La Guelaguetza, Alebrijes and other Oaxacan Traditions

It’s been awhile since I last visited Oaxaca and it was great to finally be back in the city; this time as a México Today ambassador. I arrived Friday afternoon and after wandering the halls of the historic Camino Real Hotel, formerly the Dominican Convent of Santa Catalina, a mezcal tasting and a buffet dinner featuring traditional Oaxacan specialties, I sipped café de olla in La Capilla, the convent’s former chapel, and waited for the evening’s performance of La Guelaguetza to begin. Café de olla, if you’re unfamiliar, is coffee flavored with cinnamon and piloncillo, and occasionally cloves or even chocolate. It gets its name from the large clay cooking pot called an olla that it’s prepared in, and it can be found throughout Mexico, at small markets in remote villages as well as at neighborhood fondas and some of the finest restaurants in the capital.

It was during my first visit to Oaxaca nearly three years ago that I first tasted café de olla. We were at the Sunday tianguis in Tlacolula, a primarily Zapotec town located in the central valleys, just 31km south of the city. The state of Oaxaca is home to several indigenous groups that account for approximately a third of its population, including nearly a half million Zapotecs that live in and around Oaxaca’s central valleys. At the tianguis that day, we sipped café de olla to keep warm and watched as people negotiated over the price of live poultry, dangling the birds upside down to estimate their weight, while women in traditional dress offered us chapulines, or spicy dried grasshoppers, from baskets that they carefully balanced on their heads.

Seated in the hotel’s chapel the setting was quite different. Colorful papel picado decorated the ceiling and archways overhead, tables were dressed with white tablecloths and waiters in suits attended to our every need. The arrival of the village brass band marked the start of the evening’s performance. Music played as the band made its way through the chapel; after a brief introduction in Spanish and English, groups of dancers took to the stage in a burst of color, the women dressed in embroidered blouses and flowered skirts and the men wearing traditional white and red.

Cameras flashed as the men and women performed traditional folkloric dances representative of the seven regions of Oaxaca culminating with the women’s colorful Flor de Piña (Flower of the Pineapple) and the men’s warrior-like Danza de la Pluma (Feather Dance), both crowd favorites. The tradition of La Guelaguetza can be traced back to pre-Hispanic times when the indigenous communities of Oaxaca would gather together to honor the corn goddess, Centeotl. After the arrival of the Spanish the celebration was adapted to Catholic traditions, yet for the indigenous peoples of Oaxaca it retains much of its original cultural importance.

By the end of the evening, I had learned that that each costume and dance of La Guelaguetza has its own local historical and cultural meaning and that the word Guelaguetza means “offering” in Zapotec, but its significance within the indigenous communities is far greater. More than just a dance, La Guelaguetza represents the organizing principle of life in the villages, signifies cooperation and giving within the community, and helps to reinforce social ties among neighbors.

We experienced firsthand the true meaning of La Guelaguetza the following day when the entire village of San Martin Tilcajete showed up to welcome us to the alebrije workshop of renowned local artisan Jacobo Ángeles. Situated 23km outside the city of Oaxaca, San Martin Tilcajete is one of three Zapotec villages in the central valleys of Oaxaca where the residents earn their livings almost entirely from the production of alebrijes.

Driving along the narrow roads leading into town we passed shop after colorful shop. A popular Mexican folk art, alebrijes are intricately decorated wood animal carvings shaped from the branches of the copal tree. In Jacobo’s workshop, the alebrijes are carved using simple hand tools and hand painted using paints made from natural ingredients such as pomegranate, huitlacoche (corn fungus) and cochineal (a type of insect). Using his hand as a palette, Jacobo demonstrated how the colors are formed by combining the ingredients with a base made from the powdered bark of the copal tree.

An alebrije master, Jacobo’s work has been shown in exhibitions throughout Mexico as well as in the United States, Germany and Japan. The superior quality of the alebrijes produced at the Ángeles workshop is what has led to his success and international recognition. At his home that afternoon he explained the importance of honoring the traditions of his ancestors through his commitment to quality and sustainability – the carvers set aside time each year to replant the copal tree as part of a local reforestation effort. He also talked about the challenges of having to compete with cheaper mass produced alebrijes imported from as far away as China.

Alebrijes can be found at tourist shops and markets throughout Mexico, and as I listened to Jacobo talk about the ancient art of carving and working with natural paints I couldn’t help but wonder about the influx of cheap imitations. I wanted to be sure that the next time I purchased an alebrije it would be an original and that my pesos would be helping to support local artisans. Later that afternoon I asked Jacobo what to look for when shopping for alebrijes. He smiled and led me past the painters, mostly women, and into the adjoining shop where he began turning over the colorful animal carvings. On the bottom of each were hand-painted signatures along with the name of the town. He explained that each original hand-painted alebrije is signed by the artist. Without the signature, there’s no guarantee.

Back in the city and with a new appreciation for the handicrafts lining the shelves at the local shops, I thought about how the coming together of the community to welcome us to their village, inviting us into their homes and their willingness to share their culture and traditions was somehow deeply rooted in the organizing principle of La Guelaguetza.

The México Today kick-off event showcased the very best of what Oaxaca has to offer as a travel and tourism destination and provided us the opportunity to immerse ourselves in the unique culture and traditions of the region.

México Today, in association with Marca País – Imagen de México, is a joint public and private sector initiative designed to help promote Mexico as a global business partner and an unrivaled tourist destination. This program is designed to shine a light on the Mexico that its people experience every day.

Disclosure: I am being compensated for my participation in the México Today program and I was invited on an all expenses paid trip to Oaxaca as part of my role.

Tagged as: culture, Oaxaca, traditions