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La Guelaguetza De Oaxaca, Mexico
La Guelaguetza, also referred to as Lunes del Cerro (Mondays on the hill) along with the “Octava” or second festival 8 days after, is a festival that is celebrated in Oaxaca, Mexico, every year during the last two Mondays of July, except when it occurs on July 18th, which is the anniversary of Benito Juarez, in which case continues on the following two Mondays. The festival includes a variety of cultural events such as folkloric and sporting activities. These include: the selection of the female Representative of the Goddess of Centeotl, the Parades of Regional Delegations from different factions throughout the streets of Oaxaca, the performance of the “Bani Stui Gulal” at la Plaza del la Danza, along with presentations of several legends of the Oaxacan Indians such as “Donaji the Legend” (which centers around the last Zapotec princess). Immediately after, sporting events commence, including cyclists who race a predefined path throughout the city streets.

In comparison to many Latin American events, the Guelaguetza derived from a mixture of indigenous and colonial influence. At its native roots, La Guelaguetza is closely connected to the Mixtec tradition of worshipping Centeotl, the Goddess of ripe Corn, located at a distinguished site at the foot of a hill known as “Bella Vista”. The festival itself is prehispanic in nature, and is performed in honor of Centeotl. Today, however, it has become a combination of not only in honoring Centeotl, but also the Catholic feast day of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (due to Spanish influence around 1521).

Oaxaca’s Guelaguetza, the most important custom of the Oaxacan Indians, is a word that is derived from the Zapotec term “guendalezaa” which translates to “offering, present, fulfillment” as a result of wealthy elite Spaniards who had legal right to receive the first and most excellent harvest gathered by the indigenous people during colonial times. The term is used to describe the ceremony that was held each year in order to appease the gods in return for adequate rain and a plentiful harvest. Today, however, the Guelaguetza has become a time of making a commitment to sharing and the convention of contributing for the benefit of the community. For example, a mason may choose to build a brick oven for a baker with an understanding that someday the baker will return the favor and bake cakes for the masons daughters at their weddings. Another example includes an upholsterer re-doing an undertakers furniture to secure a proper funeral. Whatever the deed may be, it is understood throughout most Oaxacan villages that the Guelaguetza is an essential part of life in order to continue a life of prosperity and good fortune. It is important to note that although times have changed since the first Guelaguetza, the gods are still acknowledged and honored through carefully chosen dances exhibiting local characteristics and regional dress at this colorful annual festival.

History
The Guelaguetza (Lunes del Cerro), which has prehispanic origins was not always celebrated in the same way as it is today. One can analyze its history during the following periods:

Prehispanic times
Studies show, based purely on historical compilations, that the Guelaguetza festival has a strong standing relationship with respect to Centeotl, the Goddess of Corn which was created in the region by the Aztecs upon their arrival at the end of the 15th century. The temple of Centeotl was originally located on what is now known as the slopes of Fortin hill and was celebrated at the end of the 8th month of the Zapotec calendar (American calendar month of July) with rituals that included the selection, glorification and sacrifice of a virgin woman representing the goddess. The ritual was performed between music, singing, and dancing.

In the case of the Zapotecs, who celebrated the goddess Pitao Cozobi (deity of rain and fertility of fields) at the same time of year also coincided with the sacrament to Centeotl in the same aspect. From the preceding, it was deduced that the festivals carried out by the Aztecs from 1498 onward, were close ancestors to the modern day Lunes Del Cerro festival.

Colonial times
Upon their arrival during the mid 16th century, the Spaniards banned almost all pagan activities and replaced the temple of Centeotl with a Catholic church known as Virgen de Monte Carmelo (Carmen Alto). The first monastery erected was called Santa Veracruz, and soon after a Catholic temple was built in the same location at the bottom of a hill called by the Zapotecs “Dani Noayaa Loani” and “Cerro de la Bella Vista” by the Spaniards.

Dance Origins
Within the towns in and around Oaxaca, there existed an ancient tradition in which those who invited others to a gathering or special event (i.e. wedding, funeral, baptism) were not to arrive empty handed. Rather the people who attended would bring along gifts of money, food, or beverages. In return for their cooperation, deeds would be noted, so that the receiving party could return the favor during a future event.

On April 25th, 1932 the city of Oaxaca held a commemorative 400 year anniversary of its recognition as a city in accordance to a decree published by Emperor Charles V of Spain. The event was commemorated by the people from all different regions of Oaxaca including la Costa, la Mixteca, la Sierra, la Canada, the High Papaloapan, the Central Valleys, and the Istmus. Each presented a performance at Fortin hill in which each group displayed their traditional dances along with products of their lands such as handcrafted items and fruits.

Impact on Oaxacan Indians Today
As time went by, the Guelaguetza has become an extremely popular tourist attraction for people all around the world. The Guelaguetza was originally intended to occur once a day on each Monday at the end of July, however it is now held twice during the day so that tourists would have easier access to view the various different ceremonies involved. As a result, counteractive measures from purist seek to restore the Guelaguetza to its natural state. The simple fact that the ceremony is held twice a day as opposed to the original once a day has been viewed as dishonorable and lacking respect for the gods and the divinity of the ceremony itself. There exists a subgroup within Oaxaca's city boundaries that fight for a reformation of the Guelaguetza back to pre-hispanic times before the Spaniards came and inluenced change of the Guelaguetza ceremony. Although we can expect that there will be no more female virgin sacrafices, the reformations calls for more subtle changes, such as the use of indigenous textiles (i.e. cotton) in the use of clothing as opposed to beads and other texiles that are used today that were brought over by the Spaniards.