I joined the UNAM student choir Staccato (Staccato Coro Universitario Estudiantil) in mid-February. (Check out Staccato CUE's web site:
http://www.cue.org.mx). I was fortunate enough to be able to participate in a trip to Oaxaca with them two weeks ago to help celebrate the one-year anniversary of Axis Mundi, the Universidad Autónoma Benito Juárez de Oaxaca choir.
We left early Thursday morning and made the bus trip (about 6 hours) to Oaxaca, the capital of the state with the same name.
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| on our way to Oaxaca |
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| lunch at the hotel. Can you spot the dog in the window? |
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| colorful alebrijes |
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| colorful, quaint streets of downtown Oaxaca |
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| Templo de Santo Domingo |
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| Templo de Santo Domingo |
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| Templo de Santo Domingo |
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| Templo de Santo Domingo |
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| Templo de Santo Domingo |
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| Templo de Santo Domingo |
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| Templo de Santo Domingo |
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| Templo de Santo Domingo |
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| colorful, quaint streets of downtown Oaxaca |
That evening we attended a concert by our hosts, Axis Mundi of Universidad Autónoma Benito Juarez de Oaxaca.
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| sign announcing Axis Mundi and Staccato |
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| Axis Mundi and Staccato! |
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| Axis Mundi |
That evening my roommate (also new to the choir) and I decided to practice a bit. While it started with just the two of us, we soon became the practice room as 8 more people joined us!
Friday morning I explored downtown Oaxaca a bit more before practice.
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| Catedral Metropolitana de Nuestra Señora de Asunción |
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| Catedral Metropolitana de Nuestra Señora de Asunción |
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| Catedral Metropolitana de Nuestra Señora de Asunción |
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| Catedral Metropolitana de Nuestra Señora de Asunción |
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| Catedral Metropolitana de Nuestra Señora de Asunción |
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| Palacio Municipal |
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| Catedral Metropolitana de Nuestra Señora de Asunción |
We went to rehearse -- both with Axis Mundi (we sang three songs together) and together as Staccato CUE.
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| on our way to rehearsal |
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| UABJO |
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| rehearsal |
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| rehearsal |
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| rehearsal |
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| rehearsal |
After rehearsal we had a bit more free time in the city.
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| chapulines -- grasshoppers |
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| lunch at the market, trying tlayudas - a Oaxacan specialty |
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| alebrijes |
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| alebrijes |
That afternoon we had a quick photo shoot as a choir in front of Templo Santo Domingo before our joint concert with Axis Mundi in Parque Pañuelito -- my first choir with Staccato!
After the concert we went out with Axis Mundi to celebrate!
Saturday morning we visited Monte Albán, the most important archeological site in Oaxaca and one of the earliest cities of Mesoamerica. Once again, we had a photo shoot with the choir and then had a guided tour. We even sang on top of one of the pyramids and in the plaza!
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| Staccato CUE at Monte Albán |
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| the photographers on the other pyramid |
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| Staccato CUE |
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| Staccato CUE |
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ball court at Monte Albán
(here the losers were killed, as opposed
to the winners being sacrificed in other civilizations) |
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| CUE ladies |
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| CUE guys + Director Marco Antonio Ugalde |
Saturday evening we had our second concert, this time at the Cultural Center attached to Templo Santo Domingo.
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| after the concert |
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| after the concert |
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| bride and groom and wedding guests in the streets of Oaxaca |
Staccato and Axis Mundi out to celebrate 3 successful concerts!
Sunday morning, the Director of Axis Mundi was generous enough to give 7 of us a tour of some sites outside of the capital. Our first destination was Tule. We stopped for breakfast. I had hot chocolate (chocolate is a Oaxacan specialty) and a pastry, followed by barbecue tacos. Barbacoa is another Oaxacan specialty, but is very different than US barbecue. It's usually beef or goat meet and is traditionally cooked in a clay, in-ground oven.
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| hot chocolate (a Oaxacan specialty) and pastry |
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| a friend's tlayuda |
We visited the Tule tree, which is more than 2,000 years old!!
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| Can you spot the "deer"? |
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| the "son" of the Tule tree is "only" 1,000 years old |
Our next stop was Lambityeco, another archeological site.
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| view from Lambityeco |
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| view from Lambityeco |
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"huaje" tree, where the name Oaxaca comes from
(Huaxyácac means "in the place of the huajes" in Náhuatl) |
Our final stop was Tlacolula.
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| La Asunción de Nuestra Señora church |
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| La Asunción de Nuestra Señora church |
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| Capilla del Señor de Tlacolula |
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| Capilla del Señor de Tlacolula |
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| Sunday market |
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| Sunday market |
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| youth band playing in Tlacolula |
We had a slight complication heading back to Oaxaca when one of the cars' alarm started going off and wouldn't turn off. The seven choir members ended up piling into one car and finding out way back to Oaxaca so that we'd be back in time for the bus, while the Axis Mundi director stayed with the other car. Nothing like a good adventure!
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| view from the bus on the drive back to the DF |
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| view from the bus on the drive back to the DF |
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| view from the bus on the drive back to the DF -- so many cacti! |
Overall, it was a great trip! I enjoyed the chance to make friends and bond with the other choir members, sing, meet Axis Mundi and get to know a bit of Oaxaca!
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