Oaxaca

The city of Oaxaca, Oaxaca (formally: Oaxaca de Juárez, in honor of 19th-century president and national hero Benito Juárez, who was born nearby) is the capital and main city of the Mexican state of the same name. It is located in the Oaxaca Valley in the Sierra Madre del Sur Mountains, at 17°05'N 96°45'W and an altitude of about 1550 m (5000 feet). The important Monte Albán archaeological site is close to the city. In 2003 the estimated population was 526,000 people.