Of a church, chocolate and colours in the dessert

A recollection of our first morning in Oaxaca, stumbling upon the most beautiful church in Latin America, delicious hot chocolate and a weaving community in the dessert.

Waking up on our first morning in Oaxaca, we were treated with a completely different atmosphere than what we found in Mexico City. The hustle and bustle of the city was still there, with honking cars, chattering people and vendors setting up their shops in the early morning light. But everything felt much more, relaxed. Subdued almost in a way that was very charming and alluring. Something that I would grow to love more and more as we spend more time in Oaxaca.

We had a day tour booked for our first day but before we depart the city, we decided to just walk around the city, absorbing the atmosphere and vibe as Oaxaca woke up, bathed in the warm morning sunlight. Whilst walking around enjoying the sunshine and the rather tranquil atmosphere at the parks and plazas of the city, we stumbled upon the Plaza de Santo Domingo. The plaza is dominated by a beautiful church, the famed Templo de Santo Domingo. Having a little less than an hour before we start our tour, we decided to take a look around the area and the church itself. From the outside, the façade of the church was very beautiful with its two bell towers and baroque motif decorating the main face of the church.

After seeing the Metropolitan Cathedral, we thought that the church looked beautiful but not as spectacular as some of the churches we've seen. So with little to no expectation, we walked into the church, away from the bright sunlight and into the gloom of the interior. As our eyes adjusted, we started noticing bits of gold all around us. A few more steps from the entrance brought us deeper and once we were able to completely see the interior of the church, our jaws dropped. It was magnificent. The interior of the Templo de Santo Domingo was so ornate and incredibly beautiful, with countless paintings, reliefs, statues and golden vines snaking up and down its walls. Further exploration of the church revealed astonishing chapels glowing in the sunlight, filtering through windows and skylights up above the ceiling. We wondered around wide-eyed, underneath the gaze of a thousand saints and angels.

Whilst we were wondering inside the church and taking pictures, an old man approached us and asked kindly if we would like to hear the history and stories behind the church. We immediately agreed and so began our story telling session. The church was built by the Spaniards with the baroque style in the 16th century but has gone through various renovations and additions all the way up to the 20th century. Currently, the church is a cultural heritage site under UNESCO and has been called the most beautiful church in all of Latin America. We did realise that it was a rather strong claim, but  being there inside the church, we wouldn't be all that surprised if that was true.  The beauty of the architecture and the intricacies of the decorations was really something in a level that I have not experienced before.

He then went on to bring us on a tour around the church, pointing out details and paintings that are significant to the history of the church. One of the most spectacular sights was the chapel of the Madonna of the Rosary.  The statue of the Madonna in the center of the chapel, one of the crowning jewels of the church, was made in Italy and shipped to Mexico in the 1970s. A much more recent addition to the church. The crown is adorned with various gemstones and precious metals.

Aside from the Madonna, the imageries around the chapel were also no less interesting. With his eyes glowing in delight, he pointed our attention to a painting on the side of the wall, which depicts the Madonna in indigenous Indian costume and with Indian features. He told us that the painting is one of his favorites amongst the thousands in the church as it is a beautiful example of how local craftsmanship and culture bled into the building and decoration of the church, assimilating the different faiths and cultures of the people of Oaxaca. Further exploration of the architectural details and decorations of the church revealed more hidden details betraying the indigenous cultural influence, which we found extremely interesting. On top of all that, he also told us that most of the gold decorations in the church were made using real 23.5-karat gold leaves, all 60,000 sheets of them!

After spending about 20 minutes listening to his stories and explanations, we realized it was time for us to go and meet out tour group. We thanked him and gave him a tip, before stepping back out into the sunlight, our vision still shimmering with gold hues and our heads swimming with our first few pieces of Oaxacan culture and stories.

Upon meeting our guide, we realized that there were only 4 people in our tour group including the two of us. Our tour guide was very amiable and explained to us the short history and sights of the city in both Spanish and English as we drove out to our first destination. Our first stop of the day was to the small town of Santa María del Tule to see a tree named 'Ahuehuete' or Ancient Water. The tree, which is a Montezuma Cypress, is the world's thickest tree with a circumference of over 42 meters. It is said to be around 1,400 to 1,600 years old and weigh an astounding 636 tons.

The tree was really quite a sight to be seen. The gnarled barks of the tree takes on a variety of shapes which the locals identified as an elephant, lion head and various other animals and characters. Chuckling to himself as he was explaining this to us, our guide pointed us to a section of the tree where we could see two lumps in the gnarled barks. He then proceeded to tell us that the lumps have been referred to by the local kids as Monica Lewinsky's Butt. Who knew that even in this small town in Mexico, American political satire was well and truly alive, albeit a bit outdated.

We had about 20 minutes to explore the city center which was really quite quaint and pretty. After circling the area and looking up the beautiful church just located beside the tree, we decided to see if we could grab something to eat by way of breakfast. As we stepped into the street, a woman in her shop spotted us and started calling to us in Spanish. I recognized the word 'Chocolate' and 'Bebidas' and we approached her shop, drawn by the smell of something sweet.

Oaxaca's chocolate drink is known as one of its most famous exports and culinary delights. The consumption of chocolate stemmed from the heritage they have inherited from the various Mesoamerican civilizations which once held power over the area. Cacao and chocolate have been used in the state as food, drink and medicine. In the past the cacao beans even once served as a form of money. The most traditional variation of the chocolate is where they ground the beans that are then mixed with sugar and other flavorings such as almonds and cinnamon. Knowing this, I was rather excited and warmly accepted her invitation to step into her shop to sample some of her chocolate drink. She gave us a try of the ground chocolate mixture before we had the drink. Popping the bits of ground chocolate into our mouths, we found that it was sweet with the taste of raw sugar and we could definitely taste the almonds and cinnamon in the mixture highlighting the rich bitter tones of the cocoa beans. It was delicious.

She then proceeded to prepare two cups of hot chocolate for us. She did it in the traditional way, using water instead of milk, and before serving, traditionally frothing the chocolate with a wooden instrument called Molinillo, that was twirled rapidly by rubbing the handles between the palms. The resulting cacao beverage was lighter and frothier than the ones we usually encounter either in any western chocolate shops or cafes.  Bobby declared after taking a sip that it was the best hot chocolate he had ever tasted. This chocolate drink would be the benchmark on which we judged every other chocolate drink we had in Oaxaca. The warmth of the shopkeeper warmed us even more than the cut of steaming hot chocolate we held in our hands. After buying some sweetbreads and blocks of chocolate from her shop, we heard the calls of our tour guide and hurried ourselves to the minivan.

Our next stop of the day was the beautiful Teotitlan Valley to visit a family of artisans specializing in weaving. We were told by our guide on our way to the valley that the artisan community has existed in the valley for centuries, using age-old dying techniques to create the vibrant colours of their weaving. The valley itself is located in an arid landscape surrounded by the mountains of Oaxaca which made for a very scenic drive as we passed through the expanse of dessert-like plains and the rocky mountains rising in the distance.

When we arrived we were treated with a demonstration by one of the artists about the process of making the dyed wool threads they use to weave their exquisite carpets and tapestries. He first showed us how they brush the clumps of lamb wool to align their fibers before using a traditional spinning wheel, to spin the wool into threads. The spinning wheel itself is a tool that was only introduced to the community by the Spaniards in around the 15th or 16th century.

Then came the most interesting part of the demonstration, when he showed us how he made the various dyes using only natural ingredients ranging from marigold flowers for yellow, moss for green, pomegranate skin for orange to fermented plant remains for blue. Red is one of the most rare and precious colour that they produce. To create the red, they have to use a specific type of fungus which infects some cactuses in the area. This fungus when squished and mixed with quick lime produces a deep red colour that was unique to the Teotitlan style of weaving. It was really interesting how he showed us the process of squishing some of the fungus with water and mixing it with quicklime to produce a most deep red paste with the colour of blood.

He then performed a small magic trick by mixing some pomegranate juice and quick lime, and squeezing a few drops of lime juice on top of the mixture. The originally pink-ish mixture then turned into an exquisite shade of turquoise which was greeted with Oohs and Aaahs from us the audience. He told us that he himself found that particular colour and only the artisans in his shop can produce weavings incorporating such colour.

Due to the inherent variations they get in producing each batch of dyes, we were told that not one single batch of colours is ever identical with another batch. They can be very similar and our untrained eyes may not be able to tell the difference, but no single one weaving or batch of wool had ever came out exactly the same shade of colour with another batch. This makes every piece of weaving unique and special in its own way. As we took a quick stroll around the area, we could see countless batches of coloured wool drying in the sun. We also got to see a weaver at work, using the loom to weave patterns into a carpet he was working on. It was quite magical seeing how from just simple woolen threads, slowly a pattern emerged and bit by bit we could see the carpet coming to existence.

The shop itself was a burst of colours and patterns which was rather fun to enjoy. Some of the local visitors with shopaholic tendencies quickly launched into full haggling mode, arguing in Spanish over the size and prices of some of the most exquisitely weaved carpets that I have ever seen.

I bought a small stretch of red tapestry which has a geometric pattern original to the shop, depicting rain and mountains around the area. It was done in different shades of red and no other colour which really made it unique in my eyes. Looking around the shop I did wish that I have my own apartment back in New York or London, as I would have loved to buy some of the big gorgeous tapestries which looked incredible being hung on the walls around the shop. But at that point I was content with my red piece of fabric, a small piece of Oaxacan culture and heritage that I could bring home and brag about how the colours were made from squished cacti fungus.

With that, we started to file into our minivan once again and onwards to our next destination discovering more and more of Oaxaca's culture and natural beauty.