With its moody air of intrigue and large Indian population (Indigenous people comprise 80 percent of the 3,438,765 inhabitants), Oaxaca, Mexico’s southern state, is a microcosm of all of Mexico, old and new. It is home to 16 separate Indian groups, dominated by the Zapotec and Mixtec peoples, as well as other Native communities including Amuzgo, Chatino, Huave, Trique and Mixe, who speak more than 14 major languages and 90 dialects, all heavily infused with Spanish. The capital city of Oaxaca (wah-HA-ka), population 242,249, situated in the pleasant Valley of Oaxaca, reflects Mexico’s cultural diversity and enjoys an agreeable, temperate climate. Numbered streets and pastel-colored buildings fan out from the Zócalo, or central plaza, in an orderly grid. Native art delights and astounds visitors, as it has for centuries, spread out like jewels in a huge central market and in open-air stalls that seem to be on every street corner.

Join us on a brief tour of the region and its dazzling Native arts including pottery, textiles, wood carving and more.

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