Name: Oaxaca: Dia de los Muerto / Day of the Dead
Start: 2022-10-27T00:00:00.000Z
End: 2022-11-04T00:00:00.000Z
Location: Oaxaca, Mexico

Global Exchange Reality Tours

Email address verified

3 reviews

Oct 27 - Nov 4, 2022

Group size: 1 - 5

Oaxaca: Dia de los Muerto / Day of the Dead

Oaxaca, Mexico

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Global Exchange Reality Tours

Email address verified

3 reviews

Oct 27 - Nov 4, 2022

Group size: 1 - 5

Join us on a very special Reality Tour to Oaxaca, home to 16 different indigenous groups, the largest indigenous population of any Mexican state, during the annual Day of the Dead/Dia de los Muertos celebration. Dating back to the Aztecs, this celebration is a family event to remember departed souls and to celebrate the resurrection of their spirits. They are welcomed back with seas of marigold flowers, elaborate sugar skulls, painted faces, colorful parades, live music and traditional dances.

In addition, explore Oaxaca’s rich culture through excursions to historical archeological ruins, mezcal palenques, and artisan workshops. Witness Oaxaca’s vital culture of resistance based on local indigenous traditions. We will meet the local leaders and women who are often at the forefront of these struggles, organizing themselves and their communities and leading efforts to revitalize local language and culture.

Trip highlights:

* Take part in the Day of the Dead/Dia de los Muertos Celebrations

* Learn about the indigenous people of Oaxaca, their history and struggle to maintain identity

* Meet with local political figures to learn about the current political situation

* Speak with social justice leaders, including professors, teachers, and activists

* Explore the colonial city of Oaxaca while you learn about its history

* Explore local markets

* Learn about Oaxacan migration to the U.S.

* Learn about the repercussions of resort tourism development for local people

* Meet artists and learn about the role they play in the popular movement of Oaxaca

* Visit to a temazcal, a traditional vapor bath and learn about herbology and traditional medicine

Price includes:

* Double-room accommodations. Single room are an additional $250.

* On-ground transportation, including airport pick-up and drop-off

* Trip leader and translations

* Preparatory reading and orientation materials

* Admission and fees to all program activities

* Two meals per day

[Please note the trip price does NOT include international airfare and Global Exchange does not arrange air travel. However, we are happy to put you in touch with preferred air travel specialists if you would like a recommendation. ]

** Please note this trip is not confirmed until the minimum group size is met **

Day 1
Day 1
August 1, Quito
Arrive in Quito and transfer to hotel

Dinner and Introductions

Overnight at Hotel Ikala
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Day 2
Day 2
August 2, Quito - Mitad del Mundo - Yunguilla
7:00 AM: Breakfast at the hotel

8:00 AM: Orientation (1hr)

- Presentations

- Reading and discussion of the document: “Tools to be a socially Conscious & Culturally Sensitive and Respectful Participant”

- Cultural aspects

- Briefing on the socio-political, cultural and historical aspects of Ecuador

- Safety protocol

- Review of itinerary

9:30 AM: Transer to Mitad del Mundo or The Middle of the Earth. Visit the museum of Mitad del Mundo and presentation on Ecuador's indigenous heritage.

12:00 PM: Travel to Yunguilla, a community in the Andean Cloud Forest committed to the sustainable development and ecotourism to learn about this example of community organizing around Educational Community Eco-Tourism, Eco-farming and Fair-trade.

1:00 PM: Introduction by a Community leader and Lunch in Yunguilla followed by a welcome lunch at a community run restaurant. All meals in Yunguilla are organic with ingredients locally produced!

2:00 PM: Presentation by a community leader.

- Meet with Yanguillla based community leader German Collaguazo

to learn about community projects

- Visit the community projects.

- Visit to Yunguilla’s fresh cheese factory and artisanal jam factory to learn about cooperatives and a worker led economy

4:00 PM: Transfer to Quito

5:00 PM: Arrival to the Hotel

7:00 PM: Dinner

Overnight at Hotel Ikala

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Day 3
Day 3
August 3, Quito
10:30 AM : Meeting with the president of CEDENMA (the Ecuadorian Coordinator of Organizations for the Defense of Nature and the Environment) on Rights of Nature in Ecuador.

1:00 PM: Lunch

3:00 PM: Meeting at Accion Ecologica.

- Presentation with Esperanza Martinez, an environmental activist and former General Secretariat of Oilwatch. Esperanza worked as an assistant to former Constituent Assembly President Alberto Acosta, and was one of the main forces to succeed in the struggle to make Nature one of the main axis of the Ecuadorian Constitution. Because of his work, Ecuador became the first country in the world to give Rights to Nature in its Constitution.

5:00 PM: Meeting with a community leader and a lawyer for the plaintiffs in the

case against Chevron.

- An introduction to the Toxic Tour which we will be participating in tomorrow.

7:30 PM: Dinner

Overnight at Hotel Ikala
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Day 4
Day 4
August 4 Quito - Coca - Lago Agrio and the Toxic Tour
6:20 AM: Breakfast at the hotel

7:30 AM: Leave the hotel for the airport

9:20 AM: Fly to Lago Agrio in the Ecuadorian Amazon Region.

10:10 AM: Arrival to the city of Coca, Francisco de Orellana.

10:30 AM: Start of the Toxic Tour lead by Donald Moncayo a long time grass

roots activist, Coordinator of the UDAPT Union of the People Affected

by Texaco's Oil Operations. The UDAPT Union of the People Affected by Texaco's Oil Operations (Chevron/Texaco), was originally formed to “fight Texaco now

Chevron in the worst case of oil pollution on the Planet” and to make

Chevron-Texaco accountable to the communities that have suffered

years of contamination. “The company left a region three times the size of Manhattan polluted with more than 600 open toxic waste pits. To this day, the outdated and unlined dumps continue to leak into the water table, polluting rivers and streams used by more than 30,000 people for drinking water, cooking, bathing and fishing.”

2:00 PM Lunch at hotel Bambu in Sacha

3:00 PM Continuation of the Toxic Tour

6:00 PM Arrival to Coca and check in at hotel Ciudad Canela.

7:00 PM Dinner at Hotel Ciudad Canela

Overnight @ Hotel Ciudad Canela
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Day 5
Day 5
August 5 Coca - Quito
7:00 AM Breakfast at the hotel Ciudad Canela

8:45 AM Transfer to the Airport in Coca

11:10 AM Arrival to Quito

1:00 PM Lunch

3:00 PM Meeting to introduce the next part of the trip and Q&A session

4:00 PM Presentation of the Movie Helena From Sarayacu by Film Maker Eriberto Gualinga (Traya Muscuy) also from Sarayacu.

5:30 PM Discussion and Q and A session

6:00 PM Presentation about the Sarayacu struggle against Oil.

7:00 PM Dinner

Overnight at Ikala

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Day 6
Day 6
August 6 Quit - Puyo
7:00 AM Breakfast at Hotel Ikala

7:30 AM Transfer to Puyo

12:30 PM Arrival to Hotel El Jardin in Puyo

1:00 PM Lunch

2:30 PM Visit to La Casa de la Mujer Amazónica and a presentation by Patricia

Gualinga a Sarayacu leader

PM In Puyo meet with Sarayacu community members and learn about their

struggle, their daily life and their spirituality.

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Day 7
Day 7
August 7 Puyo - Sarayacu - Community in resistance to oil exploitation
All the events in Sarayacu depend on the availability of leaders and the socio-

cultural-political events that are happening at the time in the community. The Sarayacu community has community lead tourism project but they do not want Sarayacu to become a tourist spot. Instead they want to share their struggle and offer their hospitality and knowledge of the rainforest for visitors to learn and enjoy, so please keep this always in mind. During the next few days you will have tours of the community, hikes in the forest, visit to a chakra to learn about food staples and food production and engage in community dialogues. There will be plenty of time to dialogue in Spanish with our guides, host family at the lodge and in the community.

7:00 AM Breakfast at the hotel in Puyo

8:00 AM Departure to Sarayacu in a 3 or 5 passenger plane. (It is a 25 minute

flight).

Welcome by community leaders.

1:00 PM Lunch

PM Walk in the rainforest with community members

5:00 PM Rest.

7:00 PM Dinner

Overnight at the eco lodge in the Sarayacu
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Day 8
Day 8
August 8 Sarayacu
**Our program in Sarayacu is run by the community lead tourism project and the Sarayacu's international relations committee.

7:30 AM Breakfast

8:30 AM Sarayacu Program: This includes meetings with political and spiritual

leaders, conversations with people from the community, visits to representatives of the different projects to address natural resources extraction, sharing of daily life activities with the community, walks through the rainforest etc. The talks, presentations, conversations or personal exchanges will be

around Sarayacu resistance to oil activities in their territory and their defense of the Sumac Causay (The Beautiful life) and La Selva Viviente (The Living Jungle).

1:00 PM Lunch.

2:30 PM Continuation of the program in Sarayacu.

4-5:00 PM A presentation by the community film maker Eriberto Gualinga. HIs films have won several national and international awards.

7:00 PM Dinner

Overnight In Sarayacu at the eco lodge.
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Day 9
Day 9
August 9 Sarayacu
4:00 AM (Optional) A Wayusa ceremony. Wayusa is a traditional energizing drink that is sipped while the elders share their stories and everybody prepares themselves for a day of work. An oral history tradition that keeps the memory alive.

5:30 AM Back to bed

7:30 AM Breakfast

8:30 AM Starting of Activities. The program will include meetings with political and spiritual leaders, conversations with people from the community, visits to representatives of the different alternative projects to address natural resource extraction, sharing of daily life activities with the community, walks through the rainforest etc.

1:00 PM Lunch.

2:30 PM Continuation of the program in Sarayacu.

Dinner

Overnight in Sarayacu eco lodge

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Day 1

August 1, Quito

Arrive in Quito and transfer to hotel

Dinner and Introductions

Overnight at Hotel Ikala

Global Exchange Reality Tours

3 reviews

The idea that travel can be educational and positively influence international affairs motivated the first Reality Tour in 1988. Global Exchange’s Reality Tours are not designed to provide immediate solutions or remedies to the world’s most intractable problems, nor are they simply a kind of voyeurism. Rather, Reality Tours are meant to educate people about how we, individually and collectively, contribute to global problems, and, then, to suggest ways in which we can contribute to positive change locally and internationally.

Our guides, Juan de Dios and Citlali were fantastic. Very knowledgeable and kind. When my luggage got lost, Juan tracked it down and got someone to pick it up at the airport. We visited some wonderful places; I loved the visit to the small communities. The trip should have been two or three days longer so we could have had more time to spend at each activity.

By Catherine S for Oaxaca: Dia de los Muerto / Day of the Dead on Nov 13, 2022

We had a great time. We visited places and talked to people we never would have had access to without the tour. Our tour guide was friendly and very knowledgeable. I would definitely go back.

By Carla S for Translators Tour to Cuba and Varadero on Jun 14, 2022

The organizers worked very hard to have everything ready for us and take care of everything. We weren't given a few pieces of information, but overall, they gladly accommodated all our requests and were very nice.