San Juan Bautista Cuicatlan- weaver weaving and husband napping

San Juan Bautista Cuicatlán is a town and

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

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 ...

in southeastern

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. It is located in Cuicatlán District in the north of the Cañada Region.

Education

The education system in Cuicatlán is entirely public schools. 12 pre-schools, 18 primary schools, two secondary schools, and one high school operate there. Four pre-schools and two primary schools are bilingual.

Culture

Cuicatlán hosts its patron saint festival (

Saint John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

) the 24th of June, with festivities occurring the entire week in the central park including dances, fireworks, rodeos, and basketball games. Other major fiestas include

Day of the Dead The Day of the Dead () is a holiday traditionally celebrated on November 1 and 2, though other days, such as October 31 or November 6, may be included depending on the locality. The multi-day holiday involves family and friends gathering to pa ...

(October 31 to November 2),

Semana Santa Semana Santa is the Spanish for Holy Week, the final week of Lent leading to Easter. In Spanish speaking cultures as well as Holy Week in the Philippines, the Philippines this becomes an annual tribute of the Passion of Jesus Christ celebrated by ...

(Easter), and

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

Amenities

Located just outside the city center is the Cuicatlán Botanical Garden, which features trails that meander through a dry tropical forest. The Botanical Garden offers gazebos and an event kitchen. The associated Cuicatlán Archaeological Museum is under construction.

Ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of nature-oriented tourism intended to contribute to the Ecological conservation, conservation of the natural environment, generally defined as being minimally impactful, and including providing both contributions to conserv ...

spots include San Jose De Chilar, Santiago Quiotepec, and Santa Maria Tecomovaca. These sites offer green

macaw Macaws are a group of Neotropical parrot, New World parrots that are long-tailed and often colorful, in the Tribe (biology), tribe Arini (tribe), Arini. They are popular in aviculture or as companion parrots, although there are conservation con ...

sightseeing tours, guided nature walks, hiking, mountain biking, horseback ridings, kayaking, cabins, camp grounds, and ancient ruins.

Food

Cuicatlán is home to the Chilhuacle, or chili huatle pepper, which is in season in late August and September. Local people use this pepper to make dishes such as chile caldo. Other typical dishes of Cuicatlán include

mole negro Mole (; from Nahuatl ''mōlli'', ), meaning 'sauce', is a traditional sauce and marinade originally used in Mexican cuisine. In contemporary Mexico the term is used for a number of sauces, some quite dissimilar, including ''mole amarillo'' or '' ...

, mole rojo, salsa de chicatana (ants) which are available during the early summer months.

References

Municipalities of Oaxaca {{Oaxaca-geo-stub