Oaxaca has 4 principal tourism spikes - one of them occurs for the Guelaguetza. The word guelaguetza is zapotec meaning a kind of reciprocal gift giving. Over the years, the guelaguetza has evolved from a record kept of labors provided to neighbors, to an offering to the gods of corn, to in modern day, a festival of indigenous dances. Anthropologists and savvy governments had a lot to do with boosting this last incarnation and turning it into a cash bonanza.
In 2006, the Guelaguetza Popular was born. The teachers' union organized from among its teacher and student bases, an alternative dance festival, one which would not feed corrupt government coffers, but which would return the Guelaguetza to its gift-giving roots. These photos are of this gorgeous, moving event. It was particularly fascinating for me (Daniel) to attend, because one of my projects while in Oaxaca was to write an article on the emergence of this alternative festival. It's entitled "Rescuing the Guelaguetza from the jaws of the tourism trade" and will soon appear in a book of essays on alternative tourism.
The event was covered by an indigenous community radio station. The Mixe people are one of the largest ethnic groups in Oaxaca.
It's a quite politicized event. His hat says death to URO, the standing governor.
The day prior to the Guelaguetza, there was a calenda, a procession, winding through city neighborhoods. The photos below are of this wild dance, lasting many hours in the blazing sun, in which on-lookers are plied with mezcal - part of the gift giving.
Tourists, likely in town for the "official" Guelaguetza, enjoying the amply provided mezcal.
From the Mixteca region
From the Oaxacan coast
From Huatla, in the Mazateca, birth place of Maria Sabina and her mushroom medicine.
Rejecting the privatization of education
The ubiquitous anarchists always participate in protest gatherings
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