San Jerónimo Tlacochahuaya is a town and municipality in the Mexican state of Oaxaca

Oaxaca

Oaxaca , , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca is one of the 31 states which, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided into 571 municipalities; of which 418 are governed by the system of customs and traditions...

, 21 km from the center of the city of Oaxaca

Oaxaca, Oaxaca

The city and municipality of Oaxaca de Juárez, or simply Oaxaca, is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state of the same name . It is located in the Centro District in the Central Valleys region of the state, in the foothills of the Sierra Madre at the base of the Cerro del Fortín...

 on the highway that leads to Mitla

Mitla

Mitla is the second most important archeological site in the state of Oaxaca in Mexico, and the most important of the Zapotec culture. The site is located 44 km from the city of Oaxaca. in the upper end of the Tlacolula Valley, one of the three that form the Central Valleys Region of the...

.
It is part of the Tlacolula District

Tlacolula District, Oaxaca

Tlacolula District is located in the east of the Valles Centrales Region of the State of Oaxaca, Mexico.-Municipalities:The district includes the following municipalities:*Magdalena Teitipac*Rojas de Cuauhtémoc*San Bartolomé Quialana...

 in the east of the Valles Centrales Region

Valles Centrales de Oaxaca

The Valles Centrales is a region in the heart of the state of Oaxaca, Mexico.It includes the districts of Etla, Centro, Zaachila, Zimatlán, Ocotlán, Tlacolula and Ejutla...

.
The name Tlacochahuaya comes from Nahuatl

Nahuatl

Nahuatl is thought to mean "a good, clear sound" This language name has several spellings, among them náhuatl , Naoatl, Nauatl, Nahuatl, Nawatl. In a back formation from the name of the language, the ethnic group of Nahuatl speakers are called Nahua...

 and means “in wet land” or “in the swamp

Swamp

A swamp is a wetland with some flooding of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water. A swamp generally has a large number of hammocks, or dry-land protrusions, covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates periodical inundation. The two main types of swamp are "true" or swamp...

.”

The town

Tradition states that the town was founded by a Zapotec warrior by the name of Cochicahuala, which means “he who fights by night.” After the Conquest the land was granted to Señor Don Gaspar Calderón and the area was evangelized by the Dominicans.

Its main church is the Templo de San Jerónimo, which was built along with a monastery at the end of the 16th century. It has notable altarpiece

Altarpiece

An altarpiece is a picture or relief representing a religious subject and suspended in a frame behind the altar of a church. The altarpiece is often made up of two or more separate panels created using a technique known as panel painting. It is then called a diptych, triptych or polyptych for two,...

s (retablos) and an organ that dates from colonial times. Normally they let visitors climb the massive structure to look closer. The organ was built between 1725 and 1730 and restored in 1990-1991. It is registered with the Instituto de Órganos Históricos de Oaxaca (Institute of Historic Organs of Oaxaca).

The municipality

The main economic activities are agriculture (corn, beans and various fruits), dairy farming and the production of mescal. As municipal seat, San Jerónimo Tlacochahuaya has governing jurisdiction over the following communities:
La Loma, Luis Alonso León, Macuilxóchitl de Artigas Carranza and Ojo de Agua