In January of 2024 I visited Oaxaca, Mexico. It was a destination on my radar for quite some time. I am fascinated by indigenous mesoamerican history and culture, and Oaxaca delivers spectacularly. Lately it is also known as a bit of a foodie destination, with documentaries by famous personalities such as Gordon Ramsey, other media outlets, and countless Youtubers. So, I had to check it out!
The cuisine of Oaxaca is unusual. The region of Oaxaca is fiercely independent, and their gastronomy preserves their culture and identity as unique and relatively isolated. In fact there are some villages that were never touched by the conquering Spanish and never saw the influence of European food ingredients. There are numerous independent pueblos each with their own identity and lineages. Generally speaking, the Mexican government leaves this region alone, and they govern themselves.
Oaxaca understandably strives to maintain it’s authentic identity, and cuisine is a primary example of this. The markets are insane. For example in Tlocolula, their Sunday market is a saturated labyrinth of vendors selling just about anything and everything. It’s the Amazon.com of interactive village commerce. On my visit to Oaxaca, I only scratched the surface. Although I met a few people here and there, I was largely alone on this trip. I only photographed what I saw or ate.
