Oaxaca has a perfect balance of indigenous Mexico, modern Mexico, and then other random eclectic elements that keep it interesting. I feel like the Centro is a very small version of San Francisco with all it's eclectic places to eat and shop. Every night I walk around the centro area and check out the bars. In one direction, I have found a tiny, comfortable, slightly divey bar with live music almost every night. The other night I happened upon this place and it was their anniversary party so it was totally poppin' off. A variety of musicians played and much to my fancy, it was all Mexican music... no Beatle covers of anything! And in the other direction, I found La Biznaga- a super swanky, hip with it restaurant with an amazing menu and great wine. Finally!I found myself a place to get an awesome glass of wine. Nonetheless, I'll let it leak (I've got nothing to lose) La Biznaga is known for having bad service (mine was pretty sub par) and even for being slightly racist... Yep, everyone in there was lighter skinned or white and mostly foreigners. And that's not just speculation. Sure, I'll be going back for that nice Malbec, but not too frequently at that.
During the days, I've been venturing beyond el Centro into the surrounding neighborhoods. Once again, reminicsent of SF, you sometimes have to walk straight up hill to enter some of the neighborhoods- well worth the walk, you can find various little pockets of subcultures latent within each area with more small shops or markets. Since I am doing a "site specific installation" ;) these walks have been great for met to scout spots where I could potentially install my piece.
The site director here in Oaxaca, Steve, has been telling me all the right places to go explore... so I've encountered some pretty juicy places that always make me smile. (click to enlarge photos)
An abandoned train yard
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| On my walk back from the trainyard. Lots of churches... |
Morning walks:
