Santo Domingo Petapa

Santo Domingo Petapa is a town and municipality in Oaxaca in south-western Mexico. The municipality covers an area of 232.2 km², at an average altitude of 250 meters above sea level, and is part of the Juchitán District of the Istmo de Tehuantepec region. As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 7,583, of whom 2,696 spoke indigenous languages.[1]

Santo Domingo Petapa
Municipality and town
Santo Domingo Petapa Location in Mexico
Coordinates: 16°49′N 95°8′W
Country	Mexico
State	Oaxaca
Area
• Total	232.2 km2 (89.7 sq mi)
Population  (2005)
• Total	7,583
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central Standard Time)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (Central Daylight Time)

A painting on cotton cloth from 1540 depicts the town and its neighbor Guevea de Humboldt. The picture records the history of the people from the time of their migration from Zaachila up to the Spanish conquest, and was designed to establish ancient property rights.[2]

The climate is hot and humid with summer rains. Flora include mahogany, cedar, oak, pine, pine, and Nopo guanacaste, deer, pochote, chiviveta, beo, mamey, taro and cassava. Wild fauna include boar, badger, raccoon, armadillo, squirrel, wild cat and rabbit. The main economic activity is coffee cultivation. The people also grow corn, beans, pineapple, citrus, melon and watermelon, raise cattle, horses, pigs and poultry, and engage in logging.[1] The Union of Indigenous Communities of the Isthmus Region, a cooperative founded in 1982, assists in production and distribution of the local products, notably coffee, under a fair trade label.[3]

Entre las tradiciones importantes de esta población se encuentra el Día de Muertos o XANDU.[4] Esta celebración comienza el 31 de octubre y culmina el 3 de noviembre. En estos días los habitantes colocan altares con ofrendas para sus difuntos, en los que se encuentran por lo general los alimentos favoritos de aquellos que fallecieron así como flores de cempazuchitl, velas y fotos para adornarlos.