Basilica de la Soledad and Ballet Folklorico

Poor Isa was sick yesterday so we got a slow start to our morning. I know it sounds like all we are doing is sight-seeing and eating wonderful food, but we do have some errands that need taking care of from time to time, and yesterday, among other things, was errand day. We dropped our laundry off at a laundry mat where they wash, dry and fold your clothes for you. The clothes are ready by evening and a good-sized bag cost a bit less than $10 to have cleaned. I would do our own laundry, but we have no washing machine, and I am not interested in spending my vacation hand-washing our clothes!

Selso also stopped by the grocery store to pick up supplies. Soriana, the store not far from our house, is kind of like a Fred Meyer – it is huge and sells all kinds of things.

Yesterday after dropping off our laundry, we spent too much time looking for parking and then lunch. But we finally found a little restaurant which served delicious sandwiches and espresso too! It was right across the street from the spectacular Basilica de la Soledad. We have visited a lot of churches, as faithful readers know, but here in Oaxaca there seems to be a church on every third block, and of course every little village has a church (or two) as well. And amazingly, every church we see seems more beautiful than the last. Maybe it’s just me – what I’m looking at at the moment is what I like the most.

This Basilica was built in the 17th century and is dedicated to la Virgen de la Soledad (Virgin of Solitude), the patron saint of Oaxaca. We’ve seen images of Soledad throughout Oaxaca, in other churches, of course, but also in stores and restaurants. She captured our attention with her beautiful black robes and splendid crown even before we visited her at the Basilica. The statue of her in the Basilica is just phenomenal – it contains 600 diamonds, a four pound gold crown and pearls in her vestments.

In addition to the statue, the wood confessional includes wonderful relief carvings of the Virgen.

The church also houses a gorgeous organ. We briefly toured a little museum behind the church, which is also an ex-convent, which contained a number of pieces, including more images of Soledad.

Isa was feeling quite ill again by this time, and unfortunately threw up on our drive home. We cleaned her up and put her to bed, where she had a much needed three-hour nap. I made dinner and then we headed out again to a performance of Oaxaca’s Ballet Folklorico. The show was held in the lovely Teatro Macedonia Alcala, a theatre in the Centro area.

We enjoyed the performance, but it really didn’t hold a candle to the Ballet Folklorico we saw in Mexico City our first week here. Thankfully, our tickets were much less expensive for this show – less than $20 for all of us.

We took a brief walk of the pedestrian walkway – at 9:30 pm on a Saturday night, the place was hopping. Then we headed home to bed. By the way, Isa is feeling all better this morning.