By Alfredo Patiño and Neal Erickson

El Saber del Sabor Gastronomic Festival was celebrated in Oaxaca City last month. The first event of the Festival was an evening parade and dinner, and was followed by ten days of activities to promote and celebrate Oaxacan Cuisine. Chef Alejandro Ruiz, organizer of the event said, “Oaxaca has many things to offer. Architecture, ruins, culture, arts and crafts, and everything is accompanied by food, everybody eats, so why not celebrate it with a festival?”

It started under a Blue Moon on Thursday August 30th The exciting opening parade (Calenda) had a band, pyrotechnics, beautifully costumed traditional dancers, and dozens of local participants carrying lighted lanterns. Accompanied by a large viewing audience, the parade wound itself through the streets of Oaxaca, beginning at the church of Santo Domingo, stopping at the Plaza Alameda in front of the Cathedral de Oaxaca for a dance demonstration, and eventually ending with a final dance performance above the Plaza de la Danza. In the plaza, the Festival’s inaugural dinner was given under a tented area large enough to seat one thousand people. Continue reading Oaxaca’s Culinary Festival “Saber del Sabor” →