Huautla de Jiménez, a town nestled among the clouds, is the home of the Mazatec people, who warmly invite you to immerse yourself in their ancient traditions. Experience their language, songs, dances, and traditional medicine, inherited from the renowned María Sabina, Priestess of the Mushrooms. You can also meet Mama Julia, one of the 13 Grandmothers of the World, a guardian of this ancestral knowledge.
Huautla de Jiménez is a municipality located in the district of Teotitlán in the Mazatec Highlands Region of Oaxaca. It is both rural and urban, with a municipal population of 68,555 inhabitants and 53,999 in the town itself. Its classification as rural stems from its limited urban infrastructure development. Huautla de Jiménez is the tenth-largest population center in the state of Oaxaca.
The word Huautla comes from the Náhuatl language and, during the height of the Aztec dominion, was referred to by Cuitláhuac as Cuiticaname – Huautlan, which etymologically means "Place of Eagles." The addition de Jiménez honors General Mariano Jiménez, who visited the region in 1864. On December 14, 1926, by Decree No. 55, Huautla de Jiménez was officially granted the title of City.
This Indigenous culture possesses a rich collection of symbols, figures, origin stories, sacred hills, rituals, calendars, traditional attire, music, caves, and more, all of which shape a unique identity that distinguishes them. It provides a way of seeing, understanding, and interpreting the world, as acknowledged by the United Nations (UN) Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Huautla de Jiménez welcomes visitors with the lushness of its natural surroundings and the warmth of its people, who are always kind and ready to share deeply rooted customs and traditions. It boasts a wealth of historical and cultural richness, a distinctive gastronomy, and, as its irreplaceable and undisputed symbol, the legendary Priestess María Sabina.
In Huautla de Jiménez, there is only one church, built in 1766, in honor of Saint John the Evangelist. Among the most significant celebrations is the Festivity of the Lord of the Three Falls, held on the third Friday of Lent. The eve of the event is marked by music and fireworks, followed by a solemn procession through the town's main streets, carrying the religious image. Throughout the week, sociocultural activities supported by various institutions take place.
Recently, the Feast of the Virgin of the Nativity was celebrated on September 7th and 8th, as well as the Virgin of Santa María Juquila on December 7th and 8th. Additionally, the traditional celebration of the Virgin of Guadalupe takes place every December 12th, with pilgrimages arriving at the town's church from various nearby communities.
Music is another remarkable aspect worth highlighting. Traditional songs that preserve their Indigenous essence stand out, such as the “Sones Mazatecos,” Flor de Piña, El Anillo de Oro, La Flor de Lis, and La Paloma. Together, they form what is called Naxo Loxa or Flor de Naranjo.
The instruments used to perform this music include a saxophone, snare drum (tarola), offbeat rhythm (contratiempo), trumpet, güiro, and a cylinder drum. The heartfelt verses of Naxo Loxa (Flor de Naranjo) were composed by the Mazatec writer José Guadalupe García Parra.
Regarding their customs and traditions, the Mazatec people, also known as the inhabitants of Huautla, meaning "people of the deer," celebrate "Día de los Muertos" (Day of the Dead) by wearing masks of various figures. The group of individuals who dress up and dance to the rhythm of the music is called Huehuentones.
The celebration begins on October 27th with a singing contest in the Mazatec language, featuring compositions related to the occasion, with a prize awarded to the best one. Later that night, all the groups of Huehuentones head to the municipal cemetery to inform the deceased that the dance is about to begin. They then return to dance from house to house in the community.
All the celebrations conclude on November 4th, when the piñatas gifted to the Huehuentones at each house where they danced are broken. It is worth noting that the Municipal Authority organizes an annual Huehuentones gathering, bringing together approximately thirty groups, fostering an atmosphere of harmony and reinforcing the unity among the Mazatec people.
Huautla's gastronomy is truly distinctive, featuring iconic dishes such as pilte, which can be made with chicken or pork, spiced with the regional dried chili known as "chiltépe," and steamed in hierba santa leaves. Other notable dishes include beef and goat broths, goat and beef barbacoa, and tesmole prepared with various types of meat. Additionally, their cuisine highlights tamales filled with beans, corn, mole, or tesmole, as well as greens like quelites, and regional herbs such as quintoniles, huele de noche, hierba mora, and chayote shoots.
Eggs are prepared in various ways, most commonly in a sauce with epazote, scrambled with hierba santa, canary chili, and onion, or cooked on a griddle with hierba santa, without any fat. The typical beverages enjoyed include sour atole, atole de granillo, chili atole, sweet atole, sugarcane aguardiente, chilacayote water, and coffee—especially the locally produced "high-altitude" variety, which is known for its rich aroma and Arabica quality.
Huautla de Jiménez strives to be recognized as a town that embraces a profound natural and internal worldview, cultivated over the years through the use of hallucinogenic mushrooms. For this reason, the most iconic cultural figure of the town, undoubtedly, is María Sabina, the Priestess of Mushrooms. She brought worldwide fame to the region through her medicinal use of the niños santos (sacred mushrooms), which are an essential part of the Mazatec spiritual and healing traditions.
María Sabina, a Mazatec Indigenous woman, was born in 1894 in Huautla de Jiménez. Her parents, María Concepción and Crisanto Feliciano, faced difficult circumstances. Her father, a farmer, passed away when she was just three years old. Following his death, María Sabina, her mother, and her younger sister, María Ana (two years her junior), moved in with her maternal grandparents, Manuel Cosme and María Estefanía. Her grandparents were involved in traditional farming and raising silkworms. Throughout her childhood, María Sabina lived in extreme poverty and malnutrition, conditions that persisted during most of her life. She did not receive any formal education, but her experiences and connection to the Mazatec culture would eventually lead her to become an extraordinary figure.
The Mazatec healer María Sabina found peace in healing and reviving people. Her profound knowledge of plants and hallucinogenic mushrooms not only brought her national and international acclaim but also earned her recognition as a wise and extraordinary woman. She embodied the spiritual and medicinal heritage of her community, leaving an indelible mark on the world.
María Sabina was known for discovering mushrooms in sacred places, selecting them carefully across different ages. She would prepare them over the course of one, two, or even seven days and then administer them to people to heal them. Her healing rituals were accompanied by chants in lengthy, profound ceremonies that deeply connected the spiritual and physical realms. Her extraordinary legacy endured until her passing on November 22, 1985.
Since her passing, numerous tributes have been made to honor María Sabina. In Mexico, the rock band Santa Sabina adopted her name, and the band El TRI de México dedicated the song “Cosas de un Soñador” to her. Today, the figure of the Priestess María Sabina has come to symbolize the harmonious assimilation and integration of religion, the use of hallucinogenic mushrooms, and the worldview surrounding this profound and significant ritual.
The community holds a unique worldview, one that they have preserved and passed on to new generations. This is why the Festival in Honor of María Sabina is celebrated every year with a week of cultural activities, from July 16th to 22nd. This festival serves as a space for communion, an exchange of experiences and knowledge among traditional healers, and an opportunity to share the ancestral healing practices of the Traditional Medicine of the Indigenous Peoples of Oaxaca, Mexico, and the world.
During the celebration, healers from the community and neighboring municipalities come together to offer their services and perform spiritual rituals. María Sabina's legacy has become a symbol of identity for traditional healers, not just among the Mazatec people but throughout Oaxaca. Her teachings have transcended state and national boundaries, embodying qualities of humility, wisdom, spirituality, connection with the divine and nature, and a selfless willingness to share her healing knowledge. These attributes have inspired individuals from diverse cultures and professions worldwide.
A prime example of this legacy is Mama Julia, a shaman from Huautla de Jiménez and a member of the International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers. She has traveled the globe sharing her deep knowledge of traditional medicine, building connections and fostering interactions with various countries, communities, and both national and international organizations. Her work highlights the profound importance of preserving and disseminating ancestral healing practices on a global stage.
Huautla de Jiménez, along with its authorities and community, is intensifying efforts to reclaim and preserve values such as honesty, respect, the common good, safety, and solidarity. These principles have been central to shaping their identity and have brought them recognition—particularly through the worldview inspired by their cultural icon, María Sabina, the Priestess of the Sacred Mushrooms—both nationally and internationally.
Huautla de Jiménez radiates a magical essence, woven through its climate, traditions, gastronomy, historic monuments, architecture, and the remarkable warmth of its people. Its identity is deeply enriched by individuals who carry ancestral knowledge of traditional medicine and spiritual connections with the divine. This unique and incomparable culture transcends national borders, sharing its brilliance with the world.
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