Paciano Pedro, a new immigrant from Mexico, has a severe language problem. Not only does he not speak English – he can barely speak Spanish.

The South Bronx man is fluent only in Otomi, an ancient, indigenous language spoken in remote mountainous villages in the southern Mexican state of Veracruz.

Pedro’s face may blend into New York’s fastest-growing Latino population, but he is part of a new wave of Mexicans who speak only Mixtec, Nahuatl or Otomi.

Mexican Consulate officials estimate that 40,000 non-Spanish-speaking Mexicans have moved to the city in recent years to work at car washes, corner markets and restaurant kitchens.

The majority of them are fluent in Mixtec, said Gaspar Orozco, the Mexican consul for community affairs.

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