Wednesday March 28, 2023
In Oakland airport I met a friendly guy from Santa Rosa bound for Oaxaca,and we kinda hung out in Guadalajara airport, waiting for stopover. Nice feller, he's from Oaxaca, his wife is from Guanajuato, their kids born in Santa Rosa CA. Kids are now twenty-somethings. He was nearly crying as he recounted coming to America when he was twenty, and taking ESL classes at Santa Rosa Junior College. He recollected how he was treated with so much respect there as a recent immigrant, and given so many opportunities. He's the proud owner of Texas Furniture Co. on Sebastopol Road in Santa Rosa, CA. It's called Texas because that's the name of his home pueblo -Tejas de Morelos- here in Oaxaca. I'm guessing that he's about 50.

Anyway, he's here for a month solo, because he's the chief organizer for Santa Semana festivities in Tejas de Morelos, which he invited me out to. I'm think I'm going to take him up on the offer.

Arrived via taxi from the airport to my rental apartmento around 8:30am, greeted by Irlanda, who speaks little English but is very proud of her place. Rightly so - it's beautiful, great sunset view and very clean, twenty minute walk from El Centro so it's quiet too. After fifteen minutes of pleasantries Irlanda left me so I could get some much needed sleep after the red-eye from Oakland.

"Anywhere death comes suddenly is welcome."

I woke up in my new digs after a nap and took inventory. Sure enough, there's a moka pot in the apartment. I immediately dash out to find Cafe Talante close by for some fresh roast ground Oaxaqueño coffee. Turns out Talante is not just a modest little neighborhood cafe, but they produce their own coffee. It's 100% women run. I learned to ask for asado medio, molienda media. Medium roast, medium grind for a mocha pot. Morning coffee solved!

Famished, I found a chilaquiles cafe nearby and ordered chilaquiles verdes con pollito, not quite sure knowing what I was ordering. I know verde and I know pollo, but what's a chilaquiles dish? All I know is that a Oaxaqueño amigo back home in Mount Shasta said that I HAD to try chilaquiles.

The order arrived. A plate of homemade corn chips, a bit like nachos in America, except covered in shredded chicken, a sour cream drizzle and an unidentified sauce. The camarero asked me if I'd like pan (bread), I said "no thanks," because I already had a plateful of about fifteen corn tortilla chips. Why would I want bread? I dug in, post-nap famished from surviving the flight out of Oakland.

The sauce? Actually, two of them. The left side was chile verde, but the right side was a light brown molé. Shredded chicken lay underneath, with cilantro and a Oaxqueño cheese crumble on top.

When I'd finished the heavenly combo I was left with a plate of sauce where the mole and the verde had converged into a beautiful conglomeration. So! THAT'S what the pan is for. I sheepishly asked the waiter if I could still have some pan, he happily brought me a mini loaf of typical fresh crusty white Mex bread, perfect for mop-up duty.

It would have been a crying shame to send that plate back, covered in that glorious mix. Almuerzo perfecto.

Satiated, I stumble out toward downtown, past a smallish open air market (Mercado IV Centenary) that Irlanda said was where the locals go for food and groceries. Apparently the big Mercado 20 de Noviembre has gotten too touristy for her tastes, and she said it was "muy caro."

I walked down the steps that straddle the market, and at the bottom there's another cafe, Cactus Cafe, offering a macchiato oaxaqueño. Yes, please. A perfect lunchtime topper.

Now off to the famous Zocalo. It's 1pm, 85° and a bit muggy, but it beats the two feet of snow that hit Dunsmuir last night. But first, another nap to catch up. I wanna feel froggy, not foggy, so I schlep back uphill to my apartamento.

Dusk at the Zocalo
These Oaxqueños really know how to live. A cool and quiet Wednesday night in the plaza. Surprisingly good music from a jazz band with a great vibes player. A delicious meal of chile rellenos in an orange sauce that was indescribably fantastic. Add aguacate, beans, arroz and handmade tortillas, and a botella de agua.

Here's a one minute vid of the Zocalo at night:

Taxi'd home. Seventy pesos, about $4. Seems to be the prevailing rate to go anywhere in El Centro. A nice ending to a looong first day.