Teotitlán del Valle
Encyclopedia
Teotitlán del Valle is a small village and municipality
located in the Tlacolula District
in the east of the Valles Centrales Region
, 31 km from the city of Oaxaca
in the foothills of the Sierra Juárez mountains. It is part of the Tlacolula Valley district. It is known for its textiles, especially rugs, which are woven on hand-operated loom
s, from wool obtained from local sheep and dyed mainly with local, natural pigments. They are woven in traditional designs but modern designs such as reproductions of famous artists’ work and custom orders are available, as well as tours of family-owned workshops. The name Teotitlán comes from Nahuatl
and means “land of the gods”. Its Zapotec name is Xaguixe, which means “at the foot of the mountain”. It was one of the first villages founded by the Zapotecs in this area, in 1465, and it still retains its Zapotec culture and language.
Teotitlán del Valle was refounded as a Spanish village in 1527. It is believed that the father of one of the Niños Heroes, by the name of Agustín Melgar was from there, due to village records bearing his name.
, people gather at seven in the morning to buy foodstuffs and craft materials for their homes and businesses. Most people here retain ancient traditions; a majority of the inhabitants speak Zapotec. The open market takes place daily, with certain goods such as meats, fish, furniture being featured on specific days of the week.
The two main landmarks in the town are the Preciosa Sangre de Cristo Church and the Community Museum. The Preciosa Sangre de Cristo Church is the main church of the town and municipality and was begun in 1581, although not completed until 1758. The facade of the church is made of quarried stone called cantera with decorative stonework in the main entrance and choir window. This church was built on the site of a local Zapotec temple, which was destroyed when the Spanish arrived, replacing it with this church. In the foundations of the church, some of the construction of the original temple can be seen. On the side of the church is a small archeological area. Inside there are traces of 16th century decoration with pre-Hispanic motifs. Another religious attraction is the Chapel of Cristo Grande located in a private home on Aquiles Serdan Street.
The name of the community museum is Balaa Xtee Guech Gulal, which means “in the shadow of the old village/people.” The museum opened in 1995 and the most recent addition is a display dedicated to the Danza de la Pluma (Feather Dance). The museums contains sign in Spanish, English and Zapotec. There are three main halls, one dedicated to the archeology of the municipality, one to crafts and one to traditional weddings. The archeological hall contains mostly etched stones and ceramic items, which visitors can touch. A number of the pieces show signs of Olmec visitation to the area around 500 BCE. The crafts room contains items such as old photographs, looms, exhibits on how wool is processed and dyes are made and used to make textiles. The wedding hall contains a recreation of the groom performing his traditional ceremonial obligations, such as gifts. There is also a wedding mural.
According to the Enciclopedia de los Municipios de Mexico, one tradition of betrothal involves the prospective groom going to the prospective bride’s parents, bringing gifts such as bread, candles, decorations, chocolate and fruit. Another is to “rob” the girl (quotes in the original), then find someone to negotiate a wedding with the parents. This person generally is someone with a good reputation in the community and usually is a senior citizen. S/he communicates the intentions of the boy and states where the girl is, often with fireworks to indicate the location. After negotiations, the parents set a wedding date and all come together to arrange the wedding.
The town’s major festival is the Feast of the Precious Blood of Christ which occurs each year on the first Wednesday of July and lasts about a week. The event has carnival rides and a basketball tournament but the main feature is “Danza de la Pluma” or Feather Dance (called Guyach in Zapotec). Dancers wear elaborate headdresses made from painted feathers, giving rise to the name in Spanish. The dance commemorates the conquest of the Aztec by the Spanish.
The town has a tour service called Tourist Yú'ù which brings and orients visitors to such locations as the community museum, the archeological zone, the municipality dam and two natural formations called “Picacho” and “Cuevitas.”
The most characteristic dishes here include mole negro
, mole amarillo, liver with eggs and tamales, which can be filled with mole, corn, cheese or chicken. Beverages include hot chocolate, atole
, atole with pulque
and mezcal
.
The community is famous for its weavings called “laadi” in the local language, with textiles as the main economic activity. This community is known for its woven wool rugs which use natural dye
s such as those obtained by the cochineal
insect. These rugs can have native indigenous motifs or more modern designs. The other main economic activity is agriculture.
Weaving in this village dates back at least until 500 BCE. The earliest weavings used cotton and ixtle and utilized the backstrap loom
. Teotitlán would pay its financial tribute to the Aztec
s in weavings. More modern weaving was introduced here by Dominican
bishop Juan López Dezárate around 1535 when the bishop brought sheep and treadle looms to the area. The new materials and looms allowed for the weaving a large, heavy duty items such as rugs, serapes and blankets. Over time the village grew and began specializing solely in rugs to be used for trade or sale in markets of other towns in the other parts of the state. With the completion of the Pan-American Highway
in the late 1940s, the area was connected with Mexico City, opening up markets. In the 1950s with air travel, tourists began coming to Oaxaca and taking interest in the crafts.
The rugs are handcrafted from wool and most of the designs are woven from the craftsmen’s memory. Designs include Zapotec and Mixtec
glyphs and fretwork, Navajo
designs (a contentious issue) and more contemporary designed including reproductions of works by famous artists such as Picasso, Joan Miró
, Matisse, Diego Rivera
or Rufino Tamayo
. The making of the rugs begins the washing of the raw wool to rid it of dirt and residues. Next it is carded then spun into yarn. The yarn is wound into large balls to prepare for dying with natural dyes such as those obtained from the needle bush
, indigo
, cochineal, “musgo de roca”, brazilwood
, Mexican marigold and others. some workshops use chemical dyes. The traditional looms are hand-operated.
Weaving is done by both sexes in family workshops in which artisans of all ages participate in the work. About 150 families are involved in the craft, as well as several families that specialize in candle-making. One such workshop is the Artesanía Casa Santiago, located on the town’s main street since 1966. Most weavers work in agriculture as well as weaving but increasing consumer demand has prompted some to spend more time weaving. Workshops such as these even take custom orders with images of modern items such as a request for a wall hanging promoting Pentax
cameras.
Many of the workshops permit visitors to enter and see how the rugs and other textiles are made. Some of the workshops have broadened their offerings to include wall hangings, handbags, pillow covers, jackets, ponchos and dresses.
, Santa Catarina Ixtepeji
(Ixtlán District) San Jerónimo Tlacochahuaya
, San Francisco Lachigoló
, Santa María del Tule, Tlalixtac de Cabrera
, Santo Domingo Tomaltepec
and Villa Díaz Ordaz
. Principle elevations include the Gueliaa, Cerro Grande Quiea Less and Dai-N Nizz. Rivers include the Grande, the Gueu-Liaa, Guen-Dzu, Gue Duin, La Tchuvi, the Gue Ve-U and Gue Ya with one dam called the Piedra Azul. It has a temperate climate similar to that of the city of Oaxaca. Vegetation here is mixed with a number of tree species. Wildlife is dominated by various bird species such as falcons, owls and ravens as well as small mammals such as opossums, skunks, and rabbits.
Most of the municipalities land is dedicated to agriculture, almost all of which is for auto-consumption. Sixty eight percent of the population is dedicated also to the elaboration of crafts, especially of wool rugs in traditional Zapotec designs.
Many birders come to view birds, especially above the Piedra Azul Dam. They are mostly targeting the "dry interior" endemics, like Ocellated Thrasher
, Bridled Sparrow
, Dwarf Vireo
, Oaxaca Sparrow
, Boucard's Wren
, Gray-breasted Woodpecker, Slaty Vireo
, Dusky Hummingbird
, and Sumichrast's Scrub-Jay. Birds can also been seen at the Benito Juárez dam when it fills during the rainy season in the summer. Winter months (November–March) are the best time to see migratory birds, including herons and kingfishers.
In addition to birdwatching, other activities available in the mountain areas include hiking, horseback riding and mountain biking.(inforamador) The two main attractions in the mountains is El Pichacho Peak, or Cerro Gie Bets (“stone brother” in Zapotec) and the Cuevita del Pedimento caves. Both are within hiking distance but permission is require and can be obtained from the community museum. El Picacho is considered to be sacred, and its peaks offers a wide view of the Tlacolula Valley. The Cuevita del Pedimento is a set of three caves which is traditionally visited on New Year’s in order to petition the image of the Virgin Mary there for favors for the following year.
One tradition in this municipality is the concept of “tequio” or the performance of administrative duties without monetary compensation as a type of community service. These duties include acting as municipal president, which is a full time commitment of three years.
.
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...
located in the Tlacolula District
Tlacolula District, Oaxaca
Tlacolula District is located in the east of the Valles Centrales Region of the State of Oaxaca, Mexico.-Municipalities:The district includes the following municipalities:*Magdalena Teitipac*Rojas de Cuauhtémoc*San Bartolomé Quialana...
in the east of the Valles Centrales Region
Valles Centrales de Oaxaca
The Valles Centrales is a region in the heart of the state of Oaxaca, Mexico.It includes the districts of Etla, Centro, Zaachila, Zimatlán, Ocotlán, Tlacolula and Ejutla...
, 31 km from 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...
in the foothills of the Sierra Juárez mountains. It is part of the Tlacolula Valley district. It is known for its textiles, especially rugs, which are woven on hand-operated loom
Loom
A loom is a device used to weave cloth. The basic purpose of any loom is to hold the warp threads under tension to facilitate the interweaving of the weft threads...
s, from wool obtained from local sheep and dyed mainly with local, natural pigments. They are woven in traditional designs but modern designs such as reproductions of famous artists’ work and custom orders are available, as well as tours of family-owned workshops. The name Teotitlán comes from Nahuatl
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...
and means “land of the gods”. Its Zapotec name is Xaguixe, which means “at the foot of the mountain”. It was one of the first villages founded by the Zapotecs in this area, in 1465, and it still retains its Zapotec culture and language.
History
This village is considered to be one of the first that was founded by the Zapotecs around 1465. It was originally named Xaquija, which means “celestial constellation”. According to research done by Manuel Martínez Gracida, there was a large stone split in half with the name of the Stone of the Sun. It was the first idol of the Zapotecs here. It was believed that a god came from the heavens in the form of a bird, accompanied by a constellation of stars to found the temple here.Teotitlán del Valle was refounded as a Spanish village in 1527. It is believed that the father of one of the Niños Heroes, by the name of Agustín Melgar was from there, due to village records bearing his name.
The town
Teotitlán del Valle is a traditional rural town that maintains its Zapotec culture. In the municipal marketTraditional fixed markets in Mexico
Traditional fixed markets in Mexico go by a variety of names such as "mercados públicos" , "mercados municipales" or even more often simply "mercados"...
, people gather at seven in the morning to buy foodstuffs and craft materials for their homes and businesses. Most people here retain ancient traditions; a majority of the inhabitants speak Zapotec. The open market takes place daily, with certain goods such as meats, fish, furniture being featured on specific days of the week.
The two main landmarks in the town are the Preciosa Sangre de Cristo Church and the Community Museum. The Preciosa Sangre de Cristo Church is the main church of the town and municipality and was begun in 1581, although not completed until 1758. The facade of the church is made of quarried stone called cantera with decorative stonework in the main entrance and choir window. This church was built on the site of a local Zapotec temple, which was destroyed when the Spanish arrived, replacing it with this church. In the foundations of the church, some of the construction of the original temple can be seen. On the side of the church is a small archeological area. Inside there are traces of 16th century decoration with pre-Hispanic motifs. Another religious attraction is the Chapel of Cristo Grande located in a private home on Aquiles Serdan Street.
The name of the community museum is Balaa Xtee Guech Gulal, which means “in the shadow of the old village/people.” The museum opened in 1995 and the most recent addition is a display dedicated to the Danza de la Pluma (Feather Dance). The museums contains sign in Spanish, English and Zapotec. There are three main halls, one dedicated to the archeology of the municipality, one to crafts and one to traditional weddings. The archeological hall contains mostly etched stones and ceramic items, which visitors can touch. A number of the pieces show signs of Olmec visitation to the area around 500 BCE. The crafts room contains items such as old photographs, looms, exhibits on how wool is processed and dyes are made and used to make textiles. The wedding hall contains a recreation of the groom performing his traditional ceremonial obligations, such as gifts. There is also a wedding mural.
According to the Enciclopedia de los Municipios de Mexico, one tradition of betrothal involves the prospective groom going to the prospective bride’s parents, bringing gifts such as bread, candles, decorations, chocolate and fruit. Another is to “rob” the girl (quotes in the original), then find someone to negotiate a wedding with the parents. This person generally is someone with a good reputation in the community and usually is a senior citizen. S/he communicates the intentions of the boy and states where the girl is, often with fireworks to indicate the location. After negotiations, the parents set a wedding date and all come together to arrange the wedding.
The town’s major festival is the Feast of the Precious Blood of Christ which occurs each year on the first Wednesday of July and lasts about a week. The event has carnival rides and a basketball tournament but the main feature is “Danza de la Pluma” or Feather Dance (called Guyach in Zapotec). Dancers wear elaborate headdresses made from painted feathers, giving rise to the name in Spanish. The dance commemorates the conquest of the Aztec by the Spanish.
The town has a tour service called Tourist Yú'ù which brings and orients visitors to such locations as the community museum, the archeological zone, the municipality dam and two natural formations called “Picacho” and “Cuevitas.”
The most characteristic dishes here include mole negro
Mole (sauce)
Mole is the generic name for a number of sauces used in Mexican cuisine, as well as for dishes based on these sauces...
, mole amarillo, liver with eggs and tamales, which can be filled with mole, corn, cheese or chicken. Beverages include hot chocolate, atole
Atole
Atole is a traditional masa-based Mexican and Central American hot drink. Chocolate atole is known as champurrado or atole...
, atole with pulque
Pulque
Pulque, or octli, is a milk-colored, somewhat viscous alcoholic beverage made from the fermented sap of the maguey plant, and is a traditional native beverage of Mexico. The drink’s history extends far back into the Mesoamerican period, when it was considered sacred, and its use was limited to...
and mezcal
Mezcal
Mezcal, or mescal, is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from the maguey plant native to Mexico. The word mezcal comes from Nahuatl metl and ixcalli which mean 'oven cooked agave.'...
.
Textiles of Teotitlán del Valle
Natural dye
Natural dyes are dyes or colorants derived from plants, invertebrates, or minerals. The majority of natural dyes are vegetable dyes from plant sources – roots, berries, bark, leaves, and wood — and other organic sources such as fungi and lichens....
s such as those obtained by the cochineal
Cochineal
The cochineal is a scale insect in the suborder Sternorrhyncha, from which the crimson-colour dye carmine is derived. A primarily sessile parasite native to tropical and subtropical South America and Mexico, this insect lives on cacti from the genus Opuntia, feeding on plant moisture and...
insect. These rugs can have native indigenous motifs or more modern designs. The other main economic activity is agriculture.
Weaving in this village dates back at least until 500 BCE. The earliest weavings used cotton and ixtle and utilized the backstrap loom
Loom
A loom is a device used to weave cloth. The basic purpose of any loom is to hold the warp threads under tension to facilitate the interweaving of the weft threads...
. Teotitlán would pay its financial tribute to the Aztec
Aztec
The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...
s in weavings. More modern weaving was introduced here by Dominican
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
bishop Juan López Dezárate around 1535 when the bishop brought sheep and treadle looms to the area. The new materials and looms allowed for the weaving a large, heavy duty items such as rugs, serapes and blankets. Over time the village grew and began specializing solely in rugs to be used for trade or sale in markets of other towns in the other parts of the state. With the completion of the Pan-American Highway
Pan-American Highway
The Pan-American Highway is a network of roads measuring about in total length. Except for an rainforest break, called the Darién Gap, the road links the mainland nations of the Americas in a connected highway system. According to Guinness World Records, the Pan-American Highway is the world's...
in the late 1940s, the area was connected with Mexico City, opening up markets. In the 1950s with air travel, tourists began coming to Oaxaca and taking interest in the crafts.
The rugs are handcrafted from wool and most of the designs are woven from the craftsmen’s memory. Designs include Zapotec and 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....
glyphs and fretwork, Navajo
Navajo rug
Navajo rugs and blankets are textiles produced by Navajo people of the Four Corners area of the United States. Navajo textiles are highly regarded and have been sought after as trade items for over 150 years. Commercial production of handwoven blankets and rugs has been an important element of the...
designs (a contentious issue) and more contemporary designed including reproductions of works by famous artists such as Picasso, Joan Miró
Joan Miró
Joan Miró i Ferrà was a Spanish Catalan painter, sculptor, and ceramicist born in Barcelona.Earning international acclaim, his work has been interpreted as Surrealism, a sandbox for the subconscious mind, a re-creation of the childlike, and a manifestation of Catalan pride...
, Matisse, Diego Rivera
Diego Rivera
Diego María de la Concepción Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez was a prominent Mexican painter born in Guanajuato, Guanajuato, an active communist, and husband of Frida Kahlo . His large wall works in fresco helped establish the Mexican Mural Movement in...
or Rufino Tamayo
Rufino Tamayo
Rufino Tamayo was a Mexican painter of Zapotec heritage, born in Oaxaca de Juárez, Mexico. Tamayo was active in the mid-20th century in Mexico and New York, painting figurative abstraction with surrealist influences....
. The making of the rugs begins the washing of the raw wool to rid it of dirt and residues. Next it is carded then spun into yarn. The yarn is wound into large balls to prepare for dying with natural dyes such as those obtained from the needle bush
Needle Bush
Vachellia farnesiana, also known as Acacia farnesiana, commonly known as Needle Bush, is so named because of the numerous thorns distributed along its branches. The native range of V. farnesiana is uncertain. While the point of origin is Mexico and Central America the species has a pantropical...
, indigo
Indigo
Indigo is a color named after the purple dye derived from the plant Indigofera tinctoria and related species. The color is placed on the electromagnetic spectrum between about 420 and 450 nm in wavelength, placing it between blue and violet...
, cochineal, “musgo de roca”, brazilwood
Brazilwood
Caesalpinia echinata is a species of Brazilian timber tree in the pea family, Fabaceae. Common names include Brazilwood, Pau-Brasil, Pau de Pernambuco and Ibirapitanga . This plant has a dense, orange-red heartwood that takes a high shine, and it is the premier wood used for making bows for...
, Mexican marigold and others. some workshops use chemical dyes. The traditional looms are hand-operated.
Weaving is done by both sexes in family workshops in which artisans of all ages participate in the work. About 150 families are involved in the craft, as well as several families that specialize in candle-making. One such workshop is the Artesanía Casa Santiago, located on the town’s main street since 1966. Most weavers work in agriculture as well as weaving but increasing consumer demand has prompted some to spend more time weaving. Workshops such as these even take custom orders with images of modern items such as a request for a wall hanging promoting Pentax
Pentax
Pentax is a brand name used by Hoya Corporation for its medical-related products & services and Pentax Ricoh Imaging Company for cameras, sport optics , etc. Hoya purchased and merged with the Japanese optics company on March 31, 2008. Hoya's Pentax imaging business was sold to Ricoh Company, Ltd...
cameras.
Many of the workshops permit visitors to enter and see how the rugs and other textiles are made. Some of the workshops have broadened their offerings to include wall hangings, handbags, pillow covers, jackets, ponchos and dresses.
The municipality
As the seat of a municipality, the town of Teotitlán del Valle is the governing authority over nine other named communities, which covers a territory of 81.54km2. The total municipal population is 5,601 of which 4,427 or 79% live in the town proper. The municipality is located in the Central Valleys region of Oaxaca, 31 km from the city of Oaxaca in the foothills of the Sierra Juárez mountains and the seat in located in a small level area in the same. The municipality borders the municipalities of Santa Catarina LachataoSanta Catarina Lachatao
Santa Catarina Lachatao is a town and municipality in Oaxaca in south-western Mexico. The municipality covers an area of km².It is part of the Ixtlán District in the Sierra Norte region.As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of ....
, Santa Catarina Ixtepeji
Santa Catarina Ixtepeji
Santa Catarina Ixtepeji is a town and municipality in Oaxaca in south-western Mexico.It is part of the Ixtlán District in the Sierra Norte region.-References:...
(Ixtlán District) San Jerónimo Tlacochahuaya
San Jerónimo Tlacochahuaya
San Jerónimo Tlacochahuaya is a town and municipality in the Mexican state of Oaxaca, 21 km from the center of the city of Oaxaca on the highway that leads to Mitla...
, San Francisco Lachigoló
San Francisco Lachigolo
San Francisco Lachigolo is a town and municipality in Oaxaca in south-western Mexico. The municipality covers an area of 31.9 km².It is part of the Tlacolula District in the east of the Valles Centrales Region....
, Santa María del Tule, Tlalixtac de Cabrera
Tlalixtac de Cabrera
Tlalixtac de Cabrera is a town and municipality in Oaxaca in south-western Mexico. The municipality covers an area of km².It is part of the Centro District in the Valles Centrales region.As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of .-References:...
, Santo Domingo Tomaltepec
Santo Domingo Tomaltepec
Santo Domingo Tomaltepec is a town and municipality in Oaxaca in south-western Mexico.It is part of the Centro District in the Valles Centrales region, about 10 km east of the city of Oaxaca.The municipality covers an area of 49.76 km²....
and Villa Díaz Ordaz
Villa Díaz Ordaz
Villa Díaz Ordaz is a town and municipality in Oaxaca in south-western Mexico. The municipality covers an area of km².It is part of the Tlacolula District in the east of the Valles Centrales Region.As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of ....
. Principle elevations include the Gueliaa, Cerro Grande Quiea Less and Dai-N Nizz. Rivers include the Grande, the Gueu-Liaa, Guen-Dzu, Gue Duin, La Tchuvi, the Gue Ve-U and Gue Ya with one dam called the Piedra Azul. It has a temperate climate similar to that of the city of Oaxaca. Vegetation here is mixed with a number of tree species. Wildlife is dominated by various bird species such as falcons, owls and ravens as well as small mammals such as opossums, skunks, and rabbits.
Most of the municipalities land is dedicated to agriculture, almost all of which is for auto-consumption. Sixty eight percent of the population is dedicated also to the elaboration of crafts, especially of wool rugs in traditional Zapotec designs.
Ocellated Thrasher
The Ocellated Thrasher is a species of bird in the Mimidae family. It is endemic to the highlands of south-central Mexico. Its natural habitats are dry scrubland and open oak and pine woodland between 1500 and 3000 m above sea-level.It is about 30 cm long. Its upperparts are brown while...
, Bridled Sparrow
Bridled Sparrow
The Bridled Sparrow is a species of bird in the Emberizidae family.It is endemic to Mexico.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland.-References:...
, Dwarf Vireo
Dwarf Vireo
The Dwarf Vireo is a species of bird in the Vireonidae family.It is endemic to Mexico.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland.-References:...
, Oaxaca Sparrow
Oaxaca Sparrow
The Oaxaca Sparrow is a species of bird in the Emberizidae family.It is endemic to the Mexican state of Oaxaca, where it lives in dry forests and thornscrub.It is threatened by habitat loss.-References:...
, Boucard's Wren
Boucard's Wren
The Boucard's Wren is a species of bird in the Troglodytidae family. It is endemic to Mexico. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montane forests and subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland....
, Gray-breasted Woodpecker, Slaty Vireo
Slaty Vireo
The Slaty Vireo, Vireo brevipennis is an odd vireo endemic to shrubby highlands of southern Mexico.It differs from all other vireos in its predominantly slate gray plumage and long tail. These distinctions once afforded it its own genus, Neochloe. It also has green feather edgings on its wings and...
, Dusky Hummingbird
Dusky Hummingbird
The Dusky Hummingbird is a species of hummingbird of the Trochilidae family.It is found only in Mexico.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland....
, and Sumichrast's Scrub-Jay. Birds can also been seen at the Benito Juárez dam when it fills during the rainy season in the summer. Winter months (November–March) are the best time to see migratory birds, including herons and kingfishers.
In addition to birdwatching, other activities available in the mountain areas include hiking, horseback riding and mountain biking.(inforamador) The two main attractions in the mountains is El Pichacho Peak, or Cerro Gie Bets (“stone brother” in Zapotec) and the Cuevita del Pedimento caves. Both are within hiking distance but permission is require and can be obtained from the community museum. El Picacho is considered to be sacred, and its peaks offers a wide view of the Tlacolula Valley. The Cuevita del Pedimento is a set of three caves which is traditionally visited on New Year’s in order to petition the image of the Virgin Mary there for favors for the following year.
One tradition in this municipality is the concept of “tequio” or the performance of administrative duties without monetary compensation as a type of community service. These duties include acting as municipal president, which is a full time commitment of three years.
In media
Teotitlán del Valle is the setting for the Gideon Oliver novel Skull Duggery by Aaron ElkinsAaron Elkins
Aaron Elkins is an American mystery writer. He is best known for his series of novels featuring forensic anthropologist Gideon Oliver—the 'skeleton detective'.Education and background:...
.