Visitors from Mexico and around the world stood for hours in a line that stretched for blocks to see a spectacle that the city of Oaxaca has hosted for more than 120 years.
The attraction? Radishes.
Every Dec. 23, the southern Mexican city, celebrated for its vibrant culture, cuisine and history, comes to a near standstill for a simple vegetable typically served in soups, on salads and with tacos.
But instead of eating the radishes, the crowds gather for the annual Noche de Rábanos competition (the Night of the Radishes), where local residents transform the root vegetable into extravagant works of art.
This year there were Nativity scenes, Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) displays, depictions of Indigenous mythology and much more.
“The material is so fun,” said María de los Angeles Aragón García, 21, a local visual arts student who competed for the first time with two friends. “It reminds me of my childhood, when they said, ‘Don’t play with your food.’ But here they say, ‘Sculpt something with your food.’”
Mexico bursts with vibrant traditions, yet few are as enchanting as this one in Oaxaca. What began as local vendors decorating their fish and vegetable stands at a Christmas market in the city center evolved into a contest back in 1897. The radish became the official medium because it was abundant and easy to mold.
“It’s part of our idiosyncrasy and our economic reality,” said Francisco Martínez Neri, Oaxaca’s mayor. “People make art or songs or poetry from whatever they have.”
Although Oaxaca has expanded from a farming town into a city with a metropolitan population of 800,000, its residents have kept the custom alive. A state decree protects the yearly event, and the city provides the radishes — 12 tons this year — free to the participants.
There are two different varieties of radishes for contestants to use, including one that grows up to seven pounds. (No, these aren’t supposed to be eaten, city officials said, because of the insecticides and treated water used to grow them.)
Some Oaxacan families have been competing for decades, passing down the craft and their carving tips from one generation to the next.
“In the beginning, you want to win because there is a prize,” said José Domingo Luría Aquino, 44, a local artist and sculptor. In the traditional radish category this year, first place won about $1,500, with cash awards extending to 20th place.
“But with time,” Mr. Luría Aquino continued, “you do it because of tradition, and it’s why we’ve instilled it in our children.”
Mr. Luría Aquino met his wife, Ileana, 39, at the contest 18 years ago, and they have competed almost every year since. “December smells like radishes to me,” she said.
The night before the event, the entire family — including their children Fernando, 14; Sofia, 11; and Alejandro, 5, — gathered in the garage of a studio to carve radishes for their display. Their entry depicted the traditional Flor de Piña (Flower of Pineapple) dance in which Oaxacan women wear radiant outfits while holding the fruit on their shoulders.
Not all families competing, though, have professional artists leading the charge.
The winner in the traditional radish category this year was Carlos David Vásquez López, a 19-year-old communications student who was home in Oaxaca from college in Chicago for the winter break.
His father, 50, is a pastor and his mother, 47, is a midwife, yet the family has won first place several times over the decades.
Although Mr. Vásquez López has been competing in the event since he was 7, this was his first time choosing the theme for the family’s entry and directing them. He picked Oaxacan food because he missed it so much while away.
“For me, for my family, it’s a chance to share a message and an idea about Oaxaca,” he said. Some of his earliest memories, he added, are of sitting around and talking as a family while making a radish display.
In the patio at his parents’ home, the family had a giant whiteboard with sketches of their plans. Mr. Vásquez López, his younger brother Daniel, 15, and his father focused on the larger structures in their exhibit: the food stands, carts and tables. His mother and aunt handled the smaller details: the traditional Oaxacan tlayudas (imagine a large crispy corn tortilla pizza), clothing or hair.
The family was racing against time. All the adult participants picked their radishes from the field on Thursday, leaving four days to prepare their entries. But radishes dry out and rot quickly when out of the ground, particularly after being carved. So the contestants try to keep them moist, submerging the vegetables in water or constantly spraying them.
The day before the competition, Mr. Vásquez López and his family worked into the wee hours. He said he didn’t get to sleep until 4:30 a.m. Monday and his father until 6 a.m. They woke up soon after to head to the city center and set up their stand. The judges came by around noon and the gates opened for the public from 2 p.m. until midnight.
Any resident of Oaxaca state is allowed to compete and for free. The city spent roughly $65,000 on this year’s event, including buying the radish seeds and hosting children’s workshops, said Ángel Norberto Osorio Morales, the city’s tourism secretary. Officials view it as an important promotional tool for the city — an estimated 10,000 visitors came to the event in 2022 — as well as for Oaxacan customs and creativity.
“It’s impressive how this tradition among Oaxacans keeps reinventing itself every year because no figures are the same,” he said. “It keeps surprising us.”
This year there were more than 100 entries, including the smaller competitions where displays are made mostly from a local flower or corn husks. In the radish categories, participants are allowed to use other materials, such as wood or grass, but they have to be organic and the majority of the stand has to be made from the star of the night: radishes.
Día de los Muertos and Nativity scenes were the most common themes on Monday. Two submissions came from inmates at penitentiaries in the state. Four children — and their teacher — participated from a local public culinary school.
Over the decades, city officials said, the event has not only exhibited Oaxacan culture but society at large. When humans first landed on the moon, in 1969, and during the Zapatista uprising, in 1994, for example, the displays those years reflected those events.
When the winners were declared on Monday night, Mr. Vásquez López was shocked to find that his entry had triumphed. After accepting his certificate and ceremonial check, he embraced his family, including a cousin who clinched third place. Overwhelmed with joy, his mother cried.
“The satisfaction I feel is that I brought the same spirit that I saw in my parents when I was little,” Mr. Vásquez López said.
He vowed to defend his title next year.
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