On the Night of the Radishes, Oaxaca holds a contest for the most outrageous carvings of giant radishes. The artist moistens their creation every few minutes with a spray bottle to prevent it from wilting. The ornate diaramas tend towards the religious, saints processing through neighborhoods. It is truly among the most remarkable displays of popular art we’ve ever seen.
Verbatim from Wikipedia: "The Night of the Radishes ((Spanish)Noche de Rábanos) is celebrated every year on December 23. Begun in 1897 in the "zócalo" (main plaza) of Oaxaca city. It lasts only a few hours but attracts thousands of people to this plaza.
The event consists of an exhibition of sculptures made from a type of large red radish which can weigh up to 3.00 kilograms (6.6 lb) in weight and 50 centimetres (20 in) in length.[1] These radishes are especially grown for this event, left in the ground for months after the normal harvests to let them attain their giant size and unusual shapes.[2]
The sculptures are made by professional craftsmen and aficionados, who are mostly radish growers. Themes include complete nativity scenes, party scenes with dozens of figures, Baile Folklorico, models of real buildings built with much detail, and saints. [1] The sculpted scenes include other materials such as dried flowers and corn husks but what makes a sculpture stand out is the created way of cutting a radish itself for effect, such as carefully peeling the red skin back and perforating it to create a lace skirt. A contest is held with the first-prize winner winning 10,000 pesos and getting their picture in the newspaper.[1]"
The event consists of an exhibition of sculptures made from a type of large red radish which can weigh up to 3.00 kilograms (6.6 lb) in weight and 50 centimetres (20 in) in length.[1] These radishes are especially grown for this event, left in the ground for months after the normal harvests to let them attain their giant size and unusual shapes.[2]
The sculptures are made by professional craftsmen and aficionados, who are mostly radish growers. Themes include complete nativity scenes, party scenes with dozens of figures, Baile Folklorico, models of real buildings built with much detail, and saints. [1] The sculpted scenes include other materials such as dried flowers and corn husks but what makes a sculpture stand out is the created way of cutting a radish itself for effect, such as carefully peeling the red skin back and perforating it to create a lace skirt. A contest is held with the first-prize winner winning 10,000 pesos and getting their picture in the newspaper.[1]"
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