Today the City of Oaxaca celebrates 482 years as a colonial city. (*** See below for a little history.) The day began at 6 AM with the ringing of the Cathedral’s bells, the singing of Mañanitas Oaxaqueñas, and marimbas and tamales on the Alameda de León. Alas, that was a little early for me to be up, dressed, and downtown. However, all I had to do was step out on my terrace to watch the next event of the day.
Five Pilatus PC7 Mexican Air Force planes put on a show over the city.
They made several passes over the city.
For their finale, contrails displayed the green, white, and red of the Mexican flag.
And then they were gone. I love how Noticias concludes their report, “After 45 minutes, the ‘steel birds’ returned to their base, pending a new appeal to challenge gravity.”
Celebrations continue through May 8 and a schedule of events can be found HERE.
*** In 1532 Spanish settlers (their bloody way paved by Hernán Cortés and his conquistadores) successfully petitioned the Queen of Spain for a land grant of 1 square league. The colonists had already established their own town on the site of Huaxyacac, renamed it Antequera (after an old Roman city in Spain) and received a Royal Charter from King Charles I of Spain. However, Cortés had successfully gotten the entire Valley of Oaxaca (hundreds of thousands of acres) declared as his own private marquisate and, his greed knowing no bounds, kept trying to evict the colonial townspeople. By obtaining the queen’s charter, this end-run around Cortés insured the rights of the townspeople to the land.
Mexican Peso Converter
Shannon, you have my ongoing gratitude for your lovely and loving posts of Oaxaca. Missing the splendid city de Juarez and its fine people. Not to mention the weather; it is still overly cool in Ontario.
Thanks, Ian! Glad to be able to bring a little of Oaxaca to you.