Otatitlán is a town and municipality in the Mexican state of Veracruz, in the south of the state along the border with the state of Oaxaca. The town is best known for its large black image of a crucified Christ, one of three notable images of this type. Most of the population in Otatitlán is poor and the area is dedicated to agriculture, especially sugar cane and bananas. The town The town of Otatitlán is about 180 km south of the state capital, near the state's border with Oaxaca. All but a couple hundred of the municipality's population lives here. It is centered on a large plaza surrounded by wide streets. The main church is San Andrés, which contains the image of the Cristo Negro, or Black Christ that the town is noted for. Traditional music and dance of Otatitlán include Son Jarocho and Danzón. Traditional dishes include machuco (plantains fried with green chile and garlic) and tapistes, a dish with plantains, chicken, acuyo (Piper auritum), tomato and chili pepper. The municipality As a municipality, the town of Otatitlán is the local government for thirty other communities, which combined have a territory of 53.46km2. The municipality borders those of Cosamaloapan and Tlacojalpan with the state of Oaxaca to the south. The municipal government consists of a municipal president, a syndic and one representative for the other communities. The municipality is rural with a population density of 104.8 people/km2, with only the seat considered urban. Outside the seat the only communities of any size are El Peladiente (pop. 111), Jesus Urueta (pop. 90), La Conchita (pop. 72) and La Isleta (pop. 58) . Only 210 people are considered to live in indigenous households, where the head speaks an indigenous language. Only 81 speak an indigenous language, of which Mazateco dominates. The municipality has eight schools, 2 preschools, 4 primary schools, one middle school and one high school, with an illiteracy rate of 11.8%. It also has 16 km of federal highway. Black Christ of Otatitlán Otatitlán is best known for a large image of a crucified Christ which is black, known as a “Cristo Negro” or Black Christ. It is one of three well known images of this type, with the others in Chalma, State of Mexico and Esquipulas, Guatemala. There are two stories of the origin of this particular image. One states the Spanish king Philip II had the three