Visitors to the historic city of Oaxaca can experience amazing colors and sounds, and wonderful smells.
It’s a place that’s famous for its beauty and traditions.
Although it’s one of the poorest states in Mexico, Oaxaca is rich in culture.
And what makes Oaxaca really special is its food.
"It's one of the best foods. It's very complex."
Susana Trilling loved the chilies in Oaxacan food. So she moved to Oaxaca to start her own cooking school.
Susana’s students heard about Oaxacan food in their own countries and joined her to learn how to produce and serve real Oaxacan dishes.
Oaxacan food developed a long time before people came from Europe to America.
For Trilling, it’s this long tradition that helps keep the food alive.
She says that Oaxacan food—with its many different ingredients—can be as complex as Thai food, or French food.
An important step in cooking Oaxacan food is making a sauce called mole.
Made from chili peppers, chocolate, and other ingredients, mole is standard in various Oaxacan dishes.
But Oaxacan culture is more than just food.
The state is also famous for its dances.
This dance is centuries old. It’s called the Guelagetza.
It tells about the culture, history, and music of the Oaxacan people.
Many of the buildings in the city are Mexican national treasures.
This building, with its archways, gardens, and fountains, is 500 years old.
In the past, it was a government building.
Today, it’s a top-price hotel.
Oaxacan people say that a healthy person is someone who is happy, at peace, and who loves to work and eat.
After experiencing just a short stay in Oaxaca, you can see that the tradition is still very much alive.