Last parade in Oaxaca

But first a few sights of Oaxaca.  One day when I walked by the church where all the weddings take place, they were setting up for a photo shoot.  I was sitting on the ledge in front of the church with lots of other people, but they moved us all across the street to get us out of the shot.

The star had her hair and makeup done, and then was ready to begin filming.

I have no idea who the star is, but all of the Oaxacans seemed to know her and tried to take pictures with her.

On the outskirts of Oaxaca are many craft villages.  In each pueblo, everyone does the exact same craft, and each village does a different craft.  Of course, you can buy anything in the markets in Oaxaca, but it is more fun to go to the different villages and wander through the various workshops and watch how they create.  In one village, they make alebrijes - hand painted animals, each carved from a single piece of wood from the copal tree. 

In another, they make "ceramics" from mud.  The "pottery wheel" consists of two plates which the artist turns with one hand while making the pot with the other.

I also went on a tour one day to see the Zapotec ruins on Monte Alban.  These predate the Aztecs by hundreds of years.

Now back to the last parade.  Well actually, the last two.  I was getting a manicure on my last day in Oaxaca when I heard music approaching.  It got louder and louder until I could finally see the band through the door of the shop, followed by a hearse and mourners.  Apparently you need a brass band for funerals too.

Then I went for a walk on my last night and saw two bands getting ready to play in a square, and also some drag queens.  Intrigued I stuck around to see what would happen.  After a while, a cue was given; the bands began to march, and there were dancers and floats.  No signs, so I have no idea why they had this random parade on a Friday night.  It was too small to be the gay pride parade, but trust me, all of the people in dresses are men.  They were also dancing with those giant balls from the weddings but without names on them, and giant figures, but not a bride and groom.  They seemed to be military.  Go figure.

Goodbye, Oaxaca.  I'm off to Mexico City for my last few days.