La Noche del Rabanos

From this to this
The Night of the Radishes - I have been anticipating this day for months. Really, I start getting psyched for next year's as soon as this one ends. I always get there early, about 10 in the morning, to watch the assembling and setup.Every year, for the last 112 years, on the 23rd of December, there is a radish carving competition in the zocalo with the winners receiving large cash prizes. This tradition goes back to when there was a Christmas vigil in the city and vendors decorated their stall with radishes and lettuce. Here is a part of a large representation of a typical vegetable vendor's setup.This year 12 tons of radishes, mostly of the Champion and Bartender varieties, were used. Bartenders can get pretty large, almost a yard long, while the Champions are used for detail work.

In addition, there is a competition using dried corn husks or "totomoxtle," and everlasting flowers, sometime known as straw flowers, which hold their color and shape after drying.The work is often amazingly intricate and detailed. And above all, one has to marvel at people's creativity and ingenuity.
A burial.A rug merchant.
A warrior. A huge band of miniature musicians made from corn husks.Dancers from corn husks and the piña dance from the GuelaguetzaTacos?Detail of the cathedralThe virginAnd of course, chico rabano,I have many more photos and some video, which is yet unseen, but first it is back to the zocalo for the Noche Buena festivities. What a time to be in Oaxaca!