TREES
The town proudly takes its name from the famous evergreen
and boasts seven extremely large and ancient Montezuma Cypress trees.
The largest dwarfs the town's church and is more than
2,000 years old. This tree has a circumference of 54 meters (164
feet) -- the largest girth of any tree on the planet. Imagine ...
this tree was a sapling at the time when the Zapotec civilization
at Monte
Albán was flourishing!
INTERPRETATION
Local children point out unusual figures one can see in the tree.
With pocket mirrors reflecting the sun, the guides will point out
figures such as the squirrel's tail and Carlos
Salinas' ears.
A recent addition to the children's English-language
lexicon is pointing out the 'butt' of Monica Lewinski, though if
asked who she is, the typical response is 'an artist.' Other notable
figures are used for tours given in German and Mexican Spanish.
NATURAL WORLD
The cypress (Taxodium mucronatum) known in Spanish
as a sabino, in Nahuatl ahuehuete and in Zapotec Yagaguichiciña,
is Mexico's national tree. According to legend, Hernan Cortes cried
beneath the boughs of a cypress after the Aztecs defeated the Spanish
on La Noche Triste (The Sad Night).
The area surrounding the mammoth trees was formerly a marsh filled
with cattails
or bulrushes, known in Spanish as tules. Environmental degradation
as well as increased urbanization and irrigated farming have diverted
water from the aquifers that nourish the trees. During the dry season,
the water table decreases more than six meters (20 feet).
According to the local environmental group Mi Amigo el Arbol headed
by environmentalist Jorge Velasco, if only two of the underground
aquifers were restored, there would be sufficient recharge of groundwater
supplies to ensure the survival of these trees.
"The most effective solution to ensure survival is to have
enough water throughout the year as needed to replenish the aquifers
and to be vigilant on water use so that it is appropriate for local
needs and avoid wastefulness."
This initiative bears watching to see if development runs the course
of Joni Mitchell's classic 'Big
Yellow Taxi' or charts a new direction by making the tree the
centerpiece for bioregional planning.
UPROOTED
In 2005 city authorities removed the youngest tree, one that had
been planted by the King of Spain in the 1990s.
In Oaxaca's new-found 'tree consciousness' some environmentalists
were angered that the tree was uprooted, though others were pleased
that the oldest trees would not have to compete with a young upstart
for limited water resources. |
Oaxaca Trees
