Oaxaca Celebrates Indigenous Culture at Annual Guelaguetza Festival Agence France-Presse
go to original August 1, 2014

Guelaguetza festival keeps Mexican folklore alive (AFP)

Thousands of visitors swarm the Southern Mexican town of Oaxaca for the Guelaguetza, a festival celebrating the multitude of indigenous groups in the area.

...The festival is held the two Mondays following the July 16 feast of the Virgin del Carmen. Before Catholicism was introduced, the festival was held to honor Centeotl, the corn goddess in the Zapotec language.

"This is an incredible festival. The dances and clothes are beautiful. It's a great experience," said Michael Gura, a 34-year-old US tourist from Arizona.

The current format began in 1932 but it divides people between those who see it as a showcase of Oaxacan traditions and others who deride it as a money-making masquerade.

Guelaguetza is a Zapotec word meaning "offerings that are given, gifts that are received."

Read the rest at The Asian Age

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