San Martin Tilcajete

Today's activity was an optional tour for which we paid an extra fee. The destination was the village of San Martin Tilcajete, which became sort of an artist's colony for indigenous Zapotec craftspersons.

First stop was at the home of Jesus and Roxana Hernandez. Jesus is a carver of copal wood. The copal is a tree that grows only in this area and is considered sacred in Zapotec culture. The wood is burned as an incense to ward off evil spirits, especially after the birth of a child.

The wood is also used, traditionally, for the carving of "alebrijes." These are fantasy animals, sometimes inspired by dreams or by visions engendered by ingesting hallucinogenic plants or mushrooms. Because of the way the wood is dried after carving and before finishing, each piece requires many weeks to finish.

Roxana is an artist who paints alebrijes, often employing the same sorts of geometric symbols that we saw yesterday in the stone work of the ancient Zapotec temple. The artistry is a family business, with their children, nieces, and nephews working as apprentices.

The finished creations are interesting, but quite pricey. That didn't stop members of our group from taking quite a number of them home. However, we don't need more stuff at our house, so we bought nothing.

Lunch was at a nearby restaurant, and was one our best meals. Mine was a stuffed chile pepper with a wonderful mole sauce. Other items were equally good and interesting.

Next stop was the next village over, San Bartolo Coyotipec, where the pottery studio "Dona Rosa" is located. Dona Rosa is long dead, but her grandson provided a demonstration of the Zapotec pottery technique that has been passed down for centuries.

The most distinctive thing about the pottery is the clay, which yields a glossy black finish without the use of any sort of glaze.

The distinctive thing about the technique is the use of the Zapotec pottery wheel, which simply consists of two plates, one upside down on a table and the other holding the clay and rotated by the potter directly, without the use of any foot wheel or motor.

The color and texture of the pottery was interesting, and the prices much more down to earth, but we again saw nothing worth bringing home.

After returning to the hotel, Balam, our tour leader, led a walking tour for those who wished to go, into the neighborhood or barrio of Oaxaca just east of the old Spanish city center. In colonial times, this was "the other side of the river" where non-Spaniards were permitted to live.

Today, this barrio known as "Jalatlaco," is a thriving area for art galleries, restaurants, bars, shops, and artist studios.

It is especially known for the murals that decorate the streets, and as a location for enthusiastic celebrations of Mexico's "Day of the Dead" in October and November.

Many of the murals use the Day of the Dead as a theme, emphasizing the concept of the afterlife as a place of celebration.

The spirits of the dead, represented as skeletons, enjoy dancing and drinking, music and flowers. And they nearly always have their pets with them.

After enjoying the street art, we enjoyed some street food. We happened upon our bus driver having his dinner at a "torta" stand (basically a food truck) at the corner of the small park near our hotel. He helped us order chorizo tortas "Para llevar" (to go). Two large sandwiches for less than five bucks, and they were delicious! The only others in the group brave enough to join us were Tom and Jane Buch from Ohio. They have traveled extensively in Central and South America, and we enjoyed comparing notes with them about our travels as we ate our tortas together on a park bench.