La Guelaguetza

Guelaguetza, La

Two consecutive Mondays after July 16

Also known as Los Lunes del Cerro, or Mondays of the Hill, this huge dance festival is held in the city of Oaxaca, Oaxaca State, Mexico, on the two Mondays after July 16. Costumed dancers from different oaxaquena groups perform in a hilltop arena built exclusively for this event. Seats for the nationally televised festival are expensive, and many of the visiting dance groups must stay in local missions. Although the event is now geared mostly to tourists, it represents a unique opportunity to see regional dances from all the Mexican states.
Guelaguetza comes from the Zapotec language and means "the greatest of courtesies." It refers to the traditional way people exchanged gifts: helping each other build houses, tend to fields, assist with births and deaths. The name became linked with the Mondays of the Hill fiestas in the 20th century. Since the 1930s local craftspeople would give gifts they made to guests assembled for the dances, and in 1951 the event became known as La Guelaguetza. In 1974 the state built a special amphitheater to hold the growing numbers of people attending what is now one of the most popular folk festivals in Mexico.

CONTACTS:
Mexico State Tourism
Urawa No. 100
Toluca, 50150 Mexico
52-722-212-5998; fax: 52-722-212-1633
www.spanish-mexico.com
Mexico Tourism Board
21 E. 63rd St., Fl. 3
New York, NY 10021
800-446-3942 or 212-821-0314; fax: 212-821-0367
www.visitmexico.com

SOURCES:
FiestaTime-1965, p. 117
IntlThFolk-1979, p. 274

Celebration days: Jul 16, Jul 23