Jardín Etnobotánico de Oaxaca

One of the most informative tours in Oaxaca for me was the one at Jardín Etnobotánico de Oaxaca. I waited until I had been living in Oaxaca for about 2 weeks before taking the tour and I’m glad I did, because by then I knew a bit more about some of the more commonly used herbs, vegetables, and plants in the region. The tour gave me a chance to learn more about them and also see how they grow.

I went to the earliest tour offered at 10AM to avoid the heat as much as possible. I had my hat with me but the office had plenty of sombreros for those in need.

When I arrived I visited the Museum of Oaxacan Cultures and Santo Domingo Cultural Center next door, so I had already seen how lovely the grounds were at this garden. I think even if you’re not a plant-lover this would be a great place to spend an hour or two. Note that you can only see the garden with a tour or when they have special events. Here is our tour guide-

He started us off with some of the native plants like chipilín (totally new to me but used often in Oaxacan cooking),
amaranth,

and chia. By the way, chia is everywhere in Oaxaca and my favorite little courtyard cafe served a refreshing lemon-basil-chia drink. Thanks to E. for introducing me to the place!

We passed by some very large pumpkins and new squashes.

Pochote tree with sharp thorns!

Giant biznaga cactus. Biznaga was also the name of one of the restaurants I went to often for lunch in Oaxaca.
Cactus tree. This tree was tremendous.

Copal wood is used for alebrijes in Oaxaca. Alebrijes are brightly painted sculptures, usually of animals. Here is more info on alebrijes from wikipedia.

Beautiful grounds of the Ethnobotanic Garden of Oaxaca. Cactus fruit, prickly pear, or in Spanish, tuna. It’s a popular ice cream flavor in Oaxaca in the summer time but they can be consumed in variety of ways.

Plumeria or flor de mayo. Our guide told us that there are over 100 names for this flower. In Zapoteco, it’s called cacaloxóchitl. I had to look up the spelling…

I had a great time walking through the garden. I’d love to return and see what the garden looks like in the fall or winter…

Jardín Etnobotánico de Oaxaca: Reforma s/n esq. Constitución, Centro, Oaxaca, Mexico;  www.jardinoaxaca.org.mx

Textile Museum of Oaxaca

Here is another little gem of a museum in Oaxaca that I visited multiple times during my month-long stay. Maybe it’s because I grew up watching my Mom sew, embroider, and knit, but I am fascinated by textile art. Whenever I was in centro my feet would automatically head towards the textile museum to take a closer look at a few huipiles and marvel at their beauty.

The pieces they have on display are from various regions of the state of Oaxaca and the flow of the rooms (or the staff will direct you) have you follow in a chronological order.

Often times I was the only one in the museum so the staff trailed me from room to room.

Each indigenous group has its own distinct designs and patterns, and different ways of stitching. The museum shop has a poster that shows all the different huipiles and dresses from various regions of Oaxaca. On a side note, the textile pieces they have for sales are expensive, but gorgeous and of great quality.

Every time I went I would find something else to stare at for a while.

On Wednesdays at 17:00 they’re supposed to have a guided tour but there was never enough people (minimum of 5 visitors) to hold one. I kept showing up every week asking about the tour and the same security guard would shake his head to tell me to try again the next week. Sadly, it wasn’t meant to be…

They also offer textile workshops where you learn to dye fabrics or weave. Again, my timing was off and I was never able to take a class. Maybe next time?!

 

Museo Textil de Oaxaca: Exconvento de San Pablo Hidalgo 917, Centro, Oaxaca, Mexico

 

Auditorio Guelaguetza

The city of Oaxaca is relatively flat, but one clear days the hills and mountains surrounding it look close enough to touch them. In certain neighborhoods that are on higher grounds you get a wonderful view of not only the mountains in the distance but also the city itself under your feet. One of the first things I noticed when I arrived in Oaxaca was this white structure that look like some futuristic helmet. It looms over the city below and is visible from almost everywhere so I would sometimes use it as my compass. Funnily enough some locals call it Tanga de Hercules or Hercules’ thong.

I’m always looking for a trail or places I can walk to explore and nearly everyone I talked to recommended that I climb up to Cerro del Fortín. Well, Cerro del Fortín turned out to be where this white structure was built and my skeletal helmut was an auditorium specifically built for the big pre-Hispanic festival of Guelaguetza which takes place every July.

I read later that in the recent years the auditorium and the festival itself have become quite controversial as more tourists and commercial endeavors are associated with them. For me, however, the auditorium was a destination for evening strolls and a way to get some exercise into my day. To get up there, I would run slowly walk up these stairs…There are usually runners, local residents walking their dogs, children playing around, and a few vendors selling soft drinks and snacks along the way. A few little streets branch off of the stairs into other neighborhoods, but this little alleyway always made me smile because of the helpful sign that says “alley with no name”

At the top of the stairs, there is a tunnel that goes below a major highway (highway 190). A few people warned me it could be dangerous up on Cerro del Fortín so I was mindful in the beginning to pick the time of the day when I thought there would be more people around.I think what they were referring to was the area behind the auditorium in the hills but I did find the tunnel a bit creepy. It could have been better lit, but I’d pass through it quickly and it wasn’t such a big deal.

I was pleasantly surprised to find a number of murals inside the tunnel though.

Once outside the tunnel, I was greeted by more murals.

A few more flights of stairs later, I was rewarded with a panoramic view of the city of Oaxaca.

You can walk further up the dirt road and get to the planetarium.

Rather than taking the same road back down, I would follow the path in the back towards the parking lot. It gave me a chance to say hello to the large statue of Benito Juárez..

A nice way to work up a sweat and enjoy the view..

 

 

 

Itanoní: All Maíz All the Time

I had high expectations for food in Oaxaca and it didn’t disappoint. There was a great mix of old restaurants doing traditional Oaxacan foods and an impressive new wave of modern Mexican cuisine being created by talented young chefs. I had a tough time deciding where to eat everyday, but one of the places I wanted to visit was a small neighborhood restaurant north of the city called Itanoní. I knew the food there was local, organic, and all made from scratch with maíz as its base. It wasn’t until later I found out it was Alice Waters’ favorite restaurant in Mexico (per Travel + Leisure, 2009); given how Itanoní epitomizes “slow food” it makes sense she liked the place.

The first time I visited, I was accompanied by Alix so we were able to try a few different items. The second time I was lucky enough to have Elise with me so again, share-sies!

I tried atole (hot corn and masa based beverage) for the first time at Itanoní. It’s usually served at breakfast but since I’d never had it before, I thought I would give it a go. It was very mild, neither salty nor sweet. It would have been better had it not been 90+ degrees out but I followed it with a cooling agua, so all was good.

Itanoní had a seriously extensive drinks menu! Not everything was available but you get the idea. Along with the typical tamarindo, papaya, etc aguas, they also had refreshing herb based beverages.

But the real deal here was the tortillas. The ladies who worked there told us that they get different corn each day. They grind the corn using the traditional metate, make the masa and tortilla all by hand, and then grill them on a giant clay comal.

That explained why the first time we went I only had white corn tortillas and on my second visit all the tortillas were made from blue corn. It depends on what kind of corn the restaurant gets each day!

With the tortilla of the day, you have a variety of fillings to choose from.

On top we have the “antojadiza” (ground chicharrón, cream, cheese, and salsa), the bottom one has frijol, hierba santa, cheese, cream, and salsa.

These tubular things below are what they called “tacos”- not exactly what I typically imagine “tacos” to look like. The left on has chicken (tinga de pollo al chipotle), mushroom taco is on the right (champiñones con cebolla y ajo).

What was also interesting here were these triangular quesadillas called tetelas.

Every combination we tried were delicious and I really liked the chill atmosphere. It may not boast the most amazing mole sauce or the spiciest chilies, but Itanoní hit the spot for me.

 I look forward to returning again to this little gem in the Reforma neighborhood.

Itanoní: Belisario Dominguez 513, Reforma, 68050 Oaxaca, Mexico; www.itanoni.com

 

Museo de la Filatelia de Oaxaca: An Unlikely Gem

A friend of mine is in Seoul today despite all the warnings about MERS. While he’s the one in the densely populated city of South Korea where they just reported the 23rd death from this respiratory virus, I’m probably a bit more worse for wear than he is. I woke up with a dull head, a sore throat, and a flurry of sneezes this morning. I suppose being in airplanes for so long and so often last month (10 flights, with the longest one at 12+ hours) was going to catch up with me eventually. It actually looks like a beautiful day here in Manhattan but I am putting myself under a quarantine, hoping whatever is ailing me will get out of my system quickly and I don’t infect anyone else. That means I am picking up where I left off in Mexico.. to a few places in Oaxaca that I really enjoyed visiting. One of them was a stamp museum.

Yes, I went to a stamp museum in Oaxaca.  And no, it’s not what most people who visit this lovely city typically put on their agenda. I was originally heading towards the gardens but I knew I would shrivel up like a raisin within minutes in the sun and humidity of midday Oaxaca. So I walked across the street and opted for the cool (and practically empty) stamp museum.

The security guard seemed a bit surprised to see a visitor but quickly waved me in saying entrance fees were donation based. The temporary exhibition was about humorous stamps, some with child-like cartoon images, some with deeper political messages.

I noticed this set which depicted the mothers and grandmothers in Buenos Aires (Asociación Civil Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo) who since 1977 have been protesting in front of Casa Rosada for their children who “disappeared” during the Dirty War. When I lived in BA back in 2012 I learned some of Argentina’s history and of these women who still make this protest march each week wearing head scarves which have become a symbol of their fight.

The scarves are painted on the ground permanently in Plaza Mayor so even when the women are not physically there you are reminded of their cause.

I spent some time looking at stamps from all over the world and saw that they also had a nice library. The museum was larger than I thought! There was a lovely outdoor area in the back as well. It had a small cafe and there were a couple of ladies who were taking a tea break while a child did his school work. It was very peaceful and tranquil.

Another room in the back had an exhibit entitled Arte Correo or Mail Art and the offices for the institute of historic organs of Oaxaca was next to it. But it was closed so picked up a pamphlet to learn more about it; they are dedicated to restoring and protecting old organs in Oaxaca. Their website is full of interesting information about these musical instruments that date back hundreds of years. There is even a map of where the organs are are in the state of Oaxaca (70+ of them) but now I’m way off the course. Back to stamps…

While I liked the museum overall, the room I was most fascinated by was the bóveda, the vault where there were a number of letters Frida Kahlo wrote to her friend and doctor Leo Eloesser.

In these letters you can read about some of her medical problems (spine issues, inability to have children, etc) but also about her plans, her daily life, relationships, and her well-being. What a gem, right?  Perhaps if I knew about its existence beforehand, I wouldn’t have been so delighted to have stumbled upon it…

But I hope more people will discover this place and enjoy it as much as I did. The stamp museum in Oaxaca is absolutely worth a visit!

 

Museo de la Filatelia de Oaxaca: Reforma 504, Oaxaca, Mexico. www.mufi.org.mx