December 1, 2022
Exploring Oaxaca (Part 12)
By Simon J. Lau
This morning, we rented a car to explore towns just outside of Oaxaca City. I had hoped to get a stick shift, as it’s been years since we switched from manual to automatic. Unfortunately, the rental shop only had automatics available. I was so sad. 🌝
First place on our list was Villa de Zaachila, a rural town known for its outdoor markets, a tradition since pre-colonial times. This market was the largest we’ve seen in Mexico so far. Despite taking many pictures, most people were wearing face masks, which muted their expressions and detracted from what would otherwise have be good photographs. This was the only nice photo that I took there.
Afterward, we visited two towns locally renowned for their artistry: San Martín Tilcajete (first photo in this series) and Coyotepec (second photo in this series). San Martín Tilcajete is celebrated for its vibrant tradition of woodcarving, notably the creation of whimsical and colorful animal figurines called “alebrijes.” On the other hand, Coyotepec is renowned for its traditional pottery, particularly its distinctive black pottery known as “barro negro.”
Overall, it was refreshing to venture beyond the city and explore the surrounding areas. It was particularly interesting to delve into Oaxacan culture through the lens of their artistic traditions.
Error: No feed found.
Please go to the Instagram Feed settings page to create a feed.
Comments are closed.