Tourists return to Oaxaca, Mexico

updated 5:08 p.m. ET Jan. 31, 2008

OAXACA, Mexico - Poinsettias carpet the carefully tended gardens of Oaxaca's arch-ringed main plaza, where smoking wreckage and barricades stood just over a year ago. Local bands and marimbas have replaced the sound of explosions, and the smell of gasoline bombs and tear gas have given way to the scent of coffee and mole sauce, two of Oaxaca's specialties.

More than a year after police evicted protesters who held the city for months, visitors to Oaxaca will find a less crowded city with more local flavor than it had before the 2006 political uprising. There are fewer tourists, more open tables at restaurants ringing the square, and a new program that closes off the streets around the main plaza to create a pedestrian mall on the weekends.

"It is really pretty. It has changed so much," said Alfredo Santiago, a businessman on vacation from a Mexico City suburb who was hanging out with his son, listening to music in the flower bedecked main square in early January. "The truth is, we wouldn't have come last year, because of the problems, but now you can even bring kids, the family."

Like many Mexicans, Santiago was horrified by television images of burning buses and violent clashes with police in the streets of Oaxaca, founded in 1529. The city's massive green stone buildings and graceful archways are considered the archetype of a Mexican colonial-era city, drawing tourists from around the world, so seeing buildings burned or trashed came as a shock.

"It felt bad. It was like watching Oaxaca die," Santiago recalled. "We thought, why go to Oaxaca? It looks like Iraq."

While Oaxaca state — whose capital city goes by the same name — has everything from archaeological sites, beaches and forests to cloud-shrouded mountains, it suffered from the violent images, even though the protests were largely confined to the city. But now, foreign tourists are heading back.

If you go Getting there: Continental flies direct from Houston, Texas, to Oaxaca (round-trip $468), or visitors can fly into Mexico City and get one of the frequent connecting flights to Oaxaca. Getting around: Bicycle tours and local bus routes will take you to nearby towns. Some local restaurants and hotels offer day-trip package tours stopping at several towns or ruin sites, and first-class bus service to Mexico City and area beaches are available at a station near the city's center, Calzada Heroes de Chapultepec 1036. For bicycle tours near Oaxaca City, try Bicicletas Pedro Martinez, 011-52-951-514-5935. Information: Oaxaca state tourism office: 011-52-951-516-0123 and 951-502-1200. The state's tourism Internet site is only in Spanish. Food: Oaxaca is perhaps the food capital of Mexico, with native dishes ranging from fried grasshoppers to the state's famous string cheese. The most sought-after products are mescal, a cousin of tequila, and locally-grown but somewhat crudely processed chocolate. Two must-try meals: tlayudas — huge corn tortillas covered with a variety of toppings — and Oaxacan tamales. What to wear: Weather in Oaxaca is generally quite warm — especially on the coast — but in the city, a light sweater or windbreaker could come in useful after the sun sets. At higher altitudes, a light jacket is often needed. When to go: Oaxaca's hallmark folk festival, the Guelaguetza, is held in the second half of July. Other attractions: Oaxaca has archaeological sites, nature reserves, and Pacific coast beaches such as Huatulco, Puerto Escondido, Zipolite and Puerto Angel.

Jim May, 60, a professional storyteller from Harvard, Ill., was on his second trip back to Oaxaca since the disturbances — his fifth or sixth trip to Oaxaca overall.

"I think that what I would tell people is that it's safe," said May. "There is some volatility in the political situation, but there is everywhere in the world."

Some travelers are even attracted by the city's still-lively political scene.

"That's why I came down here. I want to hear more about it," said Mike Dallas, 43, who teaches life skills in New York City. "I am fascinated by the fact that Mexicans would actually feel empowered enough to take over their town."

At the same time, Oaxaca "seems safer than anywhere I've been in America. I keep looking around for the security cameras ... but there aren't any," Dallas said, as he did what tourists have been doing in Oaxaca for decades — relaxed at a cafe in the main square.

From May to November 2006, a coalition of striking teachers and leftist supporters blockaded the city to demand the resignation of the state governor, driving out tourists and paralyzing traffic, commerce and tourism.

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The political divisions remain, but the violence has died out, at least for now. Most of the graffiti and damage has since been removed or repaired. The striking teachers got some of the pay raises they demanded, but their leftist allies got little: about a half-dozen protest leaders remained jailed, Gov. Ulises Ruiz remains in office, and little progress has been made in investigating the case of Brad Will, a New York journalist-activist shot to death during the uprising.

The artisans who made Oaxaca famous for black pottery, hand-woven carpets and the surreal painted wooden sculptures known as "alebrijes" are eager to greet returning visitors with their wares.

Isidor Chavez Hernandez, 36, still turns out hand-woven wool rugs on his loom in the town of Teotitlan del Valle, 17 miles east of Oaxaca city, just as his grandparents did. But he used to sell as many as six rugs per week — now he sells about two per month.

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