Tehuantepec

Tehuantepec (in full, Santo Domingo Tehuantepec) is a town and municipality in the southeast of the Mexican state of Oaxaca. The 2005 census reported a population of 39,529 in the town and 57,163 in the entire municipality, which has an areal extent of 965.8 km² (372.9 sq mi). The town was the eighth-largest community in the state at the 2005 census. The name comes from the Nahuatl "Tecuantepec", meaning "maneater hill". Se baila la Sandunga

The town

It is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tehuantepec.

The town gives its name to the isthmus, gulf, and railway of Tehuantepec, and stands about 25 km (15 mi) from the mouth of the Tehuantepec River. The city of Oaxaca is about 250 km away, and the nearest city is Salina Cruz at a distance of 13 km. It occupies the slope of a hill on the Pacific side of the divide, with a beautiful view of the river valley and the distant sierras to the north. The population is composed almost wholly of indigenous Zapotecs. The women are the traders in Tehuantepec and do little menial work. Known as "Tehuanas," these women are known throughout Mexico for their colorful dresses, assertive personalities, and relatively equal relations with men, leading some to characterize them as "matriarchal." Local industries include the distilling of "caña" (a cane spirit) and the weaving of cotton fabrics dyed with the juice of a marine shellfish ("Purpura patula") found on the neighboring coast. Indigo was formerly grown in the vicinity and cochineal gathered for export, but both of these industries have declined.

Porfirio Díaz, as a captain of the Mexican Army, had his headquarters in Tehuantepec in the 19th century during the early years of the French intervention in Mexico.

In the late 19th century, the American engineer James Buchanan Eads proposed to the United States Congress the idea of a rail system for moving ships between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. His idea was approved in 1887 by the Congress but promptly blocked by the United States House of Representatives, as the United States was already considering the idea of building a canal across the Isthmus of Panama.

Its Palacio Municipal was built in 1868. The Church of Santo Domingo de Guzmán was built in the 16th century, originally as an open-air chapel but has since been converted to a cathedral. Its old cloister is now the Casa de la Cultura (House of Culture). Smaller churches include those located in the neighborhoods of Sanl Pedro, Santa María and San Sebastián, also house notable works of art. Taxis in the town are 3-wheeled motocycles where passengers ride while standing. A notabe person from this area is [Juana Catalina Romero, who was an influential businesswoman and close associate of President Porfirio Díaz.cite journal |last= Quintanar Hinojosa |first=Beatriz |year=2007 |month= August |title=El Istmo de Tehuantepic |journal=Guía México Desconocido: Oaxaca |volume= 137 |pages=91 |url= www.mexicodesconocido.com.mx ]

The municipality

As municipal seat, Tehuantepec has governing jurisdiction over the following communities:

Aguascalientes de Mazatán, Barrio Asunción de María, Barrio Liesa, Barrio Santa Cruz, Barrio Santa Cruz (Quinta Sección), Buenos Aires, Cajón de Piedra, Colonia Alejandro Cruz Martínez, Colonia Benito Juárez, Colonia Huayacán, Colonia Jordán, Colonia Lázaro Cárdenas, Colonia San Luis, Colonia Santa Elena de la Cruz, Concepción Bamba, Congregación Agrícola Cinco de Mayo, Ejido el Jordán, Ejido Guichivere, El Cairo, El Guayacán, El Limón, El Manguito, El Pescador, El Tablón, El Zapote (El Zapotal), Ensenada Chipehua, Flor de Azalea, Fraccionamiento Guadalupe Hinojosa de Murat, Garrapatero, Guelaguechi, La Brecha (Lázaro Cárdenas), La Ladrillera, La Noria, La Palma, Las Arenas, Las Cruces, Las Láminas, Las Pilas, Las Tejas, Los Cabrera, Los Mangos, Los Manguitos, Morro de Mazatán, Parcela Ochenta, Paso Alicia, Paso Tino (Rancho Hermanos Díaz), Pearson, Pishishi, Playa Cangrejo, Pozorrillo, Quince de Septiembre, Ranchito de Carrizal (Piedra Bola), Rancho Alfonso Jarquín, Rancho Doctor Raúl Gutiérrez Santos, Rancho el Bronco, Rancho Jerónimo Cordero, Rancho Loma Bonita 1, Rancho Loma Bonita 2, Rancho Quinta San Felipe de Jesús, Rancho Reforma, Rancho Rolando Medrano, Rincón Moreno, Rincón Tagolaba (Rinconcito), San Antonio, San José el Paraíso, San Juan Zaragoza, San Vicente Mazatán, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz Bamba y Garrapatero, Santa Cruz Hidalgo, Santa Cruz Miramar, Santa Gertrudis Miramar, Santa Isabel de la Reforma, Santa María Nativitas Coatlán, Santa Rita, Tierra Negra, and Zanjón y Garrapatero

References

*1911
* [http://www.inegi.gob.mx/est/contenidos/espanol/sistemas/conteo2005/localidad/iter/ Link to tables of population data from Census of 2005] INEGI: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática
* [http://www.e-local.gob.mx/wb2/ELOCAL/EMM_oaxaca Oaxaca] Enciclopedia de los Municipios de México