Best seats in the house

One reason we planned our trip to run through July was to be here for the Guelaguetza.  This is a special event in Oaxaca that runs for two weeks every year, during which there are parades, festivals, and dances all over the city and in surrounding towns.  The word guelaguetza means "offering."  It refers to the custom of dancers giving out small gifts to the crowds that come to watch the dances.  They throw candy, straw hats, flowers, and pieces of fruit - even pineapples, which seems a little dangerous to me, but nobody else seems to mind.  Nowadays when people talk about a "Guelaguetza," they are referring to a show where people in spectacularly colorful costumes perform traditional dances from different regions of Oaxaca.  (And yes, throw gifts into the crowd.)


We have gone in circles trying to figure out where to watch a Guelaguetza.  There are several to choose from.  The most famous Guelaguetza happens in a stadium above the city, built especially for the event. Reserved seats were expensive, however, and we were wary of going early enough to land a seat in the free section.  Plus, we did not know how Max and Helen would hold up for the three- to four-hour show.


The teachers' union puts on a more modest, but similar, Guelaguetza that we considered attending. Interestingly, the teachers initially sponsored a Guelaguetza to compete with the official event after the prolonged strike in 2006.  (At the time, they also allegedly destroyed the official stadium, which reopened only this year -- last night, in fact.)  The teachers' Guelaguetza has the advantage of being free, but several people told us it is not as good as the official show.  Still, it was a possibility.


We also considered attending a Guelaguetza in one of the towns near Oaxaca.  These events also are free, and have the potential advantage of small-town charm, but there is little information on when they actually happen.  Towns that advertise their events usually list the day but not the time, and other towns do not bother advertising at all.  We received so much conflicting information that there was a good chance we would go to a town only to find out we were there on the wrong day, or eight hours early.


Ultimately, we happened upon the perfect solution.  It came to me in the middle of the night while lying awake wondering where to go.  Here is where we ended up:

It turns out they broadcast the official Guelaguetza live.  So rather than fork over $150 for tickets, or risk spending hours outside waiting for one of the alternative events to start, we enjoyed front row seats (together with coffee and tomales) in our neighbors' living room.  In an effort to rationalize staying home to watch, Natalie compared it to watching the Rose Bowl Parade, which is more fun on t.v.  Personally, I needed no rationalization.  Even if we did miss the opportunity to catch a pineapple, we had a great time.


Moreover, because we did not spend any money on tickets for the Guelaguetza, we had no reservations about splurging on tickets to see a Lucha Libre show (heavy weight wrestling extravaganza, complete with masks and costumes) on Wednesday.  We have been wanting to see Lucha Libre since we got here.  We will go with our friend and taxi driver, Antonio, his son Mario, and another one of Max's friends from soccer. What better way to spend our second-to-last night in Oaxaca?  --Harrison