Villa de Etla

Villa de Etla
Town & Municipality
Church of San Pedro y San Pablo
Villa de Etla Location in Mexico
Coordinates: 17°12′27″N 96°48′00″W / 17.20750°N 96.80000°W / 17.20750; -96.80000Coordinates: 17°12′27″N 96°48′00″W / 17.20750°N 96.80000°W / 17.20750; -96.80000
Country	Mexico
State	Oaxaca
Founded	15th century
Government
• Municipal President	Tomas Luis Gonzáles Luna
Area
• Municipality	17.86 km2 (6.90 sq mi)
Elevation	1,660 m (5,450 ft)
Population (2005)Municipality
• Municipality	7,637
• Seat	6,486
Time zone	CST (UTC-6)
Postal code (of seat)	68200

Villa de Etla is a town and municipality located in the Mexican state of Oaxaca. It is located in the far northwestern part of the Central Valley of Oaxaca, about seventeen km from the capital. The town is centered on the church and former monastery of San Pedro y San Pablo, and as municipal seat functions as the local government for six other communities. Most of the town’s history has been lost due to the lack of records, but oral tradition states that it was founded sometime in the 15th century. Today, the town is noted for its weekly Wednesday market, where one can find traditional merchandise such a local variety of white cheese, tamales, frames for donkeys and goat barbacoa prepared in an earthen oven.

The town of Villa de Etla is centered on the church and former monastery of San Pedro y San Pablo, with the layout of the original streets of the town marked off from it. The complex was completed in 1636 and consists of three parts, the church, the former monastery and the cloister, all constructed from green sandstone. The main portal of the church has a simple arch over which is the choir window. Over this is a pediment which contains a clock. Behind the monastery area, there are the remains of an aqueduct. This arched construction was one of the first built in the area and was used during the colonial period to provide water to the town from the surrounding mountains. It is not known when the aqueduct was built but it was probably completed by the end of the 16th century. The church is one of a series of churches and monasteries which were established by the Dominicans between the city of Oaxaca and the Puebla border in the 16th century. Today this path is the main highway to the city of Puebla and the church is grouped with those from Yanhuitlán, Teposcolula and Coixtlahuaca . There is one other significant church in the town but it is unknown when it was constructed.