San Juan Bautista Coixtlahuaca is a small town and municipality located in the

Mixteca Region The Mixteca Region is a region in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico, part of the broader La Mixteca area which covers parts of the states of Puebla, Guerrero and Oaxaca. The region includes the districts of Juxtlahuaca, Silacayoapam, Huajuapan, Coixtlah ...

of the State of

Oaxaca Oaxaca ( , also , , from nci, Huāxyacac ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of Mexico. It is ...

, Mexico, and the center of the

Coixtlahuaca district Coixtlahuaca District is located in the northeast of the Mixteca Region of the State of Oaxaca, Mexico. As of 2005 the population was 9,018, down 2.8% from 2000. The region is generally from 2,000m to 3,000m high, mostly hilly or mountainous with ...

. The name, "Coixtlahuaca" means 'plain of snakes' in the

Nahuatl language Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan languages, Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahuas, Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in ...

Town

The town was founded by the

Chocholtec Chocho (also Chocholtec, Chocholteco Chochotec, Chochon, or Ngigua) is a language of the Popolocan branch of the Oto-Manguean language family spoken in Mexico in the following communities of Oaxaca: San Miguel Chicahua (settlement of Llano Sec ...

s in 37 AD. Their last emperor was Atonaltzin, who fought against the

Mexica The Mexica (Nahuatl: , ;''Nahuatl Dictionary.'' (1990). Wired Humanities Project. University of Oregon. Retrieved August 29, 2012, frolink/ref> singular ) were a Nahuatl-speaking indigenous people of the Valley of Mexico who were the rulers of ...

s. Two times he was defeated, the second and last time by

Moctezuma II Moctezuma Xocoyotzin ( – 29 June 1520; oteːkˈsoːmaḁ ʃoːkoˈjoːt͡sĩn̥), nci-IPA, Motēuczōmah Xōcoyōtzin, moteːkʷˈsoːma ʃoːkoˈjoːtsin variant spellings include Motewksomah, Motecuhzomatzin, Montezuma, Moteuczoma, Motecu ...

, who conquered much of this area. It is located in the northeast part of the state of Oaxaca, 2,100 meters above sea level near the Cuacnopalan-

highway. Its main attraction is the Iglesia de San Juan Bautista (Church of Saint John the Baptist). Completed in 1576, it is of Renaissance style with

rose window Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in Gothic cathedrals and churches. The windows are divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery. The term ''rose window'' w ...

s, sculptures, and a main entrance with dozens of recesses. It also has a

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

-style

altarpiece An altarpiece is an artwork such as a painting, sculpture or relief representing a religious subject made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting o ...

(retablo).

Municipality

As municipal seat, San Juan Bautista Coixtlahuaca has governing jurisdiction over the following communities: Barrio de Magdalena, Boca de Perro, Carrizal, Cerro de Agua (Tercera Sección), Cerro el Águila, Cuesta Blanca, El Cachuche, El Capulín (Sección Primera), El Guajolote, El Portezuelo, El Sotol, El Tepozán (Sección Segunda), El Zapato, El Zapotal (Sección Tercera), Estancia, Ixcate, Jazmín Río Poblano, La Ciénega, La Cruz, La Mulata, Laguna Seca, Narrege, Río Blanco, Río Poblano, San Jerónimo Otla, Santa Catarina Ocotlán, Sección Cuarta (Los Rodríguez), Tecamachalco, Tronco del Río and Zacate Amarillo Ex-Convento Coixtlahuaca

References

External links

Santos in Oaxaca's Ancient Churches: Coixtlahuaca
- Art-historical study of the statues in the Church of San Juan Bautista in Coixtlahuaca {{Authority control Municipalities of Oaxaca 37 establishments