Job Discussion Forums

[Adela]

What's happening in OC next weekend? Where are the best restaurants near the zocola?

[MotherF]

This is not really the best place to find this sort of information. Mainly because the majority of the regular posters do no live in Oaxaca City.

You should have a look at http://www.oaxaca-mio.com/fiestas/muertos.htm
and here is a schedule of events.

Heck just google it you'll get thousands of hits.

As for restuarants, could you be more specific? The number of restuarants near the Zocalo in Oaxaca is staggering. Best food? What kind of food? Affordable? Abiance?

[Phil_K]

There's a great place close to the Z�calo that does just about every variety of mole, and Oaxacan food in general. I�m sorry I can't be more specific as I haven't been to Oaxaca for ages. All I remember is that it's upstairs on a corner close to Santo Domingo church. And it's well known.

[Isla Guapa]

When I was in Oaxaca City in August, the best (and most inexpensive) mole I ate was at an informal eatery in the main market.

[NinaNina]

A favorite topic of mine. You may want to fact-check me on some of these, but here's a typical rundown:

Friday 10/29 daytime: Day of the Dead small artesania market on the plaza in front of Xochimilco church. Big altar supplies shopping going on at Centro de Abastos all weekend, with Friday being the big deliveries of flowers.

Saturday 10/30 evening: Family event at the Biblioteca Infantil. A comparsa, movie screening and Day of the Dead art show for kids and parents.

Sunday 10/31: The big Xoxocotlan evening. This is the muertos party where the tour buses pull up. Lots of puestos, public art, and cool artesania in front of the panteon, and then the altars within the panteon. Bring your old pinata candy to hand out to the kids dressed as devils and skeletons who will be chanting "queremos muertos."

Monday 11/1: You could hit Panteon San Miguel, the big municipal cemetery, to see the grand gravesites. There's usually an amusement park set up in the plaza of the cemetery, and it's the only place I've found to buy the calaveras newspapers with poems and art making fun of public figures.

Tuesday 11/2: My favorite--the San Felipe cemetery celebration. Usually a live band with masked children dancing on a bed of flower petals. The party goes all night. The graves may be simple with flowers and jicaras of mezcal or they may have full sand tapetes depicting life, death, legends.

Also: Teotitlan del Valle and Ocotlan have graveyard celebrations, and the all-night comparsas and dancing (in masks) in Etla are supposed to be great. The Alcala walkway has a display of sand carpets and the zocalo, if not occupied by protests, has altars. Mole-eating possibilities abound--people like Maria Bonita and Los Pacos. The one in the zocalo to which some of you may refer might be Casa de la Abuela? I also like to hit Calle Mina to see the chocolate factories going full-force to make chocolate for people's home altars.

Enjoy!
Serena
Have You Seen the Dog Lately? blog
http://haveyouseen.blogspot.com/