Wednesday, March 6, 2024 Sales Department
Santa María del Tule is a small town in the state of Oaxaca, located just 20 minutes from Oaxaca de Juarez. This town owes its name “Santa María” to the patron saint of the place, the Virgin Mary; while Tule is a word that comes from a Nahuatl word and means: “Brush”, which is a plant.
The community has several tourist attractions, the best known being the “Tule Tree”, which is 40 meters high, 52.5 meters in diameter, weighs 500 tons and is believed to be around 2000 years old. In 2005 it was even awarded a Guinness Record. In the wrinkled bark of its trunk there are shapes that are worth discovering with the help of local guides, who tell myths and legends about the old ahuehuete and the creatures that hide in it, such as: a deer head, a lion’s head, a crocodile, an elephant, fish, turtles, anteaters, among others.
The legend of the Tule tree revolves around King Kong Oy, who was born from an egg and was a very strong child who, when he grew up, became the protector of the Mixe people. One day, he passed through Tule and decided to rest there, he stuck his staff into the ground and the enormous tree emerged from it. Therefore, they say that as long as Tule is alive, the King will continue to protect his beloved people.
The inhabitants of the town consider the tree as a symbol of protection, affection and belonging. In addition to being a trace of their Mixe origin and past, it is also a call to the future that reminds us how important it is to keep the Tule Tree alive, given that, just as Kong Oy protected the Mixe, we must take care of this vital legacy. which is the earth.
It is said that there is a very powerful link and that little can be explained between this majestic living being and those people whose sensitivity is greater than that of the rest, since admiring such a long-lived living being, in the face of our -relatively- new existence in an earthly plane and our fleeting temporality makes the heart tremble.
As for gastronomy, there is the Santa María del Tule Gastronomic Market, where traditional dishes from Oaxacan cuisine are offered such as: yellow empanadas, pumpkin flower, goat and lamb barbecue, pork carnitas, molotes and tacos. Also, it is typical to taste Oaxacan mezcal accompanied by snacks such as golden grasshoppers, maguey worm, tortilla chips and cheese.
The community of El Tule is a beautiful place to live immersed in customs and traditions, since it is a place where time seems to have stopped, where the inhabitants know each other from generation to generation and live in complete harmony. .
