The Loxicha Zapotec are an indigenous people group who have migrated from the mountains of Southern Mexico and who maintain much of their pre-Columbian language and culture. They are one of the wide variety of current Zapotec groups who made up the ancient Zapotec, whose roots go back at least 2,500 years and who were once the dominant culture in the Valley of Oaxaca in Mesoamerica. The Zapotec built massive complexes such as Monte Alban, developed an early system of writing, produced finely crafted jewelry, and competed for dominance with the Aztec before the arrival of the Spanish.
Their villages of origin in Mexico tend to be small, rural farming communities with little to no economic opportunity. As a result, many of them have emigrated to the United States, but maintain very strong cultural, family, and financial ties to their communities of origin. Money remitted to their home villages is a vital lifeline for those who have stayed behind.
The town of Loxicha itself, is "located on an unreliable but gravel road in a remote area north of the highway between Puerto Escondido and Puerto Angel, Oaxaca, Mexico. This town was very late to enter the migrant stream. There is no evidence of anyone leaving the hometown before 1990. There are no settlements elsewhere in Mexico. People came straight to the United States. No one in the older generation speaks Spanish very well in the town. However, despite its isolation and lack of migration history, the language skills are changing quickly. Children converse in Spanish on the streets of the hometown, and the young settler population in California speaks Spanish well. Though there were isolated pioneers in the 1990s, almost all of the relatively small number of people from Loxicha (have) come to California since 2000 (median age=25). They have settled almost exclusively in the San Diego area where they work in the strawberry and tomato fields...." (Indigenous Farmworkers Hometown Report) http://indigenousfarmworkers.org/index.shtml Many of the settlers in the USA are men who have left their wives and children back in Mexico. Most are live in poor conditions and have little transportation.
The primary religion practiced by the Loxicha Zapotec is a form of Cultural Catholicism layered over their traditional religion, and is rooted in the reverence of santos and spirits in nature. Their religion is expressed through traditional fiestas, rites, and customs.
Prayer Points
Pray for Loxicha Zapotec believers to boldly proclaim the gospel to their people.
Pray that the barriers of traditional Zapotec religion would be broken down.
Pray for more workers for the harvest, both for the Loxicha Zapotec in the United States, as well as those in Mexico.
Learning Resources
Learn more about "Learning Paths" Online Courses for embracing, encountering and engaging diaspora people. Work at your own pace. Begin anytime and complete the course according to your schedule. Interactive, Hands-On Application.
Learn more about "Reaching the Nations" This book delineates five disciplines Christians should develop in order to effectively reach the nations. More specifically, it will guide Christians to develop an engagement strategy in their locale.
San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA - 50
