San Agustín Atenango

In Mixtec the town is Yojo Ndavi, glossed as "deep plain", and its patron is San Agustín de Hipona. San Agustín Atenango is the seat of a Mixteca municipality in the Silacayoápam district, whose area is given as between 69 and 83 km² depending on the source. It borders San Pedro Mártir and Santo Domingo Tonalá to the north, San Andrés Yutatío and Santa María Yucuiná to the east, San Francisco Paxtlahuaca to the south and Huastepec to the west. The hills El Zacate, San Mateo el Viejo and El Encinal shape the landscape at an average height of about 1,300 m, within a range of 1,200 to 2,300 m.

The census series tells a story of ups and downs: 918 people in 1900, 1,554 in 1970, a figure of only 528 in 1980 that probably reflects an error or a change in how it was recorded, 1,658 in 1990 and 1,315 in 2020. The municipality has seven localities and 1,871 residents; the largest is the seat, followed by San Francisco Paxtlahuaca with 338 and San Mateo de Libres with 131. Nearly half the population, 892 people or 47.9%, speak Mixtec, and almost 1,600 identify as indigenous.

It is a place of everyday Mixtec life with few tourist services: in the municipal data, of 1,321 dwellings 984 have dirt floors, and 49.9% of residents live in moderate poverty. It lies about 243 km from the state capital, a long trip before you reach the Mixteca. Visitors come out of curiosity about the lower Mixteca, its hills, and a town that is off the usual tourist routes.