I recently spent two months living in the colonial city of Oaxaca (pronounced wa-hah-kah), volunteering with a small volunteer group that helped tutor disadvantaged kids who had been given scholarships. I usually worked in the middle of the day for about four hours and then had the rest of the time to explore.
There’s a lot to see and do in Oaxaca but my favourite part of the city was its lively cultural calendar. There was always something on and Oaxaceños loved any excuse to party. During my time there I was lucky enough to be invited to the party of a Quinceañera in the smallest village I have ever visited. There were literally chickens and cows roaming the streets! I went to many a food festival where I got to try so many delicacies from the well-known “culinary capital” of Mexico. I also got to experience a Semana Santa parade which was literally sobering (more on that another time). For more ideas beyond the festivals, see my guide to things to do in Oaxaca City.
One Saturday I got a message from a friend letting me know that there was a water festival on. “World’s Dullest Festival,” I replied. She convinced me to meet her there and it turned out to be a huge festival with local dances, parades and stalls all to honour “agua”. Agua means water in Spanish but in Mexico it often refers to a flavoured water refreshment, full name Agua Fresca or Fresh Water, that mixes fruits, grains and other flavours with water. It’s a drink you are often served in local eateries and also sold on the streets.
The festival encouraged local business owners all around the city to give away free “agua” to passersby and there were also a variety of the more popular flavours available to try at the festival. It was a great opportunity for me to try some of the more “interesting” flavours that I wouldn’t usually want to buy due to their strange consistency and colours!
Some of the flavours of aqua that you might find in Oaxaca include tamarind, hibiscus and agua de horchata, my personal favourite which is made with rice, vanilla and cinnamon.
Moral of the story is – if you see a festival happening while you are in Oaxaca, you should definitely take some time to check it out. You never know what you will learn and what you will get to try.
The Quinceañera is the celebration of a girl’s fifteenth birthday in many parts of Latin America and it marks the transition from childhood to young womanhood. The party I was invited to was for the daughter of my good friend’s Spanish teacher. As there was not going to be anyone who was likely to speak English there she was allowed to bring a plus one.
We were super excited to attend the party as neither of us had been to a Quinceañera before and the opportunity to visit a new village was a big positive as well. The morning of the party we were stressing about what to buy as a present and kept being advised that a bottle of mezcal was definitely the right choice. So with a present appropriate for a fifteen-year old (apparently) we hopped into collectivo and off we went.
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