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Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico Photographs
Photography by Bill Bell
Oaxaca is the name of both a state in Mexico and that state's capital city. This
article is about the city. For the state, see Oaxaca.
Historic Centre of Oaxaca and Archaeological Site of Monte Albán*
UNESCO World Heritage Site
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The city of Oaxaca (formally: Oaxaca de Juárez, in honor of 19th-century
president and national hero Benito Juárez, who was born nearby) is the capital
and largest city of the Mexican state of the same name.
It is located in the Valley of Oaxaca in the Sierra Madre del Sur Mountains,
near the geographic center of the state, and at an altitude of about 1550 m
(5000 ft). The area is known as the three "Valles Centrales" (Central Valleys)
region and is surrounded by thick forests of pine and holm oak.[1] The important
Monte Albán archaeological site is close to the city. As of the 2005 census, the
official population of the city was 258,008 people. Including its surrounding
municipality, the total rises to 265,033. However, the Oaxaca metropolitan area,
which includes seventeen different municipalities, had a population of 500,970
inhabitants. Oaxaca municipality has an area of 85.48 km² (33 sq mi).
It is nicknamed "la Verde Antequera" (the green Antequera) due to its prior name
(Nueva Antequera) and the variety of structures built from a native green
stone.[1]
It is the home of the Guelaguetza native arts and dance festival and the Night
of the Radishes celebration.
History
View of the Valley of Oaxaca from Monte AlbanThere had been Zapotec and Mixtec
settlements in the general area o f
the modern city of Oaxaca for thousands of years, in connection with the
important ancient centers of Monte Albán and Mitla. The area was conquered by
the Aztecs in 1486 who named it Huaxyácac, which means "above the place of
gourdes".[1] The colonial city, however, dates from 1522, when Spanish settlers
who had followed Hernán Cortés' conquistadores successfully petitioned the Queen
of Spain for a grant of land. They had already founded a city in the
neighbourhood, under the name of Nueva Antequera, on the basis of a charter from
King Carlos V of Spain,[1] but Cortés had sought to have the entire Valle de
Oaxaca declared as part of his personal marquisate, and to have the settlers
removed. The Queen's charter, however, secured the townspeople's rights.
Most of the important buildings are within this central area.
The 2006 Oaxaca protests constituted a major social action by teachers from May
to late 2006. Several teachers and their supporters were shot dead.[citation
needed] , including Indymedia journalist Bradley Roland Will on October 27,
2006[2] and Roberto López Hernández and Jorge Alberto Beltrán on October 29,
2006 when over 10,000 federal police and army intervened.[3][4]
On July 16, 2007 protestors from APPO clashed with the police who used teargas
to disperse the crowd resulting in scores injured.
 
 
Oaxaca is filled with Colonial churches and one the best Zocalo's
in Mexico
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