Night of the Radishes

or, Noche de Rabanos. It's a festival more than a century old, held on December 23 in the zocalo in Oaxaca. It began when farmers began making decorative displays of their produce in order to attract attention. The displays became more and more artistic, and the competition was begun. Now, I hear that it's an invitational event, with prize money being secondary to the sales of the artwork when the judging is complete. When Stuart and I started coming to Oaxaca more than 10 years ago, it was a still a somewhat quiet festival. This year, we got in line at 3:30 in the afternoon, the line had snaked down the street more than a block away from the first booth! I took more than 60 photos, and here are just four of the radish competition. There is also a display of cornshucks and another of dried flowers, and we believe the artwork this year was the best ever!
A neive stand!

















A fish vendor!

















This amazing dancer, in the style of dancers from the Isthmus, was about 3 feet tall. The little figures covering her skirt represented the orchestra and all the other dancers. This display drew lots of attention.