WEBVTT

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Today Oaxaca is famous for
its delicious food

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and local craftsmanship.

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And rightly so.

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But did you know that
these traditions

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are thousands of years old
and have their origin

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in ancient Zapotecan culture?

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Join us as we eat our way
through Oaxaca, Mexico.

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Major funding for The Desert
      Speaks was provided by

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The Kemper and Ethel
Marley Foundation.

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Additional funding was provided
by Desert Program Partners.

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And by Arizona
State Parks.

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              music

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Corn feeds hundreds of
millions of people

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in countries all over the world.

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It started out as a plant that
some people would call a weed.

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It was natives of very dry
regions of southern Mexico,

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near the modern city of Oaxaca,

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who discovered its
true value as a food.

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Corn has become the
most important gift

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ever to come out of the desert.

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The city of Oaxaca is located
in the semi-arid highlands

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of southern Mexico.

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For many hundreds of years
it's been the crossroads

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of middle America,
with a great parade

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of indigenous
groups passing through.

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It is still the Indian capital
of Mexico, especially Zapotecs.

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Today's Zapotecs depend on corn

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as their civilization has done
for thousands of years.

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5,000 years ago corn
was domesticated

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very close to the city
of Oaxaca near Puebla

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in the Tehuacán Valley.

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And that allowed the development
of very powerful cultures.

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Corn was the basis
of the Mexican diet

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and is still the basis
of the Mexican diet.

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From this corn, these
small ears like this,

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from these valleys, came
the basis of the diet of

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Mexican civilization.

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And it came
basically from here.

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Yes. Look, these two varieties,
how far apart, came from here.

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Well, corn has many, many
different varieties.

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Some are extremely primitive,
some are highly developed.

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And from this corn, from
where we get our daily tortillas

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and most of the products, many
products through the world.

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Same corn, the same basis
for our civilizations

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in central Mexico, our
civilizations in

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southwestern United States,
our civilizations

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in northwest Mexico.

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All of it, corn inherited.

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Yes. We are just at the cradle
where corn was created.

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Dr. Burquez is an ecologist
who is also an expert

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in the cultures
of ancient Mexico.

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The use of corn allowed
the construction

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of extraordinary cities.

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One of them is
Monte Alban.

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Monte Alban is an emblematic
city so it's a very large city

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that just shows how
powerful Mexican history is

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and how far back it goes.

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The Zapotecs were very
powerful warriors.

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They conquered the area, they
developed a flourishing culture,

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they have extraordinary
developments in the arts.

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But as happened
to most cultures,

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they eventually declined.

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And they declined because people
didn't want to work anymore

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and the nobility was
parasitizing the peasantry

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so much that everything
started to crumble up.

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That opened the way to
new conquerers that brought

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new ways of looking at life,
that brought new styles

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of construction, and
brought new forms of art.

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Those were the Mixtecas.

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All of the cultural
societies needed

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a very tight
measurement of time.

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And the more sophisticated
the culture,

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the more sophisticated
their sky observations.

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The Zapotecs were
exceedingly good astronomers

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and they built these
structures as this observatory

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to keep track of the seasons,

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to keep track of the
timing of the year.

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That was extremely important
to time up the crop seeding,

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the crop harvesting,
the time in which rain

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was suspected to come.

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Throughout the history of
mankind, brief periods of peace

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were followed by lengthy wars.

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The Zapotecs were
not the exception.

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The Zapotecs were
engaged in lengthy wars

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against their neighbors.

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These stones are
depictions of warriors

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that were ritually mutilated.

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These wars were the
response to the acquisition

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of new resources, resources
needed to sustain the growth.

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Resources like coral,
like pitayas, like corn,

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that were the basis of the
economy of the Zapotecs

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and most Central American and
middle American cultures.

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Monte Alban is divided in five

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different stages by
archeologists.

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But what did really
matter to us is that

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Monte Alban is a magnificent
city that persisted

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for almost 1500 years until it
was abandoned 1000 years ago.

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Monte Alban is at the
very roots of Mexican culture.

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And we Mexicans have Monte Alban
as one of our emblematic cities

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and as part of our past.

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The genius of Zapotec craftsmen
made the city of Monte Alban

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the wonder of ancient
Meso-America.

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Zapotec brilliance and
creativity continue

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in the hearts and homes
of Oaxacans even today.

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All of my town makes
these types of sculptures.

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The figurines that we create
here in San Martin Tilcajete

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are Zapotec figures.

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It's been done
for generations.

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For example, we recreate
those images that our parents,

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grandparents, and
great-grandparents created,

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following in the
same Zapotec tradition.

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These are the most
difficult pieces I've made.

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This is one whole piece that
comes from the trunk,

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this tree trunk.

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It takes a lot of time to
carve a piece like this.

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You need to be calm when
you do this work,

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and you must be patient.

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You need to give it time to
develop and to take on a shape.

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After shaping it, you
let it dry for almost a month,

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then sand it off.

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And finally, you paint it.

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Making the figurines
gives us a better life.

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Working in the fields,
you know, gives us subsistence

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but is not quite enough.

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We use the copal wood.

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Copal is one of the
best types of woods.

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It's beautiful.

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It's able to give the
best features and enables us

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to make exotic figures
that grab your eye.

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Just as an example,
look at this.

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This is copal.

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If you look at this
piece, it's a tree branch

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that is very twisted.

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So we take
advantage of it.

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From it we create these
fantastical wood carvings.

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This lizard doesn't
really have a tail like this.

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One of the pleasing
aspects of this he says

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is the combination of the
reality of the way the lizard

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is in real life and the
fantasy that he brings to it.

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And the tail is a
fantastic tail.

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It doesn't match
the real lizard.

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But it brings to it a
real Zapotecan reality

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that we can't see.

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This tree is where
the wood comes from.

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This is copal.

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It's a type of wood that
gives us the ability

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to create these wood
figurines from its branches.

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If I were to cut this
branch off right here,

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you can see the curve and
we use our imagination

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and then create an armadillo.

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For example, the branches
here are straight.

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We can cut them off to
create a singing coyote

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with his face turned
toward the moon.

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If you want a fantasy figurine,
we can cut the branches.

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We can take a head from
here, a hand from here.

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But this would be a
figure fantastic.

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Only in the Zapotecan
mind and imagination.

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Cutting up here there is
a tail of this fantasy animal,

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here is the body and
the head would go up here.

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But it's like nothing
that exists in this world.

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It's a complete
Zapotecan fantasy.

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In this town we
are all artisans.

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We are proud to
demonstrate, to create,

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to make these wood figurines.

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It's income to the town.

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But we make the fantasy
figurines from the heart.

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Native desert plants have both
artistic and practical uses.

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They call this kind the
Mexican Fence cactus.

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It grows, sometimes it'll
grow in the U.S., not very well.

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But it doesn't branch so
you can make them as tall

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as you want, nothing
will get through.

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I think the reason it's valued
is it tends not to branch,

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it just sends up
these straight stalks.

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So it uses very little space,
the space that a wall will take.

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Oh, my goodness.

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What are those?

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Pitayo de mayo, isn't it.

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It's appropriate.

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This is May so it's
the pitayo of May.

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And they're coming out.

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And the fruits are there.

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There is a beautiful bursera
tree and frankincense tree.

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Another franc.

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One of the tall ones.

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Look how the exfoliation's here,

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these little piece of bark
rustle in the wind.

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It's a charming
part of the tree.

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I think maybe that's
the signal that

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the fiesta is about to begin.

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That's right.

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We are now in
San Martin Tilcajete,

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a typical Oaxacan town
and gets his name because

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of the presence of a cajete,
that is a hole in the ground.

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The cajete was a water
source and this old man

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was telling us that there
was a big flow of water

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coming out of the cajete
and this place was

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an enchanted place that
provided all sorts of

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good things for the town.

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The cajete was guarded by
a demon, a good demon.

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And as time passed and
new generations became

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less and less respectful,
the water source dried

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and now they only have
the cajete and a small well

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where they still get some
water but never as before.

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There is a lot of
exchange, social exchange,

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food exchange, forget all
the offenses and so on.

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It's a great event for the town.

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This is the Dia de la Santa
Cruz, the Holy Cross Day.

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These tamales are so
fresh that they're hot.

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Hot enough to burn me.

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But ah, inside we see beans,
the black beans of Oaxaca,

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and a very fragrant
herb called epazote.

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It's used with beans and
to spice a lot of things.

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It's a very distinct taste.

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It's used all over Mexico
but in Oaxaca they use it

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in great quantities and it
makes for a distinctive flavor.

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Very Oaxacan and delicious.

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The corn that made those
delicious tamales

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is often bought at local
markets like this one,

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in Ocatlán where you can find
just about anything

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you can imagine.

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Including the cactus
fruit called pitaya.

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I could easily eat 20 of these.

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All right, here goes.

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Mmmm.

15:55.888 --> 15:58.691 align:start
Oh.

15:58.724 --> 16:02.494 align:start
On a hot day, when
you're really thirsty,

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there's nothing better than
pitaya than to slake

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your thirst, maybe followed
by a little mezcal,

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of Oaxacan vintage. I'll go for
the pitaya.

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Yes, I'll go for the pitaya.

16:12.171 --> 16:15.140 align:start
The heart of every Mexican
town is it's market space

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and it's been that way
for thousands of years.

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More than goods and
food are exchanged.

16:22.247 --> 16:28.087 align:start
The air is full of gossip,
proposals, ideas and politics.

16:28.120 --> 16:31.423 align:start
I wonder if there's a
demand for hats here.

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You don't think I
need a new hat do you?

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Well, you need a Oaxacan hat.

16:37.062 --> 16:42.201 align:start
I've never tried on a
donkey stomach hat.

16:43.669 --> 16:45.404 align:start
It really is too big, is it not?

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It is too big, yes.

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It's a shame.

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I've always wanted a
donkey's belly hat but,

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yeah.

16:52.077 --> 16:54.646 align:start
I'm going to
stick with my own.

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You found the perfect
excuse, David.

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That's right.

16:57.216 --> 16:58.717 align:start
It is.

16:58.751 --> 17:01.587 align:start
That's a neat hat, though.

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I heard that for Ocatlan
here, people come from

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as much as 50 miles away
every week to bring

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their stuff to sell.

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And there's a gob of it.

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They do so and you can
see the amazing diversity

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of fruits, textiles,
different sombreros,

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hats, and different
products around.

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Just these bags of
de con ciruelas,

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there's nothing like that
in the United States.

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Here in Oaxaca, there are
marketplaces in each town

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on a different day of the week.

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And so Ocatlán here is
on Friday and everybody comes

17:40.125 --> 17:41.493 align:start
from miles around to
see their friends.

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Yes.

17:42.728 --> 17:47.766 align:start
Tomorrow is Oaxaca.

17:47.800 --> 17:50.803 align:start
D. H. Lawrence wrote about the
Oaxaca market and he said

17:50.836 --> 17:54.206 align:start
it was the perfect excuse to
allow the intermingling

17:54.239 --> 17:59.044 align:start
of social classes
without any suspicion.

18:01.180 --> 18:03.048 align:start
Oh, my.

18:03.082 --> 18:05.751 align:start
This is clear,
beautiful bread.

18:05.784 --> 18:07.019 align:start
Very nicely done.

18:07.052 --> 18:08.420 align:start
And very fresh.

18:08.454 --> 18:09.354 align:start
I guess they make
it every morning.

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For sure.

18:11.423 --> 18:13.992 align:start
Ah, the bees, the
honeybees love the honey on the.

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It should be very sweet.

18:15.160 --> 18:16.662 align:start
Yeah.

18:16.695 --> 18:19.765 align:start
I think maybe I'll
stay far away.

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On special days in larger
cities like Oaxaca,

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the market spills out onto
the sidewalks and even

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onto the steps of churches.

18:43.422 --> 18:47.259 align:start
Dia de la Santa Cruz, the
Holy Cross Day, the third of May

18:47.292 --> 18:50.662 align:start
is a major celebration
throughout Mexico.

18:50.696 --> 18:53.999 align:start
And in major cities like
Oaxaca they set up these

18:54.032 --> 18:59.071 align:start
wonderful flower markets because
people will dress the cross

18:59.104 --> 19:03.642 align:start
in their homes honoring
the cross, the holy cross.

19:03.675 --> 19:09.848 align:start
It's a special day also, it's a
major day for the brick masons.

19:09.882 --> 19:15.654 align:start
Brick masons have taken
as their symbol the holy cross.

19:15.687 --> 19:18.056 align:start
This flower just seems
to be everywhere

19:18.090 --> 19:21.026 align:start
for the Day of the Cross.

19:21.059 --> 19:23.462 align:start
I know we call it frangipan,
what's it called down here.

19:23.495 --> 19:25.164 align:start
Down here it's called
cacalosuchi or sucheal.

19:25.197 --> 19:26.565 align:start
Cacalosúchil.

19:26.565 --> 19:29.401 align:start
Yes.

19:29.434 --> 19:31.770 align:start
That's a great name.

19:35.274 --> 19:37.609 align:start
There's plenty unusual in Oaxaca
but the food is as different

19:37.643 --> 19:40.879 align:start
and as far as I can
tell is as good as any,

19:40.913 --> 19:42.881 align:start
I mean, here's a
display of. Amazing.

19:42.915 --> 19:45.050 align:start
How many different chiles?

19:45.083 --> 19:47.753 align:start
They say that there are about
100 different kinds of chiles.

19:47.786 --> 19:48.787 align:start
All a different flavor.

19:48.820 --> 19:50.622 align:start
Yes.

19:50.656 --> 19:53.058 align:start
And that can be prepared in all
sorts of combinations too.

19:53.091 --> 19:55.127 align:start
Here's several right here.

19:55.160 --> 19:57.296 align:start
Oh, gosh.

19:57.329 --> 19:59.331 align:start
Frijol negro, black bean.

19:59.364 --> 20:03.101 align:start
Frijoles negros, that's right.

20:08.373 --> 20:11.043 align:start
And then they make, what's,
mole negro, the black mole.

20:11.076 --> 20:16.048 align:start
Yes, there is mole negro.

20:17.916 --> 20:20.852 align:start
You know that Itolo Calvino,
this famous Italian writer

20:20.886 --> 20:25.090 align:start
used to say that Oaxaca
culinary expression with

20:25.123 --> 20:30.596 align:start
100 different kinds of
chile and a lot of time

20:30.629 --> 20:36.368 align:start
to explore and roast
them and mix them.

20:36.401 --> 20:38.737 align:start
And each one has its own
little essential flavor,

20:38.770 --> 20:41.173 align:start
slightly different
from any other.

20:41.206 --> 20:46.111 align:start
And Calvino says and that will
create fountains of ecstasies.

20:46.144 --> 20:49.047 align:start
I agree with that.

20:53.318 --> 20:55.854 align:start
That fountain of ecstasy
that Alberto mentioned

20:55.887 --> 21:00.659 align:start
is exemplified in chocolate.

21:00.659 --> 21:03.262 align:start
Judging from the smell,
what do you think it is?

21:03.295 --> 21:05.597 align:start
Well, it smells like
chocolate to me.

21:05.631 --> 21:07.833 align:start
I think we're near the chocolate
center of the universe.

21:07.866 --> 21:11.370 align:start
Let's go in here.

21:11.403 --> 21:14.106 align:start
So here we have the product of
another native plant of Mexico.

21:14.139 --> 21:15.240 align:start
Chocolate.

21:15.274 --> 21:16.041 align:start
Cacao.

21:16.041 --> 21:18.176 align:start
Cacao.

21:18.210 --> 21:21.480 align:start
So this is a box
full of money.

21:21.513 --> 21:24.583 align:start
Did you know that cacao
was used as currency

21:24.616 --> 21:27.452 align:start
by the ancient Mexican cultures.

21:27.486 --> 21:28.553 align:start
This is as valuable
as gold, huh?

21:28.587 --> 21:32.924 align:start
That's right.

21:32.958 --> 21:36.061 align:start
So this is a piece of
cinnamon that's added

21:36.061 --> 21:39.731 align:start
and this is the almonds
that they grind up

21:39.765 --> 21:44.336 align:start
to make what they call the
almondrado or the almond flavor.

21:44.369 --> 21:48.173 align:start
This first stage in the
mill mixes the chocolate

21:48.206 --> 21:51.043 align:start
and grinds it with
almonds and cinnamon

21:51.076 --> 21:52.611 align:start
but not with the sugar.

21:52.644 --> 21:55.981 align:start
The original chocolate
was not mixed with sugar.

21:56.014 --> 21:58.817 align:start
Then it comes out as a
semi-liquid and it's mixed

21:58.850 --> 22:01.053 align:start
with the sugar and
they then process it

22:01.086 --> 22:03.221 align:start
through further mills to
come with the product

22:03.255 --> 22:06.325 align:start
that we see for sale over
here on the counter.

22:06.358 --> 22:10.429 align:start
And this is the real chocolate
as, with sugar in it,

22:10.462 --> 22:15.534 align:start
that existed since
the time of the Spaniards.

22:18.570 --> 22:19.504 align:start
Mmmm.

22:19.538 --> 22:20.839 align:start
Delicious, David.

22:20.872 --> 22:24.509 align:start
It's food for the gods.

22:24.543 --> 22:28.246 align:start
It's amazing.

22:28.280 --> 22:31.583 align:start
It's bitter, it has
not sugar in it.

22:31.616 --> 22:35.187 align:start
But it still has that
addicting power of chocolate.

22:35.220 --> 22:39.091 align:start
We can't convey the
aroma, the smell,

22:39.124 --> 22:42.928 align:start
the overpowering smell of
chocolate and it affects

22:42.961 --> 22:47.666 align:start
some center in my brain
and I expect it affects almost

22:47.699 --> 22:50.836 align:start
everybody's brain, forms and
addiction even without sugar.

22:50.869 --> 22:53.305 align:start
Mmmm.

22:53.338 --> 22:57.776 align:start
Oh, that, that hurts good.

23:02.514 --> 23:05.584 align:start
Mole, a sort of gravy
made with chocolate,

23:05.617 --> 23:08.286 align:start
is just one of the many
delicious native foods

23:08.320 --> 23:12.157 align:start
found on the sojado,
the town plaza.

23:13.759 --> 23:15.894 align:start
I know these are all
foods that originated

23:15.927 --> 23:17.629 align:start
here in Oaxaca and
Puebla, beans,

23:17.662 --> 23:22.167 align:start
corn, chile, avocado, squash.

23:22.167 --> 23:24.302 align:start
But I must tell you, I don't
know what that is or that is.

23:24.336 --> 23:28.140 align:start
Well, this is flor de calabaza,

23:28.173 --> 23:33.078 align:start
is the flower of the
squash that is prepared

23:33.111 --> 23:36.481 align:start
in several different ways
here in this region.

23:36.515 --> 23:37.549 align:start
It's delicious.

23:37.582 --> 23:38.917 align:start
But what's that.

23:38.950 --> 23:40.852 align:start
These are chapulines.

23:40.886 --> 23:43.054 align:start
Chapulines are grasshoppers.

23:43.088 --> 23:44.256 align:start
I'm supposed to
eat grasshoppers.

23:44.289 --> 23:45.123 align:start
Oh, they are delicious.

23:45.157 --> 23:47.559 align:start
You should try them.

23:47.592 --> 23:50.495 align:start
They are eaten in this region
and all through central Mexico.

23:50.529 --> 23:53.532 align:start
But Oaxaca is the
central place for that.

23:53.565 --> 23:56.368 align:start
And not only chapulines, you
should try gusanos and bagay.

23:56.401 --> 23:58.904 align:start
You should try caterpillars
from the palo verde or manteco.

23:58.937 --> 24:00.772 align:start
Ants.

24:00.806 --> 24:03.408 align:start
Many, many different
ones are delicious.

24:03.442 --> 24:04.376 align:start
Insects are as an
important part of the diet

24:04.409 --> 24:06.244 align:start
as these other things?

24:06.278 --> 24:08.346 align:start
Insects were an essential
part of the diet.

24:08.380 --> 24:09.781 align:start
All right, I'll try them.

24:09.815 --> 24:12.317 align:start
This once.

24:12.350 --> 24:13.084 align:start
And they've got chile on them.

24:13.118 --> 24:15.220 align:start
A little bit.

24:15.220 --> 24:16.855 align:start
Tastes like something
strange with chile on it.

24:16.855 --> 24:18.356 align:start
And salt.

24:18.390 --> 24:19.858 align:start
I love them.

24:19.858 --> 24:21.460 align:start
Actually, they're not bad.

24:21.493 --> 24:22.627 align:start
I really like them.

24:22.661 --> 24:24.362 align:start
Here's a leg.

24:24.396 --> 24:26.164 align:start
I haven't had a chance
to have a leg yet.

24:26.198 --> 24:30.202 align:start
Tastes like chicken.

24:38.743 --> 24:41.213 align:start
There are many places in
the world to get great food.

24:41.246 --> 24:44.216 align:start
But if you want to try food that
has founded civilizations

24:44.249 --> 24:47.919 align:start
and is still available, you
need to come to the valleys

24:47.953 --> 24:52.290 align:start
of southern Mexico,
especially Puebla and Oaxaca.

24:52.324 --> 24:55.527 align:start
This is really
very, very good.

24:58.797 --> 25:01.266 align:start
Next time on The Desert Speaks ,

25:01.266 --> 25:04.369 align:start
we're off to the Four Corners
region to find markers

25:04.402 --> 25:08.173 align:start
from ancient solar calendars.

25:08.206 --> 25:11.643 align:start
Seeing these relics on just the
right day offers glimpses

25:11.676 --> 25:15.647 align:start
of the artistic life of some of
the first Americans.

25:15.680 --> 25:17.983 align:start
The edge of this
rock can be aligned

25:18.016 --> 25:20.652 align:start
with those standing
stones that we've seen.

25:20.685 --> 25:23.522 align:start
.like Pueblo Bonito, you
look at the rock there.

25:23.555 --> 25:26.958 align:start
Of course getting there
can be half the fun.

25:29.194 --> 25:31.997 align:start
So this is the sunken plaza.

25:32.030 --> 25:36.201 align:start
Patio Hundido.

25:36.234 --> 25:39.371 align:start
And I guess that this
was always where they

25:39.404 --> 25:43.375 align:start
carry out some very
important ritual.

25:58.957 --> 26:02.227 align:start
Major funding for The Desert
      Speaks was provided by

26:02.260 --> 26:05.196 align:start
The Kemper and Ethel
Marley Foundation.

26:05.230 --> 26:09.167 align:start
Additional funding was provided
by Desert Program Partners.