Pinotepa Nacional

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Santiago Pinotepa Nacional

Pinotepa Nacional

Seal

Major cities of Oaxaca

Santiago Pinotepa Nacional

Major cities of Oaxaca

Coordinates: 16°20′17″N 98°03′01″W / 16.33806, -98.05028

Country

Mexico

State

Oaxaca

Municipality

Founded

Government

- Mayor

Time zone

CST (UTC-6)

Postal code

Pinotepa Nacional (formally: Santiago Pinotepa Nacional; in Mixtec, Ñuu Yoko) is a city and seat of the municipality of the same name, in the Mexican state of Oaxaca. The name Pinotepa means “toward the crumbling hill” in Náhuatl.

[edit] 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 region of the state.^[1]

The region has a colorful 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 haciendas 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.^[2] 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 various crimes and cold-blooded murders, the bandit’s head was brought to the town and put on public display for a number of days.^[1]

The town has a reputation for being rowdy, colorful 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, machetes and saddle-making.^[2]

[edit] 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