Mexico: XVII Teacher’s and Popular Guelaguetza 2024
Featured image: Rebel Oaxaca, City of Resistance. Source: Periódico Mural
We hereby publish an unofficial translation of a report by the Mexican popular and democratic newspaper Periódico Mural:
Section XXII of the CNTE, democratic organizations from all over the country, invited delegations and peoples in resistance gathered like every year in the 17th Teacher’s and Popular Guelaguetza, in an atmosphere of brotherhood and celebration where by different dances, languages and traditions presented they presented in an authentic way and without folklorizing how popular culture is lived in the different communities of Rebel Oaxaca.
On Monday, July 22, this year, at exactly 10:00 hours at the stadium of the Technological Institute of Oaxaca (ITO), thousands of people attended the event, which is an expression of resistance, defense of the culture and rights of indigenous peoples, seeking to strengthen the unity and solidarity of the participating peoples with the gueza and the popular struggle.
The Teacher’s and Popular Guelaguetza emerged in the midst of the resistance against the tyrant Ulises Ruiz Ortiz. In 2006, the Popular Assembly of the People of Oaxaca (APPO) called for a boycott of the official Guelaguetza and sabotaged the facilities of the Guelaguetza auditorium, located in Cerro del Fortín.
So far the Teacher’s and Popular Guelaguetza is a space that is completely different from the government’s Guelaguetza. Access is completely free and non-profit, and is open to complaints and expressions from participating peoples.
The event ended without incidents and with a great dance in the ITO parking lot, where the rain was not an impediment for attendees to leave their best steps on the floor, combining dance and class consciousness.
Long live the Teacher’s and Popular Guelaguetza!
