Santa María Tonameca (Santa María Tonameca)
Santa María Tonameca is a town and municipality located on the southern coast of Oaxaca, Mexico, about 268 km from the capital city of Oaxaca. It is part of the Pochutla District in the east of the Costa Region. It is a very rural area, which is best known for the beach communities of Mazunte, San Agustinillo and La Ventanilla. The National Turtle Center, a research center and aquarium is located in Mazunte, along with conservation centers for butterflies and iguanas. The town itself is the site of the largest annual festival in the area, celebrating the rescue of a cedar image of the Virgin Mary from the rubble of the town church after an earthquake on 11 May 1870.
The name Tonameca is derived from two Nahuatl words “tonahili” (sun or day) and ”mecatl” (place of origin) which can be translated as “where the people of the sun live.” Santa María refers the Virgin of the Assumption, the patron of the municipality.
This area was under the influence culturally of the empire of Tututepec. After the conquest, the area was governed first by Pedro de Alvarado, and then by Hernán Cortés, who then ceded the area to Gonzalo de Salazar. As in other parts of Mexico, most of the land here was controlled via the encomendero system, where natives not only had to work to meet their own needs but also to meet the demands of the Spanish overlords. One of the largest encomenderos here was owned by D. Tristano de Arellando, called Tututepec, who eventually took control of what was still Indian land to form an hacienda. Eventually, Tristano's greed and maltreatment of the natives here got the attention of viceregal authorities and he was stripped of the encomendero. The land now known as Tonameca came under the control of Petrona Quiahua, who was a descendant of native chiefs. She suffered the genetic “pinto” skin color disorder that still affects a number of the population here. She managed to keep this area out of the hands of Tristano from then on.
In 1870, the main Catholic church of the town was destroyed. However, an image of the Virgin sculpted in cedar was found intact in the rubble. Each year this “miracle” is celebrated. In 1997, the municipality was heavily affected by Hurricane Pauline and again by Hurricane Rick. The second had heavy rains which flooded river causing extensive crop and structure damage.
The drug war of the 2000s has seen battles here. For example, federal police tried to stop two vehicles on Highway 200 in the municipality as they matched the description of vehicles associated with suspected drug traffickers. A pursuit followed with the suspects opening fire on the uniformed police. Being outgunned, the police called to Puerto Escondido for backup but the vehicles escaped.
In 2009, the municipal president, Mardonio Lopez Garcia, inaugurated new classrooms for the primary school in the seat and ecological latrines for the community of Zoluta, which belongs to the municipality. The latrines were built to be environmentally conscious and provide a needed service to this community of scarce resources. Plans were also announced for a school to be built in the community of Macahuite and El Macuil.
The name Tonameca is derived from two Nahuatl words “tonahili” (sun or day) and ”mecatl” (place of origin) which can be translated as “where the people of the sun live.” Santa María refers the Virgin of the Assumption, the patron of the municipality.
This area was under the influence culturally of the empire of Tututepec. After the conquest, the area was governed first by Pedro de Alvarado, and then by Hernán Cortés, who then ceded the area to Gonzalo de Salazar. As in other parts of Mexico, most of the land here was controlled via the encomendero system, where natives not only had to work to meet their own needs but also to meet the demands of the Spanish overlords. One of the largest encomenderos here was owned by D. Tristano de Arellando, called Tututepec, who eventually took control of what was still Indian land to form an hacienda. Eventually, Tristano's greed and maltreatment of the natives here got the attention of viceregal authorities and he was stripped of the encomendero. The land now known as Tonameca came under the control of Petrona Quiahua, who was a descendant of native chiefs. She suffered the genetic “pinto” skin color disorder that still affects a number of the population here. She managed to keep this area out of the hands of Tristano from then on.
In 1870, the main Catholic church of the town was destroyed. However, an image of the Virgin sculpted in cedar was found intact in the rubble. Each year this “miracle” is celebrated. In 1997, the municipality was heavily affected by Hurricane Pauline and again by Hurricane Rick. The second had heavy rains which flooded river causing extensive crop and structure damage.
The drug war of the 2000s has seen battles here. For example, federal police tried to stop two vehicles on Highway 200 in the municipality as they matched the description of vehicles associated with suspected drug traffickers. A pursuit followed with the suspects opening fire on the uniformed police. Being outgunned, the police called to Puerto Escondido for backup but the vehicles escaped.
In 2009, the municipal president, Mardonio Lopez Garcia, inaugurated new classrooms for the primary school in the seat and ecological latrines for the community of Zoluta, which belongs to the municipality. The latrines were built to be environmentally conscious and provide a needed service to this community of scarce resources. Plans were also announced for a school to be built in the community of Macahuite and El Macuil.
Map - Santa María Tonameca (Santa María Tonameca)
Map
Country - Mexico
Currency / Language
| ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
|---|---|---|---|
| MXV | Mexican Unidad de Inversion | 2 | |
| MXN | Mexican peso | $ | 2 |
| ISO | Language |
|---|---|
| ES | Spanish language |