THE 6 MOST POPULAR LEGENDS OF OAXACA - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The main legends of Oaxaca are diverse narratives that narrate paranormal events that have occurred in this Mexican state. Among the most important are the Callejón del Muerto, the Cerro de la Vieja in Oaxaca and the Princess Donají, among many others.

These stories are part of the traditions of the people of Oaxaca and have given it a particular tourist attraction, as they draw the attention of visitors due to the enigma that characterizes them.

The legend of the alley of the dead is one of the most popular in Oaxaca. It involves the watchmen, men who guarded the streets. Source: pixabay.com

As they have been transmitted through oral narratives, from generation to generation, there is no single version of each legend, but there are many versions loaded with various details that give them that touch of magical realism so characteristic of Latin America.

The legends of Oaxaca cover its peoples with an aura of enigma because they are fantastic explanations about certain phenomena of nature or undisclosed mysteries. Each of these stories contains in itself keys about the idiosyncrasy of this province and even about the spirit of Mexico.

6 curious legends of Oaxaca

The tradition of myths and legends of this Mexican province is very prolific in stories as well as in various versions of them. Below we describe the main legends of this state, located in southwestern Mexico.

-Legend of the Cerro de la Vieja in Oaxaca

Many years ago, the San Pedro Mixtepec municipality was a place where men used to go hunting, long before it was a populated center as it is today.

Legend has it that a group of hunters stopped in front of a large rock located on a hill, in which the silhouette of a beautiful exuberant Indian woman, with a pair of black braids, was seen. Next to the stone, the men noticed an impressive amount of lead.

The hunters rushed to divide the lead while still gazing at the beautiful woman drawn on the rock.

The voice ran away and more and more men were approaching the hill to find the metal for their bullets, and to try to run into the beautiful Indian woman. Many returned disappointed because there was no sign of the stunning woman.

However, a situation began to alert the hunters. Of every three groups of men who went up the hill, only two returned who said they had not seen the lady.

The inhabitants of the municipality say that they used to hear terrifying screams of men who were chased by the Indian woman of the stone, since once she appeared before them she detached herself from her rock to pursue them until they were lost forever.

-The legend of the dead man's alley

Another of the famous legends of the province of Oaxaca is the one that refers to the alley of the dead, due to a mysterious and creepy event that occurred in a part of the well-known street called April 2.

At the time when electricity did not exist, the cobblestone streets were guarded by men who were called serene. During the dark, they guarded the streets by lighting up lanterns.

One dark night, a heartbreaking scream broke the silence. The watchman ran to the church to look for the priest. When he saw the priest, he informed him that in the street there was a stabbed man who was dying and only asked to be heard in confession.

The priest went out with the watchman to the alley; there lay the dying man. For a while, the clergyman listened to a painful confession until he was acquitted.

The wounded man fell dead. When the priest looked in the dark for his companion, the watchman, he only found his lantern.

Out of sheer curiosity, he brought the lamp close to the dead man's face: it was the same serene man who was lying. Legend has it that the priest ran in terror to the church to take refuge. From that moment on, the clergyman was deaf in the ear where he heard the confession of the dying man.

-Legend of the Matlazihua

Legend has it that a woman in a white dress wanders through the streets of Miahuatlán de Porfirio Díaz in Oaxaca, almost floating in the middle of the loneliness of the night.

Although no one who has seen her remembers her face in detail, they manage to say that she is beautiful and that she has a truly irresistible seductive air. It is known by the name of the Matlazihua and it usually appears to those men who walk around the street after hours. It seduces them and leads them to perdition.

Legend has it that a famous military man from Miahuatlán was on a spree with his friends when suddenly a beautiful woman appeared out of nowhere.

Her immaculate white suit and her long black hair attracted the military man, who left with her, getting lost in the night. His partymates watched him walk away helplessly. The next day, the military man was found lying in a canyon made a mess, perhaps the product of a beating.

In colonial times it was said that all men had to take shelter at home before the night watchman began to light the lanterns, because whoever was in the night was realengo the Matlazihua would take, to do him any harm.

-Legend of Princess Donají

The beautiful princess Donají was the daughter of the kings of the Zapotec people, who lived in constant war with their neighbors, the Mixtecs. In this environment of violence and death, Donají's beauty flourished.

There are several versions of the legend of the princess of the Zapotecs. One of these tells that in the midst of the conflict, in a bloody battle Nucano, the young prince of the Mixtecs, was wounded.

In an act of compassion, Donají rescued him and hid him in his room to heal him. During the time he was in hiding, love sprouted between the two young men.

The war continued until the Mixtecs won. As an act of surrender, they demanded that the princess of Donají be offered as a hostage of peace to the young prince Nucano.

Despite her love for the young prince, Donají asked her father to rescue her because she feared for his fate and, especially, for his people. The rescue was frustrated but still claimed the lives of many Mixtecos, so in revenge they murdered the beautiful Donají without the consent of her love Nucano.

Time after

After a while, a young shepherd boy had his flock near the Atoyac river when he saw a beautiful wild lily or lily. Stunned by its beauty, he decided to uproot it rather than nip it.

When digging, he realized that the bud came from an ear, which belonged to a beautiful head that was completely in good condition, almost as if it were alive. It was the head of Princess Donají.

Later, both the body and the head were buried in the temple of Cuilapan, as a way to attract new faithful devotees to the Catholic religion. During the burial, the young Zapotec princess was baptized Juana Cortés.

-Legend of the cart of death

The residents of Miahuatlán say that on Basilio Rojas Street, in the center of the town, at night you can hear the knocking of a cart and the rhythmic passage of some horses, accompanied by whistles or laughter.

Although no one has seen it, the sound is loud and clear, enough to make grandmothers and mothers forbid their children to go outside to play at night, because surely they would run into the horror of the cart of the death.

Although the possible origin of this disturbing noise is unknown, the residents say that it dates back to the time when Miahuatlán was home to merchant muleteers, who lived by transporting food, mezcal and other merchandise to the coast.

-The legend of Isla del Gallo

In the middle of the San José Manialtepec lagoon, which is located on the coast of Oaxaca, is the Isla del Gallo, a small extension of land that has few trees and abundant aquatic flora.

The lagoon is an area of ​​mangroves, where you can fish large specimens, catch shrimp and crabs and other animals. As a water corridor forms, huge reptiles like crocodiles often roam.

Legend has it that many years ago an expert crocodile hunter lived on that islet who walked through the mangroves of the area. The hunter had a rooster that adored him. Before going hunting, the rooster would say goodbye to him with his song and when he returned he said goodbye with a scandalous racket.

One bad day, on Christmas Eve, the hunter lost the battle against a fierce crocodile that devoured him. The rooster was always waiting for the return of his master for years, until he died on the islet alone and hungry.

The fishermen assure that every Christmas Eve at 12 o'clock at night the rooster is heard crowing in a desolate way to call his master, who never returned from that painful encounter with the crocodile that took his life. This legend is the reason that this islet receives the name of Isla del Gallo.

References

1. "Legends of Oaxaca: find the most emblematic legends" in Mystery. Recovered June 10, 2019 in Misterioteca: misterioteca.com
2. "Legends of Oaxaca" in Exploring Oaxaca. Recovered June 10, 2019 in Exploring Oaxaca: Promocióningoaxaca.com
3. «Legend of Oaxaca« Donají »» in Así es mi México. Retrieved June 10, 2019 in Asi es mi Mexico: asiesmimexico.mx
4. Maarten Jansen (June 1987) "Dzavuindanda, Ita Andehui and Iukano, Mixtec history and legend" in Bulletin of Latin American and Caribbean Studies. Retrieved June 10, 2019 at JSTOR: jstor.org
5. "Myths and Legends of Oaxaca" (July 23, 2018) in Para todo México. Retrieved June 10, 2019 in For all of Mexico: paratodomexico.com