The towns name has evolved from Nahua which meant, "Place where there is water" to the current Spanish version "Igualapa" and has the accepted meaning of "River of the Messenger". Igualapa is included within the Mixtec of Guerrero because Mixtec predominates the indigenous speakers in the town with Tlapaneco and Mixtec spoken in the surrounding villages. The annual festival Día del Santo Cristo de lgualapa is celebrated with a large festival market, traditional dances and pilgrimages from many indigenous towns in both Oaxaca and Guerrero. Among the different groups to make the pilgrimage are the Amusgo, Mixtec, Tlapaneco, Tacuates and Chatino. During the weeklong celebration, many different indigenous costumes can be seen. The festival is the third Friday of Lent.The town is mentioned in the Codice of Azoyu as having been settled in the 1300 century by Mixtec and Tlapaneco peoples with the arrival of fleeing Toltecs other settlements were founded. The Aztecs conquered the region in the 1457 and establish a military strong hold in Igualapa from where they collected tribute. www.mexicantextiles.com
My project is to document the indigenous textiles of Mexico. To do this I travel to remote indigenous villages to photo and film the traditional textiles and festivals over 650 are now documented. There are over 60 different languages spoken in Mexico and I try to document all that I can reach. My home base is Mexico City. This films are part of the documentation project which is presented as a web museum at www.mexicantextiles.com . The indigenous cultures of Mexico will be brought to you in short but interesting video clips and on my blib.tv blog. Thanks for you interest. bob Freund
