Oaxaca,officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca,is one of the 32 states that compose the Federative Entities of the United Mexican States. It is divided into 570 municipalities,of which 418 are governed by the system of usos y costumbres with recognized local forms of self-governance. Its capital city is Oaxaca de Juárez.
Oaxaca de Juárez,or simply Oaxaca,is the capital and largest city of the eponymous Mexican state of Oaxaca. It is the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality of Oaxaca. It is in the Centro District in the Central Valleys region of the state,in the foothills of the Sierra Madre at the base of the Cerro del Fortín,extending to the banks of the Atoyac River.
Mitla is the second-most important archeological site in the state of Oaxaca in Mexico,and the most important of the Zapotec culture. The site is located 44 km from the city of Oaxaca,in the upper end of the Tlacolula Valley,one of the three cold,high valleys that form the Central Valleys Region of the state. At an elevation of 4,855 ft,surrounded by the mountains of the Sierra Madre del Sur,the archeological site is within the modern municipality of San Pablo Villa de Mitla. It is 24 mi (38 km) southeast of Oaxaca city. While Monte Albán was the most important politically of the Zapotec centers,Mitla became the main religious one in a later period as the area became dominated by the Mixtec.
Ana Lila Downs Sánchez is a Mexican singer-songwriter. She performs her own compositions and the works of others in multiple genres,as well as tapping into Mexican traditional and popular music. She also incorporates indigenous Mexican influences and has recorded songs in many indigenous languages such as Mixtec,Zapotec,Mayan,Nahuatl and Purépecha. Born and raised in Oaxaca,she primarily studied at the Institute of Arts by Oaxaca and briefly attended the University of Minnesota,before withdrawing to focus on her musical career. She soon began performing in the traditional music scene of Oaxaca City.
Tehuantepec is a city and municipality in the southeast of the Mexican state of Oaxaca. It is part of the Tehuantepec District in the west of the Istmo Region. The area was important in pre-Hispanic period as part of a trade route that connected Central America with what is now the center of Mexico. Later it became a secondary capital of the Zapotec dominion,before it was conquered by the Spanish in the early 16th century.
Juchitán de Zaragoza is an indigenous town in the southeast of the Mexican state of Oaxaca. It is part of the Juchitán District in the west of the Istmo de Tehuantepec region. With a 2020 census population of 88,280,it is the third-largest city in the state. The majority of the indigenous inhabitants are Zapotecs and Huaves. The town also serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality,with which it shares a name. The municipality has an area of 414.64 km2 and a population of 113,570,the state's third-largest in population.
Francisco Benjamín López Toledo was a Mexican Zapotec painter,sculptor,and graphic artist. In a career that spanned seven decades,Toledo produced thousands of works of art and became widely regarded as one of Mexico's most important contemporary artists. An activist as well as an artist,he promoted the artistic culture and heritage of Oaxaca state. Toledo was considered part of the Breakaway Generation of Mexican art.
In Zapotec cultures of Oaxaca,a muxe is a person assigned male at birth who dresses and behaves in ways otherwise associated with women;they may be seen as a third gender.
The Guelaguetza,or Los lunes del cerro,is an annual indigenous cultural event in Mexico that takes place in the city of Oaxaca,capital of the state of Oaxaca,and nearby villages. The celebration features traditional costumed dancing by gender-separated groups. It includes parades of indigenous walking bands,native food,and statewide artisanal crafts,such as pre-Hispanic style textiles. Each costume,or traje, and dance usually has a local indigenous historical and cultural meaning. While the celebration has attracted an increasing number of tourists,it is primarily one of deep cultural importance for the indigenous peoples of the state and is important for the survival of these cultures.
Natalia Toledo Paz is a Mexican poet who writes in Spanish and Zapotec. Her work helped to revive interest in the Zapotec language. Ida Kozlowska-Day states that Toledo is "one of the most recognized contemporary poets in the native languages of Mexico."
The Sierra Madre de Oaxaca pine–oak forests is a tropical and subtropical coniferous forests ecoregion in Southern Mexico.
San Bartolo Coyotepec is a town and municipality located in the center of the Mexican state of Oaxaca. It is in the Centro District of the Valles Centrales region about fifteen km south of the capital of Oaxaca.
Eufrosina Cruz Mendoza is a Zapotec activist for gender equality and the rights of indigenous women and communities. In November 2010 she became the first indigenous woman in Oaxacan politics,assuming the position of deputy of the National Action Party and president of the board of the local congress. In December of the same year Eufrosina was appointed as coordinator of indigenous affairs of the National Executive Committee of the PAN. She is also the founder and director of the QUIEGO Asociación Civil,which promotes gender equality in Oaxaca.
Alejandra Robles Suastegui is a Mexican dancer and singer of traditional music. Her musical style represents her Afro-Mexican roots and that of the indigenous peoples of Latin America,in addition to the regional music of Mexico,Colombia and the Caribbean. Her style is based on the sounds of the coast of Oaxaca,Guerrero and Veracruz.
The state of Oaxaca,Mexico has a total population of about 3.5 million,with women outnumbering men by 150,000 and about 60% of the population under the age of 30. It is ranked tenth in population in the country. Fifty three percent of the population lives in rural areas. Most of the state’s population growth took place between 1980 and 1990. Life expectancy is 71.7 for men and 77.4 for women,just under the national average. Births far outpace deaths. In 2007,there were 122,579 births and 19,439 deaths. Approximately 85% profess the Catholic faith.
"La Sandunga" is a traditional Mexican waltz and the unofficial anthem of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec,in the state of Oaxaca. It is inspired by the Spanish jota style of music and also contains Native American and Mestizo elements. Sandunga is a rarely used word in the Spanish language that can be translated in a variety of ways including;gracefulness,elegance,charm,wit,and celebration. The melody of the song is believed to have originated from Andalusia and it was rearranged by Zapotec musician Andres Gutierrez . The lyrics were written by Máximo RamóOrtiz in 1853 after the death of his mother. Ortiz,who served as governor of Tehuantepec also wrote the song in part to promote independence of the isthmus from the Mexican government. The song tells of a Zapotec woman mourning the death of her mother while crying out,"Sandunga".
Son mexicano is a style of Mexican folk music and dance that encompasses various regional genres,all of which are called son. The term son literally means "sound" in Spanish,and is also applied to other unrelated genres,most notably son cubano.
Azteca de Gyves is a Mexican artist from Juchitán de Zaragoza in the state of Oaxaca. She is of Zapotec heritage and one of only two prominent female artists in her city. She has been a member of the Salón de la Plástica Mexicana since 1998 and has exhibited her work individually and collectively in Mexico,Brazil,the United States,Japan and other countries.
Eugenia León is a Mexican singer. In 1985,she won first place at the prestigious OTI Festival in Seville,Spain with the theme "El Fandango Aquí" by Marcial Alejandro. A recipient of the Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award,she has had a career spanning more than 35 years and 26 recorded albums,of which several million copies have been sold. She has performed in some of the most important venues in Mexico,such as the Palacio de Bellas Artes,the Auditorio Nacional,the Sala Nezahualcóyotl,the Teatro de la Ciudad,and the Cervantino Festival.
Oaxaca,Mexico,has a high volume of indigenous Zapotec peoples.
