The Oaxacan Mixtec region has beautiful wild scenery within a rough territory that Nature has dyed in green, ochre and red colors to frame the extraordinary variety of cactaceous plants. Let yourself be enveloped in the tranquility that you will find in its natural beauty such as the Laguna Encantada in Juxtlahuaca, the waterfalls in Santiago Apoala or the canyons and cliffs along the river that crosses this region.

It is a fascinating land where the deep rooted customs and traditions teach you the importance of our origins. In its fairs you will find the colorful handcrafts in pottery made from its soil. To attend the patron saint?s festivities is an invitation to savor the rich Mixtec gastronomy, with tasty dishes such as the goat hip soup, the exquisite lamb barbacoa or the delicious Mixtec pozole. It is an invitation to enjoy listening to the music and -why not? - To dance to the rhythm of the lovely live band music. It is an invitation to admire the women -wearing their rebozos- in pilgrimage to pray to the patron saint. Here, the seeds of evangelization have borne fruit in the form of the majestic Dominican convents and temples, buildings that are testimony of the greatness of our culture.

Let yourself to be embraced by a taste of history by taking the Dominican Route where you will meet the colonial architecture in a hundred and ten magnificent Dominican parish chapels, temples or convents built along the "royal road" on its route from Mexico City to Guatemala.

Within this rosary of temples and convents of the Mixtec region, the one of Santo Domingo Yanhuitlán is outstanding. It is located 70 km (43 mi) north of the city of Oaxaca via Federal Highway 190. Yanhuitlán is a Nahuatl word meaning "New Land". It is known that the builders of the Temple and convent came from El Escorial, Spain. Architecturally speaking, it is the most important of all the temples of Oaxaca; it was built in Baroque style and has two beautiful chapels: the Rosario and the Santo Domingo. In the choir you can see a pipe organ of 47 keys, that is decorated with lattice and gilded leafy elements.

In Teposcolula, located just 27 km (17 mi) from Yanhuitlán, there is a religious compound, consisting of the temple, a convent house or cloister and the open chapel, or chapel for the indigenous. This open chapel is the greatest pride of the Teposcolulans, because of the reminiscences of Gothic and Renaissance architecture in its construction.

San Juan Bautista Coixtlahuaca is located 33 km (20.5 mi) from Teposcolula. The construction of the temple and convent is based on Tequitiqui Art, thus called because the sculpture works were made by the natives in two dimensions; flat surfaces and sharp edges, since they were not familiarized yet with the tri-dimensional works from Europe.

Its open chapel is dedicated to San Juan Bautista and is the masterpiece within this singular phenomenon of the open chapels in México. It is one of the most sophisticated examples of carved stone vaults in the new world.

We invite you to visit these wonderful constructions that speak of their history and traditions. Let yourself be embraced by the past and live the experience of knowing Oaxaca.

The Mixtec region is located northwest of the city of Oaxaca.

Automobile
From Oaxaca City, take the toll Superhighway 135-D (70 km / 43 mi), or the free Federal Highway 190 (98 km / 61 mi) to Nochixtlán, which is the starting point of the Mixtec of Lázaro Cárdenas Approximate travel time: one hour.