Costa Region, Oaxaca
Encyclopedia
The Costa Region or Costa Chica lies on the Pacific coast of the state of Oaxaca
, Mexico
, below the more mountainous Sierra Sur
inland from the coast. It includes the districts of Jamiltepec, Juquila
and Pochutla
Average temperatures range between 24 and 26 °C (75.2 and 78.8 F), and maximum annual rainfall is between 730 and 2000 mm (28.7 and 78.7 in)
-
One of the best coffees in the world, the Pluma Hidalgo, is cultivated in the Pochutla district.
In other parts of the region lemons are grown to make lemon oil, a raw material for perfumes and medicines.
Pine and oak wood is harvested for plywood.
Ranching is a major source of revenue.
There is also small-scale exploitation of iron, copper and magnesium, and the region has titanium deposits.
It is a tourist region, based on the beaches of Huatulco
and Puerto Escondido.
To develop this industry, the government has emphasized construction of airports, ports and tourist roads.
in the state of Guerrero
and with Acapulco
in particular, rather than with the city of Oaxaca
.
The reasons are that the coasts of Oaxaca and Guerrero states share a common history, and the Federal Highway 200
connects the coasts of both states.
The population includes mestizo
s, Mixtec
, Amuzgo
, Chatino
s, Chontal
and Zapotec.
Escaping slavery, many Africans came here to settle in this region, which at the time was isolated and relatively inhospital. Perhaps for this reason, the region is well known for its independent streak and joy of life.
The famous Oaxacan troubadour Álvaro Carrillo
was born in San Juan Cacahuatepec
.
Important towns or municipalities include: Pinotepa Nacional
, Pochutla, Puerto Escondido
, Puerto Ángel
, Santa Catarina Juquila
, Santa María Huatulco
, Jamiltepec, Tututepec
, Pinotepa de Don Luis
, San Juan Cacahuatepec
, San Pedro Jicayán
, Santos Reyes Nopala
, San Gabriel Mixtepec
, San Agustín Loxicha
, and Pluma Hidalgo
.
Santa Catarina Juquila is one of the most important religious centers of Mexico, where many people visit the shrine of the Virgin of Juquila each year.
Dance in this area is an amalgam of indigenous, African and Spanish elements, much like the rest of the culture here. Authorities here, including village elders, the town councils, municipal authorities as well as important village figures have worked to keep traditions, such as the "sones" (traditional music) and "chilenas" (dance performed particularly in Pinotepa Nacional) alive. The area hosts an annual ‘’’Coastal Dance Festival’’ with the purpose of preserving and popularizing traditional coast dances.
One example of local dance is the Petate Bull dance. There are numerous bull dances in Mexico but the version that is performed in the village of Santiago Collantes in the municipality of Pinotepa Nacional
, is a lively, vivacious dance inspired by local history. This dance is the best-known of the region and was performed in 1911 when Mexican president Francisco Madero visited the village. According to legend, the president was so pleased with the performance that he shook each dancer's hand and promised them gifts from the capital if they continued to perform the dance. While no such gifts came, the town has continued to perform the dance as part of the town's yearly festival. Santiago Collantes is also known for its version of the Devil's Dance, which is related to the hardships of slavery and serf-like conditions that both the people of African and indigenous origin had to suffer. Pinotepa Nacional has its well-known Chilena dance, which may be related to the cueca
(or zamueca) dances of South America. Other dances performed in the area include the Turtle Dance, the Tiger Dance, and the old and new versions of the Badger's Dance.
Every year in November the government organizes the Coastal Dance Festival, where regional groups from the Oaxaca coast and guests from Michoacán, Guerrero and Chiapas in Puerto Escondido have assembled since 1994 to give exhibitions of the traditional dances of the southern Pacific region.
Oaxaca
Oaxaca , , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de 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 are governed by the system of customs and traditions...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, below the more mountainous Sierra Sur
Sierra Sur de Oaxaca
Sierra Sur is a region in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. It includes the districts of Putla, Sola de Vega, Miahuatlán and Yautepec. Miahuatlán is the largest city.The region has 70 municipalities, some very poor, such as Zanizá, Amoltepec and Los Loxichas....
inland from the coast. It includes the districts of Jamiltepec, Juquila
Santa Catarina Juquila
Santa Catarina Juquila is a town in the State of Oaxaca, Mexico, and is the seat of the municipality also called Santa Catarina Juquila.It is part of the Juquila District in the center of the Costa Region....
and Pochutla
Climate
The region has a warm subhumid climate in the coastal plain, with a more temperate climate higher up.Average temperatures range between 24 and 26 °C (75.2 and 78.8 F), and maximum annual rainfall is between 730 and 2000 mm (28.7 and 78.7 in)
-
Economy
The population is mainly engaged in agriculture and waterfront fisheries.One of the best coffees in the world, the Pluma Hidalgo, is cultivated in the Pochutla district.
In other parts of the region lemons are grown to make lemon oil, a raw material for perfumes and medicines.
Pine and oak wood is harvested for plywood.
Ranching is a major source of revenue.
There is also small-scale exploitation of iron, copper and magnesium, and the region has titanium deposits.
It is a tourist region, based on the beaches of Huatulco
Huatulco
Huatulco , centered on the town of La Crucecita, is a tourist development in Mexico. It is located on the Pacific coast in the state of Oaxaca. Huatulco's tourism industry is centered on its nine bays thus the name Bahias de Huatulco but has since been unofficially shortened to simply Huatulco...
and Puerto Escondido.
To develop this industry, the government has emphasized construction of airports, ports and tourist roads.
People
Historically the region has been tied culturally and economically with the Costa ChicaCosta Chica of Guerrero
The Costa Chica is one of the seven regions into which the southern Mexican state of Guerrero is divided.It begins to the east of Acapulco and extends along the coast for as far as the border with Oaxaca, where the Costa Chica of Oaxaca begins.Similar to other parts of the southern Mexico, the...
in the state of Guerrero
Guerrero
Guerrero officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Guerrero is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 81 municipalities and its capital city is Chilpancingo....
and with Acapulco
Acapulco
Acapulco is a city, municipality and major sea port in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific coast of Mexico, southwest from Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semi-circular bay and has been a port since the early colonial period of Mexico’s history...
in particular, rather than with the city of Oaxaca
Oaxaca, Oaxaca
The city and municipality of Oaxaca de Juárez, or simply Oaxaca, is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state of the same name . It is located in the Centro District in the Central Valleys region of the state, in the foothills of the Sierra Madre at the base of the Cerro del Fortín...
.
The reasons are that the coasts of Oaxaca and Guerrero states share a common history, and the Federal Highway 200
Mexican Federal Highway 200
Mexican Federal Highway 200 is also known as Carretera Pacifico and is a Federal Highway of Mexico. Carretera Pacifico is the main leg of the Pacific Coastal Highway within Mexico and runs along the Pacific Coast from Mexican Federal Highway 15 in the north to the Guatemalan border in the south...
connects the coasts of both states.
The population includes mestizo
Mestizo
Mestizo is a term traditionally used in Latin America, Philippines and Spain for people of mixed European and Native American heritage or descent...
s, Mixtec
Mixtec
The Mixtec are indigenous Mesoamerican peoples inhabiting the Mexican states of Oaxaca, Guerrero and Puebla in a region known as La Mixteca. The Mixtecan languages form an important branch of the Otomanguean language family....
, Amuzgo
Amuzgo
Amuzgo is an Oto-Manguean language spoken in the Costa Chica region of the Mexican states of Guerrero and Oaxaca by about 44,000 speakers. Like other Oto-Manguean languages, Amuzgo is a tonal language. From syntactical point of view Amuzgo can be considered as an active language...
, Chatino
Chatino
Chatino is the Spanish name of an indigenous people of southern central Mexico, and also of their language, the Chatino language. Chatino communities are located in the southeastern region of the state of Oaxaca. Speakers of Chatino are numbered around 23,000 , but ethnic Chatinos may number many...
s, Chontal
Chontal
The Chontal Maya are an indigenous people of the Mexican state of Tabasco. "Chontal", from the Nahuatl word for chontalli, which means "foreigner", has been applied to various ethnic groups in Mexico...
and Zapotec.
Escaping slavery, many Africans came here to settle in this region, which at the time was isolated and relatively inhospital. Perhaps for this reason, the region is well known for its independent streak and joy of life.
The famous Oaxacan troubadour Álvaro Carrillo
Álvaro Carrillo
Álvaro Carrillo Alarcón was a Mexican popular music composer born in San Juan Cacahuatepec, Oaxaca, on 2 December 1921, who died in a car accident on 3 April 1969...
was born in San Juan Cacahuatepec
San Juan Cacahuatepec
San Juan Cacahuatepec is a city in the Mexican state of Oaxaca, near the border with Guerrero.It is located in the Jamiltepec District in the west of the Costa Region....
.
Important towns or municipalities include: Pinotepa Nacional
Pinotepa Nacional
Pinotepa Nacional is a city and seat of the municipality of the same name, in the Mexican state of Oaxaca....
, Pochutla, Puerto Escondido
Puerto Escondido
Puerto Escondido is a small port and tourist center in the municipality of San Pedro Mixtepec Distrito 22 in the Mexican state of Oaxaca. Prior to the 1930s, no real town existed. The bay had been used as a port intermittently to ship coffee, but there was no permanent settlement due to the lack...
, Puerto Ángel
Puerto Ángel
Puerto Ángel is a small coastal town in the Mexican state of Oaxaca located in the municipality of San Pedro Pochutla. It, along with San Agustinillo and Playa Zipolite are known as the "Riviera Oaxaqueña. It is located 9 km south of city of Pochutla fifty km west of Huatulco and eighty km...
, Santa Catarina Juquila
Santa Catarina Juquila
Santa Catarina Juquila is a town in the State of Oaxaca, Mexico, and is the seat of the municipality also called Santa Catarina Juquila.It is part of the Juquila District in the center of the Costa Region....
, Santa María Huatulco
Santa María Huatulco
Santa María Huatulco is a town and municipality in Oaxaca in south-western Mexico.It is part of the Pochutla District in the east of the Costa Region....
, Jamiltepec, Tututepec
Tututepec
Tututepec is a Mesoamerican archaeological site located in the lower Río Verde valley on the coast of Oaxaca that formed the nucleus of an extensive Mixtec state during the Late Postclassic period...
, Pinotepa de Don Luis
Pinotepa de Don Luis
Pinotepa de Don Luis is a town and municipality in Oaxaca in south-western Mexico. The municipality covers an area of 51 km².It is located in the Jamiltepec District in the west of the Costa Region....
, San Juan Cacahuatepec
San Juan Cacahuatepec
San Juan Cacahuatepec is a city in the Mexican state of Oaxaca, near the border with Guerrero.It is located in the Jamiltepec District in the west of the Costa Region....
, San Pedro Jicayán
San Pedro Jicayan
San Pedro Jicayan is a town and municipality in Oaxaca in south-western Mexico. The municipality covers an area of km².It is located in the Jamiltepec District in the west of the Costa Region.As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of ....
, Santos Reyes Nopala
Santos Reyes Nopala
Santos Reyes Nopala is a town and municipality in Oaxaca in south-western Mexico.It is part of the Juquila District in the center of the Costa Region.The name Nopala is derived from the Nahuatl word for cactus.-Environment:...
, San Gabriel Mixtepec
San Gabriel Mixtepec
San Gabriel Mixtepec is a town and municipality in Oaxaca in south-western Mexico.It is part of the Juquila District in the center of the Costa Region.The name "Mixtepec" means "Hill of clouds"....
, San Agustín Loxicha
San Agustín Loxicha
San Agustín Loxicha is a town and municipality in Oaxaca in south-western Mexico. The municipality covers an area of 389.1 km².It is part of the Pochutla District in the east of the Costa Region....
, and Pluma Hidalgo
Pluma Hidalgo
Pluma Hidalgo is a town and municipality in Oaxaca in south-western Mexico. The municipality covers an area of 179.9 km². It is part of the Pochutla District in the east of the Costa Region. The name of "Pluma Hidalgo" was given because there is a small mountain located on the municipality and up...
.
Santa Catarina Juquila is one of the most important religious centers of Mexico, where many people visit the shrine of the Virgin of Juquila each year.
Dance
Dance is an important element of the coast's cultural life.Dance in this area is an amalgam of indigenous, African and Spanish elements, much like the rest of the culture here. Authorities here, including village elders, the town councils, municipal authorities as well as important village figures have worked to keep traditions, such as the "sones" (traditional music) and "chilenas" (dance performed particularly in Pinotepa Nacional) alive. The area hosts an annual ‘’’Coastal Dance Festival’’ with the purpose of preserving and popularizing traditional coast dances.
One example of local dance is the Petate Bull dance. There are numerous bull dances in Mexico but the version that is performed in the village of Santiago Collantes in the municipality of Pinotepa Nacional
Pinotepa Nacional
Pinotepa Nacional is a city and seat of the municipality of the same name, in the Mexican state of Oaxaca....
, is a lively, vivacious dance inspired by local history. This dance is the best-known of the region and was performed in 1911 when Mexican president Francisco Madero visited the village. According to legend, the president was so pleased with the performance that he shook each dancer's hand and promised them gifts from the capital if they continued to perform the dance. While no such gifts came, the town has continued to perform the dance as part of the town's yearly festival. Santiago Collantes is also known for its version of the Devil's Dance, which is related to the hardships of slavery and serf-like conditions that both the people of African and indigenous origin had to suffer. Pinotepa Nacional has its well-known Chilena dance, which may be related to the cueca
Cueca
Cueca is a family of musical styles and associated dances from Chile, Bolivia, Peru, and Argentina. In Chile, the cueca holds the status of national dance, where it was officially selected on September 18, 1979.- Origins :...
(or zamueca) dances of South America. Other dances performed in the area include the Turtle Dance, the Tiger Dance, and the old and new versions of the Badger's Dance.
Every year in November the government organizes the Coastal Dance Festival, where regional groups from the Oaxaca coast and guests from Michoacán, Guerrero and Chiapas in Puerto Escondido have assembled since 1994 to give exhibitions of the traditional dances of the southern Pacific region.