Quick Take
Santa Cruz-based nonprofit Senderos is hosting its 21st guelaguetza event on Sunday at the Branciforte Small Schools campus. The event is a celebration of Oaxacan food, dance and music.
Santa Cruz’s largest celebration of Oaxacan culture, which recognizes the Mexican state’s diverse music, food and arts, returns to the city this weekend.
In preparation for the guelaguetza, Isai Pazos, executive director of local nonprofit Senderos, said the organization wanted to learn where most of the region’s Indigenous community from the state of Oaxaca resided.
So, the organization placed a callout to the community, searching for potential performers — from dancers to musicians — for this year’s event, he said. The organization, Pazos said, received responses from people locally in Watsonville, where there is a high population of Indigenous people, and from surrounding areas such as San Jose, Seaside and Palo Alto.
Sunday’s event will showcase nearly 150 performers — including Senderos’ youth dance troupe — in addition to food vendors bringing traditional Oaxacan dishes, such as mole and tlayudas. Attendees will also have a chance to purchase crafts and souvenirs from artisans.
“The purpose of us putting this together is to show other communities in general that we are here as a community to help each other,” Pazos said. The word guelaguetza in Zapotec — one of 16 Indigenous languages spoken in Oaxaca — means helping someone without receiving anything in exchange, he said.
Typically, the festivities kick off a few days before the main gathering with a procession from Branciforte Avenue into downtown and its “Music and Mole” event, but this year, Pazos told Lookout, Senderos is pausing the pre-events to prioritize safety amid ongoing immigration fears. Last year, the organization almost canceled the event for similar reasons.
“I think it’s very important for us to just be safe and make sure that every family feels safe and welcome,” Pazos said.
While the event is meant to be a celebration of Oaxacan culture, Pazos said it’s also an invitation for all community members to learn about and enjoy the culture. The guelaguetza will also be the final event of the inaugural Ripple Effect arts festival.
“It’s beautiful to see that a lot of community members are interested,” Pazos said. “I’m also interested to see and hear from other community members that are going to the event for the first time.”
Senderos’ 21st guelaguetza will be held on Sunday, April 27, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Branciforte Small Schools campus, 840 N. Branciforte Ave., Santa Cruz. Admission is $10, and children under 5 are free.
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