Oaxaca Breaks Record with Gigantic Quesillo!

The community of Reyes Etla, located in the Central Valleys of Oaxaca, has set a new Guinness World Record for creating the largest quesillo, a type of cheese, weighing in at an impressive 636.2 kilograms. The creation of this colossal quesillo brought together dozens of local families in the town's plaza. They began the cheese curdling process at 5:00 am, working tirelessly for hours to produce long strands of cheese ready for weighing.

Once the final weight was confirmed, the quesillo was freely distributed to those who had gathered in the community plaza. The previous Guinness World Record for the largest quesillo was held by Pijijiapan, Chiapas, who produced a 558-kilogram quesillo in August of the previous year.

The origins of quesillo can be traced back to the late 19th century. The creation of this cheese was a happy accident by 14-year-old Leobarda Castellanos García. While in charge of curdling milk to make cheese, she became distracted and let the milk curdle beyond the point suitable for cheese making. In an attempt to salvage the situation, she added hot water to the mixture. The result was a melted, sticky mass that she named quesillo.