In 1887, Eulogio Gregorio Clemente Gillow y Zavalza (1841-1922) was appointed Bishop of Antequera (Oaxaca). Four years later, he became the first Archbishop of Antequera. Named after a town in Spain, Antequera is the Catholic archdiocese of Mexico which includes the city of Oaxaca. Archbishop Gillow had a somewhat curious background. He was the only […]
Continue ReadingMathieu de Fossey was born in France in 1805, and educated in Dijon. Politically disillusioned following the end of the reign of King Charles X in 1830, Fossey responded enthusiastically to an intriguing pamphlet he read publicising the challenges and opportunities for French settlers in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Mexico. At that time, most Europeans […]
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Dale Hoyt Palfrey The most important center of the Mexican highlands after the fall of Teotihuacan was Cholula, near the twin volcanic peaks Iztaccihuatl and Popocatepetl and the city of Puebla. The Great Pyramid there, dedicated to Quetzalcoatl, is the largest single structure in the New World. Towering 181 feet high and covering an area […]
Continue ReadingThe legend of Crecencio is often told by the people of Teotitlan del Valle. Crecencio arrived there as a peon that helped raise cattle and domesticated animals in the community. The years went by and in those times people had to collect tree bark to cure leather. In those days the tanner’s work was highly […]
Continue ReadingHistory of Oaxaca Part 1 – Pre-hispanic Era See, also: Part 2 Colonial Era Part 3 Modern Era In three installments we will present a history of Oaxaca, its people, traditions and activities. We begin in this article with the pre-Hispanic era, to be followed by the colonial and the modern eras. For more than […]
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Did You Know…? The inter-census population count in Mexico in 2005 found that more than one million people in Oaxaca spoke at least one indigenous Indian language. Close behind came the state of Chiapas with about 950,000 indigenous language speakers. A previous Did You Know column looked at how the Mam people of Chiapas have […]
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Interactive Map of Oaxaca, Mexico The state of Oaxaca is Mexico’s fifth largest state, with an area of 93,793 square kilometers (4.8% of the national total) and Mexico’s tenth most populous state, with 3.8 million inhabitants in 2010. The state has considerable variety in terms of relief, climate and natural vegetation, and has about 570 […]
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Clickable interactive map of Oaxaca Valley, Mexico: Oaxaca city, Mitla, Monte Alban The immediate environs of Oaxaca City, capital of the state of Oaxaca, comprise one of Mexico’s most visited tourist areas. Attractions include the colonial architecture and museums of Oaxaca and several other towns, the varied scenery and flora, the astonishingly rich archeological sites, […]
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Only the official registration form on file in the archives and my now-aging memory can attest to Celestino’s entry in the 1952 contest, the year of his biggest loss. The neighbors only saw him carry from his workshop a lump the size of a small dog like those that sleep in the street, covered by […]
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An opalescent sky muted the harshness of the emerald earth as the old car struggled up the rock-filled Mexican road, leaving the breeze blown coast behind. I had begun a journey deep into the verdant mountains of Oaxaca, peaks that faded into the haze, massive blue-gray shapes filled with mystery and magic… and little else. […]
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