Keeping Oaxaca Traditions Alive on the Central Coast

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Carlos Jarquín twirls in his Santa Bárbara backyard, singing softly to himself as he balances a towering mono de calenda.

The giant papier-mâché figure moves with him, its colorful skirt and painted face catching the sunlight. Every step tells a story of tradition and home.

“Hola, Qué tal? Mi nombre es Carlos Jarquín, soy de Ejutla de Crespo, Oaxaca México,” he says. Carlos has lived here for about 18 years. But Oaxaca is never far from his heart.

“Este proyecto llamado Oaxaca Creations Manos de Calenda lo empezó mi esposa… Haciendo dos manos de Calenda a petición de una señorita que iba a cumplir 15 años. Todo viene a cuestión cultural… y con el sentido de que se extraña la tierra en donde nació uno,” he explains. Translation: "This project, called Oaxaca Creations Manos de Calenda, was started by my wife… making two monos de calenda at the request of a young woman who was turning 15. It all comes from a cultural tradition… and from that feeling of missing the land where one was born."

The monos de calenda are central to Oaxaca’s calenda parades. Vibrant, colorful, and deeply rooted in history.

“Básicamente las calendas es un… desfile religioso… cada pueblo tiene por lo menos una capilla dedicada al Santo Patrón o a la Virgen de Guadalupe,” Carlos says. Translation: "Basically, a calenda is a… religious parade… each town has at least one chapel dedicated to the Patron Saint or to the Virgin of Guadalupe."

The parades begin with a convite, nine days before the feast day. On the day of the calenda, dancers, musicians, and monos parade through town, traditionally lit by maize torches called ocote.

“Al principio no había carros alegóricos… ahora… acompañado también de los tradicionales monos que en algunos lugares llaman Mexican gas o gigantes, pero básicamente son muñecos,” Carlos explains. Translation: "At first, there were no floats… now, they are included, along with the traditional monos, which in some places are called ‘Mexican gas’ or giants, but basically, they are puppets."

Creating a mono is labor-intensive, taking about two weeks to make.

“Cuando mi esposa empezó a hacer estos famosos monos de Calenda… empezó exactamente dos semanas antes de la fiesta. Las vejigas, los globos forrando con papel periódico. Yo ayudé con la pintada de las cabezas, la hechura de los cuerpos… fue un trabajo en equipo,” he says. Translation: "When my wife started making these famous monos de calenda… she began exactly two weeks before the party. The bladders, the balloons covered with newspaper. I helped with painting the heads, making the bodies… it was a team effort."

For the Jarquíns, it’s more than art—it’s memory.

“Vimos la alegría en las caras de los niños y adultos… se acuerdan de aquellos días cuando eran niños y estaban en el pueblo… alistándose para ir a la tradicional Calenda. Y sé cómo se siente en esos momentos… es una tradición de Oaxaca que ahora está aquí en Santa Bárbara,” Carlos shares. Translation: "We saw the joy on the faces of children and adults… they remember those days when they were kids in the village… getting ready to go to the traditional Calenda. And I know how it feels in those moments… it’s a tradition from Oaxaca that is now here in Santa Bárbara."

The family business continues to grow, spreading culture and joy.

“Hay que a veces tomar retos o simplemente atreverse a hacer algo… No solo, mi esposa fue la que hizo esto, y trabajamos un equipo bonito, entre ella, yo, la familia, hermanos y amigos,” he says. Translation: “Sometimes you have to take on challenges or simply dare to do something… Not only that, my wife was the one who started this, and we worked as a wonderful team—her, me, family, siblings, and friends."

Through each colorful figure, every dance, every smile, the Jarquíns keep a piece of Oaxaca alive—sharing their roots and traditions with a new home on the Central Coast.