Mexico special section: Return to Oaxaca
CITY GETS BACK TO NORMAL, BUT '06 UNREST TAKES TOLL
By Michael Martinez
Mercury News
Article Launched: 10/07/2007 02:01:11 AM PDT
OAXACA, Mexico - The zócalo of this colonial city looked exactly as I remembered it. Broad, inviting shade trees. Musicians playing mariachi or marimba. Strings of colored bulbs lighting up the night. Women balancing trays of fruit drinks on their heads, looking for thirsty buyers.
And lots of townsfolk and tourists. The last time I visited here, almost five years ago, my afternoons were often spent at the zócalo - the communal center of most Mexican cities - watching people come and go, or children play, or couples snuggle on a park bench. Everyone mingles easily here, filling the square from dawn until well past dusk.
But Oaxaca is still wobbling from a troublesome 2006. Tourism is down. Hotel rooms are empty. Some businesses have closed. The city's tourist-based economy is still struggling from a violent political protest last year that shut down the zócalo and put parts of the town under siege for several months.
Everything is peaceful now, but travelers have been reluctant to return. The Oaxaca Tourism Office reports that the number of visitors fell by 58 percent over the past six months of 2006 compared with the same period for 2005. And although tourism is trickling back, it has yet to return to normal.
"All eyes are on Dia de los Muertos as the holiday that brings visitors back," Ron Mader, a longtime resident of Oaxaca, said of the Day of the Dead celebration that takes place Nov. 1 and 2.
Martha Canseco, director of the Becari Language School, where I attended Spanish classes for three weeks in 2003, said the city has its luster back: "It's beautiful, as always, and there are good prices in the hotels and restaurants."
Indeed, Oaxaca, a city of 258,000 located about an hour's flight southeast of Mexico City, continues to be alluring and pristine - a mix of cultures and colors unlike anywhere else in Mexico. If you listen closely, you can hear dialects spoken by some of the 16 indigenous groups found in the state of Oaxaca (both the city and state share the same name), making it the most ethnically diverse region of the country.
Throughout the center of town, shops are filled with woven rugs, silver and gold jewelry, ceramics and unique folk art such as alebrijes (meticulously carved and painted figurines) and barro negro (shiny black pottery). Many storefronts and homes are painted in bright, lustrous colors.
The public markets are hives of non-stop activity where you can buy fresh meat, shoes, pottery, tamales, baskets and the Oaxacan delicacy known as chapulines - fried grasshoppers seasoned with salt and chili powder and eaten either alone or in a tortilla. Women stand behind counters and wave menus featuring tacos, tamales, chilaquiles and hot soup.
Along the dusty, narrow streets, small stores sell CDs, beaded necklaces, candy and T-shirts. Buses, many headed for beach towns like Puerto Escondido or Puerto Angel, go roaring by every afternoon and evening.
There are no remnants of the civil unrest that shook the city from May until November last year. A protest that began as an annual teachers' strike over wages and working conditions exploded into a clash between police and left-wing activists intent on removing the state governor from office. As many as a dozen people were killed, including one American who was shot while filming a demonstration. Federal police were finally called in to quell the violence.
Walking around the zócalo, with its freshly planted flower beds and gurgling fountains, it was difficult to believe any of this had happened. Police presence was minimal. At night, the city was serene and safe. People were friendly, welcoming.
"In my town, even the dogs wag their tails," said Judith Reyes Lopez, who owns the Ollin Bed and Breakfast, a 10-minute walk from the zócalo, with her husband, American-born Jon McKinley.
Recovery, however, has been slow. McKinley said occupancy at their 11-room B&B is down overall but is showing signs of revival. They enjoyed a good August, their best month in more than a year, and expect to be full for the traditional Day of the Dead celebration that begins later this month.
Other properties are still struggling. Several B&B owners, who formed an association (www.oaxacabedandbreakfast.org) to market themselves in the wake of the protests, say occupancy is less than 10 percent since October 2006. And language schools suffered a large enrollment drop that has yet to return to normal, Canseco said.
One school, Amigos del Sol, was unable to pay its monthly rent and had to relocate to a smaller facility. Becari couldn't pay rent for four months, Canseco said, but the landlord allowed the school to remain at its current location.
She's employing eight instructors instead of the 12 to 15 she usually has teaching classes. And although there were 21 students enrolled during my visit, 18 of them were supposed to attend last year but canceled because of the violence.
"Next year, we're going to see better results," Canseco said. "Even now, people are starting to ask about Oaxaca. But if something else happens, it will take years."
To attract visitors, the B&B association will host a seven-day cooking-school experience in March at a cost of $735 per person. It includes classes, dinners, tours and lectures. Discounts are available at member B&Bs, and some language schools are offering 20 percent discounts for participants who want to come early or extend their stay (www.aseseo.com.mx).
You can find great hotel rates even now. I paid $65 a night at the Ollin B&B and 650 pesos (about $59) at La Reja Hospederia - two small, nicely appointed properties with garden patios and friendly staffs. Breakfast is included at both. Dining at most restaurants is inexpensive, something that hasn't changed since my first trip.
Tourists are showing up - mainly from France and Germany, it appears - although there aren't a lot of them. The few Americans I met, though, seemed undeterred - as long as things stayed calm.
"I wouldn't have come if there was any fighting going on," said Aaron Semer, a graduate student from Seattle who was studying at Amigos del Sol. "But the presence of protesters wouldn't bother me. From everything I heard, things had stabilized."
Still, there are warnings. The U.S. State Department is advising travelers on its Web site (www.travel.state.gov) to check on current conditions before traveling to Oaxaca, although that advice will expire next week. Two German travelers I met, Simon and Christina Kramer of Nuremberg, said they found a similar advisory on their government's travel site.
"It said that we should be careful, that there might be demonstrations and the center of the town might be closed," Simon said.
"We were a little bit afraid," Christina said, "but we felt that it was a Mexican problem, and not a problem for tourists. The atmosphere, the cafes, the zócalo - it has been very easy, like a Mediterranean city."
In fact, some residents maintain that even during the worst of the troubles last year, Oaxaca was always safe to visit.
"I have never advised people not to come down," said Jack Corbett, a professor of public administration at Portland State University in Oregon who lives part time in Oaxaca. "Even at the height of the unrest, it was a matter of being attentive and prudent. At any given time, it was perfectly peaceful."
That's debatable. Gerardo Pinelo, in whose home I stayed during my first visit, said it was "very, very dangerous, especially around the zócalo." Canseco said she closed her school on days when there were large demonstrations.
"At times, I felt like I was living in a movie," she said. "We were sad to see what was happening to our city and our people. We were scared."
Those fears are gone now. Every day, the zócalo was filled with music. Every night, diners sat at outdoor tables drinking and eating. Children played well past dark. Young people filled dance clubs and coffee houses.
It was just as I left it, as if nothing had changed. But Oaxaca longs for tourists.
"Everybody is hungry for business," Jon McKinley said. "The only thing that will help is people."
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Contact Michael Martinez at mmartinez@mercurynews.com or (408) 920-5503.
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