As we make our way through the area, we’ll visit another iconic streetside business, this one of a family that’s been selling tortillas stuffed with chicken and mole since 1965. Now run by the family’s fourth generation, their stand has become a strategic stop for hungry workers heading for their evening shifts, hungry locals and, of course, people looking to fuel up before getting the party started.

Fuelled up ourselves, we’ll next join the locals in a nearby park for one of the most traditional – and satisfying – of Oaxacan street eats, corn in a cup, perfect for strolling while snacking. Cup in hand, our night parade will next take us for an encounter with the heavyweight champ of Oaxacan late-night meals, the tlayuda, a large, thin and crisp tortilla that piled high with a variety of toppings. Like what the taco is to Mexico City, the tlayuda is to Oaxaca – cheap, filling, endlessly customisable – and we’ll visit a local favourite that’s been selling them since 1952. To finish, we’ll taste traditional Oaxacan sweets from a stand in a church courtyard and then sit down for – what else? – a mezcal tasting led by a young master distiller who is one of the few women making the agave spirit. It’s a fitting nightcap to an outing filled with the keepers of Oaxacan culinary traditions and their nocturnal work.