Pictures from the city Oaxaca, Mexico (pronounced "wa-ha-ca"). See the lively zocalo, or central town square and the adjoining 18th century cathedral. Constant music, food vendors, colorful balloons, fountains and plants give this park the feel of a carnival. Four blocks north is the impressive 17th century Iglesia de Santo Domingo; which is connected to the former Dominican monastery/convent which now houses the fine Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca (Oaxaca Cultural Museum).

See "Cosmogonia de las Culturas Indigenas de Oaxaca" murals in the stairways of the Palacio de Gobierno, painted by famous Mexican artist Arturo Garcia Bustos. Most people walk into the government building and see the large mural straight ahead. It depicts the history of Oaxacan people from the days of pyramids and indigenous customs to the Spanish colonial conquest to Mexican independence. Most people miss the smaller, but no less impressive mural in the stairway to the left which depicts earlier history with pyramids and high priests.

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