- Area de ventas
Moving to Oaxaca City or its surrounding towns (like Tule, Teotitlán, or San Felipe) is a dream for many. However, there is one factor no real estate brochure will mention: Oaxaca is a perpetual party. And in this party, silence is an almost non-existent luxury.
The Heart of the Towns: Patron Saint Festivals and Mayordomía
In Oaxaca, every neighborhood and village has a Patron Saint. The Mayordomía is the system where a family takes charge of organizing and funding the year’s festival. This isn’t just a religious event; it’s the glue that holds the community together.
- Calendas: Parades featuring giant papier-mâché puppets (monos de calenda), brass bands, and large spherical lanterns (marmotas) that roam the streets announcing the festivities.
- Guelaguetza: This doesn’t just happen in July. Throughout the year, towns replicate this spirit of “sharing” through the exchange of food, mezcal, and communal labor (Tequio).
The Soundscape: Fireworks and Brass Bands
If you decide to live here, you should know that your official alarm clock isn’t your phone—it’s the “starting rockets.”
- Fireworks (Cohetes): These are used to “notify” the heavens and the neighbors that the celebration has begun. It is common to hear detonations at 5:00 AM.
- Pyrotechnic Castles (Castillos): Monumental structures that burn at midnight. It’s an incredible visual spectacle, but the thunderous roar is constant for days.
- 24/7 Noise: Brass bands (bandas de viento) can play for 12 or 15 hours straight. In Oaxaca, noise isn’t seen as auditory pollution; it’s a sign of life and communal joy.
Do These Festivals Disrupt Harmony?
This is the big question for new or foreign residents. The answer depends on your perspective:
- The Community’s Vision: For a local, the party is the harmony. It’s the moment where grudges are forgotten, bread is shared, and identity is reaffirmed. Without the noise and the party, the town would lose its soul and its social structure.
- The Challenge for the Outsider: For those seeking “peace and quiet” by Western standards, the culture shock can be intense. Street closures, pyrotechnic smoke, and loud music can be perceived as an invasion of private space.
Tips to “Survive” and Enjoy
To live harmoniously in Oaxaca, the key isn’t to complain about the noise, but to integrate:
- Radical Acceptance: Understand that you moved into their culture, not the other way around. The fireworks are part of the package.
- Participation: If you hear the band near your house, go out, say hello, and perhaps accept a glass of mezcal. Being “the neighbor who joins in” opens more doors than “the neighbor who calls the police” (who, by the way, will rarely intervene in a patron saint festival).
- Preparation: Invest in a good pair of earplugs and, if you have pets, prepare a safe space for them, as they suffer the most from the pyrotechnics.
Living in an Oaxacan town means accepting a different social contract. It’s a place where the community stands above the individual. If you can manage to see the noise as an expression of cultural resilience rather than a nuisance, you will have found true paradise.
