Protests and Markets

Well a few days have slipped by without an update, so we will try to catch you up without boring you with details. Perhaps the most exciting part of our trip thus far was a spontaneous protest in the Zocalo. We had heard from another American traveler (we met him and his wife on the flight to Oaxaca) that there might be protest marches around the Gueleguetza - the large dance festival that happens from July 21-28 in Oaxaca. Scott, Kelsey, Kaya, and Max went to the Zocalo for the normal evening people watching (Abby stayed behind to have some quiet time). Kaya and Max were watching a clown performance, when we heard a band coming in to the Zocalo. Scott and Kelsey looked over to see the beginning of a protest march. What followed was pretty exciting - especially for Kelsey. Marchers were chanting and carrying effigies (presumably of the Governor), protesters were marching on stilts, then they began to spray paint their claims of dissatisfaction on the walls of buildings. They then ripped pictures from freestanding frames with pictures of dancers for the upcoming festival and spray pained in their place. It was all fairly civil, but a bit disconcerting for Kelsey, who was not sure whether to get closer or to run home. We asked a passerby what was going on and he said that there a people not happy with the government and in particular the fact that the Gueleguetza is so commercial - that benefits the rich and not the common folks. We did not catch all the details, but got the general gist of it. There a (free) "Gueleguetza Popular" planned as a sort of alternative to the regular one. Of course, in the thick of the action we realized that we had not brought any of our cameras! We figured we had taken enough pictures of the Zocalo - just goes to show that you never know!

These are some pictures that we took the following day in the Zocalo. The pr

otestors had taken over most of the plaza for speeches and all sorts of activities that we really did not understand - like making origami shapes??

After we checked out the protest activities, we wandered north of the Zocalo to the Llano Park, which we had been wondering about since we arrives. It is a lovely part with fountains, lots of benches for chilling out, and it is surrounded by vendors selling treats - like empanadas, ice cream, etc. Of course we had an empanada colorada with chicken (this is red mole) and one with only cheese for the kids - the colorada mole was a bit spicy for the kids. Kaya and Max made the food purchases for us. They are getting really good at it. Max wrote and drew in his journal, something he likes to do on the trip (see picture below). They also fed and chased the pigeons. After hanging out for a while we headed back home for dinner and the kids watched a movie - we bought some common titles in Spanish - Ice Age, Monsters Inc., Madagascar. The DVDs are cheap, presumably pirated. See the kids transfixed below...

Friday is market day in Ocotlan. A town about 30 miles south of Oaxaca city. We heard that it had a fabulous market, so we hopped on a bus that morning and took the about one hour drive. It was a beautful drive, up in the hills a bit with stunning views of the mountains and valleys. The Oaxaca Valley and its connecting valleys are flanked by fairly large mountains. We are planning to head up into mountains for a trip and were shocked to learn that they are nearly 10,000 feet above sea level at their nearest peaks. More on that after the excursion.

We got off the bus in what seemed like the town center. A small plaza adjacent to the obligatory cathedral - a beautiful one in this case (see

below). Most of the rest of the plaza and as far as the eye could see was market. It was a sprawling and winding market that was surrounded an indoor market place with lots of food vendors and stores. The neat part was that outside the main market building in every direction the streets were covered with colorful tarps and the vendors sell their wares underneath. It was a great market experience. These big markets, so crowded with people, redolent with the smells of the culture, and offering almost a visual overload, remind Scott and Abby of markets in Mali. It has been a while since we have been in such markets and there is something nice and nostalgic about them. Anyway we did a quick look around, which is not easy to do, since it is huge and we had no idea where we were and how to get out once we ventured in. Kelsey is still grossed out by the smell of the meat sellers - we have to admit the smell is a bit nasty, but you sort of just get used to it (or at least some of do) -- so we had to figure out how to get out without going by the meat section. We will have to take some pictures of the meat vendors for you to give you a sense of why Kelsey's squeamishness may be justified (hanging meats of all sorts and parts not refrigerated).

After a little too much market experience we headed into the main market buildings for lunch. The choice of vendors was easy, we stumbled upon a huge sign that said Frida Kahlo and hada Fridaesque paintings on her sign and the owner was dressed up like Frida. No doubt a schtick, but it worked for us. See the picture of Kaya and Frida below. We had a nice lunch of chicken and mole rojo, chese quesadillas and beans for the kids, and potato and chorizo tacos for Scott. Of note was the yummy salsa they whipped up for Scott. It was quite picante but very flavorful. Scott is on a mission to replicate it. Has had a few decent attempts but not quite there yet. He is asking around but getting different recipes, as one would expect. We learned quickly the art of triangulation here in Oaxaca; that is, ask three people the same question, get three answers and use them all to find the truth. We will write more tomorrow about our fun Saturday.