The state of Oaxaca, Mexico, houses one of the world's great treasures of historic pipe organs. These instruments, based on Spanish baroque models and built locally between approximately 1680 and 1900, may still be found in relatively unaltered condition, in large part because of their abandonment once they ceased to function. Oaxaca's organs are all located in their original churches--none are in museums-and they remain today as evidence of construction techniques and sound characteristics of a bygone era. Although Mexican historic organs have been known and appreciated for years by the world's experts, it is only recently that a revival of interest in organs world-wide has brought them to the attention of the general public and inspired restoration projects all over the country. Sixty-eight organs have been registered in the state of Oaxaca to date, and it is likely that there are still more waiting to be "discovered" and documented. Seven of them have been restored and are now playable (in San Jerónimo Tlacochahuaya, San Andrés Zautla, Santa María de la Natividad Tamazulapan, the Oaxaca Cathedral, Santo Domingo Yanhuitlán, La Basílica de la Soledad and Santa María de la Asunción Tlaxiaco), and an eighth restoration (in San Pedro Lagunas) is in process. Although the remaining sixty instruments exist in varying states of deterioration, many of them can be either restored or reconstructed, so that after so many years of silence, they too may participate in the recreation of the sounds which once filled Oaxaca's magnificent baroque churches.

The mission of the Instituto de Órganos Históricos de Oaxaca A.C. is to protect, conserve, document and promote the historic pipe organs in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico; to ensure that the restored instruments are played and maintained on a regular basis; to promote the organs by means of publicity and the organization of events; to provide keyboard and technical training on the local level; and to increase knowledge about the Oaxacan organs through historical and anthropological research. We are committed to safeguarding Oaxaca's organs, whether restored or not, because they represent an important part of the regional, national and international heritage, as well as a link to the history of their communities.

The Instituto de Órganos Históricos de Oaxaca (IOHIO, pronounced YOYO) was established in the year 2000 by Cicely (Cecilia in Spanish) Winter and Edward Pepe with the support of the Amigos de Oaxaca A.C. Foundation (now the Alfredo Harp Helú Foundation in Oaxaca or FAHHO). The IOHIO is a non-profit organization (Asociación Civil) which functions in collaboration with the National Institute of Anthropology and History (Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia or INAH, the Mexican institution which oversees the national patrimony), the FAHHO, the officials of the towns with organs, ecclesiastical authorities, other cultural institutions in Mexico, the directors of the archives in Oaxaca, and organists, musicians and scholars in Mexico and abroad. A board of advisors consisting of 30 experts from 9 countries helps with the direction and focus of the IOHIO's activities. The office is located in the Oaxaca Philatelic Museum (Museo de Filatelia de Oaxaca, MUFI), Reforma 504, in the historic center of the city of Oaxaca.