Cara and Kristina: Tlacochahuaya

This past Thursday, without knowing what to expect, we were assigned to visit the small pueblo of Tlacochahuaya outside of Oaxaca city.  With only the name in hand, which we could barely pronounce, we left the comfort of the city in hopes of learning of the village's importance. The first part of our adventure was to hail a cab from the city's center, the Zócalo, and make our way to Tlacochahuaya.  When we arrived in the pueblo center after a twenty-minute ride, it was a quiet and sunny morning with few people around.  Luckily, our taxi driver dropped us off at a recognizable landmark,  La iglesia de San Jerónimo,  which we soon learned was a famous and historical church in this region of Mexico.  At the steps of the church, we met a friendly Oaxacan who shared the story of San Jerónimo's construction.  We learned that when the Dominicans arrived in the 16th Century, they built this church by the order of Santo Domingo as a place of Catholic worship.  Although the native people did not share the same religious practices as the Dominicans, they still came to this church on account of their belief in the Virgin Mary (Virgin of Guadalupe).

Fortunately at our arrival, the church had just opened and two caretakers showed us the historical artwork present there.  We climbed a steep set of spiral stairs to the second floor balcony, which held an intricately-designed organ that dates back to 1730.  From the balcony, we could view the magnificence of the church's artwork.  Among the many paintings of San Jerónimo and statues of other religious figures, one wall stood out in particular.  Looking up close, the painting seemed ordinary.  However, when we stepped to view the wall from a distance, we found that these artists had mastered the art of painting three-dimensional scenes.  This was just one of the many valuable pieces of information that the church's caretakers were kind enough to share with us.

After our tour of San Jerónimo, we explored the beautiful park adjacent to the church and meandered down to the pueblo's central market.  Because it was still early, the market-goers were few, but friendly vendors welcomed us in.  The colorful display of one fruit stand caught our eyes, so we ventured over to introduce ourselves to Angelina, the sweet vendor interested in hearing about our stay in Oaxaca.  After a *fruitful* conversation about her family and work, she generously offered us mandarin oranges from her stand.  This kind gesture was one of the many that we have received over the past two weeks here in Mexico.

Having time to spare, we ventured through the pueblo's streets and found that there was no shortage of wall art in the form of murals.  These included a wide variety of messages about nutrition, the prevention of illness such as Dengue Fever, and the prevention of sexual violence.  After our stroll, we took a Collectivo-- cars similar to taxis that run to and from the city to other pueblos-- back into Oaxaca city.  On our return journey, we had clear views of the mountains and were amazed by their size and beauty.  This landscape made us nostalgic for Vermont's Green Mountains, but we would not trade this adventure for anything else!

Cara and Kristina :)