San Cristóbal Xochimilpa

Xochimilpa lies in the northern sierra of Puebla, in Zacatlán municipality, and ranks twelfth by population among the municipality's localities: 1,138 people in 2020, up from 1,077 in 2010. Nearly everyone identifies as indigenous (98.8% in 2010) and Nahuatl remains the community's language. The patron is San Cristóbal, and its church is the building that stands for the village in Wikimedia Commons photographs.

The climate is semi-warm and sub-humid, averaging 16 to 20 °C with 1,200 to 2,500 mm of rain. It rains all year, with the heavy season from June to October, and in winter fog settles over the sierra. The area is exposed to storms and to hurricanes arriving from the Gulf of Mexico. Coffee is among the crops grown, and getting it out of the village is hard because the main dirt road is in poor condition.

Community life is organised around an auxiliary president, a secretary, a treasurer and four councillors, indigenous authorities elected every three years with little party influence. Municipal assessments also point to shortfalls in education, income, housing and services, and illiteracy above 30% among people over 15.