The views are spectacular: steep, narrow alleyways drop away to reveal mosaics of tiled roofs and patios (where the coffee beans are sun dried) and the river valley, dotted with hillocks and the mountains. It's a great town to explore: the churches, the market (Nopala has a traditional Indian market on Sundays.) and small restaurants where you can sometimes find venison, quail or crayfish on the menu.
You can see archeological remains of the ancient culture in the municipal palace, the kiosk in the main plaza, and in some private homes. These stelae, large stone carvings, date from around 600 to 800 AD and are believed to be funereal monuments to great chiefs and priests.
The town's Chatino rulers intermarried with royalty of the neighboring Mixtecs and managed to maintain an equal footing with their powerful neighbors until the death of the great Mixtec king 8 Deer, whose son was married to a Chatina girl in 1000 AD. Then began centuries of subjugation, first as tributaries of the Mixtec, then by the Spanish and, after Independence and the Reforms, by wealthy merchants, ranchers and plantation owners.
But the Nopaltecos have shown a remarkable resiliency in maintaining their culture and traditions, perhaps best symbolized by the ancient stone carving now visible in a wall of the old church, but hidden for centuries behind a Christian altar.
Nopala's annual fiesta was held at the beginning of January, but there always seems to be something going on in here. The narrow streets suddenly fill with people following the ubiquitous brass band in some form of religious observation or celebration.
You can visit a coffee plantation or see how the traditional trapiche works. This is a wooden mill, powered by oxen to crush sugar cane for the juice that is used to produce panela, a raw sugar and tepache, fermented cane juice, essential to any celebration in the region.
Another ancient production process can be seen in nearby Santa Magdalena Tiltepec, where the women make all kinds of pots and vases, clay figurines and the comal, the ungreased clay griddles essential to Oaxacan cooking.
Chatino country spreads up through the southern Sierra Madre beyond the town of Santa Catarina Juquila, regional capital of the area and famous as home to the shrine of the Virgin of Juquila, which attracts thousands of pilgrims each year.
The town thrives on these visitors and is crammed with hotels and restaurants and store after store selling reliquary, statues and images of the Virgin on pendants, bottle openers, key chains and other souvenirs and milagros: tiny representations of hearts, limbs, houses, cars, and other symbols representing hopes or thanks for health and prosperity.
The bustle and congestion, venal commercialism and the outright gouging by local merchants can be a little much.
So it is refreshing to visit Santiago Yaitepec, an undiscovered jewel. Yaitepec is an independent county (municipio) completely surrounded by Juquila territory. The town's authorities are chosen under the Uses and Customs (Usos y Costumbres) system that permits indigenous communities to conserve their traditional political structures while conforming to national election codes.
Yaitepec represents the best of two worlds: the modern and the traditional. It has a modern infrastructure - newly paved streets and not a pothole in sight - yet it is a tightly-knit community that has successfully conserved its long established culture, beliefs and practices.
Everyone speaks Chatino and most of the women wear traditional dress: almost all of them use a distinctive gray rebozo, many wear the colorful satin skirts and the blouses richly embroidered with bright flowers and animals, that distinguish them from their Chatino neighbors.
What immediately drew my attention were the amazingly beautiful shoulder bags, called arganitas, carried by both the men and the women, which I'd never seen anywhere else. So shimmering, vibrant with color and form, I thought they were beaded, but they are actually embroidered and fringed with metallic thread.
They take months to make and are built from the simple red and blue striped bags made by some of the local families from cloth woven with backstrap looms. (Pretty handsome in their own right.)
At the center of town is the handsome domed church of Santiago and the Municipal Palace overlooking the basketball court where the town dances are held. A few stores, a couple of restaurants and that's about it. But the views are spectacular and there is a special aura to Yaitepec that will make you want to spend some time here.
Market day is Sunday, but there is no actual market building; stalls are set up along the street and around the entrance to the church atrium.
Yaitepec means Between Three Hills in Nahuatl (the Aztecs renamed just about every place in their vast empire), but in Chatino it was called Ke'e nshi'i, which means anise flower or, according to one source, or according to another, Land of Stone or Tepetate, a feature of the topography, which looks like striated rock, but is actually very hard compacted soil.
Yaitepec is a dry town: no beer sales, no bars (darn, there had to be a catch!) However most families keep a little mezcal on hand for digestive and medicinal purposes. And there is also virtually no crime; my room was unlocked during my stay.
IF YOU VISIT: Be respectful, don't take photos without permission. Present yourself at the Municipal Palace and ask for Benigna Santiago, a vivacious young woman who can answer your questions and take you to the homes of local craftspeople. (Her mother Dolores makes the best coffee in town and her chicken mole tamales were the best I've tasted.)
Or look for Don Fortunato, who owns the large general store next to the
church. He'll rent you basic accommodation for $100 pesos - shared
bathroom, cold water and a heavenly view - and is also highly
knowledgeable about Yaitepec's history and culture.