travel / Latin America / Mexico / Oaxaca
OAXACA : pronuounced (wuh-haa-kah)
Oaxaca is a state located in the southern region of Mexico. It is known for its rich indigenous culture, diverse geography, and culinary heritage.
Oaxaca’s significant population of indigenous peoples, including the Zapotec and Mixtec, have a long history in the region. Throughout Oaxaca city, you’ll find oodles of traditional arts and crafts, including pottery, textiles, weaving, and wood carving. Also not to be missed is its unique cuisine, which features local ingredients such as mole, tlayudas and mezcal.
La Guelaguetza festival
There is no better way to experience the richness of this city than through one of its dazzling festivals. La Guelaguetza is one of the largest folk festivals in the Americas, a vibrant, colorful, and soul-stirring festival, where dancers in traditional costumes celebrate their cultural heritage through mesmerising performances of music, dance, and song.
It typically takes place on Lunes del Cerro, or “Mondays on the Hill”, the last two Mondays of July. A joyous celebration of artistry, community, and the enduring power of culture.
The word “Guelaguetza” comes from the Zapotec language, meaning “offering” or “mutual exchange of gifts and services.” The festival is rooted in Zapotec and Mixtec indigenous traditions and has been celebrated for centuries as a way to promote peace, harmony, and cooperation among different communities and ethnic groups in the region.
Each participating community sends a delegation of dancers, musicians, and representatives who perform their unique dances and music, wearing traditional attire that reflects their cultural heritage. It is absolutely mind-blowing the amount of cultural diversity just one state of Mexico has to offer, and maybe even more impressively, how well it has been preserved and how exuberantly it’s celebrated.
I heard about the festival through people at my hostel in Mexico City, in fact my original plan was to leave Oaxaca before the festival started (as I had no idea there was a festival). This is one of the perks of hostel travel, you hear about all the cool stuff happening at your next destination!
1. Art heaven
Atemporal – Designer Artisanal Markets
Located in a limestone courtyard laden with festoon lighting and a DJ, these markets are more of a community of handcrafted young designers from all over Mexico. I was surprised to discover was that the designers themselves were manning the stalls, that many of them designed and handcrafted the pieces themselves start to finish.
Best thrift shop in Oaxaca! Cute stuff at fair prices. Luckily I was limited by my backpack or I would’ve left with half the store.
Great for textiles and handicrafts, it’s common to see the artisan’s crafting before your eyes.
2. Eats – Oaxacan cheese, yes please
There is no one better to take you on a food journey through Oaxaca than Omar Alonso. I absolutely love street food tours but this one is a mix of high end and street food, a fresh take, I really enjoyed it. Just remember to pace yourself 😉
Mole
What is it? A traditional mole typically includes a combination of chiles, sesame seeds, tomatillos, spices, dried fruits, nuts, and chocolate. It’s made into a paste, there are varying thicknesses, ingredients and flavours and you can eat it with anything. There was a whole night dedicated to trying the seven moles of Oaxaca with my new friends. My fav – Amarillo.
Street food
Tlayudas baby, the standout combination for me was Oaxacan cheese (think mozzarella with a less creamy taste) and pumpkin flowers (flores de calabaza)… subtle creamy deliciousness. A must try!! There are so many street food stalls scattered from the Zocalo to the markets. I think I had a crepe everyday and it was consistently the best crepe that has ever graced my tastebuds.
3. Things to do
Hierve el Agua
A day trip to the petrified waterfall through the mountainside.
You can go for a hike, see the glorious views of the valley, then go for a dip in the stunning natural pools. It gets very, very crowded so aim to arrive early, ideally before 8am.
Getting there on your own without a tour:
-From the Estadio Eduardo Vasconcelos baseball stadium (there is a McDonald’s on your right) you can take a bus (20MXN) or shared taxi (30-40MXN) to Mitla
– From Mitla you will take a very bumpy colectivo that says ‘Hierve el Agua’, it’s a truck with open seating at the back, you have to wait until it’s full, needing around 10 people, you can offer to pay more if you don’t want to wait (~10MXN each). This truck will take you up the winding mountain through the valleys to the entry.
– 50MXN entry fee.
– Returning the same way, with the colectivo to Mitla -> bus/shared taxi back to Oaxaca.
Sound Healing with Roberta Mendez Gopar
For those that are spiritually inclined, this sound healing took me to another bloody dimension. There were lots of instruments I’d never seen, this is not your typical handful of crystal bowls.. he had an Australian Didgeridoo, a Mayan version, a pan flute he made from a tree from his village. I don’t claimed to be healed but it transported me to magical realms and I was sooo relaxed after.
Phone: 9511905238
Address: Murguia 102, Centro, Oaxaca.
4. La Guelaguetza
Tickets to the performance
I wasn’t able to score any tickets to the actual show, the performances are held at a stadium but I honestly didn’t feel like I missed out. You can catch them all around the main plaza on big screens or TVs at any cafe or restaurant.
I found out through some girls in my dorm that you can actually just try your luck and rock up and if there are spare seats out the back, they will take you to them for free!
Street party
On the Friday, the city closes off the main streets for a festive parade that is sure to galvanise your senses. All the communities and their delegates bring their traditional dances, live music, costumes and huge paper-mache folk art sculptures. The parade in a league of its own with the insane amount of intricate details but when you combine it with the crowd… you have a party of epic proportions.
The crowd is super fun and rowdy, the people in the parade are pouring mezcal into the mouths of the spectators while grandmas chant “Sexo y mezcal!!” (Sex and mezcal). W I L D.
To a gal from Australia, the only comparable atmosphere would be found at a big sports match. Now as a lover of art, music and culture, and not a huge fan of sports, this was a dream come true for me. I’ve never seen people come together in masses on the streets from all over the country, to passionately celebrate the things I love. A two week long street party… staahhhppp it Oaxaca.
La Guelaguetza is not only a celebration of Oaxacan culture and traditions but also an important event for promoting cultural diversity, tolerance, and understanding among different communities. It is a time for people to come together, share their customs, and celebrate the rich cultural heritage of Oaxaca.
