page_title: Juchitán de Zaragoza
section_title: Culture
hierarchical_section_title: Juchitán de Zaragoza / Culture
caption_attribution_description: palacio de juchitan antiguo
context_page_description: Juchitán de Zaragoza is an indigenous town in the southeast of the Mexican state of Oaxaca. It is part of the Juchitán District in the west of the Istmo de Tehuantepec region. With a 2005 census population of 74,714 inhabitants, it is the fourth-largest city in the state. The majority of the indigenous inhabitants are Zapotecs and Huaves. The town also serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality, with which it shares a name. The municipality has an area of 414.64 km² and a population of 85,869, the state's third-largest in population.
  It is located 26 km northeast of the city of Tehuantepec. Its Palacio Municipal dates back to the middle of the 19th century and perhaps is the widest "palace" in Mexico with 31 arches in its front portal. Its main church is the Parroquia de San Vicente Ferrer which dates from the 17th century. To the west of the Palacio is a large market where local products can be seen and a local variant of the Zapotec language can be heard.
context_section_description: Citizens of Juchitán have also made contributions in the arts, such as painting, poetry, music, folk dance, and sculpture.
  In May, residents celebrate the Fiesta de las Velas (Festival of the Candles) in honor of its patron saint San Vicente Ferrer, with a large procession. Anya Peterson Royce. 2016 Prestigio y afiliación en una comunidad urbana: Juchitán, Oaxaca. Colección Xhono Gui’Chi’. Juchitán: Fundación Excellentiam. [as Anya Peterson R.; third edition of Royce 1975. ]
  The Isthmus Zapotec, an indigenous people who comprise about 70 percent of the population of Juchitan, a city in the south of Mexico, practice a melding of Catholic and indigenous spiritual traditions. In a slide illustrated lecture, anthropologist Anya Peterson Royce shows how the Zapotec use flowers, processions and prayer in rituals that protect and guide spirits on their journey of dying. She also describes the Day of the Dead and Holy Week rituals and the role of the community healer.  Anya Peterson Royce. 2011 Becoming an Ancestor: The Isthmus Zapotec Way of Death.  Albany, NY: SUNY University Press.
caption: Juchitán Municipal Palace
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