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| Detail of painting by Castulo Aragon Romero |
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Tehuantepec, Oaxaca
The city of Tehuantepec is located on the River and Isthmus of the same name near the southeastern stretches of the state of Oaxaca, 250 kilometers from Oaxaca City along Federal Highway 190
Tehuantepec is a town of beautiful, stately and strong, local women (Tehuanas) of Zapotec extraction, and is known for its elaborate hand-embroidered traditional dresses, ceramics, gold jewelry. Still conserving its authenticity, with little tourist influence to dilute its traditional flavor, Tehuantepec is a wonderful place to wander the streets, visit the town plaza and colorful market, whose action, color and bustle dominate the town's life, and simply observe the day-to-day movement
Take an early morning walk - throughout the streets near the market and around the square you will be surrounded by multitudes of moto-taxis, small motorized 3-wheeled vehicles with a flat-bed on the back protected on three sides by stakes and slats, in which the women, dressed in their long, colorful skirts and balanced majestically with one hand grasping the slatted sides, whiz by on their way to the market.
Tehuantepec's churches provide a striking change from those of central Mexico - painted white with colorful trims in brilliant blue, bright pink, deep yellow, their colorful spires give the skyline a particularly joyful configuration.
Around the 10th of May, in the city of Oaxaca itself, is the yearly "Isthmus Gathering" or “Vela Ismeña”, a week of public celebrations and cultural events by and for those people who are from the isthmus of Tehuantepec. Festivities include music and dance, processions with women dressed in traditional Tehuantepec costumes and a final Mass held at the Santo Domingo church.
Food & Lodging
Tehuantepec is a truly traditional Mexican town whose principal economic activities do not include tourism, and so the town has few hotels or tourist facilities; its scant restaurants serve hearty and tradional regional foods. Important in the local gastronomy is fresh and dried shrimp, fish soups and stews, pork and chicken in achiote (annatto seeds) and as filling for tamales, pickled chiles and vegetables and local cheeses
Hotel Calli - Hotel & Camping. Pool. No tenting. Carretera Cristobal Colon Km 790, Tehuantepec, Oaxaca 70760. Telephone: +52 971-715-0085, Fax: 971-715-0113
Hotel Oasis - 1/2 block from the square. Telephone +52 971-711-5008)
A few doors from the Hotel Oasis is the Cafe Colonial, serving a variety of tasty local fare and with full bar.
[Extract] "The Isthmus of Tehuantepec in the state of Oaxaca stands alone in space and time. Colorful native apparel remains as the dominant choice of women's clothing. In this matriarchal society the women are known for their ability to consume large amounts of beer..." (click here to go to full article)
