 
 
CHRISTMAS
IN OAXACA
 
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MUSEUMS in Oaxaca
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ART GALLERIES
in Oaxaca
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Oaxaca’s museums and galleries hold many of the region’s most valuable treasures.
From the jewels of Monte Albán to contemporary internationally distinguished artists, Oaxaca is one of the richest states for arts and crafts in Mexico.
MAJOR MUSEUMS
[MAP OF OAXACA HISTORIC CENTER]
Following is a list of some of the many excellent art museums in Oaxaca City. Visiting them will add a great deal of insight to the daily images you will see around you in Oaxaca. For small groups one can also arrange a guided tour of the galleries with wine and hors 'd'oeuvres reception.
BENITO JUAREZ HOME located at Garcia Vigil 609 between Carranza and Quetzalcoatl is the home in Oaxaca of the former President during his student years, with period furnishings ca. 1820-40 and memorabilia.
INSTITUTE of GRAPHIC ARTS of OAXACA (IAGO) located at Alcala 507, north of Allende opposite the Santo Domingo Church, was created in 1989 by one of Mexico's most original and important contemporary artists, Oaxaca native Francisco Toledo.
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IAGO has a splendid 10,000 volume library on art, architecture, archaeology, photography, movies, crafts, literature, and design; also a permanent collection of over five thousand graphic works, temporary exhibition galleries, a select book shop of hard-to-find publications, and two patios (one a restaurant). Its low-key atmosphere in a restored colonial house provides added charm to its highly professional resources and operation.
MUSEUM of CONTEMPORARY ART of OAXACA (MACO) Alcala 202 between Morelos and Murguia is housed in a large colonial building with two handsome patios (one with food service), a good bookstore of non-commercial monographs, magazines, postcards, and books on Mexican arts and culture, mostly in Spanish. With large galleries on two floors, the museum features permanent exhibitions of Oaxaca artists Francisco Toledo, Rodolfo Morales, Rufino Tamayo, Rodolfo Nieto, and Francisco Gutierrez. It also holds important temporary exhibitions from México and abroad.
REGIONAL MUSEUM of the STATE of OAXACA located in the Ex-Convent of Santo Domingo on Alcala between Gurrion and Berriozabal. It is an excellent regional museum covering the period from nomadic hunters to high pre-Hispanic civilization represented by Monte Alban (its apex was 300-800 A.D.). This is a ‘must’ visit partly because of the stately building itself, the grand two-story cloister with its monumental stairway to the second floor with grandiose early fresco work on walls and the vault of the stairwell. And also because the museum contains essential information for the visitor to obtain some grasp of the important pre-Hispanic past of the region as well as providing a chance to see a selection of the gold jewelry found in archaeological sites in the State of Oaxaca; most notably the rich trove found by archaeologist Alfonso Caso in Tomb 7 of Monte Alban. Tuesday–Friday: 10am–8pm; Saturday/sunday/Holiday: 10am-5pm. Closed Mondays)
RUFINO TAMAYO MUSEUM of PRE-COLOMBIAN ART located at Morelos 503 between Porfirio Diaz and Tinoco y Palacios. The acclaimed Oaxaca painter Rufino Tamayo restored this handsome colonial house and designed the installation of his pre-Columbian art collection of pieces from Mexico's major ancient civilizations. Tamayo began collecting in 1948 on a trip by donkey around the State of Veracruz, where he saw ancient Olmec idols lying in streams and little girls dressing them up like dolls. He came back with six crates of immensely valuable pieces purchased for 20 to 100 pesos. Monday–Saturday: 10am-2pm, 4pm-7pm; Sunday: 10am-3pm)
RELIGIOUS MUSEUM OF LA SOLEDAD is in the Basilica de Nuestra Señora de la Soledad on Independencia 107 between Arteaga and Morelos. This museum shows adornments, memorabilia and works of art related to the cult of the Church and the Virgin of the Soledad, patron saint of Oaxaca.
In association with Oaxaca Tours, the Union of Community Museums of Oaxaca, Mexico, a grassroots organization of 16 villages, is offering ecological and cultural tours to six different villages in the Central Valleys of Oaxaca and six in the Mixteca region. The tours include visits to museums, to little-known natural and archaeological sites, to see the work of candle-makers, fire-cracker makers, traditional bakers, traditional healers, and the many different weavers and potters of these villages. Villagers explain the many uses of their environment through the recollection of materials for natural dyes, for healing, the use of maguey plants to make pulque, the harvesting of cinnamon bark, of ginger root, and coffee. Small groups can be provided guided tours which can be arranged through Oaxaca Tours, 516-1005.
There are twelve community museums open to the public. Santa Ana del Valle has exhibits presenting archaeological artifacts, the local experience of the Mexican Revolution, the Danza de la Pluma (Feather Dance) and the traditional zapotec weaving. It is located 34 kilometers from the City of Oaxaca on highway 190, and three kilometers from the small city of Tlacolula. Teotitlan del Valle has a museum located in what used to be the municipal marketplace, with exhibits covering archaeological discoveries, the zapotec weaving and the customs involved in the traditional weddings. Teotitlan is 28 kilometers from the City of Oaxaca, 4 kilometers before arriving at Tlacolula on highway 190.
San Jose el Mogote has a museum located in the reconstructed "Hacienda del Cacique". Its archaeological exhibit includes discoveries from 10 years of continuous excavations. Other themes presented are the history of the hacienda and the towns' struggle to recover its lands. It is located at 12km on highway 170. At km33 on this same highway is the town of Santiago Suchilquitongo, which has a museum explaining the tomb. No.5 of Cerro de la Campana, which describes eight generations of a preHispanic ruling family. The exhibits also include a presentation of the tradition of the mayordomia, and of the local art of stone-carving. A few kilometers beyond, at km35 on highway 170 is the town of San Pablo Huitzo, whose museum is located in a 16th century Dominican convent. The exhibits will include archaeological artifacts and a collection of religious art, and are scheduled to open in May, 1997. In the Valley of Ocotlan, the town of San Pablo Huixtepec hosts a museum with archaeological artifacts and a description of their main fiesta of the "Señor del Jacal". It is located 40 kilometers from the City of Oaxaca on highway 131.
In the Mixteca region there is a community museum at San Martin Huamelulpan, which presents an extensive archaeological collection and an exhibit on traditional healing. This town is located on highway 125, about ten kilometers to the north of the small city of Tlaxiaco. Traveling along this same highway, fifteen kilometers to the south of Tlaxiaco, is the town of San Miguel del Progreso, which has a museum presenting historical photographs and documents concerning land tenure, the craft of weaving with the back-strap loom, and an archaeological collection.
Thirty kilometers to the south of San Miguel, on an unpaved road, is the town of Santa Maria Yucuhiti, located on a hillside that drops 1,000 meters from the highlands to the coastal lowlands. Its community museum describes its archaeology, the town's struggles over land tenure and the Mixtec weaving.
Thirty kilometers to the North of Tlaxiaco is the Mixtec town of San Juan Mixtepec, which hosts a community museum presenting local archaeological finds, a description of the legend of the towns' foundation, and the local events of the Mexican Revolution. Forty kilometers to the north of the city of Huajuapan, on highway 125, is San Pedro and San Pablo Tequixtepec, whose museum contains an extensive archaeological collection of sculptured stone. At an hour and a half trip from the City of Oaxaca, traveling on the new superhighway to Mexico City, is the town of San Miguel Tequixtepec. It is located ten kilometers from the Coixtlahuaca exit. This town created its museum in a restored colonial building, and presents archaeological remains, documentation about an original Codex from this town, and an exhibit on the local craft of palm-leaf weaving.
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 MAP OF OAXACA HISTORIC CENTER: Hotels, restaurants, and points of interest.
MAP OF OAXACA CENTRAL VALLEYS: Archeological sites and craft villages.
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