Well, I've shared with you about the food — the only other thing that is way up there in terms of Oaxaca's reputation is its crafts.


This and all photos by FRANCISCO.

Barro negro
This is a type of pottery which is black and has a semi-matte glaze. Vases, statues, jars, the usual pottery stuff. We saw some great statues of indigenous dancers but couldn't figure out what size to get for wherever we'll be living next, so I guess we'll get one on our next trip down. I think barro negro has a pretty cool and different look to it, although I am sort of partial to colorful talavera. One thing that sort of spoils the look of any ancient art is seeing it turned into cartoony frogs and Precious Moments figurines, as we saw in all too many stalls and stores. I am not sure that's what the prehispanic civilizations had in mind. Just goes to show, there's no accounting for taste.


Textiles
You know when you were a little girl and your auntie/neighbor/grandma brought you a cute, cheerful white dress from Mexico with colorful flowers embroidered all over it? That may well have been from Oaxaca. The sheer amount of different textiles in Oaxaca is makes your head spin. The best part is seeing people actually using that clothing, whether they're indigenous people or whether they just enjoy it. (There are also a whole lot of tourists outfitted in 100% Oaxacan duds who look a little tiny bit silly if you ask me! For those of us clearly from someplace else, I think it's nice and subtle to mix local textiles with our regular clothes like jeans, lest someone try to ordern a margarita from you.)

I found a top that was big enough to fit my now-and-future tummy and also a matching sash that I can tie up under my bust to keep it from being too formless, formlessness being my major complaint about a lot of the cool Mexican blouses out there. The top is embroidered in my favorite color, green. So, in short, please don't order any margaritas from me if you see me wearing this.


Filigree jewelry
They have this at every price level, from what is probably gold color painted on lead to 24-karat super pricey. In one market we saw a table and Francisco asked if it was made in Mexico (the stuff can look oddly similar to jewelry from India). The lady said, "No, it's made here in Oaxaca!" So people definitely take pride in the local stuff. Francisco was sweet enough to buy me some earrings (not at the market) and I just love them.


Alebrijes
These are carved wooden figures of fantastical animals. We didn't get one because I don't like the scary-looking ones and Francisco doesn't like the ones that look like bunnies, googly-eyed bugs and sweet giraffes.

(By the way, Oaxaca has a lot of other good stuff, from leather to baskets to whatever else, but I chose to focus on the three that caught my eye the most!)