Mixteco, Cacaloxtepec in Mexico

People Name:	Mixteco, Cacaloxtepec
Country:	Mexico
10/40 Window:	No
Population:	1,300
World Population:	1,300
Primary Language:	Mixtec, Cacaloxtepec
Primary Religion:	Christianity
Christian Adherents:	95.00 %
Evangelicals:	1.50 %
Scripture:	Portions
Online Audio NT:	No
Jesus Film:	No
Audio Recordings:	Yes
People Cluster:	Mixteco
Affinity Bloc:	Latin-Caribbean Americans
Progress Level:

Introduction / History

This is not a big group….just one village. It would be so easy to overlook them! Nevertheless, with its own dialect and particular customs, there exist barriers that isolate this group from others. When Jesus spoke of making disciples of all nations, He was talking about ethnic groups – even this tiny one, which has yet to see an Evangelical church amongst them.

Dialect speakers: 68% of the population spoke the language. According to the 1995 Census, 542 of the people spoke the dialect (language) out of a population of 796 (municipal of Cacloxtepec).

Where Are they Located?

Villages: Santiago Cacaloxtepec, in the district of Huajuapan.
Location/Terrain: Located 4 hours northwest of Oaxaca City in the Sierra Mixteca. It is a semiarid region known for its scarcity of vegetation.

What Are Their Beliefs?

There is no Evangelical church. No believers were found at the time of the investigation. A Catholic priest lives in the village and has much influence with the people. The village has a huge Catholic Church, four separate chapels and two new chapels under construction. There are four Catholic priests, all born in this village that work outside of their community. One of them is writing a book, in their dialect, about the history of this ethnic group.

What Are Their Needs?

Water Projects: Extend the existing water system enabling more homes to have water service. The community is also in need of another well to be dug that would the installation of a pump.

Marketing Opportunity: There is a factory in the village that was used in the production of sombreros and other products of palm leaf. Currently the factory is closed but the work goes on, except now, these skilled hat weavers make everything by hand. One real need is to establish markets that would enable the village factory to get back on line.

Construction Projects: Many houses were destroyed with an earthquake that struck in June of 1999. Any type of assistance in rebuilding or new construction could open some permanent doors for the gospel.