This past Sunday some friends and I headed out to the town of Mitla, about 40 minutes outside of Oaxaca, to attend the Guelaguetza. It was a great afternoon, the Guelaguetza was a small celebration, compared to the event in the city of Oaxaca, and this smaller venue made you feel a part of the festivities. Click on the photos to enlarge them.
Dancers....
Dancers waiting their turn...
The danza de la pluma.....
The organizers and dancers handed out drinks, hats, tortillas and dolls made of yarn among other things to the attendees. The first drink we were offered was tepache, fermented pineapple juice, in a cup formed from half of a gourd. These young gentleman are enjoying their beverage.
Then a bit later they came around with free mezcal! This is me enjoying my free mezcal in a bamboo shot glass. Notice the look of deviant pleasure on my face...that is what mezcal does to you. Makes you a deviant. Who enjoys things. Notice behind me the man pouring the mezcal out of a green plastic gas can. This is a typical container for carrying mezcal and also could be thought of as an indicator for how strong the drink usually is.
The gentleman below is trying to pressure my roommate Laura to drink some mezcal. He managed to fill up his water bottle with extra alcohol when the fiesta organizers were passing through handing out the shots.
Wrapping things up at the Mitla Guelaguetza.
After the dancing we went down to the ruins to have a look around. The women in the photo below were very ingenious. They are not permitted to sell their goods inside the ruins so they built their stand on a platform to sell them over the fence! Judging by the brisk business they are doing this would seem to be a good idea.
Dancers....
Dancers waiting their turn...
The danza de la pluma.....
The organizers and dancers handed out drinks, hats, tortillas and dolls made of yarn among other things to the attendees. The first drink we were offered was tepache, fermented pineapple juice, in a cup formed from half of a gourd. These young gentleman are enjoying their beverage.
Then a bit later they came around with free mezcal! This is me enjoying my free mezcal in a bamboo shot glass. Notice the look of deviant pleasure on my face...that is what mezcal does to you. Makes you a deviant. Who enjoys things. Notice behind me the man pouring the mezcal out of a green plastic gas can. This is a typical container for carrying mezcal and also could be thought of as an indicator for how strong the drink usually is.
The gentleman below is trying to pressure my roommate Laura to drink some mezcal. He managed to fill up his water bottle with extra alcohol when the fiesta organizers were passing through handing out the shots.
Wrapping things up at the Mitla Guelaguetza.
After the dancing we went down to the ruins to have a look around. The women in the photo below were very ingenious. They are not permitted to sell their goods inside the ruins so they built their stand on a platform to sell them over the fence! Judging by the brisk business they are doing this would seem to be a good idea.
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