Oaxaca

About Oaxaca

Oaxaca de Juárez, or simply Oaxaca (Valley Zapotec: Ndua), is the capital and largest city of the eponymous Mexican state of Oaxaca. It is the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality of Oaxaca, the most populous municipality in Oaxaca, and the fourth most densely populated municipality in Oaxaca, only being less densely populated than San Jacinto Amilpas, Santa Lucía del Camino, and Santa Cruz Amilpas. 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.

Heritage tourism is an important part of the city's economy, and it includes numerous colonial-era structures, significant archeological sites, and elements of the continuing native Zapotec and Mixtec cultures. The city, together with the nearby archeological site of Monte Albán, was designated in 1987 as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is the site of the month-long cultural festival called the "Guelaguetza", which features Oaxacan dance from the seven regions, music, and a beauty pageant for indigenous women.

The city is also known as la Verde Antequera (the green Antequera) due to its prior Spanish name (Nueva Antequera) and the variety of structures built from a native green stone. The name Oaxaca is derived from the Nahuatl name for the place, Huaxyacac, which was Hispanicized to Guajaca, later spelled Oaxaca. In 1872, "de Juárez" was added in honor of Benito Juárez, a native of this state who became president, serving from 1852 to 1872, and leading the country through challenges, including an invasion by France. The Zapotec name of the city, Ndua, is still used in the Zapotec language (Tlacolula Zapotec). The coat of arms for the municipality bears the image of Donají, a Zapotec woman hostage killed and beheaded by the Mixtec in conflict immediately after the Conquest.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA. Photography via Wikimedia Commons.