Elderhostel invites participants to "immerse yourself in celebratory rituals for the dead. Roam the halls of imposing palaces and awe-inspiring cathedrals. Embrace the mystery that lies beneath the region's surface in museums and archaeological sites. Absorb the varying differences in three of Mexico's most fascinating cities to discover the traditional significance that defines this intriguing culture."
PICTURED SITES ARE DESCRIBED IN THIS TEXT.
Located just a few miles from Oaxaca, San Bartolo Coyotepec is one of the most important pottery-producing villages. The village is renowned for its black clay. One village resident, Dona Rosa, gave black pottery a shine when she accidentally discovered that it could be polished. Her work became famous, and she worked in her shop demon-strating her techniques until she died in 1980. Her son now continues the family tradition.
The potters of Coyotepec continue to use their traditional method of turning pots without a wheel which is done with two concave clay plates, one upside down supporting the other. The process takes 20 to 30 days, going from molding to decoration, slow drying in closed rooms, polishing with a quartz stone and then baking the pieces when they acquire their black color depending on the baking time. The pottery is mostly decorative because it will not hold water.
In Ocotlan the 16th- century Dominican church was restored in the 1990s as a result of funding from the internationally-known Ocotlan artist Rodolfo Morales. He was a Zapotec Indian born in Ocotlan in 1925. He became an art teacher working at the Escuela Nacional Preparatoria for 32 years. He was best known for his brightly-colored surrealistic dream-like canvases and collages often featuring Mexican women in village settings. He was asked when he was 50 to hold his first solo exhibition in Cuernavaca where his paintings came to the attention of the famous Mexican painter Rufino Tamayo who helped him make contacts with art critics and galleries around the world, leading to a number of joint and solo exhibitions.
Morales earned enough money by 1985 to stop teaching and devote his time to art and restoration of buildings in his hometown of Ocotlan. His most important restoration project was the former Dominican convent which was converted into a municipal complex. Shortly before his death he set about converting this convent into a regional museum without eliminating the remains of its original Dominican décor. He cleaned up the grounds, repaired the basic structure (the majority of which remains in its original state) and added lighting, bathrooms and a small lunchroom. He then proceeded to gather an outstanding collection of religious, historic and fine art, as well as some older folk art items from famous local artists. He also donated some of his own work, as well as creating several murals.
He died in 2001 at age 75, and he is buried in his restored Convent of Santo Domingo in Ocotlan.
The market in Ocotlan shown here is the daily market, not the huge one each Friday (which I saw during my visit two months later). Ocotlan is also known for the red clay figures made there, several examples of which are in the museum for which Morales is given much credit.
For literally decades, Oaxacans waited for a restaurant with quality food and pleasant ambience to open along the highway traversing the villages of San Bartolo Coyotepec (black pottery), San Martín Tilcajete (alebrijes) and Santo Tomas Jalieza (cotton textiles) en route to the Friday market town of Ocotlan. Azucena Zapoteca Restaurant and Gallery opened its doors in October, 2004, and has become very popular with tourists and regulars alike.
Santa Thomas Jalieza is located just a few miles from Ocotlan and is considered to be small and rustic by Mexican standards.
It is known for its unusual back-strap loom weaving. Back-strap looms are used to create belts, table runners, place mats, bags and all kinds of woven goods. Women and girls of all ages are weavers. The town has been organized as a collective for many years and prices are more or less fixed. Woven belts of varying widths and detail have been the mainstay of the weaving tradition here for many years. There are hundreds of patterns and color combinations. Using a pole, tree or other support to tie one end of the loom, the weavers wrap the straps of the loom around their waist and weave while the loom rests on their laps.
Oaxaca traces its history at least 7,000 years back when about 20 diverse ethnic groups occupied the land. The Mixtecs and Zapotecs were the two most important groups. When the Aztecs arrived, they named the central valley Huaxyacac because of the huaje trees covering the land. When the Spanish arrived in the year 1521, they renamed it Oaxaca, a much more easily pronounced word.
The settlement was officially named a royal city in 1532. This area of Mexico was given to Hernan Cortes after the Spanish Conquest, in return for his services to the Spanish Crown. Oaxaca gained prominence in the colonial era because of its location as a gateway to Central and South America as well as its rich landscape, intricate textiles and rumored gold mines.
The State of Oaxaca has a population of about 4 million, while Oaxaca City has about a half million residents.
Oaxaca has nearly perfect weather all year with tropical sunlight almost daily and ideal temperatures because of its location about 5,500 feet in elevation. Oaxaca State is in the Sierra Madre mountains with the Pacific Ocean touching its southern shoreline.
Oaxaca has been described as owing its popularity to its architecture, its cultural traditions, its large variety of regional food, and its temperate weather.
An index of articles related to this trip can be seen at our home page: http://www.worldisround.com/home/jdtan/index.html
If you have any questions, email them to me at jdtanner@a5.com rather than including them in your remarks at the bottom of the photo page.
Diane Tanner
Comments
No one has commented on this article yet.
Add a comment