Oaxaca << wah HAH kuh >> (pop. 258,913) is the capital of Oaxaca, a poor state in southern Mexico. The state has a large Indigenous (native) population. The city’s official name is Oaxaca de Juárez. Oaxaca has won fame for its handicrafts and its impressive colonial architecture. The city’s economy relies largely on tourism and the sale of cattle, dairy products, and hardwoods. The ruins of several ancient Indigenous cities, including Mitla and Monte Albán, lie near Oaxaca. Some historians believe the Aztec people founded Oaxaca in 1486. But the Zapotec and the Mixtec peoples had lived in the area for many centuries before that date.
See also Mixtec; Monte Albán; Zapotec.
