What's on in Oaxaca, Mexico through the year

Shoulder season — between the peaks, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in January.

Shoulder season — between the peaks

Nothing new starts in February.

Busy — between the peaks, Semana Santa

• Holiday

  Semana Santa

  29 Mar – 5 AprEaster & Holy WeekCrowdedBook early

  Mexican families fill the city and the valley villages for the week, and the processions in Ocotlan and Tlacolula are the ones worth driving out for. Source ↗

Peak crowds — the editor's peak month, Semana Santa

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: Semana Santa (29 Mar – 5 Apr)

Shoulder season — between the peaks

Nothing new starts in May.

Quiet — the editor's quiet month, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Season

  Afternoon storm season

  1 Jun – 30 SepMonsoon

  Warm mornings and a heavy storm most late afternoons, which turns the brown valley green within a fortnight. Cheapest and greenest months of the year here.

Peak crowds — the editor's peak month, Guelaguetza

• Festival

  Guelaguetza

  20–27 JulMajor festivalCrowdedBook early

  Delegations from the eight regions of the state dance on the last two Mondays of July, with a free street version running alongside the ticketed auditorium shows. Source ↗

Still on: Afternoon storm season (1 Jun – 30 Sep)

Quiet — the editor's quiet month, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Afternoon storm season (1 Jun – 30 Sep)

Busy — Independence Day, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Independence Day

  15–16 SepNational holidayCrowded

  The shout from the governor's balcony on the night of the fifteenth and a parade the next morning, in the wettest fortnight of the year. Source ↗

Still on: Afternoon storm season (1 Jun – 30 Sep)

Busy — between the peaks, Day of the Dead

• Nature

  Marigolds in the markets

  10 Oct – 1 Nov · usuallyMajor festival

  Cempasuchil arrives from the valley farms towards the end of October and the whole Central de Abastos smells of it. The city starts building for the dead a fortnight ahead.

• Festival

  Day of the Dead

  31 Oct – 2 NovMajor festivalCrowdedBook early

  Vigils in the valley cemeteries from the night of 31 October; rooms go a year ahead. Source ↗

Peak crowds — the editor's peak month, Day of the Dead

Nothing new starts in November.

Still on: Marigolds in the markets (10 Oct – 1 Nov (usually)), Day of the Dead (31 Oct – 2 Nov)

Peak crowds — the editor's peak month, Noche de Rabanos

• Festival

  Las Posadas

  16–24 DecMajor festival

  Nine nights of processions through the barrios with candles, punch and a pinata at the end of each. Smaller and more religious than the December in Mexico City. Source ↗

• Festival

  Noche de Rabanos

  23 DecMajor festivalCrowded

  Scenes carved from oversized radishes are displayed around the Zocalo for a few hours on 23 December before they wilt. A century old, and the queue is enormous. Source ↗