Oaxaca

A Mystical, Magical Place

Oaxaca is the home of the Zapoteca and Mixteca indigenous people. It is also where some of the finest expressions of mestizo culture can be found. The most important display of dancing, that celebrates the seven regions of Oaxaca, takes place on the last two Mondays of July near the city of Oaxaca in a festival called La Guelaguetza (Zapotec: offering).

The Company has presented some of the regions: Tuxtepec, El Valle, Tehuantepec, La Mixteca and Pinotepa Nacional. Within this state musical instrumentation varies from region to region as well as the costumes. Although the dance repertoire is composed of partner dancing, there are an important number of indigenous rituals in the choreographies.

The highlight of La Guelaguetza is the closing "Danza de la Pluma" (picture below) where the Zapotec version of the fall of Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Mexica (meh shee kah) Empire, is reenacted. MFDC presents te reconstruction of this dance classic and highlights the sections of the dance work that are extremely acrobatic.