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The state capital OAXACA sprawls
across a grand expanse of deep-set valley, 1600m above sea level,
some 500km southeast of Mexico City. Its colour, folklore, numerous
fiestas, the huge extent of its indigenous market and its thoroughly
colonial centre combine to make this one of the most popular,
and most rewarding, destinations for travellers, many of whom
come here to study. Even the increase in package tourism and the
pedestrianization of Macedonia Alcal?, the main thoroughfare from
the z?calo to the cathedral, a street now lined with high-class
handicraft and jewellery shops, have done little to destroy the
city's gentle appeal. Furthermore, Oaxaca is also widely seen
as the artistic centre of Mexico, with several state-run and private
galleries, resident artists, art and jewellery master classes
and regular exhibitions (including free ones in the z?calo). In
the market and in shops everywhere, you'll find Oaxaca's trademark
fantastical and fantastically coloured model animals.
Once central to the Mixtec and
Zapotec civilizations, the city later took a lesser role.
Cortes , attracted by the area's natural beauties,
took the title of Marques del Valle de Oaxaca, and until the Revolution
his descendants held vast estates hereabouts. But for practical
purposes, Oaxaca was of little interest to the Spanish, with no
mineral wealth and no great joy for farmers (though coffee was
grown). Nevertheless, by 1796 it had become the third largest
city in Nueva Espa?a, thanks to the export of cochineal and subsequently
textile manufacturing. Meanwhile, the indigenous
population was left to get on with life far more than was generally
the case, with only the interference of a proselytizing Church
to put up with. An earthquake destroyed much of the city in 1854
and the slow rebuilding was shaken to pieces by another quake
in 1931. The city's most famous son, Benito Juarez
, is commemorated everywhere in Oaxaca, a privilege not shared
by Porfirio Diaz , the second most famous Oaxaque?o,
whose dictatorship most people choose to forget.
Nowadays Oaxaca is becoming an industrial
city - the population is well over 200,000, the streets
choked and noisy, with large numbers of people choosing to retreat
here from Mexico City, resulting in an increase in property values
- yet it seems set to remain easy to handle. In the colonial
centre , thanks to strict building regulations, the provincial
charm is hardly affected, and just about everything can be reached
on foot. Provincial it remains, too, in its habits - the big excitements
are dawdling in a caf?, or gathering in the famous zocalo
to stroll and listen to the town band; by eleven at night much
of the city is asleep, although late-night dancers are still going
strong.
Surrounding Oaxaca is some fantastic topography,
making an impressive backdrop to the city skyline at sunset. The
Sierra Madre del Sur enters Oaxaca state from the west, while
the Sierra Madre de Oaxaca runs down from Mexico's central volcanic
belt. The two ranges meet in the centre of the state and between
them, converging in Oaxaca town, lie the three Valles Centrales
