10th Anniversary Departure: March 14, 2013

For the last decade we’ve enjoyed unparalleled entrée into the living, breathing heart of Oaxacan culture, thanks to deep-rooted friendships in the region. To celebrate our 10^th anniversary, we want to reciprocate by endowing a young artist scholarship; a gift that will make a life changing impact for the next generation of Oaxaca’s creative champions.

Throughout this landmark journey, we meet visionaries with a passion to rescue, re-invigorate and sometimes re-invent Mexico’s rich living traditions. We share lunch with organic farmers tending pre-Hispanic floating chinampas in Xochimilco, savor artisan mescal with a craft distiller in Oaxaca, accompany the curator of Mexico’s finest folk art collection on a private tour, join artists and musicians at a home-hosted party held in our honor, and much more.

To balance out all the delicious food and drink, we’ll stay physically active, too! J We strike out for a leisurely hike in Mexico City’s verdant green lung (Chapultepec Park), trek in Oaxaca’s Sierra Norte and explore both urban landscapes and world-class archaeological sites extensively by foot.

•  Fabulous Folk Art. Go behind the scenes with the curator of the country’s premier private collection of folk art encompassing thousands of exquisite pieces from all of Mexico.

• Walk in the Park. Wander down leafy paths and across wooded meadows in the heart of Mexico City’s Chapultepec Park, one of the largest city parks in Latin America.

• Floating Farms. Visit organic producers who maintain pre-Hispanic farming techniques to tend their chinampas (floating farms) along the ancient waterways of Xochimilco.

• World Heritage. Explore half a dozen UNESCO World Heritage sites, including: Mexico City’s historic center & Xochimilco, the pre-Hispanic site of Teotihuacán, Luis Barragan House and the UNAM central campus, the ancient Zapotec city of Monte Albán and historic Oaxaca.

•  Master Class. Francisco Toledo is regarded as Mexico’s greatest living artist. In Oaxaca he is a beloved philanthropist. Meet this iconoclastic artist and humanitarian at a private reception.

•  Artisanal Elixir. Delve into the entire process of artisan mescal production, from removing the mature cores (pinas) of the maguey plant to the roasting stage, to aging in French oak barrels.

•  Art of Giving. Participate in the endowment of a Culture Xplorers’ sponsored young artist scholarship. This gift will create a life-changing legacy for Oaxaca’s next generation of artists.

•  Hiking the Sierra Norte. Trek in the biologically diverse Sierra Juarez range stopping into one of Mexico’s pueblos mágicos (magic towns) Capulálpam de Mendez, nestled at 6,700 feet.

•  ¡Holy Mole! Culinary Workshop. Visit the bustling open market accompanied by one of Oaxaca’s fine chefs to touch, smell & taste the region’s bountiful seasonal fruits & produce. After, roll-up your sleeves for a private, hands-on culinary workshop.

•  Mingle at Modesto’s. Enjoy a party held in our honor at the whimsical home of a mixed media artist near Oaxaca. The signature sounds of our special musical guests round out the evening.

Mexico City is not just one of the largest cities in the world, but also one of the oldest and highest major populations centers in North America. And did you know it’s the world’s only metropolis to contain three UNESCO World Heritage Sites within its city limits? Of course we’ll explore each of these in-depth in the coming days.

Our Mexico City trip leader awaits your arriving flight and brings you to our hotel situated in the centrally located Condesa neighborhood. Gather for a light welcome dinner with a champagne toast, plus an informal briefing on the days ahead. (Meals: D)

Lodging for 4 nights in Mexico City is at Condesa DF or a similarly charming boutique hotel. Tucked away on a tree-lined avenue just a stone’s throw from Chapultepec Park, the Condesa DF incorporates local materials into its playful design. For a preview visit: www.condesadf.com

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This morning explore one of the world’s great museums, the Museo Nacional de Antropología – the National Museum of Anthropology. Its unrivalled collection is extremely well designed with a room dedicated to each of Mexico’s regions or ancient cultures.

After a morning of walking through storied human history, we’ll be ready for a walk of an entirely natural sort through Chapultepec Park (also referred to as Chapultepec Forest). While everyone knows Mexico City is one of the world’s largest megacities, far fewer are aware that Chapultepec Forest is one of Latin America’s largest city parks. (Meals: B, L)

Wandering down leafy paths and across wooded meadows really works up an appetite, so we’ll break for lunch before arriving to our private appointment with the director of the Luis Barragán House. Barragán’s influence was vast in the modernist movement in Latin America. His consistent use of local materials such as wood and stone and a creative integration of light are hallmarks of the Pritzker Prize winning architect. In 2004, UNESCO designated his home & studio World Heritage.

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Get to know Mexico City’s UNESCO designated, revitalized historic center with a loosely based mural-themed walk. In addition to works by Diego Rivera and his illustrious contemporaries José Clemente Orozco and David Alfaro Siqueiros, our custom-designed walk exposes you to many of the city’s superlative historic sites, such as: the National Palace, the Zócalo, the Templo Mayor, the Catedral Metropolitana and the Palacio de Bellas Artes. (Meals: B, L)

After lunch, the director of the country’s premier private collection of Mexican folk art awaits our visit. The Ruth Lechuga house museum encompassing thousands of exquisite pieces from all of Mexico collected over nearly 50 years by the Viennese immigrant and nationalized Mexican citizen, who was later recognized as a pioneer in the rescue and valorization of Mexican folk art.

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We venture to the south side of this vast metropolis to walk the leafy central campus of the UNAM (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México) where the buildings, sports facilities and open spaces were built by more than 60 architects, engineers and artists. As UNESCO says in their inscription of the campus to World Heritage status in 2007: “the ensemble embodies social and cultural values of universal significance and is one of the most significant icons of modernity in Latin America”.

Later, we take to the canals of Xochimilco to visit the ecological reserve and floating farms (chinampas). We’re introduced to a group of organic farmers fighting to rescue an endangered UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the last green lungs of Mexico City. Our guest host explains how they are slowly succeeding by bridging pre-Hispanic farming techniques with internet-based distribution as well as supplying some of the city’s farm-to-table focused restaurants.

(Meals: B, L)

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This morning we drive about an hour north to Teotihuacán, a UNESCO World Heritage site that in its time was one of the most powerful and influential cultural centers in Mesoamerica. Teotihuacán is monumental in scale, reflecting the importance of the city in its heyday from around 450 – 650 AD. At that time, it is estimated to have been the sixth largest city in the world.

After lunch near the site transfer to the Mexico City airport for a late afternoon flight to Oaxaca, where our Oaxaca team leader awaits our arrival. Gather for a welcome dinner on the garden terrace of a hidden gem of a restaurant specializing in flavorful home cooking from Oaxaca’s Isthmus. (Meals: B, L, D)

Lodging for 6 nights is at Hotel Azul, a stylish boutique intimately connected to the art, culture and food of Oaxaca with a Francisco Toledo designed mural fountain as its grounding centerpiece. For a preview visit:  http://hotelazuloaxaca.com

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Historic Oaxaca City, nestled in a highland valley at 5,110 feet, is endowed with a spring-like climate year-round, which makes this UNESCO World Heritage Site a walker’s delight.

Over the course of our morning exploration its multifaceted charms are steadily revealed: noble Spanish colonial architecture, a handful of excellent small museums and high quality galleries, quaint pedestrian streets, hidden corner parks and its shady – and lively – central square, the Zócalo.

In this city of painters, it is our rare privilege to be hosted this afternoon by none other than Francisco Toledo, widely regarded as Mexico’s greatest living artist. In Oaxaca he is also a beloved philanthropist, having donated three of the city’s most important cultural institutions. Meet this iconoclastic artist and humanitarian at a private reception. (Meals: B, L)

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Experience the archaeological riches and Zapotec roots of Oaxaca – not to mention spectacular views across the Oaxaca Valley – with a visit to Monte Albán. For over 1,000 years, this capital of the Zapotecs was the dominant force between Teotihuacán to the North and the Maya kingdoms to the Southeast. Note: bring a wide brimmed hat and sunscreen as these mountaintop ruins have strong sun and very little shade!

We turn from monumental evidence of ancient Zapotec culture to artistic expressions of modern-day Zapotec traditions in Teotitlán del Valle. Using ancient symbolism and natural dyes to create beautiful, museum quality textiles, Teotitlán’s master weavers have become shining examples of one model of economic sustainability for endangered living traditions.

Demetrio and his wife welcome us to their home for a delicious lunch of traditional Zapotec recipes using fresh, regional ingredients. Afterwards, Demetrio teaches us about natural dyes and offers a short weaving demonstration.

This afternoon, we are welcomed to the small-scale distillery of Los Danzantes in Santiago Matatlán, known as the world capital of Mescal. Our friends there are on a mission to revalue and elevate artisanal mescal into the ranks of the world’s finest specialty spirits. Our visit takes us through the production process of handcrafted mescal, from removing the mature cores (piñas) of the maguey plant, to roasting, to aging in French oak barrels. (Meals: B, L)

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The valley of Oaxaca is renowned for its thriving weekly indigenous markets. Amongst the most colorful is the Thursday tianguis in the town of Zaachila, about 10 miles south of Oaxaca City, when thousands of Zapotec-speakers stream into town to trade and socialize. Local market specialties include the scarlet red pitacaya fruit and the aromatic, foamy corn-based tecate beverage.

We continue south to the village of San Martin Tilcajete where our friends Jacobo & Maria Angeles await our visit in their home workshop. Here, Jacobo and his extended family produce spectacular alebrijes — fanciful morphological wooden sculptures. Masterful carving, ancient Zapotec symbolism and natural dyes are all hallmarks of the Angeles family’s work. After Jacobo demonstrates the alchemy of turning supple copal wood into museum quality works of art, we enjoy a light picnic lunch in their sunny courtyard. (Meals: B, L)

Enjoy a free afternoon in Oaxaca.

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While the central Oaxaca Valley offers endless interest to the culturally curious visitor, it would be tragic to miss out on the natural splendors in the bio-diverse Sierra Norte just over an hour away. Today we take an invigorating hike amongst pine and spruce covered mountain paths accompanied by a local community guide who points out endemic flora and fauna en route. Break for lunch in the colonial era mountain village of Calpulálpam de Méndez, recently named one of Mexico’s Pueblos Mágicos (Magic Towns).

Alternative (Non-hiking) Adventure: the town of Calpulálpam de Méndez offers a regenerative and relaxing alternative for those who prefer not to hike. Here, a community-owned center for traditional indigenous medicine offers treatments from a toxin reducing pre-Hispanic sweat lodge (temascal) to massage to a spiritual cleansing (limpieza).

Tonight back in Oaxaca, participate in the endowment of a Culture Xplorers’ sponsored young artist scholarship, a gift that will create a life-changing legacy for Oaxaca’s next generation of artists. As part of these celebrations, we inaugurate the Art of Giving exhibit, created in conjunction with – and in support of – these scholarship efforts. (Meals: B, L, D)

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Visit the bustling open market accompanied by one of Oaxaca’s fine chefs to touch, smell & taste the region’s bountiful seasonal fruits & produce. After, roll-up your sleeves for a private, hands-on culinary workshop.

Enjoy a free afternoon in Oaxaca.

This evening drive to the town of Zimatlán and the home of our friend Modesto, a well-loved mixed-media artist. Modesto had turned his home into a whimsical living museum, with almost every wall, nook & cranny reflecting his own artistic vision and playful attitude.

We are the guests of honor at tonight’s gathering of local artists, here to celebrate our deep-rooted friendship and longstanding commitment to Oaxaca’s creative future. Special musical guests join us to round out our farewell fiesta. (Meals: B, L, D)

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Transfer to the Oaxaca airport at any time today for your homeward-bound flights. (Meals: B)

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The Culture Xplorers Foundation

At Culture Xplorers, we insist on being not only responsible travelers, but on making a positive impact on the communities with which we come into contact. We work hand-in-hand with local leaders in every destination we visit to spend time as well as money in their communities, to ask questions and to support the living traditions that make these destinations unique.

As a catalyst to these deep-rooted community partnerships, the non-profit Culture Xplorers Foundation was created in 2008 with the goal of fostering the sustainability of local culture in indigenous communities worldwide. Our positive impact partnerships focus on sustaining endangered traditions, strengthening education, fostering community-based travel and breaking the cycle of poverty through the support of comprehensive micro-loan and education programs.

For details on each of our long-term positive impact partnerships, please visit

www.culturexplorers.com/positive-impact/cx-foundation