Voladores after flight, Cuetzalan, Puebla, Mexico
Cuetzalan (Kwetz-ah-lahn), designated as a Pueblo Magico, is a mountain town in the Sierra Norte tropical rainforest, three and-a-half hours on the Via Rapido bus and 183 km from the city of Puebla and three hours from Veracruz on the Caribbean. The only months it doesn’t rain here are April and May.
It is a lush, green misty, mysterious wonderland. Orchids drape and cling to the sides of trees. Men in white shirts and pants, straw hats, leather thong sandals, sling palm woven bags across their shoulders. Women are either barefoot or wear ballerina slippers.
Stunning, intricate needlework blouses that depict the flowers and wildlife of the region cover them. Children scamper and adults pick their way carefully up and down the sawtooth stone steps that frame the steep, granite cobbled streets. The slippery stones remind me of climbing Palenque.
I’ve been wanting to make this pilgrimage trip for six years, ever since I heard about Cuetzalan from photographer friends Sam and and Tom Robbins. Their extraordinary black and white art photos of steep, cobblestone streets lined with near vertical steps were engraved in my memory.
I invited my sister Barbara, who lives in Santa Cruz, California to join me to explore this rich textile region of Mexico. On the day our Women’s Creative Writing and Yoga Retreat ended last Friday morning, I was on a four-hour bus to Puebla, where we met, spent the night, and then started out on this see-Mexico-by-bus journey together.
We arrived on Saturday afternoon in time for the extraordinary once a week Sunday market (tianguis). It was not difficult to spend the entire day roaming market stalls. The town square was obscured by covered stalls filled with handcrafts, fruit, vegetables, and meat.
In the afternoon, the Voladores (the flyers) climbed to the top of a 100 foot wood pole on the Zocalo in front the the church and spread their wings in flight, arms and legs twirling, outstretched, performing the pre-Hispanic ritual that guarantees renewal of life.
In addition to their needlework skill, Cuetzalan women also weave quechquemitls (kech-keh-mees). These are the wonderful over the head, one-piece “shawls” that were designed by Nahautl women and adopted by indigenous peoples throughout Mexico. There is the wool variety, first handwoven on the back-strap loom, then embellished with cross stitch floral patterns or with intricate running stitches that tell a story of the natural world. The women also weave quechquemitls using natural manta or synthetically colored cotton (not many are using natural dyes any more).
These can be embellished with commercially purchased fringes. Others are even lighter weight (remember, it’s humid here) and woven with white polyester interspersed with glittery threads that illuminate in the sunlight. The tips of these are embroidered with an intricate bird feet pattern on the two points of the quechquemitls. The women are shy but their traje (costume) is filled with exuberance and they are proud of their handwork.
Our Cuetzalan base for two nights was Hotel Taselotzin, Calle Yoloxochitl, S/N Barrio de Zacatipan, hoteltaselotzin.com.mx, phone (223) 331-0480. I did my research. Fulbright Scholars participants stay here. So do U.S. university study abroad programs based in Puebla. While we were there a group of Dartmouth College students were staying at the hotel and going out during the day to work with young people in rural communities. The hotel is operated by a women’s cooperative that supports artisans and educational programs. They have an excellent kitchen that prepares delicious food (order sopa de hongos — wild mushroom soup) at very reasonable prices and a lovely gift shop with high quality work. The location is not central, but it is quiet, lush and peaceful. Rooms have private baths.
Highlights of Cuetzalan:
- Of course! the Sunday market, a frenzy of activity. You need to know your textiles to pick out the higher quality pieces
- Casa de la Cultura, Calle Miguel Alvarado #18, tel. 233 105 2776
- Mercado de Artesanias, Calle Miguel Alvarado across from the Casa de la Cultura. Here you will find the better quality handwork.
- Francesca Rivera Perez has a stall in this market and her work is stunning. We splurged here!
- Breakfast at Cafe Epoc de Oro on the zocalo — great coffee; order chilaquiles with pollo in salsa verde.
- Return to the Zocalo on Monday morning where all is clean, quiet, beautiful to see the details of life. Have breakfast at El Portal: delicious!
- Yes, to those incredible seed and bean necklaces. The best ones are strung with beautiful, twisted macrame chord.
- Many of the traditional people, especially the older folks, turn their heads or walk away from the camera. Always ask before taking a photo that is up close and personal.
- Fog muted vistas offer photographers glorious opportunities to capture sense of place.
- Traditional practices of weaving with natural dyes and manta cloth are dying out with the older generation.
- There are evangelical Christians working in Cuetzalan. This is a very poor area and the promises of a better life are very appealing to some.
We Are in Tlaxcala Now: Archeology, Volcanoes, Great Food
Who could ask for more? We are in Tlaxcala (Tuh-las-cah-lah), the first city Cortes came to after landing in Veracruz. The oldest churches in the New World are here. The compact zocalo is ringed with 16th century buildings decorated with frilly stucco and carved stone. The town of 73,000, tucked into a hillside, is one hour from Puebla and about three hours from Mexico City. It is elegant, prosperous and refined with excellent restaurants and pedestrian ambience.
After eating a noteworthy late breakfast/early lunch of conejo con huitlacoche (rabbit and corn fungus) and enchiladas de Tlaxcalteco con flor de calabasas (squash blossoms) at Fonda de Exconvento on Plaza Xicotencatl, we decided on the spot to visit the archeological sites of Cacaxtla (Cah-cas-tlah) and Xochitecatl (So-chee-teh-cachl). The manager at Fonda de Exconvento was extremely helpful. After I asked her what we should pay a taxi to drive us to the ruins, she made a call, got us a secure driver and negotiated a price of 350 pesos for the afternoon (four hours). We were thrilled! Muy facile. Thank you for visiting our country, she said.
Cacaxtla and sister site, Xochitecatl, were inhabited by the Olmec-Xicalancas, who wielded political and economic control over the central, southern, and western parts of the Puebla-Tlaxcala Valley. They occupied a strategic position on the trade route between the Central Highlands of Mexico and the Gulf Coast. Cacaxtla reached its zenith between 650 and 900 AD following the decline of Teotihuacan, at the same time that other cities, such as El Tajin in Veracruz and Xochicalco in Morelos, consolidated their power.
The mural paintings here are distinctive for blending Teotithuacan and Maya elements into its own unique style. The murals, many in pristine condition and painted with natural pigments, were discovered in the 1970’s. They depict a battle, a bird man, a jaguar man, and sea and land creatures. The site is less than an hour from Tlaxcala and incredible.
Templo de Venus: These figures, above, are female (left) and male (right) figures wearing skirts with the Venus symbol. The presence of Venus on the garments allude to some astronomical phenomenon or calendrical date associated with the planet, which at that time was related to warfare and sacrifice.
Go during mid-week, as we did, to enjoy the solitude, the power of the wind, and the stunning views of Mexico’s volcanoes: Popocatepetl, La Malinche, Iztaccíhuatl, and Pico de Orizaba.
Xochitecatl is distinguished by four pyramids and when you reach the top of the plateau where they are located, you are treated with a panoramic, three-hundred-and-sixty-degree view of the valley. This is the lesser of the two sites in terms of archeological restoration. There are about a dozen Olmec carved figures on display in an outside garden.
Great Dining Experience: Vinos y Piedra on the Zocalo. Try the Cafecita, a filet mignon topped with a carmelized coffee sauce. This is cowboy country with large haciendas and cattle ranches. The beef here is tender and juicy!
Travel Tip: Go to the Tourism Office first to get a map. They are very helpful there and speak English. Bullfight season is November through the first weekend in March. We just missed it!
Our route to Tlaxcala: In Cuetzalan, we bought a one-way bus ticket (116 pesos each) to Huamantla on the Texcoco bus line (first class with TV and toilet). This was a 3-1/2 hour trip. In Huamantla, we walked two blocks towing our rolling luggage and backpacks to a collectivo bus stop, where, within minutes, a commuter van picked us up for the 45-minute trip to Tlaxcala (about 25 pesos each). It dropped us off at the central market, where we walked around a corner and hopped a taxi (30 pesos) to our Hotel Mision San Francisco on the zocalo.
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Posted in Cultural Commentary, Dining and Lodging, Oaxaca Mexico art and culture, Travel & Tourism
Tagged archeology, blogsherpa, Cacaxtla, food, hotels, Mexico, murals, Oaxaca, Olmecs, Puebla, restaurants, Tlaxcala, Xochitecatl