ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, March 31, 1996 TAG: 9603290102
SECTION: TRAVEL PAGE: G-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SUZANNE MURPHY-LARRONDE
Some guide books make short shrift of it, preferring to concentrate on better-known areas like the Yucatan, Oaxaca, and Guerrero. Still, in spite of its relatively low profile, no other state serves up Mexican culture with quite the same panache as Veracruz
Its cultural and ethnic diversity (a blend of Indian, Spanish and African), its stunning array of landscapes, varied microclimates and superb regional cuisines have long made Veracruz a favorite vacation destination with Mexicans, but to date, this is still "terra incognita" to most North Americans.
The port city of Veracruz, Mexico's oldest Spanish settlement and site of its spirited Carnival, is perhaps the region's best-known destination, but the state offers many other discoveries for those who venture beyond its boundaries.
Xalapa, (hah-LAH-pah), for example, the political and cultural capital, boasts a renown symphony orchestra and an anthropology museum showcasing one of the world's great collections of Mesoamerican art. Among its pre-Hispanic treasures are the powerful "colossal heads," created by Olmec artisans some 3,000 years ago.
Peaceful Coatepec, a coffee and orchid-growing enclave in the mountains near Xalapa and the exquisitely-preserved Tlacotalpan, a World Heritage Site on the Papaloapan River, are among the loveliest colonial towns in the republic.
LENGTH: Short : 35 linesby CNB