Teotitlán del Valle

Teotitlán del Valle is a settlement in the Valles Centrales region of Oaxaca, located in the Sierra Juárez foothills at approximately 1670 meters elevation. The village sits about 31 kilometers from Oaxaca city and houses a community with a long tradition of textile weaving.

This settlement was established in 1465 by Zapotec peoples and originally bore the name Xaquija, meaning celestial constellation in their language. In ancient times, the community housed a significant stone known as the Stone of the Sun, which held religious meaning for its people.

Residents create wool rugs on hand-operated looms, passing down patterns and techniques through families as a living craft tradition. These textiles remain central to village identity and represent the artistic skill that defines the community.

The village can be visited during the day to watch artisans at work and purchase finished textiles, with many workshops located within private homes. The Preciosa Sangre de Cristo Church and the Balaa Xtee Guech Gulal community museum serve as other points of interest for learning about local history and regional artifacts.

Artisans dye their wool textiles using natural methods, extracting colors from indigo plants, cochineal insects, and local moss species that grow in the surrounding mountains. These traditional dyeing techniques, still practiced today, give the woven fabrics their distinctive color palettes.