Mixteca

Mixteca refers to a historic and geographic region in western Mexico, centered in Oaxaca and extending into parts of Guerrero and Puebla. The area is traditionally divided into the Mixteca Alta (highlands) and Mixteca Baja (lowlands), and it is characterized by rugged mountains and narrow valleys that shaped social organization, agriculture, and travel.

The Mixteca is home to the Mixtec people, who speak Mixtecan languages, a branch of the Oto-Manguean language family. The region contains many communities with distinct linguistic and cultural traditions, including specialized crafts and festive practices that vary from village to village.

In pre-Columbian times, Mixtec polities were organized as independent chiefdoms and small states that engaged in long-distance trade and exchange with neighboring cultures. They are renowned for a rich pictorial codex tradition that recorded genealogies, histories, and ritual knowledge. They also produced sophisticated metalwork, textiles, and featherwork. The arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century brought conquest, missionization, and new social and economic structures, while many Mixtec communities maintained and adapted their rituals, genealogies, and crafts.

Today, the Mixteca remains culturally vibrant but faces economic challenges in parts of the region. There is significant emigration to urban centers and the United States. Agriculture and crafts such as weaving and embroidery continue to be important livelihoods, and traditional celebrations, dress, and music persist in many communities. The term Mixteca can refer to the region, the people, or the languages associated with them.