San Pedro Pochutla

San Pedro Pochutla is a small city and the seat of a municipality of the same name located on the southwest coast of Mexico in the state of Oaxaca. It is located 238 km. from the state capital, Oaxaca. The Pacific Ocean port and tourist destination of Puerto Ángel is 12 km. from the municipal seat. See [http://www.maps-of-mexico.com/oaxaca-state-mexico/oaxaca-state-mexico-map-b3.shtml] or [http://www.tomzap.com/map_east.html] for maps of the region.

Area and Population

The area of the municipality is 421 km², which is 0.44% of the total area of the state of Oaxaca According to the 2000 census the population was 36,982, of which 18, 592 were men and 18,390 were women. The total population of the municipality represents l.08 % of the population of the state. The municipality consists of the municipal seat and two small towns: Puerto Ángel and San José Chacalapa

Origin of the name

The name means place of pochotes, which are ceibas, or silk-cotton trees. (Pochtl=pochote, ceiba y tla=place of)

Fauna

The area was once rich in fauna. Animals still found today are iguana, armadillo, badger, raccoon, skunk, squirrel, otter, dove, and lovebird. Many edible animals and predators have been eliminated, though protection for iguana (a local delicacy) is allowing them to return.

Natural Resources

There is an oil field in the place known as Aragón, about 5 kilometers from Puerto Ángel. In 1937 this oil was going be exploited by an English company which had set up all the necessary equipment for the work, but in 1938 President Lázaro Cárdenas expropriated the oil and the work was never carried out. Nothing has ever been done.

Traditionally there was an abundance of wood (huanacastle, caoba, ceder, guayancan, ocotillo, and grandillo) which was used in the furniture industry, but due to deforestation little wood remains today.

The sea is also plentiful in its resources, which are a source of income and basic food for the local inhabitants. Fishing is done in the small port of Puerto Ángel, but is on a modest scale. Until recently sea turtles were taken to make jewelry and soup (sopa de cahuama), but this is now prohibited due to environmental concerns.

ocio-demographic Profile

Ethnic Groups

According to the 2000 census the total population of indigenous peoples was 2,523 people. Their native languages are Zapotec and Zapotec Suredo.

Religion

In the 2000 census 27,546 people (over 5 years old) were listed as Catholic, 4,603 non-religious, and 3,437 Protestant. The Protestants were divided accordingly:
*Historical: 49
*Pentecostal and Neopentecostal: 1,942
*Iglesia del dios vivo, columna y apoyo de la verdade, la luz del mundo: 8
*Other evangelical: 848
*Seventh Day Adventists: 67
*Mormons: 96
*Jehovah Witnesses: 350

*Other religions: 77
*Non specified: 317

Education

In 2000 77.1% of the inhabitants older than 15 could read and write.

ocial and Communications Infrastructure

upply

There are two municipal markets, El Calvario and 15 de Diciembre. The basic foods of the town are beans, corn, banana, mango, orange, coconut. There is a street market on Mondays.

port

There is a small sports center where footballs, volleyball, basketball, and athletics are practicad. There is a natural swimming pool in the town of San José Chacalapa.

ocio-economic conditions

Education

*Total population: 36,982
*Percentage of population over the age of 15 that were illiterate: 22.88
*Percentage of population over the age of 15 with less than primary school education: 46.65
*Population over the age of 15 with no education: 5,377
*Population over the age of 15 with primary school education: 4,717
*Population with secondary school education: 3,156
*Population with university education: 2,685
*Average number of school years completed: 6

Dwellings

*Inhabited dwellings: 7,258
*Average number of occupants per private dwelling: 5
*Average number of occupants per room in private dwellings: 3
*Percentage of occupants of dwellings without sanitation: 21.20
*Percentage of occupants of dwellings without electricity: 18.87
*Percentage of occupants of dwellings without piped in water: 32.40
*Percentage of dwellings with food scarcity: 70.81
*Percentage of dwellings with dirt floors: 43.29
*Private dwellings that use gas for cooking: 2,869
*Private dwellings that use wood for cooking: 4,197
*Private dwellings that have a toilet: 5,379
*Private dwellings that have piped in water: 4,302
*Private dwellings that have a television: 3,396
*Private dwellings that have a refrigerator: 2,752
*Private dwellings that have a washing machine: 578
*Private dwellings that have a telephone: 429
*Private dwellings that have an automobile: 463

*Percentage of population living in places with fewer than 5,000 inhabitants: 66.46
*Percentage of population earning less than 2 minimum salaries: 70.97
*Classification in the state: 327
*Classification in the country: 815

Human Development Index

*HDI: 0.696
*Infant mortality rate: 31.4
*Percentage of population over the age of 15 that were literate: 77.1
*Percentage of population between the age of 6 and 24 attending school: 61.3
*Adjusted per capita income in dollars: 3,299.
*Infant survival rate: 0.786
*School level rate: 0.719
*GDP per capita rate: 0.584
*Ranking in the country: 1,288

Public Services

According to the city government 90% of the families are supplied with potable water, 80% have access to electrical lighting, 30% to urban storm drains, and 20% have access to garbage collection and public thoroughfare cleaning.

Means of Communication

Pochutla has one radio station, XEPX, a newspaper, telegraph service, automatic telephone, post office, taxi service to different communities, local bus service, and long-distance buses that carry passengers to the state capital.

Communication Routes

The municipality has a paved highway that connects with the coastal highway; there are eight bus lines, some connecting with other places in the interior of the region, and another with the capital of the country. The main highways are Highway 175, which connects with the capital city of Oaxaca, Oaxaca and Highway 200, the coastal highway that starts in Tepic, Nayarit, and ends in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.

Economic Activity

Agriculture

Coffee cultivation is the main source of rural employment and of income since it is of high quality and is exported. There is also cultivation of coconut, tropical plums and mango.

Commerce

50 % of the population is involved in commerce, which is carried out in small dry goods stores (tiendas de abarrote) and in the marketplaces. The tourist industry has grown substantially in the small resort of Puerto Angel, where there are several small hotels and restaurants.

Fishing

Fishing is carried out along the coast, especially in Puerto Ángel. The most common fish caught are tuna red snapper, shark, bonito, sailfish, lobster, conch, and octopus.

Sea turtle (cahuama) used to be a main sea product and was the raw material for jewelry, of turtle soup and turtle tamales and tacos. Until 1990, when Mexico outlawed the practice, the beach at Mazunte was an abattoir of sea turtles. Some 50,000 turtles were slaughtered each year as they came on shore to nest, and their weathered white bones and shells were strewn about for the tides and storms to remove. The creatures were viewed as an infinitely renewable source of turtle steaks and eggs. See [http://www.tomzap.com/mm_mazun.html Of Turtles and Things]

Economically active population by sector

According to the 2000 census the total economically active population of the municipality is 11,019. This is divided as following:

*Primary (agriculture, cattle raising, hunting, and fishing): 27%
*Secondary (mining, oil, manufacturing industry, construction, and electricity) 22%
*Tertiary (Commerce, tourism, and services): 48%
*Others: 3%

Cultural and touristic attractions

Historical monuments

There are fragments of walls and trenches on the hills of Vigía, Espino, and Cometa. Popular belief is that these are signs of battles between the local inhabitants and Turkish or Moorish pirates, who were known in olden times as "pichilingues". There is no historal evidence for these beliefs. .

The main church was begun in 1840 and finished in 1957. The municipal palace was built in 1873 and was renovated in 2003. Two new buildings were added, a pavilion and a small amphitheatre for local festivities. See [http://www.puertoangel.net/pochutla/palacio_en.html] for photos.

Festivals, Dances, and Traditions

Popular Festivals

During the festival of the Patron Saint San Pedro, celebrated on 29 June, masked participants run through the streets announcing the festivities. Fireworks are popular and efigies of castles and bulls are burnt.

Traditions

At a very early hour the women go to the mill with their nixtamal (cooked maize) in large earthernware jars called tinajas or tenetes. We can see this from four o’clock in the morning. From 6 o’clock to 7 o’clock they do their shopping in the market. Then the streets are filled with children going to the different schools, followed by street vendors offering their products: pumpkin seeds, iguana or fish tamales, freshly caught shrimp, popsicles, and objects made of black coral.

Handicrafts

The town is known for figures and necklaces made of coconut, black coral, and wood,

Gastronomy

Pochutla is famous for its tamales made of iguana meat, deer, and armadillo.

Tourist Points

Local inhabitants and tourists both from Mexico and abroad visit the beaches near Puerto Angel. The most famous are [http://www.puertoangel.net/puerto/panteon_en.html Playa del Panteón] in Puerto Ángel, [http://www.puertoangel.net/puerto/estacahuite_en.html Playa Estacahuite] , [http://www.puertoangel.net/puerto/mina_en.html Playa la Mina] , [http://www.puertoangel.net/puerto/boquilla_en.html Playa la Boquilla] , and [http://www.puertoangel.net/puerto/tijera_en.html Playa la Tijera] .

Other nearby villages with beaches are [http://www.puertoangel.net/zipolite/zipolite_en.html Zipolite] , [http://www.puertoangel.net/agustinillo/agustinillo_en.html San Augustinillo] , [http://www.puertoangel.net/mazunte/mazunte_en.html Mazunte] , [http://www.puertoangel.net/ventanilla/lagoon.html The Lagoon of Ventanilla] , [http://www.puertoangel.net/zapotengo/zapotengo_en.html the Lagoon of Zapotengo] .

For bathing in natural springs locals and tourists visit [http://www.puertoangel.net/chacalapa/chacalapa_en.html Chacalapa] , a village in the foothills of the Sierra Madre del Sur, just 14 km. north of Pochutla. There is a waterfall called Los Reyes (see photos at [http://www.puertoangel.net/chacalapa/cascada_en.html] ) that is within walking distance of the village.

The municipality

The municipal government is called the ayuntamiento. This consists of a Presidente Municipal (like a mayor), and 8 councilpersons, called regidores. There is also a Síndico Municipal, who is like an ombudsman.

*Síndico Municipal (ombudsman)
*Regidor de Hacienda (taxes)
*Regidor de Obras (city works)
*Regidor de Salud (health)
*Regidor de Educación (education)
*Regidor de Mercado (Market)
*Regidor de Deportes (Sports)
*Regidor de Protección Civil (civil protection)
*Regidor de Pesca (fishing)

As municipal seat, Pochutla has governing authority over the following communities:

Aguacate, Alianza, Arroyón 1, Arroyón 2, Arroyo Arena, Arroyo Cruz, Arroyo del Inquente, Arroyo Macalla, Arroyo Rico, Arroyo Zapote, Azulillo, Barra de Cuatunalco, Barranquilla, Barrio Anclero, Barrio Apanune, Barrio Cuaydiguele, Barrio la Lima, Barrio la Soledad, Barrio Mendillo, Barrio Nuevo Chapingo, Barrio Nuevo Toltepec, Barrio San Agustín, Benito Juárez, Cacahuatal, Carnizuelo, Chapingo, Chepilme, Chicomulco, Cofradía, Colonia la Mina, Comala, Corcovado Petaca, Corneta, Cuajinicuil (Cuajinicuil Alto), El Cigarro, El Colorado, El Corozal, El Coyote, El Encierro, El Encinal, El Manantial, El Paraíso, El Piste, El Polvorín, El Porvenir, El Reparo, El Sitio (Arroyo Grande), El Vigía , El Zapote (Arroyo Zapote), Estacahuite, Finca el Carmen, Fraccionamiento la Guayabita, Galilea, Guzmán, Juan Diegal, Juana Castillo, La Boquilla, La Ciénega II, La Ciénega III, La Cruz del Siglo, La Guayaba, La Guayabita, La Lagartija, La Mixteca, La Naranja (La Camaronada), La Redonda, La Rosadía Laborillo, Laguna Seca, Laguna Seca (Sección Cuarta), Lagunilla, Las Juntas, Las Palmas, Las Pilas, Llano Becerro (Barrio de la Cruz), Llano Miel, Loma Cruz, Loma Larga, Los Ciruelos, Los Horcones, Los Naranjos Esquipulas, Macahuite Dos, Medina, Miramar, Nanchal, Nanche Dulce, Natividad, Nopalera, Nueva Esperanza, Ojo de Agua, Palestina, Palmarillo (Palmarillo San Martín), Palo Alto, Palo de Arco, Palotada (San Juan Palotada), Parada Zapotal, Paso los Indios, Paso Xonene, Piedra Ancha (Azulillo), Piedra de Iguana, Piedra de Lumbre, Playa Zipolite, Pocitos, Puente Copalita, Puente Toltepec, Puerto Ángel, Rancho el Pachequito, Río Sal, Reyes, Roque, Samaritán, San Isidro Apango, San Isidro Limón, San José Chacalapa, San José del Progreso, San Miguel Figueroa, San Pedro Cafetitlán, Santa María Limón, Santo Tomás, Sone, Tachicuno, Tahueca Tepeguaje (Tepeguaje Tololote), Tololote, Toltepec (San Rafael Toltepec), Unión de Guerrero, Vainilla, Xonene, Yolina, Zacamalín, Zapotal, and Zapotengo

External links

* [http://www.puertoangel.net/pochutla/pochutla_en.html City of San Pedro Pochutla]
* [http://www.e-local.gob.mx/work/templates/enciclo/oaxaca/municipios/20324a.htm Enciclopedia de Municípios Mexicanos]
* [http://www.tomzap.com/pochutla.html Pochutla, Oaxaca]
* [http://www.oaxaca.gob.mx/gobtecnica/gob/infestatal/municipios/municipio.php?id=324 Statistical information in Spanish]
* [http://www.maps-of-mexico.com/oaxaca-state-mexico/oaxaca-state-mexico-map-b3.shtml Section 14/16 of main Oaxaca Map]
* [http://www.tomzap.com/mm_angel.html Article from Mexican Meanderings on Puerto Ángel]