Oaxaca City

Oaxaca
Ndua (Zapotec)
City
Oaxaca de Juárez
View of Monte Albán, Macedonio Alcalá Theater, Temple of the Ex-Convent of Santo Domingo, Colonial Oaxaca, Zocalo in Oaxaca and view of the Zocalo.
Official seal of Oaxaca
Location of the municipality within Oaxaca
Location of the municipality within Oaxaca
Oaxaca is located in Mexico
Oaxaca
Oaxaca
Location in Mexico
Coordinates: 17°03′38″N 96°43′31″W / 17.06056°N 96.72528°W / 17.06056; -96.72528
CountryMexico
StateOaxaca
Founded1532
Municipal Status1879
Named for"Oaxaca" is a hispanicization of the Nahuatl place name "Huaxyacac"
"de Juárez" was added in honor of Benito Juárez
Government
 • MayorOswaldo García Jarquín 2019–2021
Area
 • City85.48 km2 (33.00 sq mi)
Elevation
 of seat
1,555 m (5,102 ft)
Population
 (2021) Municipality
 • City715,000
Metro area GDP (PPP, constant 2015 values)
 • Year2023
 • Total$11.7 billion[1]
 • Per capita$15,900
Time zoneUTC−6 (CST)
Postal code (of seat)
68000
Area code951
Websitemunicipiodeoaxaca.gob.mx (in Spanish)
Official nameHistoric Centre of Oaxaca and Archaeological Site of Monte Albán
TypeCultural
Criteriai, ii, iii, iv
Designated1987 (11th session)
Reference no.415o
RegionLatin America and the Caribbean

Oaxaca de Juárez (Spanish pronunciation: [waˈxaka ðe ˈxwaɾes]), 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. 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.[2]

Heritage tourism makes up an important part of the city's economy, and it has numerous colonial-era structures as well as significant archeological sites and elements of the continuing native Zapotec and Mixtec cultures.[2] 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.[3]

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.[4] 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.

  1. ^ "TelluBase—Mexico Fact Sheet (Tellusant Public Service Series)" (PDF). Tellusant. Retrieved 2024-01-11.
  2. ^ a b "Enciclopedia de los Municipios de Mexico-Oaxaca:Oaxaca de Juárez" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 15 May 2008. Retrieved 8 September 2009.
  3. ^ Municipality of Oaxaca. "Guelaguetza" [Guelaguetza] (in Spanish). Oaxaca. Archived from the original on April 27, 2006. Retrieved 8 September 2009.
  4. ^ Quintanar Hinojosa, Beatriz (August 2007). "Oaxaca: jubilo de los sentidos". Guía México Desconocido: Oaxaca. 137: 10–22.