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Oaxaca City Events and Festivals |
| Home >> Mexico Destinations >> Oaxaca City >> Oaxaca City Events and Festivals |
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| May |
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Vela Ismeña - (Isthmus Gathering), Starts around May 10. A week when people from the isthmus of Tehuantepec residing in the city of Oaxaca come together for a series of public and cultural events, ending with a Mass in Santo Domingo church. Dances, parties, processions of Tehuantepec ladies and girls in gala costumes take place in the City of Oaxaca. |
| July |
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Guelaguetza or Lunes del Cerro - Traditionally takes place the weeks of the two Mondays following July 16, after the deathday of Benito Juarez. This event started in 1932, when Oaxaca celebrated its 400th Anniversary. Guelaguetza is held in a large hillside amphitheater overlooking the city. Dancers representing the many native cultures of Oaxaca perform in colorful costumes. The original event, of pre-Hispanic origin, enacted reciprocal gift-giving and ceremonies in honor of the Corn Goddess. Guelaguetza is a popular, heavily-attended event. |
| October |
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Food of the Gods Festival - Second week of October. The Foods of the Gods Festival sometimes will take place the first week in October. This festival celebrates the traditional cuisines of Oaxaca. Try chapulines or dried crickets or the famous mole sauce; sauce made from various spices and chocolate. This festival offers food, dancing live music and firerworks. |
| November |
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Día de los Muertos - (Day of the Dead) November 1 & 2. Nov. 1 is All Saints’ Day, Nov. 2 is All Soul’s Day. Altars are built in homes, markets and shops to honor and receive dead souls which return to earth once a year. The day of the dead is considered a festive celebration rather than mournful event celebrating departed loved ones. Cemeteries are cleaned and decorated with “cempoatzuchitl” (marigold flowers) and “borla” (cockscomb), candles, and food, and families keep an all-night vigil in the cemetery...More >> |
| December |
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Las Posadas - season begins December 16. The calenda of la Virgin de Soledád (Oaxaca's patron saint) takes place around the zócalo. This calenda is filled with cultural and religious expressions of the indigenous people from the seven regions of Oaxaca. There is a solemn procession and then the famous and colorful Danza de la Pluma is performed outside the Basilica de la Soledad. December 16 also marks beginning of the nine days of posadas. |
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Noche de Rabano - (Night of the Radishes). December 23. Takes place in the main zócalo. The celebration dates from colonial times and features figures crafted from parts of the radish plant. This is not a typical radish, these radishes can get over 10 inches. Prizes are given to the most craetive designs. |
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Noche del Pedimento - (Night of the Petition) December 31. This celebration takes plan on a hill near Mitla at a tiny chapel where a cave represents the entrance to the other world, symbolized by the mouth of the jaguar god. People come with small models to petition favors from the god(s): cattle, houses, farms, automobiles, wives, good health, and even cash. |
 See Also: Holidays in Mexico |
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