Music, dance, and the communities that make the Guelaguetza possible. Watch the official 2021 broadcasts and discover the traditions of Oaxaca’s eight regions.
Oaxaca, México · 2021
Explore the official video archive
Travel through Oaxaca’s eight regions through their music, dance, and community celebrations. In 2021, the Guelaguetza reached audiences through recordings from the communities and memories of earlier celebrations. Explore the traditions below and watch each presentation right here.
Official broadcasts: Government of Oaxaca / CORTV, Oaxaca, Mexico. This collection documents the celebration in Mexico; Oaxaca en Utah’s 2021 festival has its own archive.
46 / 46 presentations
Valles Centrales · 2021-07-19
Jarabe del Valle
Chinas Oaxaqueñas de Casilda
Community recording · 2021
About this tradition
The Chinas Oaxaqueñas of Casilda participate as hosts with flower baskets, full skirts, lantern bearers, and large calenda figures. An official account connects this group’s history with a tradition that developed around the Benito Juárez Market.
Their Jarabe del Valle belongs to the festive language of Oaxaca City’s convites and calendas. Casilda is a specific delegation and should not be merged with the Chinas of Genoveva.
Huautla’s Mazatec sones accompany patron-saint festivities, baptisms, weddings, mayordomías, and other social gatherings. The official repertory includes pieces such as “Naxo Loxa”—Orange Blossom—associated with the Mazatec highlands.
The presentation brings together music, dance, and dress as a public expression of Huautla; it does not summarize the diversity of all Mazatec communities.
The National Museum of Anthropology identifies the Danza de los Rubios, also called Pachecos, as a cattle-drovers’ dance performed during Carnival in communities of Juxtlahuaca and Tecomaxtlahuaca.
With violin and jarana, its characters and scenes playfully recount experiences of moving and handling livestock. Local variants may change characters, clothing, and sequence.
Among Ayuujk communities, wind-band music accompanies festivals and ritual occasions, with sones and jarabes forming an important part of the repertory. Tlahuitoltepec is also home to CECAM, a community-rooted music school.
The presentation makes a living, intergenerational music practice visible; it does not imply that every musician in the video belongs to CECAM or reproduce a complete ceremony.
The Oaxaca government describes Miahuatlán’s sones as popular music transmitted orally and credits maestro Ranulfo Vera Ruiz with compiling a version that includes pieces dating from before the Mexican Revolution.
The Fandango Miahuateco brings that repertory together in a dance presentation affirming the community’s musical memory. The source does not document the date of every individual piece.
INAH classifies the Danza de la Pluma as a dramatic conquest dance whose characters and passages represent the encounter between the parties of Moctezuma and Hernán Cortés.
Teotitlán del Valle maintains its own form, performed in patron-saint festivities and the Lunes del Cerro. The television excerpt does not replace the extended community performance.
INAH — Danza de la Pluma, tradición Buin Zaa (Original source currently unavailable)
The Jarabe Mixteco is a staged musical compilation associated with professor Antonio Martínez Corro. In Huajuapan it is commonly framed by José López Alavés’s “Canción Mixteca.”
Audiences often accompany the entrance by singing and waving hats, making it a public emblem of Huajuapan. It is not a summary of all Mixtec cultures.
The Boda Pochutleca is San Pedro Pochutla’s Guelaguetza presentation, accompanied by the festive character of the Coast’s sones and chilenas.
The number stages a wedding celebration and its surrounding community gathering; it is not an entire wedding in real time or a model of every contemporary wedding.
Velas are a central festive institution among Binnizá communities of the Isthmus and may honor patron saints, neighborhoods, family names, occupations, or other associations.
Tehuantepec’s presentation draws on that wider world of velas, sones, festive dress, and community responsibilities. The 2021 title does not identify one specific vela.
“Flor de Piña” is a modern choreography created in 1958 by Tuxtepec educator Paulina Solís Rodríguez after a commission from municipal authorities.
Its formations, pineapples, and huipiles became an emblematic image of Tuxtepec. It is not a pre-Hispanic rite; the huipiles reference different communities of northern Oaxaca.
This presentation combines sones, chilenas, a calenda, and characters from the Putla Carnival, including the Los Viejos or tiliches comparsa.
The Putla Carnival is Intangible Cultural Heritage of the State of Oaxaca and continues through neighborhoods, comparsas, and families. The Guelaguetza number compresses parts of a multi-day celebration.
In official presentations from Santiago Jamiltepec, sones and chilenas combine zapateado footwork, local dress, and playful verses.
The chilena circulates through many social occasions in the region, with each community developing its own features. Jamiltepec’s stage version should not be generalized to the entire Coast or Mixteca.
Huautla’s Mazatec sones accompany patron-saint festivities, baptisms, weddings, mayordomías, and other social gatherings. The official repertory includes pieces such as “Naxo Loxa”—Orange Blossom—associated with the Mazatec highlands.
The presentation brings together music, dance, and dress as a public expression of Huautla; it does not summarize the diversity of all Mazatec communities.
SECULTA connects the sones and jarabes of Betaza with the legacy of musician José Ventura Gil and recognizes them as a distinctive repertory of San Melchor Betaza.
Wind-band music is an important form of intergenerational transmission in the community. Betaza’s living repertory is broader than the work of any one person.
SECULTA — Legado de José Ventura Gil (Original source currently unavailable)
Tecomaxtlahuaca’s version is a patron-saint dance from the Mixteca that stages a confrontation between Christians and Moors. Performers wear carved masks, whips, and leather riding chaps.
It is a dramatic performance belonging to this Mixteca tradition and is distinct from the Afro-Mexican Danzas de los Diablos of the Coast, despite the shared name.
The Oaxaca government identifies “Na pu-ta chichi” and “La Borrachita” as Mazatec sones from San Pedro Ixcatlán and attributes an approximate age of 260 years to them.
The age comes from a state promotional account without attached historical documentation. The title should not be turned into a caricature or an invented narrative about alcohol.
In Cuilápam, the Danza de la Pluma is performed during the July 25 feast of Santiago Apóstol and its octave. INAH documents an organization connected with the mayordomía.
Characters from the parties led by Moctezuma and Hernán Cortés organize a dramatic narrative. Formations and characters vary between cycles and groups.
In El Espinal, Isthmus sones form part of velas and patron-saint celebrations; an official source names repertory such as “La Sandunga,” “La Llorona,” and “Lucero de la mañana.”
Velas combine music, social gathering, festive dress, and shared responsibilities. The 2021 title does not necessarily represent one complete vela or repertory.
The Jarabe Mixteco is a staged musical compilation associated with professor Antonio Martínez Corro. In Huajuapan it is commonly framed by José López Alavés’s “Canción Mixteca.”
Audiences often accompany the entrance by singing and waving hats, making it a public emblem of Huajuapan. It is not a summary of all Mixtec cultures.
The Boda Solagueña represents a wedding from San Andrés Solaga, a Sierra Zapotec community in the Zoogocho sector.
The staging connects music, dance, food, community responsibilities, and family gathering. It should be read as a stage representation, not as a universal or unchanging wedding.
“Flor de Piña” is a modern choreography created in 1958 by Tuxtepec educator Paulina Solís Rodríguez after a commission from municipal authorities.
Its formations, pineapples, and huipiles became an emblematic image of Tuxtepec. It is not a pre-Hispanic rite; the huipiles reference different communities of northern Oaxaca.
The Fandango de Varitas is presented alongside Villa de Tututepec’s mayordomía and accompanied by box drum, violin, and stick.
The number makes a local music-and-dance practice connected with festive responsibilities visible. Heritage guidance documented by INAH is not the same as a formal designation.
Official sources present the Chinas of Genoveva as hosts and connect their Jarabe del Valle with marmotas, lanterns, festive toritos, flower baskets, and the calenda of the Virgin of Solitude.
These elements place the dance within the festive language of Oaxaca City’s calenda. Genoveva and Casilda are distinct groups whose histories should not be merged.
Official sources present the Chinas of Genoveva as hosts and connect their Jarabe del Valle with marmotas, lanterns, festive toritos, flower baskets, and the calenda of the Virgin of Solitude.
These elements place the dance within the festive language of Oaxaca City’s calenda. Genoveva and Casilda are distinct groups whose histories should not be merged.
The official profile of cultural promoter Rosaura Duarte Reyes records her community work on the documentary “Mazatec Pride and Tradition: The Tecoatl Baptism” and her participation in Camino a la Guelaguetza 2021.
The piece represents a family and community celebration from San Jerónimo Tecóatl. The source does not establish its age or every step, so it should not be generalized as a universal Mazatec rite.
Gobierno de Oaxaca — Semblanza de Rosaura Duarte Reyes (Original source currently unavailable)
Among Ayuujk communities, wind-band music accompanies festivals and ritual occasions, with sones and jarabes forming an important part of the repertory. Tlahuitoltepec is also home to CECAM, a community-rooted music school.
The presentation makes a living, intergenerational music practice visible; it does not imply that every musician in the video belongs to CECAM or reproduce a complete ceremony.
The Government of Oaxaca describes the Fandango de Loma Bonita as a presentation rooted in the traditions of the Papaloapan Basin.
Its local context includes a strong agricultural identity: pineapple is an emblematic crop and the Pineapple Fair is the municipality’s principal celebration. The source does not assign fixed meanings to every movement or garment.
Lavada del Maíz, Mayordomía y Quebrada de las Ollas en honor a San Jerónimo Doctor
Ciudad Ixtepec
Community recording · 2021
About this tradition
The sequence condenses several festive actions associated with San Jerónimo Doctor. Oaxaca’s Tourism Secretariat identifies the September feast as Ciudad Ixtepec’s largest celebration.
The calendar includes velas, calendas, fireworks, and the distribution of fruit. The video is a condensed representation, and the source does not define every act named in the 2021 title.
The National Museum of Anthropology classifies the Danza de la Pluma as a conquest dance performed in different Central Valleys communities. San Bartolo Coyotepec maintains its own version.
Movement, dress, and performance dramatize the encounter between two sides. Community versions differ and should not be filled in with choreography from other towns.
In the official presentation, Tlaxiaco enters to the “Canción Mixteca” as the audience waves hats, then continues with the delegation’s sones and jarabes.
Within the Guelaguetza, the sequence serves as a public expression of belonging to the Mixteca and of local music practice; it is not a complete history of music in Tlaxiaco.
The Danza de los Diablos belongs to the Afro-Mexican heritage of the Costa Chica and is practiced principally around Days of the Dead, with regional variation. Santiago Llano Grande maintains its own version.
The tradition has been shaped through African, Catholic, and Indigenous exchanges. The wider Costa Chica history does not replace the specific details of the Llano Grande version.
“Flor de Piña” is a modern choreography created in 1958 by Tuxtepec educator Paulina Solís Rodríguez after a commission from municipal authorities.
Its formations, pineapples, and huipiles became an emblematic image of Tuxtepec. It is not a pre-Hispanic rite; the huipiles reference different communities of northern Oaxaca.
The Government of Oaxaca identifies the Mayordomía del Señor de Tlacolula as a patronal feast held on the second Sunday of October.
Mayordomías connect responsibilities, food preparation, music, and festive elements such as calenda, chirimía, fireworks, baskets, and candles. Not all necessarily appear in this excerpt.
An official account describes this presentation through playful verses, zapateado rhythms, and stage dress including lace-trimmed skirts, embroidered blouses, scarves, and palm hats.
Music, verse, dance, and dress are combined in Pinotepa’s coastal representation. Stage dress should not be confused with the everyday clothing of the whole population.
In the official presentation, Tlaxiaco enters to the “Canción Mixteca” as the audience waves hats, then continues with the delegation’s sones and jarabes.
Within the Guelaguetza, the sequence serves as a public expression of belonging to the Mixteca and of local music practice; it is not a complete history of music in Tlaxiaco.
INPI lists San Jerónimo Tecóatl among principal Mazatec communities, while Mexico’s Cultural Information System documents the formation of a municipal community band.
The Sones Mazatecos can be contextualized within a continuing community music practice. The sources do not identify the exact pieces or ensemble in the 2021 recording.
Oaxaca’s Tourism Secretariat calls San Pablo Macuiltianguis the “birthplace of the Torito Serrano” and places the expression within the local carnival, described as the community’s largest celebration.
The carnival includes comparsas, costumes, verses, and petate bulls that participants are invited to “fight.” The Guelaguetza excerpt is not the complete carnival.
An official account presents San Antonino’s Jarabe del Valle as part of the “second day of the fandango” and records the serving of milk atole during the representation.
The dance is therefore connected with a broader festive context rather than only an isolated choreography. Order, food, and dress may vary between presentations.
The Government of Oaxaca identifies the Fiesta Solteca as a wedding representation and notes that its staging has included the burning of festive toritos.
In the Sierra Sur’s regional Guelaguetza it is presented as music and dance from Villa Sola de Vega. It does not document every local wedding practice or explain every garment and prop.
In Zaachila, the Danza de la Pluma is a local practice transmitted across generations. SECULTA documents a community group conducting historical research and teaching children and young people.
Like other Central Valleys versions, it dramatizes episodes connected with the conquest, while Zaachila maintains its own repertory and staging decisions.
The Government of Oaxaca characterizes San Juan Cacahuatepec’s presentation through chilenas, the sound of zapateado, and playful verses.
The chilena belongs to a broader history of musical circulation along the Pacific and local transformation in the Costa Chica. That regional history does not fix the origin of every Cacahuatepec piece.
The state government calls Ejutla the “land of the Jarabe Ejuteco”; its accounts emphasize playful verses, colorful stage dress, and the familiar call “The people of Ejutla have arrived!”
The jarabe functions as a public marker of the Ejutla delegation. The sources do not establish a definitive creation date or fixed symbolism for its movements.
“Flor de Piña” is a modern choreography created in 1958 by Tuxtepec educator Paulina Solís Rodríguez after a commission from municipal authorities.
Its formations, pineapples, and huipiles became an emblematic image of Tuxtepec. It is not a pre-Hispanic rite; the huipiles reference different communities of northern Oaxaca.
INPI identifies Corpus Christi as one of San Francisco del Mar’s three principal celebrations and explains that it marks the end of the dry season and the coming of the rains.
The community record documents flute, drum, and turtle shell and notes that music and dance support participation among the Mero Ikooc people. It does not define every character in the 2021 staging.
An official account describes Santa María Huatulco’s sones and chilenas through playful verses and zapateado.
The staging connects music, movement, and dress, including rebozos, sandals, and filigree jewelry in the documented presentation. It does not represent the everyday clothing of all Huatulco residents.
The Chinas Oaxaqueñas of Casilda participate as hosts with flower baskets, full skirts, lantern bearers, and large calenda figures. An official account connects this group’s history with a tradition that developed around the Benito Juárez Market.
Their Jarabe del Valle belongs to the festive language of Oaxaca City’s convites and calendas. Casilda is a specific delegation and should not be merged with the Chinas of Genoveva.
