San Dionisio Ocotepec
Allow me to introduce myself. My name is César Francisco García Melchor. I am an indigenous Zapotec, from San Dionisio Ocotepec, a traditional pueblo in the foothills of the mountains above the central valleys of Oaxaca. I spoke only my native Zapotec language until age seven when I entered our village elementary school and learned Spanish. Im also bleassed to have learned english by myself in my twenties, and that was when I recognized my passion to share my culture with others. I am dedicated to preserving the Zapotec language and the traditions of my people, even as we adapt to the 21st century. I invite you to share the diverse cultures and tradition of my people, share a day in the life of my traditional Zapotec village with me.
My family is originally from San Dionisio Ocotepec. We preserve the indigenous traditions, culture and language of our Zapotec ancestors
My small family is made up of my parents, my brother and my uncle. With our indigenous agricultural heritage we cultivate corn, beans, squash, chickpeas and agave in our fields.
Besides keeping our home running smoothly, my mother has a shop where she sells natural medicine.
My father is a musician. He plays the saxophone in his band which is now in its third generation.
My brother is a visual artist. You can see his beautiful paintings in our small home gallery.
My father and I have a bicycle repair workshop. When I’m not leading tours, that’s my second job.
Our two dogs Choco and Arena and our cat tita (all rescued from the street) complete our family.
Did you know? – Toponymy
The use of the name of San Dionisio is in honor of the patron saint San Dionisio Martir. Ocotepec in Nahuatl language means “Hill of ocote pines”, due to the abundance of this flora specie in the area. It comes from Ocotl: “ocote”, Tepetl: “hill” and C: “of”.
The town of San Dionisio Ocotepec is located in the central valley region of the state of Oaxaca, a community within the district of Tlacalula. Like many towns in the state of Oaxaca San Dionisio Ocotepec is ethnically Zapotec (founded in 1610).
Here the people nowadays continue to celebrate the traditions of their culture, as well as enjoying the day with a walk in the beauty of the surrounding natural area.
Did you know? – Toponymy
The use of the name of San Dionisio is in honor of the patron saint San Dionisio Aropajita. Ocotepec in Nahuatl language means “Hill of ocote pines”, due to the abundance of this flora specie in the area. It comes from Ocotl: “ocote”, Tepetl: “hill” and C: “of”.
I love spending time in my town and you will too. It is a very quiet, natural place without much noise, without traffic and with clean mountain air.
In my town most people know each other. We have lived here for generations.I have many family and friends so we greet each other on the street.
In my town, we have a variety of nutritious and delicious foods that we prepare fresh every day.
The mountains are only a 20 minute walk from the town.There we enjoy the fresh air, plants, birds and beautiful scenic views.
Artisans of my town produce a variety of handcrafted goods. They create beautiful embroidery for the blouses and colorful aprons that are our typical village dress.. We have a cooperative business that creates bright handmade shoes. We also have many artisanal mezcal distilleries.
I will meet you in the Metropolitan Cathedral, located next to the zocalo in the downtown, but if you are staying in the central area we can pick you up at your hotel.
Pracical info. – Tourism
Santiago de Matatlan (capital of Mezcal), Mitla (city with ruins), Hierve el agua (natural thermal baths) and other nice places I can recommend are not so far and it is possible to find a good and cheap hostal in the area.
I was traveling solo so I contacted Cesar at his email to see if it was possible to still get a tour or join another one. He said it would be no problem and communicated well leading up to the tour. We went to his family’s home and had a traditional breakfast and lunch and walked around his beautiful town. Cesar was very informative about his family, culture, and life in his town. Then we took his tuk tuk to his brother’s gallery and ended at the mezcal distillery. There was a big thunder and hail storm at the distillery which was actually quite fun to watch. The view was beautiful and it was a nice way to end the trip. Thank you Cesar for sharing your time and culture with me!
Response from Yudiza tours
happy to hear that 🙂
My 2 friends and I joined Cesar for his Tour #1 Gastronomy, Crafts, Culture, and Scenery. We absolutely loved the experience and Cesar & his family were wonderful hosts as we immediately felt welcomed as guests in their home and not just “tourists”. His communication was perfect leading up to the day of the tour and pick up was prompt at my Airbnb. All of the food & drinks provided by his family was delicious and Cesar shared lots of local knowledge during our walk around the town. We were invited to help make chocolate and tortillas with his mother and later visited his brother’s art gallery. We finished our day at his friend’s Palenque outside of town, tasting mezcals and enjoying the incredibly beautiful view from the hillside. I’ve been in Oaxaca for almost 2 months and taken many classes/tours since I got here…Cesar’s tour was absolutely one of the best! Highly recommended!
Response from Yudiza tours
We are happy to hear that . gracias y saludos
Calle Ignacio Zaragoza 8, San Dionisio Ocotepec, OAXACA
cesarin28gar@gmail.com
+52 1 951 439 9262
