Oaxaca

The city and municipality of Oaxaca de Juárez, or Oaxaca City, is the capital and largest city of the eponymous Mexican state. It is located in the Centro District in the Central Valleys region of the state, in the foothills of the Sierra Madre at the base of the Cerro del Fortín, extending to the banks of the Atoyac River.

Heritage tourism makes up an important part of the city's economy, and it has numerous colonial-era structures as well as significant archeological sites and elements of the continuing native Zapotec and Mixtec cultures. The city, together with the nearby archeological site of Monte Albán, was designated in 1987 as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

It is the site of the month-long cultural festival called the "Guelaguetza", which features Oaxacan dance from the seven regions, music, and a beauty pageant for indigenous women.

The city is nicknamed "la Verde Antequera" (the green Antequera) due to its prior Spanish name (Nueva Antequera) and the variety of structures built from a native green stone. The name Oaxaca is derived from the Nahuatl name for the place, Huaxyacac, which was Hispanicized to Guajaca, later spelled Oaxaca. In 1872, "de Juárez" was added in honor of Benito Juárez, a native of this state who became president, serving from 1852-1878.

TOURISM

The city is the primary attraction of the state, which also relies economically on tourism. The attractions are the verdant landscapes of the Oaxaca Valley, and the architectural and cultural charms of the city itself. 77% of the municipality of Oaxaca has employment that is related in some way to tourism.

Tourist activity peaks in three seasons: Holy Week, summer (especially during Guelaguetza) and New Year. Many of the tourists who come during Holy Week and for New Year come from other parts of Mexico and include native Oaxacans returning to visit from their places of work. Most international visitors come during the summer.

NOTABLE SITES

The Plaza de la Constitución, or Zócalo, was planned out in 1529 by Juan Peláez de Berrio. The plaza is surrounded by various arcades.

On the south side of the plaza are the Portales de Ex-Palacio de Gobierno, which was vacated by the government in 2005 and then reopened as a museum called "Museo del Palacio 'Espacio de Diversidad'" Other arcades include the "Portal de Mercadores" on the eastern side, "Portal de Claverias" on the north side and the "Portal del Señor" on the west side.

The State Government Palace is located on the main square of Oaxaca City. This site used to be the Portal de la Alhóndiga (warehouse) and in front of the palace is the Benito Juárez Market. The original palace was inaugurated in 1728, on the wedding day of the prince and princess of Spain and Portugal.

The Federal Palace is located across from the Cathedral and used to be the site of the old Archbishiop's Palace until 1902. Its architecture is "neo-Mixtec" reflecting the nationalism of the early 20th century and the reverence in which the Mixtec-Zapotec culture has been held in more recent times.

Northwest of the Zócalo is the Alameda de León, a garden area that is essentially an annex of the main square. In 1576, viceroy Martín Enríquez de Almanza set aside two city blocks on which to build the city government offices, but they were never built here. One of the blocks was sold and the other became a market.

The Macedonio Alcalá Tourist Corridor is a street paved with green cantera. It was closed to traffic in 1985 and is now only open to pedestrian traffic. Along the street are notable places such as the original building to house the Universidad Autónoma Benito Juárez. The Museo de Arte Contemporáneo (Museum of Contemporary Art) or MACO is located here as is the Plazuela (small plaza) Labastida and the Parroquia de la Preciosa Sangre de Cristo (Parish of the Precious Blood of Christ).

The Oaxaca Cathedral, also referred to as Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption, is the third to be built as the first two were destroyed by large earthquakes in the 16th and 18th centuries. Construction of this third church began in 1702 and it was consecrated in 1733.

The church and former monastery of Santo Domingo de Guzmán is located 4 blocks north of the Cathedral of Oaxaca. It was constructed between 1555 and 1666. It is divided into two parts: the church and the former living/working areas of the monks.

The Basílica de Nuestra Señora de la Soledad is located four blocks west of the Cathedral on Avenida Independencia. It is built between 1682 and 1697 by Father Fernando Méndez on a site where supposedly an image of the Virgin Mary appeared inside a box. It is of Baroque style finished in 1690.

Over the years, the cloister has been converted into a correctional facility, a teacher's college and district attorney's office. Now it serves as the Municipal Palace. The building conserves a number of valuable items such as paintings, sculptures and religious vestments and a pipe organ dated 1686.

Church and former monastery of St John of God (Templo y Exconvento de San Juan de Dios), Oaxaca's oldest church still standing, completed in 1703. This is where the first mass in Oaxaca was held in 1521.

Church of San Felipe Neri The Church of San Felipe Neri is considered a classic example of Baroque with estipite (inverted truncated pyramid) columns from the end of the 18th century, and has a large gilded main altarpiece.

Ex monastery of San Catalina was built in the second half of the 16th century by Dominican friar Hernando de Carvarcos, who also was responsible for the Santo Domingo de Guzmán monastery. In 1862, the monastery became a jail and at the end of the 19th century, the southern part became the Municipal Palace. Since 1976, it has been a hotel, called Hotel Camino Real.

Church of the Company of Jesus (Iglesia de la Compañia de Jesús), located to the southwest of the Zócalo, was built by the Jesuits in 1579 and consecrated to Francis Xavier and the Immaculate Conception.

The Centro Cultural de Santo Domingo occupies the former monastery buildings attached to Santo Domingo church, and were restored in 1996 and considered to be one of the best restoration works in Latin America. Some important artifacts from Monte Albán are displayed here.

Much of the Centro Cultural is occupied by the Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca (Museum of Oaxacan Cultures), whose entrance is the one pilgrims used to use to enter the church area of the complex. This museum was placed in the Centro Cultural in 1964, after originally being in the Instituto de Ciencias y Artes, among other places. The museum specializes in Zapotec and Mixtec cultures, covering ten halls and one auditorium.

The Museum of Contemporary Art (Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Oaxaca, MACO) is housed in the so-called Casa de Cortés. It is one of the oldest buildings in the city and one of the most representative of non-religious buildings.

The Museo de los Pintores Oaxaqueños(Museum of Oaxacan Painters) is located north of the Alameda de León on Avenida Independencia in a former 18th century mansion. It is dedicated to local artists such as Rodolfo Morales whose work is on permanent display.

The Casa de Culturas Oaxaqueñas used to the Church and ex monastery Los Siete Príncipes dating from the 18th century. The only part still used for religious purposes is the small chapel. The complex was restored in the 1960s and in 1970, the Casa opened. It houses the Instituto Oaxaqueño de la Culturas, which is a state government entity to promote culture and the arts.

The Rufino Tamayo Museum (Museo Arte Prehispánico de Rufino Tamayo) or Museo Rufino Tamayo, has an important collection of pre-Hispanic art that the painter himself collected. He donated the collection, as well as the house that is now the museum to his home state (Oaxaca).

The Religious Museum of the Ex monastery of La Soledad is located next to the Basilica of la Soledad. It contains objects such as paintings, sculptures and vestments. It is located in the southwest portion of the old monastery.

The Instituto de Artes Gráficos de Oaxaca (Graphic Arts Institute of Oaxaca) contains a large collection of graphic designs both present and past.

The Casa de Juárez, is a museum devoted to the life of Benito Juárez. It belonged to someone named Antonio Salanueva, but Juárez lived here from 1818 to 1828 after arriving to Oaxaca city from his hometown of Guelatao. It contains documents related to his presidency as well as furnishings designed to recreate the environment of that period.

Hemeroteca Publica de Oaxaca "Nestor Sánchez" (Nestor Sanchez Public Newspaper Library of Oaxaca) is located behind the ex-convent of Santo Domingo along with the Jardin Ethobotánico (Ethnobotanic Gardin) at the corner of Reforma and Constitución. These two occupy more than 2 hectares which used to be the gardens of the convent of Santa Domingo.

Teatro Macedonio Alcalá Is a working theatre and also houses a collection of romantic art.

Other cultural places of interest include the Alvarez Bravo Photography Center, the Oaxaca Stamp Museum, the Railway Museum of Southern Mexico (in the old train station) and the Planetarium located on the Cerro del Fortín.

MARKETS

The Mercado (Market) Benito Juárez is located one block south of the Zócalo on Flores Magón and Las Casas but it takes up the entire block to 20 de Noviembre and Aldama streets. It offers flowers, fruit, ices, fruit drinks, handcrafts, leather goods, hats and knives, among other things.

The block to the south houses the Mercado (Market) 20 de Noviembre which is the official name, but this market is commonly known as the "Mercado de la Comida (food)" because of the food stands that dominate the place.
Parks and gardens

ROADS & HIGHWAYS

The major highways serving Oaxaca are Federal Highways 175 and 131, southwards to the Oaxacan coastal resorts; National Highways 190 and 125, southwest to Pinotepa Nacional; National Highways 190 and 130, to Mexico City; the autopista 150D/131D, offering a quicker route to Mexico City; and National Highway 175 north to the city of Veracruz.

BUSES

The city has separate first class and second class bus stations, offering services to most places within the state of Oaxaca, including the coastal resorts of Huatulco, Puerto Escondido, Puerto Ángel and Pinotepa Nacional, and also long-distance services to Puebla and Mexico City and other Mexican locations such as Veracruz.

There are several bus lines which run in Oaxaca. The largest is TUSUG, a type of "cooperative" company. All of the drivers own their own buses and are aided by other drivers in purchasing new buses.

AIRPORTS

Oaxaca-Xoxocotlan airport (OAX) is approximately 7 km south of the city centre. Most flights are to Mexico City for onward connection, but there are also flights to Huatulco, Cancún, Tuxtla Gutiérrez and Tijuana. In addition both American Airlines and United Airlines have nonstop flights between Oaxaca and their respective hubs in Dallas and Houston.