18th Annual Guelaguetza Festival Celebrates Culture

By Journalist Dr. Ms. Jones

POUGHKEEPSIE – On Sunday, August 3rd, the riverfront came alive with music, color, and tradition with the 18th Annual La Guelaguetza Festival at Waryas Park. The festival was organized by The Guelaguetza 2025 Organizing Committee, made up of community members from Revista La Voz, Sun River Health, The Poughkeepsie Public Library, and Revolución Radio, and drew hundreds from across the country and beyond.

La Guelaguetza, a Zapotec word, means “to give and share.” It is rooted in Indigenous Oaxacan traditions and honors the Corn Goddess Centeotl who is in Zapotec mythology. Today, it is a blissful expression of reciprocal support through music, dance, food, and cultural exchange. Since 2008, La Guelaguetza has brought this spirit to Poughkeepsie.

“We’re giving a gift to the community of the Hudson Valley. But this travels all the way from Oaxaca to Poughkeepsie. We’ve been celebrating this festival every year [for] two Mondays of July [the last two Mondays of July] and all the regions from the Oaxaca area, they will come together to give to the others what we produce, the art, the food, music, and we dance for people,” said Felipe Santos, President of La Guelaguetza Organizing Committee from Revolución Radio who explained why we celebrate it in August in Poughkeepsie. “If we wanted to have musicians, it has to be when Oaxaca doesn’t have it. Otherwise, we’re not going to be able to find musicians [or] costumes. So, we let Oaxaca do their festival first and then we’ll do it. This way it doesn’t interfere.”

This year, dancers, musicians, and singers participated, with many traveling from Oaxaca, Mexico, and from the United States. La Guelaguetza was made possible in part by Dutchess Tourism through a grant administered by Arts Mid-Hudson. Additional sponsors included Audio Durán NY, City of Poughkeepsie Fire Department, City of Poughkeepsie Police Department, City of Poughkeepsie Public Works Department, Cunneen-Hackett Arts Center, Hudson Valley Clearwater, Hudson Valley Justice Center, New York Injury Law, Planned Parenthood del Gran Nueva York, Radio Kingston, Senator Rob Rolison, and many more.

The celebration kicked off at noon with a vibrant procession performed by the Marqueos Music Philharmonic Band accompanied by calenda monkeys and lanterns. The festival’s Corn Goddess, a young Oaxaqueña, representing the heart of the culture and dressed in dazzling traditional attire was presented. Emely Ramirez Hernandez, whose parents are from Zaachila, was chosen as representative of Oaxan women and bearer of the spirit.

Bilingual Master of Ceremonies, Nayelli Chavez-Geller and Jenifer Hernandez, led the audience through performances from various regions of Mexico such as the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, the Sierra Norte, and the Mixteca. Groups like the Grupo Folklórico de Poughkeepsie (Poughkeepsie Folkloric Group), Ballet Folklórico Mexicano de Nueva York (Mexican Folkloric Ballet of New York), Ballet Folklórico Guadalupano (Guadalupano Folkloric Ballet), Grupo de Zancudos (Stilt-Walking Group), and the Grupo Nisa Nacbani (Nisa Nacbani Group) showcased dances that told stories of resilience, heritage, and celebration. The final performance was the traditional burning of the bull where a “torito” (a figure representing a bull) chases dancers in a high-energy, festive performance reflecting Oaxacan heritage that had the crowd dancing into the sunset.

Food and clothing vendors lined the banks of the Hudson River, providing everything from fresh fruit and juice, tacos, empandas, tlayudas, sopes, tamales wrapped in banana leaves, dorados, cemitas, birria, borrachos, elotes (corn on the cob), to tartaletas, barquillos, casquitos, nengaunitos, gaznates, chicharron, raspados (Mexican shaved ice), frescas, and horchata. Artisans sold embroidered blouses and handwoven textiles, offering a direct connection to Oaxacan entrepreneurship and craftsmanship.

“I am very happy [to be a food vendor this year]. I’m always happy to come… It feels… cultural. They have a lot of like dances. Then at the end they do the fireworks… It just feels… like Mexico,” said Lizmaria Flores of Tacos Don Goyo who is from Puebla.

Despite the festive atmosphere, many undocumented community members expressed quiet anxiety over the threat of ICE raiding this year’s festival. Some past participants hesitated to attend out of fear of deportation. As in past years, immigration rights organizations, like Reunite Migrant Families Hudson Valley, supplied resources at the event, emphasizing the reality many families face even during moments of gladness.

“It was a very different feeling this year. I’ve been coming here for the past six years. We usually have a larger crowd and this is one of the most important festivals in Mexico and even in Latin America. La Guelaguetza, which they recreate here in Poughkeepsie, thanks to the parents that instill traditions in their children, they buy, they bring the outfits from Mexico, from Oaxaca. They practice their performances all year long, and this year, they even thought about canceling it, because there’s such great fear in the community that what if ICE would come and there’s a raid taking place. So, before the performance started, the organizers spoke to the crowd and told them how they had consulted with local authorities and the local police, and how, in the event that ICE officials were to pop up, that the police was not collaborating with them, and they gave a series of instructions as to what to do, remain calm, don’t panic, etc, etc. This is like the first time that ICE has ever been mentioned, and it’s a topic that affects the migrant community,” said Nayelli Chavez-Geller who has been the emcee for 6 years, is a journalist with Univision, and was born and raised in Oaxaca. “Poughkeepsie is home to a very large community, not only from Mexico, but from Oaxaca. That’s why [we celebrate] La Guelaguetza.”

Journalist Ms. Jones