Map - Santa Cruz Xoxocotlán (Santa Cruz Xoxocotlán)

Santa Cruz Xoxocotlán is a small city and municipality located 5 km from the state capital of Oaxaca in the south of Mexico. It is part of the Centro District in the Valles Centrales region. The name comes from the Nahuatl word “xocotl” which means “sour or sweet and sour fruit” with the duplicative “xo” to indicate “very.” The meaning of the entire phrase means “among the very sour fruits.” The Mixtec name for the area was Nuunitatnohoyoo which mean “land of the moon-faced flowers.” However, the community is most commonly referred to simply as Xoxo.

For almost all of its history, the municipality had been exclusively rural; however, since the late 20th century rapid growth of the Oaxaca city area has spurred housing developments in Xoxo, causing problems with municipal services and encroachment on the Monte Albán archeological zone. There have been efforts to preserve and promote the municipality’s ancient traditions such as “martes de brujas” (Witch Tuesdays) and local customs associated with Day of the Dead. The latter draws a significant number of tourists to observe the vigils, altars and other activities associated with this community.

The city of Santa Cruz Xoxocotlán is the seat and governing authority for over sixty other named localities covering a territory of 76.55 km2. Almost 90% of the population of the municipality (65,873 in 2005) lives in the city proper with only six other communities (Arrazola, San Francisco Javier, San Isidro Monjas, San Juan Bautista la Raya, Lomas de San Javier and El Paraíso) having a population of 700 or more. The municipality borders the municipalities of Oaxaca, Cuilapan de Guerrero, Animas Trujano, San Raymundo Jalpan, San Agustín de las Juntas, and San Pedro Ixtlahuaca. Just under 5000 people speak an indigenous language as of 2005, with most living in the rural areas outside the city. The municipality is relatively flat with the only significant elevations, Chapulin Mountain and Monte Albán, on its western edge. The main rivers through here are the Atoyac and the Nazareno. The climate is temperate with little variance in temperatures throughout the year. Fauna includes pines, ocote, laurel, copal, mesquite and cactus. Wildlife mostly consists of birds, insects, and small reptiles.

Outside of the city, the municipality is still very rural with extensive agriculture; however, this employs only three percent of the population. Cultivated plants include squash, nopal, chayote, beans, corn, peas and tomatoes. Twenty six percent are employed in mining, manufacturing and construction, and just under seventy percent are employed in commerce. However, much of the population is employed outside of the municipality.

The Oaxaca City airport, officially the “Aeropuerto Internacional Xoxocotlán,” (IATA code OAX) is located in this municipality and served approximately 600,000 passengers in 2008. It has one terminal, with buses and taxis to ferry passengers to the 12 km to Oaxaca city. Sometimes the airport is the target of protests such as when residents of the municipality of Ozolotepec blocked the entrance to demand the dissolution of the government of Arturo Garcia.

The Instituto Tecnologico del Valle de Oaxaca (ITVO) was created in 1981 as the Instituto Tecnologico Agropecuario de Oaxaca No. 23. Its mission is to train professionals in the agricultural and forestry fields. Today, the school offers bachelors, masters and PhD’s in various fields such as Agricultural Production, Biotechnology, Natural Resources Management, Agricultural Engineering and Animal Husbandry. It has recently begun offering some non-agricultural degrees. It is located on the former Jesús Nazareno Hacienda.

The Universidades Pedagógicas Nacionales has a campus in the municipality located in the seat, offering degrees in pedagogy for teachers from primary to high school. Degrees offered range from bachelors to masters.

The community of Arrazola is known for its alebrijes made of wood. The best are made with copal wood and other wood collected from Monte Albán.