About Oaxaca

The city of Oaxaca (altitude 5070 ft.) is located in a valley between the Sierra Oaxaqueña mountains in the west and the Sierra Madre del Sur in the east. The climate is ideal. Spring like days and cool nights provide the atmosphere for one of Oaxaca´s most popular activities, sitting in the Zócalo, sipping a cappuccino and watching the world stroll by. Many archeological sites, including the famous Monte Albán, are only a short taxi or bus ride away and there are numerous Indian villages in which Zapotec and Mixtec are still spoken and the colorful markets display handcrafted folk art.

Oaxaca is famous for the Guelaguetza in mid-July, Holy Week in the spring, and the Day of the Dead in early November. We, at the Instituto, invite you to Matar dos pájaros de una pedrada (kill two birds with one stone). Learn Spanish or improve your current knowledge of the language and enjoy the unique and colorful atmosphere of Oaxaca.

Folk art, festivals and fascinating indigenous cultures make Oaxaca one of the most magical of Mexico's many colonial cities. Zapotec and Mixtec ruins and traditional rural villages lie just a few miles from the beautifully preserved center city. Though the population is over 800,000, the downtown area has remained relatively peaceful, and is especially pleasant on afternoons. Streets around the Plaza Principal, one of the prettiest public parks in all Mexico, have been closed to traffic and transformed into pedestrian malls.

Colonial haciendas house excellent restaurants featuring superb regional cuisine; some offer live music from jazz to tropical to traditional at night. Galleries and shops display an amazing array of folk art sure to tempt the most jaded shopper; most are happy to ship your purchases home. Museums in the 16th-century convents are filled with jade and gold artifacts. The colonial Santo Domingo Church houses the Regional Museum of Oaxaca, with exhibits of intricate jewelry and tableware from Monte Alban and Mitla. Replicas of the filigreed jewelry can be found in the city's shops. For those seeking the best in architecture, archaeology, art and dining, Oaxaca is a cultural paradise.

“The ICC's classes focus on practical Spanish. It helped me better understand what people say and what they mean... and in turn helped me to become more fluent, not just linguistically, but culturally.”

- Marie O'Brien,
United States

"The teaching staff at ICC is fantastic.  The classes were organized to facilitate real life conversations, which was exactly the practice I needed. The school is also located in a great part of the city, close to the heart of centro historico.  I plan to return."

-Marla Renn

Vancouver, Canada


“Probably my favourite time at the ICC was the excursions. Yolanda (the director) took us personally on tours of the surrounding pueblitas, showing us the specific hand crafts that each town specialized in, often including a demonstration of the traditional methods the still use.”

- Tim Wang,
United States


“I was pleased with the flexibility of the school to meet my needs – they designed an advanced class appropriate for my language level, met me at the airport despite flight complications, and organized excursions based on the sights I wanted to see in Oaxaca Valley.”

- Sarah Roggero,
United States


“Their approach of practicing speaking Spanish all the time while using correct grammar worked so much better for me than my first school's approach of many hours of learning grammar and then speaking for only part of class.”

- Tim Wang,
United States

"The spanish classes at the ICC were great. They were the perfect balance of educational, informative and fun. The teaching was very professional and personal and the atmosphere was just right. We highly recommend the ICC to anyone who wants to learn Spanish!"

- Jonathan Thaw (April 2012)

“As an advanced student of Spanish, I have to look carefully for language schools that can help me, so I was delighted to find that the instruction in ICC was so in-depth. Because of the school’s association with the Oaxaca Times, the staff are a well-informed resource for what goes on in this beautiful city.”

- Jim Innocent

United States