Guelaguetza festival in Santa Rosa honors Oaxaca traditions

As many travelers geared up for ambitious trips over the long July Fourth holiday weekend, others found a more convenient option. Air travel was not necessary Sunday to get an authentic taste of Oaxacan food, music, dance and crafts.

Santa Rosa’s Old Courthouse Square served as a shortcut and gateway to the state of Oaxaca in southern Mexico, as an estimated 3,000 people attended the free 11th annual Guelaguetza Festival, undaunted by the day’s 90-degree heat.

Dancers in elaborate headdresses performed the traditional Danza de la Pluma, or Dance of the Feather.

Shoppers could take their pick from a booth selling alebraga, small carved wooden winged horses and other fantasy animal figures.

Hungry visitors sampled empanadas de amarillo, tortillas stuffed with shredded chicken in a yellow mole sauce, or tlayudas, giant crispy tortillas topped with beans, cheese and meat. Thirsty patrons could take part in wine or mescal tastings.

The festival opened Sunday morning with a half-hour parade around the square featuring 200 participants and continued until early evening.

The event featured nearly 40 vendors and 15 different stage acts during the day, said Felix Ortiz of Oaxaca in the Wine Country, which has presented the festival for the past six years at Old Courthouse Square, after trying several other sites.

Ortiz, 45, a restaurant consultant and importer who lives in Rohnert Park, explained that the festival was founded by local families of Oaxacan origin, including his own, who wanted to preserve their culture for younger generations.

“I lived in Oaxaca until I was 18, then came to California — first Monterey and later here,” Ortiz said.

Another co-founder of the festival, Juan Hernandez, 49, who now lives in Sacramento, was present at the festival Sunday as a empanada vendor and stopped to explain its mission.

“It’s so important to keep coming together, or we’ll lose our culture,” he said.

The local event is an extension of an indigenous Oaxacan celebration with pre-Hispanic origins. The word “guelaguetza” is derived from the Zapotec word meaning offering or fulfillment.

In Oaxaca, it’s generally commemorated with a weeklong celebration with numerous regional dances and huge food markets.

First-time festivalgoer John Woodward, 62, who is in the process of moving from Anaheim to Bodega Bay, observed, “Oaxacan people are the most respectful and family-oriented people on earth.”

“The food is very good and the dances and costumes are authentic,” his wife Catalina said of the festival.

Visitors and performers alike got into the spirit of the day in costumes blazing with bright colors, while one small boy took a break, sitting quietly in a large patch of grass ducking the sun beneath his big straw hat.

The 25-member Maquas Music Academy band from Los Angeles, with a powerful horn section, held the stage all day, accompanying the dances and backing singers, including one who summed up the spirit of the day by shouting “Viva Oaxaca!”

You can reach Staff Writer Dan Taylor at dan.taylor@pressdemocrat.com or 707-521-5243. On Twitter @danarts.