Oaxaca, Mexico

There had been Zapotec and Mixtec settlements in valley of Oaxaca for thousands of years, especially in connection with the important ancient centres of Monte Albán and Mitla, which are close to modern Oaxaca city.  The Aztecs entered the valley in 1440 and named it "Huaxyacac," a Nahuatl phrase meaning "among the huaje" (Leucaena leucocephala) trees.
The name Oaxaca is derived from the Nahuatl name for the place, Huaxyacac, which was Hispanicized to Guajaca, later spelled Oaxaca.


Oaxacan cuisine is its variety of moles (chilli chocolate based sauce), chapulines (fried grasshoppers with chile), and mezcal the (a distilled alcoholic beverage made from the maguey plant native to Mexico).  I've consumed them all, and oh boy, that mezcal is strong gear!

chapulines ...

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