So guys Oaxaca is one of the most ethnically diverse and culturally diverse
Parts of Mexico in some ways. It's like a country within a country and what this festival is all about is
Celebrating the different cultures of oaxaca. So you have people from all these different towns and all these different cultures within the state of Oaxaca
meeting in Oaxaca City
for an epic festival and it's just
a really special place to be
You know, I've spent over six months in Mexico now and there are times what I think that I've learned a lot about Mexican culture
but then I take a trip like this to Oaxaca and I start to realize
There is so much I do not know
Everything we've seen so far is before the parade starts
And the parade for today is about to begin. I see a group of people in front of me. I think this is the start
This is crazy guys
What is happening
So that curious looking mix back there that is mixing
Tejate, which is one of the traditional indigenous drinks from this region
We just drove about an hour out into the countryside of Oaxaca into a place called Teotlitán
So we just stop for breakfast in this sort of textile place and check out some of the carpets
They have they got some cool designs
You guys all of the different colors you see come from natural ingredients like the ones that you can see on the table
You see so many designs like this on the carpets and also the traditional clothing in Oaxaca
But I've never really thought about what goes into making it. So this is a really eye-opening to me
It really is a process and it really is a kind of artwork
So we got three different kinds of Mole this morning
a very very Oaxacan breakfast
Now the moment we've all been waiting for
Mezcal
Okay, so I mean I am far from an expert on mezcal but
When you're in Oaxaca, you're gonna do what you gotta do, right? Yes
What does this one taste like roasted roasted nuts
[D] Roasted marshmallows
Maybe some apple
[D] It's got a smoky flavor of course like all good mezcal I think has a smoky flavor to it, right?
We got some nuts in there we got some...
Oak tree I don't know what I'm talking about it's good though
Oak tree
Definitely oak tree.
[D] One thing Greg really likes is mezcal.
[G] Oh Come on
I love how the city looks at night. It's got a really
Really cool look to it
My friends Greg and Hillary are ordering some Street food
They're gonna try something called a mar-que-sita. What's it called mar...?
Marquesita
If you're wondering what this is you get cheese and you mix it with Nutella and you put it inside a crepe
I've never heard of something like this before but it sure smells good
[H] There is so much cheese
That is so good
[D] Greg and Hillary from Kinetic Kennons
[D] Really like them.[G] Okay, okay okay
Okay. I was expecting maybe a suegra joke but not that, that was good Dan.
How many times have you been to Guelaguetza in your life?
I think like six times
Yeah, and every time I came it's like the first time
my heart... my heart races
everytime I came
Guys everything I've been showing you for the past couple of days is related to the celebrations of Guelaguetza
But this event in the auditorium which happens twice a month is the big deal. We're outside the auditorium
this building was built specifically for Guelaguetza you can see it the
Auditorio Guelaguetza
I'm also getting better pronouncing Guelaguetza at the beginning I didn't know quite how to say it
but now I think I got it right
Am I saying that right?
What a stadium this is!
Here comes los diablos
You remember these guys?
So as I mentioned at the start of this video Guelaguetza means offering and...
the idea of offering something or gifting something is at the core of Guelaguetza
The parade that went by they would be handing out little gifts and you know things from their city from their town
Same at the Guelaguetza performance in the auditorium.
They were throwing out gifts and there were a lot of moments.
Through the Guelaguetza where I... I wondered what was happening. I mean like the dancing Devils with the whip
What does that signify? Where did that come from? What's the story behind that?
Same with the the woman with the pineapples on their head, which
I thought was awesome. That was my favorite one actually.
But where does that come from what's the story behind that and
When you start to ask these questions, you just realize that you could spend a lifetime just studying
Oaxacan culture and you'd still have questions asked because
there is so much to learn and so much to appreciate.
If anything I leave Guelaguetza not feeling like I know Mexico better but feeling that
Mexico is just
sort of this endless
ocean of knowledge that I will never fully understand. I will just try to
drink little cups of that knowledge and and
share them with you because that's that's all I can really do
As always guys I'm Dan from The New Travel,
thanks for watching.