Travel reflections from Oaxaca
Hi Friends,
I had a remarkable visit to Oaxaca, the largest state in the country of Mexico. Slightly more than 70% of the bird species in the entire country live here. The state includes the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, where one can cross by land from the Pacific to the Atlantic coast, and the wind nearly always over 50 MPH. Oaxaca city, where we spent three days is a vibrant cultural magnet for artists, musicians, and food lovers, not to mention the birds in the nearby parks and nature reserves. While the city is economically flourishing due largely to tourism, Oaxaca is also the poorest state in the country. The indigenous people are Zapotec, with a significant, proud history. They are known for the weavers of magnificent rugs and bright clothes. In Tehuantepec, the Mexican government has established a quite large windmill installation to provide jobs and energy for this region. Bird lovers are not happy but local birders are working a various methods that will prevent deaths of birds. It’s another example of the necessity of collaboration and compromise to sustain two goods, the birds and the clean energy.
This is my second visit to our southern neighbor country. Claudia and I will return at the end of the year for a second term as minister-in-residence in San Miguel de Allende. I am now much more aware of the long history of Mexico, and the complex relationship with the United States. Until recently, my knowledge of our mutual history came through the filter of Davy Crockett, Sam Houston and the battle of the Alamo. I now have a different lens to interpret our history. Mexico lost an astonishing amount of land. From their perspective, the US-Mexican war looks looks quite different to me. Once again, acknowledging the actual history of our nation, including the brutal relationship with indigenous peoples, is sobering and disturbing.
Nevertheless, what I’ve experienced in my Mexico adventures is friendly people with a generous hospitality toward strangers. It’s a disturbing reality that so much cruel and hateful rhetoric is directed at Mexicans. (As a kid, I heard racial slurs similar to the N word.). The people of Mexico are just as concerned as their northern neighbors about maintaining a safe and secure border, and are not pleased with the bandits and traffickers who prey on others. They want what we all want: a good life for all. There is no rational reason for animosity between the countries.
For those interested, we saw 285 bird species in our 12 day visit. Seventy-four of those birds were new birds (lifers) for me. One includes the Rose-bellied Bunting, an locally endemic species that is both rare and endangered due to its narrow range in Tehuantepec.