Greetings!
You might already know that Oaxaca is like nowhere else in Mexico. Rich with colonial charm, vibrant with native spirit and thoroughly steeped in a proud, welcoming tradition. It's a culture that expresses itself in so many ways. This expression incorporates cooking, folk art, festivals and dance.
Fiestas and festivals are so much a part of social life that even visitors feel swept up in the mood. That is not something you find all over Mexico. Modernization, in recent years, has brought changes here, including more comfort and convenience for visitors, but nothing has diminished its extraordinary diversity and charm. In this issue of the Oaxaca Newsletter we'll talk about the emerging food scene, a new hotel fitting in with its neighbors, an ancient festival celebrating life, the significance of traditional clothing and a drink that has made many a occasion into a celebration.
| This is Not Your Father's Holiday Inn |
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 Oaxaca's new neighbor looks just like an old friend. Located in the historic zone and just up the street from Oaxaca's main square sits the Holiday Inn Centro Historico - with its main entrance just across from historic Conzati park.
Opening this hotel required the owners to be in constant touch with INHA (National Institute of Anthropology and History) to be sure that the building blended in with the older buildings in the historic center of Oaxaca.
What was achieved is a melding of comfort, convenience, beauty and environmental responsibility. Other cities can take a lesson here. Introducing the 'new' doesn't have to include a disrespect for the past.
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| Day of the Dead in Oaxaca |
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 The ancient Oaxacan rituals in honor of the dead mixed religious beliefs with fable. When the Spaniards conquered the country, indigenous customs were rooted so deeply that after five centuries of colonization they continued to survive and remain as current as in their first days.
Indigenous people believed that souls did not die, but continued living in Mictlan, a special place for them to finally rest. Spirits here could rest placidly and wait, not for a judgment or resurrection, but for something simpler and more attractive: for the day they could return to their old earthly homes to visit their living relatives, who might not see them, but who could surely feel their presence.
Full Story...
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| Weaving Meaning Into Cloth |
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 Catching a glimpse of a Trique lady scurrying around Oaxaca in her striking red huipile (indigenous blouse), is like catching a glimpse of a butterfly. Which, as it turns out, is exactly what a huipile is. More or less.
"Until the butterfly leaves its cocoon, you never know what it will look like. It is the same with our huipiles," says weaver Martiez Martinez, as she describes where the Trique people find their inspiration.
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Full Story ...
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| A Brief look into the magic of Mexcalmetl |
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 Mezcal ( from Mexcalmetl, the prehispanic Nahuatl language, meaning Agave) is revered as a magical, ceremonial, and medicinal drink in Oaxaca where nearly twenty-five percent of the total Indian population of Mexico live.
The indigenous languages and cultures of Oaxaca are amazingly diverse and are relatively non-industrialized nor changed much by modern society.
More on this topic
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In Oaxaca, a Cook Creates a Stir
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By KENT BLACK New York Times® August 14, 2002
...........Iliana de la Vega, owner of El Naranjo restaurant has been drawing an international roster of fans who love her light and refreshing renditions of a sometimes heavy cuisine. But among her fellow Oaxacans, she is a culinary heretic.
Read more about Iliana and the stir she is creating |
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