Every year, the Sunday before the Guelaguetza, there is one of the greatest spectacles of this festivity at the city auditorium: Donají the legend. Have you ever heard about it? or, have you attended this extraordinary staging? if not, let us tell you about this story, which is part of Oaxaca culture.
The story says that Princess Donají was the daughter of the Zapotec king Cosijoeza, whose capital of his domains was in Zaachila, her name means “great soul”, and when she was born, a priest from Mitla deciphered in the sky the fatality sign, predicting that she would sacrifice herself for love of her Zapotec people.
When the Mixtecs and Zapotecs met in a fierce battle, she met the wounded Mixtec prince “Nucano,” with whom she fell in love.
When the Zapotecs were defeated, the Mixtecs asked “Donají” as a pledge of peace so that King “Cosijoeza” would respect the treaties. The princess was taken to live in a palace in Monte Albán, and one night, when they tried to rescue her, she was sacrificed by a warrior. Since then, her lover “Nucano” governed the Zapotecs with love in memory of “Donají,” their bodies rest under the same grave in Cuilápam.
This is one of the favorite performances during the festivity of la Guelaguetza, a love and culture story, which makes us feel proud of our roots. We invite you to assist the auditorium this July 16 and 23 to discover the mysticism this story keeps.
