Guelaguetza ★ 5.0
Guelaguetza is Oaxaca's headline festival: indigenous dance from the eight regions, food fairs and the Feria del Mezcal across two Lunes del Cerro Mondays in July.
Focus: Indigenous Oaxacan dance and food
Food festivals in Oaxaca worth planning a trip around, by month.
Festivals through the year
Feria Internacional del Mezcal ★ 4.7
Feria Internacional del Mezcal runs July 17-28, 2026 at the Centro de Convenciones, with 100-plus producers, 208 artisans, mezcal tastings and craft beer rows.
Focus: Mezcal
Noche de Rabanos ★ 4.7
Noche de Rabanos on December 23 fills the Zocalo with oversized radish carvings (saints, dancers, cathedrals), totomoxtle and flor inmortal categories every year.
Focus: Radish carving plus pan de yema and chocolate
Dia de Muertos ★ 5.0
Dia de Muertos in Oaxaca runs October 28 to November 4, with the Xoxocotlan panteon vigil October 31, comparsas downtown and pan de muerto on every comedor table.
Focus: Pan de muerto, mole negro, chocolate
Feria del Tejate ★ 4.5
The Feria del Tejate in San Andres Huayapam runs every Palm Sunday with 88-plus producers of tejate (declared Oaxacan cultural heritage 2023), nicuatole and pan.
Focus: Tejate, nicuatole, pan
Feria Nacional del Mole ★ 4.4
Oaxaca's mole celebration runs through October into Dia de Muertos, with mole-negro fairs in Centro and the Mole-from-Atocpan tradition across the central valleys.
Focus: Mole
Fiesta de la Virgen de la Soledad ★ 4.2
Fiesta de la Virgen de la Soledad culminates December 18 at the basilica, with the calenda procession on December 16, midnight mass and mananitas, plus chocolate, pan de yema and ponche stalls.
Focus: Pan de yema, chocolate, ponche
Convites Populares (Guelaguetza opener) ★ 4.3
The Convites Populares on July 10 and 11, 2026 are the small-scale neighborhood invitations that open Guelaguetza, leaving from Cruz de Piedra with delegations in traditional dress and food.
Focus: Indigenous food and dance