Salinas Guelaguetza returns, celebrating Oaxacan culture, community and tradition.

The Salinas Guelaguetza Oaxacan Cultural Event or La Guelaguetza, is returning to Salinas this Sunday, Aug. 16, bringing color, music, folk dance, food and cultural history from Oaxaca, Mexico to Natividad Creek Park.

In its 17th year, the annual festival is more than a show—it’s a declaration that Oaxacan Indigenous culture belongs in the Salinas Valley and beyond.

The President of La Guelaguetza, Sandra Iveth Santos, immigrated from Oaxaca to Seaside before making Salinas her home.

La Guelaguetza grew out of a need to preserve culture and confront discrimination. Santos remembers the early days, when many locals didn’t understand the difference between being Oaxacan and being Mexican. That lack of understanding, she says, left room for stereotypes and prejudice.

The festival emerged as a response: a public, joyful way to say who they are—and to teach future generations.

The word “Guelaguetza” comes from an Indigenous Zapotec term that means “to share,” according to Santos. The state of Oaxaca is located in the southwest part of Mexico next to the states of Puebla and Veracruz.

Santos shares how Oaxaca is divided into eight geo-economic regions: Cañada, Costa, Istmo, Mixteca, Papaloapan, Sierra Norte, Sierra Sur and Valles Centrales. Each of these eight regions brings its own music, dances, traditional dresses, and agriculture to the Capital.

“We do have a large Oaxacan, Mixteco, Zapoteco, community in Monterey County, so it's not just focused in Salinas, but also down south in Greenfield, Soledad and King City,” Santos says. “Guelaguetza is one of those spaces where if you’re Mixteco or you're Indigenous, you feel welcome, and you know that here you're going to find a community.”

Every year more than 2,000 people show up to the La Guelaguetza event and Salinas is one of 12 cities or registered delegates that host this event. The other cities include Santa Cruz, Fresno, San Jose and Los Angeles, to name a few.

Attendees can expect folkloric dance groups representing different Oaxacan regions; many of the dancers come from Southern California. After each performance, dancers also hand out food items tied to their region—bananas, apples, oranges, pineapples, bread, and sweets—turning the stage into a living lesson in both culture and harvest.

But La Guelaguetza is not only about performances. Santos and her team are working to weave in community resources, from immigration information and connections to the Mexican consulate to potential food distribution in partnership with local agencies and food banks.

“We're trying to incorporate a more bilingual program, so far everything's been pretty much in Spanish, but we do understand there's more people interested and sometimes the language barrier can be difficult,” Santos adds. “We’re just trying to stay local and we would like to highlight everything that Salinas Valley is.”

Earlier this year, La Guelaguetza, Salinas was recognized and named a Champion of the Arts honoree by the Arts Council for Monterey County representing District 1.

“This year has been the first time in 17 years that we were recognized by anyone, and we're really thankful, and that means that we're actually doing something positive for the community, and that encourages us to do even more,” Santos says.

This Sunday’s celebration invites the entire Salinas Valley—Oaxacan or not—to come learn, listen and share in that spirit of Guelaguetza, Santos says.

The event begins at 10am and runs through 5pm on Sunday, Aug. 16 at Natividad Creek Park, located at 1395 Nogal Drive.