Night of the Radishes

The Noche de Rabanos has run since 1897, and it remains gloriously absurd: for one night each December 23, the arcades of Oaxaca's zocalo fill with tableaux carved entirely from radishes - not salad radishes but purpose-grown monsters, left in the ground for months until they reach the size of forearms and twist into usable shapes. Competitors, many from farming families with generations in the contest, spend the day carving nativities, Zapotec gods, cathedral facades, Guelaguetza dancers, Catrinas and entire villages, complete with radish-skin drapery and toothpick armatures. Two companion categories use dried corn husks and everlasting flowers, both immune to the radishes' fatal flaw: the sculptures begin wilting within hours, which is the whole point - the show exists for a single evening and dies by morning. The queue to file past the stands can wrap the square for hours, buñuelos are eaten and the clay dishes smashed for luck, and the winners are announced to genuine civic passion. Nothing else in Mexico is quite this specific.

What you actually see

• The radish tableaux - nativities and skeletons carved in root.
• The corn-husk and flower categories - the longer-lived companions.
• The queue - the whole city filing past the arcades.
• The buñuelo stands - fritters and smashed dishes for luck.

When to go

December 23, from late afternoon into the night - come early to see carving finished and to join the line before it doubles back on itself.

Honest expectations

The queue is long and slow; patience is the ticket price. The sculptures wilt visibly as the evening goes on - earlier is fresher. December in Oaxaca fills hotels for the whole Christmas week.

Nearby

The zocalo's arcades, Santo Domingo's church and the December posadas surround the event.