What struck me more than anything about Oaxaca was that it is a people town. It’s the kind of place where people go out at night or during the day if they don’t have to work that day, and enjoy the beautiful weather, the cafes, the parks, the music, the parades and whatever is happening that day. The street, Macedonia Alcala is a pedestrian walk that runs from the Zocalo north for six blocks. The walk starts at the Santo Domingo Church on the North end and ends at the south end of the Zocalo. While I was there the next street east, 5 de Mayo, was being redone as a pedestrian walk. There are also a number of side streets around the Santo Domingo Church that were closed to traffic. The net effect is to create a large area where people can gather, walk and enjoy being social without traffic. Here people are king, not their machines. With the winter weather dry and in the 80’s during the day and cool in the 50’s during the night, the word ideal comes to mind.
The Zocalo, covering 3+ city blocks is surrounded by restaurants and open air cafes where one can eat or just enjoy a cup of Oaxacan coffee and a snack. There is no hurry, and the typical courteous Mexican custom is to never bring the check until you ask for it. People watching is 5 star. Over three weeks, I found the food of the Zocalo to be fairly uninteresting and is some cases downright awful. My guess is that with the stream of people wanting to sit and eat on the Zocalo, there is little pressure to improve. But that being said, there are a numerous very excellent restaurants all within walking distance of the Zocalo. So we would often visit the Zocalo to relax before or after dinner. It’s a great spot for dessert, coffee and beautiful ambiance. On the weekends, the Zocalo is filled with Oaxacans and their families who come to spend the day and enjoy the relaxation. Currently very large sausage shaped balloons are in vogue. Apparently you can buy them by the meter, so that if you have enough pesos, you can have the longest balloon on the Zocalo.
All along the pedestrian mall are stores selling crafts, food, Mezcal and there are two very good bookstores which sell English language books. One, Librería de Bibliofiles de Oaxaca has a wealth of books on Mexico and it’s culture in various languages. It also has a CD section which has an interesting collection of Mexican music. Amate Books which is farther north on the mall, is almost exclusively English language and it’s selection is extensive. There is a small park at the intersection of the mall with Abasolo, one block south of the Santo Domingo church that has families selling woven fabrics and clothes on weekend nights. The park is also a place where artists sell their paintings most any day of the week.
Restaurant Recommendation: “Las Quince Letras” is located on Calle Abasolo about 3 blocks east of Macedonia Alcala. They have two rooms inside for dining and a nice garden in the back. The food is traditional Oaxacan fare, moles, chile rellenos stuffed with picadillo (lightly spiced meat). Their Platillo Oaxaceño (Oaxacan plate) is excellent, with a chile relleno, an enchilada with dark mole sauce and cecina (thin sliced pork cooked with a dusting of spices). A good way to sample several Oaxacan dishes. Very good fare and quite reasonable. Most dishes were under $10 US. “Las Quince Letras” means “the 15 letters”. If you count the number of letters in the name you come up with 15 letters. I've discovered that there are a number of hotels, eating establishments and even a musical group using the name. Clearly, someone along the way was into self referential names.
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