Monte Alban

Diving and snorkeling instructions are part of the program for those who enjoy exploring for sunken galleons or viewing the towering underwater coral cliffs and forests of rare black coral.

ON THE BEACHES from page 16

Beautiful beaches, and its mild winter climate. Mexico netted $1 billion from tourism in 1974, most of it from U.S. travelers. Those dollars are an indispensable element in keeping Mexico's international credit rating sound, providing the foreign exchange needed to help offset a balance of trade that is chronically in deficit. To increase tourist travel, Mexico is investing more than $100 million to develop some spectacular new resorts, most notably Cancún on the Caribbean coast off the Yucatán peninsula, and Ixtapa on the Pacific Coast, north of Acapulco.

Another natural advantage is an abundance of the mineral resources needed in an industrial economy everything from silver, zinc, and copper to phosphates and oil. The oil is still being discovered in sizable quantities. After having been a net importer of oil for some time, Mexico became a net exporter late last year.

The new oil fields are mainly in the steamy swamps of Tabasco and Chiapas, two states on the Yucatán peninsula. But exploratory drilling is also going on along the Pacific coast and the Baja California peninsula."

Since the Mexican Government eased the restrictions on foreign investments on the Mexican coastlines, the big action has been mainly by hotel interests, housing developers and recreational centers.

The "beach head" action is not restricted to resort development. The biggest industrial project in Mexican history is evolving along the coast of Michoacan where the Rio Balsas meets the Pacific. Officially known as Siderúrgica Lazaro Cárdenas Las Truchas, S.A. In plain language, it means "Steelworks," honoring Cardenas, native of Michoacan, the ex-president who expropriated foreign owned oil interests in 1938.Agencies of the Mexican Government, and more than thirty major construction companies and suppliers of equipment from the U.S. and more than ten other nations have committed more than one billion dollars to date for the steel making complex a new modern harbor and railroads.

Las Truchas is the name of a nearby river and of a vast iron-ore deposit and an equally large deposit at Pena Colorado in the neighboring state of Colima.

Up the coast at Guaymas a modern smelter will process ore from the Caninea mine in Sonora a 500 million dollar commitment.

We have traveled extensively through Mexico and much of its coastline and find it picturesque, breathtaking and evocative, inspiring the most sensual superlatives.

ARIZONA HIGHWAYS has published several special Mexico editions since 1940 when Raymond Carlson and Ross Santee crossed the border into Sonora.

In 1950 Herb and Dorothy McLaughlin accompanied R. C. to Guadalajara by rail with stops in the states of Sinaloa and Nyarit. The photographs of Allen C. Reed, Charles Herbert, Ray Manley and Pete Balestrero illustrated the 1955 Mexico edition, enhanced by some of Ted De Grazia's finest drawings and a brilliant story of the fiesta of the Virgin of Zapopan by R. C. himself.

Two more Sonora specials followed in the 1960's.

In the spring of 1972, accompanied by Ted De Grazia, we travelled by auto down the west coast highway to Los Mochis then cross country by rail to Chihuahua and south to Vera Cruz for our October 1972 all Mexico edition.

To get to the heart of Mexico, one needs to travel far beyond the borders. Though this special 1975 edition may seem heavy with seascapes, we present them so that readers, especially those planning a trip south of the border, whether for a honeymoon or a convention, will feel "less-the-stranger" because of our efforts.

It's no mere cliché - Oaxaca City is one of Mexico's loveliest capitals. Blessed with marvelous climate, pleasant people and an atmosphere that invites the traveller to spend his time sitting at a sidewalk table facing the plaza and watching the world go by.

The Oaxaca Country

The Oaxaca country, bounded by the Pacific Ocean and the states of Guerrero, Puebla and Veracruz to the south, west and north and by Chiapas and Tabasco on the east, is divided into three distinct zones: the Valley of Oaxaca, by far of greatest interest to visitors; the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and the coastal section on the Pacific which is now being developed for tourism. Oaxaca City usually called only Oaxaca is a unique blending of the old and the new, its modern buildings constructed of the pale green stone of the region seemingly acquiring a patina of age on completion. Situated at 5,068 feet above sea level and surrounded by towering peaks of the Sierra Madre, the city was founded as an Aztec outpost on the River Atoyac about 1486 and became the site of a Spanish stronghold, named Antequera for an old Roman town in Spain, when conquistadores explored the area in 1521.

All tours of Oaxaca traditionally begin on the Zócalo, the city's main square, magnificently shaded by jacaranda trees whose purple blooms in season create an unforgettable memory. On the principal plaza, lined with arcades and sidewalk cafes, are the state house, the Palacio de Gobierno, an impressive, colonial-style building flanking the entire south side, and Oaxaca's Cathedral, begun in 1553 but not completed for almost 200 years. The huge timepiece on its south side, the gift of a Spanish king, runs on clockworks made entirely of wood. Off the Zócalo's northwest corner is a smaller, tree-shaded plaza, the Alameda León.

A few blocks north of the Cathedral on Alcalá Street is what has been called one of the best museums in Mexico, El Museo Regional de Oaxaca, in the former convent beside Santo Domingo Church, which contains many interesting exhibits of archeological artifacts from the ancient ruins surrounding Oaxaca and a fascinating display of regional arts, crafts and costumes. Outstanding are the treasures recovered in 1932 by the anthropologist Alfonso Caso from Tomb No. 7 at nearby Monte Albán priceless pieces of jade, alabaster, turquoise, silver, gold, shell and intricately carved bone representing the finest examples of Mixtec artistry.

The Church of Santo Domingo itself is one of the outstanding Baroque structures in Mexico, a massive building with walls up to six yards thick in places to resist earthquakes. The interior of the church, begun in 1575, including the beautiful Chapel of the Rosary, with gilded decoration of carved wood, has been termed unique in Mexican religious architecture.

One of the "musts" for any visitor to Oaxaca is an hour or two in the new Prehispanic Art Museum, given to his native city by the famed Mexican artist Rufino Tamayo and his wife, in which archeological treasures are presented as objets d'art without regard to their geographical origin or period. In five large salons of a 19th century home, the former State Archives, Tamayo has brilliantly displayed indigenous pre-Hispanic art from the Valley of Oaxaca, Totonac figures, smiling Veracruz faces and magnificent Mayan pieces.

Two Mexican presidents, Benito Juárez and Porfirio Díaz, were born in Oaxaca state, rising to national prominence in the latter half of the 19th century. The home of the former, six blocks from the Zócalo at García Vigil 609, was declared a national monument in 1963 and converted into a museum OPPOSITE PAGE: Monte Alban, five miles southwest of Oaxaca, was once the center of a community that ranged over 25 miles and a population of 50,000. Originally a vital Zapotec city, it fell to the Mixtecs about 900 A.D. They converted Monte Alban into a huge cemetery. Of the more than 150 tombs uncovered, tomb Number Seven yielded treasures of jewelry and objects unequaled in the entire western hemisphere. The site is best when seen shortly after sunrise or in the long-shadow soft light of late afternoon filled with remembrances of the period (1818-28) when the Zapotec Indian boy lived there as a servant of Father Salanueva, just beginning to learn the Spanish language. Any interested visitor can devote days to visiting the many other sites of anthropological, archeological and cultural importance in Oaxaca, among them the Benito Juárez University, the Macedonio Alcalá Theater, the Temple of La Soledad and numerous churches: San Felipe, La Compañia, San Juan de Díos, Las Nieves, La Merced, La Casa de los Siete Principes and a score of others.

Oaxaca also is a city of celebrations, of spontaneous popular fiestas which begin with a burst of pyrotechnics in almost any part of the city. Those which are planned, among the most brilliant held in Mexico, include the Lunes del Cerro (Monday of the Hill), held on the heights above the capital on the first and second Mondays after the Feast of Carmen (Our Lady of Carmel), July 16, commemorating both the Mother of God and Centeotl, the Aztec corn goddess. Each of the state's seven indigenous regions presents its dances in authentic costumes, among them the famed Feather Dance with performers wearing huge pinwheel-like headdresses of rainbow hues.

Other festive occasions are the Feast of San Ramón, Aug. 31, when animals and household pets are blessed; the Feast of San Francisco, Oct. 2-4, which features the Dance of the Aztecas; the Feast of San Rafael, Oct. 22-24, which takes place at the Indians' favorite Church of San Juan de Díos behind the public market; the Day of the Dead (All Souls Day), Nov. 1-2, when departed relatives and friends are commemorated, and the Feast of the Virgin of La Soledad, Dec. 16-18, which begins the round of Christmas festivities. The Night of the Radishes on Dec. 23 is a curious highlight of the merry-making when extraordinarily shaped or carved radishes are exhibited and buñuelos (light, crisp pancakes) are eaten, after which the special earthenware plates are tossed into the air and broken.

Not to be overlooked in a tour of Oaxaca is the native market, one block west and two south of the Zócalo, where on Saturday Indians from countless villages of the region bring their wares to display: black pottery, reed baskets, ceramic figures, gold filigree jewelry, woven rebozos, serapes and rugs, engraved machetes and knives and other objects of utility or curiosity.

More than a score of hotels, plus motels, furnished apartments and trailer courts, offer adequate accommodations to visitors of Oaxaca, ranging from luxurious to commercial traveler class. Restaurants also come in great variety, the most interesting featuring the indigenous cuisine for which the region is famous. Among dishes and drinks to tempt the traveler's palate are the seven moles, rich sauces with the chocolate base on chicken or turkey; beef liver chileajo, lobster with chili pasilla sauce, clemole and albóndigas (meatballs stuffed with eggs), tejate, a refreshing drink made from cacao, and many other dishes originating in the rich agricultural area.

Some of Mexico's most important pre-Hispanic ruins, those of Monte Albán, are only five miles southwest of the city and easily reached by automobile. Built on an extensive plateau in the hills, 800 by 400 meters in extension, the ruined palaces, temples and tombs date from the 6th century B.C., making the archeological zone one of the most rewarding yet discovered in the hemisphere.