Tijuana, like San Diego, is populated by a collection of cultures that have settled here.

One of the largest, most distinctive groups hails from the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca. Their celebration this month in Tijuana was one of the colorful ones in the region.

The oaxaqueños are concentrated in various colonias, like the one called Tejamen, on Tijuana’s southern edge.

Some neighborhoods even have government offices from Oaxaca to support the paisanos from their home state.

That’s not surprising given that three-fourths of Oaxaca natives who migrate to northern Mexico pass through the San Diego-Tijuana border, according to the local think tank Colegio de la Frontera Norte.

Those who can, cross into California, others flock to the San Quintín area south of Ensenada, while still others remain in Tijuana.

Municipal authorities estimate that about 150,000 people from Oaxaca live in the city.

This year for the first time, oaxaqueños held a procession in honor of the Virgen de Guadalupe.

A group of 30 to 40 people, some bearing colorful flowers and other offerings, paraded to Tijuana’s Cathedral the night of Dec. 8. Two large puppets, each with a person inside them, also participated in the procession. Once at the church, they attended Mass.

Afterward, some danced traditional Oaxaca dances and then tossed candy and fruit to the crowd.

See photo gallery of procession.