Oaxaca, Mexico |
|
|
A visit to Oaxaca could begin by joining the families strolling in the daytime through the Zocalo, the central plaza, with its live band music and street vendors. In the evening comes dining on the balcony of one of the restaurants overlooking the tree-lit plaza, perhaps being serenaded by a mariachi band.
Within the city is Santo Domingo church, which preserves the Spanish-colonial heritage of Oaxaca. The Spanish settled the Oaxaca area in 1532, although it was inhabited by indigenous civilizations (mainly Zapotecs and Mixtecs), for some 5,000 to 10,000 years before. Oaxaca is a Unesco World Heritage City. Among its many attractions is an anthropological museum housed in a former convent that has jewelry from tomb 7 of Monte Albán, a pre-Columbian mountain-top complex just outside the city where at least five civilizations had built one over the other. South of Oaxaca is the ancient temple of Mitla. Both Monte Albán and Mitla are important destinations for visitors with a feeling for history. |
Another long-time project is Niño-a-Niño, a child-to-child health program that teaches nutrition, health, and environmental awareness to the small villages in surrounding Oaxaca State. In earlier years Neighbors Abroad built an observatory and planetarium to take advantage of the high elevation of the area. The City of Palo Alto has contributed surplus fire equipment to Oaxaca and provided training for its firefighters.
|
More contemporary treasures are found in the craft villages that encircle Oaxaca. Each village specializes in a particular art form, such as rugs, black pottery, or the carved and painted wood figures called alebrijes. In Oaxaca itself are orfebre, or goldsmiths’ shops with a tempting outlay of jewelry.
Oaxaca and Palo Alto work together to support the Albergue Infantil Josefino, which cares for 50-plus orphaned, abandoned, and abused children. Travelers to Oaxaca often take suitcases of clothing and supplies collected for the orphanage. Other Links
|