Place to see: El Pochote Cineclub, Oaxaca de Juárez, Mexico

About this place:

Situated beside the old stone aqueduct that once carried water to the city, El Pochote is one of a handful of public projects of Oaxacan artist Francisco Toledo. As such, it bears all the standard marks of the minimalist aesthetic favored by the reputedly fastidious painter. A single jacaranda tree towers over the stone and red-dirt courtyard—which fills with venders and mostly out-of-towners on Fridays and Sundays for an organic market. A pond level with the courtyard is adorned with just a few shoots of bamboo and a handful of fish. In all, the open air takes up more space than the theater itself, set on the far end of the lot. The eclectic film selection includes titles like “The Saint vs. the Vampire Women” and “Disintegration Loop 1.1”, and is presented in monthly cycles with themes like Surrealism or Post-Human. Offerings start at 6 and 8 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, but you can’t always bet on the second showing: if not enough people show up, the veteran caretaker may shut the doors early. Ultimately, where else can you watch a movie from Czechslovakia, subtitled in Spanish, then talk about it in English with your new friends from Germany?