Living There
Company: Traditions Mexico
Price: +/- $1000 USD
Duration: 1-10 days
Location: Oaxaca, Mexico
About Traditions Mexico:
We have been crafting tours since 1997 with the goal of showing people a Mexico they never knew existed; a richly diverse, exotic and ancient land. Our travel experiences deliver something that would be very hard to get on your own; unique and innovative cultural journeys built around learning, understanding, going beyond, engaging and connecting people to people. We offer trips that take you comfortably beyond the ordinary in Oaxaca and Chiapas. Our journeys range in length from one day to two weeks.
A Slice of Oaxaca
Dec 6 -13, 2014
Jan 10 – 17, 2015
HIGHLIGHTS
- Explore the essence of this diverse land in 7 days
• Experience hands-on Oaxacan cuisine with a zapotec master of the kitchen
• Taste the history of an old Zapotec ceremonial center
• Immerse yourself in alive markets full of color
• Overnight in a traditional weaving village
• Meet a family who has been making clay cookware for 100 generations.
• Take a meaningful peek into Oaxaca´s people, customs and roots.
• Enjoy a journey made for people who love folk art and culture.
• Wander through Oaxaca City a UNESCO world heritage site, a place of beautiful colonial buildings and good coffee shops.
• Meet with artisans and discover the soul behind each folk art piece.
Included meals (B=breakfast, L=lunch, D=dinner)
Day 1 (D)
Arrival. First meeting at hotel at 6pm followed by a group dinner. Night in Oaxaca.
Day 2 (LD)
Market Buzz and Eternal Silence. Sunday has been market day in Tlacolula for a thousand years, and today is no exception. There is no better place to begin a folk art journey, for all of Oaxaca’s folk art, humble or high, traces its origins to items made for the market. We’ll explore this wonderful market, learning about the unusual foods, the iron smith’s trade and the yoke maker’s wood. When we’ve had enough of the hubbub of the market we will catch a breather in what is arguably the most peaceful place in town…the cemetery. But as you will see, this cemetery is not like the ones back home. Then on to another peaceful place, locally known as old town- we’ll close out the day at the hilltop ruins of Yagul where the palaces, temples and ball courts of ancient Zapotec rulers now sit in utter silence. We’ll spend the evening at a cozy, family run hotel in the village of Teotitlan del Valle.
Day 3 (BLD)
Five Thousand Weavers! (Don’t worry, we won’t be meeting all of them.) Teotitlan del Valle is Mexico’s largest tapestry weaving village. Almost every family in this friendly Zapotec village creates colorful woolen tapestries. We will visit two masters. One who has refined natural dyeing to a fine art and another who turns fine art into woven tapestry. We’ll also visit an artisan who makes wonderfully gaudy ritual candles from beeswax and have a home cooked lunch in a village household. Before heading back to our hotelito we’ll head into the countryside and soak up a bit of the quiet at the ancient ceremonial center of Dainzu. Evening in Teotitlan del Valle.
Day 4 (BLD)
Cooking Lunch, Making Pots. Oaxaca is legendary in Mexico for its delicious, unique regional cuisine. Teotitlan is known in Oaxaca for being a source of some of the best of that cuisine. Today we get our hands into the dough! We begin at the morning Zapotec farmer’s market in the middle of the village, accompanied by a Teotitlan chef who comes from a lineage of skilled cooks. She’ll walk us through the market and together we’ll get the ingredients for what we are going to do next, which is return to her open kitchen and cook lunch! Wood fires, stone mortar and pestles, Vitamix blenders all come together in a swirl of activity and aroma as we enjoy a hands on lesson in how to make authentic Mexican food. And after we’ve eaten we’ll head across the valley to a small village called San Marcos to meet a family that has been producing clay cookware for over 100 generations. We’ll learn how this stone polished, earth-red pottery is made and how it works in balance with Mother Nature. Evening in Teotitlan.
Day 5 (BL)
Fire Water and The Forge. Biding Teotitlan farewell, we head to the village of Chichicapan this morning and start the day off right with a visit to a mescal still to learn how this top quality alcohol is distilled from agave plants. Seem too early to try a sip? You know the saying, “when in Rome…”. Then onward to the town of Ocotlan where we’ll take a peek at its beautiful church, visit a family of blacksmiths who turn recycled metal into swords and knives and we’ll have lunch with Frida Kahlo in the market. We’ll finalize this grand day of exploration with a visit a fantastical sculpture garden which is actually the home workshop of blind clay artisan, Jose Antonio Garcia. We return to Oaxaca in the afternoon. Evening in Oaxaca.
Day 6 (L)
Black Clay, Machetes and Threads. Our morning begins with a private tour of the lovely Oaxacan Textile Museum that works closely with artisans from all over the state as well as drawing exhibits from all over the world. Then down the road to visit Agustin Tinoco who is one of the most skilled and creative wood figure carvers in the region. We’ll visit his home workshop and admire his skills with a machete and the final results. Then to the legendary source of Oaxaca’s black pottery, San Bartolo Coyotepec. We’ll visit two artisans here- one who is pushing the edge of folk art into fine art, Carlo Magno Pedro and another who is one of the last 3 potters still producing the traditional pottery of Coyotepec. Time allowing we’ll also visit the State Folk Art Museum in Coyotepec before returning to Oaxaca. Evening in Oaxaca.
Day 7 (LD)
Close to Oaxaca City is the village of Atzompa, possibly the oldest pottery village in the state. We’ll visit two potters today. First Irma Garcia Blanco, who does lovely figurative work and is the daughter of the late and admired Teodora Blanco. We’ll also visit Angelica Vazquez, an artisan of monumental skill who produces refined miniature sculptures inspired by myths and legends. Then we’ll travel to the San Agustin Center for the Art housed in an artistically restored textile mill to soak in its beauty as well as visit a nearby cooperative that produces hand-made paper and paper jewelry. Evening in Oaxaca.
Day 8. Departure.
All itineraries subject to change without notice.
Price:
$1,795 USD per person (6-12 pax)
$1995 per person (3-5 pax)
Duration:
7 days/6 nights
Included:
- All lodging (double occupancy)
- Most meals
- All local transport in private van
- Bilingual experience guide
- Entry fees
- Small group travel
Not Included:
- Airfare and transport to/from airport
- Alcoholic beverages
- Personal items
- Lodging before or after the tour
- Tip to your tour guides should you feel it is merited.
Other Tours:
1 Day Trips ( Dates on Demand)
Long Tours (7-10 days):
- Creative Ways and Ancient Arts
- Cultura Maya
- Fiber Arts of the Oaxacan Coast
- Murex, Silk and Threaded Flowers
- Day of the Dead among the Maya
- Profound Oaxaca: Textiles Pottery and Living Arts
- Festival Maya
Short Tours (3-4 days)
- Three Slices of Oaxaca
- Dia de los Muertos Celebrations in the 3 Valleys of Oaxaca
- The Lost City: Ruins of Quiotepec
- Monte Negro and the Garden of Eden
- Mixtec Market, Fortress Monastaries
Custom Tours:
We can build an adventure just for you! Click here for more details.
Contact Traditions Mexico :
- Address: Reforma 412 A, Centro Histórico, Oaxaca, Oaxaca.
- Email: [email protected]
- Phone number: +52 951 226 2742
- Tripadvisor page: http://www.tripadvisor.com.mx/Attraction_Review-g150801-d1939838-Reviews-Traditions_Mexico_Hands_on_Tours-Oaxaca_Southern_Mexico.html
- Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Traditions-Mexico/127827483949156
