Oaxaca Sights

  1. Arte Contemporáneo Manuel García

    Exhibitions of delightfully avant-garde stuff by Mexican and international artists.

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  2. Arte de Oaxaca

    This sophisticated gallery provides a beautiful setting in which to enjoy a wide range of contemporary Oaxacan art. It includes a room devoted to Rodolfo Morales' work.

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  3. Basílica de la Soledad

    The image of Oaxaca's patron saint, the Virgen de la Soledad (Virgin of Solitude), resides in the 17th-century Basílica de la Soledad, 3½ blocks west of the Alameda. The church, with a richly carved baroque facade, stands where the image is said to have miraculously appeared in a donkey's pack in 1543. The virgin was later adorned with enormous worldly riches - but lost her 2kg gold crown, a huge pearl and several hundred diamonds to thieves in the 1990s.

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  4. Bodega Quetzalli

    This very large, open space features roughly one artist, usually avant-garde, per month.

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  5. Cathedral

    Oaxaca's Cathedral , begun in 1553 and finished (after several earthquakes) in the 18th century, stands just north of the Zócalo. Its main facade, facing the Alameda, features fine baroque carving.

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  6. Centro Fotográfico Álvarez Bravo

    The good Centro Fotográfico Álvarez Bravo occupies a space that was very nicely rehabilitated in 2005.

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  7. Galería Epicentro

    Gallery belonging to artist Marco Bustamante and displaying his and others' work.

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  8. Galería Quetzalli

    Oaxaca's leading serious gallery, handling some of the biggest names such as Francisco Toledo and Sergio Hernández.

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  9. Iglesia de La Compañía

    Fine, carved facades adorn the colonial Iglesia de La Compañía.

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  10. Iglesia de San Juan de Dios

    Fine, carved facades adorn the colonial Iglesia de San Juan de Dios, a beautiful small 17th-century church on the site of Oaxaca's first church (which was built in 1526).

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  12. Iglesia de Santo Domingo

    Four blocks north of the cathedral, gorgeous Iglesia de Santo Domingo is the most splendid of Oaxaca's churches. It was built mainly between 1570 and 1608 as part of the city's Dominican monastery, with the finest artisans from Puebla and elsewhere helping in its construction. Like other big buildings in this earthquake-prone region, Santo Domingo has immensely thick stone walls.

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  13. Instituto de Artes Gráficas de Oaxaca

    Almost opposite Santo Domingo, in a beautiful colonial house donated by artist Francisco Toledo, the Instituto de Artes Gráficas de Oaxaca offers changing exhibitions of graphic art as well as a superb arts library ( - Mon-Sat).

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  14. Jardín Etnobotánico

    In former monastic grounds behind the Iglesia de Santo Domingo, the Jardín Etnobotánico features plants from around the state, including a staggering variety of cactuses. Though it has only been growing since the mid-1990s, it's already a fascinating demonstration of Oaxaca's biodiversity. Visits are by guided tour only; for the English-language ones it's a good idea to sign up a day or two beforehand.

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  15. La Curtiduría

    A diverse cultural center founded in an old tannery by artist Demián Flores Cortés, La Curtiduría stages and facilitates contemporary art exhibits, classes, community projects and assorted events (including films and live music and dance), and runs an artist-in-residence program. Drop by or look for flyers.

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  16. Museo Casa de Juárez

    One of the few Mexican national heroes with an unsullied reputation, the great reforming president Benito Juárez (1806−72) was born a humble Zapotec villager in Guelatao, 60km northeast of Oaxaca. His parents died when he was three. At the age of 12, young Benito walked to Oaxaca and found work at the house of Antonio Salanueva, a bookbinder. Salanueva saw the boy's potential and decided to help pay for an education he otherwise might not have received.

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  17. Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Oaxaca

    Occupying a handsome colonial house built around 1700, the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Oaxaca exhibits contemporary art from Oaxaca, Mexico and around the world.

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  18. Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca

    The beautiful monastery buildings adjoining the Iglesia de Santo Domingo house, the not-to-be-missed Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca. One of the best regional museums in Mexico, this takes you right through the history and cultures of Oaxaca state up to the present day. Explanatory material is in Spanish, but you can rent good audio guides in English for around $50 . Also here is a good book and souvenir shop.

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  19. Museo de los Pintores Oaxaqueños

    Housed in a spacious two-story downtown building, the Museo de los Pintores Oaxaqueños stages changing exhibitions of work by the state's best artists.

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  20. Museo Rufino Tamayo

    The top-class Museo Rufino Tamayo was donated to Oaxaca by its most famous artist, the Zapotec Rufino Tamayo (1899−1991). In a fine 17th-century building, the collection focuses on the aesthetic qualities of ancient artifacts and traces artistic developments in preconquest times. It has some truly beautiful pieces and is strong on the Preclassic era and lesser-known civilizations such as those of Veracruz and western Mexico.

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  21. Palacio de Gobierno

    On the south side of the Zócalo stands the former Palacio de Gobierno, now being converted into a museum. Its stairway mural by Arturo García Bustos depicts famous Oaxacans and Oaxaca history, including Benito Juárez and his wife, Margarita Maza, José María Morelos, Porfirio Díaz, Vicente Guerrero (being shot at Cuilapan) and Juana Inés de la Cruz, a 17th-century nun and love poet.

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  23. Teatro Macedonio Alcalá

    The Teatro Macedonio Alcalá was built in 1903 in the elaborate French style that was fashionable under Porfirio Díaz. It has a marble stairway and a five-tier auditorium holding 1300 people.

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  24. Templo de San Felipe Neri

    The 18th-century baroque Templo de San Felipe Neri is where Benito Juárez and Margarita Maza were married in 1843; Margarita was the daughter of Antonio Maza, an Italian immigrant merchant who took in the young Benito when he arrived in Oaxaca as a boy.

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