Communities of Oaxaca de Juárez are building the first intangible cultural heritage inventory of their city together with UNESCO, the Secretariat of Culture — through the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) and the Unit for Living Cultures, Intangible Heritage and Interculturality (UCUVI) — and the Secretariat of Agrarian, Territorial and Urban Development (SEDATU), in a process that seeks to lay the groundwork for living heritage to be integrated into urban planning and to guide responsible and sustainable tourism in the hands of its communities, opening the way for other municipalities to advance in the same direction.
The actions are part of a UNESCO regional program in cities of Latin America and the Caribbean, supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which since August 2025 has succeeded in bringing together all three levels of government in its technical team alongside representatives of the communities bearing four manifestations of local living heritage that reflect the cultural diversity of the city of Oaxaca and its deep roots in the social and cultural life of its neighborhoods:
- The traditional lacework of the Xochimilco neighborhood, whose textile artisans have passed down their knowledge from generation to generation.
- The production of artisanal snow (sorbets and ice cream), whose producers safeguard gastronomic knowledge of the city’s identity and its everyday memory.
- The mayordomía of the Xochimilco neighborhood, a community that continues to strengthen communal organization and the bonds of reciprocity and collective celebration.
- The comparsas of the Jalatlaco neighborhood, a festive expression that brings together music, dance, neighborhood organization, and the appropriation of public space, contributing to the intergenerational transmission of values, knowledge, and ways of living together.
Textile artisans, producers of traditional snow, and members of the mayordomías and comparsas actively participate in the registration and documentation processes. They also have exchanged knowledge, experiences, and perspectives to identify the elements that enable their practices to continue, as well as the challenges these cultural expressions face, which — in addition to being singular — reveal the close relationship between heritage, community identity, and urban life.
From 26 to 28 May 2026, two working sessions were held with representatives of the bearer communities at the Galería de Arte Oaxaca, to strengthen the information in the registration instruments as well as the sections on safeguarding measures and plans. A meeting was also held with bearers of the Jalatlaco’s Comparsa tradition.
Meetings were also held with young local artists who created murals in public spaces of the city as part of the cash for work component of the same regional program, known as “Joven Oaxaca. Art Festival.” Participants shared their creative processes and how their works contribute to the appropriation of public space and the promotion of local living heritage. In addition to the murals located at El Fortín, the owners of corner stores (tienditas de barrio) who opened their spaces for the art interventions were recognized.
As next steps, the advances of the community processes will be shared at the Encuentro de Tradiciones Culturales como Patrimonio Vivo de América Latina (Encounter of Cultural Traditions as Living Heritage of Latin America), to be held by INAH and UCUVI in Oaxaca in November 2026. UNESCO will also formalize a cooperation agreement with the Secretariat of Cultures and Arts of the Government of the State of Oaxaca and the Secretariat of Culture, Education and Reading Promotion of the Municipality of Oaxaca de Juárez for the adoption and follow-up of the inventory, the continuity of participatory meetings with the bearer communities, and the articulation of the inventory’s findings with the urban planning instruments of the Municipality in coordination with SEDATU.
READ MORE: https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/communities-oaxaca-advance-unesco-strengthen-urban-planning-and-sustainable-tourism-centered-those?hub=701
