One Night in Oaxaca

On Saturday night I walked downtown to the Zocalo to see what was shaking.  En todos los lados-on every side-there was something going on.  First I encountered a group of young people playing/practicing capoiera, the Brazilian martial art/dance.

As I sat in a cafe blogging, a procession in honor of the Virgen de Guadalupe passed with a marching band that then stopped in the sidewalk and played for about 30 minutes.

I walked on over to the Church of Santo Domingo where another procession was forming called a Calinda, this one was special as part of a wedding that was going on in the church but I didn't realize that, so I joined in with the wedding party processing down the street behind the dancers, asking "Why is everyone wearing such fancy clothes"  the women in evening gowns and high heels tripping along the cobblestones, the men in fine suits.  The Calinda included giant puppets called "monos", dancers with baskets of flowers on their heads, giant white fabric globes and paper stars with candles inside.

I stopped at the Zocalo again and checked out this band of musicians who were playing to a crowded audience sitting in folding chairs. 

Onward I stopped in at the Feria de la Virgen, just like any fair stateside, there were trinkets for sale, various games with stuffed animals as prizes, lots of comida stalls and rides like this dragon roller coaster, with children screaming and laughing all around.

And heading home, cahuetes- fireworks- always cahuetes aqui en Oaxaca!  What a night.