Hola todos! Me llamo Ryan and I hope y’all enjoy my perspective of this Oaxacan Sunday. Last night went later than any other so far as we all stayed up chatting in room 3. I love my team too much, and when it was finally bedtime, I was too happy here to fall asleep. Waking up this morning was tough, but knowing that for the day we were switching into tourist mode helped. God bless Sundays.
We began with a breakfast of tamales and chocolate con atole, then hopped in Minerva and Richard’s cars to the Suchil city center. At the Municipal Palace, we were guided through the community museum that was split into two sections; one focused on the nearby archaeological site, and one focused on Suchilquitongo’s traditions. First we saw a model of the highlight of the site, the Tumba (tomb) 5, and artifacts found nearby. Apparently, when near death, the leaders would choose a living companion to join them in the tomb. It’s perhaps a cruel gift to leave a friend in your will, but I guess nobody wants to die alone. We then moved on to learn about the community’s annual celebration of the local patron saint, Patron Santiago, held on July 25th. At the church, a mayordomo volunteers to sponsor the event’s food, flowers, and decorations for thousands of the residents. After the gathering, the community treks through the streets and up the mountain to the archaeological site, dancing with calendas, or giant caricatures worn through parades.
Finally, we actually went up to the historical site ourselves, in cars because we are busy people with a lot to fit into a day. Up in the mountains, clouds rolled by and the breeze felt amazing. We weren’t greeted by our tour guide, only ants bigger and brighter red than we have in Texas. The nice thing about running on Mexican Standard Time is that we could sit back and admire the valley that Suchil rests in while waiting for the guide. It was a beautiful shift in scenery. When the guide did arrive, he spoke to us about the different wall paintings in the tomb that represented the deceased royalty as various animals followed by a number indicating how many others had been discovered. For example, the fifth found monkey was called Mono 5. Then we all chose what our royal names would be when we pass. Gaby’s was Diez Mangos (she eats a lot of them), Hannah Ilan’s was Dos Conejitos (she has befriended two baby rabbits), Archik’s was Diez y Nueve Osos (he’s a bear at volleyball or something?), Hannah Myer’s was Seis Aguacates (her fav number is six and loves avocados who doesn’t), David’s was Ocho Cafes (he’s a coffee addict) and mine was Cero Cacahuates (zero peanuts cause I’m allergic please and thank you). The actual tomb is closed off by a metal gate in order to preserve the ruins, as any entering light deteriorates the paint inside. Instead of entering, we walked the paths that led past Zapotec ball courts and up onto the hills that cover the underground ruins. After plenty of photos, we returned to the Hotel Pedregal for a chicken and rice lunch.
Our final excursion of the day was a trip to Minerva’s home where we learned about her project working with amaranth. An organization called Puente started the movement to cut down on importing foods by beginning sustainable production of amaranth 15 years ago. Over time, they have gotten involved with many people all across Oaxaca, including Minerva, and are having great success in bringing this native grain, high in protein back to high consumption as it once was.
Mine’s building is a place lent out to their partners that has equipment for processing the seeds from the amaranth plants into edible forms. There is an incredible amount of innovation taking place there, with workshops that result in prototypes able to more efficiently clean the amaranth. In addition, there are also wild baby bunnies hanging around, so Hannah Ilan had a great afternoon. Now it is time to rest, and get ready for a busy work day tomorrow.
Peace, love, cacahuates,
-Ryan Kutnick and Team Mexico
Timeline Summary:
8am: Wake up & eat breakfast (Oaxacan Tamales!)
9:00am: Visit the Community Museum
10:30am: Explore Archeological Site and Tomb #5
1pm: Lunch at El Pedregal (Chicken in orange sauce and rice, along with tortillas)
2pm: Learn about amaranth at Minerva’s
4:30pm: Work at Internet Cafe
5:30pm: Rest/Chill time
7pm: Dinner! (Vegatable Soup con tortillas)
9:00pm: TEAM TIME