Just a few more things I have to tell you about Mitla.  There are ruins there, of a Zapotec city which was built sometime between 950 and 1500.

The Spanish built a church right on top of the center of the city, as they did everywhere they conquered, but the ruins were subsequently dug up and reconstructed. You can see the beautiful patterns carved into the stone.

We came across a Guelaguetza parade. This one, like the one we saw in Teotilan de Valle (more about that village later) was much more religious and much less professional than the parade in Oaxaca. Some of the people were carrying religious icons, but most seemed to be carrying large letters of the alphabet made of flowers. The letters did not seem to spell out any possible words I could think of -- not Mitla, not Guelaguetza, not even Jesus.

The parade also included a slice of watermelon, and a truck where a woman representing the Virgin Mary, and 2 girls dressed as angels, were sitting. You can see them on the left in this photo, with the ominous-looking black cloths above them.

A couple of days letter we saw a religious procession, of which there are many in Mexico, which I don't think had anything to do with the Guelaguetza.