pulqueria above (which I strongly recommend), you can check out Pulqueria Mayahuel: https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g150801-d19787226-r771229256-Pulqueria_Mayahuel_Oaxaca-Oaxaca_Southern_Mexico.html


*****

Don't miss a complete "wool weaving tour" at a workshop in Teotitlan del Valle.
Many Teotitlan workshops give excellent tours.
I recommend Oscar Perez' "Zapotec Spirit" workshop 
located at Centenario #4 in Teotitlan del Valle.
Oscar will probably invite you to "card wool" and spin wool thread.
If not, tell him you'd like to try.
Mention that you were referred by the American who sang "Stand by Me" in early 2024, while his wife recorded my rendition on her cellphone.

*****

Similarly, don't miss an alebrije workshop presentation in San Martin Tilcajete. At the following link, scroll down to the section titled, 

"Drop Into a Workshop for a Free Demonstration" https://nomapsorfoottracks.com/blog/alebrijes-san-martin-tilcajete

And, finally, Dona Rosa's black pottery has long been a "must visit" American bigwigs - Nelson Rockefeller, Jimmy Carter and Malia Obama.
Dona Rosa's Black Pottery
San Bartolome Coyotepec

N.B. Always remember that there are good, inexpensive transportation options connecting Oaxaca City with every outlying craft town. 
These "colectivos" are dedicated to traveling back and forth between Oaxaca and one particular town. Colectivos to one or another town are easy to locate, and depart and return frequently. They are also dirt cheap. And, if you want to pay a modest sum for the seats normally occupied by two other passengers (assuming your own group does not fill the collective), you will still have "inexpensive wheels" and you will travel in real comfort.
Be sure to learn when the last colectivo returns to Oaxaca on any given day, so you don't miss the last ride home. Usually, this is not even an issue, but it is best to find out in advance.

*****


Estimada Gabriela,

I assume you'll find all the "famous places" in Oaxaca all on your own.

So here's "the inside scoop" which, admittedly, barely covers a tenth of the Historic District's richness.

Several years ago, I put together this somewhat out-of-date webpage which contains lots of good information, especially if you scan the homepage from top to bottom. Pajarosnieve.blogspot.com

Many people (including myself) love the family spirit at La Villada, a residential compound cum restaurant and entertainment center operated by my friends in the Sibaja Family. Good friend Julieta (who is bilingual, muy amable and hilariously funny) is the best person to speak with at La Villada.

The Sibaja’s have just opened a “cantina” adjacent to La Villada, and I’ll bet dollars to donuts it’s great fun.

That said, I would not go there myself until after the pandemic clears since bars are notorious sources of contagion.

I sometimes stay at La Villada for months at a time.

But since we gringos can be fussy people, who knows whether La Villada would be a good place for y’all to stay. 

It's GREAT but somewhat like New Orleans old French Quarter - much more interested in celebrating life than crossing all the tourist "T's" and dotting all the "I's."

The in-house restaurant (headed by a beautiful Zapotec woman named Rebeca) is located in a huge palapa and serves up very good food. I breakfast there all the time.

A really good hostal in the northwest corner of the historic district is called Hostal Casa Los Ángeles. In addition to being a great place for people of all ages, there’s a very cool rooftop “relaxation area.”

Casa Los Ángeles' limitless buffet breakfast, featuring home-grown organic eggs produced on the farm of the family that owns the hostal, are not only delicious but free-of-charge if you lodge there.

Within very short walking distance of 
Casa Los Ángeles is my go-to Mexican “comfort food” place, Tacos Alvaro. All their food is delicious and very affordable. Don’t miss Alvaro's posole. (Although posole comes in red, green and white, I recommend the posole rojo, which is generally considered the original posole. That said, I will sometimes choose posole verde.) I think there are four Tacos Alvaro in Oaxaca, but the only one I frequent — and the only one I highly recommend — is at the corner of Calle Quetzalcoatl and Calle (NOT “Calzada”) Porfirio Diaz.


Also located on Calle Porfirio Diaz - and just three blocks from the Zócalo - is a “don’t miss” restaurant called Boulenc. There are a number of dining rooms inside Boulenc, but the one I prefer is at the far back, to the right and up the iron stairs to a very user-friendly terrace level. The price is right and the food is great!

Note Well: Although you cannot enter Boulenc's bakery from the restaurant itself, the bakery is located at the adjacent address, just downhill from the restaurant itself.  The bakery is a mouthwatering treat just to visit, and t
he baked goods — including sandwiches “to go” — are reasonably priced and delectable!

If you and your fellow travelers would like a vegetarian/vegan restaurant (that also happens to be an art space), “La Jícara” is the place to go. It too is located on Calle Porfirio Diaz, quite far north in the historic district.

If you and your group are comprised of people who will stay close to the splendid zócalo in the very heart of town, I encourage you to walk north to Parque Llano where there is good, hygienically prepared comida de la calle - and lots of good "people-watching."

The best value hotel in Oaxaca -- and a VERY cool place to stay -- is "Las Mariposas." If at all possible make your reservations many months in advance. Las Mariposas is such a wonderful place that space fills up fast. https://www.hotellasmariposas.com/  (And don't miss the "English Language Library" nearly adjacent to Las Mariposas. It is a marvelous place and a real magnet for ex-pats who want to stay "in the know." https://www.oaxlibrary.org/ )


From Parque Llano you’re just a few blocks from Jalatlaco, the barrio where I "winter over": its cobbled streets and vibrant traditions are well worth a "walk-around." The little colonial church in the heart of Jalatlaco is an architectural gem and a focal point of Semana Santa activities and Christmas posadas.

Not far from Parque Llano on the other (i.e. west) side is Parque/
Jardín Conzatti where una anciana from the Conzatti family operates a quaint little “comida típica” restaurant called “La Abuela” (attached to the west side of Hotel Conzatti). My Mexican guitarist “Cuco” and I used to perform rock and roll every day (but Sunday) in Jardín Conzatti. On one occasion when it rained, we played inside La Abuela's vestibule.

Don’t miss Centro Cultural San Pablo and Teatro Macedonio Alcalá just 2 to 3 blocks east of the zócalo. Both these art centers are located on the south side of Avenida de la Independencia (which is the main drag that runs along the north side of Oaxaca's cathedral).

The Centro Cultural San Pablo is a phenomenal and rather overlooked Oaxaca jewel. It is completely free and supported by one of the world's richest people, Carlos Slim Helu'. Ask for the Centro's free monthly calendar and be sure to check out the free evening concerts.

Similarly, Teatro Macedonio Alcalá offers many free concerts, but usually you have to get a ticket in advance which is easily done, weekdays, from the wide-open street-side ticket office built into the side of the theater which is also located on the south side of Avenida de la Independencia.

Many of the Teatro’s free performances are brilliant and well worth attending, if only to see the inside of the theater - the finest in Oaxaca and one of the finest in all Mexico.

Three final things to mention about the Andador Turístico.

There is a lovely gallery-restaurant on the west side of the Andador, a few blocks downhill from Iglesia Santo Domingo, called Azucena.

And just a block or so down from Iglesia Santo Domingo is a little 
second floor restaurant called Le Crepe. All their food, including the crepes, is quite good and moderately priced. At Le Crepe, there are several small balconies overlooking the Andador where you can eat while watching the street scene. The majestic tiled domes of Iglesia Santo Domingo (which D.H. Lawrence considered "the most beautiful church in the world) are visible a block and a half uphill.

Immediately next door to Iglesia Santo Domingo is Oaxaca's regional museum. It is superb! https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g150801-d262629-Reviews-Museo_de_las_Culturas_de_Oaxaca-Oaxaca_Southern_Mexico.html

Just kitty corner from Santo Domingo - on the ground floor of the centro comercial (that houses McCarthy's rock-n-roll Pub on the second floor) there is an on-again, off-again Casa de Cambio, the very best place in Oaxaca to change money! This casa de cambio is located in a tiny booth just to the right after you enter the centro comercial from the Andador.

I will close by mentioning that a block "or three" west of Iglesia Santo Domingo are two other restaurants, one of them a quite good Italian restaurant called Mezzaluna, and the other a restaurant-delicatessen-brewery-charcuterie “labor cooperative” called Le Gourmand.

Ah! I almost forgot! 

The Mercado 20 De Noviembre food court -- especially the pasillo de puestos where you choose-your-own-vegetables-and-raw-meat -- are an experience that is "not to be missed." After your "ayudante" has placed your chosen veggies in a hand-woven basket, they are then given to the asador who charbroils them in front of your eyes) 

One final note... There are spotless, free bathrooms at El Centro Cultural San Pablo, an entirely free cultural gem (located in a splendid, sprawling colonial convent, with all manner of concerts, exhibits and demonstrations.

Ojalá que tengas un viaje muy alegre!

*****

Music Making With My Mexican And North Carolina Bands: "Túnel Del Tiempo" And "19 Miles From Davis"


*****

El Retiro "Pajaro De Nieve"

A Turnkey Retreat And Unsurpassed Culture Center At "La Villada" In Oaxaca, Mexico 

http://pajarosnieve.blogspot.com




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