Tlaxcala

Asking around for suggestions of day trips, local ethno guru suggested Tlaxcala.  Although he generally exaggerates the ease of travel and the friendliness of locals, I have to say he was spot on this time.  Tlaxcala, according to Google Maps is three hours away, which made me a bit skeptical of its doability as a day trip, but in fact, through some act of magic, a bus gets there in less than a hour.  Of course, it takes another hour to get from UDLAP to Puebla (10 minutes in a car….ah, the glories of public transportation!).  However, I still got into town by 9, so I had a whole day in front of me. 

Tlaxcala is not on the typical tourist circuit – and I have no idea why not.  It’s gorgeous!  And quiet, oh so quiet, especially as I’ve gotten used to the non-stop firecrackers in Cholula.  

I started off wandering with no particular aim.  The houses here all have large gardens in the central courtyards and even a few in front of the houses.  Although not far away, the weather is significantly better than in Cholula.  The town has also embraced color in markedly than the Cholultecas.  

Central Tlaxcala is clean, bright, and beautiful.  There are several museums in the town, although 2 of the 4 I planned to see were under renovation.  Ah, well, return trip.  In the morning I went to the folk art museum.  Tlaxcala state claims the origin of no less than 21 kinds of regional crafts, including the talaveras that Puebla is known for, and reed mats.  I’m a little skeptical of the origin claim, but there is certainly a thriving traditional artisans’ community and the museum has demonstrations of different arts every day.  I chatted with some women and finally gave in and bought, yes, I kid you not, a shirt for a water glass.  Ah well, my class will enjoy analyzing it?  I would totally wear one of those shirts, but at the time they had XXXXXXLs and water glass shirts.  I don’t know what they are thinking with those shirts.  We had a long discussion about the very big people who might visit the museum…  ¿Qué le vas a hacer?  It had to be a well-dressed glass.  

The indigenous Tlaxcaltecas were engaged in heavy enmity with the Aztecs at the time of the arrival of the Spanish and they quickly sided with the Spanish against the Aztecs.  Even today they are often referred to disparagingly as the Town of Traitors.  Not that I can blame them – I would not have chosen to live under Aztec rule, personally.  The history is memorialized in a captioned mural in the Ayuntamiento (City Hall). 

They are also known for their somewhat more than usually gruesome Christs.  Related??

They also have one of the most beautiful Virgins I have seen thus far, Santa Maria 
do Ocotlán.

Finally, given their early association with the Spanish and a pre-Hispanic culinary tradition that had a wide variety of kinds of doughs and corn breads, they were the first town (so they say) to make wheat flour bread.  Today, the Pan de Fiesta from Tlaxcala is brought to fiestas all over Mexico.  While other towns make similar breads, for holy days, it’s got to be from Tlaxcala.  The varieties are: with eggs (con huevo), with cream (de nata), and with walnuts (de nuez).  It’s a soft, sweet bread with sesame seeds and a egg wash.  Here you can see some priests enjoying tasty pan de fiesta, along with a pair of ghost dogs…. 

The food of Tlaxcala is also known particularly for its use of fava beans.  Unfortunately, the scent of cooking favas takes over much of the town.  To counteract that, perhaps, the Tlaxcaltecas are also renowned for floral decorations.  Lilies and roses are on every corner and packed into every church.

As is my great skill in life, I picked up a slightly crazy person to pass the day.  She’s an ex-pat who seems to live between Mexico and France, although I didn’t really get the full story.  We went to the regional INAH-run museum.  Professors get in free!  Score!  So do nationals over 60.  My new friend is 64 but had a hard time understanding the national/foreigner differentiation.  I think we nearly got kicked out of the museum.  Seriously, over 41 pesos?  Really?  But my acquaintance did work out for me because she had the work on a little-known tamale shop run by nuns.  It took some asking around, but we got there and had some delicious, 6 peso tamales.  And then I headed back to Puebla.  Only to decide to skip the colectivo and spring for a cab home.  You know, in every country, 80% of my experiences with cabs are bad ones.  This one took a very bizarre route that took 45 minutes and then tried to tell me that I had purchased the wrong ticket and that I didn’t know where the UDLAP was.  Right.  I just sneakily go around painting “UDLAP” onto random gates to trick you!  Ah well…transport, transport…  Next time I’ll just take the bus home!