Mixtec 3

The speaker is Jesus Estrada from the community of San Juan Piñas in the Justlahuaca District of western Oaxaca, close to the border with the neighboring state of Guerrero.  There is a fairly high level of comprehension among Mixtec speakers in this area of western Oaxaca and the villages of  eastern Guerrero.  While INALI labels the variant spoken in San Juan Piñas (and dozens of neighboring communities)  tu’un da’vi , as noted earlier, Mr. Estrada and other indigenous activists reject the use of da’vi because of its pejorative connotation and instead refer to their variant as tu’un savi, “language of the rain (people).”  The alternate description, “mixteco del oeste alto” remains useful as a geographical designator.