Pinotepa Nacional is a city and seat of the municipality

Municipalities of Mexico

Municipalities are the second-level administrative division in Mexico . There are 2,438 municipalities in Mexico, making the average municipality population 45,616...

 of the same name, in the Mexican state of Oaxaca

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...

.
It is located in the Jamiltepec District

Jamiltepec District, Oaxaca

Jamiltepec District is located in the west of the Costa Region of the State of Oaxaca, Mexico.-Municipalities:The district includes the following municipalities:*Mártires de Tacubaya*Pinotepa de Don Luis*Pinotepa Nacional*San Agustín Chayuco...

 in the west of the Costa Region

Costa Region, Oaxaca

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...

. The name Pinotepa means "toward the crumbling hill" in Náhuatl

Nahuatl

Nahuatl is thought to mean "a good, clear sound" This language name has several spellings, among them náhuatl , Naoatl, Nauatl, Nahuatl, Nawatl. In a back formation from the name of the language, the ethnic group of Nahuatl speakers are called Nahua...

.

The town

During colonial times, its name was Pinotepa del Rey, and just after Independence, it was called Pinotepa del Estado. It is located at a height of 200 m above sea level in the Mixteca de la Costa

La Mixteca

La Mixteca is a cultural, economic and political region that covers parts of the states of Puebla, Guerrero and Oaxaca in south-central Mexico....

 region of the state.

The region has an interesting history. A high percentage of its population is of African ancestry. There are two historical theories of how this came about. The first is that during the colonial period African slaves were brought to this area to work on the various hacienda

Hacienda

Hacienda is a Spanish word for an estate. Some haciendas were plantations, mines, or even business factories. Many haciendas combined these productive activities...

s here. The second theory is that these people are the descendants of Africans destined for the slave trade whose ship wrecked off the coast of Oaxaca. This is also the home of a notorious bandit by the name of Silverio Petatán, who was captured and executed in 1864. Because of his boss-eye and colourful language, the bandit's head was brought to the town and put on public display for a number of days.

The town has a reputation for being rowdy and full of parties. It is one of the few areas of Mexico with a significant population of people of African descent. It is also noted for crafts such as knitted items, embroidered items, and, in particular, knives, machete

Machete

The machete is a large cleaver-like cutting tool. The blade is typically long and usually under thick. In the English language, an equivalent term is matchet, though it is less commonly known...

s and saddle-making. It is also the host town for the UTM annual wife hunt event, where lonely desperate men from neighbouring municipalities come to try and charm a spouse with limited Spanish but flashy boots.

The municipality

As municipal seat, Pinotepa Nacional has governing jurisdiction over the following communities:
Acuautepec o Agua de la Caña, Agua Dulce, Antonio García Zamora, Antonio Gazga, Arroyo Seco, Carnicería, Cerro de la Esperanza, Charco del Otate, Collantes, Colonia Cuauhtémoc, Colonia de la Libertad, Colonia Usibac, Colonia Vicente Guerrero, Corralero, Cruz del Itacuán, Dispensario, El Añil, El Alacrán, El Azicate, El Carrizal (El Toronjil), El Carrizo, El Ciruelo, El Conejo, El Cuachilote, El Jícaro, El Manguito, El Palomar, El Ranchito, El Retén, El Salado, El Tamal, El Tamarindo 1, El Tamarindo 2, El Tanaroa, El Viscaíno, El Zapote, Fraccionamiento San Isidro, Granja Avícola Delia, Guadalupe Victoria, Hornos los Pajaritos, Isaura Rodríguez, José Miguel Fuentes, La Alberca (Arroyo Limón), La Cañada, La Finca, La Ganadera, La Noria y Minindaca, La Palma, La Palma del Coyul, La Raya, Lagunillas, Las Lomas, Las Playitas, Librado Baños Baños, Lo de Candela, Lo de Mejía, Lo de Riaño, Lo de Vera, Loma Larga, Los Cuajilotes, Los Horcones, Los Hornos Grandes, Los Pocitos, Mancuernas, Mango Solo, Mariano Matamoros, Melquíades A. Vargas, Minillahui, Minitán, Motillas, Paso de la Garrocha, Pie del Cerro, Piedra Blanca, Playa Banco de Oro, Rancho de la Virgen, Rancho del Santo, Rancho Ramírez, Rose Mary, San Isidro, Santa María Jicaltepec, Willians, Yerbasanta, Yutacuiñe, Yutacuite and Yuyaquita