An Introduction to Huajuapan
Huajuapan de Leon lies nestled between verdant hills, trapped in the curves of the serpentine road between Oaxaca and Puebla. As a gathering point for the villages and towns around, it's locally famous for its markets and for its long July festival. It is the cradle of the song of the mixteca, the anthem of the region covered by artists as diverse as Lila Downs, Linda Ronstadt and Ry Cooder, as well as the home of several dishes known throughout Oaxaca, including the famous spicy pork sauce, chileajo. Finally it is the possessor of a history synonymous with Mexico's struggle for independence.
Huajuapan is far from an idyllic sleepy Mexican town. It is a dusty, bustling, busy anthill, turning over small time business at a pace of its own choosing. Commerce is the fuel that keeps it moving, and it runs at a loud, steady volume of street noise, Banda music and slow moving traffic, rumbling along in the dry, desert-like heat.
Activity spreads from the twin epicentres of the Porfirio Diaz and Zaragoza markets. These hubs represent the bedrock of Huajuapan's status as the region's leading market town. Stalls rise up from the floor to the ceiling, decked out in a colourful mosaic of the day's fruit and veg. Their owners perch at the top of these mountainous nests of produce, doling out change, whilst their minions toss them up customers' purchases to be weighed. In the corners, cuts of meat hang from the roofs of carnicerias whilst skinned chickens battle with the flies. Stall keepers selling great string balls of Oaxaca quesillo catcall across the narrow aisles of this cheerfully jostling, slightly grubby free-for-all.
This is Huajuapan at its most industrious. The bustle of the grocers stores, shoe shops, and cheap, traditional food eateries that cluster around the centre rarely rises to frenzied selling; shopkeepers who work up to 14 hours a day are accustomed to conserving as much energy as possible whilst trading, instead of operating a few hours of frantic customer service.
The social heartbeat of the town is the tree-lined zocalo. The evening cacophony from the multitude of calling birds which thrive in the foliage of this verdant plaza merges with the shouts of toddlers playing with balls and balloons whilst their parents and grandparents sit in the shade casting a benevolent eye over their offspring. Sundays mean performances of traditional dances from Oaxaca and other states or visiting brass or rock bands. Meanwhile teenage boys gather round the fountain and speculative girls walk the promenade in twos or three. The lucky couples engage in public displays of affection on the benches on the shaded west side, opposite the town's cultural centre. This institution offers cheap drawing and musical courses as well as the ever popular salsa classes.
On the other side of the zocalo stands the town hall, whose large facade is covered by a mural finally being completed after years of disagreements between former municipal governments and the artist. The walkway beneath it is shaded by its large arcs. From this cool viewpoint the zocalo's surrounding restaurants and the city's neighbouring cathedral, with its sunbaked façade, twin towers and plaza, can all be seen.
Unfortunately the 1980 earthquake destroyed many of the other beautiful colonial style buildings in Huajuapan. Nowadays concrete constructions squat over the crowded, narrow streets which stretch from the centre out to poorer surrounding suburbs. Here one or two roomed huts built from breezeblock house families beneath the shadow of the surrounding mountains. The biggest, Soledad, hosts regular races in which runners carrying lighted torches career down its steep scree-filled slope to the centre of Huajuapan.
On the outskirts lies the city's most important archaeological site, Cerro de la Minas, governing seat of an ancient community which disappeared well before the arrival of the Spaniards. Recent excavations of newly discovered tombs have brought the location fresh interest.
However the town's part in the struggle for independence takes centre stage in its history. Streets are named after three famous protagonists; Nuyoo, Morelos and Hildalgo while "El Señor de los Corazones", the religious icon to which the townspeople prayed for deliverance during the conflict, is the centrepiece of Huajuapans annual feria.
The feria is a month long street party during which the towns inhabitants gorge themselves on local delicacies, beer, live comedy and music. It concludes on 23rd July when the icon "El Señor de los Corazones" is paraded around to a general outpouring of emotion from the mass of devoted faithful who follow it.The streets are painted a riotous carpet of colour for the procession, covered with stencilled images made of dyed sawdust.
The most important recent date for the town was in 1990, when the Technological University of the Mixteca was built between the city and the small neighbouring village of Acatlima. The influx of students has produced a rejuvenation in small businesses in the town, and an explosion in bars, economic eateries and internet cafes.
Even so, some university professors say that the locals are only beginning to get used to the idea of them now, which perfectly sums up Huajuapan; ready to welcome anyone who brings a trading opportunity, but at it's heart, clinging to the values and ideas of the small town it is rapidly ceasing to be.
John Holman