Photo: Oaxaca en Utah · La Guelaguetza 2025
Culture, community, and continuity
A starting point for learning and connection
Each card separates verified organization history, festival history, current status, official links, and independent sources.
Across the United States, Oaxacan communities sustain cultural heritage through Guelaguetzas, dance, music, Indigenous languages, food, art, advocacy, education, and community service.
Every local community has its own history, programs, and approach to sharing Oaxaca's living cultures. Oaxaca en Utah created this educational directory as a starting point for discovering their work and learning directly from the sources each community makes available.
This directory begins with eleven carefully sourced listings. It does not claim to represent every Oaxacan community in the country, and an omitted community should never be understood as inactive or less important.
Dates and event plans can change. Visit the linked official source before making travel or participation plans.
Verified starting directory
Explore by region, state, city, or cultural focus
Search all eleven listings or use the filters. Regions without a verified starting entry remain visible so the directory is honest about its current coverage.
11 verified listings shown
West
7
Fresno, California
Centro Binacional para el Desarrollo Indígena Oaxaqueño (CBDIO)
Verified through official organization sources
An Indigenous-led organization supporting self-determination through economic, language, education, health, immigration, and worker-justice initiatives for Indigenous communities in rural California.
- Organization founded
- 1993
- First known festival
- 1999
- Featured festival or program
- Guelaguetza Fresno
- Current or recurring status
- Recurring and confirmed through September 28, 2025, when CBDIO presented the 25th celebration at Fresno City College. No 2026 date was verified by July 15.
Los Angeles, California
Organización Regional de Oaxaca (ORO)
Verified through established news coverage
A community-supported organization that preserves Indigenous Oaxacan culture through affiliated community groups, dance ensembles, music, cultural activities, and Festival Guelaguetza ORO.
- Organization founded
- 1987
- First known festival
- 1987
- Featured festival or program
- Festival Guelaguetza ORO
- Current or recurring status
- Historically recurring. Organizers canceled the 2025 Guelaguetza and Convite because of community-safety concerns related to immigration-enforcement activity. No verified 2026 announcement was located.
Oxnard, California
Mixteco/Indígena Community Organizing Project (MICOP)
Verified through official organization sources
An organization founded in Oxnard that supports, organizes, and empowers Indigenous migrant communities across California's Central Coast through advocacy, services, cultural programming, and community leadership.
- Organization founded
- 2001
- First known festival
- September 2007 (organizer-reported)
- Featured festival or program
- Oxnard Guelaguetza Festival
- Current or recurring status
- MICOP is active. The latest government-confirmed Oxnard Guelaguetza was June 23, 2024, at Plaza Park; its 2026 calendar does not currently list a Guelaguetza date.
San Marcos, California
Coalition of Indigenous Communities of Oaxaca (COCIO)
Historical listing—current activity not confirmed
An intergenerational Oaxacan community coalition whose documented public work centers on preserving and sharing Oaxacan culture through Guelaguetza Festival San Diego.
- Featured festival or program
- Guelaguetza Festival San Diego
- Current or recurring status
- The latest firmly verified edition took place October 20, 2024, at Palomar College. The official site still displays 2024 details; no 2025 or 2026 event was verified.
Santa Cruz, California
Senderos
Verified through official organization sources
A Latino community organization offering free cultural arts and educational programs, including Centeotl Danza y Baile, Ensamble Musical, academic support, scholarships, Indigenous-language work, and community celebrations.
- Organization founded
- 2001
- First known festival
- 2005
- Featured festival or program
- Vive Oaxaca Guelaguetza
- Current or recurring status
- Active recurring event. UC Santa Cruz confirmed the 21st annual festival on April 26, 2026, at Branciforte Small Schools Campus.
Sonoma County, California
Oaxaca Tierra del Sol
Verified through an official government or venue listing
A grassroots nonprofit preserving and sharing Oaxacan culture through dance, music, foodways, weaving, and its annual Guelaguetza in Sonoma County.
- Organization founded
- 2013 in Santa Rosa
- First known festival
- 2012 (inferred from contemporaneous reporting)
- Featured festival or program
- Guelaguetza Sonoma County
- Current or recurring status
- Active. The 2026 festival is scheduled for July 19, 10:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m., at the Foley Family Community Pavilion in Healdsburg.
Hillsboro, Oregon
Guelaguetza en Oregon / TierrAgua
Verified through official organization sources
An annual Indigenous cultural gathering coordinated by TierrAgua, or Ñu'un Nducha, a collaborative of pueblos originarios centered on Ñuu Savi and other Indigenous communities. It features dance, wind music, food, textiles, and community connection.
- Featured festival or program
- Guelaguetza en Oregon
- Current or recurring status
- The official site describes the event as annual. The latest government-confirmed edition was August 9, 2025, at Shute Park; no official 2026 date was located.
No listings in this region match the current filters.
Southwest
1
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix Oaxacan Community / Desert Botanical Garden
Historical listing—current activity not confirmed
Phoenix-area Oaxacan community organizers partnered with Desert Botanical Garden to present Guelaguetza through music, dance, food, artisans, and traditions representing Oaxaca's regions.
- First known festival
- Phoenix-area editions in 2018 and 2019; first Garden edition in 2022
- Featured festival or program
- Guelaguetza at Desert Botanical Garden
- Current or recurring status
- Official Garden editions are verified for 2022, 2023, and 2024. The latest confirmed event was October 5–6, 2024; no official 2025 or 2026 listing was located.
No listings in this region match the current filters.
Midwest
0
No verified listings have been added for this region yet.
Northeast
3
New Brunswick, New Jersey
Lazos América Unida
Verified through official organization sources
A nonprofit strengthening Mexican, Indigenous, and immigrant communities through culture, advocacy, grassroots leadership, health and language-access training, and workers' rights. Founder and executive director Teresa Vivar is from Oaxaca.
- Organization founded
- 2003; registered as a nonprofit in 2005
- Featured festival or program
- Guelaguetza in New Brunswick
- Current or recurring status
- The organization is active. City records verify Guelaguetza editions in 2022, 2023, and 2024. A dated 2025 or 2026 edition was not located.
Poughkeepsie, New York
La Guelaguetza de Poughkeepsie
Verified through an official government or venue listing
A community festival created by Oaxacan immigrants and sustained through Grupo Folclórico de Poughkeepsie, local institutions, media organizations, healthcare partners, and volunteers.
- First known festival
- 2008
- Featured festival or program
- La Guelaguetza de Poughkeepsie
- Current or recurring status
- Active annual festival. The 2026 edition is scheduled for Sunday, August 2, from noon to 7:00 p.m. at Victor C. Waryas Park. Cunneen-Hackett Arts Center is the fiscal sponsor.
Queens, New York City, New York
Ballet Folklórico Mexicano de Nueva York (BFMNY)
Verified through official organization sources
A volunteer-led 501(c)(3) organization that promotes Mexican culture and traditions through regional folklórico dance and community performances.
- Organization founded
- 1983
- First known festival
- 2013
- Featured festival or program
- Guelaguetza New York City
- Current or recurring status
- Active. The 14th annual event is scheduled for Sunday, July 26, 2026, from noon to 6:00 p.m. at Socrates Sculpture Park in Long Island City.
No listings in this region match the current filters.
South
0
No verified listings have been added for this region yet.
Independent communities and festivals
The organizations, community initiatives, and festivals in this directory operate independently. Inclusion does not represent a formal partnership, endorsement, certification, or affiliation with Oaxaca en Utah.
Information was gathered from official websites, public announcements, government or venue listings, and reputable news sources. Programs, dates, locations, and contact details may change, so please confirm current information directly with the organizers before making plans.