Arriving yesterday at noon to fix the grave of his father, Adolfo, in the pantheon of the Barrio de Xochimilco meant a delay for Citlalli, who not only brought flowers and candles, but chopped paper and catrinas printed on cardboard. “My dad was a believer in these dates, he was excited, he liked this tradition...Read More

Mexico’s indigenous language diversity is under threat due the overwhelming predominantly-used Spanish language, but young people like Gonzalo Santiago Martinez are doing their best to preserve their heritage by using new apps. Martinez created Didxazapp, the ‘word app,’ to translate Spanish to the Isthmus Zapoteco (or Didxaza), an Oto-Manguean indigenous language from Oaxaca, in 2016....Read More

Potter — the act of turning earth into clay and transforming its properties with fire — is one of humankind’s earliest inventions. Throughout history, certain techniques and styles have been particularly coveted, including Japanese raku ware, Turkish Iznik pottery, Persian earthenware, Italian majolica, Dutch delftware and Native American pottery. The secret of Chinese porcelain making,...Read More

Keeping Mexican traditions alive, Oaxaca will hold the first Day of the Dead costume contents in the city as part of the holiday activities, which are celebrated from October 25 to November 3, 2018. Under the slogan “Accept it, you die from living”, the local administration announced the call for contest participants to take part...Read More

Reed straws have become an alternative to the traditional plastic because, in addition to having a short lifespan, they do not harm the environment. In Oaxaca, particularly in the San Juan Guelavia community, local artisans have focused on the production of reed straws, made from a plant and being biodegradable. In an interview, artisan Felipe...Read More

It was my first night in Oaxaca and my third mezcal; Ulises Torrentera, owner of the tiny mezcalería , In Situ, was pouring me a glass from one of his 180 bottles of mezcal, each labeled with a dangling paper tag marked with the name of the maguey plant from which it is made. It...Read More

Manuel Villegas is one of the peasant farmers who decided to start planting amaranth in Mexico, to complement their corn and bean crops and thus expand production for sale and self-consumption and, ultimately, contribute to improving the nutrition of their communities. “Amaranth arrived in this part of the country in 2009, and some farmers were...Read More

I remember the day I saw the house that was to be our restaurant for the first time. It was — is — a 200-year-old colonial house in downtown Oaxaca, a city in Southern Mexico. The sheer magnitude of the place — with several rooms arranged around a roofless inner courtyard that included a fountain...Read More

Julián Isidro’s father, Robustiano Isidro Dominguez, rotates pasillas above a heat source. In 1933, riding on the back of a second-rate horse, it took the late anthropologist Ralph L. Beals two full days to reach the Mixe town of Ayutla from the Central Valleys of Oaxaca in Mexico—a distance of approximately 90 miles. As he...Read More

Mezcal is a drink like no other. “El elíxir de los dioses” (the elixir of the gods) is a potent and largely handcrafted libation that has been consumed at quinceañeras, weddings and funerals for generations in Oaxaca. Unlike its cousin tequila, mezcal is not easy to produce commercially, limiting its export. And even with a...Read More