Mitla

Ted. One of my goals during our six-week stay in Oaxaca was to visit the ruins in the nearby town of Mitla. Like much of the Oaxaca Valley, this area has been a battleground for centuries between two groups, the Zapotec and the Mixta, each with their own language. Surprisingly, in the the state of Oaxaca today, there remain about 20 languages that are still in use. That's nearly as many as are found on the entire continent of Europe! The two indigenous cultures around Oaxaca city coexist to this day and the local villages tend to identify as one or the other. For instance, in Teotitlan, the village where I am currently teaching English, Zapotec is the language that I hear as I walk the streets. I occasionally need to remind myself that English is actually the third language for these kids.

The town of Mitla is about 25 miles from Oaxaca city. Most people travel back and forth by regional bus.

This is how I, and my fellow teachers, get to Teotitlan. They are fairly comfortable, but can get crowded. Though they don’t offer enough legroom for someone who is 6’3”, I am thankful whenever I get to sit down. The 1-1/4 hour trip to Mitla costs about $1.00.

After fighting through the eternal traffic jam that is the city of Oaxaca, our bus picks up speed, heading east on Highway 190. We are quickly out in the country. The highway doesn’t go through the center of the villages, only main towns. When we arrive at a crossroads to a secondary road leading into a village, there is usually a humble bus stop. 

Little pop up cafes and shops of various kinds can be found at the crossroads.

 

Crossroads cafe

Folks travel from the crossroads into the villages via mototaxis.

Mototaxis

After about 45 minutes, we pass through the famous market town of Tlacolula and ultimately arrive at our destination.

Beautiful downtown Tlacolula

Mitla central plaza

Mitla, like Monte Albán, which we explored two years ago, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The two complexes and the structures are much different, though.  Archaeologists believe that both are primarily Zapotec but Mitla was a religious center whereas Monte Albán was a political center.

Courtyard columns

Reconstructed room interior

The buildings at Mitla are famous for their geometric stone mosaics, which are built without the use of mortar, making them unique in Mexico. In this complex, no two mosaic panels are alike.

Palace entrance

Mosaic detail

The mosaics are cool but, as an engineer, I am impressed by the effort required to shape and install the round columns and 15-ton lintel stones over the doorways. This must have been some town in it’s heyday which was 1,000 – 1,500 years ago. Oh - while we were prowling around, Judy discovered a tomb!
    

Indiana Judy

Wow - the pre-Columbian plywood is still intact!

Guess Indiana Jones got here first!

As is typical in these towns, the Spanish built their churches right on top of the existing temples and palaces, usually reusing some of the stones.

San Pablo Church

They also had a habit of renaming towns for Christian saints so, for instance, Mitla is technically San Pablo Villa de Mitla. But everyone uses the indigenous names.

On the bus ride back to Oaxaca city, I found it a bit poignant to watch the Zapotec subsistence farmers eking out a living in the countryside. Probably a good bit of their harvest goes to support the government and wealthy landowners. Baseball caps may have replaced sombreros but have their lives changed significantly from that of their pre-Columbian ancestors?