Indian Women Walk to Market Mexican Village Street Scene

Street scene in a Mexican pueblo, Oaxaca. Oaxaca, officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca (English: Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca) is one of the 31 states which, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided into 571 municipalities; of which 418 (almost three quarters) are governed by the system of customs and traditions. Its capital city is Oaxaca de Juárez.

It is located in Southwestern Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Guerrero to the west, Puebla to the northwest, Veracruz to the north, Chiapas to the east. To the south, Oaxaca has a significant coastline on the Pacific Ocean. The state is best known for its indigenous peoples and cultures. The most numerous and best known are the Zapotecs and the Mixtecs, but there are sixteen that are officially recognized. These cultures have survived better to the present than most others in Mexico due to the state’s rugged and isolating terrain.