Ixtlán de Juárez is a town and municipality in the

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

state of

Oaxaca Oaxaca, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca, is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of the Mexico, United Mexican States. It is divided into municipalities of Oaxaca, 570 munici ...

about 65 km north of the city of

on Federal Highway 175 towards

Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...

. It is part of the

Ixtlán District Ixtlán District is located in the Sierra Norte region, in the northeastern area of the State of Oaxaca, Mexico. The district includes 26 municipalities, bringing together a total of 161 settlements. At the 2000 census, they contained a total of ...

in the

Sierra Norte de Oaxaca La Sierra Norte de Oaxaca is a heavily wooded region in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. It is 62 km from the city of Oaxaca on Federal highway 175, heading east towards Tuxtepec. The region is divided into three districts: Ixtlán, which ha ...

region.

Administrative areas

Municipality of Ixtlán

The municipality of Ixtlán de Juárez includes the town, and in addition the settlements of San Juan Yagila, Santa Cruz Yagavila, Santa María Yahuiche, Santa María Zoogochi, Santiago Teotlasco, Santo Domingo Cacalotepec, San Gaspar Yagalaxi, San Miguel Tiltepec, Santa María Josaa, La Luz, La Josefina and La Palma. (in Spanish) The population of the town in the 2005 census was 2,479, and of the entire municipality, 7,188. Other than the town of Ixtlán, none of the settlements have as many as a thousand inhabitants.

Rincón de Ixtlán

The Rincón de Ixtlán is an area largely within the municipality of Ixtlán de Juárez. It comprises nine communities, eight of them within the municipality of Ixtlán (the ninth,

San Pedro Yaneri San Pedro Yaneri is a town and municipality in Oaxaca in south-western Mexico. The municipality covers an area of 79.1 km2. As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 943, of whom 807 spoke some indigenous language. The municipal ...

, is a small independent municipality). The Rincón does not include the town of Ixtlán or other communities on the main road. This remote and culturally homogeneous area is one of the most intensely indigenous in the whole of Mexico, and has therefore been the subject of considerable sociological study.

History

The town of Ixtlán existed before the

Spanish Conquest of Mexico The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire was a pivotal event in the history of the Americas, marked by the collision of the Aztec Triple Alliance and the Spanish Empire. Taking place between 1519 and 1521, this event saw the Spanish conquistad ...

. It is thought to have been founded in the latter half of the 15th century, by Zapotec people from the region around Tarabundi and San Pedro Laduu (though there are also

neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

remains in the areaEntry for Ixtlán de Juárez in the Enciclopedia de los Municipios de México, op. cit.). The first settlers were probably warriors establishing a defensive outpost against

Aztec The Aztecs ( ) were a Mesoamerican civilization that flourished in central Mexico in the Post-Classic stage, post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central ...

invaders. In 1859 Ixtlán was the site of a battle during the

Reform War The Reform War (17 December 185711 January 1861) or War of Reform (), also known as the Three Years' War (), and the Mexican Civil War, was a complex civil conflict in Mexico fought between Mexican liberals and conservatives with regional var ...

between liberal and conservative forces. Some of the other communities in the municipality are probably several centuries older than the town of Ixtlán.

San Pablo Guelatao San Pablo Guelatao is a town and the seat of the Municipality of Guelatao de Juárez, in the Mexican state of Oaxaca. It is part of the Ixtlán District in the Sierra Norte de Oaxaca region. Guelatao, as it is often called, is in the foothills ...

, the birthplace of

Benito Juárez Benito Pablo Juárez García (; 21 March 1806 – 18 July 1872) was a Mexican politician, military commander, and lawyer who served as the 26th president of Mexico from 1858 until his death in office in 1872. A Zapotec peoples, Zapotec, he w ...

, lies 4 km from the town of Ixtlán and at the time of his birth fell within its jurisdiction, so Juárez was baptised in the church of St Thomas in Ixtlán; hence his name has been added to that of the town (in 1824, however, Guelatao declared itself independent of Ixtlán, and it remains an independent municipality.) The addition of Juárez's name serves the additional purpose of distinguishing the town from the many other Ixtláns in Mexico: the name is usually claimed to come from

words meaning "land of the

maguey Maguey may refer to various American plants: * Genus ''Agave'', especially ** Species ''Agave americana ''Agave americana'', commonly known as the century plant, maguey, or American aloe, is a flowering plant species belonging to the family Asp ...

",Whipperman, Bruce (2001). ''Oaxaca Handbook''. Emeryville CA: Avalon Travel and use of the maguey (otherwise known as the century plant) was widespread in pre-Columbian Mexico. An alternative proposed derivation is from

Mixtec The Mixtecs (), or Mixtecos, are Indigenous Mesoamerican peoples of Mexico inhabiting the region known as La Mixteca of Oaxaca and Puebla as well as La Montaña Region and Costa Chica of Guerrero, Costa Chica Regions of the state of Guerre ...

words meaning "place of

obsidian Obsidian ( ) is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed when lava extrusive rock, extruded from a volcano cools rapidly with minimal crystal growth. It is an igneous rock. Produced from felsic lava, obsidian is rich in the lighter element ...

", and the town uses a logo that depicts an object made of obsidian.

Economy

Ixtlán is now a centre for eco-tourism. Its location, surrounded by

cloud forest A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest, is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, Montane forest, montane, Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, moist forest characteri ...

and pine and oak woodlands (which are forested sustainably) gives it great natural landscape beauty, and the forests of the Sierra Juárez mountains are claimed to be home to around 500 bird species and 6000 plant species. Tours are operated from the village, and accommodation is available. Hiking trails link it to neighbouring towns and villages in the Sierra Norte. It is accessible by the bus service that connects Oaxaca and Veracruz along Federal Highway 175. The land is held in common, but for a time in the late 20th century, a Mexican national paper manufacturer held a concession to harvest its forests. However, when the concession expired, the local communities denied the company any extensions and the forests are now managed communally in order to ensure that they are sustainable. Principal agricultural crops in the municipality of Ixtlán are

maize Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...

and

coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...

, with a small amount of land given over to

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

and other crops. Fair trade marketing has made a substantial difference to the coffee growers in this area.Jaffee op. cit.

Education

Higher education

Universidad de la Sierra Juarez en Oaxaca

As a rural mountainous region, higher education had previously not been readily available to the populace. In April 2005 the government of the state of Oaxaca established the

Universidad de la Sierra Juárez The Universidad de la Sierra Juárez (UNSIJ) is a university located in the town of Ixtlán de Juárez in the Mexico, Mexican state of Oaxaca. It is part of the State University System of Oaxaca (SUNEO) and is public institution of higher educatio ...

to help further the development and education of citizens in the Sierra Norte region. Currently the university offers degrees in the fields of

natural sciences Natural science or empirical science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer ...

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

and

humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture, including Philosophy, certain fundamental questions asked by humans. During the Renaissance, the term "humanities" referred to the study of classical literature a ...

. UNSIJ also encourages four core academic activities among its students, including: teaching, research, cultural enrichment, and promotion of regional development.

Notable buildings

*''Templo de St Tomás Apóstol'' (Church of St Thomas the Apostle), a

baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

building constructed 1640–1734, replacing an earlier adobe structure. *Clock tower on the Plaza *''Presidencia municipal'' *''Museo de la Biodiversidad'' (Biodiversity Museum)

References

External links

*Entry for Ixtlán de Juárez in th
Enciclopedia de los Municipios de México
(in Spanish) {{DEFAULTSORT:Ixtlan De Juarez Municipalities of Oaxaca Sierra Madre de Oaxaca