After 20 long, impatient minutes breathing dust and tailpipe smog along the road, it felt like an Easter miracle when a small rickety bus rounded the corner, with “Tlacolula” spelt out on the window in yellow tape. Every Sunday, villagers from all over Oaxaca gather at the tianguis (Sunday open air market) at Tlacolula de Matamoros, a town 40 minutes west of Oaxaca City, to sell their goods.
After two hours navigating live poultry, fruits, hand-crafted goods, cheap imported toys, smoky food stalls, and rows of women in traditional garb lined up to sell tortillas... we slipped into a market brimming with bbq stalls for lunch. We joined Karla (a plate vendor), her infant son, her friend Edith, who spoke up when a vendor overcharged us 5 pesos (~30 cents) on tortillas, and a friendly Quebecois man with glistening sweat coating his whole face and his quiet husband. We conversed over delicious barbacoa (roast lamb), home-brewed mezcal, and blood sausage — which my mom finally tried after some convincing.
At night, we strolled through Oaxaca centro and were absorbed by an Easter Sunday procession of parishioners, a mariachi band, a brass band, a statue of Jesus, and spectators. For an hour we slowly drifted in a rosemary scented river of white flags, smoke, and music. The procession terminated at a small church beside the main cathedral with fireworks and, of course, more #music.
This trip dispelled the preconceptions I had of Mexico. Yes, there is violence. Just a year ago, teachers were murdered on the same plaza where I casually bargained for a handwoven basket while sipping juice. There is poverty. Small children sift through the crowds peddling goods, and sit alone on the curb at midnight hoping for a customer. But the Mexican people are some of the most well-mannered and hospitable I have ever met. Every eye contact with a stranger returns a smile and occasional conversation. There are stunning differences in lifestyle between the bustling Mexico City, luxurious tourism hub San Miguel de Allende, and rustic Oaxaca; but none in the attitude of the people. This has been another eye-opening #adventure.
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#travelersnotebook #liveoutsidethebox #exploretocreate
🌵☀️💐💃🏻🇲🇽
I used to be a travel snob. “There’s a difference between tourists, travelers, and explorers,” I would say. Vacationing with my mom is a very different experience from the backpacking & Couchsurfing I prefer, but I’ve come off my high horse to enjoy the luxury. I’m not sleeping in airport bathrooms or wandering the streets in the burning sun with two backpacks. Instead, I get to meander through art galleries, take taxis, stay at nice hotels & look like a #classy motherfucker. 🕶💋
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(While still wearing dirty Docs & hanging out with my backpack Monroe, of course.) ❤️
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#travelersnotebook #conceited #hoboprincess #liveoutsidethebox #ootd #doors
