The leader of San Pablo Gustavo Garcia along side with the 13 other community representatives gathered to talk about getting a grant. Photo courtesy of the organization.
San Pablo Tijaltepec
In 1999, around 20 people native of San Pablo Tijaltepec, Oaxaca, Mexico, arrived in Taft, California (a small community in the southeastern part of Kern County). As it happens in many other places, more people from the same community continued to settle in Taft. Now over a decade later, there are around 700 people from San Pablo Tjaltepec, 200 adults and 500 children, living in Taft. In 2000, this community formed the Migrantes Mixtecos San Pablo Tjaltepec committee, which organizes cultural events to highlight as a community the traditions of their hometown.
2024
San Pablo Tijaltepec: Indigenous Oaxacan Cultural Festival
Funding will support the Feast of the Saint celebration hosted by the Indigenous Oaxacan community of San Pablo Tijaltepec in Taft, CA, on January 28, 2025. The event will feature traditional music, dance, clothing, foodways, and Mixteco language speakers, bringing together community members who have migrated from Oaxaca to California, Washington, and Michigan.
2013
Traditional Embroidery and Weaving
Funding supported classes in traditional embroidery and weaving techniques offered by the San Pablo Tijaltepec community. Elders shared their knowledge of intricate embroidery and palm-based crafts—such as tenates (tortilla warmers), petates (mats), and sopladores (decorative animal figurines)—with youth and adults in a multigenerational setting. While rooted in ancestral knowledge, the project also explored the use of contemporary materials, including plastic, to give these traditions new life.
