Mid July is a very popular time for tourists to visit Oaxaca - mainly for Guelaguetza parades…read more(desfiles, calendas, and convites), music/dance performances, and specialized festivals - with the two Mondays on the Hill being the biggest draw. Many nearby towns also have their own events and celebrations. The main auditorium features morning and afternoon shows each of the two main Mondays. For those who want to watch for free, come EARLY and line up and WAIT to get in. You can often get a great seat! The multi-group dance shows go for about 4 hours each - with pre-event bands playing for about 2 hours prior to the main event. To get in requires passing through an airport style security check - where water is taken away and empty bottles are not allowed. This mainly just protects the concession owner(s) selling things inside. There are also vendors selling food and other items outside. The Sunday night before the first main Monday shows features a (free) performance of the famous local legend about (Zapotec Princess) Donaji. The auditorium can probably hold around 1,500 people? For those not able to get a paid or free ticket, wanting to watch dance shows, the baseball stadium can hold more people and doesn't charge for the shows by the "teachers". There are also many similar performances at the various festivals, in the city's plazas and almost nightly parades. Almost all events mentioned randomly throw various small gifts into the crowd - and many people also often offer free shots of of Mezcal.

Restaurant super cute. Service top notch. Food delicious. Drinks yummy. They even entertained us as…read morewe tried to (badly) do a tiktok dance.

Such a beautiful experience to dine here. We sat on their roof top and it was perfect even in the…read moreheat. There's not one bad food item on the menu. Our server and everyone that worked there was so kind and helpful.

My husband and I were visiting Oaxaca here for one night and we decided to check this place out…read more ... it was awesome. We arrived around 10:30 and the place was weirdly empty. It didn't make sense because they had a great dance floor and fun lighting, lots of seating, and a good bar area. At 11:11 pm (I checked the time because this was like magic), shortly after the band went on (I think a band was there! Sounded like a live band but I couldn't see them! They kept talking to the crowd), the dance floor became flooded with coupes dancing together and dancing impressively well. It was like being in a musical. It was really fun to watch. The band was really good. Good music, dancing, dark - really enjoyed it! For five stars I would have liked a friendlier waitstaff and toilet seats (I can't help that I really appreciate toilet seats!)

This was the only place I could find leather skull key rings for dia de Muertos 2023 presents for…read moreour kids left at home! Excellent quality & reasonably priced at 50 pesos each

One reason I stopped in Oaxaca was to pick up a rug -- not too big as it had to fit in my backpack…read more This city is a great place to explore traditional well-made crafts and textiles. There is a depth and variety of style here, too, because Oaxaca is home to so many artists. I was looking for a simply-designed rug with natural plant and insect dyes. Most rugs use chemical dyes because chemicals are easier to obtain and cheaper to buy. Most buyers in these markets don't care because they typically want a conversation piece so the demand is not there. I have shopped at a few stores in Oaxaca over the years. (MARO, the women's artist cooperative nearby is a worthwhile place to check out.) The people here at Casa de las Artesanías de Oaxaca were all very helpful. I spoke with an elderly woman weaver who showed me some beautiful rugs but none with natural dyes. One of the weavers said that natural dyes are more difficult to find because there are far fewer skilled persons locally that know which plants and insects to use and the methods to produce the dyes are labor-intensive. After a hunt, I was brought some natural-dyed rugs but the designs were too touristy for my taste. One fellow said he had a rug but didn't think I would like the design because it was very unusual. I was curious so he pulled it out from under a large pile of more popular offerings. Unusual it was and even the elderly woman weaver didn't know what to make of it. She said she had never seen such a design and it surely wasn't Mexican-influenced. I loved it and bought weaver Agostin Mendoza's what I call 'Mexican mid-century-modern' rug.

Very fun place with inexpensive beers (40 pesos). I ordered a michelada and the mix was another 20…read morepesos, it wasn't great honestly so I would probably recommend just sticking with the basic drinks. The music was a good volume and was catchy, lots of people were dancing. It was busy but not overly crowded around 2am last night. They closed up pretty much right at 3am but were a little lenient about letting us finish our drinks. The bartenders were nice enough. No cover when I went although there was security at the door. They do allow smoking inside so if you're sensitive to the smell it's something to be aware of, although it's fairly spacious and they had the outside door open so it didn't get aggressively pungent. Will return!

Great night club for music and dancing. They have 3 different floors to suit anyone's taste! When…read morewe went they had a DJ that played a great mix of music!

Zocalo de Oaxaca is the main square of the city center. It's the place where crowds of people will…read morejust hang out and sit. It's right next to the Catedral Metropolitana de Oaxaca Nuestra Señora de la Asunción. There will often be events in the square, including but not limited to performances, concerts, festivals, parades, and of course calendas. Throughout the area are restaurants, food stalls, drink stalls, and souvenir shops. Even though you might think it's a touristy area, you'll still see tons of locals exploring and relaxing here.

This is the spot to be at when in Oaxaca for Dia De Los Muertos…read more The Zocalo is a plaza in the center of the downtown area within an eyes view of the Palacio, the cathedral and the parade. During our time in Oaxaca we came here every day and each time we saw and did something different. We shopped here, had lunch and dinner here, went to the Cathedral, saw the Catrina contest, enjoyed the bandas ect. We all felt safe here, had zero issues.

I hate fried or crispy foods and I can't eat cheese. I was content leaving Oaxaca with out eating…read morea tlayuda. Coming back from my appointment I share this information with my taxi driver. He insisted I eat one before I leave. So that's how I ended up at tlayudas el negro. I had three choices of meat, the tasajo is a tougher meat so I decided to get one with cecina. Other options were costilla -ribs or chorizo. I was able to modify it and have it with very little cheese and I asked if they could not fry it too much. I ordered the enmolada for 120 pesos. The mole was good but it had a very thin layer of it, tiny pieces of meat couldn't taste the flavor and the tlayuda was extra crispy and burnt but it didn't bother me that much but I didn't enjoy this dish. I'm glad I tried it and you may like it. If you get a chance try one from the Mercado or the street vendors. If your gut can handle it. What I really liked was the garnish on top! Yes just this one or two herb pieces was delicious. It gave the food such a distinct flavor I liked the aftertaste. The herb is called chipeche. Service was great and there's live music, someone was playing the violin. I will not be back but you should try it. If you're a drinker I think you have a good chance of enjoying the food and atmosphere.

Fantastic courtyard seating with sights and sounds from the surrounding cityscape, the menu was…read morestraightforward and easy to navigate, had tlayudas with chorizo fantastic, the three choices of salsa were mild hot and hotter, delicious. Service was good. The el negro drink was fantastic.

They REALLY do love their tlayudas... and I do to!…read more I ordered the chorizo tlayuda and it came with the chorizo ground up and folded inside (which I love). They have an awesome salsa and sides bar where you can add salsa de guacamole, their signature "I love" salsa, limes, pickled nopal (so damn good), and a lot more I can't remember at the moment. The ambience is definitely hipster and they had a damn good graphic designer do their giant wall menu. It all makes the place feel super fun. It also looks like they had stage where bands play. We went on the weekend so we missed the crazy stuff. Maybe we'll go back for dancing and mezcal soon.

Nice tlayuda place with a nice selection of toppings ("salsas"). Family environment with parking…read more Recommended.