Teposcolula!

"Tepos" This is a rock mosaic found in the main plaza of Teposcolula.

The pueblo of Teposcolula's full, proper name is San Pedro y San Pablo Teposcolula. Given the length, I wasn't surprised to learn that residents shorten its name. I figured they just say Teposcolula instead. Because, while a mouthful for (white) Americans, Teposcolula is pretty easy relative, to, say, Xoxocotlán or Jaltepetongo or Quioquitani or Temaxcaltepec (all actual pueblos in Oaxaca). But, in fact, locals (and everyone all around) calls it "Tepos." Which I happen to think is quite the charming nickname (Mexicans do love our nicknames...for the first time in my life everyone around me can actually say my name and what do they call me? Dany!!! jajajajaja!). We were happy to find ourselves in this lovely pueblo-- it is in fact one of Mexico's "Pueblos Magicos" - a government program in which towns singled out as particularly rich in culture and history. It certainly charmed us despite the relative lack of wifi and cell service (we are such privileged city people that this was a bit of horrible shock!). Here I will share some of my fotos of the pueblo, save for the fotos of that for which Tepos is known the most-- the ex-convento of San Pedro y San Pablo Teposcolula and its renowned Capilla Abierta (those will get their own blog post!)

Palacio Municipal

 The lovely town main plaza - with lots of tall trees, shaded wrought iron benches, a fountain, plenty of vendors, is bordered on one side by the Palacio Municipal (foto at left). Now, this is true of pretty much all cities, towns, pueblos in Mexico. The palacio municipal is where all the town business happens, including in towns like this, including the jail, the treasury, banking, police, etc. What makes Tepos' Palacio Municipal special is that it is quite an exuberant example of "porfiriato" - public works structures commissioned by then-president/dictator Porfirio Diaz (a Oaxaqueño, for better or worse) often in honor of the anniversary of Mexico's independence and in order to showcase Mexico's modernity but also its distinctiveness, usually by including local characteristics including indigenous iconography or symbols. Those of you who know my fotos are familiar with one of the most famous examples of porfiriato-- the Palacio de Bellas Artes in CDMX. Much has been written about how various porfiriato buildings adorn cities like CDMX or Puebla or Guanajuato But there are examples of porfiriato throughout the country, including pueblitos like Tepos (spoiler alert: & even smaller ones!).

The pueblo of Tepos features lots of semi-abandoned or almost completely in ruins structures from the height of the town's prominence and importance in the 17th century. Often all that remains in the wall that once enclosed a house. Nevertheless, what remains is still quite stunning and the walls often feature beautiful details in the portales. As we peeked through gaps, we often found that the land behind was essentially farmland- grazed by goats, burros and chickens and guajalotes (turkeys) were also common. And this was about two blocks from the plaza!

Several elegant colonial houses in the center of Tepos were beautifully restored (including our hotel).

newly re-stuccoed (or whatever)

I loved how this house faces the corner directly!

And there also plenty of modern, more modest, and utterly charming houses as well- very much being lived in. I have no idea what the numbers are like, but we did meet several men who had lived in the US and Canada (New York - Poughkeepsie / Ontario / Quebec) and had now returned to Tepos. I'm guessing that the population of Tepos has decreased quite a lot over the years due to migration (poverty and the lack of jobs and the wish to have a better life), but Tepos seemed to me to be relatively prosperous, and not the ghost town without any men that many pueblos in Oaxaca are said to be.

(Alert: bit of history here! read more: la casa de la cacica or watch this video, both in Spanish language) Back when the Spanish conquistadores arrived in this area, among the Ñuu Dzahui (ancient Mixteca people; modern Mixteca term is Ñuu Savi), the existing town - called Yucundaa - was on the top of a cerro (hill; or what I would call a mountain!). Here, the yya (cacique/ruler) and the elites living at the very top of the cerro, artisans and other workers below that and the agriculture in terraces going down to the valley. In their wisdom (::sarcasm::), the Spanish decided that the climate of the cerros was unhealthy, essentially responsible for causing massive die-offs of the indigenous people and so they moved the town to where it is now and renamed it San Pedro y San Pablo Teposcolula.  The tradition in Dominican Oaxaca is to tack on (a) the saint(s)'s name but retain the indigenous name, which is often but not always a Nahuatl name (unrelatedly, I don't know why the name can't be Santos Pedro y Pablo Teposcolula?). As a result of this move, there is a colonial-era house of the yya, popularly called the Casa de la Cacica, after the last Mixtexa yya, Doña Faustina Pimentel Alvarado Ramirez de Leon. Built in the mid-16th century and occupied for about 100 years, the complex was a mix of Mixteca and colonial architecture with a frieze of disks or rosettes (flowers are prominent in Mixteca iconography and show up all over the place, including in Dominican structures) across the top of the buildings. Restored and preserved in the 1990s, the complex is a mix of foundations and restored buildings that house a beautiful children's library.