El Espinal, Spanish for "the spine" is a town and municipality in Oaxaca, southeastern Mexico.

As of 2005, the municipality had a population of 8,219[1] Covering an area of 82.93 km², El Espinal is part of the Juchitán District in the west of the Istmo de Tehuantepec region.

This zone did not play an important role during the toughest years of the struggle for the independence of Mexico.

Sports play an important role in El Espinal, with young people frequently using the local facilities.

[citation needed] Traditional foods in El Espinal include the black mole, stewed beef, jerked beef, tamales, marquesote, garnachas, corn tamales, chiles stuffed with different types of meat and seafood.