Oaxaca Soundscape
There is a daily rhythm of life here, punctuated by various unique sounds...
Early in the morning you'll hear birds chirping and pigeons cooing in the trees and bushes. It's a rather pleasant sound to wake up to. After that, the next major sound we hear is the sharp ring-a-ling-a-ling of a cowbell from the garbage collection trucks. Three days a week they drive slowly through the neighborhood, sounding the alarm that it's time to bring your trash and recycling outside. You have to hand it to them in person, so sometimes they will pass the same area 2-3 times a day. On our street, this happens between 7am-10am.
Around 10:30am, a woman walks by with a cart and a bullhorn offering "Tamales, tamales, tamales!" from her cart.
At mid-day, an assortment of vendors and trucks circulate through the streets. The two most common sounds we hear are from the gas truck and the used furniture and appliance truck. Both play a distinctive sort of jingle on repeat, so you know they are coming from a distance. The gas truck is most entertaining because it starts with the sounds of a cow "Moo!", followed by a song. Then there is a truck that drives around offering to buy your used furniture, household materials, and appliances. They call out a long list of all the items they collect in a lilting voice that almost sounds like a song. Recently, we went to Mexico City for a week and heard the exact same recording with the same woman's voice!
In the afternoon/evening a new vendor has started coming around recently selling sweet breads. The seller rides a converted bicycle with a basin to store their bread in and plays a famous song from a classic 1950's movie featuring a baker who sells bread from his bicycle. The tune is quite catchy, and I find myself humming the melody often! You can watch a clip from the movie below, and you can find an English translation of the lyrics here: THE BAKER (Lyrics in English) - Tin Tan
Finally, around 9pm in the evening the last vendor of the day rides down the street in a converted bicycle cart offering Raspados- a type of shaved ice treat with fruit flavored syrups, and optional chili powder. This vendor uses a bike horn (the type you might also see on a clown car) giving the effect of "Honka-honka, honka-honka!"
At any given time of day, we might also hear music wafting through the air from nearby cafes, or our neighbors' houses. They play anything from classic Mexican Ranchera songs to American pop. On occasion, the cafe across the street offers karaoke, so we might settle into bed being serenaded by a unique rendition of "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun."
On holidays, or perhaps just a random birthday, it's also common to hear the loud boom of fireworks throughout the city. As I've mentioned before, Oaxaquenos love to party, so any excuse to light off some pyrotechnics at any time of day, from 5am to 11pm is always a possibility.
On most days, the noises taper off after 10pm, until the birds start chirping again at dawn, and the progressive symphony of life in Oaxaca begins again.
Coming from a more rural and suburban upbringing, it took me a long time to get accustomed to the sounds of traffic driving by our street, along with all of the trucks and vendors. But now that I'm more used to it, it feels strange when there is complete silence. Of course I do enjoy the quieter Sundays, but on Monday it's back to the rhythm of life again.
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