The Zocalo

The Zocalo. There was construction going on, but mostly it seemed to be in the direction of a run down little street where the banks and moneychangers are. Mostly repaving. There was repaving going on Calle Hidalgo, but it didn't look like anything was being "ruined". And there were tons of people there. We were there the week before 20 de Noviembre (ironically also the name of the street our hotel was on) which is a big celebration of independence. Which one, I'm not sure. But there were tons of cultural events going on, night and day.

My favorite was the night we walked out and caught the scarf dancers. I wish I'd taken a picture of this, but it seemed intrusive. There was a huge band playing great music, real toe tapping. The scarf dance is a flirty looking dance but the men and women never actually touch. The city boys watching the country girls sheepishly joined in and got a free dance lesson. It was great seeing the young townspeople gather around and be really excited about the traditional dances. That was my favorite thing about Oaxaca. Oaxacans are really proud of their culture and traditions. They're really eager to share it and talk about it.

The best part of the scarf dances was when the little kids started doing it. The boys were kind of embarrassed, but the little girls were totally into it. Watching 5 year olds work their hips like belly dancers is impressive. Later a grown guy joined the group of kids and the adults watching around them just roared with laughter when the littlest girl was partnered with the big man. It's kind of a dosey-do movement with the partners moving in for "air kisses". The adult would bend aaaalllllllllllll the way over so the little girl could air kiss around his head. You could see him trying not to giggle because the expression on the girl's face was so serious.

The costumes were really cool, especially the girls. Long print skirts and pretty embroidered overvests. Bright colored fabric braided into long-braids. The men wore cotton shirts and pants in a kind of buff color and a wide woven hat.

MPK