Santo Domingo Yanhuitlán is a village and municipality in the 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...

, Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

, located northeast of Oaxaca city

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...

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It is part of the Nochixtlán District

Nochixtlán District, Oaxaca

Nochixtlán District is located in the southeast of the Mixteca Region of the State of Oaxaca, Mexico.The main city is Asunción Nochixtlán.-Municipalities:The district includes the following municipalities:*Asunción Nochixtlán*Magdalena Jaltepec...

 in the southeast of the Mixteca Region

Mixteca Region, Oaxaca

The Mixteca Region is a region in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico, part of the broader La Mixteca area which covers parts of the states of Puebla, Guerrero and Oaxaca....

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It is 2,140 meters above sea level. Its name comes from the patron saint of the town (Saint Dominic) and the last part is from Náhuatl

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...

 meaning “near something new”.

The town

The town was founded by Dominican

Dominican Order

The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...

 friars 10 years after the Spanish came to Oaxaca. Historically, In colonial times, Yanhuitlán was an important commercial center of the Mixtec

Mixtec

The Mixtec are indigenous Mesoamerican peoples inhabiting the Mexican states of Oaxaca, Guerrero and Puebla in a region known as La Mixteca. The Mixtecan languages form an important branch of the Otomanguean language family....

 people, exporting silk

Silk

Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...

 to Mexico City

Mexico City

Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...

, Puebla

Puebla, Puebla

The city and municipality of Puebla is the capital of the state of Puebla, and one of the five most important colonial cities in Mexico. Being a planned city, it is located to the east of Mexico City and west of Mexico's main port, Veracruz, on the main route between the two.The city was founded...

 and Oaxaca city

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...

. Communal earnings are kept in chests locked with three keys to conserve them for the cultural development of each of the seven “neighborhoods” of Yanahuitlán: Ayuxu Dana, Xayujo, Tico, Tinde, Yudayo. Yuxacoyo y Yuyuxa.

The municipality is dominated by the Templo y Ex-convento de Santo Domingo (Temple and former convent of Saint Dominic), built around the middle of the 16th century on pre-Hispanic foundations. It has a notable façade, baptismal font, “sotocoro” roof, various altarpieces (retablos) on the sides of the church as well as a main altarpiece constructed like a folding screen. It also contains an antique pipe organ

Pipe organ

The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...

built around 1700 and restored to playing condition by Pascal Quoirin in 1998.

The municipality

As municipal seat, Yanhuitlán has governing jurisdiction over the following communities:

Barrio de los Arcos, Caja de Agua, El Jazmín, La Cantera, La Cieneguilla, La Laguna, Los Dos Corazones, Rancho Celerino, vendaño, Río Grande, San Sebastián (Primera Sección), Tijua, Tooxi, Xaacahua, Xacañi, Xahayucuanino, Yucudahuico, Yudayo, and Yuxaxiño