Oaock and Oaoll in Oaxaca: Sunday afternoon in the garage

Today we did a thorough walk through the Jalatlacol neighborhood of Oaxaca city. The purpose was to discern whether it was truly a neighborhood we would be happy living in for a couple of months. It passed with flying colors. It has a couple of interesting streets of multiple blocks with lots of cafes, restaurants, shops and other businesses. It is part cobblestone, part paved; part rundown, part well-kept; and all obviously well aged buildings. There are only a couple of very busy roads intersecting it so noise would be less than a number of other areas in the city.

We have one week to find a place and make a move. We are leaning toward staying here until about the end of March. Initially, we were going to stay here until near the end of April. That gives me time to get better at speaking the language here, and then it gives us time to explore south of here. We had thought we could do short trips in and out of Oaxaca, but Oaxaca is a desert for inexpensive flights to anywhere but Mexico City. Leaving at the end of March allows us to fly to Mexico City and then fly relatively cheaply to start explorations to other sites in Mexico, Central America, or even South America.

We returned to Jalatlacol shortly after 4PM. No more home search this time. We returned for a rock and roll concert. It took place in a garage type space on a main entertainment street in Jalatlacol. Years ago someone had talked the Mexican owner into having a gringo rock and roll session every Sunday at four. The featured image you see was taken at the end of the afternoon after two and a half hours of music. During the performance it was standing room only, mostly gringos. The six piece band had one native and 5 gringos. The music was very much U.S. rock and roll and blues. It ranged from Willie Dixon, the Beatles, CCR, ZZ Top, Ray Charles, Blondie and more. The music was stellar, heavy on guitar and bass with excellent vocals. The sound was good in the space and closing my eyes at times I felt like I was back in the Denver Coliseum listening to the heavy rock bands of my youth.

One last picture follows. It is included as an homage to my brother in law Gary Patton who is a left handed bass player. He has been playing in bands for about 60 years, specializing in Beatles tunes. I think he knows them all. Look closely and you will see the picture is of a left handed bass player. If you are able to zoom in you will also be able to see that the picture between the two singers is a lovely painting of two dancers.

That’s it for now. Tomorrow we will be out house hunting and exploring this unique city. Tonight, Sunday night the park near us was once again filled with families, especially kids; although less crowded than last night. Still, the communal energy in the park is wonderful.