Our Team
~ How We Came Together ~
There are special places—and exceptional people—you can journey across languages and time zones to, and within moments of landing (no matter the length of time that's passed), feel immediately that you're home. The thread of your conversation picks right up, and your shared joy in being together knows no pause. This is how I found (and was found!) by the women of Casa Frida, six years ago. Once simply my hosts, now mi familia Oaxaqueña—dear friends and cherished collaborators.
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When it comes to Oaxaca, every bit of "hype" they say is true. The light. The warmth and kindness of her people. The kaleidoscope of colors in her mercados. The sheer delight found in her food. (Oh my, the food!) The region's gastronomic delights are a cross-generational labor of love, made largely by the hands of women, rendered from deep ancestral memory and tradition.
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As a place: Oaxaca stimulates all the senses. You will first experience her magic in her photo-worthy skies—a special kind of Oaxacan lacework woven from sunshine and cotton-ball-clouds. You taste it in the culinary alchemy her cooks achieve with earthy chiles and indigenous, local corn (criollo maíz). Expressions of terroir which dance across your tongue, carried by mole and mezcal. And you keep hearing it at puestos de comida and dinner tables alike—in the chorus of utterances of pleasure (mmmm... delicioso! ¡Buen provecho!), accompanied by gracious benedictions in return (Gracias, igualmente!). Every trip, every bite, is a new adventure and yet, a familiar reconnection with a part of yourself that doesn't come to life so vibrantly, anywhere else.
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Together—Frida, Yolanda, and I, share the sincere desire to introduce you to
the Oaxaca that locals know, and guests like you and me are lucky to discover. The secret and
the special places, the familiar and (for most tourists) the hardest to uncover. We want you to create
the kind of unforgettable memories that will transform the Oaxaca of your imagination—
into a place deeply understood, enjoyed, and longed to return to.
We hope you'll join us!
Proudly women-owned and operated.
Frida Lyle García
Frida founded her eponymous B&B (Casa Frida) in 2016. Her goal: Serving visitors in the most authentic way, in an ambiance where they feel welcome, well cared for, and happy. She holds a degree in business management and has worked for the city on programs that bring Oaxacan culture to its global sister cities. She, her mother Yolanda—and the women who work for them—are native Oaxaqueñas, joyful and hard-working women of all ages and experience. Their team includes Teresita, housekeeper, and Mary, a traditional cook of authentic Oaxacan cuisine. Together they're deeply knowledgeable, respectful, and also—fun!
Yolanda García Cabrello
Yolanda is in charge of Spanish as a Second Language classes at Casa Frida and supervises the staff. She founded The Oaxacan Times in 1989, to connect English-speaking visitors to Oaxaca to authentic stories of the region's ancestral culture. She founded the Institute of Communication and Culture AC in 1987, responding to a need for Spanish schools in the city. A certified SSL instructor, Yolanda trained at the National University of México and the University of Oaxaca; and has additional degrees in business and art. Her passion for the artists of Oaxaca shines through in the collection of artworks she has on view throughout Casa Frida.
Lisa K. Wirth
From the time she was a child, Lisa would turn to cookbooks to travel the world. The stories she found—of exotic ingredients and cuisines, and- global foodways shaped by politics, migration, and colonization—sparked a deep interest in world cultures, and a passport of travel by mouth and plate. A skilled storyteller, writer, photographer, and designer—Lisa holds bachelor's and master's degrees from Northwestern University. Her designs have appeared in publications like Bon Appétit, which called her work: The New Dream Kitchen. She currently advises creative founders, while raising her Oaxaqueño rescue dog Vaquero in Brooklyn, NYC.
Photo Credits: Frida & Yolanda (France Leclerc); Lisa (Luis Gerardo Pech Ku)
