El Árbol del Tule: Oaxaca's Axis Mundi

In the small town of Santa María del Tule, in the heart of Oaxaca, Mexico, stands a Montezuma Cypress more than 2,000 years old. Its trunk is considered the widest of any tree on Earth. For over a millennium, the Tule Tree has drawn visitors: the Zapotec, Mixe, and Mixtec peoples who revered it, Spanish colonizers, and traders from across Mesoamerica. Today, travelers from around the world make it a tourist destination. In this episode, host Doug Still sits down in the tree's shade with the town's mayor, members of the Tule Tree Committee, and arborists from the Mexican Association of Arboriculture. A local historian shares the town's long story, and we hear the legend of King Kondoy, the hero whose planted staff became the tree. But this giant is about more than size. How is it the guiding light of the community? What is an axis mundi? And what do the people of Tule sacrifice to keep the famous tree alive? Guests Antonio Vásquez Vásquez Historian and Author, Santa María del Tule: Una revisión histórica Santa María del Tule, Mexico Tule Tree Committee, Santa Mariá del Tule Fabián Santiago Bautista, Mayor Roberto Peralta Vásquez, President Abel Ramírez, Chronicler of the Tree Hilda Méndez Ibáñez Jocelyn Soto Mengol Germán Miguel Martin Méndez Omar Jardin Vásquez Víctor Velasco López Arborist and President Asociación Mexicana de Arboricultura (AMA) Aurora Torres Arborist Asociación Mexicana de Arboricultura (AMA) Fernando Aldahir Ramírez Ángeles Oaxacan friend and Tour Guide [email protected] Oaxaca City, Mexico Reading "Leyenda del Rey Kondoy" or "The Legend of King Kondoy" Traditional (Mixe) Adaptation by Jessica Paolo Martínez José Instituto Nacional de los Pueblos Indígenas Voiceover Artists Marta Martínez, Rhode Island Latino Arts Alejandra Ruelas, Casa Azul Tacquería Ángel Vásquez Gómez Robb Barnard Ed Nardell References Santa María del Tule: Una revisión histórica, Antonio Vásquez Vásquez, 2025. Live Music Banda Indomable de Oaxaca Mariachi mi País Band of the 28th Military Zone Special thanks Candace Powning Diana Marchal  Theme Music "This Old Tree," Diccon Lee, www.deeleetree.com Artwork Dahn Hiuni, www.dahnhiuni.com/home Website thisoldtree.show Transcripts available. Follow on Facebook or Instagram This Old Tree podcast is a sponsored project of the New England Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture. To support This Old Tree and New England ISA, click here. We want to hear about the favorite tree in your life! To submit a ~4 or 5 minute  audio story for consideration for an upcoming episode of "Tree Story Shorts" on This Old Tree, record the story on your phone’s voice memo app and email to: [email protected] This episode was written in part at LitArts RI, a community organization and co-working space that supports Rhode Island's creators. litartsri.org