There is a nearby plaza connected to the Basilica of Our Lady of Solitude which is considered the cultural heart of Oaxaca.  For the last three nights there have been celebrations and fireworks ("fuegos artificiales") going on all night long! Finally, last night Wednesday, there was a a beautiful silence in the neighborhood. Paula and I had our first good night's sleep.  Praise Our Lady of Solitude!

    Yesterday we explored two markets: 20 de Noviembre and Benito Juarez. Within a block of each other, these are both amazing beehives of activity. Noviembre is primarily comprised of food stalls and vendors that specialize in bread or cheese or fruit, etc., and also holds the famous "humo" (smoke) section which consists of meat and food vendors that have open pit barbecues connected to their stalls and cook your food in front of you. Both markets are the size of football fields. Benito is devoted primarily to souvenirs, handcrafts, mercantiles and trinkets of every imaginable size and kind. One could spend days and weeks in either and never exhaust the eating or buying possibilities. 

    Our early dinner venue was a restaurant/brewery called Chirundo Cocina de Humo which has one of the few micro-breweries in Oaxaca. Paula and I enjoyed our brisket and pulled pork barbecued meals respectively and the "degustacion" or flight of some of their brews. We happened upon a young lady celebrating her "quinceanera" (15th birthday) in front of the cathedral on our way to dinner(see pic).

garage door art

cooked to order

meat vendor

bread stall in Noviembre

Benito souvenirs

"degustacion" flight

Quince princess

Paula meets Grinch