Oaxaca

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My friend Matthias de Alemania (Germany) and I arrived to Oaxaca City after a long night of partying on the beach and napping on the bus. We had both been "warned" about the political tensions in the city prior to our arrival and after seeing images of riots in the historic center less than two weeks earlier (and butt naked Oaxacan teachers protesting the the Mexico City Zocalo) we both did not know what to expect. However, many fellow travelers we met along the way hyped Oaxaca as one of their favorite destinations, so our sense of adventure and curiosity got the best of us and we knew we could not pass the place up!!

Upon arrival we saw more than five truckloads of police with machine guns pass us as we were entering the city while we awoke from our slumber. At that point we both did not know what to think. We got off the bus and found a place to stay after walking around for about 45 minutes. We cleaned ourselves up from our long excursion and walked in the rain to a nearby gordita joint for some food. We talked to several people about their opinions on the riots the previous two weeks and the majority said it was no big deal at all and that the media blew things way out of proportion. As a result, there were very few tourists in the city, the majority of them scared off by the "riots" that occured less than two weeks prior. Unfortunately, the city's economy relies heavily on tourism and people were hurting even more than usual for dinero to put food on the table.

Upon walking through the Zocalo that week you could find street vendors selling videos of the riots that took place- bloody images of police beating up what seemed to be regular people peacefully protesting- a method used in mexico to strike fear into often peaceful protesters against taking a stand against the corrupt government. As I watched the videos on the streets there were people around me in tears as they were again reminded of all the injustices taking place in their beautiful city.

We also arrived just in time for the controversial Guelaguetza festival. The city's residents were being charged about $20 per person (for the best viewing points in the stadium) to view the once 100% free festival. This violated Oaxacan tradition as only wealthy Mexicans can afford to pay such a price for a night of entertainment. Many people feared there would be more riots as a result of the injustice and police could be seen at almost every corner with riot gear. People gathered in the Zocalo everyday leading up to the festival trying to convince the masses to boycott the once free festival and it was common to see parades marching down the city streets chanting songs of protest. The day of the festival arrived and there was more police presence than I have ever seen with their riot gear ready to go- everywhere I looked there were at least 5 cops within my line of site. The night of the festival passed without any trouble though besides getting poured on by rain about halfway through. After the festival, I was ready to take the twelve hour long night bus to San Cristobal de las Casas to continue on my adventure.

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Photos

Guelaguetza Festival
Check out all the cops!!