[4] Zaachila is famous for its Thursday open air markets, which spreads over much of the center of town and has been a tradition since pre-Hispanic times.

Late in the 13th century, the ruler of the Zaachila city-state began to grow in power to dominate much of the surrounding valley.

Another threat was the Aztecs, who had made incursions trying to control the trade route to the Isthmus.The city of Zaachila became key to defending Zapotec lands.

[9] Cosijopii allied with the Aztecs and Mixtecs against the Spanish, regaining the lost city of Zaachila, but ultimately was unable to resist the Conquest.

This act eventually evolved into the creation of a parallel government, a "people’s municipality," headed by Miguel Angel Hernandez Vazquez.

The people's government has control of business taxation, which raises about 6,000 pesos per month to provide services such as trash removal.

From its inception, the "people’s government" has received international support from countries such as Venezuela, France, Spain, Germany, Canada and Costa Rica.

The governor of Oaxaca, Ulises Ruiz Ortiz was scheduled to appear in the town on a tour but opponents of the visit began to block streets.

Supporters of Perez Martinez countered, and the father of the municipal president was accused of firing a shot towards the crowd.

[13] Author Peter Gelderloos considers the current governmental situation to be a partial example of a functioning anarchist society.

[16] Zaachila has considerable cultural wealth with native music, dance, gastronomy and market days filled with flavors and colors, whose traditions have been preserved for generations.

[2] Writer Gerardo Melchor Calvo has written about the stories and customs of the municipality, based mostly on local oral tradition.

[19] The center of town has a large plaza with a kiosk, which is surrounded by the municipal palace, archeological site and the church, called "Nuestra Señora de la Natividad" (Our Lady of the Nativity).

[5][20] The church is notable for a number of colonial-era santos, statues of saints, some of them executed in polychrome and still in beautiful condition.

[21] Zaachila has a stationary municipal market in which can be found regional foods such as barbacoa, "chichilo,"mole verde, turkey in mole with rice, carnitas and empanadas, served with tepache, atole, mezcal and hot chocolate; however, most shopping is done on Thursday, the town's market day.

The first is called by the Zapotec name "Logueguindan," which means "plaza of the people of the hills,"[17] and is mostly dedicated to firewood and charcoal for use during the week.

To bring the wood home, there is a service where blue carts pulled by donkeys or horses carry purchases.

The third section is on the main square proper with a variety of products from the region such as foodstuffs and local prepared foods such as "capirotadas," snacks made with chickpeas, nut cakes, sweet breads, candies such as tamarind balls and more.

[1] These tombs are thought to belong to important Mixtec persons,[20] as they contained a number of interesting grave goods.

The first of these tombs has an entrance decorated with feline heads and inside were found seven figures molded from stucco, six placed in pairs on the side walls of the main chamber.

The story behind it states that an old man encountered an apparition of Saint Peter who asked the community build a church in his name.

The dancers arrived at the foot of a hill where an image of the saint was found, which was brought to the San Pedro neighborhood where a church was constructed for it.

[5] José Mendoza is the captain of the Zancudo group of the San Pedro neighborhood, and has spent about forty years recruiting dancers and training them.

Recruited dancers are boys from 12 to 14 years of age and are trained for two months after they make a pledge to Saint Peter.

[5] As municipal seat, the town of Villa de Zaachila is the local governing authority for 25 other named communities,[26] covering an area of 54.86 km2.

Crops grown here include fruit trees such as apples, peaches, pears, tejocotes, oranges and limes, grains such as corn and various vegetables such as beans and nopals.

The dump contains about 650 tons of trash and has space for more, but it is located in a geologically vulnerable zone, and since its establishment, many neighborhoods have been built near it.