Valentines Night

Oaxaca has been preparing for valentines day ever since we arrived. We are becoming increasingly aware that it is going to be a big night in town.
Several of the streets are closed to traffic, and by 6pm the streets and squares are packed. It is billed as “Noche De Luces” (night of lights) and it would appear this is a regular event to celebrate friendship which takes place on a different holiday throughout the year. This time it’s St Valentine’s turn.

The two main squares have bands playing from 8 pm until 1pm.

They change every 30 minutes or so and range from full piece orchestras to trios. The quality of all the groups is amazing,. This is nothing like Merida! There are two different processions . The first lead by a group of musicians dressed in early Spanish costumes playing mandolins. They stop at every crossroad and play a piece, bringing traffic and foot traffic to a complete stop. It is bedlam, but no one seems to mind.

If we thought that was bedlam, it was nothing compared to the next procession which tries to cross the Zocalo at 10pm when it is at its most crowded. The procession is led by giant figures, perhaps 15 feet tall in brightly coloured costumes being manipulated by a “puppet master” hiding underneath the skirts. A small group of people surround these figures whirling fireworks over their heads. Behind them is a long procession, its participants all carrying candles inside large coloured plastic flowers, the light of the candles making the flowers glow. Every few yards the crowds force them to a standstill, but then a few more fireworks clear the path ahead

There are vendors everywhere carrying enormous bunches of helium balloons most with a valentine theme. Each vendor must have at least a hundred balloons floating above them and it is hard to believe that they will not become airborne.

The air is alive with the sounds of people having a good time. Courting couples are everywhere as are families with young children. In fact the good times are not limited to any particular group. The entire city is out having fun.
We try to think of an occasion in the States that might be like this but quickly become aware that if there was such a night, no one would feel safe.

More of Oaxaca

We can’t get enough of this city and this morning we wander down to explore the blocks and blocks of market halls near the Zocolo. Each market hall specializes in something. There is the hall full of tourist trinkets, the clothing hall, the farmers market hall, the butchers hall.

There is even a street selling nothing but ladies underwear in every style I can imagine, plus a few styles I haven’t imagined, for which I am forever grateful. Then there is the Mexican fast food hall, full of stalls each one barbecuing thinly cut meat. The hall is enclosed and the barbecue smoke just sits in the building. The smoke is so thick it is hard to see more than a few yards, and breathing is very unpleasant, and yet it is packed with customers and vendors who spend their entire day in there. Our eyes begin to water within moments and we can’t wait to get out.

So get out we do, and in fact drive out of the city to see the World heritage Site of Monte Alban. This is not a character out of La Cage Aux Folles but a city built by the Zapotec people way before the Mayans built Chichen Itza.
Monte Alban was inhabited from 500 BC up to 850 AD. It sits on the top of the highest mountain, looking down on the valleys below and the smaller surrounding mountains. The Indians even modified the mountain tops and hillsides. Elevated areas were cut and leveled in order to construct the most important buildings, and the hillsides were terraced for the less important homes and for crop growing. The architects incorporated the shapes and forms of surrounding hills into their buildings showing a true understanding of aesthetics.
Monte Alban is the largest pre Hispanic city found in the region and represents the first urban plan on the American continent. It is also one of the few sites in the world where the rise of the state system of government can be clearly seen, with the economy based on tributes paid by the surrounding communities.
Because of its situation on top of the mountain, it has superb 360 degree views and is a stunning site. There is a huge central Plaza with a series of monumental architectural complexes surrounding it. Further proof of this advanced society is seen in the two observatory buildings and the fact that surrounding buildings were positioned astronomically.

It is nowhere near as well known as Chichen Itza and doesn’t have that “wow factor” but it certainly seems to me to be every bit as impressive.

Oaxaca

From Ukumal we drive back to Merida and then fly to Oaxaca via Mexico City. It is a long day and we don’t arrive at our Oaxaca Hotel until 11pm.

Our Hotel is the Hotel Casa del Sótano, a small charming hotel, fairly centrally located and very reasonable.

Friday Feb 13th, we spend the day on foot exploring Oaxaca. Everyone raves about this city, and now we know why. This is a city that doesn’t do anything by halves. It grabs you by the heart and doesn’t let go. It assaults all the senses and delights most of them. It is vibrant, crowded, noisy,( very noisy), colourful, surprisingly clean, easy to get around, packed with restaurants, cafes and bars, some good, some not so good, but most of all it is just plain fun. It makes Merida look like a quiet backwater from 40 years ago.

It’s a bustling, fast paced, thriving city and is one of the busiest places we have seen. Traffic is a nightmare and parking is impossible. And along with this comes the petty crime. We are warned several times about leaving our car unattended (we have no choice and fortunately nothing happens). This is the first place we have been where graffiti is a major problem. Much of it is political, but it still defaces and scars an otherwise beautiful city.


It’s a city of contrasts. It is an old city, filled with beautiful 16th century churches, that sit next to fabulous museums with exhibits in beautifully designed rooms.
There is a huge old Zocalo (town square) surrounded by old fashioned Mexican restaurants and bars filled with elderly townsfolk, while down the street there are trendy restaurants in hip surroundings serving modern cuisine to well groomed diners. There are street vendors everywhere, even outside the Parisian Bakery and the café that has been voted the best place in Mexico to get a cappuccino.
Many of the wonderful old stone churches and buildings are designed of stone in three colors. There is a pale green local stone, a natural colored stone and a creamy sandstone. Meanwhile the stuccoed buildings next to them are bright and colourful, painted in reds and greens and blues and mustard.

There are fabulously wealthy people, driving European sports cars past the homeless man without even a pair of shoes. Oaxaca even manages to show us the saddest case of poverty we have come across in our travels. Walking down the middle of a street we see a homeless person almost black with grime, wearing what was once a white T shirt, several sizes too small for him, and nothing else. Absolutely nothing else.

And everywhere there are the artisans,the artists, and their art,that have made this city so famous.