Zipolite, Mexico Beach for Christmas ZIPOLITE, Mexico- Business as usual was the carol that was sung on Christmas 2010 in Zipolite — a beach town on the coast of Oaxaca. All the shops were open, people went to work, and tourists walked through the street as if this holiday was just another day at the beach. It was. I could [...]

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Zipolite, Mexico Beach for Christmas

ZIPOLITE, Mexico- Business as usual was the carol that was sung on Christmas 2010 in Zipolite — a beach town on the coast of Oaxaca. All the shops were open, people went to work, and tourists walked through the street as if this holiday was just another day at the beach. It was. I could [...]

Published on December 30, 2010 by Wade Shepard Follow me on Twitter here.

Mexican Christmas tree

ZIPOLITE, Mexico- Business as usual was the carol that was sung on Christmas 

2010 in Zipolite — a beach town on the coast of Oaxaca. All the shops were 

open, people went to work, and tourists walked through the street as if this 

holiday was just another day at the beach.

It was.

I could find little sign of Christmas cheer here in Zipolite save for a gaggle 

of blond hippie girls onerously chanting carols on their walk to the beach, 

two little family shrines set up in homes on the outskirts of town, and a 

plastic evergreen that was tied to the roof of a shop — a Christmas tree, 

even a false one, is a surreal sight in the shinning sun of an 80 degree day

 in the tropics.

I remember celebrating Christmas around a decade ago in a small village 

in the jungle of Peru, and it was truly a wild drunk fest with too much chicha, 

loud music, and lots of dancing. My friend Craig from Travelvice.com 

just emailed me his story of Christmas from Lima, a place that saw massive 

amounts of fireworks and celebration, and I know that Puerto Angel, a 

town a few kilometers away, had a large street party.

I am in Mexico, a fiercely Christian country that celebrates Christmas with 

gusto, but I am in a beach town. Beach life, ultimately, is like one long 

day played out over and over again; that damn Bob Marley 

album on perpetual repeat. In such a setting, holidays are truly 

inapplicable. Christmas day rolled into Zipolite like a wave, and rolled 

back out with a similar amount of consequence: I am unsure if anybody 

even noticed.

I went to the store and bought some essentials from the grumpy lady who 

works the counter every day. She added up my bill, I paid, as I was leaving 

I considered wishing her Feliz Navidad, but then thought better of it.

We are on the beach, and like the waves, the rolling sand, and the blowing 

wind, each day blends into the next indistinguishably, forming some sort of 

insoluble whole. Some call this whole a vacation, some call it life.

I have no idea what day of the week it is.

Filed under: Beaches, Celebrations, Culture and Society, Mexico, North America

Tagged with: Beach Culture, Christmas, Mexico Culture

About the Author: Wade Shepard

Wade Shepard is the founder and editor of Vagabond Journey. He has been 

traveling the world since 1999, through 90 countries. He is the author of the book, Ghost Cities of China, and contributes to The Guardian, Forbes, 

Bloomberg, The Diplomat, the South China Morning Post, and other 

publications. Wade Shepard has written 3548 posts on Vagabond Journey. 

Contact the author.