Community Museum

A trove of excavated remains give clues to Tututepec’s [1] past splendor. Find these in the airy new community museum, Yucosaa (the local Mixtec-language name for Tututepec, in the town center, a half block from the central plaza, tel. 954/541-0310, 10 a.m.–2 p.m. daily).

Inside the museum’s luxuriously spacious interior, volunteers preserve Tututepec’s treasured artifacts, including a fascinating collection of antique animal-motif pottery silbatos (whistles), a host of fetching animal figurines, and a treasury of exquisite polychrome tripod pottery.

The museum also displays a number of massive ancient monoliths—of the goddess of fertility, a pair of Quetzalcoatl-like serpents, and a headless jaguar—carved in styles reminiscent of Teotihuacán and Tula (Land of the Toltecs).

Note: Since the museum is staffed by volunteers, visitation hours may vary from the announced schedule. Best telephone the presidencia municipal (in Spanish, tel. 954/541-0016 or 954/541-0017) ahead of time and verify the schedule and/or make an appointment for a museum visit.

While you’re in town, you might climb the concrete stairs leading uphill from the west side of the town plaza to the hilltop mini-park and take a look inside the town church. On the altar is the image of St. Peter, the town patron (who, however, is not the object of the main local festival, which is the Fiesta de Candelaria, around February 2).