It's all about Oaxacan food

One of our favorite parks in the inner city is the Llano (The Lion). It's a pretty park and unlike the zocalo, it has no central grandstand. It's two blocks long. Even though it seems that there is always some activity in the park, there is always a quiet place to sit. It's less than one block from the Oaxaca English Language Library and we almost always go to the park after the library. Friday, the tiangis had set up. It's like a spontaneous flea market, but organized, if that makes any sense. This time of year, they spring up everywhere. The booths are set up on the perimeter of the park, facing each other and all covered with tarps tied to anything and everything possible, including each other. Once you begin the walk, it's difficult to get out, until you reach the corner of the block. A tiangis is at once a vegetable market, clothing shop, music shop, pastry and sweets shop, cheese and butter, and more...nail polish and hair decorations, fresh flowers and woven things. The booths are all arranged with great pride. The small inventories are displayed with as much pride as the Big Vendors. We allowed ourselves to be carried through, stopping when the people in front of us stopped, and found ourselves at the far end of the block. There, where the street is wider, were the big food booths. There are even tables up here, and stools to sit on. We sat at this one, pictured at left, and ordered tacos arracheras: chopped, roasted beef on tiny little handmade tortillas (they use 2 because they are thin). The condiments, salsa, cucumbers, limes and cilantro are on the table. I asked our waiter about something on the sign, and he brought me one, gratis. The man sitting next to me ordered something I didn't recognize, and when I asked what he was eating, his girlfriend laughed. He was eating buche, pigs stomach. Yuck. I don't speak a lot of spanish, but I know the food words! After lunch, we dove back into the crowd to find a pastry booth, and fought our way out to sit down in the park and enjoy a flan.


Later, Tere and Dan invited us to join them for dinner at Maria Bonita, one of their favorite restaurants on the north side. We were the only people in there, which is not unusual for some restaurants. Sad, though. I ordered an ensalada de nopales. A cactus salad. It was great! Look out, friends at home: you'll see this on the dinner table sometime. The waiter told me what was in the salad dressing, too. My main course Friday night was chicken served with a salsa of squash blossoms. Gotta learn how to make that salsa...










While we were eating, I heard a band coming up the street. It's too early in the month for the church parades to begin, and when I peeped, I saw a wedding party! Here is the bride, with her escort of traditional dancers. They were preceded by a couple of young men with the traditional fireworks set-up: a length of bamboo, into which a firework is stuck and then lit. It goes off with a big boom, a whistle and a little light. All noise and no show. Then the bride and groom and dancers, followed by the giant puppets that I love so. They are gigantes - he-gan-tays. The puppeteers dance madly, turning lots to make the arms of the gigantes swing out. And behind them all the band, playing happy, loud music. Family and friends follow along on the sides, and everyone whistles and dances and claps. I don't know how long they had paraded, but I suspect they were on the way to the reception, which would probably go on for many hours.
The bridal gigantes...not such a good photo in the dark.






After dinner at Maria Bonita, we walked back downtown, past the crown jewel of the city, the Santo Domingo Cathedral, and to the zocalo. There is a huge crowd out tonight, but we found a table at one of the sidewalk restaurants, where we watched and listened to a family marimba band play. The kid couldn't have been more than about 12 years old, and could play like his uncle, who was the star of the show. After a while, the little boy took his turn at the drums, and did very well there, too. Tere, who was born and raised here, knows everyone, and we met a dozen friends. What a fun night!

When we were here last, in December 2006, there was a huge, disastrous teacher's strike going on. The entire downtown had been surrounded with Federales and barbed wire, and it was a terrible time for the city. People were killed, buildings, buses and cars burned, and many local businesses did not survive the anger and pain. There is yet again a teachers strike, but a tiny one compared to four years ago. The newly elected governor was sworn in this week, too, making the time for a strike (more like a stand-in) more attractive right now. So, the zocalo felt a little schizophrenic, with political signs and tents, food people supporting the strikers, families with children playing, tourists, strolling muscians and balloon vendors. We walked home, tummies full, ears happy, and glad to see the city in better health.