At its height in 1519, the Aztec Empire was a multi-ethnic, multi-lingual realm stretching more than 80,000 square miles and ruling over 15 million people. But, for all its strength and breadth, the Aztec Empire failed to conquer several regions that represented “independent enclaves” within their vast dominion. One of those enclaves contained the people then known as the Tlapaneco (now known as Méphaa). Their enclave was known as Yopitzinco.

Today, more than 7 million of Mexico’s 126 million people speak 364 Indian linguistic variants (dialects), but almost 90% of those people are bilingual, speaking both Spanish and an Indigenous language. Those who do not speak Spanish are called monolingual.

Most people are not very aware of the presence of African slaves in colonial Mexico. In fact, some people believe that the influence of the African to Mexican culture is negligible at best. But the African laborer actually played an important and very indispensable role in the economic success of colonial Mexico. And, in some parts of Mexico, the African made cultural contributions.

The Uto-Aztecan Language Group includes a wide range of languages, stretching from Idaho and Montana all the way down to El Salvador in Central America. The Náhuatl language of the Aztecs represents only a small — but significant — part of this linguistic group.

The Mexican Census Paints a Picture

From 1895 to 2015, the Mexican census has painted a picture of Mexico’s people, providing details about languages spoken (Spanish, foreign and indigenous), religion, education, literacy, employment and migration. From the beginning, the Mexican census provided details about indigenous languages spoken by its citizens. However, in the first half century, it is possible that there were undercounts of indigenous language speakers because some may have failed to declare their language status for fear of affecting their position within the community. In addition, poor communications channels with rural, isolated indigenous communities may also have caused an undercount of the indigenous people.

Across the 761,606 square miles (1,972,550 square kilometers) that comprise Mexico you can find a great variety of landscapes and climates. While mountains and plateaus cover more than two-thirds of her landmass, the rest of Mexico’s environment is made up of deserts, tropical forests, and fertile valleys. Mexico’s many mountain ranges tend to split the country into countless smaller valleys, each forming a world of its own. Over the last few thousand years, this has been a factor in the differentiation of a wide range of indigenous Mexican languages.

The State of Oaxaca is located in the south of Mexico where the Eastern Sierra Madre and the Southern Sierra Madre mountain ranges merge. Oaxaca shares common borders with Guerrero (on the west), Puebla (on the north), Veracruz (on the north and northeast), and Chiapas (on the east). Oaxaca also shares a long coastline with the Pacific Ocean on its south.

The Mexican state of Guerrero is located in the southern coastal region of the Mexican Republic. Guerrero covers an area of 63,597 square kilometers, occupying 3.2% of the national territory. The state is bordered to the north by the states of Michoacán, Mexico and Morelos; to the east, by Puebla and Oaxaca; and to the south, by the Pacific Ocean. Politically, Guerrero is divided into eighty-one municipios. As the fourteenth largest Mexican state, Guerrero covers an area of 63,596 square kilometers, occupying 3.2% of the national territory.