Top Oaxaca City Craft Classes

Wonderful experience. Remy's knowledge of mezcal is a great guide for the experience, especially if you are not familiar with the spirit. The relationship with the families of artisans and mezcal masters spans many years and they welcome you into their workshops and distilleries with a very unique affection. Oaxaca is a state to be experienced hand-in-hand with experiences like Bakuza's.

Remy is an excellent guide! He has great knowledge about mezcal and the processes used to make it. We learned a lot from him and from the experience. The best part of all is that we were able to meet the people who make the mezcal.

We had such a wonderful morning with the Jimenez family. If you spend any time in Oaxaca or know the history of alebrijes, you quickly realize you’re learning from the descendants of the original artists who helped shape this incredible art form. What impressed us most is that they don’t gatekeep the tradition, they generously share its history, teach the techniques, and encourage everyone to create something uniquely their own.Our kids were completely engaged from start to finish, and watching them paint while learning about the cultural significance behind the art made the experience even more meaningful. Cesar was an excellent host and translator, making everyone feel welcome and ensuring nothing was lost in translation. He brought us water, drinks and a light snack. Coordination was very easy.Just 30 minutes from Oaxaca City, this is a relaxing and memorable way to spend a few hours. We left with beautiful pieces we painted ourselves, a much deeper appreciation for alebrijes, and memories we’ll keep for years. Highly recommended.

Our family recently took part in the alebrije painting experience, and it was hands-down one of the highlights of our time together. We cannot recommend it highly enough! From start to finish, the entire experience was absolutely amazing. What makes this activity so special is how beautifully it balances vibrant creativity with a deeply calming, meditative atmosphere

I had a trip in November to Oaxaca last year and I was amazed by all the color in the street's for día de muerto, I found out more of these rich tradition online and decided that i wanted to be part of. So I was glad that I found out about the create your altar experience, because I found more information by a local and they had everything that I needed in order to make my own altar de muerto. I would say that it is a must if you're visiting Oaxaca in the last days of October and the first of November.I really want to do it again in another trip, would recommend to anyone, don't miss out on the opportunity because not many places offer this type of opportunities 🇲🇽

If you are looking to truly understand the spirit of Oaxaca, look no further than a tour with Remy. I cannot recommend him highly enough—this was, without a doubt, the highlight of my trip.What sets Remy apart is his profound knowledge of the craft and his genuine respect for the maestro mezcaleros. When you book with him, you aren’t just a tourist; you are welcomed into the family. You’ll find yourself sitting at their tables, sharing a delicious homemade meal, and listening to the personal stories and trials of these dedicated, small-batch producers. It is a rare, intimate look at the heart of the industry that you simply won't find on a standard tour.The experience can be overwhelming given the sheer amount of information and history involved, but Remy has a gift for making it easy and digestible. He is incredibly accommodating, always ensuring the day is tailored to what you want to get out of it. The Highlights • The Variety: You will get to sample an incredible array of destilados (mezcals infused with fruits, flowers, and herbs) and rare silvestres. • The Process: If you are as lucky as I was, you might even witness a tapada—the traditional process of covering the agave piñas to begin the slow roasting in the earth.More Than Just Mezcal Beyond the tour itself, Remy is an incredible resource. Once you start speaking with him, you’ll be amazed by the other unique experiences he can facilitate. I personally took advantage of his local connections to purchase one of the most delicious, single-origin medium roast coffee I’ve ever had. This was procured from a small-batch coffee farmer.Don’t hesitate to book with Remy. It will undeniably make your time in Oaxaca a much richer and more fulfilling one.

Educational and fun. Well organized. Wonderful to meet art icons in person and learn from them. Learning about the history of this unique family and their contribution to the establishment of Oaxaca folk art not only in the Mexico but also globally was a privilege. The family art studio experience is great - and being able to ask questions and view their art made this very special. We were also given permission to take photographs after receiving explanations of the family's style of patterns. I loved that I could go home with my own painted piece of art that was carefully wrapped. Highly recommend.

Day starts with meeting at a convenience spot in the center of town. You were then driven about 30 minutes outside of the city to a small municipality where you learn about the history of alebrije’s from a third generation artisan. You then given your own figuring to paint. You can do whatever you want and they feed you snack snacks of memelas and a drink. You also have the option of purchasing alebrijes of various sizes from the artisans themselves. We returned to the city by 2:30 in the afternoon. Overall, it was a great experience meeting new people and learning new things. Highly recommend!

This was such a personal, unforgettable tour of Oaxaca’s rich Mezcal heritage! All along the tour we saw large commercial Mezcal “factories”, but what makes this tour unique is the opportunity to visit a home, share a home-cooked meal, even participate in making that meal!! The variety of Mezcal one gets to taste is as unforgettable as the vibrant colors weaved together with such passion and care at the textile stop that comes in the tour. Can’t miss this adventure - you could write a whole article on the tastes, flavors, colors, sounds, smells and tales that one experiences along the way!!

We had a great time speaking to Armando Jimenez and asking him questions about the alebrijes craft. Our guide Cezar was also friendly and accommodating, giving us English translation, water, and guiding us through the painting. I would have liked some more interaction with Armando on the alebrijes painting but appreciate that would have been difficult with the language barrier and his work. Overall, we loved the experience and enjoyed bringing our creations home and also some of the family's ones!

This tour was the highlight of my trip to Oaxaca! Rem was so helpful beforehand was very responsive for questions and planning. He was very flexible with pickup at our hotel and with changing the number of guests and accommodated us all and even brought refreshments and a nice clean and fancy van for our group. He's very knowledgeable about Oaxaca, mezcal, textiles and more. He's a lovely human being and so were all the people we visited from the family owned mezcal distilleries to the textile business. Bring extra pesos because you will surely want to leave with some beautiful and tasty memorabilia! Thank you Rem for a memory that will last a lifetime. Worth every peso and more!!!

This is an absolute must when visiting Oaxaca! We learned about the history of Alebrije from the Jimenez family while receiving a live tutorial from the grandson of the creator of this beautiful art style. Then, we spent most of our time using the techniques we were taught to paint our hand sculpted Alebrije, leaving you with a custom one of a kind art piece! There are existing art pieces for sale made by the Jimenez family of various sizes and prices, making it affordable to take home such a lovely Oaxacan treasure. Our guide, Cesar, made the experience 10/10. He translated everything into English for us, shared the rich history of Oaxaca and offered plenty of excellent recommendations for the rest of our time here. You won’t regret this experience, but you will regret missing out!

We had an amazing time making alebrijes - everyone in our family enjoyed the tour and getting a chance to make our own. We bought some beautiful pieces from their gallery and enjoyed sitting on the patio painting alongside the artists. I was worried my 4 and 6 year old would be too young to paint and enjoy it but they made some beautiful art and when they were done, the tour guide gave them homemade popsicles which they loved! Great family friendly activity and the best part if you get to take a piece of Oaxaca home with you. Cannot recommend enough!

This was a fantastic experience with Cesar and the Jiménez family. My kids’ favorite experience in Oaxaca! We loved learning the history of the alebrijes, the painting and carving techniques and got to leave with such a unique souvenir. Thank you!

My mom and I had such an amazing time getting to learn about the legacy of the Jimenez family and alebrije making at their workshop! If you’re visiting Oaxaca, don’t skip this alebrije making workshop! We were debating between this one in Arrazola or going to San Martin but so glad we went with this instead. It was a ton of fun too. We definitely want to come back the next time we visit Oaxaca.

We really enjoyed this alebrije painting experience. It was a small group experience and we got picked up from a convenient place in Oaxaca city by Cesar who was so friendly and informative. At the start, Armando gave us an introduction to the craft and it was a true honour to hear the story of his grandfather and how this craft has been passed down generations. We then worked alongside his family painting our own alebrijes. If you’re creative this is definitely a trip for you! Thank you Cesar and all the Jiminez family.