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¡VIVA LA GUELAGUETZA
OF OAXACA!
July 18 – 27, 2008
The beautiful colonial city of Oaxaca
will be our home base for our visit to this rich and fertile state in
southern Mexico.
This user-friendly town has one of Mexico’s
loveliest zócalos, a plethora of art museums, spectacular
churches, an ethno-botanical
garden of world renown, some of my favorite food and folk art markets in Mexico, and…every July it is host to
one of Mexico’s
most treasured festivals, the Guelaguetza.
The Guelaguetza
is a gigantic celebration in which communities from all seven regions in the
state of Oaxaca
gather to proudly present as a gift to the city their regional culture
through music, costumes, dances, and food. (The word guelaguetza
in Zapotec means reciprocal gift and is tied to
age-old indigenous tradition.) As is so often the case in Mexico, the celebration is a
fusion of pre-Hispanic roots honoring Centeotl
(goddess of tender corn) blended with a good healthy dose of colonial-era
Christianity in the form of the Virgin of Carmen. Aside from the dance
performances that take place in a large outdoor stadium in the hills above
town, the yearly event also includes theatre, processions, fireworks, and
cultural events throughout the city and in the villages.
Our visit will also include many day
trips to villages in the outlying valleys where a plethora of fabulous folk
art—ceramic, wooden, woven, and more—is created. We'll visit today’s
masters in San Bartolo Coyotepec,
home of Oaxaca’s famous black pottery, the wood carving village of San Martín Tilcajete, and the rug
weaving village of Teotítlan del Valle, and in Ocotlán,
see Rodolfo
Morales’ colorful kitchen and the whimsical pottery of the Aguilar
Sisters. In the weaving village
of Santo Tomás Jalieza, we'll visit a
household of lovely women weavers who do beautiful work on the backstrap loom and they’ll even patiently allow us to try
our hand at their beautiful art. While you’re doing that, I’ll be sneaking
into the kitchen to watch them prepare a delicious Oaxacan
meal for us. This day spent with them is one of my favorite days of the
entire year .
Speaking of great food, Oaxaca
is known for its complex and delicious regional cuisine and our meals—in restaurants,
humble homes, or world-class cooking schools—will allow us to savor a wide
array of these glorious Oaxacan culinary
specialties. We will take part in a cooking class for novice and pro alike
with renowned local chef Susana Trilling at her wonderful ranch and cooking
school, Seasons of My Heart.
It's an all day affair that begins in the village of Etla, shopping and tasting
our way through the market before we head to the ranch to work our way through
sopa and ensalada
and maybe a mole. After our hard day's work we'll sip a margarita and
enjoy the fruits of our labor, a luscious Oaxacan
meal.
The ancient Mixtec
and Zapotec ruins of Oaxaca offer yet another interesting realm
in which to delve, and our trip will include in-depth guided visits to the
important sites of both Monte Albán and Mitla.
The weather in July in Oaxaca is surprisingly
comfortable. Surprising only because most of us tend to think of Mexico
as two long stretches of palm-lined beaches with little in between. Truth be
told, the valle of Oaxaca provides rather temperate weather
throughout the year. The hottest times is in the spring before the cooling
rains begin, and by July we can expect green hillsides, temperatures in the
80s, and afternoon showers each day.
Our charming inn on this tour is Las Bugambilias,
a sweet bed and breakfast just two blocks of the pedestrian-only main street
and a short walk from Oaxaca’s
charming central plaza. The owners of the inn, Aurora and Don, are part of a
gracious and generous bicultural family that has been welcoming people into
their home for over twenty years. Each of the inns eight guest rooms is
unique and comfortable. Indoors and out there is plenty of shared space in
which to gather as a group to share stories at the end of the day. I’m quite
certain you’ll feel like part of the family by the end of your first
delicious breakfast here.
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PUEBLA EXTENSION
For those of you (like me!)
who can’t get enough of a good thing, please
consider joining me before the Guelaguetza tour
begins for six more days of fun, food, and festivities in the stunning colonial
tiled city of Puebla.
We’ll spend our days
visiting the wealth of museums, architectural wonders, and culinary Meccas this city holds. My very dear and extremely
gracious friends in Puebla
will open their arms to us, welcoming us behind the doors and into the
heart of this splendid city.
July 11—17, 2008 $1200
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¡Viva la Guelaguetza OF oaxaca!
July 18 - 27, 2008
Ten days, nine nights in Oaxaca
City.
The price for this trip is $2,600 per person, double occupancy.
Single occupancy supplement is $500.
Puebla
Extension July 11 - 17, 2008 . Price for Puebla Extension is
$1,200.
Prices include lodging, two abundant meals each day, ground
transportation, bilingual guides,
and entry fees to all performances, cooking classes, sites, and events.
Price does not include airfare, airport transfer, and personal expenses.
A deposit of $500 is required to register for this tour.
Checks should be made payable to My Mexico Tours and mailed to Box 2457,
Santa Cruz, CA 95063
Deposit is fully refundable until May 18, 2008
Nonrefundable—though transferable—after May 18, 2008, less a $100 service fee
Payment in full is due June 18, 2008
Click here
if you need more information or would like to pay by credit card.
MY MEXICO
TOURS BOX 2457 SANTA CRUZ, CA 95063
Betsy@MyMexicoTours.com
831.476.9693
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