Up for breakfast at Hotel Camino Real with Kyle and Mark. The morning is glorious: cool in the shade, warm in the sun, clear skies. The air smells marvelous. There is not much movement on the streets as we walk the few blocks to the hotel. This is definitely an evening town. The Camino Real is very charming. It inhabits the Ex-Convento de Santa Catalina, a women’s convent founded in 1576. Juarez drove the sisters out in 1862; and the building subsequently served as city hall, a school and movie theater. Now it has been restored as a beautiful hotel. We find a table for five on the cloister and Kyle and Mark soon join us. The brunch is fantastic: tamales, eggs, pork, ham, bacon, all kinds of breads and pastries, and regional items as well. We have a delightful breakfast with good company. |
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As we are leaving the hotel, the conversation turns to the day’s plans. Kyle and Mark are going to Teotitlan for rug shopping. They ask us to go with them, and after some waffling on our part—because we had sort of made a schedule for the days we have left—we agree to accompany them. |
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Across the street from the Camino Real, Sara, Mitch, Mark and Kyle debate the trip to the countryside. |
Back to our respective hotels to sort ourselves out
and get what accessories we need for the day and we meet at the
garage where their car is parked. Road Trip!! The three of us squeeze into the back seat--and it is a squeeze--and off we go. First to Teotitlan to check out the weavers.
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In the town center lies the Church of the Precious Blood of Christ, shown here undergoing restoration of the bell towers. Erected on a site believed to be a ceremonial center of the Zapotecs, the Church structure rises from among the ancient, crumbling stones of the ruins. Actually, many of the green stones used for the walls, as well as several of the columns in the backyard, once belonged to the original indigenous temple. |
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| Church of the Precious Blood of Christ |
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Below the Church is a textiles market with numerous stands displaying rugs, serapes and rebozos (shawls). The town itself is riddled with artisan's locales and houses where you can see them at work on their looms and purchase their wares.
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The Weaver's Arcade with Topiary Moss on the Telephone Lines is Used to Create a Dye |
| The Weaver's Stalls on the Arcade at Teotitlan |  |
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| Weaving is an integral part of the cultural identity of the Zapotecs in Teotitlan del Valle. It is a time consuming, laborious process, but one that is a source of great pride. Everything is done by hand. The finished product is a reflection of hundreds of years of knowledge and skill, mixed with the flavors and influences of modern life. | |
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| At the weekly market in nearby Tlacolula, pillow-like bags stuffed with freshly shorn wool are purchased, the first step in its journey from the dust covered backs of sheep to the weaver's loom. The wool will be washed thoroughly, carded, spun into yarn, dyed, measured onto spools, and finally woven on a large wooden loom. Each step of the process is done by hand with techniques that have been handed down for generations. | |
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The carding, done with two flat brushes the size of ping-pong paddles with short wire bristles, removes the debris that remains in the raw wool and prepares the wool for spinning.
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Cranking a spinning wheel with one hand and pulling the wool with a practiced subtle touch with the other, transforms the resulting lint-like sheets into strong yarn. After filling several spindles with newly spun yarn, the spinning wheel is used to un-spool the yarn, creating loose bundles ready for dying.
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In enormous use-blackened pots, the dyes that transform the wool work their age-old magic. The soaked bundles of freshly dyed yarn are lifted out of the pot and hung up to dry. Most of the dyes used are natural dyes, coming from roots, leaves, nutshells, even insects. Successive uses of each pot of dye will create progressively softer colored yarn.
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The red comes from the cochineal, a little insect that lives on the nopal cactus. The color of most of the natural dyes is soft, but by adding lime juice to the cochineal, they get a brilliant red. Three different plants are used to get the yellows, and each one gives four different shades from successive dyes. Another red comes from brazil wood. To make this dye, the brazil wood is soaked in water for two months.The brown dye that comes from pecan shells is also made this way. Several different parts of the pecan tree are used to get browns, including the roots, the leaves, and the shells. The shell gives a stronger color than the leaves. Some of the dyes, like the cochineal and the indigo, don't take months to prepare. They are just mixed with water. The leaves and flowers of the indigo plant gives various shades of blue. Some of the colors come from a combination of dyes. There is an orange, for example, that comes from first dying the yarn red and then dying it orange. A green comes from that same process.
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| Once the yarn is spun and dyed, it's time to create. All of the weavers in Teotitlan have worked years to learn and refine their craft. Many of the designs are traditional patterns, which they know by heart. These weavings unfold without the aid of any patterns. Sometimes, if they are making something new or especially difficult, they will follow the pattern on a piece of paper under the strings of the loom. The weavers use big wooden two pedal looms similar to the ones the Spanish introduced five hundred years ago. A simple 2.5'x5.0' weaving can take ten days or more to finish. Larger ones can take months. |  |
Kyle and Mark have a particular stall where they have bought things before. All the goods are beautiful in all the stalls. I want everything. One of the weavers recognizes Mark and calls him by name. It is Amalia, their weaver of choice. He introduces her. |
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Some of Amalia's Rugs Mitch Bought the Bright Red One on the Left |
| Mama Grinds the Cochineal While Amalia Cards the Wool, and Sara and Mark Look On |  |
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Mama Spins the Carded Wool As Kyle Watches |
| Bundles of Yarn Waiting for the Loom |  |
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Cactus, Cochineal, Walnuts, Indigo Dyed Yarns |
Mama & Amalia Demonstrate the Process Sara, Mark and LRH Watch |
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Amalia’s English is excellent, but when she speaks to Mama, she uses Zapoteca. Mama shows us the pewter-gray cochineal bugs and demonstrates how they turn crimson when they are crushed--amazing sight. Amalia cards some wool and Mama spins for us. Kyle and Mark, Mitch and Sara all buy rugs. I get a bag as a souvenir (which I turn into a table runner when I get home.) On our way back to the stalls, I spot a band in front
of the church. We are just in time for a wedding parade. Back to the stalls
for a few more items and a coke at the corner stand while we wait for
Amalia to finish tying up the ends of K & M’s rug. We throw everything
into the trunk and we’re off to Mitla. |
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Church of the Precious Blood of Christ in Teotitlan Striking Up the Band for the Wedding Parade |
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The Wedding Procession Exits the Church Yard and Marches Down the Street |
| Several thousand years ago, small nomadic bands wandered this region living a hunter/gatherer existence. These were the ancestors of the Zapotec indians. With the discovery of basic farming techniques, these nomads began to settle in small communities, forming the roots of the Zapotec nation. As people and knowledge started to centralize, the Zapotecs also turned their efforts towards academic endeavors, creating their own writing system and religious and solar calendars. Around 500 BC, the villages in the region banded together to create a central capital. A mountain top was chosen with a clear view of each of the surrounding three valleys. First taking on the gargantuan task of leveling off the top of the mountain, the Zapotecs built a ceremonial center which would eventually hold temples, an observatory, and a ball court. This was Monte Albán. On the surrounding mountainsides, a vibrant community sprang to life. By 200 BC it had grown to 15,000, and by 450 AD it had reached a peak of 25,000, spreading across Monte Albán's terraced slopes. This was the center of a Zapotec empire that would span much of today’s modern day Mexico. Around 700 AD, for reasons not completely known, the people of Monte Albán began to drift away, settling in villages throughout the valley. Some theorize that once-dangerous external threats had ceased to exist. Others suggest that the city outgrew the agricultural ability of the surrounding land. Whatever the reason, the loss of its central source of power lead to the end of the Zapotec empire’s supremacy. By 900 AD the Mixtecs had replaced them as the region’s power. Several hundred years later, it was the Aztecs who were consolidating power over the Zapotecs. But the event that would have the most impact on the lives of the Zapotec indians was the arrival of the Spanish in the 1500’s. As was their practice throughout their conquests, the Spanish set about converting the Zapotecs to Christianity soon after their arrival. The Zapotecs, rather than abandoning their own religion in favor of Christianity, simply combined them. Some elements of that combination exist even today. The arrival of the Spanish was devastating to the Zapotecs. During the colonization period of the 1500’s and 1600’s, the population plummeted from 450,000 to 35,000, mostly due to diseases such as smallpox, the plague and measles. There were times when these diseases killed several people a day in Teotitlán alone. From those who remained among the living, the Spanish required a tribute. The people of Teotitlán del Valle paid a tribute in cotton cloth. The Spanish also instituted a system of forced labor called "repartimiento," effectively making the indians slaves. Today, the Zapotecs are one of Mexico’s largest indigenous groups with a population of around 500,000. They remain a separate group of people, with their own language and a distinct culture. Zapoteca remains the primary language spoken in the home. While they share a common language, people from different villages often have a difficult time understanding one another, as the Zapotec dialect can differ substantially from village to village. It's not uncommon for people from different villages to use Spanish as a common language. Today's Zapotecs retain much of their traditional culture, not least through crafts such as weaving and pottery. Many are among the poorest of Mexico's citizens. |
| The Name Mitla is derived from the Nahuatl word “Mictlan”, which means “Place of the Dead”. In the Language of the Zapotecans, it is called “Lyobaa”, which means “Burial Place”. The name in the language of the original builders (The Zapotecans) is probably the most accurate when one considers the tombs of the ancient kings and priests which are actually an integral part of the structures within the city. Archaeological evidence indicates that the site was actually inhabited as early as 900 BC, but the structural remains of the city itself have dates ranging between 200 AD and 900 AD. The Structural remains of the city correspond with the height of Zapotecan rule over the region from Monte Alban (500 BC to 800 AD). It must be noted, however, that Mitla experienced its greatest growth between 750 AD and 1521 AD; and this period of growth corresponds with the end of Zapotecan rule over the area and the beginning of Mixtec rule with its center of power based in Mitla. Political Power in Mitla followed the same theocratic structure as Monte Alban. In 1580, an early Spanish explorer named Canseco visited Monte Alban and said that the interior chamber of the Hall of Columns was the residence of the High Priest who was “like our Pope”. And the Spanish Chronicler, Father Burgoa, said that Mitla was once the residence of the Zapotec High Priest who was so powerful that the King Zaashila bowed to his wishes and commands. He went on to say that the High Priest ruled from his Jaguar covered throne - even the King, when in his presence, took a lower seat. | |
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The ancient city of Mitla was made up of 5 main palaces, or precincts: One for the Zapotecan High Priest, One for secondary priests, one for military officers, with one reserved for the king and another for his entourage (when they were in town). Today, what is left of Mitla, gives us a glimpse back into the past. To a time when the walls with long panels of geometric mosaics made of polished stone and pieced together without mortar stood out against a brilliant red background. A time when the codex style writing which covered the walls of the palaces were bright and new. When priests were trained here, and the noble dead were laid to rest. |
| Mitla is dry, dusty and packed with
tourists. We spend very little time here, sticking to the Palace of Columns
and the Columns Group. The stairs are too daunting to me, so I spend my
time sitting in the plaza with Kyle and Mark watching the tourists. |
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Hall of Columns -- Mitch Gets a Close-up of a Bas Relief |
| In Front of the Hall of Columns |  |
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A Fallen Stele |
| Mark and Mitch on the Patio |  |
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Side of Hall of Columns |
| Stairs Down to a Tomb |  |
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Mitla Ruins with the Church in the Background |
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Mitla's Church |
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| Everywhere we go, we see evidence of the Spaniards and Catholic Church destroying and crushing the native religions and icons and ceremonies. |
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A Cactus Fence -- Very Clever |
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| Back in the car, and soon we are in Yagul. |
| Yagul (literally “old stick” or “old tree”) was first settled at the beginning of Monte Alban Period 1 (500 BC) and flourished as an urban center until the demise and abandonment of Monte Alban (800 AD) when Yagul was abandoned as well (though only for a short period). As Monte Alban was the capital of Zapotecan rule over the region, the rise and abandonment of these cities at approximately the same time may very well have a connection. Yagul then reemerged as a thriving city during Mixtec rule over the region from Mitla, and was not abandoned until the Spanish forcibly moved the population out of the fortified city and down the hill to the modern city of Tlacolula. The city of Yagul was designed with militarily strategic fortifications. In the center lies an enormous man-made platform with staircases which lead up to the temples and main palace. Steps then lead up the hill on the north side of the city to the acropolis with its defensive walls and watchtower which overlooks both the city and the whole Tlacolula Valley. The vast majority of the city's population lived on the hill behind the fortifications. | |
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| Such preparations would lead one to believe that the city may have been designated a military stronghold by the Zapotecans who ruled the region from Monte Alban, but obviously had enemies who sought to invade their territory as the defensive fortifications at Yagul would suggest. | |
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The Triple Tomb is shaped like a “T” with tomb 3 on the east, 29 on the south, and 30 on the north. The entrance is located in Patio 4 (see map). The tomb was excavated in 1954, and was found to have been looted in prehispanic times. It is, however, an example of the funerary architecture of Yagul. The tomb has a roof made of large flat stones and is decorated with frets in relief with its facade and doorway being similar to those found at Mitla and Xagaa. |
| The location of the ball court between the Palace of Six Patios and Patio Four, and the fact that its size is second only to Chichen Itza in Mesoamerica, are evidence that the ball games held in Yagul were as important as any major sporting event we have today. In fact, some archaeologists believe that glyphs with priest figures making offerings with calendar dates could have a cyclical ritual significance. |  |
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| The Palace of the Six Patios is almost
identical to the Group of Columns at Mitla, and was probably the home
of Yagul’s ruler as suggested by the size and throne found in the
northwestern patio of the southern room. The Palace (made of stone
and stucco) resides on the highest platform in the city with steps
behind the complex leading up to the acropolis.
Boulder sculpted in the form of a frog lies at the base of the east
mound of Patio 4.
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| Yagul has very few people and is quite wonderful. The views are great and it feels quite populated with spirits. I see a little altar offering in one corner of Patio 1. I guess the Zapotecs still come here. The Pelota Ball Court is very strange. I still cannot visualize how this game was played. Where were all the spectators? |
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Looking Up at the Palace of Six Patios |
| The Pelota Ball Court at Yagul |  |
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Patio Four and the Triple Tombs |
Yagul Cactus What Variety is This?? |
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Mitch in the Ball Court |
| Yagul View Northwest |  |
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Yagul View Northeast |
| Yagul Beavertail Cactus |  |
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Main Patio |
Remnants of a Foundation South of Patio 1 |
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Sara in the Palace of Six Patios |
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Mitch with His Michelada and
Chapulines Mitch's Gray Beard is Coming in Nicely |
Back down the hill to the Restaurant Centeotl. We sit outside in the shade of the palms and have beer and snacks. Mitch orders a Michelada and an order of Chapulines. A Michelada is a dark beer with lime juice, chiles, with a salt rim. Chapulines are fried grasshoppers. They are OK except for the legs, which get stuck in your teeth. We are by now pretty pooped. And except for a side trip to watch a truck try to enter/exit a driveway, and a brief stop at the church at Tlacolula, with yet another wedding party, we head back to town. We separate at the garage from our entertaining, new traveling companions and head back to the hotel to rest and remove the ancient dust we're wearing and get ready for dinner. |
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The Church at Tlacolula |
| Tonight we have reservations at El Naranjo. I’m looking forward to this dinner. I think it will be wonderful, which it is. I have the Coloradita mole with pork tenderloin. A Caesar salad tastes wonderful; no fresh vegetables for a while. Mitch and I finish the meal with Reposado Mezcal; which comes with the ubiquitous chili salt and limes. It is delicious. The Zocalo is hopping when we get out of the restaurant. All the sidewalk cafes are still busy as are the balloon and bubble salesmen. Where do these balloons come from – and where do they go at night? No one seems to buy them, but they always look fresh and brand-new. We wend our way across the square and home to fall into bed, exhausted.
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Coloradito; (CHICKEN OR PORK) THE BRICK-RED MOLE IS MADE WITH CHILE ANCHO, SESAME SEEDS AND ALMONDS. Rojo; (CHICKEN OR PORK) THIS IS A DARK RED MOLE WITH A SPECIAL BLEND OF CHILES, PECANS, PEANUTS AND SESAME SEEDS. Manchamanteles; (CHICKEN OR PORK) THE NAME IS DERIVED FROM THE FACT THAT THIS LIGHT SAUCE SPILLS EASILY AND STAINS TABLECLOTHS. IT HAS A SWEET FLAVOR BECAUSE OF PINEAPPLE AND PLANTAINS. Verde; (CHICKEN OR PORK) AS THE NAME INDICATES THIS IS A GREEN COLORED MOLE, WHICH GETS IT'S COLOR FROM AN ASSORTMENT OF HERBS. Amarillo; (CHICKEN OR PORK)THE COLOR IS MORE ORANGE THAN YELLOW. IT HAS A DELICATE AND UNIQUE FLAVOR AND IS ACCOMPANIED WITH GREEN BEANS, CHAYOTES, MASA DUMPLINGS AND FINALLY GARNISHED WITH SMALL ONIONS AND LEMON JUICE. Chichilo; (CHICKEN OR PORK) MADE WITH CHILE CHILCOSTLE, AND AN ASSORTMENT OF LOCAL CHILES TO OBTAIN THE TRADITIONAL DARK COLOR AND TASTE. Negro; (CHICKEN OR PORK) THE KING OF THE MOLES, IT IS ALMOST BLACK, SPICY AND SWEET, BECAUSE OF THE CHOCOLATE AND THE MORE THAN THE 20 DIFFERENT INGREDIENTS USED TO PREPARE IT. |
Puerto
Escondido |
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