The Wall Murals Of Xochimilco

GE McKerrihan
4 min readJun 28, 2022

A Walking Tour of Xochimilco, The Oldest Neighborhood in Oaxaca City

Address plaque on the side of a brightly painted wall, reading Rufino Tamayo 802.
“Rufino Tamayo 802” — Photo by Author

This morning I walked along Calle de Manual Garcia Vigil, in Oaxaca Centro, heading North. This well traveled street then becomes the quaint cobblestone path, Calle de Rufino Tamayo.

When I saw the name, I knew I was headed in the right direction, in more ways than one. I was on my way to visit Barrio de Xochimilco for the first time, the original neighborhood that grew to become Oaxaca City.

Black and white wall mural of two bug-like figures.
“Cactus People” — Photo by Author

This delightful monochromatic mural was on a wall, just before crossing a busy four lane thoroughfare, that is the southern boundary of Xochimilco.

The ‘Xo’ in Spanish is pronounced as ‘So’ and there are a lot of words that begin with Xo in the language. I like that XO is the shorthand for hug & kiss. I also like that so many Spanish words begin, with a hug and a kiss.

Looking in my Merriam-Webster pocket dictionary, there are only nine words in English that begin with this letter. The two most exotic words are, Xanadu and Xylophone. Still no hugs or kisses. Blame it on the Victorian British.

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GE McKerrihan

I’ve been using the camera for nearly 50 years. I write about Photography, Art, Travel, and Life. Top Writer in Photography, Art, Creativity, and Inspiration.