Journey Mexico City to Oaxaca

As we drove out of D.F. we could honestly say, we felt a sense of relief it seems that my blood pressure was back to normal by the change of environment, the mad rush by everyone to everywhere at the same time, toget there first was left behind! at least for a while. Javier studied the map and charted the course down carretera Mex.190, which stretches out in homage to the empty blue sky. We drove into the next Pemex station and its' sidekick, Oxxo store for what has become a morning ritual, fill up with gas and our morning cafecito. About 120 kilometers down Mex.190 we came upon the city of Puebla more precisely known as the Heroic City of "Puebla de Zaragoza". Because of its industry, historical and cultural treasures it one of the most important cities in Mexico, therefore we felt that it would be better to plan an extended trip exclusively to Puebla in a future date.
We continued on to Oaxaca. After a few hrs. of polemic conversation with Javier on various topics we arrived in Oaxaca, and followed the "Monte Alban" roadway, this state has the distinction of having the largest concentration of archaeological sites. The most famous is Monte Alban (a name given to it by the Spaniards in the 17th. century) This was the center of the Zapotec nation which maintained its' political, ideological, economical and religious control over all the other communities. The early settlers were the Mixtec and Zapotec cultures they paved the way for present day Oaxacan culture. In your visit to Mote Alban you will find an array of buildings each with its' unique purpose; religious temples, scientific study, astronomical observations, royalty quarters, ball courts and a museum. Also a museums' store with a plethora of souvenirs, pictures and books of this unforgettable place.











After an instructive morning and a bit of exercises at Monte Alban we drove straight to the town square or "el zocalo" of Oaxaca. We have mentioned before that we always head straight for the zocalo, perhaps a little clarification of what a zocalo is would be helpful. You may remember in your high school classes that the Spaniards conquered Mexico with the "sword and the cross" this concept is illustrated with how the government and the church would work together in building the zocalos, in every Mexican town . The Zocalo or center of a city/town would be established by taking into account the cardinal points and symbology. The cathedral or church would be established usually over Indian religious or burial sites. (i.e spiritual power). On the other side/cardinal point, of the of the church, the municipal buildings (the base of civil power). The square would irradiate throughout the city with the balance between the terrestrial and the sacred; Church & Government Power. The rest of the square is surrounded by coffee houses, restaurants, hotels ice cream parlors, the life in the center of town.
Of all the zocalos I have visited, I consider Oaxacas' zocalo to be the most beautiful. I asked Javier for his opinion, after trying to make his case for the zocalo of his birth city of Zacatecas he reluctantly agreed with me. We found a table to our liking, in front of a colonial style restaurant, shaded by the canopy of enormous Laurel trees and the sounds of water coming from a gigantic water fountain in the center of the park. The waitress approached and said "buenas tardes gustan tomar algo?" Javier responded quickly "si dos negras modelo por favor", remember the best beer in Mexico? He was mesmerized by the natural beauty of the park and began taking pictures. As we looked around all of the people seemed to be doing the same thing we were doing; passing the time, observing the young ladies go by, listening to strolling musicians, saying no to flower vendors or artisans, people enjoying cafecito de la olla or chocolatito caliente or tequilita. For some reason in Spanish some words seem to get the diminutive form (ito or ita) added to them when they are being warmly enjoyed or received.
After a nice lunch we visited "el palcio municipal" and the cathedral, walked around the town looking inside the beautiful colonial buildings and streets.
Javier, being a strong and faithful
member of the Catholic church went into the cathedral for along time. I
think he had a great deal to confess.
so I left him with his thoughts, while I enjoyed another "cervecita" in "el zocalo". Here to the right is Javier coming out of the cathedral. We usually visit all the cathedrals or churches we see in the zocalos. Their historical, religious and artistic value gives us an insight of the struggles in the building of a Nation. We also see the great pain and suffering in the faces people who enter hoping to find solutions to some very personal and difficult problems that can only be solved by a higher power. Some pin a small gift on the cloth or light a candle as a sign of their gratitude to their special saint.










Javier practiced his Spanish and continued his quest of learning continuously the best way to find the roads out of town. He asked at least eight persons "Cual es la mejor carretera para "Tlacotalpan, Veracruz?" Which is the best road out of town to Tlacotalpan, Veracruz. He charted the way and off we went.

Stay tuned...