Guelaguetza

Guelaguetza means "reciprocal offering" in Zapotec, and that's the whole spirit of it: delegations from Oaxaca's eight regions climb the Cerro del Fortín on two consecutive Mondays to perform folk dances in traditional dress, and then — genuinely — throw gifts into the crowd. Baskets of bread, pottery, mezcal, hats, whatever the region is known for, tossed to whoever's standing there with their hands out. It is one of the few "festivals" left where the audience is treated as a participant in an exchange, not a paying spectator.

Skip the pricey stadium seats if your budget's tight — smaller pueblo Guelaguetzas in Zaachila, El Tule, and San Antonino run the same folkloric dancing for free or next to nothing, hillside crowds mostly made up of locals rather than tour groups. Oaxaca in July is already deep into a month of overlapping food and drink fairs, so solo travelers have an easy week to build: wander a mezcal tasting one afternoon, catch a comparsa the next evening, hike up to a free pueblo Guelaguetza on the Monday.

This is Oaxaca doing what it does best — folding a visitor, alone or not, into a celebration that was never designed to exclude anyone in the first place.