Day 20 - Last full day in Mexico
I can't believe it is my last full day in Mexico and the last full day of this amazing adventure. As often happens on last day of vacation, I wanted to make sure to bring home a little bit of Oaxaca to remember my wonderful time here. Off to the market!
Mercado Albastos is the largest market in the center of Oaxaca and also not often frequented by tourists. As a result, it is not as neat and shiny as the one in the center, but has excellent food to purchase and enjoy. For breakfast, I decided to try mole amarillo, one of the 7 varieties of mole in Oaxaca. It was delicious, though much milder than the mole negro that I made with Señora Soledad. The primary difference among different types of moles is the pepper used to make it. Yellow peppers make yellow mole and I planned to find some to buy and bring them back to Brooklyn.
Yes, I wanted to buy lots of dried peppers. Sure, one can find dried peppers in the U.S., but the selection of peppers available here is unfathomable. There are not even half of what was available from this vendor. I had a list of the peppers that I had used with Señora Soledad, as well as some of her suggestions of other peppers to buy to expand my mole repertoire.
The other item that I needed to make excellent mole was chocolate and Oaxacan chocolate is distinct from what is sold in the U.S. It has a special flavor and often includes cinnamon and/or almonds. I bought some in Albastos market, but was looking for Mayordomo, purported by Señora Soledad to be the best. (You can tell that I have come to rely heavily on Señora Soledad's expertise.) I had to head back into the center to find the superior chocolate.
I expected to have to reenter one of the main markets, but was surprised to find several exclusive Mayordomo chocolate vendors. The one I stopped at not only sold chocolate, but also ground their own chocolate using the same kind of mill that I had seen used to grind mole during my cooking class. I do have to say that the chocolate was better.
The last food that I had read about being a Oaxacan specialty that I hadn't tried was huitlacoche, corn fungus. I know, not very appetizing. When I had Oaxacan food in Los Angeles it was one of the options for my empanada and I had opted for squash blossoms. Though delicious, it is very easy to find squash blossoms and difficult to find corn fungus. After asking probably a dozen vendors all lined up in a market, one of them had huitlacoche (in the back on the left). Yay!
My empanada was made with care on the comal, which I had grown used to seeing but supposed that I wouldn't see for a while. I did feel a bit nostalgic.
My last adventure was to visit Benito Juarez's house. It was a well kept home with a beautiful courtyard and several rooms surrounding it set up as a study, kitchen, bedroom, and dining room. What was most interesting to me was learning about Juarez's background and his political feats.
Benito Juarez was born to two indigenous Zapotec people who sadly passed away when he was only 3 years old. He lived with his much older sisters until they married. Most of his childhood he spend with his uncle who taught him to speak, read and write in castellano, in addition to the indigenous Zapotec dialect that he spoke as a first language. With this education he was able to enter the world of politics at age 25 at the local Oaxacan level. He held various posts throughout his career culminating in his election as president of Mexico at age 52.
('Juarez boy' by Jesus Alvarez Amaya)
Benito Juarez was born to two indigenous Zapotec people who sadly passed away when he was only 3 years old. He lived with his much older sisters until they married. Most of his childhood he spend with his uncle who taught him to speak, read and write in castellano, in addition to the indigenous Zapotec dialect that he spoke as a first language. With this education he was able to enter the world of politics at age 25 at the local Oaxacan level. He held various posts throughout his career culminating in his election as president of Mexico at age 52.
('Juarez boy' by Jesus Alvarez Amaya)
Juarez is notable as a Mexican president because he was the first indigenous president and is known for making many efforts to create equality within Mexico. Before Juarez, the Catholic church and military had a huge amount of control, which were limited by the Ley Juarez.
There is so much more to say about Benito Juarez, but too much for a blog post. He is a major symbol of equality and fighting for justice for the Mexican people, especially those from his home of Oaxaca, and is beloved by people bother here and in the United States. There are many statues of him around the province, as well as dozens of Calles and Avenidas Juarez. When I think back to my conversation with indigenous Oaxacan-American members of CBDIO in Fresno, I recognize a yearning for justice and equality that is very much in the spirit of Benito Juarez. I wonder if he resonates with my students from Puebla or if there is another Mexican person whom they idolize. Through conversations and some of my own research, I should be able to learn more and I need to. I need to take more responsibility for helping my students connect proudly to their Mexican heritage.
('Benito Juarez' by Arturo Garcia Bustos)
There is so much more to say about Benito Juarez, but too much for a blog post. He is a major symbol of equality and fighting for justice for the Mexican people, especially those from his home of Oaxaca, and is beloved by people bother here and in the United States. There are many statues of him around the province, as well as dozens of Calles and Avenidas Juarez. When I think back to my conversation with indigenous Oaxacan-American members of CBDIO in Fresno, I recognize a yearning for justice and equality that is very much in the spirit of Benito Juarez. I wonder if he resonates with my students from Puebla or if there is another Mexican person whom they idolize. Through conversations and some of my own research, I should be able to learn more and I need to. I need to take more responsibility for helping my students connect proudly to their Mexican heritage.
('Benito Juarez' by Arturo Garcia Bustos)