Oaxaca a Year Later: Life Returning to Normal, But Tensions Linger, January 27, 2008

"The last time I was in Oaxaca, I was frantically trying to improvise a gas mask. The city was a war zone: anti-government protesters packing spray paint, rocks and Molotov cocktails; police in riot gear tossing canisters of black tear gas into the crowd. Fast-forward one year and I'm in a city that feels much different. Seated under the stars on an ancient stone patio, a fountain burbling beside me, I savor sauteed mushrooms in garlic wine sauce. The setting is almost exactly as I envisioned it would be: a place of architectural jewels, one-of-a-kind textiles and culinary surprises."

A Treasure's Comeback Bid, June 23, 2007

"To sip a beer and savor the gentle night air at an outdoor cafe in the Zócalo ranks high on the must-do list of many tourists visiting this ancient city in southern Mexico. On a Monday evening earlier this year, however, workmen were sandblasting graffiti off the facade of the Governor's Palace on the south side of the square. The drone was a jarring reminder that all is not yet back to normal."

Oaxaca City Still Seethes ... But Quietly, May 2, 2007

"The tear gas is long gone, as are the police in body armor, the burned out hulks of buses and the masked vigilantes. Along the colonial-era stone streets where striking teachers paralyzed this city nearly a year ago - declaring themselves the acting government - there are now weddings, foot races and outdoor markets. The shady plaza that served as a shanty-town headquarters for a seven-month insurrection is now a place where musicians strum guitars, children chase balloons and couples steal private moments."

Artists Lead Comeback from Oaxaca Political Strife, January 4, 2007

"Fresh coats of paint are being slapped on buildings to cover up angry graffiti along the "zocalo," where police and protesters recently brawled. Even though the barricades have been removed and the blood has been mopped from the streets, this colonial-era city is struggling to recover from a violent spasm that scarred its buildings, traumatized its citizens, and left as many as a dozen people dead over a seven-month span. 'It's a tense calm,' said Francisco Toledo, the Zapotec Indian considered by many to be Mexico's greatest living graphic artist."

Protesters Seize Oaxaca; Tourism Craters, July 21, 2006

"Protesters have taken over the center of folkloric Oaxaca, making tourists show identification at makeshift checkpoints, smashing the windows of quaint hotels and spray-painting revolutionary slogans. Police are nowhere in sight. It's not the tranquil cultural gem beloved by tourists from the United States and Europe. A month of protests to try to oust the governor have forced authorities to cancel many events, including the Guelaguetza dance festival. Most tourists are staying away, costing the city millions of dollars."

Oaxaca Residents Battle Over Shade Trees in Zocalo, May 22, 2005

"Two years ago, artists and architects banded together to stave off McDonald's from opening on the picturesque main square in the southern city of Oaxaca. Now some of those same activists are under attack themselves, over their plan to evict another foreign invader - the towering India laurel trees that shade the historic plaza. Opponents say the idea is political correctness run amok."

On Oaxaca Coast, Sea Turtles Rally, October 14, 2004

"Fernando Herrera is 78 years old and a fisherman by trade. He can remember a time in the 1980's when he and other fishermen of Oaxaca hunted the sea turtles that nest here for their skins, killing them with machetes and rifles. Yet he acknowledged tearing up when he arrived at the misty beach on a recent afternoon with his wife and son to witness one of nature's most mysterious and prehistoric rites: thousands of female turtles emerging from the grayish blue water of the Pacific, dragging themselves up beyond the high-tide mark and laying their eggs."

Mexican Mezcal Battles nasty firewater image, August 18, 2004

"Mezcal, the poor cousin of Mexico's national tipple tequila, often comes with a dead worm, or even several dead worms, on the bottom of the bottle. The worms are mostly decorative but also signal that it's not a drink for the fainthearted."

McTaco vs. Fried Crickets: a Duel in the Oaxaca Sun, August 24, 2002

"The town square in this old city is a kind of sacred space. Beside a cathedral, under ancient shade trees, people sit for hours on cast-iron benches, passing time slowly, framed by stone arches glowing golden in the afternoon light. Two new golden arches may be rising soon."

In Oaxaca, a Cook Creates a Stir, August 14, 2002

"The people of this colonial city are particularly opinionated when it comes to mole. With good reason. Mole is as much a part of Oaxacan culture as the architecture of the pre-Columbian hilltop city of Monte Albán. Ancient friezes show people preparing and eating mole, a chili-based dish that is the centerpiece of many a feast."

Stories from Elsewhere in Mexico:

Swimming with the Spirits in the Yucatan's Secret Cenotes - Phil Saviano's story about splashing around in the crystal-clear fresh water caves near Cancun.

Pilgrims Travel from Afar to Honor Virgin of Guadalupe, December 13, 2001

"They came in buses and private cars, and some walked for miles to get to the Basilica of the Virgin of Guadalupe, carrying water bottles and backpacks, others with portraits of Mexico's patron saint hanging around their necks. When they got there, many of them sacrificed their knees for the final few paces, a sign of thanks and devotion to the Mexican embodiment of the Virgin Mary."

Mexicans Cheer First Indigenous Saint, August 2002

"Pope John Paul II opened the way Thursday for the canonization of 16th century shepherd Juan Diego as Mexico's first indigenous saint, despite a recent controversy in which a prominent clergyman challenged that he ever existed."

In Mexico, a New Saint Revives Old Battles Over the Church

"Miracles happen every day in Mexico. The survival of this capital and its 20 million souls, for one: the city keeps shining though the corrosion of poverty, the plunder of politicians, the subterranean rattle of earthquakes and the occasional rumble of volcanoes."