Get a different slice of Mexico at Oaxaca’s radish-carving festival, where creativity and tradition come together.

Some of the radishes have entire narratives carved into their flesh, which is no easy feat for the artists. When Rosario Vázquez competes, he’s exhausted by the time the jury delivers its verdict.

The lowly radish has finally gotten a promotion. Once a nameless little globe that chefs relied on for low-cost color, the crisp root with the hairy leaves now has cachet. As a marquee vegetable ...

Many radishes look plain from the outside but, once cut, show vivid colors and patterns. The peacock-showy watermelon radish, for example, is green on the outside and a lush, deep, hot pink inside.

"I feel so proud of being part of something so traditionally Oaxacan," Daniel Rojas tells me as I enter a dimly lit room rich with the earthy smell of radishes. Inside Oaxaca's radish-carving festival ...