Rooting Out the ‘Real’ Mexican Culture in Oaxaca Bill Wiatrak - Houstonia
go to original June 22, 2017

36 Hours in Oaxaca, Mexico (Matador Network)

Oaxaca de Juárez - the city’s full name - is full of great places to visit if you can roust yourself from the serenity of sitting in the main square. You can wander the streets, enjoying great food and finding a potential Instagram hit around every corner.

Oaxaca proper has all the great restaurants and hotels that tourists could possibly want, without sacrificing any of its old world charm. However, if you want to get out of the city for a day or two, there are lots of interesting things to see and experience nearby.

Monte Albán is one of the most famous ruins in Mexico and is unique in that it’s situated atop a mountain less than half an hour outside the city center. The pre-Columbian ceremonial site was originally built by the indigenous Zapotec civilization, so it’s quite unlike its Mayan, Olmec or Aztec neighbors. The ruins consist of a large field surrounded by steps, pyramids, ball courts and various temples and other buildings.

The pyramids at Monte Albán are impressive, but equally interesting are the stelae, which have been assembled in a long row for easy viewing. Normally, such carved stones are whisked away to a museum; these, however, have remained on the grounds where they were discovered. The site is one of the largest in Mexico and can take a few hours to navigate. Large crowds that seem overwhelming when you’re standing in the ticket line seem to magically disappear once you’ve entered the vast complex, each finding their own corner within the 55-acre site.

Looking for something a little more intimate? Head to nearby Mitla, a small town a little east of Oaxaca that’s easy to fall in love with - and fast. Not only are the little shops and streets charming (and devoid of the parking issues you’ll find in Oaxaca), Mitla is also home to some of the most important ruins of the Zapotec culture. The city was originally established as a religious center and gateway between the living and the dead, and was still functioning as such when Spanish conquistadores arrived here in the 1520s.

The architecture is different than anything else you’ll find in Mexico, particularly in the fact that its intricate mosaics were elaborately fitted together without mortar. When the Spanish took over an indigenous city, they usually destroyed the main temple and placed a Catholic church on the foundation. Such is the case in Mitla, with the Church of San Pablo, which boasts interesting mix of indigenous and Spanish architecture. Both it and the rest of the town are definitely worth seeing if you’re heading outside Oaxaca.

Mezcal and tequila might seem similar at first, but mezcal is manufactured in Oaxaca - the undisputed capital of the agave-based spirit - and the area is full of factories that you can visit, as well as local distilleries that look as rustic as an illegal moonshine distillery. Creating this elixir involves cooking the agave plant in a below-ground pit, allowing its sweet leaves to ferment, and then turning this sappy material into the smoky spirit we know and love.

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Related: The Cultural Tourist: Go for Baroque in Mexico (The Australian)

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