December 24
It’s Christmas Eve day and we have a big day planned. Bill and I woke early and walked to the Zocalo to find coffee and breakfast. All the exhibits from the radish Festival had already been pulled down.
Christmas Eve (Nocha Bueno) is the big day of celebrations for the Christmas season, much more than Christmas Day. And it is all about the birth of Christ and celebrating with family. There are processions through town (calendas) with each church having their own float carrying the baby Jesus to be placed in the nativity, family gatherings, and midnight church services. Christmas Day is one of rest and sleep until night falls when the streets will fill up again.
We had a whirlwind day seeing important sights just outside of Oaxaca heading East. With Max as our guide and a rental car we made our our own tour. We got a late start (11am) so Max rushed us through our six destinations!
First stop was in the little village of Tule to see their famous cypress tree in the courtyard of the Santa Maria del Tule church. The tree is awe inspiring, 2000 years old and xx feet in diameter.
We arrived to a cacophony of noise as the locals were in celebration mode – firecrackers, church bells and a band. The church was decked out with banners and streamers, flashing lights, a large nativity and fragrant flowers everywhere.
Tlacoula Sunday Market
This was my favorite stop of the day and they were all good ones. The village of Tlacoula hosts it’s big market (tianguis) every Sunday. The indigenous people (also known as First Nation cultures, Indians etc) come from their villages to sell their wares, mostly produce, meat and foods. They are dressed in their traditional attire. It was a colorful, vibrant market. Max chatted with several vendors as we pondered our purchases. We ate fresh roasted sweet potatoes and cactus fruit, he ate bugs, we bought mole to take hone, and tried mescate a chocolate drink. The most fun was in the carne (meat) section. You select some thin sliced meat, throw it on a hot grill with fresh onions and large tortillas.and eat it with your hands when it’s done. I think we spent 80 pesos ($4) on that barbacoa meal for four of us.
I would have liked to spend more time in the market but Max was on a mission.
Next to the market is a 17th century Baroque church that rivals those in Germany and Europe.
Mezcal Distillery
We took a tour of the Chayona Mezcal distillery. Mezcal is an alcohol similar to tequila with a smoky flavor. Both are made from the agave plant. We had a tour of the mezcal distilling process from the burning of the plant hearts, milling by horse, fermentation and then final processing in a copper still.
I am not wild about the taste of this sipping liquor but Bill enjoyed the tour and seeing simple chemical engineering processes in action. Mezcal production dates back to the Aztecs long before the arrival of the Spanish. We bought a couple to bring back for Brian and Max’s brother in law who lives in Panama City.
Mitla
Mitla is an archeological site, one of several UNESCO heritage sites in the area. It was built by the Zapotecs as a palace and religious center prior to the Spanish Conquest. Everything in Mexican history is characterized as pre or post Conquest. Typical in Mexico is to find a post conquest Catholic church or convent next to ancient sites, if not on top of.
The name Mitla means place of rest. It’s known for xxx.
Apparently the museums and archeology sites are free on Sundays, to Mexican nationals only, we found out as we we’re leaving. The ticket collector hassled Max about our not having tickets. After we got things settled, having paid our 65 pesos (less than 4 usd) I asked Max “How did they know we were gringos? Was it Bill’s baseball cap?”. He laughed and said that was the funniest thing he’d heard all day!
Textile town
One more stop and Lea’s number one was the village of xxxz known for its handmade textile production. She was on a hunt for a rug to use as a wall hanging in her La Paz town house. She was successful at the first place we stopped. People were glad for our business even at five pm on Christmas Eve. We went to a second workshop where I found some beautiful jewel toned scarves.
Christmas Eve Dinner
Max and Alberto had planned a special dinner experience for our Nocho Buena. They not only made reservations at a Spanish restaurant overlooking the Zocalo but they hassled the restaurant owner until they promised us a front and center balcony table with primo views. There was a fixed menu. The food was okay but the ambience and service was superb.
