Oaxaca

Oaxaca, city, Mexico

Oaxaca, city (1990 pop. 212,818), capital of Oaxaca state, S Mexico. The city is officially called Oaxaca de Juárez. Situated in a valley encircled by low mountains, Oaxaca is a commercial and tourist center with gardens and many examples of colonial church architecture. The church and monastery of Santo Domingo de Guzmán is a national monument. Oaxaca is noted for hand-wrought gold and silver filigree, pottery, and sarapes that rank among the finest in Mexico. The city has two museums that feature pre-Hispanic art and a contemporary art museum, and the ancient Zapotec capital of Monte Albán is nearby. The chief city of S Mexico, Oaxaca is linked with the federal capital by rail and the Inter-American Highway. The city is subject to severe earthquakes.

According to Aztec tradition, Oaxaca was founded as Huasyacac in 1486, during the brief ascendancy of the Aztecs over the Mixtecs and Zapotecs; the present city was laid out by Spanish conquerors in 1529. Prominent in the Mexican revolution against Spain, the city also joined in the War of the Reform and in resistance to the French intervention. Both Benito Juárez and Porfirio Díaz were born in Oaxaca in the 1800s. During May–Nov., 2006, the city was torn by a bitter protest against Oaxaca state's governor by teachers, leftists, and others and a heavy-handed state response; in October, federal police intervened with force to restore order to the central city.

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Oaxaca, state, Mexico

Oaxaca (wähä`kä), state (1990 pop. 3,019,560), 36,375 sq mi (94,211 sq km), S Mexico, on the Pacific Ocean and its arm, the Gulf of Tehuantepec. Oaxaca is the capital. The northern part of the state is dominated by the Sierra de Oaxaca; there are deep tortuous valleys in the south and broad, open semiarid valleys and plateaus in the north. Except on the west and the north, the periphery of the state is tropical, the interior generally temperate.

Fertile valleys make agriculture the principal economic activity. Sugarcane, coffee (of which Oaxaca is a leading national producer), tobacco, cereals, and tropical and semitropical fruits are grown; livestock is raised. Oaxaca's mineral deposits remain largely unexploited. The state's limited industrial activity centers around oil refining, beverage and paper manufacturing, and sugar and flour milling. Oaxaca is also known for its handicrafts, especially handwoven textiles, pottery, and leather goods. Despite the existence of several highways, inadequate communications remain the chief barrier to the state's industrialization.

There are famous archaeological sites at Mitla and Monte Albán. Indigenous peoples predominate here, as in few other states, with Mixtecs dominating in the highlands and Zapotecs elsewhere. Beach resorts are under development at Huatulco Bays and other locales along the southern coast, which should increase the already important contribution of tourism to the state's economy. Porfirio Díaz and Benito Juárez were born here.

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Oaxaca

State (pop., 2000: 3,438,765), southern Mexico. Bounded by the Pacific Ocean, it occupies 36,275 sq mi (93,952 sq km) and includes most of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. The capital is Oaxaca city. The Sierra Madre del Sur ends at the isthmus. Remains of pre-Columbian Zapotec and Mixtec structures are found at Mitla and Monte Albán. It has the largest population of Indian descent in Mexico. It is an agricultural and mining area.

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Oaxaca

 in full Oaxaca de Juárez

City (pop., 2000: 251,846), capital of Oaxaca state, southern Mexico. It lies in the fertile Oaxaca Valley, about 5,000 ft (1,500 m) above sea level. Founded in 1486 as an Aztec garrison and conquered by the Spanish in 1521, it had an important role in Mexican history and was the home of Benito Juárez and Porfirio Díaz. It is noted for its 16th-century architecture and its handicrafts.