A special invitation is being extended to Sonoma Valley High School students to participate in three volunteer community-led projects to help boost a small this summer and others are also welcome to apply Offered by Sonoma-based Seeds of Learning and the Rotary Club of Sonoma Valley, the opportunity in Teotitlán del Valle is scheduled for Sunday create a medicinal herb garden and establish an outdoor kitchen The Rotary Club of Sonoma Valley is providing funding for the three projects “These initiatives help empower local communities by creating sustainable resources that support education, health and preservation,” said Charles Goodwin said that while the trip is being promoted to attract Sonoma High School students it is also open to other students from the wider Sonoma County community “We ask for volunteers who are under the age of 18 — student volunteers — and their parents to meet with the group leader (Mark Etherington) to be sure that they all understand and are comfortable following Seeds of Learning policies,” she said a member of the Seeds of Learning board of directors has led many of the organization’s trips to Mexico “He understands well what we value here at Seeds of Learning — prioritizing our local relationships and letting local communities lead us in what we do to improve access to education while facilitating cross-cultural exchanges,” Bacon said She said that adults are also welcome to participate in the trip Rotarians and anyone else who is interested in applying,” she said Anyone who wants to apply for the trip can do so by accessing the Seeds of Learning website, https://www.seedsoflearning.org/ The Rotary Club of Sonoma Valley is funding scholarships to help pay part of the expenses for Sonoma Valley High School students who want to participate “These scholarships make the opportunity more accessible to a broader range of students ensuring that financial barriers do not prevent them from engaging in this valuable experience,” Goodwin said “By having Sonoma Valley High School students travel to Teotitlán del Valle to participate in this project we are creating a powerful cultural exchange that benefits both the students and the local community.” He said that building the medicinal herb garden outdoor kitchen and children’s playground are especially meaningful “That’s because they support a remarkable community of women (Vida Nueva) that has overcome significant challenges to create better lives for themselves and others,” Goodwin said the Mexico coordinator for Seeds of Learning said that Vida Nueva consists of Zapotec women who preserve Indigenous weaving traditions while advocating for gender equality environmental sustainability and community resilience “Their work embodies ancestral techniques while addressing contemporary social justices and environmental stewardship,” Cashel said Vida Nueva emerged from the collective need of single mothers and other women striving for economic independence weaving has been a male-dominated art form in Zapotec culture relegating women to the sidelines despite their critical roles in the labor process,” Cashel said “The cooperative was born out of necessity as these women learned how to weave together creating a supportive environment that empowered them to take ownership of their craft.” Cashel said the women of Vida Nueva have long worked in harmony with the natural land dyes and techniques that reflect their intimate relationship with the land,” she said “By weaving with fibers sourced from sheep and using plants and insects from their landscapes for dyeing the cooperative embodies the values of sustainability and ecological awareness Their work serves not only as a cultural expression but also as a living testament to the importance of protecting the environment for future generations.” participants in the summer trip will have opportunities to immerse themselves in the local culture of Teotitlán del Valle we hope volunteers will leave their experience with Seeds of Learning with a strong sense of connection to the people in a place vastly different from their own homes along with a desire to support community-led initiatives Volunteers will be able to observe demonstrations of traditional dyeing and weaving techniques by Vida Nueva participate in tie-dye workshops using natural dyes explore the local market in Teotitlán del Valle and gain insights into the village’s local governance “I think that when people are given the opportunity to experience another culture in a way that allows them to push their limits and comfort around many different things — from food to the climate language and more — they can experience tension volunteers are also learning about and participating in the daily lives of people who are trying to improve their community through education Often getting to be a part of that process and something bigger than ourselves can also result in new perspectives ideas and creative ways of seeing things.” Seeds of Learning was founded in 1991 by Sonoma resident Todd Evans and Patrick Rickon The organization has sent work groups to El Salvador Its mission is to promote quality learning in developing countries in the Americas and to educate its North American constituents about the rich cultural diversity as well as educational and social needs of communities in Central America and Mexico Reach the reporter, Dan Johnson, at daniel.johnson@sonomanews.com. selling fruits and household odds and ends sprawling indoor and street markets in heavily indigenous Oaxaca Here are the best markets in the region where you can find anything from one-of-a-kind artwork to locally produced coffee © Culture Trip Book Oaxaca Market Tours Here Oaxaca City’s Mercado Benito Juárez named after the first indigenous president of the country is also one of the state’s most rightly popular and frequented indoor markets the Mercado Benito Juárez is brimming with pre-prepared mole powders the must-try at this labyrinthine market is the famous chapulín(grasshopper) tacos Look out for the hand-crafted huaraches(leather sandals) elaborately embroidered blouses and household adornments and if you want to avoid the admittedly tourist-elevated prices here simply stop for lunch at one of the numerous stalls that populate the Mercado 20 de Noviembre – the tasajois a must-try Sign up to our newsletter to save up to $800 on our unique trips See privacy policy © Culture Trip Not to be confused with Mexico City’s arguably more famous Mercado La Merced is Oaxaca’s equally named Oaxaca’s iteration of La Merced is known for its mouth-watering Mexican food and antojitos– chilaquiles plus freshly squeezed juice and a wealth of food stalls from which to choose This place is ideal for a leisurely eating experience in Oaxaca © Culture Trip Arguably the most famous Oaxacan market outside of the state capital is the Mercado de Tlacolula, situated just 45 minutes east of Oaxaca City. Now a popular tourist hot spot, there is, of course, plenty of local charm left at this Sunday food and craft market that’s been in operation Hunt for handmade rugs from Teotitlán del Valle and absolutely try some of the region’s mezcal but don’t leave without trying the barbacoa Michael Potts F1 / Shutterstock Book Your Trip to Mexico Mexico is one of the most exciting countries in North America with its lively city streets brimming with culture music and some of the best street food you’ll find anywhere But it’s also a country of fascinating history and amazing natural wonders with Aztec and Mayan temples found right next to mystical cenotes drink and travel writer based out of Mexico but I also dabble in spewing my unsolicited opinions about teabags and pork pies Find more of my work at northernlauren.com Guides & Tips 14 Things You Should Never Say to a Mexican See & Do How to Spend Christmas and New Years in Mexico City Guides & Tips A Guide To The Palacio De Bellas Artes See & Do The Most Beautiful Plazas in Mexico City See & Do Mexico's Most Stunning Lakeside Towns and Villages See & Do The Top 10 Things to See and Do in Tlaxcala See & Do The 10 Best Things to See and Do in Pachuca See & Do Unique Indigenous Towns in Mexico See & Do 16 Must Visit Attractions in Guadelejara See & Do A View of Mexico City Through the Xochimilco Canals See & Do Must-Visit Attractions in the Copper Canyon See & Do The Most Magical Sites to Visit in Mexico US: +1 (678) 967 4965 | UK: +44 (0)1630 35000 tripssupport@theculturetrip.com © Copyright 2025 The Culture Trip Ltd Subscribe Now Chef-led culinary trips bring guests to the flavors of Mexico By Wayne Curtis June/July 2024 Is there a popular restaurant dish that hasn’t been endlessly photographed But be thankful that no one has yet found a way to send taste through your gadget This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply Taking a trip with an accomplished chef is among the most fulfilling ways to bring context to cuisine Chefs put words to flavors and aromas that can be elusive and encourage travelers to understand food through their own experiences and stories building a bridge between near and far.  Here are three tours to expand your gustatory horizons Mezcal Memories The cooking legend Bill Smith ran the kitchen at Crook’s Corner in Chapel Hill for a quarter century and played a pivotal role in elevating Southern cuisine from regional curiosity to national phenomenon—the New York Times once called his restaurant “sacred ground for Southern foodies.” Smith retired in 2019, but in 2022, as the world emerged from the pandemic, his friend Jane Robison recruited him to help launch a food tour in southern Mexico. Robison owns the boutique hotel Casa Colonial in Oaxaca and the first tour was just for friends of theirs “I was planning to do just one,” Smith says but soon more “people who are curious about the world” wanted to join Smith and Robison are now offering tours two or three times a year Dubbed “Bill and Jane’s Amazing Oaxacan Food Tour,” the ten-day adventures involve trips to meet mezcal makers and “the woman who makes candles for the church,” Smith says “But most of it is going to a million restaurants.” and host of a PBS series on Mexican cuisine but the real joy comes from seeing the region through his eyes and we’ve done it so many times the chicken lady knows my name and the shrimp guy hollers at me,” Smith says Among his favorite visits: to an octogenarian mezcal distiller “He makes mezcal so good it makes me cry.” Flavors of France View this post on Instagram A post shared by Rêverie (@reverieforever) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Rêverie (@reverieforever) Cruising the World Those new to culinary tours might prefer more traditional travel options, such as wading into the pool with Windstar. The boutique cruise line has teamed up with the James Beard Foundation to offer five food-themed expeditions in 2025, led by accomplished chefs. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Windstar Cruises® (@windstarcruises) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Windstar Cruises® (@windstarcruises) will lead an island hop through the West Indies Borges’s seven-day jaunt from Aruba to Barbados takes place aboard the 312-passenger Star Pride and will include a chef-hosted dinner and wine pairing Wayne Curtis is the author of And a Bottle of Rum: A History of the New World in Ten Cocktails and has written frequently about cocktails but Julian Van Winkle III provides the lowdown on the sketchiest explanation A young Alabama chef brings community and flawless croissants to a funky strip Experts share the proportions and tricks they swear by The future of conservation in the South just got a little bit brighter—and not just for salamanders but they’re the craftsmanship of local crustaceans called lawn lobsters The drawls are receiving a lot of flak across the internet but a North Carolina linguist argues they’re actually pretty accurate Photographer Eva Lépiz followed families in southern Mexico from where many relatives have migrated to the U.S This article is adapted from AQ’s special report on the battle over fake news Stories of migration often attract attention—and deservedly so—for their dramatic combination of hope But there is always a parallel story about those who are left behind Eva Lépiz portrays life in Teotitlán del Valle a town of 6,000 people in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca that has seen large outward flows of migration to the U.S community life and religious rituals continue—but not without a melancholy that comes with the absence of loved ones especially in this Zapotec-influenced culture that puts such great emphasis on the extended family Americas Quarterly (AQ) is the premier publication on politics We are an independent publication of the Americas Society/Council of the Americas PUBLISHED BY AMERICAS SOCIETY/ COUNCIL OF THE AMERICAS the design includes two principal buildings and a large public plaza which complement the existing public squares and urban structure of the village all images by luis gallardo the principal volume faces the village square and houses the museum the building will exhibit the collections and host events for the ‘teotitlán museum of history’ the project is governed by the aesthetics of the immediate context the secondary volume contains the municipal library and a service zone the design includes two principal buildings and a large public plaza both buildings occupy a relatively small area of the site (18% of the total surface area) allowing for a large outdoor space with a public plaza and gardens the cultural center’s public program thus improves pedestrian routes and serves to connect the main square of the village with a circuit of existing plazas local materials such as pigmented concrete and clay were employed the interiors present a diverse range of lighting conditions the interiors present a diverse range of lighting conditions and spatial qualities suitable for a variety of activities. a minimal palette of local materials was employed in order to integrate the building with its surroundings. pigmented concrete, timber, and clay tiles are employed throughout the design, demonstrating a sustainable and local use of materials.  timber, clay tiles and bricks are used for the construction the museum will host exhibits dedicated to the celebration of the local history passive lighting techniques were applied in the design  the large public spaces links to the village’s network of plazas the public spaces will host a range of community events for the village happening now! partnering with antonio citterio, AXOR presents three bathroom concepts that are not merely places of function, but destinations in themselves — sanctuaries of style, context, and personal expression. Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Doña Viviana Alávez is the matriarch who presides over the crafting of elaborate ceremonial beeswax candles that the Mexican village is known for Doña Viviana is both a trailblazer and the guardian of this timeless artisanal tradition whose origins lie in an ancient wedding ritual whose founding in the 15th century predates the arrival of the Spanish in Mexico If a family didn’t approve of a match for their daughter it wasn’t uncommon for a groom to “steal away” with his chosen bride only for the couple to later return in an act of performative contrition (It is easier to beg for forgiveness than to ask for permission.) Armed with presents for the bride’s family and accompanied by a town elder willing to broker peace the young lovers would lead a large procession of family and friends to the doorstep of the bride’s parents with everyone carrying one of these stunning the centuries-old ceremonial tradition has persisted “The great meaning and symbolism of the candles has not been lost,” Bibiana Hernández Mendoza The candles are known as “velas tradicionales de concha,” for the seashell-inspired shapes of their ornamentation “They are part of a great symbol of prosperity and abundance for the new couple,” Hernández Mendoza explained Doña Viviana created her first vela at the age of eight using the molds her grandmother had inherited from her mother before her Doña Viviana spent her entire childhood at her grandmother’s side Quality was always a driving force for Doña Viviana path as both an artist and an entrepreneur candle-making families were not fiscally compensated for their work instead surviving on a barter system where they produced these candles for the Catholic Church in exchange for food The system left many candlemakers impoverished; some simply abandoned the trade Doña Viviana’s husband fell ill and she was left to raise her two sons and daughter largely on her own Necessity prompted her to buck tradition: She would find a market for her stunning candles outside of the Church and beyond the borders of their village “She was the sole source of income and the only way for our family to get ahead,” her son José Hernández Alávez recalled “In the old days in the candle-making community Doña Viviana was even more marginalized for daring to express her ideas and to commercialize her work.” Undeterred by the reaction it stirred in her hometown Not only was she able to support her family but she single-handedly revived the region’s legendary candle-making industry Doña Viviana once again did the unthinkable not just to members of her family as was the custom but also to women in the village or the surrounding area interested in apprenticing with her and learning the tradition of making these candles and determined to drive her from the trade the village elders confiscated many of Doña Viviana’s wood molds This seeming tragedy proved to only be a blessing in disguise Able to preserve just a handful of her heirloom molds “It was there where creativity arose,” Doña Viviana recalled in Zapotec to her son and granddaughter “I looked to nature and had the idea to disassemble some natural flowers to (make molds) and be able to create the large and small roses that the candles now have.” Moving beyond the traditional seashell patterns her new designs nod to tradition while speaking to the future Doña Viviana saw as rescuing the legacy of making these candles “At Viviana’s house,” her granddaughter explained “teamwork is very important and we all contribute ideas everyone does work equally—women and men.” Doña Viviana speaks with pride of the fact that if you know how to make candles in the village of Teotitlán del Valle you most assuredly learned at Casa Viviana her ingenuity not only has expanded her family’s livelihood but also provided one for many women in the area changing the face of candle-making in Teotitlán which sits on a quiet street in Teotitlán del Valle the proprietor of Casa Viviana made her first candle at the age of eight The molds she uses are a mix of heirloom molds A moment in the sun with Doña Viviana Alávez and her family Doña Viviana expanded on the traditional shell candle design by using flowers as inspiration for her molds From the shaping of the petals to the coloring of the wax everything is done by hand using the same methods for generations it is molded into discs to be bleached in the sun The flat disks are attached to spikes on branches of the Huizache tree and left on the roof for a minimum of 15 days until they are bleached white by the sun Dahlias made with bees wax dyed with cochineal -- an insect harvested from cactus a new candle design by Bibiana -- the granddaughter of Viviana -- bathed in the same wax colored with Cochineal then placed in water to cool before being further manipulated The pineapple candles are made with unbleached wax the pineapple leaves are dipped in naturally colored wax mixed with indigo Here lime is used as a fixer for the natural colorant Doña Viviana Alávez preparing the outer leaves for the button roses which will adorn the vela de concha The wicks prepared prior the pouring process The completed candles before the bottoms have been trimmed Petra bathing the candles in indigo dyed wax All of the candles are made from beeswax sourced from Chiapas it can be used for about 30 minutes before it begins to solidify and needs to be put over the fire again Doña Viviana Alávez prepares the base for the vela de concha It takes about three weeks to finish the base and roughly 400 pours of wax Doña Viviana Alávez assembling a vela de concha arrangement Alávez's designs are inspired by the local flora Graciela Contreras Mendoza is a picture of concentration as she leans over her loom deftly weaving different colored threads into a rug she’s making “I made my first rug when I was ten,” she said and about 150 families in Teotitlán del Valle a pueblo about 20 miles from the city of Oaxaca are well known for the quality of their textiles Weaving in the pueblo dates back hundreds of years “It is a work that we carry in our blood,” she said but its current name is actually from Nahuatl and means “land of the gods.” Its original name was Xaquija Children start learning to weave here typically as young as eight or 10 years old we learn how to comb the wool,” said Contreras “Then we learn how to wash the wool and make the string.” Most of the wool that’s used here comes from sheep raised in other states the wool is gathered into a ball and then made into string who was working with her friend Marcela Cruz Lazo in their small workshop pomegranates and cochinilla,” Bautista said Once the various dyes are ground into a fine powder The wool is then soaked in the dyes for three days it takes about a year to learn how to weave “To make a more complicated piece takes up to two years [of training],” said Rigoberto Martínez a weaver whose family has a store in Oaxaca across the street from the Santo Domingo Cathedral “The large pieces are made by experts with more ability All one needs is ingenuity — or that is to say — one must be very intelligent to make the designs Some designs come from books and others from imagination.” Teotitlán del Valle was one of the first pueblos settled by the Zapotecs whose walls are carved with intricate designs Those designs are often incorporated into the rugs “There are ancient designs that are part of our history,” said Contreras “We work with Zapotecan designs that are based on the ruins in the pueblo I like to innovate and create new pieces because it bores me to make always make the same thing While some weavers will first draw their designs on paper “My drawings are in my head,” she explained Each family has its unique set of designs and “The men make the most complicated designs because they’re dedicated to this work,” said Cruz “The women do not have the time because they have to take care of their homes Weaving knowledge and the designs used aren’t the only things handed down through time “The looms that we use have been passed down from generation to generation,” said Contreras “We only do maintenance on the ones that require it.” Although Cruz believes that most of the pueblo’s youth have learned how to weave she said that some have less interest in it “The girls now make only a few [rugs] because they go to school,” she said the women would weave from when they were little [and] they did not talk about going to school.” given that there are dozens of stores where rugs can be bought it doesn’t appear that the craft is in danger of dying out The road leading into town from the main highway is lined with a number of stores but Martínez said they’re not the best place to buy anything they sell their rugs at a very high price since they work with tourist guides.” He suggested continuing on into the pueblo But beautiful textiles aren’t the only attractions here Zapotecan for “Shadow of the Old Pueblo” or “House of the Old Pueblo.” In addition to rooms with the expected exhibits about weaving and photographs of daily life in the pueblo there’s an impressive collection of pre-Hispanic figures Some of the pieces on display have Olmec designs and are thought to date to 500 B.C A short distance from the museum is the Preciosa Sangre de Cristo church which was started in 1581 but wasn’t completed until 1758 The church was built on top of a Zapotecan temple Several large stones with Zapotecan designs were incorporated into the exterior walls of the church there’s an archeological site where the remains of the indigenous temple can still be seen The church’s interior contains a large number of lovely polychrome statues of saints The majority of residents earn their income from weaving “It is better to make the textiles because sometimes in the field there is no harvest,” he said “Textiles are more secure and we can also trade for what we need.” But most people still farm and that’s what helped them get through the pandemic Teotitlán del Valle was adversely affected by the pandemic and we could not sell our carpets,” said Contreras “The pueblo survived because we have agriculture.” Teotitlán del Valle is a very traditional pueblo “We did not speak Spanish until we went to school Martínez is proud of his pueblo and his heritage and they originated this type of work,” he said “It is like a gift that our ancestors gave to us ADVERTISE WITH MND COMMUNITY GUIDELINES Subscription FAQ's Privacy Policy Mexico News Daily - Property of Tavana LLC Around the globe, thousands of languages are considered endangered – that's according to the language reference website Ethnologue In many cases the people who speak them are passing away and younger generations aren’t learning them But a pair of language scholars from the University of Colorado are working to stop these endangered languages from slipping away Zapotec is a family of languages that originated in Southern Mexico and Central America And even though about 500,000 people speak a form of Zapotec Professor Ambrocio Gutierrez grew up speaking Zapotec and now leads this effort at CU Boulder along with his colleague Professor Rai Ferrelly Their work focuses on a particular version of the language They spoke with Erin O’Toole about their work – which includes writing a kind of dictionary for the language as well as teaching others to speak Zapotec Janet Chávez Santiago working with language expert Froylan Carreño in Teotitlán del Valle to add names for local birds to the Talking Dictionary Screen shot of the Teotitlán del Valle Zapotec Talking Dictionary app "Word of the Day," showing the number tiop "two." Users can listen to the word of the day and navigate the entire dictionary through the app on their android phone learning from Teotitlán del Valle language expert Rocío Mendoza and adding words to the Talking Dictionary in Oaxaca Talking Dictionary work in Teotitlán del Valle Oaxaca with the local indigenous radio volunteers and their family Tri-Co faculty include Jamie Thomas (second from left) and and Brook Danielle Lillehaugen (fifth from left) May Helena Plumb (HC '16) and Janet Chávez Santiago working together to add words to the Talking Dictionary This is the story of the creation of a Zapotec Talking Dictionary designed to help revitalize a native language on the verge of disappearing I'm Brook Lillehaugen, a professor who holds a joint appointment at Swarthmore and Haverford. Working with students, alumni, and community members, I led a project to build the aforementioned Zapotec Talking Dictionary app to help revitalize the endangered Zapotec language of Mexico This dictionary is part of a larger Talking Dictionary project directed by K David Harrison at Swarthmore that contains hundreds of TDs for small or threatened languages around the world I'm Janet Chávez Santiago and I'm from Teotitlán del Valle a Zapotec town located in the Valley near the city of Oaxaca For the past several years I've been working with this variant of Zapotec which we learn as kids in our houses from our parents and/or grandparents I focus on teaching Zapotec as a second language to non-speakers Since Zapotec (and indigenous languages in general in Mexico) is not a language that we learn in school due to issues related to politics and the education system itself literary or any other kind of material in the language and if anything does exist it is either out of reach to the speakers or it is on a different variant of the language By Brook Lillehaugen and Janet Chávez Santiago Spring 2017 / Issue III / Volume CXIV Web Exclusives In addition to these more concrete impacts publishing Zapotec language on the internet is a statement in and of itself Sometimes Zapotec languages are disparaged Some people wrongly say Zapotec languages aren't "real" languages—that they are dialectos—something lower than a language People might say Zapotec can't be written or shouldn't be written and that it serves no purpose outside of the pueblo listening to it online helps to push back against all of these falsehoods—Zapotec languages are real JANET CHÁVEZ SANTIAGO: The Zapotec Talking Dictionary has had various positive impacts One of them is that it can be accessed by anyone who has access to the internet (through a computer a cellphone or a tablet device.) But most important is that this project is an open source that actively includes native speakers and gives them credit for their contribution so then the project itself becomes part of the community and their own benefit The collaboration between experts of the language speakers and linguists is a bridge that complements the knowledge for all of them It has been a constant learning collaboration and hopefully an encouragement for younger generations to enjoy the local richness of their language What makes you proudest of it and where it's going?BROOK LILLEHAUGEN: The method that we're using to build these linguistic resources We are working collaboratively and inclusively—with large Language experts can record one word or a hundred David Harrison and his team designed allows for micro-attestations—each lexical entry can be credited to an individual This allows for transparency and real acknowledgement of the expertise behind the dictionary This summer I'll be in Oaxaca with students collaborating on the dictionary The android app has been well received and so this will be an opportunity for even more collaboration JANET CHÁVEZ SANTIAGO: Five years ago when I started teaching Zapotec I had almost nothing in terms of pedagogical material to support my students Nowadays the Talking Dictionary has become a very important tool that I can refer my students to so they can be more independent in their own process of learning They can also request or suggest what they want to see and hear in the dictionary can record the words they feel are important to document and share The intention is to grow the dictionary in terms of words and images and by including more speakers as encouragement to keep speaking the language The inclusion of monolingual Zapotec speakers allows us to record those words that others of us are forgetting JANET CHÁVEZ SANTIAGO: Hopefully we can have the needed support in order to develop an app for iPhone/iPad Peter Andreas ’87's new book is spellbinding… Mexican emigration to the U.S. is a hot topic these days. While the available research literature on the subject is often focused on remittances and how that money is used, Cydni Gordon, a senior at Virginia Commonwealth University is more interested in the impact on the people It started on her first trip to Oaxaca for a service-learning program through VCU Globe in 2014. “I became fascinated with the culture and people there,” said Gordon, who is a triple major in psychology, broadcast journalism and African American studies as well as an Honors College student “I heard stories about people traveling to the U.S — the stories were always really intense and very emotional Gordon returned to Oaxaca last May as part of the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program summer fellowship to conduct her study “Left Behind: Exploring the Impact of Migration on Individuals Families and the Village Community of Teotitlán del Valle.” With the help of her mentor Rosalie Corona, Ph.D., associate professor in VCU’s Department of Psychology within the College of Humanities and Sciences she put together a set of qualitative interview questions to understand how village life and family roles are shifting due to migration and also to get a clear picture of the culture and way of life there Gordon conducted the interviews in Spanish and Spanish was not always the first language for her indigenous subjects I was really nervous and stuck to the prepared questions,” she said “It was a fast learning curve and I got really comfortable talking to people and they were comfortable telling me their stories Corona notes Gordon’s development as a researcher: “Cydni has demonstrated an ability to design a study and to implement the study protocol with fidelity,” she said. “She also brings a wonderful personal style which is especially important in our Latino-focused lab and projects.” Most of the people Gordon sought out were women who end up taking on both mother and father roles on top of running the house and finances when their husbands leave It creates a significant shift in family dynamics and gender roles; sometimes “A lot of the men [who migrate north] find new families to be with and the wife has no way of knowing if the husband is coming back,” Gordon said was that the villagers aren’t leaving on a whim They live in relative poverty and rely on tourism dollars by selling handmade crafts When a family member risks crossing the border it’s to find work so they can send money home to their families Gordon is hoping to cultivate a more empathetic dialogue around emigration to the U.S “We have people here who want to build walls,” she said It’s not an easy thing to make that decision to literally cross a mountain by foot and pay coyotes [smugglers] and you don’t know if you’re going to make it You don’t know if you’re going to see your kids again.” and also the challenges of coordinating interviews with people in rural villages Gordon’s sample size shrank from 30 to nine — currently too small for publishing results in a journal or to influence policy “When I realized that getting 30 people was not going to work out accepting that and getting as much out of it as I could,” she said Corona was impressed with Gordon’s commitment to the project “I have no idea when she finds time to rest because she is always finding more projects to work on,” she said “She is a wonderful student researcher and this project will help Cydni demonstrate that she is ready to work more independently as a researcher.” Gordon hopes to return to Teotitlán del Valle to conduct more interviews She believes her findings could feed into other work on the topic “Maybe this is the kind of research that could help them because we haven’t figured out [how to solve the problem] and it’s just been going on so long,” she said “Mexican migration is not going to stop.” Subscribe to VCU News at newsletter.vcu.edu and receive a selection of stories news clips and event listings in your inbox Real research: Alexander Ip is studying how the silk from silk moth cocoons can be used to make a structure for growing stem cells Real research: Cassie Sun’s research aims to revive a traditional disappearing embroidery technique from Qinghai Real research: Danielle Nogle and Emily Johnson are studying ways to improve oral health in low socioeconomic communities through education Pope Francis’ legacy may be a ‘bridge between tradition and modernity’ Brian Brown named VCU School of Business dean Class of 2025: That guy driving the hot dog who oversaw the launch of VCU’s bachelor’s program in photography Class of 2025: Advanced nursing degree gives Brooke Gore a chance to truly graduate RVA native Everette Taylor brings grit and empathy to dream role as Kickstarter CEO Class of 2025: Felicia Fowler relishes the long journey to her VCU degree Certain traits in romantic partners can amplify the impact of a person’s genetic risk for alcohol problems There are currently 7,164 languages worldwide; however, this number is decreasing each year. According to Ethnologue, a research center for language intelligence and more than 90% of current languages will be extinct by 2050 there is an effort to fight against language extinction One of these efforts is based at the University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder) With a grant from the Office for Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship (PACES) Associate Teaching Professor Rai Farrelly and Assistant Professor Ambrocio Gutiérrez Lorenzo are working together with community members and CU Boulder students to support and sustain efforts to revitalize the use of the variety of Zapotec within Teotitlán del Valle this poster illustrates the Zapotec translation for the English word “blue” in the center surrounded by other Zapotec translations for places and things that are also blue The places and things were selected based on what students would recognize in their communities Beginning with her graduate studies in Utah Farrelly was involved in efforts to revitalize Shoshone and Goshute through developing materials and training teachers   Farrelly realized not only the importance of language documentation and revitalizations but also the difficulties involved with such an endeavor due to the oral tradition of most Indigenous languages there is often a lack of a written form—and therefore “The pedagogy piece is important,” said Farrelly without a way to teach it and materials through which to deliver it it’s kind of just a place for linguists to learn about the language.”   are colleagues in the Department of Linguistics at CU Boulder They joined forces to develop a Global Seminar based in Teotitlán del Valle where CU Boulder students had a chance to not only learn the variety of Zapotec in the community but also assist teachers of Zapotec in assembling and creating materials Isabelle Altman is one of the master’s students at CU Boulder who attended the 2024 Global Seminar gaining not only valuable insight into language revitalization in practice but also the importance of collaboration on such a project “I consider myself to be a documentary and revitalization linguist,” said Altman I didn’t realize the importance of language learning pedagogy and curriculum design in a revitalization endeavor I got to collaborate with students with a variety of specialties including Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) I believe that this collaboration between different areas allowed this project to be especially strong and effective in our creation of materials and connection with the community around us.”   As a prior research collaborator with Gutiérrez Lorenzo Altman joined the Global Seminar to expand upon her academic career but found she appreciated the community-engaged approach of the project stating that not only is it “unique” but also “extremely valuable.” Altman reflected “By connecting and collaborating with the community in question decisions can be made that involve everyone but more importantly the community and its speakers This Global Seminar provided Farrelly with another rich opportunity for community-engaged scholarship “The most important thing about community-engaged scholarship is that it’s driven by the community,” Farrelly explained “A lot of academics come in with an idea of what they want to do PACES puts a lot of emphasis on mutual exchange especially the approach taken by Farrelly and Gutiérrez Lorenzo relies heavily on input from the Teotitlán del Valle community The community determines its needs and goals guiding the direction of the project while collaborating with CU Boulder students to create much-needed materials and strategies for teaching the language gain valuable skills and a new level of empathy and understanding of Mexico that “feeds into their awareness and understanding of what’s happening right now” in the U.S what we’re able to do is hire two graduate students in linguistics to build this online Zapotec resources hub where we’re having three entrance points: one for linguists or people interested in the language one for the teachers of the language and one for students,” said Farrelly it’s going to be this really cool repository of materials and language hopefully audio files and just different resources for Zapotec.”  The online hub has been a great source of collaborative work both between CU Boulder students from different disciplines and community members within Teotitlán del Valle a collaborator within the Teotitlán community uses the PACES stipend to continue teaching the Teotitlán variety of Zapotec year-round using the resources within the online hub Along with creating colorful posters and books to teach Zapotec Gutiérrez Lorenzo and their team hope to expand their Zapotec Learning Hub and generate some excitement about the language she hopes that the team will create “some model or mechanism that really works with Zapotec” and can encourage other linguists and communities to apply what she has learned for revitalizing other endangered languages around the world But why does it matter if some languages are lost “Language is such a big part of our identity,” said Farrelly “What’s encoded in all of those languages is a lot of information—about nature the history of the world—that will all get lost if we lose the language This summer, Farrelly and Gutiérrez Lorenzo will again lead their Language Revitalization Global Seminar to Teotitlán del Valle, where they will continue to develop materials and teaching approaches to revitalize this specific variety of Zapotec within the community. For more information, visit the Global Seminar page Rose Litman Research Laboratory (RL1) 1560 30th Street 179 UCB Boulder, CO 80303 engagedscholarship@colorado.eduX (Twitter) | Facebook University of Colorado Boulder Privacy • Legal & Trademarks • Campus Map University of Colorado Boulder For The Wild preserves Earth's natural communities through land conservation Register: Earthly Reads Book Study \u2192 We use cookies to track visits to our website and to help our website run effectively Photo by Dixza Rugs of a vibrantly-colored handwoven piece titled “Beni Shuub: Corn People” representing the Tree of Life by Jacinto Gutiérrez shown in front of a corn field located in Teotitlan del Valle Grounding this conversation within Teotitlan del Valle in Oaxaca brings listeners into an insightful conversation on the value of craftwork that connects us to the past and plants seeds for the future Samuel outlines the weaving traditions of the Benzaa people offering insight into a trade and lifeway shaped intimately by ancestry and the land.  Ayana and Samuel open up a compelling conversation surrounding topics of tourism and the unique situation of rural communities amidst rapid globalization and commercialization How can we pass on the values of slow and sustainable living?  Samuel emphasizes the importance of creating connection and meaning with the objects we need to sustain life this means creating clothes that speak to the future we desire and the past we share and creating rugs that carry forth the symbols and stories of his ancestors In an age of mass alienation and mass consumption intimately knowing our relationship to the objects that sustain and to the land that provides is a radical act.  How might we cultivate such connections within our lives Photo of Samuel Batista Lazo by Erica Camille Samuel Bautista Lazo is a Benzaa (Zapotec) weaver from Teotitlan del Valle In 2013 he obtained his PhD in Engineering from the University of Liverpool in the UK doing research in the topic of Sustainable Manufacturing Samuel's research focused on finding ways to help industry mimic nature (where there is no waste); he created tools that engineers can use to guide them in their approach to transform waste into profitable co-products that stay within industrial loops and help build a circular economy Samuel decided to go back home and connect back with his community and family weaving heritage Being back home struck a chord in his life and made him realize that his community was already practicing an ancient form of Sustainable Manufacturing that is still alive in the many craft traditions of the Central Valleys of Oaxaca and the eight regions in his state Samuel has rooted even more within his community and family weaving business and from there and through the language of the ancient textiles he spends a great deal of time teaching educating and planting the seeds for creating a future that heals the relationship of humans with the web of life Join us on Patreon for an extended version of this episode ♫ The music featured in this episode is "Snow Knows White" and "Coyote With the Flowering Heart" by Mariee Siou Episode #40: Samuel Bautista Lazo on Coming Back to the Corn During Pandemic, Destructive Corporate Intrusion on Indigenous Communities in Mexico — Of Sedge & Salt  Dixza Rugs and Organic Farm: Weaving Worlds Together — Tharawat Magazine Dixza Rugs and Organic Farm Start making your own clothes from scratch Visit or volunteer at an animal fiber farm Start mending and sewing your own clothes.. The Gospel of the Toltecs: The Life and Teachings of Quetzalcoatl by Frank Diaz Fifth Sun: A New History of the Aztecs by Camila Townsend Subscribe to For The Wild RSS →Listen on Apple, Spotify, or another platform → For The Wild is a slow media organization dedicated to land-based protection, co-liberation, and intersectional storytelling. We are rooted in a paradigm shift away from human supremacy, endless growth, and consumerism. As we dream towards a world of grounded justice and reciprocity, our work highlights impactful stories and deeply-felt meaning making as balms for these times. All Rights Reserved © document.write(new Date().getFullYear()) For The Wild™ a ninth-generation artisan known internationally for his colorful work combines traditional techniques and modern influences up-to-the-minute voice in all things travel Condé Nast Traveler is the global citizen’s bible and muse We understand that time is the greatest luxury which is why Condé Nast Traveler mines its network of experts and influencers so that you never waste a meal or a hotel stay wherever you are in the world near the heart of the town of Teotitlán del Valle Liliana Ruiz López and her family run a candlemaking workshop called Velas San Pascual but the family has been passing down the tradition of candlemaking for three generations “most of the candlemakers here in Teotitlán inherited work from our great-grandparents.” And the generations of knowledge passed down shows: their stunning creations hang from the walls and fill tables in an abundant feast for the eyes Nor are the colors random: each different color represents specific personality traits — white for purity where the practical side of the workshop is located The air is sweet with the aroma of locally sourced beeswax in the process of melting The naturally yellow wax is made into thin bowls by dipping a jicara (gourd) into the liquid These bowls are then put in the sun to bleach creating a white base to color with natural dyes her cousins worked on intricate wax flowers They were making petals by using wooden molds dipped in hot wax before submerging them in cold water Originally these candles were known as velas de concha (shell candles) because shells were used as molds to make the flowers The flowers are then attached to the base of tall candle stems to make an ornate arrangement They make the stem by hanging cotton wicks from a suspended metal ring building up layers: ceremonial candles can be almost 2 meters tall taking hundreds of wax “baths,” and weeks of patient work these candles were used as part of a marriage proposal ritual it is important to carry these candles as symbols of spirituality and to unite the family of the bride and groom is what will guide the path of that couple,” she said Liliana recalls that when her husband Gregorio Montaño Pablo proposed It’s very nice to be part of this tradition.” The other main reason to make candles was for the Catholic Church These candles were expected to be a donation One of the first candlemakers to counter this tradition was maestra Viviana she began to sell candles to support her family The controversy led Viviana to be marginalized for many years and the restrictions led to innovation in her candles Now she is an inspiration to many and has helped revive the practice of candlemaking Her efforts paved the way for workshops like San Pascual and now the elegant candles of Teotitlán can be found around the world The English translation of Zapotec is “language From the clouds.” Samuel Bautista Lazo is traveling in the U.S. the 7,500-person town of Teotitlán del Valle has a unique trait: around 85 percent of its citizens are weavers “I grew up learning how to speak Zapotec and Spanish,” Bautista Lazo says “Zapotec means ‘words from the clouds.’“ The majority of the Teotitlán del Valle community speak Zapotec a language that groups the sounds of words for objects that are seemingly unrelated and the word for fire is gui,” Bautista Lazo says He says the sounds and vibrations present in the words in Zapotec are connected to the inherent relationships between the real-life characteristics of the objects that the words describe flower could be as powerful as fire,” Bautista Lazo says “The beauty of a fire is like a flower The strength of the metal is like that of the rock Bautista Lazo says that since Zapotec is a tonal language a slightly different intonation of a certain sound can mean something totally different “We have words like yú which means earth,” Bautista Lazo says “and the word for house is yú When we ask someone ‘how are you,’ we ask shinuulu’ how are you grounded on this earth?’” is a weaver from Teotitlán del Valle and is currently traveling to share the culture and weaving heritage of his community ©2024 Texas Standard. A service of the Moody College of Communication at the University of Texas at Austin | Contact us Join our newsletter to receive regular updates on our stories Orbis Terra Media GmbH will use the information you provide on this form to be in touch with you and to provide Newsletter updates Please let us know all the ways you would like to hear from us: You can change your mind at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in the footer of any email you receive from us or by contacting us at info@tharawat-magazine.com We will treat your information with respect For more information about our privacy practices please visit our website you agree that we may process your information in accordance with these terms Norma Schafer watched the effects in Teotitlán del Valle is steeped in tradition and a simple way of life The state of Oaxaca is full of tiny villages like this and people were starting food banks,” said Norma lined up and waiting for food … it occurred to me there would be a need in Oaxaca for masks.” A self-described textile lover and collector who sews Norma has lived in Teotitlán del Valle since 2007 and been active within the community to support and promote their ancient arts Making masks seemed like the natural way for her to help She saw that a few local seamstresses were making masks to sell and had the idea to raise money to fund these women giving them a source of income while also providing much-needed masks in Oaxaca city Norma wanted to get the masks to “regular” people: street vendors Tightly woven 100% cotton is not common in Mexico and traditional manta is too porous to be effective Eventually she connected with Pátzcuaro resident Cherie Verber many offered either to send fabric or make masks and send those “It’s a question of production and distribution figuring out who has the highest need when Her goal was to enlist helpers and get masks to the many villages around Oaxaca city She knew they’d need hundreds of masks – which would be distributed free — plus money to pay local people to hand them out But she quickly realized something else was needed “Many people here don’t believe there’s a virus,” she said Many are uneducated and poor and need to continue working to feed their families Most have no savings to carry them through.” So she created informative hang-tags that are pinned to each mask in Spanish and the indigenous Zapotec language explaining why it’s vital to use the mask to prevent the spread of infection and save lives “We can’t force people to wear them,” she said “Some people are older and superstitious of anything that reeks of government intervention and know that we’re not going to win every single battle.” One passed out masks to farmers and field workers whose livelihoods have been devastated because of restaurants closing resident Cristy Molina has four local seamstresses making masks which she delivers to tiny villages around the city Tlacolula tour operator Eric Ramírez found a seamstress to make 200 masks and then distributed them in the local market took 300 masks to mezcal makers in remote villages Retired journalist Gail Pellett mobilized her seamstress and got masks on every taxi driver who entered or left the small town of San Agustin Etla where she lives Karen Nein made 200 masks that Norma sent to San Martín Tilcajete a small village known for making traditional alejibres carved and painted phantasmagorical creatures Hundreds of masks were sent to an Episcopal church to distribute to people who live in the dump in Zaachila receiving shipments of masks and fabric at her centrally located home where other volunteers can easily pick them up Norma felt like “command central.” And by May 20 the tally was impressive: almost 20 volunteers making masks in two countries; 10 people organizing local seamstresses and distributing the masks in 17 different villages and Oaxaca city A total of 2,480 masks had been made and distributed “We can touch so many with so little!” said Norma who added that a donation of $25 will buy and distribute 10 masks with hang-tags “And with the dollar even stronger and the peso much weaker I would encourage readers to find a place in Mexico they can support an organization that is feeding people.” coronavirus cases were soaring in Oaxaca and the state’s Health Minister warned that an even bigger increase is expected in October Although many small villages have shut themselves off to non-residents the tiny town of Maquilxochitl announced its first case May 19 “This is not over; another wave is coming,” said Norma She’s continuing to monitor public health in Oaxaca and her village and has partnered with two other organizations to include mask distribution along with despensas (bags of food basics) • For information and updates about the Oaxaca Mask Project: http://oaxacaculture.com • To donate: www.paypal.me/oaxacaculture Janet Blaser is a frequent contributor to Mexico News Daily The importance of ritual candles is celebrated in many cultures across the world Their beauty is hidden in the hope and magic that persists until the last ray of beeswax-powered light and the tradition preserves valuable ancestral storytelling and history in all its kaleidoscopic and ornamental mastery is upheld by a single Mexican pueblo (village) in Oaxaca The village’s female artisans don’t just make candlesticks they make sculptures; works of art known as velas tradicionales de concha shell and womb-inspired arrangements that have been used in wedding ceremonies for centuries one local woman’s influence not only continues to preserve this ceremonial handcraft of beeswax candles but propels and empowers local female artisans so often overlooked for their craft In Zapotec culture it was traditionally common to steal the bride if her family was not in accord with the union the groom and his family would then ask for forgiveness no pidas permiso,” ask for forgiveness not permission says a colloquial Mexican saying still widely used in daily conversation Remorse was paid when the groom’s family and the town elder would parade to the bride’s family home with an altar of candles showing goodwill and intention the craft of candle making and their significance linger at religious ceremonies and weddings But we can’t talk about the tradition’s history today without talking about the matriarch Doña Viviana who wears her grey hair in two tehuana braids laced with colourful string She has been creating candle sculptures in her family home since she was 8-years old While most Teotitlán artisanal spaces are differentiated with loud storefronts, hers is her actual house where her family lives, indistinct from the neighbouring homes. As her art has reached quite a bit of international accolade she continues a humble practice with her entire family at her side Casa Viviana now houses four generations of female artisan candlemakers Doña Viviana broke the tradition according to the town elders when she opened her workshop to local women interested in learning the craft While most are familiar with Mexican Virgin Mary candle sticks Zapotec candles feature no plastic religious illustration and more figures that reflect the colourful nature of the culture Some of Viviana’s creations can stand as tall as 6 feet and weigh 30 pounds The process of Oaxacan candle-making is a tasking and time-hefty procedure It begins with the beeswax first moulded into discs and bleached in the sun on a dry tree brand transforming its original mustard colour into an off-white Local colorants including Oaxacan indigo and cochinilla grain dye are used to colour the wax Both colorants are quite spectacular in that they can be transformed into almost any tint with a bit of lime juice The colourways have become quite an artistic endeavour with each artisan’s skills also judged by their colours and ability to blend natural pigments It is also one of the most sustainable ways of dyeing Some fashion brands have adopted this colouring process to bring a more a sustainable element to their production The beeswax is then shaped and/or poured into wooden molds Vertical candles are hung on a scale like structure and covered in close to a hundred layers of beeswax in a continuous process that spans several days Every layer must rest and harden before the next is poured on This is also a chance to explore colour-freedom in creating colour illusions and even gradient candle sticks The sculptural candles that feature shapes of flowers used for concha ceremony arrangements are each perfected by hand If you don’t make it out to Teotitlán, these traditional Zapotec candles have found their way to the big city, on the shelves of craft boutiques as far as Brooklyn, New York Last Updated on December 15, 2021 by Angelika Pokovba Porfirio Gutiérrez hiked into the mountains above his village with his family each fall collecting the plants they would use to make colorful dyes for blankets and other woven goods a type of marigold that turned the woolen skeins a buttercream color; jarilla leaves that yielded a fresh green; and tree lichen known as old man’s beard that dyed wool a yellow as pale as straw "We’d talk about the stories of the plants," Gutiérrez what’s the perfect timing to collect them." Gutiérrez is descended from a long line of weavers His father taught him to weave as a child; he even wove the backpack he took to school In the small village of Teotitlan del Valle near Oaxaca he and his family are among a small group of textile artisans working to preserve the use of plant and insect dyes — techniques more than a millennium old from the indigenous Zapotec tradition Textile artists in many countries are turning to natural dyes both as an attempt to revive ancient traditions and out of concerns about the environmental and health risks of synthetic dyes Natural dyes are more expensive and harder to use than the chemical dyes that have largely supplanted them but they produce more vivid colors and are generally safer and more environmentally friendly The plants they are extracted from can be poisonous and heavy-metal salts are often used to fix the colors to the fabric The dyes fade more quickly from sun exposure than chemically produced colors do arguably rendering the textiles less sustainable But environmentalists have long worried about the damaging effects of the wide array of toxic chemicals — including sulfur lead and mercury — routinely used in textile production Runoff from textile factories pollutes waterways and disrupts ecosystems worldwide And long-term exposure to synthetic dyes — which were discovered in 1856 by an English chemist William Henry Perkin — has been linked to cancer and other illnesses Most of the master weavers in Teotitlán are men But until the Spanish arrived in the early 1500s weaving in the village was done by women using back-strap looms who writes the blog Oaxaca Cultural Navigator and has studied the history of indigenous arts and crafts in the region frame-pedal looms and used them to reward villages that helped fight the Aztecs Zapotec men in Teotitlán were taught how to use the devices Woven blankets and wraps eventually became the village’s main source of income traveling through the Oaxaca valley in the 1970s who saw an opportunity to market the Teotitlán weavers’ colorful hand-woven throw rugs "They brought Navajo designs to the village," Schafer said "These then were sold at a lower cost to people decorating their houses in the Southwestern style." Increased demand led to higher production; wholesalers distributed rug patterns and paid village weavers by the piece for rugs about 75 percent of Teotitlán’s population of 5,600 is involved in some aspect of weaving and every family does their dye process differently," Schafer said The majority of those rugs are made using chemical dyes his family was using natural dyes only for personal items working first in a fast-food restaurant and later as a manager of a concrete plant in Ventura It was 10 years before he returned to Teotitlán to visit his family Eventually he rediscovered a passion for weaving just as he had forgotten the richness of his culture "There was not much soul anymore," he said "These natural dyes were absolutely on the brink of extinction." Gutiérrez and his family decided to set up a weaving studio to create pieces using only natural dyes combining seven or eight natural elements to produce more than 40 colors is a master weaver and helps develop the textile designs a mineral found in the mountains around Oaxaca In addition to plants gathered in the mountains flora common in local gardens — zapote negro for example — are also used as sources for dye grows primarily in the southern part of the state of Oaxaca As for cochineal — a dye that colored the red coats of British soldiers — tens of thousands of dried insects are needed to produce just 1 pound of dye The studio buys the pigment from families who farm the prickly-pear cacti that host the parasitic insects; only females produce the carminic acid that is responsible for the intense red coloring The dye is so harmless that the family uses it to water the garden while the remaining plant material serves as mulch Gutiérrez is not the only artisan concerned with preserving Zapotec weaving traditions Perhaps a dozen others in the village use natural dyes exclusively But Gutiérrez’s fluency in English and familiarity with the United States — he still lives much of the time in Ventura — have given him an opportunity to reach a wider audience "What my family and I are doing is continuing an art form and honoring the work that our ancestors started," he said "I think once people learn more about these processes On a visit to Oaxaca for the Day of the Dead festival T+L executive editor Flora Stubbs pays tribute to her own family history while immersing herself in Mexico’s magical traditions There were men on stilts and women carrying three-foot floral arrangements in baskets on their heads rainbow-colored costumes; others were in black and white It felt a little like being in the presence of a queen when Alávez gestured for me to sit on the earth floor of her workshop we watched women make tortillas and quesadillas over an open flame United States-based photographer Ann Murdy has been visually documenting the Day of the Dead across Mexico her new book on the holiday is attracting worldwide acclaim On the Path of Marigolds: Living Traditions of Mexico’s Day of the Dead shares 90 of Murdy’s photographs from three rural areas — Huaquechula Oaxaca; and the communities around Lake Pátzcuaro the book won a gold medal from the Foreword INDIES book competition it received an honorable mention from the International Latino Book Awards in the best arts book category I went to the website of the INDIES awards I scrolled down in the adult nonfiction multicultural [category] She was similarly surprised and pleased with the recognition from the Latino Book Awards Murdy has grown increasingly familiar with the Day of the Dead holiday which occurs from October 31 to November 2 Many of her book’s images reflect its traditions across Mexico such as gathering at the graves of loved ones with food Each area of Mexico she documented is represented by 30 photos taken between 2009 and 2018 Not only did Murdy take photos in cemeteries but she also captured more intimate commemorations at home altars “They look very comfortable,” she said of her photos of home visits “I did not pose anybody … The most important thing was respect.” Murdy gave a virtual book talk on October 21 at the Santa Fe Public Library It was so successful that she was to do an encore presentation on October 30 she called the Day of the Dead “one of the most beautiful experiences I’ve ever witnessed in my life.” the holiday has “changed my perceptions of death and dying” and she hopes that the traditions depicted in her book will live on forever She describes the book as an attempt to preserve those traditions in the wake of increasing commercialization of the holiday The Day of the Dead is becoming mixed with Halloween in Mexico as people masquerade as calaveras (skulls) the holiday has been marketed with products such as a Barbie doll a breakfast cereal and an Air Jordan sneaker Another perhaps more benign example relates to one of the communities around Lake Pátzcuaro that Murdy photographed — Santa Fe de la Laguna which some call the inspiration for the village in the hit Disney film Coco a boy named Miguel connects with his ancestors on Day of the Dead was reportedly inspired by a 107-year-old Santa Fe de la Laguna resident she is concerned about increasing numbers of tourists who wish to experience the holiday in Mexico where many exhibit what she calls disrespectful behavior such as taking selfies in cemeteries and at private homes “My book is a testament to traditions that are authentic in three rural communities in Mexico.” Murdy is well-versed in documenting Mexican traditions Over 2,000 of her photos are archived in the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago the largest Mexican museum in the United States An interview between Murdy and the museum’s chief curator Murdy said she has learned how here the dead are remembered in a way both reflective and celebratory in contrast to what she describes as the United States’ more tight-lipped approach “It’s a much more healthy way of looking at death and dying,” she said had never heard of the Day of the Dead holiday growing up she went to Mexico to witness this annual event and encountered compelling visual images: the deceased guided by candlelight on a marigold-strewn path from the cemetery to the ofrenda as mariachis play and copal incense burns hot chocolate and mezcal put out for the dead who will return to visit their loved ones She started in 1991 with a visit to the main cemetery in the city of Oaxaca Then she traveled southeast to Teotitlán del Valle an indigenous Zapotec Oaxacan village and the first of the three communities she would draw upon for the book She recalled people there flooding the market on October 31 to buy flowers such as cresta de gallo and marigolds also called flor de muertos or cempasúchil She saw people buying various kinds of pan de muerto Church bells rang and bottle rockets went off on November 1 with another round of fireworks the next day she heard not only mariachis but also rezadores a cappella singers with what she described as a strong Walking from house to house to see home altars she stopped in for pan de muerto and hot chocolate She was fascinated by the altars — which she described as completely different from those in the city of Oaxaca She grew to understand the pre-Hispanic roots of the holiday it arose from two separate Aztec Day of the Dead harvest festivals The first festival honored the “little dead,” children who had died during the ninth month of the Aztec calendar The second festival was the great festival of the dead which occurred in the tenth month of Huey Miccailhuitl with changes that helped pave the way for conversion to Catholicism “They saw the death rituals were very important to indigenous people,” she said ‘Let’s keep the death rituals and switch them to All Saints’ Day Murdy continued exploring how the holiday is celebrated regionally including in the Huaquechula and the Lake Pátzcuaro communities where she took the photo that was chosen for the cover residents here sometimes conversed in an indigenous language “I really prefer going to indigenous communities,” Murdy said “I’ve been told that Purépecha beliefs were similar to the Aztecs’.” people in lakeside communities prepare a box with four rectangular frames filling it with food to represent the bounty of heaven Hundreds of marigolds decorate bamboo arcos and if it is the first year following an individual’s death a straw mat is placed by his or her grave so that the soul can rest while journeying back to the Land of the Living Murdy also saw a unique way of honoring people in the first year after their death — the monumental altar with each one separated by baroque columns White satin folds represent the clouds of heaven as does a mirror and the deceased’s favorite foods “Most people have never seen monumental altars,” Murdy said “I don’t know why the tourism department in Puebla doesn’t advertise them more.” it seems that few will get to see these altars or other historic traditions featured in Murdy’s book public Day of the Dead observances have been canceled throughout Mexico the photographs had cultural value,” Murdy said Rich Tenorio is a frequent contributor to Mexico News Daily Photo: Kate BerryWith its arabesque archways and cantera verde-limewash walls Texere could be just another beautiful home on the outskirts of Oaxaca But for co-founders Ana Cris Medina Palmeros and Caitlin Garcia-Ahern bridging the cultural gap between the communities of Oaxaca and its visitors is at the core of their project As a region rich in natural resources and traditional craft Oaxaca has long grappled with extractive forces—from the mining of natural resources to tourism Texere aims to create a more equitable exchange via reciprocal knowledge sharing and sliding-scale fees which reflect privilege and access to resources Photo: Kate Berry“This structure allows us to build in financial accessibility from the foundation subsidizing some residents’ lower program fees with others’ higher fees rather than determining who is eligible for a grant or not on an individual basis,” says Caitlin Photo: Kate BerryThat model has helped bring in artists such as Shamji Vishram Vankar and—vitally—the community of artisans and teachers Ana Cris and Caitlin have nurtured over their years in Oaxaca supporting residents while facilitating and participating in workshops Photo: Andrea TamayoPhoto: Andrea TamayoLaura hails from Yalálag, a pueblo in the Sierra Norte mountains of Oaxaca. Her community is famed for their vibrant embroidered and tasseled huipiles the Yalálag community also spun their own yarn but no longer but we’ve lost the knowledge of how to spin,” Laura tells me Laura had the opportunity to learn the heritage technique of her community so to have met someone here at Texere who knew how to spin and had the patience to teach me—that was súper lindo,” she says Co-founder Ana Cris touches on the intimacy of these exchanges as part of what makes the experience so unique “There is no difference between work and home for artisans and so when they invite you to their workshops a project that uses agave byproducts of mezcal production to collaborate on curtains woven from ixtle the sliding scale fee model is paired with a requirement that residents share an offering of their own with the community to promote equitable exchange a form of barter and community-centric exchange that the surrounding areas of Oaxaca have long engaged in Texere requests residents host one or more events an artist with deep knowledge of natural dyes says the workshops from residents have been a wellspring of inspiration and technical know-how in particular one NYC-based resident who used several natural dye techniques in unison “I’d never seen that done before in a single item of clothing or fabric and I was fascinated by how she combined the processes,” they say the offering from residents is the crux of the cultural exchange Texere aims to foster Traditional textile artists tend to be exclusively focused on the craft of their community and often they are unfamiliar with the technique from a community or two over Caitlin tells me — let alone the practices of a contemporary textile artist living in Brooklyn Texere offers a place for creative dialogue between the communities in and around Oaxaca and their visitors Photo: Kate Berry“It’s special to learn from those who come from other countries because they bring knowledge and wisdom,” says Texere team member Laura every culture has its own approach to the craft and to say ‘I would do it this way and you do it that way maybe we can learn something’ is the essence of the cultural exchange we want to support here at Texere,” she adds The Danish Home Lighting Trend That Can Improve Your Mental Health In America’s Cities, Saunas Are Becoming the Hottest Social Spot Millie Bobby Brown Shares Her Favorite Paella Recipe—and Details About Her Wedding to Jake Bongiovi A Day-by-Day Guide to Hiking the Legendary Nakasendo Trail in Japan Never miss a Vogue moment and get unlimited digital access for just $2 $1 per month Oaxaca remains a stronghold of Mexico’s wondrous criollo As a child growing up in Oaxaca’s Valles Centrales Carina Santiago had to finish stripping the day’s corn from its cob before she could go out and play and white varieties of native corn formed the basis of her family’s cuisine and prepping it was an everyday chore: shucking the dusty husks from a heap of cobs gathering them to cook into tortillas or atole or tamales Learning to prepare corn marked the rites of passage of her youth: As a child her mother taught her first to cook maize for the porridge-like hot atole drink (made from yellow corn); as a preteen Santiago began grinding it by hand into masa; in her adolescent years she learned to nixtamalize white corn into tortilla dough Santiago owns two restaurants — Tierra Antigua and Cocina de Humo — in Teotitlán del Valle And she proudly cultivates her family’s heirloom strains of maize to serve in the restaurant “These seeds have been passed on from generation to generation,” Santiago says cultivating native corn provides a connection with the ancestors who practiced the same rhythms and harvested the same brilliant cobs “Sowing a field isn’t just about working from sunrise to sundown hearing stories about your grandparents and great-great-grandparents who did the same.” Carina Santiago prepares corn from Teotitlán del Valle in the backyard of her restaurant Mexico runs on maize: No meal here is complete without a basket of fresh tortillas And corn’s ubiquity in Mexican cuisine is a constant reminder of the country’s Indigenous roots Though it’s unknown who first domesticated what we today know as corn — crossbreeding it from a grass-like grain called teosinte — most studies trace it to Indigenous people in southern Mexico and some of the oldest known specimens of corn have been found in caves in Oaxaca corn forms the basis of an ecosystem that structures rural life culturally Farmers grow it through a system called the milpa strategically intertwining it with crops that will accompany it to the table: beans and squash wrap their vines up the stalk in a mutually beneficial trio known as the Three Sisters cultivating the milpa — cleaning the field to prepare it for sowing fertilizing the soil and warding off pests — for the eventual corn harvest is synonymous with farming But despite the deep cultural significance of Mexican corn native — or criollo — corn has gradually fallen out of use government subsidies encouraged tortillerias to replace the arduous process of making masa from scratch with the industrialized corn flour Maseca NAFTA flooded the market with cheap industrial corn from the United States That industrial corn lacks the robust flavor of its heirloom counterparts and replacing the dozens of maize varieties with a one-size-fits-all strain robs the staple of its culinary richness a Mexico City-based food journalist and collaborator of the Fundación Tortilla de Maiz Mexicana and in the Estado de México you have a blue tortilla goes well with barbacoa.” Corn can be buttery or herbal The differing textures and flavors also dictate how each corn variety is prepared Most corn-based dishes begin with the process of nixtamalization which involves cooking corn in an alkaline solution — usually with ash or pickling lime — to soften the kernels which releases their nutrients and makes it easier to digest Each variety requires a particular temperature the corn’s texture may lend itself best to soup or tortillas or atole heirloom corn has become more and more of a luxury Native corn costs significantly more than its hybrid counterpart: 15 pesos (about 75 cents) to 10 pesos (about 50 cents) per kilo which cuts down on the time spent in the arduous process of turning corn into masa Producers face little incentive to continue cultivating heirloom corn species Oaxaca remains one of Mexico’s last strongholds of native corn Santiago numbers among a cadre of Oaxacans who consider their ancestors’ practices of cultivating maize to be not just central to their diet and way of life As GMO corn has overtaken the Mexican market they’re proud to conserve not only their ancestors’ practices you can tell the tortilla has a different flavor have achieved international fame for their alebrijes — traditional sculptural handicrafts that represent the vibrant mythical creatures said to guide deceased souls into the afterlife the couple stopped cultivating corn in order to focus on their craft that the two practices formed part of the same essential project: preserving the beauty of long-held cultural practices “We took up farming again because we realized we were leaving behind our purpose we were leaving behind the basis [of all that we do] Now the couple plants up to 60 hectares of red and yellow strains of heirloom corn each year working the fields along with family members and hired workers The cycles of corn planting and harvest dictate the rhythm of the year and the various milestones are intimately connected with local traditions and festivals depending on the rain: 2020 gave Jacobo and María 60 tons; in 2021 The family belongs to a local farmers’ cooperative through which they sell half of their harvest using it to feed their family and the workers in their alebrije workshop Estefania Alavez and her husband show off their heirloom varieties grown in San Esteban Atatlahuca in the town of San Esteban Atatlahuca in Oaxaca’s Sierra Mixteca also cultivates a rainbow of native maize: red “We used to have to go to another town for corn but we took almost two weeks and returned with very little corn,” she remembers She and her husband now cultivate corn only for their family’s consumption “I have a lot of children and grandchildren so I can’t sell any of it,” she says with a laugh They dine daily on criollo corn tortillas and atole; on special occasions cultivating native corn involves a series of practices passed down from generation to generation a way of life increasingly threatened by global economic pressures Jacobo Angeles sees fewer and fewer young people interested in learning their parents’ agricultural practices “The economic value is affecting us,” he says the youth of San Martín Tilcajete can make more money by making alebrijes than by growing corn Farming under the hot sun depletes the body Conserving the millennia-old traditions of the milpa takes hard work “That’s why I say you have to fall in love with the fields “It’s a treasure that we have that possibility to share with our descendents,” Santiago says “It’s food not just for the body but for the soul.” Madeleine Wattenbarger is a writer and editor based between New York and Mexico City. Shava Cueva is a drinks and food photographer and author born and raised in Ensenada The freshest news from the food world every day A French fashion label attacked the dignity of indigenous communities by filming a Zapotec woman dancing in its new clothing line the National Institute of Indigenous Peoples (INPI) charged dressed women in their clothes in the market at Teotitlán del Valle a publicity team can be seen photographing an elderly indigenous woman against a professional backdrop One representative encourages the woman to stand up and sway from side to side to a recording of the 1968 Mary Hopkin song Those Were the Days playing in the background and laughter can be heard in the background of the video INPI said in a statement that the behavior of the Sézane representatives “undermines the dignity of [indigenous] peoples and communities and reinforces racist stereotypes about indigenous culture and traditions,” before adding that legal action was being considered “There will be dialogue with the authorities of Teotitlán and the aggrieved people to undertake a legal action The agency demanded companies “cease exploiting indigenous and Afro-Mexican peoples and communities as cultural capital since they are not objects of clothing but citizens under public law who possess a vast cultural heritage and traditional knowledge.” #CirculaEnRedes / Un grupo de extranjeros de la marca francesa Sézane se mofó de las personas indígenas en Tlacolula de Matamoros, #Oaxaca pic.twitter.com/2zEIK3A7bg — Lo Que Circula En Redes Sociales (@LoCircula) January 10, 2022 It cited Article 2 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: “Indigenous peoples and individuals are free and equal to all other peoples and individuals and have the right to be free from any kind of discrimination in particular that based on their indigenous origin or identity.” Article 21 of the Federal Law on the Protection of the Cultural Heritage of Indigenous and Afro-Mexican Peoples and Communities is set to become law pending presidential approval and aims to protect the “dignity and cultural integrity of indigenous and Afro-Mexican peoples.”  London and France and focuses on vintage styles The fashion industry has consistently come under fire in Mexico for the alleged exploitation of indigenous culture and designs. The federal Culture Ministry announced in May, 2021 that it had sent letters to Anthropologie as well as Zara and Patowl for the “improper cultural appropriation” of designs from Oaxaca With reports from El Universal  had already lost the vision in one eye when the other began to fail him The word took on a sharp poignancy for her when he passed away 2021; it echoed in her mind along with the thought that it was his countenance a self-taught photographer from the Indigenous Zapotec community of Teotitlán del Valle whom she lived with until she was twenty-three years old They were the first subjects she pointed her camera at as a teen-ager and they remained fixtures in her work until their deaths I started a registry of our moments together.” “Emiliano and the Bananas.”“Lucía and the Flower Stand.”“Daisy-Colored Hair.”“Rosa.”“Juanito Is Not Driving Anymore.”Several months before Domingo took a fall from which he never recovered Lazo had received a government grant to produce a photo series on women and Indigenous identity “But I was destroyed after he died,” she said or think about representation.” Grief transformed the world around her rendering the familiar unintelligible and labyrinthine Lazo navigated her mourning as most do: intuitively She found herself succumbing to the hopeless and irresistible urge to reconstruct the departed through her memories and Lazo began approaching elder artisans who were selling their products She would ask them about their grandchildren The images are all variations on a simple concept: bodies that don’t reveal their faces either covering them with the items they hold or turning their backs toward the camera The motif stemmed in part from her unresolved qualms about the ethics of documentary photography—“I’m not convinced that it’s my place to exhibit those faces,” Lazo said—but mainly the subjects of “Kanitlow” became abstract canvases upon which she could project her grief My Grandmother.”“Rufinita and Her Flowers.”“Galdino and His Creations.”In one photograph the profile of a man who appears to be made of shadows is pictured holding eight wooden utensils three of them obscuring his head below a straw hat Three flecks of garish pink punctuate a photo of a woman’s back: a bundle of cockscomb blooms tassels that peek out from under her blouse “I think it’s curious that people see these images as cheerful Lazo recognizes an ethnographic value in “Kanitlow.” Placing certain photos side by side she noticed that some of her subjects wore jeans and T-shirts It’s all part of the story she wanted to tell “Things vanish because everything undergoes transformations—life Negotiating one’s heritage is a practice with which Lazo is intimately familiar “I speak the language and consider myself part of who we are but I can’t say I preserve every tradition,” she told me Her spiritual beliefs leaned atheist before her great-grandfather died but still she found solace in observing the rituals that succeed death in her community She split a silver coin in half and placed it in his coffin to sustain him on his nine-day journey through limbo She was diligent about keeping a candle lit throughout that period insuring that his soul would find its way to the afterlife and the Water Flowers.”“A Blue Man Shopping in Town.”“Isaac and His Harvest.”“Julia and the Nochebuenas.”When time passed and she was still bereft Lazo was instructed to wash her hands at Domingo’s grave “I didn’t realize indigo dye lasted so long,” she said with a soft laugh “Un Domingo Sin Domingo.”New Yorker FavoritesA long-ago crime, suddenly remembered A limousine driver watches her passengers transform The day Muhammad Ali punched me What is it like to be keenly intelligent but deeply alienated from simple emotions? Temple Grandin knows The harsh realm of “gentle parenting.”  Retirement the Margaritaville way Fiction by F. Scott Fitzgerald: “Thank You for the Light.”  Sign up for our daily newsletter to receive the best stories from The New Yorker. Two students from Oaxaca won the diploma of excellence at the Stockholm Junior Water Prize in Sweden during the world’s leading water conference designed a filtration system to purify wastewater from textile dyeing and reuse it in vegetable farming in their community of Teotitlán del Valle Their invention seeks to promote sustainability preserve the entity’s cultural traditions and help it transition towards a circular economy Nuestras representantes mexicanas, Shanni Mora y Rosa Mendoza ya se encuentran en Estocolmo, #Suecia para el #StockholmJuniorWaterPrize 2024.💧🫶🏻 Estamos seguros que desempeñarán un gran papel y pondrán el nombre de #México en lo más alto. 🇲🇽💧👏🏻 pic.twitter.com/QAJjx30I2s — Premio Nacional Juvenil del Agua (@premiojuv_agua) August 25, 2024 “Shanni and Rosa are a source of pride for Mexico,” said Jorge Arriaga executive coordinator of the UNAM Water Network and the Regional Center for Water Security (CERSHI) the future of science with social significance.”  Their project was chosen from over 30 finalists due to its positive impact on environmental and social issues Teotitlán del Valle’s main economic activity is textile production with roughly 70% of the town’s population involved in this artisanal industry Noticing the environmental impact of dyeing practices and the threat it poses to local water bodies and soil Shanni and Valeria found a solution that fosters a deeper connection to their community’s textile heritage “In our village, textiles are not just products; they are a testament to our traditions, crafted with techniques passed down through generations,” the students said in a statement The homemade filters are designed for natural and synthetic dyes the filtered water was later used for the germination of spinach and radish seeds with further experimentation planned for other vegetables “The objective of this project is to establish a sustainable system that enhances family economies and nutrition and provides a viable water reuse strategy for the community,” they said we can mitigate pollution while preserving our cultural heritage and supporting our local economy,” the students concluded The Stockholm International Youth Water Prize is the most prestigious accolade for student research projects addressing water challenges worldwide. It is organized by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) a non-profit institute with a wide range of expertise in water governance With reports from El Financiero Juana Gutiérrez creates visible magic as fibers She is coloring yarn with dyes made naturally a skill in danger of disappearing — but not if people like her have anything to say about it Their development is but one of several changes that have threatened or nearly eliminated many of the skills related to home textile production — from preparing fiber to the making of clothes Even the wearing of traditional dress is waning for both economic reasons and the desire to be modern clothing made “from scratch” is almost exclusively for special occasions or for sale The art of dyeing has been particularly hard hit by the march of technology because it involves a lot of work and the effort is not quite as noticeable to the untrained eye as it is with hand weaving or embroidery It also requires a significant amount of knowledge of both local raw materials and how to use them interest emerged in preserving and reviving natural dyes’ use in Mexico has fought in particular for the survival of Mexico’s “royal purple,” a color made for centuries by gently milking a type of sea snail that lives on the coast of Oaxaca and is called tishinda by the Mixtec Clues to the craft remain in Mesoamerican codices contact with the few (almost always women) who still do this work is a multidisciplinary field requiring everything from chemists to test clothing in archives to anthropologists who understand the cultures behind the dyes Most of Mexico’s natural-dye knowledge is located in the country’s south and center because of its abundance of flora and fauna there as well as its history of complex civilizations just about all of Mexico’s indigenous groups had at least some dyes available to them These dyes have come from three sources: wild plants and animals Wild sources still provide the greatest variety Fully cultivated sources include indigo — plants introduced by the Spanish — as well as the cochineal scale insect famous for its ability to produce various shades of red cochineal insect and indigo make Mexico’s three “spectacular” dyes All were highly prized both before and after the Conquest — shipped back to Europe along with silver and gold cochineal and indigo became fully cultivated The tishinda snails that produce the purple dye are now milked seasonally under strict guidelines All three colors are produced in Oaxaca on the state’s Mixtec coast and can be used in combination there Cochineal is the best known — cultivated and used primarily in and around the city of Oaxaca which grows over most of central and southern Mexico but cochineal seems to be picky about where it lives; there were attempts to cultivate it in other states but to no avail Commercial production has been problematic the insect has predators here that it does not in places like Peru and Chile Indigo was already known to the Europeans before the Conquest because other varieties of the plant grow elsewhere in the world the Mexican variety became an important colonial commodity with cultivation extending from what is now Guatemala to far up Mexico’s west coast it is grown only in a few communities in Oaxaca and is at the point of disappearing even here The purple dye produced by the tishinda is exceedingly difficult to produce and keep from fading Mexico’s snails produce a liquid that when applied directly onto cloth will self-affix and self-cure; no other process is needed the Mexican snail was not killed to extract the liquid but rather pressed onto the cloth then returned back to the tidal zone from which it came The best way to get an appreciation for natural dyes is to visit those who have preserved the materials and techniques Recommended is the Gutiérrez family workshop in Teotitlán del Valle famous for the weaving of naturally-dyed wool rugs natural does not necessarily mean sustainable Many resource collection practices have developed with sustainability in mind such as letting plants release their seeds before harvesting it is unknown if such practices are sufficient with rising demand The resource in the greatest danger is the tishinda the Mixtec migrated to the Oaxaca coast at a certain time of year to milk the snails taking care not to kill them or interfere in their reproductive cycles recent developments have put major pressure on the snails paid local (non-Mixtec) fishermen to gather them indiscriminately for use in dyeing high-end textiles in Japan you will not see snails over a certain size because of the damage this did Encroachment on the snails’ habitat and poaching are the main threats today Turok and others have worked to understand the snail’s life cycle with the aim of full cultivation They have also filed lawsuits to get current laws better enforced Leigh Thelmadatter arrived in Mexico 18 years ago and fell in love with the land and the culture in particular its handcrafts and art. She is the author of Mexican Cartonería: Paper, Paste and Fiesta (Schiffer 2019) Her culture column appears regularly on Mexico News Daily Best in Travel is here! Discover 2025’s destinations The 30 best countries, cities and regions to visit in 2025 Plan your trip with Elsewhere, by Lonely Planet See where a Lonely Planet Membership takes you Subscribe to our weekly newsletters to get the latest travel news, expert advice, and insider recommendations Explore the world with our detailed, insightful guidebooks Stay ahead of the curve with our guidebooks Uncover exciting new ways to explore iconic destinations Every month, we release new books into the wild Search Search Close search menu Explore Best in Travel 2024 Africa Close menu Countries Antarctica Antarctica Close menu Regions Asia Asia Close menu Countries Australia & the Pacific Australia & the Pacific Close menu Countries The Caribbean The Caribbean Close menu Countries Central America Central America Close menu Countries Europe Europe Close menu Countries Middle East Middle East Close menu Countries North America North America Close menu Countries South America South America Close menu Countries The world-famous weaving center of Teotitlán del Valle is only 20 minutes from Oaxaca City © Wolfgang Kaehler / LightRocket via Getty Images Oaxaca City has plenty to enthrall visitors – and day trips from this regional capital and cultural center complement any visit here Venturing out beyond the busy city promises a taste of old Oaxaca as ancient traditions come alive at rustic mezcal distilleries spirited artisan workshops and indigenous mountain communities that time forgot Here are some noteworthy getaways to explore the alluring environs of Oaxaca all just an easy day trip away from the big city A cluster of eight remote communities tucked away in the Sierra Norte mountains, the Pueblos Mancomunados (Commonwealth of Villages) provide the ideal setting for wilderness adventures on bike foot or horseback amid magnificent canyons Home to 400 bird species and thousands of plant varieties the cool cloud forest here is best experienced along some 60 miles of trails that connect the welcoming Zapotec towns all of which have no-frills cabins for rent and roadside cantinas whipping up hearty comfort food How to get to the Pueblos Mancomunados from Oaxaca Driving is the most convenient way to reach the villages lie about 1 hour and 25 minutes northeast of Oaxaca City turn left at the Oaxaca–Tlacolula Highway and head north Another option is Oaxaca City–based Expediciones Sierra Norte which operates shared vans to most of the towns and arranges guided hikes and tours There’s no shortage of downtown Oaxaca City stores selling barro negro (polished black pottery) and alebrijes (colorful wood-carved animal figures) – but nothing beats the experience of seeing these iconic wares taking shape in artisans’ studios dozens of workshops and homes dedicate themselves exclusively to the production of alebrijes where some larger sculptures can take up to 4 years to make Many of the surreal alebrijes are based on the sacred animals of Zapotec mythology On the return to Oaxaca, hit Alfarería Doña Rosa (after 4pm) in San Bartolo Coyotepec for a fascinating demonstration showing how black pottery is burnished with quartz stones to give it its distinctive luster How to get to San Martín Tilcajete and San Bartolo Coyotepec from Oaxaca Both towns are south of the city along Highway 175 Autobuses Halcón on Bustamante 606A has frequent bus departures to San Bartolo Coyotepec (30 minutes) will drop you at the San Martín Tilcajete (45 minutes) turnoff where it’s about 1 mile to the Jacobo & María Ángeles factory head for the majestic mountains of the remote Mixtec village of Santiago Apoala Wi-fi is spotty at best in these parts – but who needs it when you're hiking to a sublime 200-foot waterfall amid deep canyons with ancient rock carvings though the natural beauty and quiet calm make a strong case for an overnight excursion Community tour operator Ecoturismo Comunal Yutsa To’on rents affordable riverside cabins and runs guided hiking outings Santiago Apoala is about 2.5 hours northwest of Oaxaca City and is most conveniently reached by car Take Highway 135D to the town of Asunción Nochixtlán to access the bumpy dirt road to Santiago Apoala frequent Nochixtlán-bound buses depart from Oaxaca’s first-class bus station; from Nochixtlán hire a local taxi up to the village for about M$350 ($12.50) one way Oaxaca City-based Tierraventura offers 2-day tours to Santiago Apoala After taking in the spectacular panoramic views of Monte Albán (a must-visit while in Oaxaca City), head to the ancient Zapotec ruins of Mitla for sophisticated stone “mosaics” that are unique in Mexico (and the world) mosey on over to Restaurante Doña Chica for some exquisite mole before heading out to Santiago Matatlán Oaxaca’s capital of mezcal (a distilled alcoholic agave spirit) To learn about the production process, swing by craft distillery 3 Mezquites de Don Goyo where you can sample and purchase complex mezcals made from wild agaves If time permits, squeeze in a visit to Hierve el Agua and take a dip in cliffside mineral springs with expansive views over the sierra (Just make sure it’s open before you head there as Hierve el Agua regularly closes due to long-running political conflicts.) How to get to Mitla and Santiago Matatlán from Oaxaca Take Highway 190 east to reach Mitla (45 minutes) and Santiago Matatlán (55 minutes) The turnoff for San Baltazar Guelavila is about 8km south of Santiago Matatlán Hierve el Agua lies about 45 minutes southeast of Mitla (look for the turnoff along Highway 179) Tour operator Experience Agave runs day trips to distilleries in the Santiago Matatlán area and beyond Villagers in world-renowned Teotitlán del Valle have been weaving colorful rugs and blankets since pre-Hispanic times, and the craft is still very much alive today. As you make your way to Teotitlán, stop in the town of El Tule to marvel at the Árbol del Tule a 2,000-year-old Montezuma cypress tree that is said to have the world's widest trunk In Teotitlán del Valle, a fairly new community center houses a museum celebrating all things weaving leads weaving classes for anyone looking for a more hands-on experience while cooking courses are available at El Sabor Zapoteco should you like to learn how to prepare classic Zapotec dishes How to get to Teotitlan del Valle from Oaxaca To reach El Tule (20 minutes) and Teotitlán del Valle by car Mitla-bound buses depart frequently from the second-class bus station; they’ll usually drop you along the highway Or simply hail a taxi colectivo (shared taxi) in Oaxaca near the first-class bus station You might also like:Ten places to grab lunch on a budget in OaxacaMezcal three ways: ten great places to get mezcal in OaxacaMexico's best off-the-grid-beaches Collectors seeking traditional black pottery or painted wooden figures can arrange visits to the homes and workshops of the artisans Here’s our guide to the featured crafts from the state of Oaxaca Support your favorite artisans! Because the pandemic discourages travel, many of our artisan friends are selling online. Planeta.com will be updating our Folk Art and Where to Buy Oaxaca crafts pages.Special kudos to our friend weaver / photographer Verónica Lazo Mendoza ¡Apoya a tus artesanos favoritos! Debido a que la pandemia desalienta los viajes, muchos de nuestros amigos artesanos venden en línea. Planeta.com actualizará nuestras páginas de Arte Popular y Dónde comprar artesanías de Oaxaca la tejedora / fotógrafa Verónica Lazo Mendoza Craft-making TownsSan Agustin Etla – With two paper-making workshops in San Agustin Etla Oaxaca may be witnessing the birth of a cottage industry.Santa Ana del Valle – Tour this market town 34 kilometers EAST of Oaxaca City The town has a museum with various archaeological objects as well as examples of weaving techniques and natural dyes Teotitlan Del Valle – Make sure you make time to visit this village which specializes in rug weaving. Dozens of weavers open their workshops to the public. Read more. San Bartolo Coyotepec – The town is famous for its black pottery Visit the new museum of popular art and the white market on the west side of the highway San Martin Tilcajete – Family homes and workshops producing the famous wooden figures are spread out troughout town La Union Tejalapam – Known for its production of alebrijes this town boasts a great landscape for biking Getting there from Oaxaca City: Head north and past the town of Brenamiel but before the start of the new highway (nueva carretera) take a left where there’s a sign post for San Lorenzo Cacaotepec San Antonino Castillo Velasco – Located near Ocotlán de Morelos this town produces embroidered dresses using silk and cotton in a detailed fashion that requires several months to complete San Antonio Arrazola – This is the cradle of the wooden figures or alebrijes Rugs (Tapetes) — The Zapotecs call their weavings laadi and you’ll find beautiful rugs in Santa Ana del Valle and Teotitlán del Valle Wool rugs made in the weaving villages are popular around the world you can purchase the rugs at the following markets in Oaxaca City: Artesania Textiles — Woven textiles — blouses tableclothes — are very popular in Oaxaca Look for cotton products produced on back-strap looms in Santo Tomás Jalieza and quality embroidery in San Antonino Castillo Velasco near Ocotlán Wooden Figures (Alebrijes) — San Martin Tilcajete San Antonio Arrazola and La Union Tejalapam the brightly colored carvings are a recent addition to folk arts are among the best-selling Mexican folk art in the world Alebrijes are monster-type figures that were developed in the style of popular paper mache figures In the towns of San Martin Tilcajete and San Antonio Arrazola the figures are carved from the twisted branches of the copal tree The wood has a particular fragrance and its resin has been burned in ceremonial incense burners for thousands of years Pottery (Ceramica) — Atzompa A few words about buying crafts in OaxacaPricing — Prices vary depending on the quality of the product and where you make your purchase prices in Oaxaca City’s Mercado de Artesanias are generally no higher than what you find in artisan homes Shipping — Most craft shops can pack your purchases for shipment So if you see something fragile you’d like to get home in one piece ask if they can pack the materials securely Go on your own — If you go to craft villages on your own Many package tours insist on a commission (paid from the artisan to the guide) and rates can go up to 40% not a show,” says one tourism expert For more info— Shoppers interested in understanding how traditional craft production fits in to conscientious travel and ecotourism should review our guide to Tourism and Crafts Headlineshttps://www.orartswatch.org/richard-keis-photographing-the-craftspeople-of-oaxaca/ Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value" Theme: NewsUp by Themeansar Season 6 Episode 603 | 26m 46sVideo has Closed Captions | CC who preserves rustic Oaxacan food techniques Pati is in the small town of Teotitlan de Valle to meet with one of the best cooks in Oaxaca Abigail is dedicated to preserving the pre-Hispanic techniques and recipes of her Zapotec ancestors and burnt milk ice cream with animal crackers Problems with Closed Captions? Closed Captioning Feedback Pati's Mexican Table is presented by your local public television station Distributed nationally by American Public Television Link Copied to ClipboardHow to Watch Pati's Mexican TablePati's Mexican Table is available to stream on pbs.org and the free PBS App, available on iPhone, Apple TV, Android TV, Android smartphones, Amazon Fire TV, Amazon Fire Tablet, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, and Vizio. Check Your Local Listings for Broadcast Schedules Open in new tab >> Pati: Every now and then you meet someone who has that special something Imagine being born in a tiny town in one of the poorest states in Mexico Preserving your traditions and following your passions to become one of Oaxaca's most acclaimed chiefs Her name is Abigail Mandoza and I have come a long way to work with her >> Abigail: Laughter >> Pati: In my kitchen >> Oh hoo a roasted Oaxacan chicken with oregano and garlic And a dramatic burnt milk ice cream topped with animal crackers Because we are all about contrasts today and drama From the most common beginnings ♪ ♪ >> Pati's Mexican Table is made possible by: >> Some things are always there for you They are always there because they are fresh all year round >> ♪ Avocados from Mexico ♪ ♪ ♪ >> La Costena More information at mexicorico.com >> FUD barnd meats With traditional hispanic flavor >> The Ministry Of Agriculture Mexbest and The National Agricultural Council but in a place that is called "The land of the Gods" This is Teotitlan del Valle ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> Pati: Teotitlan attracts visitors from around the globe for its beautiful rugs of the native Zapotec peoples Using only natural techniques and untold generations of knowledge The artisans of the Zapotec create tapestries of incredible vibrancy and intricate design Each piece wants to tell the story of the Zapotec and their life here in this land of the Gods About an hour drive east of the city of Oaxaca Teotitlan is nestled amongst the peaks of Oaxaca Central Valley When I arrive Hola I encounter the first of many surprises ♪ ♪ Today is a village party We just happen to be here on this day of this Americana celebration remembering the day that Jesus was given water after 40 days in the desert I have been dying to try this Nieve for such a long time We have all of the celebrations that the Spanish brought But then we have all the celebrations that existed in Mexico before the Spanish came It just makes for an incredibly rich and diverse place the reason I came to Teotitlan in the first place is because I have a hunger to learn about Zapotec skill and tradition Oh that is beautiful It is not the one practice at the loom it is the one that is made in the kitchen >> Abigail: Hola >> [Converse in Spanish] >> Pati: Let me introduce you guys formally to Abigail because I am so honored to be here in her house which is to share her traditions and her costumes and the food of her community So you know how I am obsessed with my blender and how I live my blender Well Abigail loves her Matatas So this is her collection of matates >> Laugh and joke in Spanish >> Path: Heavy That is like 55 pounds Abigail is going to show me a couple of authentic Zapotec dishes Are tamales with a typical Oaxaca mole called Amarillo or yellow mole I could tell form the start that this mole and these tamales were going to be unlike any I had ever known She has her own Oja Santa or sacred leaf right here >> [Speaking in Spanish] >> Path: It is a heart shaped leaf You are really strong >> Path: This is hard I like this I am not even near where it needs to be >> Abigail finishes grinding the chilli and Oja Santa and mixes the paste into freshly prepared corn masa Then pours that mixture into a pot of simmering chicken broth So Abigail is a proud Zapotecan >> Like the wave themselves together >> What does the Zapotecan part bring to the equation >> The Amarillo mole is ready You have to follow Abigail just like I am following her She jumps from all the different parts of her kitchen The last part these tamales are wrapped in a thin sleeve of raw tortilla ♪ ♪ The tamales the steam in a pot for 15 minutes ♪ ♪ >> [Abigail speaks in spanish] >> Path: So this is the original It is your plate and she cuts a piece and it is also your spoon or your fork ♪ ♪ >> [Abigail speaks in spanish] >> Pati: And at the end you eat your spoon and your plate And it is every bit as stunning as those tamales It is called Zequeza So it is an ancient pre-hispanic dish They use to make it with deer or wild rabbit before the Spanish brought the pork So we have the dried corn and now she is toasting it >> Path: Abigail expertly grinds those toasted corn kernels into a coarsely fine flour she pours water over the corn meal so that the hard kernel shells float to the top and then can be poured off The clean corn meal is added to a simple chicken stock that Abigail prepared earlier by simmering a whole chicken >> Pati: So people were coming to buy the rugs >> Pati: Abigale had to risk a lot by doing what she loves and putting herself out there To break certain expectations from her community of the role of a woman who decided not to marry but doing it all to preserve her community's traditions and cuisine >> You're going to add the chilli I can taste the toasted corn and I can taste the oja santa very intensely it's tasting what makes Oaxacan cuisine so diverse ♪ ♪ >> Pati: I so enjoyed my time with Abigale and it reminded me of how important it is to have some simple family-friendly recipes that you can make in a snap using ingredients that you love But you take those ingredients onto a different direction to a little bit of the extreme and then you come up with really really delicious recipes I just brush them with a little bit of olive oil and I'm going to let these char slowly so that all the sugar and juices of the corn blooms and comes out and as this happens I'm going to make the marinade for a Oaxacan-style oregano chicken but it's going to take me a little time I'm going to start with 30 cloves of garlic and then I'm going to add about a cup of fresh oregano leaves It's going to be a strong marinade with a lot of personality He would marinate with like 100 garlic cloves He would cook the chicken until it turned to really really crispy bits Now I'm going to add a little bit of lime juice (Loud blending) I think we're going to get along just fine Everything that Abigale was doing with her metate and her molcajete I do at home with a food processor and a blender So what I want here is that really crispy outside of the chicken that I grew up eating with my Dad and I'm going to put the chicken skin-side down and I'm going to let it roast for 15 minutes so the skin gets really crispy (Crackling and popping) The corn is screaming at me I'm going to rub them with a little oil ♪ ♪ And these are going to be just a few minutes Now we're going to shave off the corn kernels and I really like it when you get big lines of the corn ♪ ♪ You're taking ingredients that you see in the grocery store all the time but you're taking them to the extreme so I'm going to cut this into big chunks ♪ ♪ So it's been 15 minutes at 450 degrees The skin has turned crisp and brown and not what we want to achieve is moist chicken inside So I'm going to pour 1 1/2 cups of chicken broth from 450 to 375 degrees I'm going to put the chicken back in and what's going to happen is that the crisp is going crisp on top and everything else is going to be moist and juicy ♪ ♪ After I tried that burnt milk ice cream in Teotitlan Get ready for some drama because in this ice cream you're going to get a really interesting clash between burnt I have two saucepans set over low-medium heat And I'm waiting for it to come to a very gentle simmer I'm going to whisk a couple of eggs with two tablespoons of sugar I recently go a lovely email from a woman named Margarita but that puts the pressure on because that means I have to give her a lot of drama ♪ ♪ You really want to turn that shiny yellow into a pale yellow I love having many things going on at the same time the more balls you throw at me the better I get at it Take the cinnamon stick out of the hot milk And this is where the burnt milk taste comes from I'm going to burn the milk with the caramel You need to whisk all the time because the caramel will want to harden We're going to fold these into the custard base and here I have 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream and I'm going to add a little bit of this and then I'm going to slowly start adding the hot milk so I need to be whisking as I am gently pouring because we don't want the eggs to curdle Continue alternating between the cream and the caramel but it's like that drama is woven into these really smooth sweet base It's going to make for a great ice cream I'm going to put it in my ice cream maker and then we're going to pour the ice cream mix ♪ ♪ Now I'm going to turn this on and it's going to churn anywhere from 45 minutes to 1 hour and 15 minutes depending on your manufacturers direction I have this skillet over medium-high to high heat and I'm going to add about 5 tablespoons of olive oil And here we have 1 1/2 pounds of cherry tomatoes ♪ ♪ (Sizzling) Then I'm going to add 1 teaspoon of salt We have a lot of sizzling and smoking and jumping I'm going to add my vinegar to the salad and now I'm going to add two tablespoons of red wine vinegar and then I'm adding chives and mint so we have all these charred So I'm going to start mixing these up ♪ ♪ You can see the thick sweet juices as they're coming out and cooking with the olive oil ♪ ♪ I haven't taken a bite and I'm dying already.. The chicken broth that I added when I put the chicken back in the oven is going to make the chicken be really moist but it also cooks off so the chicken continues to brown in the bottom and on top I'm getting the crisp and crunchy on the outside and the juicy and moist inside It does remind me of that chicken my Dad use to make The chicken and the salad really compliment each other Looks bit like a dolce de leche or a cajeta ice cream You can taste that deep dark burnt layer of flavor Because we're all about contrasts today ♪ ♪ For recipes and information from this episode and more Pati's Mexican Table is made possible by: ♪ ♪ The ministry of agriculture ♪ ♪ Introducing Fud Campirano Mexican cheeses More information at: mexicorico.com >> Some things are always there for you They are always there because theya re fresh all year round >> ♪ Avocados from Mexico ♪ >> Proud to support Pati's Mexican Table Copyright © 2025 Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) PBS is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization Sign in with EmailNew to PBS? Create an account Are you sure you want to remove null from My List Mexico celebrates Easter with great passion. In 2026 Easter Sunday will be April 5. // México celebra la Pascua con gran pasión En 2026 el Domingo de Pascua será el 5 de abril TranslatingHoly Week = Semana SantaEaster Week = Semana de Pascua Lent // Cuaresma represents the 40 days Christ spent in the desert Ash Wednesday // Miércoles de Ceniza is the first day of Lent Fridays // Viernes Cuaresmas are celebrated in Oaxaca City with a local tradition of young men giving young women flowers early in the morning in El Llano Park Samaritan Day // Dia Samaritana is a custom in Oaxaca City celebrated on the fourth Friday in Lent Free refreshments are offered to passersby schools and government offices offer traditional fruit drinks Friday of Sorrows // Viernes de Dolores is a day of great devotion in Oaxaca City The tradition dates to the Colonial period when priests consecrated a chapel to the Virgen de los Dolores homes and churches to commemorate the pain of the Virgin Mary Holy Week // Semana SantaDuring Holy Week // Semana Santa worshippers participate in reenactments of the Passion from Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem to his crucifixion and resurrection Palm Sunday // Domingo de Ramos takes its name from Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem where crowds laid palms at his feet weavers create and sell elaborate woven fronds which are later hung on doors of homes to ward off evil Chiluin Sant celebrations take place in the Zapotec village of Teotitlán del Valle Holy Wednesday // Miercoles Santo Zaachila celebrates Holy Wednesday by decorating the city churches with vegetatation carried to town from the Sierra. Check out the video Miercoles Santo by Erick Igari Holy Thursday or Maundy Thursday // Jueves Santo commemorates the Last Supper shared by Jesus with his disciples and Jesus’ betrayal by Judas it’s a tradition to visit seven churches Good Friday // Santo Viernes commemorates the trial Silent processions are held in city streets Easter Saturday // Sabado de Gloria commemorates the day in which Jesus rested in the grave Some communities celebrate by burning paper maché effigies of Judas Easter Sunday // Domingo de Resurrección or Pascua commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Moveable FeastEaster is observed in Western cultures on the first Sunday following the full moon following the spring equinox It is based on the Hebrew lunar calendar and can occur as early as March 22 or as late as April 25 FoodLent is a time of simplified living and meatless dishes so there are plenty of tuna dishes as well as seafood soups If you like your cheese quesadilla with fish Aguas Frescas – RecipeEmpanadas de Vigilia – RecipeCapirotada – Wikipedia Indigenous TraditionsThe religious celebrations of Mexico’s Indigenous communities incorporate European beliefs with regional syncretism Most celebrations incorporate traditional dances Tourism FYISince Easter Sunday is a national holiday and the Thursday and Friday before Easter are paid vacation days so it is wise to make reservations and buy tickets ahead of time Elsewhere in MexicoIn Mexico City’s Xochimilco Gardens the annual Xochimilco Festival is held two weeks before Easter and dates back to precolonial times when Mexicans honored the goddess of flowers (Xochipilli) and the goddess of dance (Maculxochitl) to ensure good harvests Every year a young woman is crowned La Flor Mas Bella del Ejido (the most beautiful flower of the land) who presides over colorful parades on flower-decorated barges along the famed canals The most popular dramatic representation of the Passion is held in Iztapalapa CarnivalEaster season traditionally begins with Carnival a holiday that can begin up to two weeks before the beginning of Lent // Cuaresma Carnival is a time of rich living and rich eating The word ‘Carnival’ is derived from ‘carne’ or meat Mazatlán is home to the third-largest Carnival celebration in the world after those in Rio de Janeiro and New Orleans Veracruz City hosts the second-largest carnival in Mexico In Oaxaca’s Teotitlán del Valle Carnival is celebrated after Easter Sunday To reach the ancient weaving village of Teotitlán del Valle from Oaxaca a shared taxi costs a fraction of a regular cab © Marco Bottigelli / Getty Images As Oaxaca’s superb colonial capital continues to grow in popularity it's not just the rich culinary scene and myriad cultural attractions that have so many travelers singing its praises dirt-cheap transportation and plentiful free sights add up to big savings And when it comes to the famously savory regional cuisine let's just say some of the city's best eats await in the humble market and street stalls Here are some tips on how to make the most of your pesos while visiting this splendid corner of southern Mexico Most international flights arrive in Mexico City, where you can catch either a connecting flight or a bus to Oaxaca. Buses depart frequently from the TAPO station, conveniently located just 3 miles west of the Mexico City airport, and they're usually the most inexpensive option, especially aboard an economy-class line. The ticketing website ClickBus often offers discounted online fares look for off-season deals on low-cost airlines Volaris and VivaAerobus such as 20 de Noviembre and Mercado de la Merced serve everything from modest three-course comida corrida meals and delectable mole dishes to fresh-baked pan dulce (sweet bread) and smoky grilled meats accompanied with fixings for tacos The mercado experience is all about savoring down-home cooking and it comes at a ridiculously cheap price – what's not to like You’ll also come across an abundance of classic street-food eats such as gigantic tlayudas (grilled tortillas filled with beans Oaxaca-style tamales and a tantalizing array of corn-based snacks – all tasty treats sure to please the palate and the pocketbook To reach Oaxaca's surrounding towns and outlying craft villages maroon-and-white colectivos (shared taxis) charge only a fraction of what it would cost to get there in a regular cab you’ll have to squeeze into a sedan with at least three other passengers (so yeah but they're often a quicker and cheaper option than taking a second-class bus Colectivos run along fixed routes, and their destinations are displayed on their windshields. If you're heading out to the towns of El Tule, Teotitlán del Valle or Mitla you'll find the vehicles one block east of the Vasconcelos baseball stadium They also congregate around the second-class bus station Local artists have transformed the streets of Oaxaca into an outdoor gallery of sorts with brilliantly painted murals adorning the walls in the historic centers of Jalatlaco All three neighborhoods are within walking distance of one another, so you can easily explore them on foot on a DIY tour that doesn't cost a single peso. Jalatlaco is home to vivid Día de Muertos-inspired murals by Bouler, a talented Oaxacan artist whose work also graces the exterior of Casa Curtiduria an economical hotel in the center of the attractive old barrio Tourism typically slows down in May, June and most of September These are good months to shop around for bargains in Oaxaca's no-frills hotels and you might even find deals in some hostels though most are already downright barato (cheap) has the highest concentration of sleeping options for travelers on a budget Room rates spike during the iconic Guelaguetza festival (a folkloric dance and musical extravaganza) in July, Day of the Dead celebrations in late October and early November and the Christmas and Easter holiday periods Mexican vacation season runs from mid-July through August Oaxaca has reasonably priced lodging throughout most of the year even during the high season rates are a steal compared to some of Mexico's pricier beach destinations (sorry Oaxaca's thriving arts and crafts scene – arguably the best in Mexico – overflows with galleries cutting-edge graphic art studios and shops displaying high-quality works makes a great place to start your exploration of stores and galleries don’t miss out on the playful street artists marimba and brass-band ensembles and traditional dancers doing their thing on Oaxaca's shady main square and on the adjoining Alameda de León plaza The atmosphere really comes to life on weekends when street performers work the Zócalo's large crowds for tips you can always plop down on a bench with an elote (grilled Mexican street corn) and soak up the scenery amid the square’s colonial splendor the easily walkable Centro has deservedly earned its Unesco World Heritage badge Along downtown’s cobbled streets you can visit a range of noteworthy sights exquisite baroque churches and free art centers and museums The Museo Textil stocks a collection of some 10,000 textile crafts, and for an early-morning walk, the sentinel Cerro del Fortín affords panoramic views over the city Some main attractions offer free admission for children under 13 and adults over the age of 60 In several of Oaxaca's nearby craft villages, gifted artisans provide free tours of their facilities as they share secrets of the trade with curious onlookers. In the barro negro (black pottery) hub of San Bartolo Coyotepec and in the ancient weaving village of Teotitlán del Valle community-run museums charge nominal entry fees for their interesting folk-art exhibits If you're flying into Oaxaca’s airport Transportación Terrestre's shared shuttle service to the city center costs M$105 (US$5.20) – about half what you'd pay for a private taxi with savings like that you might be able to treat yourself to an extra round of tacos and mezcal Basic room for two in high season: M$800-1000 (US$40-50) Self-catering apartment: from M$500 (US$25) Public transportation fare: city bus service M$8 (US$.40)