TO OAXACA VIA THE "HOLY LAND"

Juquila is Oaxaca's Lourdes, a sacred place that inspires deep veneration. It attracts multitudes of believers from all over Mexico who make the pilgrimage to repay a blessing, to seek a cure for illness or to renew their faith. Hundreds or thousands of people stream through here each day; the tourist information lady told me 2.5 million make the pilgrimage each year.

Nestled high in the southern Sierra Madre mountains, an emerald empire of dramatic forested peaks, cascading water and clouds you can almost touch, it does indeed appear to be close to Heaven, God's Country.

This is the heart of Chatino country, a culture that has been largely ignored by the academics. But they have a long and illustrious history (See past issues of El Sol de la Costa on Santos Reyes Nopala). The town of Santa Catarina Juquila is a 30 Km detour off 131 at Cerro de Vidrio. It thrives on these visitors and is crammed with hotels and restaurants and store after store selling reliquary, statues and images of the Virgin on pendants, bottle openers, key chains and other souvenirs and milagros: tiny representations of hearts, limbs, houses, cars, and other symbols representing hopes or thanks for health and prosperity.

The bustle and congestion, venal commercialism and the outright gouging by local merchants is too much for me. But the intensity of faith, the passion and the joy, the hope and depth of emotion manifested by the devotees is deeply moving.

I believe you can capture a better sense of the Juquila phenomenon with a visit El Pedimento. This is where visitors leave their milagros and pray to the various representations of the Virgin. They wait patiently to touch her, caressing her hair with flowers, candles or purchased souvenirs and pinning milagros, rosaries and cash to her dress. Around the hilltop chapel are dozens of shrines, crazy patchwork quilts of urns, crosses, signs, milagros and figures sculpted from the surrounding clay. So much material accumulates that great mounds of offerings can be seen unceremoniously dumped over the side of the hill.

The veneration of Our Lady of Juquila probably dates back to the early 17th Century. It is thought to be one of the first images carried through the area by Dominican missionaries, but legend has it that it just miraculously appeared one day in Amialtepec. Although a crude shelter built for her there burned down, the image of the Virgin was miraculously spared and moved to Juquila, where she has remained granting miracles for millions over the intervening centuries.

SANTIAGO YAITEPEC

Santiago Yaitepec is an independent county (municipio) completely surrounded by Juquila, whose authorities are chosen under the Uses and Customs (Usos y Costumbres) system that allows indigenous communities to conserve their traditional political structure while conforming to national election codes.

Yaitepec represents the best of two worlds: the modern and the traditional. It has a modern infrastructure - newly paved streets and not a pot hole in sight - yet it is a tightly-knit community that has successfully conserved its long established culture, beliefs and practices.

Everyone speaks Chatino and most of the women wear traditional dress: almost all of them use a distinctive gray rebozo, many wear the colorful satin skirts and the blouses richly embroidered with bright flowers and animals, that distinguish them from their Chatino neighbors.

What immediately drew my attention were the amazingly beautiful shoulder bags, called arganitas, carried by both the men and the women, which I'd never seen anywhere before. So shimmering, vibrant with color and form, I thought they were beaded, but they are actually embroidered and fringed with metallic thread.

They take months to make and are built from the simple red and blue striped bags made by some of the local families from cloth woven with backstrap looms. (Pretty handsome in their own right.)

You'll soon find yourself at the center of town with the handsome domed church of Santiago, the Municipal Palace overlooking the basketball court where the town dances are held. A few stores, a couple of restaurants and that's about it. But the views are spectacular and there is a special aura to Yaitepec that made me want to spend some time here.

Coffee is the staple of the local economy, which has helped Yaitepec maintain its scenic beauty. The coffee bushes need the shade of larger trees, so the hillsides remain heavily wooded.

Market day is Sunday, but there is no actual market building; stalls are set up along the street and around the entrance to the church atrium.

Yaitepec means "Between Three Hills" in Nahuatl (the Aztecs renamed just about every place in their vast empire), but in Chatino it was called Ke'e nshi'i, which means anise flower or, according to one source, "Land or Stone of Tepetate", a feature of the topography. It looks like striated rock, but is actually very hard compacted soil.

I arrived in Yaitepec in time to join the calenda with its brass band, brightly dressed dancers, madrinas bearing flower-filled baskets and the giant marmote effigies, as it made its rounds about town to the houses of the four fiesta sponsors (mayordomos). Everybody was served coffee, sodas, candies and sweet bread at each stop. (Yaitepec is a dry town: no beer sales, no bars - darn, there had to be a catch!) But most families keep a little medicinal mezcal on hand for digestive and medicinal purposes.There is also virtually no crime; my room was unlocked during my stay.)

I watched the castillo fireworks display, stayed up and danced as long as I could, as two live bands played to dawn. I bought sweet basil to leave as an offering to Santiago patron as did my hosts, and watched, hat in hand, as people entered the church on their knees to approach the flower-bedecked altars, the light from the stained glass windows casting a subtle glow to the smoke of copal incense.

As an invited guest, I was granted special access. I shared some special moments here and learned something of the pride, the reverence and warmth of the Yaitepecanos.

IF YOU VISIT: Be respectful, don't take photos without permission. Present yourself at the Municipal Palace and ask for Beninga Santiago, a vivacious young woman who can answer your questions and take you to the homes of local craftspeople. (Her mother Dolores makes the best coffee in town and her Feast Day chicken mole tamales were the best I've tasted.)

Or look for Don Fortunato, who owns the large general store next to the church. He'll rent you basic accommodation for $100 pesos - shared bathroom, cold water and a heavenly view - and is also highly knowledgeable about Yaitepec's history and culture.