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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 8, 2009 6:02:50 GMT
There are "mercado zonals" all over and around the city of Oaxaca. Many of them have a particular day that features extra vendors and/or items only available that day. In Xoxo, the day is Sunday. It's a little before 10 when I park and enter through the side. There is a one-man-band across the street entertaining the people enjoying the food in the various fondas (small eateries) built into the side of the market. This is a good place to eat, but more of a leisure activity to be enjoyed with others. I'm alone today, and besides -- I'm on a mission. I hustle past the tortilla sellers on either side, my hot eyes fixed on a stand almost at the end. Oh joy! She's still here and her chocolate atole is still available. This stand has the best, so always sells out early. The drink consists of hot, plain, sweetened atole -- corn starch gruel -- topped with a cold foam of unsweetened chocolate. You see the styrofoam bowl of atole waiting as she deftly whips the foam with a molinillo. When it's perfect, she scoops some atop the atole. The combination of that cool bitterness breaking against the upper lip as the hot sweet drink flows into the mouth is sensual and delicious. Okay, part one of the perfect Sunday morning has been obtained. Now for part two. I always come to this stand, run by a mother and daughter. I'm in luck today, as I frequently don't get to see the daughter. She and her husband are both singers and are often out on jobs on Sundays. Only in the Xoxo market are tamales de chichilo available. Many people in the city of Oaxaca have never even heard of them. In the picture below, the daughter is placing the one I'm about to enjoy on a plate. I set myself up on the counter of the empty stall next to them and dig into the sublime combination: slaked corn dough with the chichilo (three different chiles cooked with cracked corn and garlic), chicken, and hoja santa.
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 8, 2009 6:03:19 GMT
As long as we're here, would you like to look around the market? Okay -- let me finish eating, but here's what we can see from this vantage point: Across the aisle is a piñata and party favors stand. She doesn't look like she's in much of a party mood. Looking down towards the meat counters aisle, past the hardware stall on the left. Wet your lips, honey -- you're going to be in this picture! Pointing the camera in the opposite direction, we see the stall selling fresh cheese and other milk products. What's this right across the aisle from the dairy products? Why, it's a stand dispensing that traditional Zapotec product, Herbalife. I'm all finished eating, so let's move all the way around the market. There are several produce stands. I would like to know more about the lives of people like this lady. She's always at the market on Sundays, at her minimal little stand, selling small amounts of rice pudding and other dessert items. The photo is grainy because I extracted it from another picture, not wanting the lady to know she was being photographed. You can see her on the left side in the picture below. This is the flower stall I like, although there is a very similar one right on the other side of it. Here's an unexpected sight! Guess he's glad to be on her shoulder instead of with his cousins on the cold, cold counter below.
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 8, 2009 6:03:56 GMT
Moving right along, there's a jeweler ~ a whole line of meat stalls in the middle of which is the market chapel. All markets have a shrine somewhere, but it's not always such a fancy space as this one. We can go out the back door. This large space has vendors of prepared food, cleaned cactus pads, roast squash seeds, produce, and much more. Here's where the mototaxis pick up and discharge passengers. You can buy clothes, and the closets to put them in. There are some nice plants for sale. Re-entering the back door (bright space at rear of this photo), we continue strolling past stores selling gifts, cds, and shoes. One of several bread stalls. Grab a tray and some tongs and help yourself. There are teensy grocery stores. Would you care for some fresh juice?
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 8, 2009 6:04:26 GMT
We've come all the way around. Let's go out the front door. Right inside this door is the flower stall you saw earlier. Mexican Independence Day is the 16th of September, but the whole month of September is the month of patriotism. This car is celebrating with a vengeance. I will have to come back and get some doo-dads of my own. Vendors like this are all over town right now. Guess he figured it was a good a time as any to try to unload those images of the last pope. The highway in front of the market is always busy. The taquerias across the street do a thriving business, especially on Sundays. I'm back on the street at the side of the market where I originally entered. Here's where you get candy for your piñatas. Give me a kilo of tortillas, please. Remember the one-man-band? He was playing in front of this barber shop, which is now open for business. See the happy fonda customers reflected in the mirror? I'm heading home. The market engenders enterprise all around it, such as this household with its Sunday barbacoa stand.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 8, 2009 20:28:07 GMT
Everything is so incredibly colorful. I am already in mourning if Askar ever sees this since he has said that he is color blind.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 8, 2009 21:29:04 GMT
You have a good memory:)! Being color blind doesn't mean that a person can see only black and white. It's true however that I have trouble to distinguish between certain shades of colors. For example I'm unable to see any difference between the two spheres in this test: www.eyecaresource.com/conditions/color-blindness/So I suppose that I can't appreciate these photos as much as a "normal" person. To reassure you, I can see that the plastic chairs, the apron and the couch are blue; that the dress of the doll is yellow.. I'm less sure about the color of the wall behind the tricycle, is that a different shade of yellow or a totally different color?
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Post by Deleted on Sept 8, 2009 21:52:17 GMT
No, they are both yellow! Yes, I know that you can see a lot of the colors, but I also know that some of them are missing or confusing.
Sort of like me trying to understand advanced mathematics!
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 8, 2009 22:16:33 GMT
Really bright colors work here because of the strong sunlight. I find myself drawn to color combinations on houses that would have horrified me in the past.
Have either of you ever visited in Mexico?
Anyone else here? Well, of course DonCuevas, and he's been to the area where I live, and I to his.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 8, 2009 22:24:15 GMT
I have been to Cancun -- and no, not the tourist Cancun, although I passed though it by taxi! I spent a night in Cancun when I was in transit to Havana, and the real city appealed to me very much, although I only saw it for half a day.
And I must confess that I spent a day in Cozumel on a cruise with my parents. It was quite nice, but there was not much 'Mexican' about it although I did climb up and down a pyramid (my parents just watched from a distance). There was a certain Mexican ambience in the town that night, but the tourists outnumbered the locals, at least where we were.
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 9, 2009 0:05:50 GMT
For many people, Cancun might well be their first sight of Mexico Since there are so many attractive package deals to lure visitors there, it's often the best option for flying into Mexico.
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Post by imec on Sept 9, 2009 3:17:53 GMT
What a fantastic place bixa! I'd love to spend all day in a place like that - eating, looking, eating again, and again.... Thanks so much for this!
(and man! I want that tamale!)
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 9, 2009 3:25:07 GMT
I realize the Imecs just came back from a major vacation, but it would be so cool if you all could come here one day. I am a great guide!
You would DIE for the different tamales around here! I never deviate from the Sunday eat-it-at-the-stand one, but sometimes get different kinds to take home. That lady makes a mean tamal verde.
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Post by imec on Sept 9, 2009 3:39:07 GMT
Our friends were recently raving about their time in Huatulco, so the general area is now on my radar.
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Post by spindrift on Sept 10, 2009 20:59:14 GMT
Bixa, I have just found this thread. I loved walking around the market with you! I don't understand the food at all but it sure looks delicious. I am particularly foxed by the corn stuffed with something? Do people eat bread? Is it like European bread? or only tortillas? what about rice? Anything I learned when I lived in Mexico city in the 70s I have long since forgotten
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Post by Deleted on Sept 10, 2009 21:04:15 GMT
There are many hidden treasures at Anyport.
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 11, 2009 0:15:00 GMT
Bixa, I have just found this thread. I loved walking around the market with you! I don't understand the food at all but it sure looks delicious. I am particularly foxed by the corn stuffed with something? Do people eat bread? Is it like European bread? or only tortillas? what about rice? Anything I learned when I lived in Mexico city in the 70s I have long since forgotten Oh thank you, Spindrift ~~ it was twice as much fun having you with me! I would say that lots of the food here is still pre-Columbian to a large degree, and really needs a little research so that you know what you're eating. I always recommend the book " A Cook's Tour of Mexico" because it's a fun way to get a good overview of the food of the country. A tamal is a good example. It is corn masa* beaten with shortening (usually lard), then spread onto corn husks, then layered with a thick sauce and some meat, completely wrapped with the husks, then steamed until done. That's just one way of making it. For instance, there are also tamales of just dough, ground to different consistencies, maybe with an herb in the dough, then served with a thin hot sauce. There are many, many different Kinds all over the country. The chichilo one is only in Xoxo, and I can go to Etla, on the north side of the city and get a completely different kind unavailable in my town. Yes people eat bread, usually a small white loaf somewhat like French bread, called a bolillo. In this part of the country tortillas are always of corn, further north wheat tortillas are common. Rice is extremely popular. *corn slaked with lime, then ground to a dough -- the same dough used for tortillas
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Post by spindrift on Sept 11, 2009 16:34:28 GMT
When I'm coming your way I'll read "A Cook's Tour of Mexico" first, then I won't be clueless
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Post by Deleted on Sept 13, 2009 10:00:41 GMT
How is cauliflower eaten in Mexico? I see that the ones at the market look normal (perhaps imported from the northern neighbor?). In many tropical countries I see small and unappealing (because it's been on sale too long) cauliflower in the markets sometimes, as though the local population thinks it looks interesting but doesn't really know what to do with it.
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 13, 2009 15:12:02 GMT
I found out recently that Mexico is a big producer of the broccoli eaten in the US, so I guess they must grow cauliflower as well.
The only ways I've encountered broccoli or cauliflower is (over) cooked in soups or stews, made into a cream soup, or as part of a pickled vegetable mixture. You do see really huge cauliflower and cabbages, and the vendor will cut them and sell you the amount you want. In slightly more upscale restaurants you might get steamed vegetables with your meal, but generally they're boiled.
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Post by lola on Sept 14, 2009 15:27:19 GMT
Wonderful, bixa. I want a chichilo right now.
I've never been to Mexico or south of Las Cruces even. I don't see Anglos in your shots, except maybe the guy in front of El Humito. The mercado and Xoxo must be off beaten tourist track. Do you feel alien ever?
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Post by lola on Sept 14, 2009 16:41:02 GMT
I've added Xoxocotlán to forvo.com hoping to hear it pronounced.
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 14, 2009 18:49:09 GMT
If I had two tamales de chichilo, I'd give you one! ;D Xoxocotlán = ho ho coat lahn Come on down, Lola -- we could have a blast. Be sure to bring your sketchpad. Nah, I don't feel alien because I'm not a self-conscious person. People around here are friendly -- much friendlier than they are in the city of Oaxaca. They ask how long I've been here, then say, "Oh well -- you're Oaxacan now!" If you look up Xoxocotlán it seems huge and important, but is just a bizarre instance of jerrymandering as far as I can tell. Its incorporated area sprawls all over, but Xoxo is actually a small town. Its big moment for tourism is Day of the Dead, as its cemetery is known as one worth a visit.
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voy
member
Offline
The Lobstah Lady
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Post by voy on Sept 29, 2009 18:18:43 GMT
oh my - hoping to go to a market like this, with Bix as guide, when I'm there in Dec!!
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 29, 2009 18:35:11 GMT
I would be delighted, Voy! Are you really, really coming to Oaxaca? Yaaay.
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Post by hwinpp on Oct 7, 2009 11:41:13 GMT
Piss- up in Mexico?
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Post by bixaorellana on Oct 7, 2009 14:35:33 GMT
HW, there are three internetites here in Oaxaca, all of whom know Voy from other forums. I keep telling you that this is your kind of place. Get over here!
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Post by hwinpp on Oct 13, 2009 6:16:23 GMT
Yes, yes, yes!
I know...
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Post by bixaorellana on Oct 13, 2009 6:43:21 GMT
You'd be such a natural, HW! Figure out some justification for your company to send you.
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Post by hwinpp on Oct 14, 2009 9:39:58 GMT
I just found out yesterday my company is sending me elsewhere... not bad though, I will involve all the Euros on the board
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Post by bixaorellana on Oct 14, 2009 14:50:08 GMT
Such a tease! I await the explanatory thread.
Europe and OP related: which European country consumes the most Mexican food?
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