El Retiro "Pajaro De Nieve"
A Turnkey Retreat And Unsurpassed Culture Center At "La Villada" In Oaxaca, Mexico
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Several years ago, I put together this somewhat out-of-date webpage which contains lots of good information, especially if you scan the homepage from top to bottom.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 the 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 zócalo in the 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."
From Parque Llano you’re just a few blocks from Jalatlaco, the barrio where I lived last winter -- 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.
A woman who operates a nondescript afternoon-only “comedor popular” “out of her home” is located on the east side of a residential block of Calle Aldama, toward the south end of Jalatlaco. Her comedor is a relaxing place to kick back in the company of local people. And the comida corrida is such a deal!
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.
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) is the very best place in Oaxaca to change money - by far! 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-charcuter
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.
Ojalá que tengas un viaje muy alegre!
No comments:
Post a Comment