Archaeological & Cultural Tour Guide

Responsibilities

• Lead guided tours of Monte Albán — Zapotec ceremonial center, astronomical alignments, ball court, carved stelae; provide archaeological and cultural context
• Guide Oaxaca valley archaeological circuit — Mitla (Mixtec geometric stonework), Yagul, Lambityeco, Dainzú
• Lead Oaxaca cultural walking tours — Santo Domingo de Guzmán church, Museo de las Culturas, Zócalo colonial architecture, graphite murals
• Guide artisan village excursions — Teotitlán del Valle (Zapotec textile weaving), San Bartolo Coyotepec (black clay pottery), Arrazola (copal wood carving)
• Provide Zapotec and Mixtec historical and cultural context — indigenous civilization that predates the Aztec Empire by over a thousand years
• Coordinate with boutique hotels and cultural tour operators on bookings

Requirements

• SECTUR guide certification or in progress
• Deep Oaxacan archaeological and cultural knowledge — Monte Albán, Zapotec and Mixtec civilization, artisan traditions
• Excellent English; Italian or French a strong advantage — Oaxaca draws significant European cultural tourism
• Genuine intellectual passion for Oaxacan heritage — this market selects for depth and authenticity
• Sensitivity to indigenous community protocols when visiting artisan villages

Benefits

• IMSS, Aguinaldo, vacation + premium
• Tips

Work environment

Monte Albán, Oaxaca valley archaeological sites, artisan villages, and Oaxaca City historic centro. Working in a destination UNESCO has recognized for both its natural and cultural heritage is professionally extraordinary — the Oaxacan guide's working day spans 2,500 years of continuous civilization.

About the role

The guide to one of the world's most complete living cultures. Monte Albán at dawn — when the site opens before the tourist groups arrive, when the mist is still in the valley below the pyramid-topped mountain, when the scale of the Zapotec's ambition becomes visible — is one of the most powerful moments available to any visitor in Mexico. The guide who explains that the Zapotec built this city on a leveled mountaintop 2,500 years ago, that they developed one of Mesoamerica's earliest writing systems here, that their descendants still speak Zapotec in the villages below — has placed a tourist inside a living history.