In Venice High School’s ESL and “sheltered” programs, nearly 50 percent of 700 enrolled students are from Oaxaca, a state located in the southern part of Mexico.

Oaxaca is the most indigenous state in all of Mexico, given the number of indigenous inhabitants and aboriginal cultures that the state still possesses.

Many of the students still conserve their native language, Zapoteco, that to some, is the language spoken at home.

Ruth Mateo, a senior, says that she is very proud to be from Oaxaca. Her parents brought her to the United States when she was a child.

“My parents came here to work and then after leaving us there for three years, came back for me. I didn’t learn to speak Zapoteco because my mother and father spoke different languages and only spoke to me in Spanish,” said Mateo.



Mrs. Karen Young is the counselor who is in charge of incorporating the students who come from other countries into their appropriate classes.

“I have been working at this school for seven years, and the majority of the students that enroll are Oaxacan; It seems that they feel and demonstrate a lot of pride to be what they are”, said Young.

But why do they come to Venice? “Many of their families and compatriots have already established themselves around this neighborhood, they feel comfortable living here”, responded Young.

. Many of these students will possibly forget their native language.

Florencio Cruz came to this country four years ago with the idea to succeed and help his family that still lives in Oaxaca. “I came to this country because I wanted to succeed and I am accomplishing it”, said Cruz.

Cruz is president and organizer of the new club at Venice called Club Shtén Ldua, which means Club Oaxaca in the Zapoteco language.

“We started this club because we want the people to know about our Oaxacan culture. We talk about our culture, customs and the different languages that each of the seven regions of Oaxaca speak.” he said. They meet in room 110 every Wednesday during nutrition. They are planning a field trip in January to a Oaxacan store to learn a little about the culture and food, and like Cruz said “everybody is invited”.

Veronica Téllez, an ESL teacher’s assistant says that the students from Oaxaca are very nice people.

“In the two years that I have been working here as a teacher’s assistant, I have observed that the students from Oaxaca demonstrate a great interest in learning. The majority of them are very disciplined and respectful. They study hard to maintain their grades, and some even work to support their families”, said she.



Zapoteco is one of the languages spoken in Oaxaca and pertains to a great family of linguistic diversity. The Zapoteco language is spoken in abundance of sounds and tones. It’s difficult to understand or write it with precision using the Roman alphabet (Spanish alphabet). But their language is not the only interesting thing about them. Their customs are also very interesting.

Many of the students like Claudia Bautista, Juan Mendoza, Jorge Lopez, Elizabeth Santiago, and Edilberto Gutierrez speak Zapoteco.

In terms of languages the Oaxacans are very fortunate.

The people who live in the Pueblos that are a little remote from the cities know how to speak Zapoteco, Spanish and English with attributes over many students.

Hilde Martinez is Oaxacan and says that she came to this country looking for a better life for herself and her future kids.