Oaxaca - pt. 1 - History

Mon. Feb. 1 was a holiday in Mexico - Constitution Day - and we used the time off of work and school to visit "quintessential" Mexico: Oaxaca.

Oaxaca is about 6 driving hours south of Mexico City. (DF is about 14-16 driving hours south of the most southern tip of Texas, just for reference). This city is separated from Central Mexico (DF, Puebla, Toluca, etc.) by a very serious mountain range that was immensely difficult to cross until very modern road construction. Even as few as 10 years ago, the drive from DF to Oaxaca could take a couple of days through windy mountain roads.

Most people think that the insurmountable terrain is what kept the Spanish conquistadors out of Oaxaca and let the natives there continue their way of life for so long (even today, Oaxaca State has the greatest number of living indigenous peoples in all of Mexico). The terrain certainly was a major factor, but there was also another factor: cochineal. The Zapotec Indians formed a labor union, of sorts, that harvested the cochineal's red dye and sold it to the Spanish, who in turn sold it to the English (for their red-coat army uniforms) at a hefty mark-up. (see this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cochineal for more info)

Due to the undesirable climate, the difficulty of traveling there, and the locals' willingness to do a job they wanted done but didn't want to do, the Spanish didn't really "conquer" the Oaxaca region like they did central mexico. Even today, it's harder to travel to this area, which is warm but not beachy, so there are fewer tourists coming. As such, the natural beauty, the traditional handicrafts, and the ancient archeological sites are in much better shape than elsewhere in Mexico. I felt like this was the "heart" of Mexico. Much like most tourists would visit Disney Land or New York City but have no idea how the rest of us live in central U.S., most tourists visit Cancun or Mexico City and not really understand Oaxaca.

The first thing we did was visit Monte Alban, an ancient city center for the Toltec nation, the mother nation of Mexico.


Climbing Monte Alban Steps:


Finally at the top!



Ball Court:

Behind me is the court where the Toltecs played a ball game. They thought that the gods would choose the winner, so often the losers would then be sacrificed or enslaved or something, but at least no one had to watch boring advertisements during time-outs!