Ivan

Born and raised in Oaxaca, Mexico, with deep family roots in southern Mexico, Ivan studied Teaching English as a Second Language at the local university. His love for travel began at a young age as he backpacked around Mexico, an experience that shaped his future path: "There was one certain thing I was sure of, I wanted to be outdoors and show my hometown, Mexico and the world to other people conveying passion and inspiration."

Ivan, who describes himself as "a person inspired by ancient cultures and history," began collaborating with UnTours in 2024. Besides being a nature, art, and food lover, Mexican history and archaeology are his favorite topics to discuss with visitors, noting that "meeting other people inspired by traveling is incredible."

What he enjoys most about his role is "walking around my hometown and all the places where I grew and see people enjoying it, interested in knowing about local places and people is the most satisfying experience." His top highlight is "definitely Monte Alban ruins, which are a UNESCO Heritage site, and considered as one of the top archaeological sites to be visited in all Mexico."

For hidden gems, Ivan recommends the Teotitlan local market, "a must-see place to experience. Besides visiting it as part of our cooking class, it is an authentic indigenous local market, full of vibrant colors and full of just local friendly people." He enthusiastically suggests visitors try to attend the GUELAGUETZA, "an indigenous festival that takes place in Oaxaca every year in July. Native people that belong to all the different ethnic groups of Oaxaca come to our city from their own regions to proudly show visitors their traditions, culture, music and languages through artistic and authentic dances. It is considered to be the most important indigenous festival of Mexico."

Ivan offers a thoughtful tip for connecting with locals: "A lot of local people from the surrounding villages of Oaxaca city speak Spanish as a second language. They communicate among them in their native languages. The 'Zapotec' language is the most common in the area. Greeting Zapotec people in their language makes them feel happy and will help our UnTourists feel more than welcomed."

What he particularly cherishes about his city is how "local families are so united and concerned to preserve old family traditions. For example, I always take our UnTourists to a chocolate shop where grandmothers take their grandchildren to buy all the ingredients and grind them to make their chocolate and take it home to prepare a hot chocolate together."