Mexico Mosaic: The Journey Continues

The Sierras and Parque Nacional Cumbres (National Summits Park) have been described as "the best scenery in the world.” I had a list of places to see: Cola de Caballo, Puerto Genoveva, El Manzano, Cienega de Gonzales, Cañon de San Cristobal, Cañon de San Isidro and Laguna de Sanchez, a dry lake. It would be an all-day drive into the mountains. I preferred to have some company and be free to look at the sights rather than watching the road.

Leaping Dancers

Nine young Zapotec men in their 20's and 30’s bedecked in bold primary colors – red, green, yellow, black -- and crowned with feathered headdresses the size of a large moon, leap and twirl into the air, shake rattles and raise a carved and painted wooden talisman to the sky. They are reenacting the Spanish conquest through dance as an annual ritual of remembrance. The accompanying band, a crew of both veteran and youthful musicians, play flutes, cymbals, drums, trumpets, tubas, clarinets, saxophones, in an oompah-pah cadence reminiscent of a Sousa march with hints of German polka. They chant and speak a conversation between Moctezuma and Cortes, in which Cortes says there will be a special god that will come in the appearance of Cortes and conquer the Aztecs. The entourage includes Malinche, the Aztec princess who learned Spanish, became courtesan to Cortes, and betrayed her people according to lore. Two masked clowns, the buffoons, parade between the dancers and along the sidelines, make mocking gestures. Village children represent the Spanish soldiers in a parade before the dance begins.

This year (2008), the Dance of the Feathers is scheduled to start July 9th in Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca.

Hierve el Agua

The Sierra Norte in Oaxaca is a heavily-wooded area east of the city of Oaxaca, divided into three districts: Ixtlán, Villa Alta, and Mixe. Ixtlán is well known for ecotourism.

Ecotourism as we know it in the Ixtlán district of the Sierra Norte, may never reach the Mixe because of its distance from the city of Oaxaca. However the Mixe still has many of the trappings which attract travelers who want to get away from urban life and see different and more natural sights. In terms of material culture, the district may in fact be superior. Certainly the drive, best handled as a two-day excursion, has much to offer beginning from its ascent out of Oaxaca's central valleys.

What's in store should you venture off on this 280 kilometer round-trip trek are cave paintings, cascading springs, meals so fresh that the roadside eateries have no need for refrigeration, markets, by-products of the agave plant such pulque and mezcal, pottery in a style and color not often encountered in the state capital, and on a daily basis women wearing unique, regional dress.

The drive itself, without stops or side trips, takes upwards of 3 hours, beginning in Oaxaca and ending at the recommended final destination of Santa María Tlahuitoltepec. But it's the journey which holds much of the allure.