Oaxaca Historic Organ Tour

 

I completely forgot to tell you about the tour I took in Oaxaca last February.  It was fun to be participant instead of the organizer.  It was a tour of historic organs of Oaxaca (who knew?) and for me it was a chance to see something like 16 churches in 7 days.  That's my idea of a good time.

 Some of the places we went were barely even on the map and definitely not in any guide books. Oaxaca has seventy something historic organs scattered throughout the state. Of these only eight or nine have been restored to playable condition.   The IOHIO (the sponsors of the tour) has worked to document these remarkable treasures, help communities conserve their organs, restore some organs, organize concerts and educate young Oaxaqueno musicians to play.

  At times there were as many as 80 of us in four 20  person vans cruising the backroads of Oaxaca, climbing staircases and peering into side rooms. Musicians, art restorers, organ makers, Mexican students studying organ, snowbirds, and church geeks (that would be me) made up this multicultural bunch.

 We were greeted by locals everywhere we went, got up close and personal with organs, heard some great music, and ate some good food - one of those memorable meals will always be the sheep barbacoa we enjoyed in Tiltepec.

                  Click here if you'd like to see a total recap of the 2016 Historic Organ Festival and find out more about this most dedicated and amazing organization
And click here if you'd like to see a small album of photos from the tiniest church we went to.