One important community outside the seat is called Cuanalán, which is a Nahua community. Fewer than 500 people can still speak an indigenous language, but a number of traditions survive.

The community of Cuanalán is noted for its musicians, especially those dedicated to wind instruments. The better-known groups include Los Vasquez, Los Juárez, and Los Chicanos.

According to an ancient myth, when the gods created the first man, they took him from the waters of Lake Texcoco and placed him alone in Acolman.

The arm of this man, ringed by drops of water from the lake is the Aztec glyph for the site.

The glyph can also be seen in the monastery which dominates the landscape here.

Acolman is derived from a Nahuatl phrase that has been interpreted in various ways.
It may mean “man with hand or arm” or “where man is made.”

Acolman is the modern name but the settlement has been referred to as Oculma, Axuruman, and Aculma in colonial-era documents.

The municipality is home to the “Tepexpan Man”, named after the community in which he was found.
The Tepexpan Man is a human fossilized skeleton between 12,000 and 14,000 years old, which was found in the mid-20th century.

The founding of the settlement of Acolman is attributed to the Acolhuas, a Chichimeca tribe, around the 8th century.

The settlement started out independent but was first conquered by the Huexotzincas and remained subject to one dominion or another since.

By the time of King Nezahualcoyotl, Acolman was an important town in the Texcoco dominion, after it was conquered by the Aztecs in 1396.

The town was important because it was the only place in Mesoamerica that specialized in the breeding and raising of dogs (today is known as the breed called Xoloitzcuintli).

At the time of the Spanish conquest, Acolman was governed by Moctezuma II.

After, Acolman became the encomienda of Pedro de Solis de Los Monteros and his son Francisco.

The Franciscans arrived first, but the Augustinians were in charge of evangelization efforts after 1539, with twenty-four friars in residence by 1580. This order built one of the most important early colonial-era monasteries in New Spain here.

The 17th and 18th centuries is marked by severe flooding issues, which caused widespread damage and population shifts.

These floods eventually caused the disappearance of towns near Acolman such as Tlacuilocan, Tzapotla, and Tescazonco.

During one of the attempts to control the rivers in the area, a dam was constructed which cause havoc for the area.

During one of the floods, the monastery was submerged in over six feet of water, covering the church floor with silt and nearly destroying the cloisters.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, epidemics such as smallpox decimated the native population.

After the Mexican War of Independence, Acolman became the seat of the municipality of the same name.

In 1876, due to political instability, the seat was temporarily moved to a town called Xometla.

In 1877, it returned to Acolman, and the appendage “de Nezahualcoyotl” was added.

Another flood affected the municipality in 1925 and affected the monastery, but also spurred the beginning of restoration efforts that would last until the end of the 20th century. The monastery was declared a national monument in 1933.

The torch of the 1968 Summer Olympics passed through here on its way to Mexico City.

The most important feature of the town by far is the former monastery of San Agustin, located next to the main plaza.

However, there are some other attractions as well.

The Central Library and Casa de la Cultura contain paintings and sculptures by a native of Acolman named Parmeno.

At the municipal market, foods such as mixiote, barbacoa, consume and turkey in mole can be found as well as pulque.

The monastery of San Agustín

Declared a national monument in 1933, the monastery of San Agustín was built between 1539 and 1580 with most of the work being done after 1550.

The walls are of rubble-stone construction and covered in plaster, topped by battlements, and the overall appearance is that of the fortress.

The crown of battlements, the single bell tower, the open chapel, and the Plateresque facade identify the complex as a classic 16th-century religious construction.

The fortress appearance of complexes of this time was not literally for protection but rather served to dominate the landscape much as medieval castles in Europe did. In areas where there are carefully fitted stones, these stones have been carved.

The construction of the monastery is attributed to Andrés de Olmos. Restoration work has been done in this complex since the 1920s, which has revealed all of the church’s facade, and the atrium is terraced down to its original level of construction.

This has exposed the flood damage from the colonial period.
Most of the murals and frescos had been buried under years of plaster and paints before being restored.

The complex is fronted by a large square atrium, and a courtyard before that, the two of which are today separated by a road.

The most important feature of this atrium area is the 2.4 meters (7 ft 10 in) high stone cross, which is considered to be an important expression of “tequitqui” or Christian art executed by Indian craftsmen from the very early colonial period.

The cross was most likely erected between the time that the Franciscans occupied the site and before the architectural sculptures of the current complex.
The cross is decorated with plants, flowers, and flames at the top (which allude to the Passion of Christ) all sculpted into the stone.

There is also the melancholy, mask-like face of Christ, with a crown of thorns that projects from the center of the cross.

At the foot of the stone, cross is a Madonna figure who has been identified as the Virgin of Sorrows and is even associated with the goddess Coatlicue. At the feet of this Virgin is a weathered stone skull and a serpent, and in her breast is embedded a dark stone disk.

This follows the Aztec tradition of placing jade or other precious stones in their statues to symbolize the soul.

To the back of the atrium area is the main church, with its rose/tan Plateresque facade reminiscent of the Colegiata de Santa María in Calatayud, Spain.

The facade has Classical composite columns with Plateresque sections below the ribbon garniture, Saint Paul under a deep, Gothic-like canopy with a Renaissance angel below.

The portal has double Renaissance doors under archivolts decorated with fruit.

Above the doors are seahorses on the main frieze and Moorish paneling on the doors themselves.

This facade was most likely created by Spanish craftsmen and had a significant influence on other Augustinian church fronts in New Spain, especially at Yuriria and Cuitzeo in Michaocán and at Metztitlán in Hidalgo.

The church building is 62.5 meters long, 17.1 meters wide, and 21.3 meters high, with the interior walls particularly high.

The interior vault was modified and the interior pilasters and exterior buttresses were added in 1735.

The main altarpiece dates from 1690 and was put here in the 20th century to replace the original.

The side altarpieces date from the 18th century. These Baroque altarpieces are all sculpted in wood and gilded, decorated with plants, flowers, celestial figures, and angels.

The presbytery has a late medieval ribbed vault and important frescos in black, white, and orange, with images of saints on thrones, priests, and Augustine popes.

The small open chapel, or chapel of the Indians is located on the upper part of the wall between the church and the main portal to the cloister area.
This chapel contains two murals from the 16th century by unknown authors depicting the Last Judgement and Catherine of Alexandria.

The monastery consists of two cloisters. The Claustro Chico or small cloister is of simple architecture, constructed in stone with a cross in the center which has an anagram of Jesus’ name.

The Claustro Grande or large cloister (also called the Naranjo or Orange Tree cloister) has a more elaborate Plateresque design with “Isabelino” type columns. The small cloister may date from the Franciscan period or might be part of the early Augustinian church.

Flatted arches on piers with a barrel-vaulted corridor on the ground level and a wood-roofed second level suggest the simple construction of the very early colonial period. Primitive frescos decorate the walls.

The stone cross here is very similar to the Franciscan cross at one of the earliest monasteries in Cuernavaca.

The crucifixion fresco on the second level is inspired by various European sources of the 15th and 16th centuries such as German prints, and Italian and German ornamental panels.

Starkly done in black and white, it reflects the continuing importance of the graphic arts. It also has sun and moon designs, common during the early colonial period, which reflect both old European astrological symbols as well as the importance of these in native art.

In the larger, more ornate, cloister, there are medallions with images such as the coat of arms of the Augustine order, a symbol for death, and a symbol representing the union of two worlds.

The lower floor has a series of stone etchings with scenes related to the Passion of Christ.

Museo Virrenal

Much of the cloister area is occupied by the “Museo Virrenal” (Colonial Era) founded in 1925 in what was the portico, the kitchen the refectory, and the hallway to the refectory.

It has three main halls which give a detailed explanation of the construction of the site, the lives of the monks, and the collection of paintings and religious objects that are on display.

The museum contains more than 120 pieces.

Many of the religious artwork and objects are in the third hall and include furniture, cloaks, and other religious garbs (some embroidered in gold thread), sculptures in stone, wood, and corn stalk paste, and oils from the 16th to the 19th centuries.

The main tourist attractions are the archaeological zone of Tepexpan, where the fossilized bones of the Tepexpan man were found, and the former monastery of San Agustin de Acolman.

The Tepexpan Museum is located in the community of the same name, famous due to the discovery of the “Tepexpan Man”, a human skeleton that is more than 12,000 years old. It was found in 1945 by Dr. Helmut de Terra and Alberto R. Arellano.

The museum exhibits mammoth remains as well as flint and obsidian tools. Other attractions in the municipality include the former haciendas of San Antonio, Tepexpan, and Nextlalpan.

The San Antonio Hacienda is one of the few colonial-era haciendas that has managed to preserve its original architecture. Today it operates as a recreational center.

The Castillo Dam was constructed in the 18th century. Other attractions include the “Cueva de los Gatos” cave, and the Cuevas de la Amistad (Friendship Caves) has areas dedicated to medicinal herbs in addition to the caves.

The Sierra de Patlachique is an eco-tourism park with facilities for picnicking, swimming, football, cycling, and camping.

Main festivals include the Feast of Saint Nicholas on 10 September, of the Archangel Michael on 29 September, and the Virgin of Guadalupe on 12 December.

These are celebrated with traditional dances such as Concheros, Arrieros, Contradance, Pastores, Inditos, and Teomates as well as fireworks, amusement rides, and music.

The most distinguishing festival for the town is the Feria de la Posada y la Piñata (Piñata and Las Posadas Fair), which has been held here every December since 1985.

Acolman claims to be the origin of the Las Posadas tradition in Mexico as well as the “cradle” of piñatas, as they have been a tradition here for over 420 years. Both kinds of piñatas, those made with clay pots and those made entirely of paper are created here.

Participants gather from various communities in the area and the main event is a piñata contest.

There are also horse races, bullfighting, nativity scenes, a type of play based on the Christmas season, regional dance, and popular music shows. Horse racing is a tradition that dates back to the Mexican Revolution.

As municipal seat, the town of Acolman is the governing authority for over sixty other named communities, which cover a total area of 86.88 km2.

At the 2010 census, the total population of the municipality was 136,558, but only about four percent of this population lives in the town proper.

The municipality borders the municipalities of Tecámac, San Juan Teotihuacán, San Salvador Atenco, Tezoyuca, Chiautla, Tepetlaoxtoc, and Ecatepec.

Towns and villages

The municipal seat, Acolman de Nezahualcóyotl, has a population of 5,571 inhabitants, while the largest city (locality) in the municipality, Tepexpan, has a population of 102,667, more than 18 times as big.

This is the largest relative difference between any municipal seat and the largest locality of any municipality in Mexico.

The municipality is located on a plain in the northern portion of the Valley of Mexico called the Valley of Teotihuacan. It has only three significant elevations. The eastern border is marked by the Sierra de Patlachique and the west is marked by a mountain called Chiconautla.

Chiconautla and Tlahuilco are forested and protected areas. From the mountains that surround this plain flow a number of streams such as the San José and the San Antonio, which are commonly called the Rio Grande and the Rio Chico.

The municipality lacks freshwater springs, with most potable water coming from deep wells.

The climate is temperate and semi-arid with rains in the summer.
Temperatures can range from 36 °C in the summer to -4 °C in the winter.

Forested areas of the municipality contain trees such as Ahuehuete, mesquite, eucalyptus, and Peruvian pepper. In the lower, flatter regions, the flora consists of shrubs, grasses, cactus, and other plants adapted to dry areas.

Wildlife consists mostly of small mammals such as rabbits and skunks, small reptiles such as the chameleon, and insects.

Aculco de Espinoza is in a region characterized by rugged terrain and diverse ecosystems. The city is located at an altitude of about 2,500 meters above sea level, which provides it with a mild and pleasant climate.

Surrounded by hills, forests, and pristine rivers, Aculco de Espinoza is a paradise for nature lovers. The area is known for its impressive waterfalls, making it an ideal place for hiking, and exploring the Mexican countryside.

Aculco enjoys a temperate climate that is generally mild throughout the year.

The average annual temperature is around 17°C, with variations depending on the season. Rainfall is concentrated during the summer months, making the landscape lush and green, while winters are cool and dry.

Monthly average temperatures:

• January: average monthly 14°C
• February: average monthly 15°C
• March: average monthly 17°C
• April: average monthly 18°C
• May: average monthly 19°C
• June: average monthly 18°C
• July: average monthly 17°C
• August: average monthly 17°C
• September: average monthly 16°C
• October: average monthly 16°C
• November: average monthly 15°C
• December: average monthly 14°C

The rainy season extends from May to October, with most precipitation occurring in June, July, and August. These months transform the region into a verdant paradise, with its waterfalls and natural landscapes at their most impressive.

Best Time to Visit

The best time to visit Aculco de Espinoza is during the dry season (November to April).

During these months, the weather is cooler and more stable, making it ideal for exploring the town’s colonial architecture, vibrant markets, and scenic trails without the interruption of rain.

The word Aculco originates from the Nahuatl word “Atl-Culhuac-Co”.

This means “place where water twists” or “place in the curve of the water”, and reflects the area’s geographical features, as the region is known for its rivers, streams, and natural springs that weave through its rugged terrain.

In the Otomi language, the town is known as N’dome, which translates to “two waters.” This name likely refers to the convergence of water sources or the significance of water in the region’s landscape and culture.

The town was formerly known as San Jerónimo Aculco, a name derived from the San Jerónimo Monastery, that served as a cornerstone of the religious and cultural development of the region during the early colonial period.

Over time, the town adopted its current name, Aculco de Espinoza, in honor of Juan Espinoza de los Monteros, a significant figure who played a key role in the development and administration of the town during colonial times.

Aculco boasts a rich history that reflects the cultural blending of its Indigenous roots and Spanish influence. The town has been a significant site since pre-Hispanic times, playing a crucial role in various historical periods.

Timeline:

• In the pre-Hispanic era, the Otomi people inhabited the area but were later influenced by the Aztecs.
• In 1521, after the fall of Tenochtitlán, Aculco became part of the Spanish colonial territories. In the 1540s, the Spanish established the town as part of their administrative and religious expansion, introducing Catholicism and colonial architecture.
• In 1810, Aculco was a significant site in the Mexican War of Independence. The Battle of Aculco was fought here between insurgents led by Miguel Hidalgo and Spanish royalist forces.
• In 1825, the town officially became part of the State of Mexico following the country’s independence.
• In 2006, Aculco was designated as a Pueblo Mágico (Magical Town), recognizing its cultural and historical significance.

Squares

• The Plaza de la Constitución and kiosk
• The square Benito Juárez
• The plazuela Miguel Hidalgo
• The plazuela José María Sánchez

Building of the municipal presidency:

Building of the municipal presidency and its two aqueducts, known as the Arches

Casa Hidalgo:

Very close to the municipal president, is the house of Doña Mariana Legorreta, daughter-in-law of José Rafael Polo. This is the house that provided shelter to Miguel Hidalgo on his way to Mexico City on November 5 and 6, 1810.

It is said that on November 8, 1810, priest Hidalgo officiated mass in the emblematic tree, known by the community as Palo Bendito, in thanksgiving for preserving life, after such a bloody battle.

Parish of San Jerónimo:

In the State of Mexico there are monasteries, churches, and cathedrals that feature Iberian architecture from the 16th century and in some aspects show the influence of local builders, as is the case with the parish of San Jerónimo.

The construction of the parish and former monastery began in 1540, those who come to this place can enjoy the simplicity typical of the Franciscans and the style inherited from the Middle Ages, characterized by buttresses and small windows.

Already in 1674, during another stage of construction, the parish was built in a modified Baroque style called Tequitqui, which is a local interpretation of European forms.

During the tour of the interior, you will see a colorful sundial, an oil painting of the Virgin of Guadalupe, and a painting by Miguel Cabrera from 1790, The Last Supper, which shows the majestic work of one of the most sought-after artists of the Viceroyalty.

In the former monastery, the oil painting of San Antonio de Padua, the painting of San Juan Nepomuceno and the painting of a Franciscan embracing the Holy Cross stand out.

Sanctuary of Lord of Nenthé:

In this small sanctuary of modern architecture, the image of the Lord of Nenthé or “Lord of Water” is worshiped, to whom various miracles are attributed.

Legend has it that one day the old temple caught fire; the settlers began to look worriedly about the whereabouts of the image; to their surprise, they found it intact at the foot of an oak tree from which a water spring began to sprout.

Until today, when the dry season is very strong, the inhabitants take the image in procession to ask it to rain.

Balneario Municipal:

After some tour of the surroundings, the Municipal Spa (located in the streets of Iturbide and Corregidora), with its Olympic pool, is the ideal place to practice swimming or just cool off.

During holiday periods it is decorated with stalls of typical food, crafts, and musical shows that complement the fun.

Ñadó dam:

Undoubtedly the Municipality of Aculco reserves landscapes of great beauty, the mountainous system of the state culminates here with the Cerro de Ñadó, a spectacular rock of 3,300 meters high that gives its name to the dam.

This immense body of water, located on the side of the Pan-American Highway, in the Toxhie community, is surrounded by typical vegetation of the place.

It is an ideal place to practice activities such as sport fishing, camping, horseback riding, and picnics.

The old Chapel of Nenthé (1702-1943)

Nenthé means “near the water” or “near the river” in Otomi.

The chapel was located on the bank of a stream, in the lowest part of the city. Tradition has it that several families with the surname Ramirez, who lived near this temple and were stonemasons, were the ones who erected it in the early 18th century.

Other legends speak of the apparition of the Holy Christ, who is venerated in a sanctuary near a spring hidden by oak leaves and is known to intercede in times of drought.

Another legend links Christ to the rescue of a rebel soldier who sought refuge in the chapel after the riot that Calleja caused in the troops of Miguel Hidalgo on November 7, 1810.

The primitive chapel had a very simple rectangular plan with a façade facing southeast. Inside, an arch divided the nave of the presbytery, which rose at least five steps higher. The roof was flat, with roof beams and a roof that rose slightly above the presbytery.

The façade had a lattice similar to that of the parish of San Jerónimo Aculco, but without the abundance of carving that characterizes it. The smooth surfaces of the cross, however, could have hidden niches or some quarry work, as was the case with the parish until they were discovered in the 50s.

No one knows for sure why the chapel was destroyed. Some say that it had to see the religious persecution of 1926-1929 or the caciques of the 1930s. Perhaps it was just laziness, as the runoff and humidity in the presbytery show in the photo that appears here.

In 1943 it was decided to demolish it and build a new building.

The result was a chapel that combined the modern architectural trends of the time, such as the parabolic arches of its nave, with the traditional treatment of the plant in the shape of a Latin cross and decorative pseudo-Gothic details.

Nothing is worth more – in authenticity and originality than the old chapel.

Cascada La Concepción

10 km from the municipal seat, on the Aculco-Amealco road, among a rocky landscape, there is a beautiful waterfall that is nourished by the waters of the Ñadó Dam and runs on a causeway with basaltic columns.

In summer the flow makes this waterfall something impressive, which reaches more than 25 m in height.

In addition to a beautiful place that is ideal for those who love extreme sports, basalt walls make La Concepción a perfect place to practice rappel that has more than a hundred routes traced.

Cascada Tixhiñú

Another site worth visiting, located 7 kilometers west of Aculco, is the Tixhiñú waterfall.

It has a drop of 15 meters high on magnificent basaltic stone columns. The strength and beauty of this flow, surrounded by trees and streams, is a spectacle that you can appreciate in the rainy season.

…

Aculco is known for its vibrant traditions and celebrations that blend civic pride, religious devotion, and cultural heritage.

Here’s a summary of the key events:

• February 5: Schools organize parades and programs to commemorate the Constitution.
• February 19: The foundation of the municipality is celebrated with a ceremony.
• February 24: A tribute is paid to the national flag with wreaths and flag-raising ceremonies.
• March-April: Holy Week is marked by the reenactment of the Passion of Christ, pulque tours, rallies, bullfighting, and the Golden Huarache Delivery, a humorous awards event. Celebrations also honor the Lord of Nenthé, whose shrine dates back to 1702.
• March 21: Schools hold parades and floats to honor Benito Juárez’s birthday.
• September 15-16: Independence Day festivities include fireworks, parades, cultural programs, and a traditional dance.
• September 17: The Day of Fraternity Aculquense brings families together for picnics, horse races, and community events.
• September 30: The feast of Saint Jerome, the town’s patron saint, features fairs, dances, fireworks, and bullfights.

Horsemanship in Aculco

Charrería, Mexico’s national sport, is deeply rooted in Aculco.

The town regularly hosts municipal, state, and national tournaments, as well as friendly competitions. Visitors can often see horsemen riding through the cobblestone streets, showcasing this cherished tradition.

The traditional dishes of Aculco are the barbecue, the mole poblano, the carnitas, and in seasons, the escamoles.

As for desserts, there is a wide variety of exquisite sweets such as jamoncillos that you can buy and savor during your walks in the area or enjoy rich bread from their artisanal bakery.

Because it is located within the dairy basin, in Aculco it is common to see a diversity of dairy products: delicious cheeses, creams, butter, and milk sweets that local stores sell.

From Toluca:

• Take Highway 55 towards Querétaro
• In Atlacomulco, continue on Federal Highway 55
• A few kilometers after Acambay is Aculco

From Mexico City:

• Take the northern periphery and continue on Highway 57 Mexico – Queretaro
• At kilometer 115 is the diversion to El Rosal and Arroyo Zarco
• Aculco is 15 kilometers from the highway

From Queretaro:

• Exit along Bernardo Quintana Boulevard towards San Juan del Río
• In Palmillas take Highway 55 until you reach Aculco

…

As municipal seat, the town of Amecameca is the local governing authority for more than 130 other named communities, over an area of 181.72 sq km.

About 65% of the municipality’s population lives in the town proper. At the end of the 19th century, about 85% of the population spoke Nahuatl, but today less than 200 speakers remain.

The municipality is situated on the foothills of the Sierra Nevada between the Iztaccíhuatl and Popocatépetl and in the Moctezuma-Panuco River. The Sierra Nevada is the most important geographical feature of the region and forms the eastern border of the municipality.

These volcanoes are responsible for the composition of the soils here as well as the source of most of the municipality’s fresh water.

The average altitude in these mountains is 4,000 meters above sea level with the highest elevations at the Iztaccíhuatl and Popocatépetl volcanos. Although near the active volcano, Amecameca is considered to be at a lower risk than other communities in the area because of the shape of Popocatépetl’s cone and the large ravines that are found in this area.

The latter offers protection against lava flows and runoff from melting snow. However, the area remains part of the evacuation zone in the event of a major eruption. There is a lookout station on Sacromonte Hill which is used by the civil defense when the volcano is more active. The area has an eruption warning system of three colors—red, yellow, and green—which depend on the status of Popocatepetl.

Green means that the volcano is quiet, yellow that there is activity and caution is advised and red indicates a current or imminent eruption. When the status turns to yellow, tourism in the area plummets to about half normal.

Fully within the municipality, the most important elevation is the Sacromonte. The main river there is the Alcalican, which forms from the snowmelt of Iztaccihualt. Its name means “in the house of water”.

Most of the other streams and springs of the municipality are fed by the Sierra Nevada mountains. The climate is temperate and somewhat wet with most rains coming between May and October.

Temperatures generally vary between 2 °C and 24 °C although temperatures of -8C and 34C are not uncommon.

This area, especially in the rainy season, has an abundance of wild edible plants, especially mushrooms. Undeveloped areas in the lower mountains areas are mostly covered by forests of pine, oak, and cypress, with trees reaching over 30 meters in height.

However, deforestation is an issue both of the loss of trees and the remaining forests’ ability to resist fires and plagues, with about twenty percent of the forested area lost in the last decades of the 20th century.

Grazing cattle often inhibits reforestation. Higher up, the forests are dominated by fir trees with some pines and cedars. At the highest elevations near the tree line, only one species of pine is found. Above the tree line are alpine meadows.

Small mammals, especially rabbits are common here as are a number of reptiles and a variety of birds. The area used to have larger species such as white-tailed deer but these have been hunted to extinction.

The name Amecameca comes from Nahuatl. It has been interpreted to mean “place where the papers signal or mark,” or “paper used ceremoniously.”

The paper is called amatl, which is a bark paper used to dress images of gods and is still made as a craft.

“de Juárez” was added to the name in 1887 by the government of the state of Mexico in honor of Benito Juárez.

Settled human habitation in this area began early mostly in dispersed small villages.

The Chichimeca tribe called the Totolimpanecas arrived around 1268 and populated the areas now known as Itztlacozauhcan, Tlayllotlacan Amaquemecan.

Later arrivals occupied areas known as Tzacualtitlan Tenanco Amaquemecan and Atlauhtlan Tzacualtitlan Amaquemecan. These groups had their own small dominions.

In 1336, another dominion called Tlaylloltlacan Teohuacan was formed.

All these communities were collectively known as the Amaquemecans.

Religious practices in this area were mostly performed in urban temples and shrines located on mountaintops and caves.

In 1465, the Aztecs conquered this area, along with the rest of the Valley of Chalco, replacing local leaders with military governors and transforming the area into a tributary province with neighboring Tlalmanalco as capital.

Hernán Cortés arrived here in 1519 and noted that the houses here were well built with about 20,000 inhabitants.

In 1521, the leaders here were Quetzalmazatzin and his brother Tecuanxayacatzin due to the help they gave Cortés in conquering Tenochtitlan.

Soon thereafter, they were poisoned. After the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, Franciscans were in charge of evangelizing the area.

In 1525, Martín de Valencia set fire to the local priests’ houses on the Amaqueme Mountain (Sacromonte), and in 1527 construction of the Franciscan monastery began.

The cult to the Santo Entierro (Holy Burial) or Señor del Sacromonte was begun to replace an earlier pagan cult at this site.

The La Asuncion Church was begun in 1547, along with a number of other places of worship. Construction was finished in 1564. The tower was not built until the mid-17th century.

From the 1540s to the end of the century, there was much civil strife among the native population. Some indigenous rule was restored but it would end for good by the 17th century.

The raising of European foodstuffs such as wheat and sheep began early with commercial agriculture becoming the basis of the economy by 1550.

The area also became an important pass linking Mexico City with points east with many travelers and merchants passing through.

By 1599, Amecameca had become the head of a district with thirteen dependencies with an area of about 128 sq km.

A major earthquake occurred here in 1704 which destroyed many houses as well as the roof of the La Asuncion Church. It was repaired from 1712 to 1719.

The area remained a farming area, mostly with family plots through the rest of the colonial period.

During the Mexican War of Independence, there was restlessness among the population, but no major incidents.

In 1812, a number of natives from here fought in the war under Leonardo Bravo in other places.

The municipality was most likely founded in 1824 along with the founding of Mexico State. U.S. troops passed through here during the Mexican-American War.

In 1833, Amecameca was part of the state of Mexico in the eastern prefecture.

In 1861, the settlement gained official town status from the state due to its historical and economic importance.

The municipal palace was built in 1899.

In the last 19th and early 20th century, Amecameca was the scene of several industrialization projects including a beer brewery, wheat mills, and workshops producing saddles and metal objects. There was some minting of copper, silver, and gold as well.

In 1871, Father Fortino Hipolito Vera y Talona founded a number of businesses and cultural enterprises such as the first polytechnic school and a press that printed both religious and cultural articles.

Until the Mexican Revolution, most of the arable land in the area was owned by large haciendas such as the Tomacoco, Coapexco, and Panoaya.

In 1910, Francisco I. Madero was in Amecameca. From a railroad car, he gave a speech against Porfirio Díaz.

From 1911 on, the military revolt against the Diaz government was mostly carried out here by Zapatistas, which gained recruits from Amecameca, and by 1917, the area was a Zapatista stronghold.

The area was important to rebels as it provided materials such as paper, wood, alcohol, charcoal, and foodstuffs. After the war, agricultural lands here were redistributed in 1925.

In 1919, there was a major eruption of the Popocatépetl volcano, killing seventeen people in the municipality.

In the 1950s, much of the city was renovated including the main plaza, market, and Hidalgo Street. The road to the Sanctuary of Sacromonte was improved and stairs were added to climb the hill.

Since then, the town of Amecameca has grown into a small city. However, there is not enough employment here, and many commute to Mexico City to work.

The state proclaimed the town a cultural heritage of Mexico State in 1980 and was designated the “Capital del Alpinismo Nacional” in 1992 (Capital of Mexican Alpinism).

In the 2000s, Grupo Walmart in Mexico began to construct a supermarket (Bodega Aurrerá) in the old section of Amecameca but INAH suspended construction. The reason for the suspension was that it would cover nearly a city block and damage older buildings protected by the federal agency.

The area is a traditional weekend getaway for Mexico City, Puebla state, and Morelos state residents. Tourists come here to enjoy the scenery and eat barbacoa, rabbit, and other foods in a traditional tianguis or municipal market. It is also a local pilgrimage site to the sanctuary of the Señor del Sacromonte.

The traditional entrance to the historic center of the town is a colonial-era arch, which was built in 1731 and located on the southeast corner of the main plaza next to the municipal palace.

It contains a medallion with an image of Christ as the “Humilladero” (humbled), which colonial travelers worshipped. The arch is made of sandstone in Baroque style with geometric fretwork.

At the very top is a small column on which used to sit a statue of San Sebastian de Aparicio. In the 1970s, a bus hit the arch and toppled the statue, which was never replaced.

The main plaza has a 1950s-era kiosk and contains two small stores in its base selling regional candies. The upper portion has a jukebox.

The plaza also contains monuments to Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla and Benito Juárez as well as a ring from a Mesoamerican ball court of the 13th century. The pavement of the plaza was replaced in 1999 from paving stone to patterned concrete.

In 2003, a hemicycle dedicated to Benito Juárez was added. While it is considered to be a park, the plaza is often filled with stands on market days and during festivals, but most cultural events take place at the esplanade of the municipal palace.

The green areas of the plaza contain sculptures of lions made of iron, but unlike real lions, these are shown with nopal plants, a boa constrictor, and other poses and were donated by the former owners of the Hacienda of Chapingo.

For this reason, the plaza is also called the Jardin de Leones (Lion Garden).

Facing the plaza on the east side is the Parish of the Asunción, which was originally a Dominican monastery, founded in 1553. The main portal is made of pink stone and is still in good condition. This architectural style is very austere.

On the facade of La Asuncion, there is only a sculpture of the Virgin Mary with the faces of angels at her feet and a window cornice, which has decorations in the form of raindrops. Inside, the main altar is Neoclassical.

One of the side altars is Baroque with Biblical images surrounded by Solomonic columns. The sacristy has two altars, another Baroque one with Solomonic columns and one dedicated to the Señor del Sacromonte.

The most noteworthy painting here is “The Angel of the Annunciation” done by Echave Orio. The two-story cloister is one of the most primitive in the Americas and has four segmental arches resting on octagonal columns on each side.

There are two other important chapels in the town; the Chapel of San Juan and the Chapel of the Virgen del Rosario which have functioned as points of reference for travelers since they were built. They were built for the common people with adobe and wood.

Also near the main plaza is the municipal market, which is a traditional place to enjoy local culinary specialties. It contains central Mexican staples such as carnitas and barbacoa, but the local signature dish is rabbit.

Rabbit is a signature dish of the region. It is prepared as mixote, in moles, wrapped in corn husks and steamed, or simply covered in chili pepper and roasted. Like in other parts of Mexico, atole is popular here but there is a variation seasoned with chili pepper and epazote.

The municipal market offers dishes and products made from local nuts such as walnuts such as chiles en nogada, chicken in a nut sauce, mixiotes with rabbit and nuts as well as walnut liquor. In front of this market is a crafts market that sells clay items, photographs of the volcanos, local bread, and turnovers filled with apples or pineapples.

The market also sells liquor from walnuts year round but it is especially during the annual Walnut Festival, which takes place in August. This permanent market is supplemented by the tianguis, or traditional outdoor market, held each Sunday.

On this day, traders and craftsmen come from as far as Puebla to sell.

The town has one pulqueria which serves the pulque straight or flavored.

Common flavors such as strawberry, mango, guava, and nut are available, but the owner also has original recipes for flavors such as tomato, celery, carrot, and others which the owner says are “secret.”.

The state university of UAEM (Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Mexico) has a local campus here.

A major charity is the Cottolengo Mexicano, which is a project of the Obra Don Orione religious foundation.

This group was founded in Italy in 1905 and has expanded to over thirty countries to offer charity, education, and evangelization. The group established itself here and in Ciudad Nezahualcoyotl in the mid-1990s.

The Cottolengo serves homeless children and those who are disabled.

Outside of the town proper, there are a number of other tourist attractions in the municipality.

There is one registered archeological site in the municipality called the Piedra del Conejo (“Rabbit Stone”) or Monumental Solsticial de Tomacoco (“Solstice Monument of Tomacoco”).

Panoaya Hacienda

One of the major attractions is the Panoaya Hacienda. The main hacienda building houses the Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz Museum; it is featured in the reverse of the $200 pesos Mexican note.

Sor Juana came to live at Panoaya in 1651 when she was three years old to live with her mother and grandfather. She learned to read and write and stayed until she was sent to live in Mexico City in 1663.

The hacienda lay in ruins for the last century or so until it was rehabilitated in 1999 at a cost of more than 10 million pesos. A building next to this one is the International Museum of Volcanos which exhibits Mexico’s two most famous volcanoes and others in the world.

The hacienda’s main building now serves as the Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz Museum, run by INAH. Much of the rest of the hacienda land is leased to a recreational park that is best known for its petting zoo which contains tame deer.

Christmas Tree Forest

Another major attraction is the Bosque de Los Arboles de Navidad (Christmas Tree Forest), one of the few places in Mexico where one can go and cut his/her own tree. The Bosque plants trees such as the “vikingo mexiquense” and the “vikingo canadiense” coming here have become a tradition for many families in the Mexico City area.

It is a business that was conceived forty years ago as a way to help preserve the forest here as well as benefit economically. Visitors come to spend a day in the area and can cut trees only from designated locations. Picnicking is permitted with the requirement that no garbage is left behind.

The Christmas tree area covers 300 acres (120 hectares), and cut trees are left to regrow instead of being killed. The park also hosts food stalls and a Christmas market, selling about 30,000 trees per year and employing 50 permanent and 250 seasonal workers.

The money earned from the enterprise helps to preserve more wild areas of the mountains here.

This work has earned a Premio Nacional de Ecología (National Ecology Prize). The only problem the forest experiences is that the enterprise is so popular that the roads leading to the area are jammed with traffic.

Eco Parque San Pedro

The Eco Parque San Pedro (San Pedro Ecological Park) is located between the Amecameca and Nexpayantla rivers just outside the municipal seat in the community of San Pedro Nexapa.

It stands at 2870 meters above sea level, very close to the Puebla state line, and has a cold, wet climate. The park is between the Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl volcanos near the Cortés Pass.

The park was created as a way to manage and preserve the natural resources of the area. It is a recreational area for sports such as hiking and also contains the second largest labyrinth of its type in the world created with over 38,000 cedar trees over an extension of 10,000 m2.

There is also a “zoo” of sculpted plants made to form animals using plants native to the area.

The Temazcal Park

Temazcal Park is a natural area with dirt and stone paths. It contains a variety of pine trees and medicinal plants and is home to white-tailed deer, foxes, and other wildlife. Activities available here are hiking, mountain biking, camping, and other nature sports.

The Agua Viva (“Living Water”) Monastery

The Agua Viva (Living Water) monastery is a Dominican institution located at the foothills of Iztaccíhuatl.

There are still monks here who offer mass. The Cortés Pass is located 30 minutes from the town, which is a space between the two volcanoes and from where Cortés had his first view of the Valley of Mexico.

Carnival and Señor del Sacromonte

Just southwest of the parish church is a hill called Sacromonte, which overlooks the town and provides clear views of the Iztaccíhuatl and Popocatépetl volcanos. (There is a lookout tower here used when Popocatépetl is more active. This hill has been considered sacred since the pre-Hispanic period, when a god named Tezcatlipoca was worshiped here with dances and ceremonies from 23 April to 12 May. These days were known as “Toxcatl” or “dry things” as these days usually were the end of the dry season just before the rainy season. An image of the deity was located in a cave at the top of the hill. Today, the hill contains the Sanctuary of the Señor del Sacromonte and a chapel dedicated to the Virgin of Guadalupe.

After the Conquest, the Spanish destroyed the temples and shrines here and built Christian churches and shrines on top of them. The churches located on this hill are a result of that tradition. The first Franciscan evangelist here, Martin de Valencia had the pagan idol replaced with an image of a Black Christ within the cave in the 1540s. Since 1584, this image has been the object of much veneration in this area, especially during the week of Ash Wednesday, which is the closest Christian celebration to the old one for Tezcatlipoca. Hence the worship of this figure is a syncretism which can be best seen during the week of Ash Wednesday when many clad in Aztec dress dance and perform ancient rituals in front of the parish church below and the sanctuary church on the hill.

The Sanctuary of the Señor del Sacromonte is as important as the parish church that is located in the town center below. The Sanctuary was built among the ruins of the teocallis and amoxcallis that there here. The church is considered to be one of the most important in the state. The main focus of the church sanctuary is the glass coffin containing the Señor, which is also called the Santo Entierro (Holy Burial) . The image of the Señor is made with “pasta de cana” or pasted corn stalks. The altar on which it rests is made of wood and gilded with capricious forms.

The old chapel of the Virgin of Guadalupe is situated at the very top of the Sacromonte. It has a smooth facade with three arches and a triangular pediment. Inside there are no altarpieces. The atrium area is an old untended graveyard.

The main celebrations of the town are Carnival and the Feast of the Señor del Sacromonte, which overlap each other.

Carnival begins on the Thursday before Ash Wednesday with traditional accompaniments such as food, amusement rides, and local dances such as Los Doce Pares de Francia, Moros y Cristianos, and Los Arrieros.

However, most of these end on the following Monday, rather than on Tuesday. On Tuesday night, the Señor del Sacromonte is taken from his sanctuary in procession to the parish of La Asuncion in the center of Amecameca.

He remains there until Easter Sunday. One last vestige of Carnival takes place on Ash Wednesday when the Dance of the Chinelos is performed. People costumed in large turbans, robes, and bearded masks, perform just after midday.

After that point, the celebrations for the rest of the week are focused on the Señor del Sacromonte with masses, pilgrimages, and a dance called the Azteca-Chichimeca which dates back to the Conquest.

The best-known group performs these dances under the banner of the Señor del Sacromonte and visits many local and national religious festivities in places like Chalma, the Basilica of Guadalupe, and others.

Pilgrimages are made to both the La Asunción Church and the Sanctuary on the hill above. Tradition states that first-time visitors to the Sanctuary place a crown of flowers on their heads.

The town of Apaxco de Ocampo is a municipal seat, with jurisdiction over the following communities: Coyotillos, Santa María, Loma Bonita, Pérez de Galeana and Colonia Juárez. The total municipality extends 84.37 km2 and borders with the municipalities of Tequixquiac and Hueypoxtla, and with Atotonilco de Tula and Ajacuba (in the State of Hidalgo).

The Gran Canal de Desagüe is an artificial channel that crosses Apaxco, and was named Xothé river in the Otomi language. This channel connects with the Tula River and the Endhó dam. Other small rivers are Treviño, Zarco, El Codo and Teña, which connect with the Gran Canal. Apaxco has thermal waters, and subterranean rivers with hot springs, called Los Bañitos.

The municipal seat is in a small, elongated valley, but most of the municipality is on a high mesa which transitions from the Valley of Mexico to the Mezquital Valley. The highest mountains in Apaxco are the Cerro El Estudiante, Cerro Teña, Cerro Coyotillos, Cerro Blanco and Cerro Pelón in Tezontlalpan Sierra. Other mountains are Cerro Mesa Ahumada (or Cerro Colorado) in the border between the municipalities of Huehuetoca and Tequixquiac. In the center of Apaxco de Ocampo is a low relief known as El Hoyo (the hole), which according to popular belief is the crater of a meteorite; the Aztec people called the depression apatztli in the Nahuatl language.

Apaxco municipality is a rural territory of the Central Mexican Plateau, in the south of the Mezquital Valley, and has a semi-desert climate.

Flora and fauna

Since the area is mainly semi-desert land with calcium stones, the plants consist of cacti and trees with low water needs. Apaxco has chollas, prickly pears, mesquites, huizaches, golden barrels, creosote bush, and century plants. In the high Sierra de Tetzontlalpan, there are oaks, piñon pines and cedars. In Cerro Mesa Ahumada there are other species such as ferns, tejocote trees, white zapote trees, kidneywood trees, tepozans, and visnagas.

Apaxco has many native animals. Birds include the owl, eagle, falcon, turkey, colibri, turkey vulture, northern mockingbird, rufous-crowned sparrow, lesser roadrunner, and roadrunner. The reptiles and amphibians include rattlesnakes, pine snakes, xincoyotes, axolotls, frogs, and toads. The insects include red ants and bees. Apaxco has two mountain ranges, where there is a diversity in mammals. To the south is Cerro Mesa Ahumada with cacomistle, skunk, gopher, Virginia opossum, rabbit, and Mexican gray squirrel and to the north the Sierra de Tetzontlalpan is home to bobcat, coyote, and hare.

This region was once inhabited by megafauna such as Cuvieronius, mammoth, glyptodonts and others.

Apatzco in náhuatl and Pixkuai en otomi language.

The name Apaxco comes from Nahuatl (meaning “place of the water fall”).

“de Ocampo” was added in memory of Melchor Ocampo.

The first settlers in the region date to 5000 BC, evidenced by stone carvings around the mountains. These were Otomian group ancestors. The civilizations that followed had a direct relationship with the Teotihuacan civilization, until they declined between 650 and 900 AD. They were afterwards dominated by the Toltecs.

The most important source about Apaxco in pre-Columbian history is the Codex Boturini, which shows on page XI Atotonilco and Apaxco during the pilgrimage to the mythical promised city of the Aztecs. Apaxco was the place where they celebrated the second new fire before continuing their way south, towards Ecatepec, ending their long pilgrimage on the banks of the hill of Chapultepec.

With the rise of the Aztec Empire, Apaxco and the neighboring region came under the government of Tlacopan, one of the members of the Triple Alliance. Tenochcas subjugated the Otomi people and founded the Teotlalpan, a desert region with abundant mountains. Apaxco, Tula and Ajoloapan were places rich in lime which was a very coveted mineral for building, and was used as a tax payment to the Aztec empire.

Apaxco remained in this position until the fall of Tenochtitlan before the army of Hernán Cortés. In colonial times, Apaxco entered the system of encomienda imposed by the Spanish conquerors, and came under the command of Cristóbal Hernandez Mosquera in 1530.

Apaxco was erected as a township in 1870, after the end of the French intervention. The first school was founded in 1880. During the Porfirio Díaz government, the municipality entered into an economic depression and the township could not maintain its economic administration; from 1899 until 1923, Apaxco was a part of Texquiquiac municipality.

Apaxco became one of the first industrial municipalities in the State of Mexico. In 1900, engineer Luis Espinosa built a calcium oxide factory in Apaxco. This factory was named in 1911 as Calera de Apasco Company (Apaxco lime company). A cement factory was built in 1934, but production difficulties led to exploitation of the workers. In 1964, this cement factory was sold to Swiss company Holderbank (now Holcim).

From 1923, the inhabitants of Apaxco initiated a legal movement to restore control of lands taken from them. In 1927, the legal suit succeeded in returning several hectares benefiting eight hundred people, also granting them water rights for agricultural needs.

The Archeological Museum of Apaxco is an important site at the main plaza where there are many archeological pieces from Toltec, Aztec and Teotihuacan cultures.

Saint Francis parish is a monument within Apaxco de Ocampo. This temple was constructed in various phases, begun by Franciscan priests. The atrium is a large space encased in stone, topped by a cross with Christian and indigenous symbols. Inside is a boveda (arched ceiling) with a chorus to the baroque altar. The facade contains two doorways that are elaborately decorated in stonework containing indigenous symbolism. The temple is dedicated to the Saint Francis of Assisi. During the first week of October, las Fiestas Franciscanas is held, with a procession through the main streets, music, games, and pyrotechnics.

La Misión chapel is a monument in Apaxco de Ocampo. This chapel, constructed in the Spanish period, is a small Christian Catholic church occupied by monastery priests for the purpose of evangelizing the indigenous people.

Railroad station Apaxco is a building that was constructed in the 19th century to connect Tula railway to Querétaro City.

On September 16 and November 20, the schoolchildren parade through the streets in school and sport uniforms, along with various public servants.

The Franciscan Cultural Festival is an annual artists exhibition taking place on October 4.

The Arco Norte (Northern Arc) is a principal highway that crosses the northeast part of Apaxco. This municipality has three state roads: Zumpango–Apaxco number 9 which connects Mexico City to Atitalaquia, State of Hidalgo. The west road, Huehuetoca–Apaxco number 6 cross Santa María, junctions to Conejos in Atotonilco de Tula, with connection to the Tula–Jorobas highway. The other municipal road connects with Pérez de Galeana and Coyotillos.

The railroad is on the Mexico City–Nuevo Laredo line, connecting to the US border.

You can dial 078 from any phone, where you can find free information about tourist attractions, airports, travel agencies, car rental companies, embassies and consulates, fairs and exhibitions, hotels, hospitals, financial services, migratory and other issues.

Or dial the toll-free (in Mexico) number 01-800-006-8839.

You can also request information to the email correspondencia@sectur.gob.mx

MORE EMERGENCY NUMBERS:

General Information: 040 (not free)

National Emergency Service: 911

Radio Patrols: 066
Police (Emergency): 060
Civil Protection: +52(55)5683-2222
Anonymous Complaint: 089

Setravi (Transport Mobility): +52(55)5209-9913
Road Emergency: 074

Cruz Roja: 065 o +52(55)5557-5757
Firefighters: 068 o +52(55)5768-3700

Chalco name is Nahuatl, comes from Challi: “lake edge”, and Co: “place” therefore both words together mean “on the edge of the lake”.

The municipal head, bears the surname of Diaz Covarrubias, in honor of Juan Díaz Covarrubias, one of the practitioners of medicine who was heroically shot in Tacubaya in 1859.

The first civilization which arrived to region of Chalco were the Acxotecas. According to Chimalpahin, they came from Tula, the famous and ancient homeland of the Toltecs, and the first town they settled was called Chalco. They named themselves “chalcas”.

Circa 1160, the Chichimecas Teotenancas arrived from the Toluca valley and came across Tlahuac. Around the lake there were other groups, including cuixocas, temimilolcas and ihuipanecas, which formed a congregation of tribes with Chalcas. They all together formed the Chalca civilization. They lived there until the spanish conquistadors arrived.

By 1354 the entire region was known by the name of Tzacualtitlán-Tenanco Amaquemeca-Chalco”. For 1410 the territory of the Chalca almost a Confederate state, consisted in four domains: Acxotlan-Chalco, Tlalmanalco-Amaquemecan, Tenanco-Tepopollan and Xochimilco-Chimalhuacan, being Acxotlan-Chalco Header”.

War as a means of expansion and conquest becomes common, just we mention one of many: in 1376 the “flower war” that lasts eight years and is among Mexicans and Chalco, in this war only Chalca people died in battle and is because of this long struggle for survival and defense of the territory that the Chalco region didn’t achieve the splendor of Texcoco or Tenochtitlan.

There are two versions of the arrival of Hernán Cortés in the region of Chalco.

The first one is about a Chalca who says to be aware of the presence of Cortes in Tlaxcala and Cholula, await the passage of volcanoes and bring gifts of gold, the other says Chalco were to receive Cortes Texmelucan and bought her jewelry, valuable stones, bracelets, blankets, feather-rich foods among other things. Cortes in his 2nd letter tells relationship that started from an Amecameca town that is the province of Chalco and along the way receives ambassadors of Moctezuma asking you to return or wait Moctezuma order to receive it. Cortés remains two days in Amecameca where you given away good food, gold and slaves.

Meanwhile, Clavijero in his book Ancient History of Mexico says that “Cortes Amecameca Ayotzingo became, instead serving as places of hot earth. Cacamac receive the Spaniards in Ayotzingo, gives them supplies and offers city Texcoco to go away. Ixtlixóchitl with Spanish helped Chalca to defend the people of Xochimilco and Tlahuac, once stayed as allies of the Spaniards, Cortes Chalca seeking protection against the constant threat of the Mexica formed so a coalition of different tribes against the Aztecs, with the defeat of the Aztecs, the Chalca again dominate their territory being committed and available to Spanish and forcing inhabitants to participate in expeditions Chalca.

The colony starts from the moment the distribution of land among the conquerors go. “Chalco, in 1533, becomes real Province for hearing decision” was of great importance as a production area of corn, wheat, barley, straw, wood, charcoal, fruits, vegetables, construction materials such as wood, volcanic rock and stone for his Piers Aytozingo and Chalco that were favored by the heavy traffic and near the city of Mexico. Besides the Commendation arises, Cortes himself assigned the Province of Chalco in 1520 Nuño de Guzmán takes over the province and its taxes. Tributes were also assigned to the Dominican order to build a monastery and corn taxes were appointed to the Marquis.

With the decline of the Knights comes in 1530 the village and in 1563 the village arises in Chalco whose boundaries are constantly moving between Tlayacapan and Tlalmanalco. The judges continued in Chalco and elsewhere throughout the colonial period, large property of Chalco had its origins in the royal grants awarded between 1560 and 1642, the first land grant was awarded in 1565 to Juan Bautista Avendano, Anton Mendez in 1614 and 1641 Hernando de Aguilar, Alfonso Núñez Casillas and Diego Ruiz Lozano, asked permission to bring and pursue breeding cows to produce milk, cheese, butter, and so on. Simultaneously primogeniture and chiefdoms emerge; in terms of primogeniture in the province of Chalco, the most important was that of Don Miguel Saenz de Sicilia and Soria, by widespread ballot in Madrid on May 4, 1774.

Lake Chalco was a major influence as Chalco in the sixteenth century was a lake port in four docks where docked trajineras carrying vegetables and seeds to Mexico City.

During the nineteenth century, the most salient facts are: the consummation of Independence, the Constitution of 1824 was promulgated forming the Free and Sovereign State of Mexico with the districts of Acapulco, Cuernavaca, Huejutla, Mexico, Apaxco, Toluca, Tula and Tulancingo; both parties Chalco, Coyoacan, Cuautitlan, Ecatepec, Mexicaltzingo, Mexico, Tacuba, Teotihuacan Texcoco, Xochimilco and Zumpango.

In 1861, the municipal head is appointed villa and imposed the names of “Diaz Covarrubias” in honor of Juan Diaz Covarrubias. medical student killed by Leonardo Mark on April 11, 1859. Chalco also hosted the meeting of Maximilian and Empress Carlota Amalia, who comes to receive when returning from Yucatán.

“It stands out in the State of Mexico’s indigenous peasant rebellion made by Julio Lopez Chavez that although it was very short (December 1867-1868), had a great importance to regional and national level, is why some authors such as Gaston Garcia Cantu, Manuel Diaz Ramirez, John Hart and others have argued that this movement was precursor of the Zapatista movement (almost 40 years earlier). Julio Lopez Chavez began his agrarian movement in favor of the division of estates among indigenous exploited, because for him the Indians were the landowners, this movement started in San Francisco Acuautla, Coatepec and San Vicente Chicoloapan, it is also executed on July 9, 1868 within the school of Lightning and Socialism “.

During the Porfiriato a major economic activity takes place, as the meeting point for traders from different places, the water communication continues with its canoes and steamboats, industry reaches further development and goods reach their peak and its beginnings were in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth century. Among the farms that stand out are those of Xico, the Company, the Moral, among others; also in 1895 the Regional School of Agriculture which was not successful installed and in the same year is desiccated Lake Chalco, disappearing the few fishermen who had later these lands were used as farmland.

In 1890 the president of Mexico, General Porfirio Díaz laid the foundation stone for the first City Hall and in 1893 was opened by the same agent.

As the revolutionary movement of 1910, the municipality of Chalco had some clashes between Zapata and Carranza, which take Ayotzingo church, set on fire twice, they shoot several men, women outraged; Chalco destroy the Zapatistas in the parish archives, part of the church and some houses.

1979 on the grounds of Lake Chalco dried starts the largest slums in Latin America known as Valle de Chalco with more than 500,000 inhabitants in the first stage. That’s why the municipal head is elevated to city status in March 1989, after November 30, 1994 the inhabitants of the region of Valle de Chalco fighting for their separation in search of an identity and better living conditions, for which the municipality 122 called Valle de Chalco Solidaridad was created.

A major employer is the San Rafael paper factory. Government sources mention that the helicopter where Francisco Blake Mora traveled collided in this municipality, leaving 8 top government officials dead.

Chalco is served by the State of Mexico collective transports divided in geographical areas (AG-##) locating Chalco within the AG-10. Volkswagen vans (“combis” or “colectivos”) transport people from the municipality to the boundaries of the Federal District in order to let people take the subway from that point into the inner Mexico City. Several colectivos also run from Chalco to Mexico City’s Benito Juárez International Airport.

You can dial 078 from any phone, where you can find free information about tourist attractions, airports, travel agencies, car rental companies, embassies and consulates, fairs and exhibitions, hotels, hospitals, financial services, migratory and other issues.

Or dial the toll-free (in Mexico) number 01-800-006-8839.

You can also request information to the email correspondencia@sectur.gob.mx

MORE EMERGENCY NUMBERS:

General Information: 040 (not free)

National Emergency Service: 911

Radio Patrols: 066
Police (Emergency): 060
Civil Protection: +52(55)5683-2222
Anonymous Complaint: 089

Setravi (Transport Mobility): +52(55)5209-9913
Road Emergency: 074

Cruz Roja: 065 o +52(55)5557-5757
Firefighters: 068 o +52(55)5768-3700

Chicoloapan comes from nahualt “chichiouilapan” or “chicualapa”.

These terms are derived from “chicoltic” (“crooked thing”) + “atl” (“water”, “bread” and “in”).

The word “chichicuilote” also means a species of bird that was part of the fauna of the lake of Texcoco.

It is also derives from the word “chicoaloapa”, which translates as “in where there are chichicuilotes”.

It is formed from the word “chicualo” (“chichicuilotes”) + “apan” (“in, where”).

Over the years the inhabitants of the area have identified it with the name of Chicoloapan.

Derived from the meaning of the words in Nahuatl, the name has two asceptions:

1. Referring to the birds that were found in the lake of Texcoco, called chichicuilotes, from which it is deduced that Chicoloapan means “Water in which there are Chichicuilotes”.
2. “The place where the water twists or diverts its course”.

The “Juárez” was added in name of Benito Juárez.

Chicoloapan was one of the first towns in the Anahuac until the Classic period when it became sedentary. Founded by the Acolhuas (Chichimecas) around 1149 BC, the first language spoken by its inhabitants was Chichimeca and then Nahuatl.

He had an influence of the Teotihuacan, Toltec and Mexica cultures. It was under the control of the Acolhua Chichimeca culture for nearly 300 years, based in the town of Coatlinchán, whose first governor was Apaxli Chichimecatl, descendants who ruled for 200 years. At that time Chicoloapan was divided into three towns.

Before the arrival of Hernán Cortés, Chicoloapan was in conflicts due to his government, reason why its inhabitants were united to the Spanish troops like cavalry, with white horses.

Prior to its constitution as a municipality, Chicoloapan was based in Cuautlalpan.

During the Colony, evangelization was in charge of Franciscans, Dominicans and Jesuits. The latter gave the name of San Vicente to the town, which precedes that of Chicoloapan.

On July 16, 1822, before signing the constituent act of the sovereignty of the State of Mexico, Chicoloapan is recognized as a municipality, but it is only as of decree number 36 of February 9, 1825, that San Vicente Chicoloapan becomes in a free municipality.

The town of San Vicente Chicoloapan obtains by official decree the category of Villa de San Vicente Chicoloapan de Juárez.

In 1855 he is appointed as the first municipal president of Chicoloapan, Mr. José Arcadio Sánchez.

The documents and studies carried out in the municipality reveal important data:

Lithic remains (stone utensils) have been found approximately 15,000 years old.
A skull of more than 13,000 years ago, belonging to a child, was discovered, which can be seen in the National Museum of Anthropology and History of Mexico City.
The town of origin of this municipality was founded in 1149 a.C., by Apaztli Chichimécatl, descendant of the lords of Coatlinchán.
There is an archaeological zone not yet explored, but looted and destroyed in part, located in what is known as the Cerro del Portezuelo.
It has a Catholic temple built in the seventeenth century.

Chronology of historical events

1521 – Chicoloapan becomes part of the Encomienda de Hernán.
1788 – The Parish of “San Vicente Mártir” is inaugurated.
1822 – On July 16 it is declared a free municipality.
1885 – The municipality is named “Villa de Chicoloapan de Juárez”.
1923 – Beginning of distribution of ejidal lands in the municipality.
1952 – Discovery of human fossil remains dating back more than 13,000 years.
1968 – Chicoloapan participates in the athletic race with the torch in the direction of the archaeological site of Teotihuacán. Inauguration of the 1968 Olympics in Mexico.
1968 – Inauguration of the first high school in Chicoloapan.

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The city is practically coextensive with the municipality. The census of 2005 reported a population of 524,223 for the city and 525,389 for the municipality as a whole.

Chimalhuacán was founded 1259 by three chiefs or tlatoani named Huauxomatl, Chalchiutlatonac and Tlatzcantecuhtli. These chiefs and their people originated from Tula and Culhuacán. They spoke Chichimeca y Mexica languages but with time their customs merged and Náhuatl became the dominant language.

It became subject to Texcoco, and through that belonged to the Aztec Triple Alliance in 1431.

The Spanish town of Chimalhuacán was founded in 1529 and the Dominicans built a church and monastery here in 1563.

Although the city takes up almost all of the municipality, Chimalhuacán, as the municipal seat, has governing jurisdiction over the following communities: Colonia Nueva de Guadalupe la Palma, La Pista de los Corredores, Pista Aérea, Tlatel San Juan Xochiaca Parte Alta, and Zapotla.

Chimalhuacan have a new park in the center of the municipality, Plaza Estado de Mexico Chimalhuacan, with a library, theater and other places for enterteiment.

In the entry of municipality has a monument to Chimalhucan, called Guerrero Chimalli, a monument and his height of copper statue are 62 meters.

The municipality has an area of 46.61 km² (17.996 sq mi). The adjacent municipalities are Nezahualcóyotl, Atenco, Texcoco, Chicoloapan, and La Paz.

The city is the sixth largest in the state in population (after Ecatepec de Morelos, Nezahualcóyotl, Naucalpan de Juárez, Toluca, and Tlalnepantla de Baz).

Chimalhuacán is an archeological site located in the city and municipality of Chimalhuacán Atenco in the eastern part of Mexico State, Mexico. It lies just outside the northeast border of the Federal District (Distrito Federal).

The name derives from the Nahuatl words “chimalli” (shield), hua (possession particle) and can (place), this would mean “Place of Shields”.

The ancient name of the city by its founders was “Chimalhuacantoyac”.The word Atenco, is also Nahuatl; A, “water”; tentli, “lip” and co, “place”, hence would mean “at the water side”.

The Chimalhuacán glyph appears on the Quinatzin codex, symbolizing a round shield on a hill, has an alternate interpretation, the name Chimalltepetl = “Hill shields” or “shields site”; most probably referring to the “Chimalhuache” hill, mountain located within the municipality and near the site.

It is considered one of the cradles of Mesoamerican civilization due to the finding in 1984, of the “Chimalhuacán Man”, whose remains are some 12,000 old.

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Three rivers have their waterway across Atizapán: Tlalnepatla River, San Javier River and Moritas River, all of them located north of the municipality.

Inside Atizapán, near the border with Naucalpan, is located the Madin Dam, which provides water to the north west part of the Greater Mexico City area.

Also, various streams have their waterway across Atizapán such as “La Bolsa”, La Herradura, “El Tecojote” and “El Xhinte”.

Its main elevations are Biznaga Hill, Atlaco Hill La Condesa Hill and Grande Hill.

It takes its name from the nahuatl word Ātīzapan, which is formed by three words: “ā-tl”, which means “water”, “tīza-tl”, which means “white clay” and “īpan, which means “over” or “place over” in a metaphorical form. Finished this, the name means “Place over clay waters”.

The city was previously named Atizapán de Zaragoza, but the official name was changed after president Adolfo López Mateos, who was born in that town. However, the city is still commonly known as Atizapán.

At the west side of the city is the Zona Esmeralda district (the Lomas de Valle Escondido and surrounding neighborhoods) , considered one of the wealthiest in the State of Mexico and Greater Mexico City. The Valle Escondido and Chiluca country clubs are located here.

During the French Intervention, general Ignacio Zaragoza stayed here, and used the town for the gathering of weapons.

This was the hometown of Mexican president Adolfo López Mateos, and a mausoleum was built for his remains in downtown Atizapán.

In 1984, the city hall was transferred from downtown Atizapán, to a new building near the municipal limit with the municipality of Tlalnepantla de Baz.

Atizapán has several golf courses such as La Hacienda, Chiluca, Bellavista and Valle Escondido.

Although none of the main transportation ways in greater Mexico City have stations in Atizapán, many bus lines cross Atizapán, and go mainly to the north, center and south west parts of Mexico City.

In the beginning of the 20th century, a train line called “Montealto” had its end in Atizapán.

In the north part of Atizapán is located an airport, which has minimal use, as no airlines are established.

Also, one highway passes across Atizapán, and serves to communicate Atizapán with the capital city of the State of Mexico Toluca, the Interlomas, Santa Fe and Herradura Boroughs, and with the Mexico-Querétaro highway.

Recently, the “Viaducto Bicentenario” has connected a second-floor highway to the inner Mexico City. The project was built to commemorate the bicentennial of Mexico’s independence.

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The municipality has a total area of 233.51 square km (90.16 sq mi) and a population of 350,000. It borders the municipalities of Villa del Carbón, Tepotzotlán, Atizapán de Zaragoza, Isidro Fabela, Cuautitlán Izcalli, Jiquipilco and Temoaya.

The seat/municipality’s current name is to honor Nicolás Romero, who fought for Benito Juárez during the Reform War and the French intervention in Mexico. He was executed there by the French. The town adopted this name in 1898.

The area was settled by the Otomi and named Azcapotzaltongo (“among the ant hills” in Náhuatl) by the Aztecs after conquering it.

During colonial times, it was known as San Pedro Azcapotzaltongo. It was then called Monte Bajo from 1821 to 1898, when the current name was adopted.

The area was occupied by the Otomi (who called themselves the “hñahñu”), who had been nomadic.

The area the current municipality is located in became a tributary state of the Aztec Triple Alliance, in 1430, with the district’s seat at Cahuacán subject to Tlacupan in what is now Tacuba.
In the current municipality, four prehispanic towns still remain: Azcapotzaltongo, Cahuacán, Tlillan and Magú.

After the Conquest, land here was redistributed among the conquering Spanish; however, starting in 1537 indigenous leaders began to struggle to regain the lost lands and water rights, a fight that has continued for over 400 years to the beginning of the ejido reform.
In the cases of Ejido San Miguel Hila and Ejido Los Comuneros, the issues are still not resolved.

In 1820, the municipality of Monte Bajo was created, which included what is now Nicolás Romero and parts of Atizapán de Zaragoza.

Industrialization began here in the middle of the 19th century with factories like the “Molino Viejo” (now La Colmena), “Rio Grande” and “San Ildefonso” textile factories as well as the thread manufacturer Barrón, all of which are still in operation. This would continue through the 20th century with paper products and other types of production.

In 1898, the seat was named “Villa Nicolás Romero”, after achieving town status. In 1998 the town was elevated to city status and its current name is “Ciudad Nicolás Romero”.

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The name Coacalco was first recorded in 1320, it comes from the Nahuatl language:

• coa-coatl (snake)
• cal-calli (home)
• -co (at), meaning “at the house of the snake”

The town was named in memory of General Felipe de Berriozábal, who, being Governor of the State of Mexico, signed the decree by which Coacalco became a municipality on February 12, 1862.

Coacalco de Berriozábal forms part of the Valley of Mexico. It is located at the site of what was once the city-state of Xaltocan.

Between 850 and 1521, the municipality was inhabited by the Toltec people.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, the principal economic activities were agriculture, husbandry, and salt collection.

On 12 February 1862, the then-governor of the state, General Felipe de Berriozábal signed the order declaring the city to be an independent municipality, ending 343 years of dependency on the municipality Ecatepec.

Just inside the entrance, on the east side, there is a sculpture of a serpent’s head on which rests the remains of a statue of an Eagle Warrior. To the west, there is another sculpture in the shape of a large pedestal, symbolizing a tlapanhuéhuetl (war drum).

Above this is a sculpture of a cipactli, which is a primeval being, occasionally called a “monster of the earth.” The cipactli is holding up a person, of which only the sandals remain. It is thought the two statues functioned as standards.

Further inside is a bench that surrounds a space similar to a hemicycle.

The horseshoe bench has four sculptures, the most outstanding one being an eagle that faces the entrance. Two others are also of eagles while the fourth is a jaguar. The jaguar statue has its skin spread out as if it were a mounted trophy.

Behind the eagles, there is a cuauhxicalli, or sacred vessel in which to put the hearts of sacrifice victims, who then turn into messengers of the sun.

The orientation of the building relates to the movement of the stars. Before it was covered with a thatched roof to preserve it, openings in the walls provoked light phenomena at certain times such as at the summer solstice.

From here was found a large wooden huéhuetl or ceremonial war drum, which is now in the Museum of Anthropology and History in the Mexiquense Cultural Center in Toluca.

At the spring and fall equinoxes, some 5,000 to 7,000 people visit the site.

The conical thatched roof that covers the main building is a reproduction of the kind of roof it probably had in antiquity, but the shed-like porch is less faithful to the original.

Despite acts of vandalism, the interior of this building is still in good condition.

Cuautitlán began as a Chichimeca village around the 14th century. It was dominated by Tlacopan before being conquered by the Mexica and made part of the Aztec empire.

After the Conquest, Cuautitlán was evangelized by the Franciscans. They constructed San Buenaventura monastery and established the brotherhood of the Purísima Concepción de Nuestra Señora de Cuautitlán.

Saint Juan Diego (1474–1548) reputedly lived there with his wife Maria Lucia up to the time of her death in 1529. They lived there in a one-roomed mud house thatched with corn stalks. The house still survives in a good state of preservation. Cuautitlán gained city status in 1968.

It is the birthplace of painter and sculptor Luis Nishizawa (1918-2014).

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Cuautitlán Izcalli municipality was created in the 1970s, carved mostly out of Cuautitlán de Romero Rubio (now simply ‘Cuautitlán’). Originally planned as the first self-sufficient city in the neighbourhood of Mexico City, the city’s design was based on European and American cities and included an industrial, a residential and several green areas.

After the 1985 Mexico City earthquake, however, the plans fell apart due to a large influx of people searching for zones, such as Cuautitlán Izcalli, with no seismic danger.

Cuautitlán Izcalli is home of the Centro Episcopal Mexicano visited by Pope John Paul II during his 1991 visit to the country. You can find the largest San Benedict’s Abbey in Mexico and the second largest music auditorium, Teatro San Benito Abad, in the urban area of Mexico City.

On 9 June 2014, Pope Francis erected the new Izcalli Diocese to serve the area, with territory taken from the Cuautitlán Diocese; the two dioceses are both among the suffragan sees in the Ecclesiastical Province of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tlalnepantla in Tlalnepantla.

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It is located in the Sierra Madre Occidental, in the Tlalpujahua range, which extends into Temascalcingo and Atlacomulco. “La Somera” is the highest peak at 3,200 meters located next to the town of El Oro.

The municipality has 36 springs, seven natural deep wells, 54 arroyos, 18 dams and five aqueducts. The main river here is called “El Oro” or “San Juan” which flows through a canyon between the La Somera and San Nicolas mountains. Its flow varies greatly between the rainy and dry seasons.

As of 2005, the municipal seat with the formal name of El Oro de Hidalgo had a population of 5,797, and the municipality of El Oro had a population of 31,847. While it made its name as a major gold and silver mining town from the 17th to the early 20th centuries, the mines have since been tapped out and the town is turning to tourism for economic development.

The name El Oro de Hidalgo is not from Nahuatl, like most other municipality names in the state, but from Spanish, and simply means “the gold.”

It has subsequently been given an alternative Nahuatl name of “Teocuitlatl,” meaning “sacred excrement,” referring to gold.

Its seal, in the form of an Aztec glyph, contains elements referring to gold and to caves, of which there are many in the municipality.

The Mazahua people first populated this area, migrating from the north. One of these migrations is documented in the Annals of Cuauhtitlán, which occurred in 538 AD, when five tribes headed by Ehécatl, Coahuatzin, Mazacóatl, Otzihuacoatl and Tlalpanhuitz y Huitz, with Mazacóatl leading them. The first populations settled in communities now known as Tapaxco, Endotejiare, Tultenango and Santiago Oxtempan, all of which are in the current municipality of El Oro. Initially, the Mazahuas were hunter-gatherers but dedicated themselves to agriculture and fishing as well as hunting, as the Mazahua-populated region became dominated the Toltecs, the Chichimecas and then the Aztecs. The last group conquered this area in 1474 by Axayacatl.

Up until the Spanish Conquest of Mexico, there was no settlement in what is now the town of El Oro, nor was its gold deposit discovered. In nearby Tlalpujahua, gold was being mined and this brought the Spaniards to the area. Some traces of gold were found early in the colonial period, especially in nearby Tapaxco, but the traces were not investigated further.

It was gold that brought about the settlement and one of the town’s early names was El Real de El Oro, which was a mining community under the jurisdiction of Ixtlahuaca. There are conflicting stories as to how the town was founded. One version states that it was founded by the Mondragón family, guided by a child who showed them where he grazed his flock. Here someone in the family noticed something shiny among the rocks, which turned out to be quartz containing gold, indicating the vein that would be named after the family.

El Oro was founded in 1787 by miners who bought the land from the Hacienda of Tultenango. El Oro initially belonged to the territory of Ixtlahuaca, but upon discovery of gold, the land became Crown property. In 1793, the mining community was given municipality status and authority over the neighboring communities of Tapaxco, San Nicolás, Santiago Oxtempan, Santa Rosa, Hacienda La Jordana, Hacienda Venta del Aire and Hacienta Tultenango. It also gained rights to regulate all mineral extraction in this area.

Twenty two years after the discovery of gold here, the Count of Revillagigedo hired engineer Manuel Agustín Mascaró to plan out the community, which was centered just northeast of where the downtown is now. The town had become an important source of gold and silver in late colonial times, but there were problems with supplying food and other needs due to the rocky terrain. El Oro’s first chapel was built in 1791, but the seat of ecclesiastical power in the area as established in Tapaxco, four years earlier.

Miguel Hidalgo’s army passed through the municipality on its way to Mexico City. After independence, engineer Vicente Rivafola and Lucas Alamán worked to create mining companies here with investment funds from British sources. One such company, called the Tlalpuajuhua Company revitalized 86 mines in the area. Another important company was the United Mexican Mining Association. Before Independence, El Oro mines had been productive but they were mostly shut down in during the war. By 1825, most mining here was in English hands. This led to a significant population of foreigners here, mostly English and French, who influenced the town’s culture. This would eventually lead to the building of the municipal palace and the Juarez Theater with Neoclassic and Art Nouveau designs. Foreign investment here reached its peak near the end of the 19th century into the early 20th century, introducing new technologies, such as a rail line, and electricity. These were introduced primarily in the town of El Oro, which began to establish it as the primary center over Tapaxco. Furthering its importance was the discovery of the Esperanza vein, which greatly increased the town’s population. El Oro was declared the head of the municipality by two decrees, one issued in 1901 and the other in 1902, giving it the town official name of El Oro de Hidalgo.

In 1926, a number of mines, including El Oro Mining and Railway Co., La Esperanza Mining and others, began to cut back production, stating that the deposits were tapped out. The situation worsened when the mining companies where expropriated from their English owners in 1937. Soon the only operating mine was one called Dos Estrellas, located between El Oro and Tlalpujahua, which subsequently closed in 1958. In the mid-20th century, El Oro was left with only 2,500 residents. Since that time, the town’s economy has turned to commerce, light industry, and handcrafts.

The Municipal Palace is the seat of government for both the town and the surrounding municipality. The first palace was built in 1829 of wood and nicknamed “The White House.” The current one was inaugurated in 1910. This municipal palace is distinctive for it combination of Neoclassic and Art Nouveau designs. This is a result of the English and French populations as well as the preference during the Porfirio Díaz presidency between the 19th and 20th centuries for French style. The two towers of the palace are of English design. The façade, with its balustrade, lamps and fencing show Neoclassic influence. Its portico, courtyard and “Salon de Cabildos” or Delegation Hall is Art Nouveau in design. Just about the whole building is in its original condition. On either side of the main entrance, there is a mural by Manuel D´Rugama called “The Genesis of the Miner.”

The Juarez Theater and is of French Neoclassic style. During the height of the town’s mining, this theater attracted top-level talent of the early 20th century such as Ángela Peralta, Enrico Caruso, María Conesa and others. The interior is of Moorish design with gilded decorative plant motifs indicative of Art Nouveau. The side booths are done in sculpted wood and stylized lions can be found in the pilasters.

The train station was completed at the very end of the 19th century and inaugurated by President Porfirio Díaz. Its architecture is typical of the time but also shows English influence. Running from here to Tultenango and Villa Victoria, rail line leading here was created for the mines, but the trains carried both cargo and passengers. The first owner of the line was Manning Gold Company. The rail line was completed in 1860, but the station was completed in 1899. To the side of the station is an antique rail car which contains a restaurant, which contains a collection of photographs from the town’s mining heyday.

The Mining Museum depicts El Oro’s history as one of the country’s most productive mining area, starting from the 17th century to the first half of the 20th. The museum is located at a former mine shaft, with a collection of photographs from the La Esperanza, La Provedenica, La Descubridora and Dos Estrellas mines, during their peak operation. Also on display are mining machinery and mineral samples from the various mines.

There is also an unexplored archeological site between Endotejiare and Tapaxco.

Near the capital of the municipality is the San José del Rincon Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary. These butterflies appear here from November to March. The Sanctuary has rustic lodgings as well as restaurants, horse rentals, trained guides and handcraft vendors. The sanctuary also has educational programs designed to promote the conservation of the monarch butterfly.

The Brockman Dam is located about 4 km south of the town of El Oro on the road to Villa Victoria. It was built by Guillermo Brockman to act as a reservoir for water for the mines and homes of El Oro and Tlalpujahua. Today, it is promoted as an ecotourism spot for camping, picnicking and rainbow trout fishing. It fairly isolated, surrounded by pines, cedars and a few country residences. There are rustic cabins for rent here.

Typical dishes of this area include red or green mole with turkey or chicken, barbacoa, and carnitas. A local sweet is called “cola de macho,” which is made from dried fruit and piloncillo sugar. Beverages include pulque and two very local drinks called “sende choo,” a fermented corn drink, and”agua de sambumbia,” which is made from fermented pineapple husks.

A drink peculiar to El Oro is called “chiva”. It is a digestif, or alcoholic drink taken after meals. It was most in demand with miners from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century. This drink was thought to calm nerves and promote the health of the miners. It was invented by Jacobita Galán Archundia, owner of a bar, who infused medicinal herbs into alcohol. The recipe varies with every family and establishment that makes it, and each is jealously guarded. It is typically prepared with the herbs prodigiosa and anise. However, despite its supposed curative properties, it is now mostly drunk by tourists to the town.

There are two major festivals in the town. The first is Carnival, celebrated with the typical costumes and parades, but cockfights, charreada rodeos and horse racing. The other is the feast day of the Virgin of Guadalupe, as the town’s main church is named after her. In addition to processions and fireworks, regional indigenous dances are performed.

…

At the census of 2005 the city had a population of 290,076.

The parish of Ixtapaluca was founded in 1531 and had great prominence in the area. The municipal palace was built in 1973.

The municipality had a population of 429,033 in 2005. The area of the municipality is 315.10 km² (121.66 sq mi).

The municipality is part of the Mexico City metropolitan area. It is an important suburb because many people that work in Mexico City live in Ixtapaluca, and it has developed recent commercial interest due to this.

The first “fraccionamiento” or subdivision called San José de la Palma, Municipio de Ixtapaluca, was built in 1989.

The municipality is bordered by Chalco, Valle de Chalco Solidaridad, Chicoloapan, La Paz, Texcoco, Tlalmanalco, and the state of Puebla.

The area was first settled in 1286 by the Mexicas. After the Spanish conquest, in 1543 Ixtapaluca was given to the control of Juan de Cuellar, who continued the indigenous practice of demanding tribute every 80 days from the people.

Ixtapan borders the municipalities of Coatepec Harinas to the northwest, Villa Guerrero to the northeast, and Zumpahuacán to the east, the municipality of Tonatico and the state of Guerrero to the south, and the municipality of Zacualpan to the west.

The climate in Ixtapan de la Sal is predominately cool, semi-arid with rains in the summer. It has an average temperature of 17.9 °C (64 °F) and a low of 1 °C (34 °F) which results in a comfortable place for health and for relaxing.

In the year 1394, a group of indigenous people came from the Pacific coast. They wanted to get to Tenochtitlan in order to attend the crowning of the emperor. On their way to their destination, these Pacific people established in Ixtapan de la Sal where they formed communities. Here they noticed that once the geothermally heated water was evaporated naturally in the sunlight, salt was formed. This amazed them because back then, salt was a very precious item. When the emperor found out about this discovery, he also ordered men and women to move there, which led to the foundation of Ixtapan de la Sal.

At the time of the Spanish conquest, Hernán Cortés sent Andrés de Tapia to conquer Ixtapan de la Sal. The first priest who came to Ixtapan was Juan Guichen de Leyva. Evangelization was carried out by Franciscans who came here after 1543. Tradition states that 13 monks came to Ixtapan de la Sal to convert the Indians by associating Christ with the local deity associated with storms.

In 1822, Ixtapan de la Sal became a municipality of the state of Mexico. In 1825, the first elections to select the municipal council took place on Sunday December 3 of the same year. On August 9 and 10, 1912, the population of Ixtapan de la Sal was attacked by “pseudo–Zapatistas”, who are followers of Zapata’s ideology. The invaders were led by Andres Ruiz and Francisco B. Pacheco. On August 1, 1918, by council’s agreement, local mourning was declared for every year’s August 10.

As of the 2005 census, the town had a population of 15,383.

Two rivers pass through Ixtapan de la Sal. They are “El Rio Salado” from the east with a year-round current, and “El Rio Salitre” from the northwest with a seasonal current.

Also an aqueduct passes through the city.

But the most relevant part for tourists is the carbonated water of “La Laguna Verde,” a spring which filters from the subsoil sprouting naturally in form of water eruptions.

On January 22, 1981, Ixtapan de la Sal officially became a city.

In 1996, it was integrated to the program of the “100 Colonial Cities”, which is a touristic program that gathers the oldest as well as the most important Mexican cities.

The city of Ixtapan de la Sal has as its primary economic activity the tourism generated by the thermal springs that are found here. It is considered to be one of the primary tourist destinations in the State of Mexico. Many internationally-known hotel chains have locations here, most often placed on or right next to a thermal spring.

The best known of these hotel-spas are the famous Ixtapan Spa Hotel and Golf Resort, Marriott Ixtapan de la Sal, Hotel Rancho San Diego Grand Spa Resort, and Rey Ixtapan de la Sal. These resorts offer guests baths in volcanically-heated waters, massages, beauty treatments and other services.

It is also the home of the Parque Acuático Ixtapan, a water park with thermal spring spa, a children’s area, a family area and an area dedicated to “extreme” water rides. The park also has an expanse of green area with a small train that tours it.

Fifteen kilometers to the south of the city are located the Grutas de la Estrella. These are caverns that have been formed by the dissolving of limestone by groundwater that seeps from the Chontalcuatlan and San Jeronimo rivers. These caverns are filled with stalactites and stalagmites of various colors.

Popular celebrations

On the second Friday of Lent the annual religious celebration in honor to the Lord of Forgiveness is celebrated.

On August 15, a religious festival in honor of the Assumption of Mary takes place.

Traditions

For nine days after the passing of a loved one, prayers are offered for the deceased. On the ninth day, a wooden cross that has been laid on the ground is raised upright and carried to the tomb to be placed there permanently. Another tradition that is practiced in Ixtapan is the “Sunday open-air market”, which is a market placed in the same place every Sunday. In it, people practice “El trueque” (bartering).

Dances

The most important is the one called “Apaches”, which is represented by local townspeople on September 15 and 16 in memory of the celebration of the Mexican War of Independence from the stronghold of the Spanish conquest, led by Don Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla

Music

The traditional band is the “Banda del Viento” (the wind band), which still persists. Its members play musical instruments without formal music studies. Also, a weekly fountain performance, complete with music and lights, is where you will commonly find a majority of Ixapans youth, couples, and family fun. The fountain is located at the Plaza under the church.

Arts and crafts

The principal handcrafts are pottery, carved wood and confectionery and also the production of pipían pumpkin candy in October and November. The most prominent are the wooden copalillo and pottery.

The municipality’s territory is irregular with rolling hills leading up to the Sierra de Las Cruces mountain range, which extend from north to south on the east side of the municipality. In this range, there are a number of steep valleys, such as Salazar. Most of the residents are found in the foothills of the Sierra.

The western part used to be occupied by the Lerma Lake, a marsh connected with the Lerma River. This river is the main surface water source although there are some other streams and fresh-water springs. Most of the municipality’s potable water is provided by 38 deep wells.

The climate is temperate and fairly moist. The warmest months are May and June with most rains occurring from June to October. Average high temperatures are around 19C. Lows average about 7C but freezing temperatures in winter are not uncommon.

The higher elevations are covered in forests of fir and pine. In the center of the municipality there are grass areas and willow, eucalyptus and other trees. Wildlife consists mostly of small mammals and reptiles. The soils and rocks here are volcanic in origin, with the west dominated by old lake and marshbeds.

The Nahuatl name for the area is Cacamilhuacan, which translates to “crows in the field.” In the early colonial period, the area was called Santa Clara Cacamilhuacan.
The municipality has both an Aztec glyph with a crow reflecting its Nahuatl name and a Spanish coat of arms.

The area was first inhabited by the Otomis, the Mazahuas and the Matlatzincas. Much of this area was marshland fed by the Lerma River. Some claim that the city was founded by the Matlatzincas before the Aztecs arrived, but this is disputed. The area was subdued in 1426 by the Aztec emperor Itzcoatl, when the main settlement was Huitzizilapan. After the Spanish Conquest, the area was divided into encomenderos with this area under the control of Isabel Moctezuma, with Martín Chimaltecatl, the indigenous leader of Ocoyocac having influence. At that time the major settlement here was San Pedro Tultepec as the city of Lerma did not exist. The city would be founded in 1616 as a village.

During the Mexican War of Independence, the most significant events to occur near here were the Battle of Monte de las Cruces in October 1810 and the Battle of Lerma in May 1812. The first was a pivotal battle in which Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla defeated royalist General Trujillo. The second was a battle for control of the city of Lerma.

The municipality of Lerma was created in 1826, soon after the erection of the State of Mexico. Just before the Reform War, Lerma became the sixth capital of Mexico State, until it was changed to Toluca in 1868. The municipality of San Mateo Atenco separated from Lerma in 1871, taking with it San Pedro Tultepec, This community returned to Lerma in 1874. The first railway line through here, connecting Toluca and Mexico City was built in the late 19th century.

During the Mexican Revolution, the city was mostly spared but outlying haciendas in the municipality such as Doña Rosa Santa Catarina and San Nicolas Peralta were attacked.

In 1936, the La Marquesa National Park was created, part of which is in the municipality of Lerma. In 1940, the construction of an aqueduct called “Alto Lerma” was begun to divert water to Mexico City. The first industries located here in 1960 in what is now known as Parque Industrial Lerma. This would accelerate the growth of the city and municipality.

During restructuring of the municipality’s records between 1958 and 1960, it was found that several communities actually belonged to Ocoyocac and not Lerma. The communities of Peñon, La Escondida, El Portezuelo, La Marqueza and El Zarco were then administratively handed over.

In 2005, municipality residents along the highway blocked and closed it demanding that a pedestrian bridge be built in the area. The Lerma section of the Toluca-Mexico City highway had seen a large number of car/pedestrian accidents. Demonstrators stated that they had requested the bridge for years from authorities to no avail. A short time prior to the demonstration, two minors were struck by a vehicle and one died. The demonstration backed up traffic on the westbound lanes all the way onto Paseo Tollocan in Toluca.

A station is being constructed in Lerma along the Toluca–Mexico City commuter rail that will provide commuter rail service to Toluca and Mexico City. Service will commence in 2018.

The city center is located just north of the Toluca-Mexico City highway. In the center is the Parish of Santa Clara, which dates from 1693 with altarpieces from the 18th century. The Chapel of the Señor de la Caña contains an image of Christ which is locally venerated. The Temple of San Francisco dates from the 17th century. The feast of the Señor de la Caña is on 6 January and the feast for Santa Clara is on 12 August. The center has traditional markets called a tianguis, which on certain days swell to include vendors from the surrounding areas. Lerma is known for its production of cold cuts and sausages, especially chorizo. Lerma used to have a signature dish called frog soup, but this has mostly disappeared due to the loss of marshlands here. In markets and tianguis, one can find barbacoa, tacos, tamales and other traditional central Mexican dishes. However, one can occasionally find tamales with frogs’ legs in the center.

In 2009, the Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana submitted plans to build a campus in Lerma on 23 hectares that were donated to the school by the federal government. The campus is projected to be opened in September 2010.

Prior to the colonial period, the Lerma River here was an interconnected series of lagoons and wetlands that covered much of the river valley. Drainage and other modifications have dried the marshes and left floodplains. Parts of the city and municipality of Lerma is prone to sudden and fierce flooding during the rainy season. These floods can affect thousands of people, prompting the need for rescue and at times displacing them for as much as a week. The floods spread the dirty and contaminated water of the river through homes and wild animals such as scorpions and snakes invade neighborhoods. This can prompt local declarations of disaster areas. The river has dikes and other water containment systems but they are insufficient, especially when garbage clogs drainage canals. The growing population of the municipality is pushing development onto what is left of the undeveloped floodplain, leading to more flooding problems.

The most evident growth of the city has taken place in the areas around the Toluca-Mexico City highway to the Toluca International Airport. This area has always been important, with two of the city’s best known monuments, the Lerma Bridge, constructed between the 17th and 18th centuries and the old highway arch being in this area. The latter was built in 1942 on the old highway connecting Toluca and Mexico City and in a style called “national Neoclassical” (neoclasico nacionalista). It is located 200 meters from the Lerma Bridge. The municipality’s main industrial park is located here and accounts for about 60% of the industry in the municipality. Businesses here produce processed foods, textiles, metals, automobiles and chemical products, by companies such as Avcomex, Diconsa, Bayer, Barcel and Unilever. About 340 businesses total are in the park. The park has over 60 hectares of subdivided land available for further expansion. Some of the enterprises located here include.

The highway has also attracted a number of commercial developments. The Las Plazas Outlet is one of the very few outlet malls in Mexico, located in the municipality on the Toluca- Mexico City highway. The mall contains over 150 stores selling a number of name brands at between 30 and 80% discount, including Zara, Massimo Dutti, Hugo Boss, Zegna, Nike, Reebok, Palacio de Hierro, Pull & Bear, Levi’s, Aca Joe and Nine West. The mall was opened in 2002 and during its first year of operations it had over seven million visits. Some of these customers are wholesalers who redistribute products in other parts of the country. The Plaza Sendero Toluca is one of the newest shopping malls in the municipality, opened in 2006. It is located in an area of the municipality experiencing growth due to its proximity to the Toluca airport and the Toluca-Mexico City highway. The mall was created by Grupo Acosta Verde with numerous stores and three hotels. Some of the businesses located here include Soriana, City Club, Cinepolis and about 150 others. The municipality also contains the first and only self-storage business, U-Storage, in Mexico. This was constructed and opened in the mid 2000s.

Attempts to build a north-south highway to serve the city have been problematic. A highway linking the city with the southern part of Mexico State and the state of Morelos has generated significant controversy since it was proposed. Critics state that the Lerma-Tres Marias Highway threatened forests in the southern part of Mexico State. These critics have included Greenpeace and the Centro Mexicano de Derecho Ambiental. The purpose of the highway is to provide a bypass for Mexico City for traffic to the west and south. However, critics state the highway passes through the Bosque de Agua forest, which is an important aquifer recharge area for the cities of Cuernavaca, Toluca and Mexico City.

The community also has a Furniture Festival each year. The town is also known for its veneration of the Virgin of Candelaria which is celebrated every year on 2 February. The day is celebrated with traditional dance, fireworks, amusement rides and various religious activities.

Crafts are still practiced in a number of smaller communities in the municipality. In San Pedro Tultepec, rattles, dolls and other toys are made. San Migul Ameyalco specializes in embroidered items such as napkins and tablecloths with some fireworks made here as well. Elaborate adornments for church doors called “portadas” are made with agave, flowers and other plants in Huitzizilapan and Xochicuautla. Traditional clay comals are made in Santiago Analco, San Pedro Tultepec and San Miguel Ameyalco. San Pedro Tultepec is known for the production of rustic and European style furniture as well as fireworks. It is one of the major producers of traditional Mexican rustic furniture in the Mexico City area. About 80% of the village’s population of 15,000 is dedicated to furniture making.

Food featured is mole rojo and rice.

You can dial 078 from any phone, where you can find free information about tourist attractions, airports, travel agencies, car rental companies, embassies and consulates, fairs and exhibitions, hotels, hospitals, financial services, migratory and other issues.

Or dial the toll-free (in Mexico) number 01-800-006-8839.

You can also request information to the email correspondencia@sectur.gob.mx

MORE EMERGENCY NUMBERS:

General Information: 040 (not free)

National Emergency Service: 911

Radio Patrols: 066
Police (Emergency): 060
Civil Protection: +52(55)5683-2222
Anonymous Complaint: 089

Setravi (Transport Mobility): +52(55)5209-9913
Road Emergency: 074

Cruz Roja: 065 o +52(55)5557-5757
Firefighters: 068 o +52(55)5768-3700

As municipal seat, the town of Malinalco is the governing authority over 54 other named communities, which covers an area of 186.28 km2. The municipality, which shares its name with the seat, has a population of 22,970 of which only 6,523 live in the town of Malinalco.

It has an average elevation of 1750 meters above sea level and is bordered by the municipalities of Joquicingo, Ocuilan, Zumpahuacán, Tenancingo, and the state of Morelos.

Malinalco is wedged between the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt and the Sierra Norte of the state of Morelos, Elevations are higher in the north with the highest being the Cerro de la Loma at approximately 2700 meters above sea level.

The major river here is the Chalma River, also called the Ocuilan River. Another river is the Colapa, which flows into the Chalma.

There are also a number of freshwater springs such as the San Miguel, Ateopa, and Cuatzonco, most of which are the source of potable water for the communities of the municipality. The climate here is warm but not hot with rains mostly in the summer.

The landscape is bright green in the summer and a golden color in the winter. Average temperatures vary between 20C in the higher elevations to 35C in the lower ones. The higher elevations mostly have mixed pine forests, with more tropical vegetation in the lowlands. Wildlife includes deer, various small mammals, a number of reptile species, and birds.

The San Miguel River is part of the Chalma-Malinalco sub-basin. It is an intermittent river and crosses the entire municipality, including the town itself. It has been used to dump trash so that the river produces disease, fetid odors, and environmental damage. This has discouraged tourism to the town, and prevented the town from becoming a “Pueblo Mágico.” Plans to rescue the river include reforestation around the river’s source, improving drainage systems in Malinalco and other communities, eliminating liquid discharges into the river, and better solid waste management in the municipality. A recycling facility has been built in Malinalco, in order to better handle the waste generated here, sending less to the landfill.

Biodiversity

Malinalco is one of the municipalities with the highest biodiversity in the State of Mexico, the tropical deciduous forest, its pine forests, and gallery forests accommodate a huge variety of flora and fauna, which is in fact one of its main attractions being a beating heart of everything else.

In this area live in dozens of mammals such as civets, armadillos, foxes, coyotes, squirrels, and deer, some studies conducted by researchers at the UAEMEX suggest that in some places can still live jaguars can also see countless species of arthropods (insects, crustaceans, centipedes and spiders thousand), many birds, some edible mushrooms.

Hundreds of other toxic and even hallucinogenic and thousands of plants on which many of the traditional uses have been developed as a medicine, food, leather tanneries, soap, etc. .

In summary, the biodiversity of this county is a huge conglomerate live Malinalco markedly different from other places.

The name Malinalco comes from the Nahuatl word malinalli, which is a kind of grass (Poaceae) called zacate del carbonero in Spanish, the word xóchitl, which means flower and co, which means place, which a translation of “where they worship the goddess Malinalxóchitl, the malinalli flower”. The name also refers to one of the time periods on the Aztec calendar, marked by the malinalli plant, according to the Quauhtinchan Annals. In Aztec and early colonial times, the area was represented by a number of glyphs, often with elements of the malinalli plant and/or a human skull to indicate sacrifice.

Unlike most other municipalities in the state of Mexico, Malinalco does not use an Aztec glyph or coat of arms. Instead, it has a logo that was designed by Ernesto Romero Tetazin in 1985. It consists of the seal of the nation of Mexico, from which rises a figure that simulates a low mountain under a malinalli flower. This includes the motto “Your archeology is the perseverance of our race, culture and work” (Tu arqueología constancia de nuestra raza cultura y trabajo). To the left is the word Malinaltepetl.

According to mythology, the god Huitzilopochtli abandoned his sister Malinalxóchitl because she was practicing evil witchcraft. While she slept, he left her in the middle of the forest. When she woke, she was furious at having been abandoned by her brother. She gathered people loyal to her and marched off to settle in what is now Malinalco. Another version of the story has Malinalxóchil as the leader of a dissident Mexica tribe, who left to settle in what is now Malinalco and intermarried with the people already there.

Since far in the pre-Hispanic past, Malinalco was considered a magical place, filled with gods and sorcerers. The area shows influences from the Teotihuacan culture, the Toltecs, Matlatzincas and Aztecs, but little is known of the area’s pre-Aztec history. Remains of an earlier ceremonial center exist at the summit the Cerro de los Idolos (Hill of the Idols), but this center and its associated residential zones have not been excavated. The first settlements in this part of Mexico State date back to the early post-Classic and the beginning of the late post-Classic. This was a time when many populations were on the move in the highlands of Mexico, with new peoples moving south from what is now northern Mexico. The first people to arrive here were probably the Culhuas, led by a chief named Cuauhtepexpetlatzin, after this group had already settled in the Valley of Mexico. Other peoples to arrive here include the Matlazincas, the Ocuiltecos and the Otomi. By the time the Aztecs arrived, the area was dominated by the Matlazincas, who had settled earlier in the Toluca Valley by 8th century CE, then migrated here. By the mid-15th century, the Aztecs and the Matlazincas had something of an understanding. However, in 1476, the Aztecs subjected this area to their empire under the rule of Axayacatl. While Axayacatl conquered this area, it was a successor, Ahuizotl who had most of the Aztec shrines, temples and other constructions built here. including the fort and sanctuary for Aztec military elite. When the Spanish arrived, the inhabitants of Malinalco resisted the conquistadors. Andrés de Tapia was in charge of subduing the populations of Malinalco and Ocuilán. Once this was achieved, the area was organized into encomiendas. Malinalco was first under the jurisdiction of Cristobál Rodriguez de Avalos and then the Spanish Crown itself.

The Franciscans were the first to arrive and begin the evangelization process, followed by the Dominicans. However, it was the Augustinians who stayed and built the monastery from which evangelization would center. This monastery was originally called San Cristobál but later the named was changed to Divino Salvador. After the construction of the Temple of the Divino Salvador, neighborhood chapels were constructed in the various parts of town. It is likely that these chapels started out as simple thatched roof structures. During the colonial period, a communal water supply system was developed, taking advantage of the natural water flows in the box canyon that surrounds the town. The Jalmolonga Hacienda was one the economic focuses of the area, which was part of the Rodriguez encomienda. Later, when the Jesuits came, they took over this hacienda, which was productive enough to support many of the expenses of the San Pedro and San Pablo College located in Mexico City. When the Jesuits were expelled in the 18th century, this land was eventually sold to the Count of Regla, Manuel Romero de Terreros.

During the Mexican War of Independence, José María Morelos y Pavon came through here in 1813, signing a document acknowledging the local indigenous laws regarding agricultural practices, and demanding the withdrawal of an ecclesiastical request to send money to Spain to fight the French. While Benito Juárez and the liberals won the Reform War in 1861 against the conservatives, conservatives in the Malinalco area continued to fight for a while from the mountains. When the Reform Laws were applied against the Monastery of the Divino Salvador, it continued to operate as a monastery for a while, although the state owned the land and buildings.

Due to its proximity to the state of Morelos, Malinalco was Zapatista territory during most of the Mexican Revolution. Malinalco put itself under the command of General Genovevo de la O starting in 1911. By 1913, Zapatistas and troops loyal to Venustiano Carranza both claimed this area. During the regime of Victoriano Huerta, Malinalco stayed loyal to the Zapatistas, despite government efforts to eradicate the rebels.

Malinalco is set in a semi-enclosed valley, surrounded by cliffs.

The houses are mostly made of adobe with red tile roofs, some of which are painted bright colors. Almost all the houses here from the finest to the most humble have fruit trees in their yards.

The streets are paved in cobblestones and on these donkeys can still be found hauling firewood and other burdens.

Breads here are often still baked in clay ovens that are heated with wood, and homemade pulque is often sold by street vendors.

Malinalco’s traditional culinary specialty is trout. This dish became popular here with the many pilgrims who stayed here while visiting the nearby shrine of Chalma. Many restaurants and street stands serve the fish in a variety of ways: wrapped in paper and steamed, fried, highly spiced or “a la diabla” and covered in garlic butter.

Other well-known dishes include iguana, stewed rabbit and tamales make with frog and ajolote meat.

The south of the municipality produces mezcal, while the north produces pulque.

The center of town has numerous vendors selling lime, sapote, mamey and soursop sherbets.

Two km to the south of the city center is the El Molino trout farm, where you can choose your fish and have it prepared to order.

Between the town of Malinalco and Chalma is another large trout farm and may be the only one in the world where trout are raised in cold mountains water under banana trees.

A traditional drink to have with the meal is pineapple juice prepared with tequila, vodka or mezcal.

Market day is Wednesday, when vendors come into town from the outlying villages to sell. This market sells regional produce, traditional food and wood crafted in different forms such as animals and musical instruments. Malinalco was named a Pueblo con Encanto (Town with Charm) by the state of Mexico.

At la Casa Mia, handcrafts, particularly alebrijes are for sale.

Outside of the center of town

Outside of the center of town, there are many small neighborhoods, each having its own chapel. Most of these chapels were built between the 16th and the 17th centuries and many of these, such as those of Santa Maria, San Martin, San Guillermo, San Pedro, San Andres and La Soledad are considered to be works of art. For example, the chapel of San Juan has reliefs of Augustinian monks and the head of the encomendero of Malinalco, Cristobàl Romero. All of the chapels in the town face west with the exception of the Chapel of Santa Mónica. This one is dedicated to the mother of the founder of the order and faces the convent. Each one is unique in some way, and each has its own feast day. Most of these are located south of the town center following Benito Juarez Street out of town. Chapels here include those of Santa María, San Martín, San Guillermo, San Pedro, San Andrés and the Virgin of Soledad. One to the north is the Chapel of San Juan, which has reliefs of Augustine friar Cristobal Romero. To the west is the Chapel of Santa Mónica, which has been quite altered in the last two centuries.

Luis Mario Schneider University Museum

The Doctor Luis Mario Schneider University Museum is named after an Argentine humanist and literary who was enamored by Malinalco, living here for thirty years. He founded this museum although now it is the property of the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México. It contains seven halls dealing with the geography, mythology and history of Malinalco and temporary exhibitions. The permanent collection is divided into exhibitions on festivals, the rainy season, the geological strata of the area, the underworld, the dry season and the House of the Eagle Warriors. The last is a reproduction of the main building of the Cerro de los Idolos, which is closed to visitors. The garden is a replica of that of the Cuauhcalli, which is also not open to visitors. Recently, the university opened its Department of Philology at the museum to specialize in the history and criticism of Latin American literature. The department has a collection of 17,000 books, 3,000 magazines and 250 cases of documents for research and will have both graduate and undergraduate degree programs.

Cultural Center

The Casa de Cultura or Cultural Center is located in the center of town in front of the Municipal Palace. It is decorated with replicas of the murals found at the archeological zone and old photographs of native cultures. It also hosts dances, expositions and other cultural events.

Tlakuikani Gallery

The Tlakuikani Gallery hosts expositions of contemporary arts done by artists from Malinalco and other parts of the State of Mexico. This gallery is located in the Barrio de Santa Maria Norte and specializes in the exposition and sale of oil paintings and wood carvings.

The Malinalco Bugs Museum

In Malinalco there are very few dangerous animals: among snakes only account: coral snake, rattlesnake (at least four species) and the cliff, and despite its many spiders only one is really dangerous: the black widow and the Twelve species of scorpion registered in the municipality is really only a problem for human health, however one must consider that these species are not aggressive and do not attack if they are not causes, as well as their presence is so small that we seldom have reported serious cases.

Nevertheless, there are a number of myths that have demonized to some animals like the scorpion vinagrillo or nana, the salamanquesca a beautiful blue-tailed lizard, the Matip night and many others, however this is not more than myths san.

To see, touch, smell and even taste their insects, fish, turtles, plants, snakes, spiders and fungi is very convenient to visit the Living Museum “The Malinalco Bugs” and the turtle camp Mali-Xanat; The cost of entry these places helps fund conservation and research projects.

Cuauhtinchan (Malinalco) Archeological Zone

The major attraction here is the Cuauhtinchan Archeological Zone, located just west of the town center on a hill called Cerro de los Idolos, which rises 215 meters above the town.

On its sides are a number of pre-Hispanic structures built on terraces built into the hill.

The main structures are at the top. This is one of the most important Aztec sites and was discovered in 1933, and explored by José Garía Payón in 1935. The visible complex dates from the Aztec Empire but the site’s use as a ceremonial center appears to be much older. The sanctuary complex was built from the mid 15th century to the beginnings of the 16th.

To get to the Cerro de los Idolos one must climb 426 stairs up 125 meters. Along the stairway leading to the site, there are signs with area’s history written in Spanish, English and Nahuatl.

The site contains six buildings.

The Cuauhcalli or House of the Eagles, which dates from 1501, is the main building, which is significant in that it is carved out of the hill itself. The building is in the shape of a truncated pyramid, built this way due to the lack of space on the hill.

The monolithic Cuauhcalli has been compared to the Ellora in India, Petra on the shores of the Dead Sea and Abu Simbel in Egypt.

This was a sanctuary for the Eagle Warriors for rites such as initiation. A thirteen-step staircase leading into this temple is flanked by side struts. and two feline sculptures that face the plaza in front.

The Cuauhcalli consists of two rooms, one rectangular and the other circular, with an opening in the wall between the two.

After being carved out of the rock, the walls and ceiling were covered in stucco and painted with murals, most of which are almost completely gone. In the upper part, the entrance is symbolized by the open jaws of a serpent, complete with fangs, eyes and a forked tongue, which was painted red. This upper portion is covered by a thatched roof of the grass the area is named for.

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In addition to the Cerro de los Idolos, there are 35 archeological sites in the municipality including those found in Matlalac, Rincon de Techimalco, Rincon de San Miguel, Cerro Orquemil, Rincon del Pozo and others.

These also include sites that contain cave paintings and petroglyphs, some of which are at least 2,000 years old. One of the best-known of these sites is Las Caritas, east of town on the other side of the highway. Here small faces are carved to the cave’s rockface. Two other sites that contain small cave paintings are Los Diablitos and El Coyotito Rojo, both to the north of Malinalco proper.

The best-known community outside of the municipal seat is Chalma, which is famous for being the sanctuary of the Lord of Chalma, an apparition of a crucified black Christ. Its small population is almost entirely dedicated to meeting the needs of pilgrims who come throughout the year. According to legend, the Christ figure miraculously appeared at a cave where the pre-Hispanic local people used to worship a deity named Oxtoteotl. Pilgrimages to this Christian sanctuary follow many of the patterns of the old pagan rituals, including walking the narrow paths to the town itself, bathing in the waters of a special fresh-water spring and dancing at the sanctuary. Between Malinalco and Chalma there are large boulders, which according to legend, are people who have been turned to stone because they disobeyed this god. Near Chalma, because of the sanctuary, many famous people have bought ranches and other property. These include Verónica Castro, Daniela Romo, ex regent of Mexico City Oscar Espinoza Villareal and many politicians from Mexico State.

Sanctuary of the Lord of Chalma

Sanctuary of the Lord of Chalma consists of the church, the 17th century ex-monastery, caves and lodgings on the ridges around the town. The lodgings are primarily used during feast days when the area is packed with pilgrims. A stucco gate marks the entrance to the sacred precinct. Here is a concrete plaza in front of the church where mariachi players wait for requests and pilgrims on their knees can be seen. The facade and the interior of the sanctuary church are of Neoclassic design as a result of the last round of modifications. The inscription on the portal of the church reads “Venid a mi todos los que estáis trabajados y cansados y yo os aliviaré” (Come to me all you who are working and tired and I will give you rest). The church is filled with a number of paintings and sculptures with religious themes, most done in the 18th century, but the three main attractions are the image of the Christ of Chalma image itself, a sculpture of the Archangel Michel and a painting of the Virgin of Guadalupe.(1408mexdes) Other notable paintings include scenes from the lives of Saint Augustine and Saint Nicolas Tolentino and one of the Passion of Christ. The image of the Christ of Chalma inside the church contains silver offerings placed in 1534 by silversmith Agustin Villaseñor.

Temple and ex-monastery of the Divino Salvador

The Temple and ex-monastery of the Divino Salvador was built between 1540 and 1560. This was an Augustine monastery, which was built to be the center of evangelization work in this area. It is located in the center of town and has a medieval look, with thick, coarse walls. The decoration is sober with square columns. The facade of the temple is a simple Plateresque and is quite high for a rural church. The Plateresque elements include angels, rose windows and the conch shell friezes. The interior of the monastery is covered in murals, which are the original from the 16th century, and is one of the earliest examples of mestizo art, done by indigenous artists. On the first level of the monastery, the murals depict the Garden of Eden story in an Aztec codex style. The atrium of the monastery maintains its original dimensions, and the courtyard is filled with medicinal and alimentary plants. Animals such as monkeys, iguanas and opossums can be found here as well. From the courtyard lead remnants of the paths that led to processional chapels. At the south of the property, there are seven arches. Some experts claim this was an open air chapel but others state they were simply entrance arches. Local legend links these arches to the first seven Augustine friars to arrive to New Spain.

The hills of Malinalco are grazed by cows and sheep; the Spanish had very large haciendas and found it necessary to employ indigenous people as vaqueros or herdsman, who soon became excellent horsemen. This situation, is practiced the charrería and cabalgatas.

This place is a tourist municipality – Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, here there are night clubs, bistro, pizzas, crepes and bars.

The state ways cross by Malinalco, the first connect with Chalma to Tenango del Valle, the second connect Malinalco with Tenancingo. There is other municipal ways, connect Chalma with Miacatlán, in the state of Morelos. In Chalma there is a Bus terminal with connections to Mexico City, Toluca and Cuernavaca.

During the Spanish Conquest, Gonzálo de Sandoval and his Otomi allies, conquered Toluca, Tenango, Tlacotepec, Tecaxic-Calixtlahuaca, Calimaya along with Metepec and other Matlatzinca and Mexica population centers, whose lands were then abandoned by the natives.

These lands were then redistributed among the Spaniards who participated in the Conquest and to those local chiefs that supported the Spanish.

Lands in and around Metepec were given to Captain Juan Gutiérrez Altamirano, who brought the Franciscans in to evangelize the area, and then these lands passed on to form the estates of the Counts of Santiago.

The area was considered an “alcaldía mayor” (literally ‘major mayorship’) by 1560 with the village of Metepec as its seat.

Records of municipal government transactions begin in the 19th century.

Finally, the municipality of Metepec was created in 1821; although this was not ratified by the government of the State of Mexico until 1827.

The city centre lies at the foot of the hill that gives the city and municipality its name.

There has been a community here since the Otomis and Matlatzincas settled in this part of the Valley of Toluca: the Matlatzincas reached their cultural peak between AD 1120 and 1450 as part of the Teotihuacan culture.

The Aztecs conquered this community, along with the rest of the area by AD 1470 by the tlatoani (chief) named Axáyacatl.

The Spanish arrived here in AD 1526 obliterating native rites that were practiced on the “maguey hill” and built a church there, now-called the Ex-convento de San Juan, renaming the area San Juan Bautista Metepec.
According to the Codex of Metepec the Spanish town was founded in the same year.

The Ex-convento de San Juan is the main religious structure in the town and dates from the 16th century; however, other churches worth visiting include Las Capillas de El Calvario, La Santa Cruz, del Espíritu Santo, San Bartolomé, de San Salvador, de Santa María Magdalena and la Parroquia de San Mateo.

The Cerro de Maguey (Maguey Hill) has a number of small caves with names like “La cueva del diablo” (The Devil’s Cave) that can be explored.

The 24th of June is the feast day of Metepec’s patron saint, John the Baptist.

Additionally, since 1990 the city has an international arts and culture festival called Quimera, which occurs in October.

While most of the food in Metepec is typical of the region (with dishes such as barbacoa, tamales, and huaraches) it does have a unique drink called “Garañona”.

It is made from 15 herbs and is a strong, sweet drink. Some locals say it is an aphrodisiac.

The only place that sells and distributes this drink is a bar called the “2 de Abril”, located in the city centre.

Metepec is known for its pottery items and it is still of economic importance.

Principal crafts include objects made from clay, glass and includes saddlemaking.

The city has about 300 craftsmen as well as 275 family workshops.

The craft Metepec is best known for is the Arbol de la vida (“Tree of Life”) which is a traditional pottery representation of the tree from which Adam and Eve ate in the Biblical story.

Monday is market day in the city centre, called plaza, where merchants go to sell fruit, vegetables and even a few electronic items.

The original village of Metepec regards the Tree of Life as representative of this municipality and some local workshops still produce this brightly painted pottery artifact.

The album cover of the Beatles’ 1967 record Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band features a Metepec Tree of Life.

You can dial 078 from any phone, where you can find free information about tourist attractions, airports, travel agencies, car rental companies, embassies and consulates, fairs and exhibitions, hotels, hospitals, financial services, migratory and other issues.

Or dial the toll-free (in Mexico) number 01-800-006-8839.

You can also request information to the email correspondencia@sectur.gob.mx

MORE EMERGENCY NUMBERS:

General Information: 040 (not free)

National Emergency Service: 911

Radio Patrols: 066
Police (Emergency): 060
Civil Protection: +52(55)5683-2222
Anonymous Complaint: 089

Setravi (Transport Mobility): +52(55)5209-9913
Road Emergency: 074

Cruz Roja: 065 o +52(55)5557-5757
Firefighters: 068 o +52(55)5768-3700

The reserve was designated in 1980 by President José López Portillo.

In the late 1980s, reserve management was delegated to the Secretariat of Urban Development and Ecology. It was at this time assigned the category of “special biosphere reserve.”

In 1986, the area and boundaries of the zones were defined. In 2000, it received its name (Reserva de la Biosfera Mariposa Monarca).

UNESCO declared the biosphere a World Heritage site in 2008 as a Natural Asset. Currently, the area is known for tourism, logging, mining, and farming. It has remained mostly rural, noted for the communities of Otomi and Mazahua.

Millions of butterflies travel south into Mexico, from Texas, and then follow the Sierra Madre Oriental mountains to the preserve. The butterflies congregate, clustering onto pine and oyamel trees.

To many, the trees appear orange and branches sag from the weight.

Come spring, these butterflies migrate across America, sometimes ending up in Eastern Canada. Over the time it takes them to make this journey, four generations of monarch butterflies are born and die.

The monarch butterfly’s migration patterns are altered by climate change. During migration, monarchs fly north once they are exposed to cooler temperatures. Dense congregations are thought to conserve heat.

If warmed by the sun, the butterflies take flight. the beating of their wings has been compared to the sound of light rain. The reserve is susceptible to lethal, freezing temperatures.

The reserve extends from the mountainous forests of eastern Michoacán to western Mexico State 100 km northwest of Mexico City.

The reserve in Michoacán contains the highest elevations in the state, including peaks that reach 2,700 masl (meters above sea level).

The climate is classified as being temperate and somewhat moist with a rainy season in the summer. The average maximum temperature is 22 °C (71 °F). Sub-climates exist in this area: cool and semi-moist, semi-cold and semi-moist, and cold and semi-moist.

The reserve is characterized by outcroppings of basalt forming fissures, faults, and cliffs in a northeast-southwest orientation. Rock formations have replaced older ones such as volcanic cones and old lava beds.

The soil is highly permeable, resulting in little surface water. There are some small ponds and arroyos. The forests of pine and oyamel fir trees provide microclimates that provide shelter when temperatures fall to freezing and/or there are winter rains.

This area is predominantly covered in forests. The composition of the forest varies with altitude:

• holm oak up to 2900 masl
• holm oak and pine between 1500 and 3000 masl
• oyamel fir between 2400 and 3600 masl

Below 2400 masl, there are small areas with junipers, cedars, and meadows.

Areas have been modified by agriculture and human settlements.

The wildlife in the area ranges from the sub-tropical to the sub-arctic including a number of species that are endemic only to this area.

These include white-tailed deer, coyotes, long-tailed weasels, grey foxes, rabbits, crows, turkey buzzards, horned owls, as well as various types of hummingbirds, reptiles, and amphibians.

There are fourteen major butterfly colonies located in these rugged forested mountains, which account for more than half of the colonies of the monarch butterfly’s eastern U.S./Canada population.

It is estimated that up to a billion individuals spend winter here in any given year. These colonies are dense, with between six and sixty million butterflies per hectare.

The reserve areas are found in the municipalities of Ocampo, Angangueo, Zitácuaro, and Contepec in Michoacán and Donato Guerra, Villa de Allende, and Temascalcingo in the State of Mexico. They are divided into five principal zones or nuclei.

Eight of the fourteen colonies are in the protected area. The colonies properly cover only 4.7 hectares, but the protected biosphere area covers 56,259 hectares.

Five colonies are open to visitors:

• Sierra Chincua in Michoacan
• El Rosario in Michoacan
• La Mesa in the State of Mexico
• Piedra Herrada in the State of Mexico
• El Capulin in the State of Mexico

There are other colonies near San José Villa de Allende and Ixtapan del Oro, but they are not actively promoted for tourism because of the risk of harm to these butterfly colonies.

El Rosario is the largest sanctuary in Michoacán, where the butterflies cover about 1,500 trees.

While the Biosphere still has problems with infrastructure, most notably with trash (especially around parking and merchant areas), a number of improvements have been recently made, most notably in the sanctuary of El Rosario.

These include well-defined footpaths with security patrols and stone/or concrete steps in steep places to help against erosion. Horsepaths were also eliminated for erosion reasons. Only two areas have significant installations.

In the Sierra Chincua, there is a research facility dedicated to the monarch butterfly and a nursery for reforestation efforts. At Cerro El Companario there are facilities for tourism.

Conservation efforts were first intended to protect the butterflies.

Research, conservation, and other efforts are now focused on preserving the habitat. The interests of residents, land owners, farmers, farmer cooperatives, and local communities have been taken into account regarding conservation but conflicting interests remain.

Even though the Mexican government designated the area as a biosphere reserve most of the area of the preserve is owned by 38 ejidos, seven indigenous communities, and 16 private holdings.

The survival of the species depends on a large number of habitats in Canada, the United States, and Mexico during its annual migration cycle. The three countries adopted a plan in 2008 for the conservation of the butterfly’s habitat through its migration routes.

Within the Biosphere in Mexico, the greatest threats to the butterfly habitat are deforestation, illegal logging, unorganized tourism, forest fires, and lack of cooperation among various authorities.

Most of these dangers come from the surrounding human settlements, which put pressure on the natural areas to provide agricultural space and forestry products such as fuel and wood for manufacturing furniture and other crafts.

The main human communities in the area are Contepec, Temascalcingo, Angangueo, Ocampo, San Felipe del Progreso, Zitácuaro, Villa de Allende, and Donato Guerra.

The closest urban center is Zitácuaro, whose growth has promoted the growth of the other, more rural settlements.

In spite of this, most of the area is still occupied by dispersed rural farming communities of Otomi and Mazahua peoples, especially in Mexico Stateside. Many of the protected hectares do not belong to the government directly, rather they are lands divided among 59 ejidos, thirteen indigenous communities, and 21 individual holdings.

Because of this and the fact that the reserve is divided by a state line, conservation efforts are complicated. Many communities in this region are very poor, with high illiteracy rates and childhood malnutrition, with scarce access to basic services.

In the past, mining provided much of the area’s jobs but mines have since been depleted, and most live on subsistence agriculture.

These communities also have a tradition of exploiting forest areas, mostly to obtain wood for furniture making and other crafts. High unemployment, especially for youth, also provokes migration out into other parts of Mexico and to the United States or Canada.

Most of the butterfly colony areas still host economic activities such as subsistence farming and livestock raising.

In some areas, such as Sierra Chincua, Cerro Pelon, and El Rosario, there are still problems with illegal logging to supply local fuel needs as well as raw materials for handicrafts.

El Rosario is named after the local ejido which belongs to about 10,000 “campesinos” or rural farmers. Many of these people make a living through farming and the sale of handicrafts and food to tourists.

Information about the butterflies is insufficient as it is not known the full extent of their wintering areas or the ecology of the area. Because of this, it is not known how large the reserve really needs to be for the preservation of the butterfly.

Conservation is mostly done through restrictions on the lands but the management of the reserve has not had direct participation by the communities affected by it.

Some public and private entities have worked with communities to develop incentives to conserve forests and take advantage of the tourism that the butterflies bring. However, success in this has been spotty.

Some communities are pushing back against the restrictions and demanding to be allowed to use more land for agriculture.

Since conservation efforts began, there has been progress. While infrastructure is still lacking, advances have been made in areas such as trash control and control of access to the protected areas.

One effort by the World Wildlife Fund has been the coordination of international biologists and ecologists to improve the design of the reserve.

A permanent monitoring system has been established to ensure the forests remain healthy and control clandestine logging and forest fires. On Mexico Stateside, the largest sanctuary is located between San José Villa de Allende and Ixtapan del Oro.

It is not actively promoted for tourism to keep damage to the area to a minimum.

During winter 2008-2009, there are plans to tag as many of the wintering butterflies as possible using very light self-stick tracers so as to not impede their flight. The purpose of this is to determine the butterfly’s exact migration route as they fly back north to the U.S. and Canada in the spring.

Butterfly counts coming in from the United States and Canada in recent years were relatively stable in the 2000s, with a dozen confirmed colonies as of the 2007-2008 winter. In general, the number of colonies varies between eight and twelve.

Five of the eight colonies are located in Michoacán but only two are open to the public: Sierra Chincua in Angangueo and El Rosario in Ocampo. Both receive visitors starting from November until March. They offer guided tours.

In the State of Mexico, La Mesa, and El Capulin are open to the public.

These reserves are visited by thousands of Mexican and international tourists, principally from the United States, Canada, Spain, France, Germany, and Japan. The best-known and most visited butterfly colony is El Rosario.

In February, Angangueo celebrates the Festival de la Mariposa Monarca. This festival began in 1992 to promote awareness of the butterfly habitat, take advantage of the ecotourism it offers and promote the culture and arts of the area.

The festival includes events related to food, music, dance, and exhibitions of arts, crafts, and more. Many of the surrounding communities participate including Aporo, Contepec, Hidalgo, Irimbo, Jungapeo, Maravatío, Ocampo, Senguio, Tuxpan, Tlalpujahua, and Zitácuaro.

In 2010, the festival included the participation of the Symphonic Orchestra of Michoacan, The Enrico Caruso Ensemble, and the showing of an exhibition called “Papaloapan” about the monarchs by visual artist Luis Moro, as well as dance and photography workshops.

These events took place at venues in Angangueo and other nearby communities. A new photographic exhibition has been assembled to highlight the connection between the migration and the people of Michoacán.

In January 2016 Google search devoted its Google Doodle to the 41st anniversary of the discovery of the Mountain of the Butterflies.

…

The Valley of Mexico, of which Naucalpan is a part, has been inhabited by humans for over 20,000 years. The history of Naucalpan begins with a group called the Tlatilca who settled on the edges of the Hondo River between 1700 and 600 BCE, in what is now modern Nacaulpan, Totolinga and Los Cuartos. During the Preclassic period (1400 to 1300 BCE) a group of Olmecs arrived and had significant influence on the dominion of Tlatilca. Later, Tlatilca was also heavily influenced by the Teotihuacan civilization. Between 1000 and 1200 CE the Chichimecas conquered the Tlatlica and deposed their monarchy. The Pyramid del Conde was built during this time, located in what is now the El Conde neighborhood. Later in the pre-Hispanic period, the area was governed by Tlacopan (Tacuba) and became ethnically dominated by the Otomi. Starting from 1428, the area was under the dominion of Tepanece de Atzcapotzalco, which was later conquered by the Aztec Triple Alliance, who gave it the name of Naucalpan. On 30 June 1520, Hernán Cortés fled Tenochtitlan toward what is now Naucalpan. According to legend, he wept under a Montezuma Cypress tree, which is believed by some to be located at the foot of the Otocampulco Mountain here. This is called the “Noche Triste” or “Night of Sorrows”. There is dispute as to whether this tree is located here or in Popotla. Another legend states that during the flight of the Spanish, an image of the Virgin Mary was left under a maguey plant, where the Sanctuary of Los Remedios is today.

In 1521, the fall of Tenochtitlan brought the area under Spanish control. Hernán Cortés conceded governorship of this area to Isabel Moctezuma and Alonso de Grado, naming it San Bartholome Naucalpan. Evangelization of the native peoples was carried out by the Franciscans who built the monastery of San Gabriel de Tacuba and a number of historic churches such as the Church of San Francisco de Assisi, Church of the Inmaculada Concepcion and the Church of Los Remedios. In 1574, the Temple of San Bartolome Naucalpan was built, with the towers constructed later in 1629. The area was important in colonial times for the mining of building stone, sand and gravel which was used for many constructions in Mexico City including the Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral and the National Palace.

In 1810, the Virgin of the Remedios was brought here from the Mexico City Cathedral, dressed as a general. She was proclaimed as a patroness of Spain and the “guardian of the Spanish Army.” Locally, she was called a “gachupina” (slang word for Spaniard). She eventually became the patroness of Naucalpan, with 450th anniversary of her finding celebrated in 1990. Her sanctuary was built in 1875.

In 1821, brothers Joaquin and Bernardo Miramín founded the newspaper “Diario Militar.” One of the writers for this paper was José Joaquín Fernández de Lizardi, popularly known as “El Pensador Mexicano” (The Mexican Thinker) . The town remained a dependency of Tlalnepantla for much of the 19th century even though it had become an independent municipality in 1826. Industrialization began here with the founding of the Hilados and Tejidos de Rio Hondo factory, inaugurated by Benito Juarez in 1869. In 1899, the territory of Santa Cruz del Monte was added to the municipality. During the Mexican Revolution, Zapatista leaders Rafael Carrillo and Roman Diaz operated in the nearby Chimalpa mountains against federal forces.

The Toreo de Cuatro Caminos was inaugurated in 1947. It was the icon of the city for many years, as well as the symbol of Naucalpan’s Metro station, Cuatro Caminos. The building was torn down in 2009 to make way for a commercial complex.

Naucalpan was officially declared a city in 1957, and the founding of Ciudad Satélite occurred in the same year. The project was completed in 1963. Its five signature towers were designed by Luis Barragán and Matias Goeritz. By 1975, Naucalpan had become one of the most industrialized cities in Mexico.

The city of Naucalpan is actually larger than the municipality itself, with part of it extending into neighboring Huixquilucan Municipality. At the 2010 census its total population was 913,681 inhabitants, with 792,211 of these in Naucalpan Municipality and 121,470 in Huixquilucan Municipality. Since cities, or localities, have no separate government, the two parts are governed from their respective municipalities. Within Naucalpan Municipality only the Los Remedios National Park and several ejidos remaining mostly unurbanized. Over 95% of the municipality’s population lives in the city proper. The municipality consists of 119 neighborhoods in the city proper, 18 small villages, 71 residential developments and two rural housing developments. Because of the growth of its industry, Naucalpan is one of the most important municipalities in the country. Products manufactured here include foodstuffs, drinks, tobacco, clothing and textiles, wood products and paper, metals and chemicals. Industrial parks include Alce Blanco, Atoto, Industrial Naucalpan, La Perla and Tlatilco.

The municipality is part of Greater Mexico City and in the Valley of Mexico, sharing the air quality and other environmental problems that are prevalent in this region. Naucalpan already participates in the “Hoy No Circula” program, which restricts the use of private automobiles in Mexico City and some adjoining areas during the week and is considering extending restrictions to Saturdays as well. Its subsoil is considered to be gravely polluted, mostly due to the Bordo Poniento landfill and the sinking of the subsoil due to the over pumping of groundwater and the dumping of untreated wastewater. In addition, many small businesses such as brick making operations, public restrooms and restaurants flagrantly violate sanitation and environmental laws. However, automobiles account for 70% of the air pollution. Stronger enivironmental regulations have been enacted and enforced, but this has led to the abandonment of the municipality by larger industries who have relocated to the north and west. Over 200 companies have relocated from here and neighboring municipalities Tlalnepantla and Ecatepec. Industries which have left Naucalpan include metals, cement, glass-works and others that use a large quantity of energy. About twenty percent of manufacturing facilities have closed their doors and six industrial parks are empty. In addition to environmental regulation, other actors behind this rising land and rental prices, economic slowdown and competition from Asia.

Several major roadways pass through the city and municipality, which connect the Mexico City area to parts north and west, as well as other parts of the metropolitan area. The northern section of the Anillo Periférico passes through Ciudad Satélite. There have been plans to add a second level to this roadway, but local residents have been working against it. One of the concerns is that the new roadway will damage the nearby Torres de Satélite. The recently built Viaducto Bicentenario highway, linking Mexico City with western Mexico State passes through Naucalpan and was the first section to begin operations. This section connects the Lomas Verdes section with Cuatro Caminos at the border of Mexico City. The construction of these roadways is projected to make changes in the urban landscape of the city, attracting projects such as office buildings and commercial centers. A number of projects are already in the works. The goal is to build areas here similar to Santa Fe and Interlomas. Naucalpan is strongly dependent on cars and other motorized transportation. Efforts have been made to promote bicycle use such as bike paths and free bicycle loans, but they have not been successful.

One of the best-known areas of Naucalpan is Ciudad Satélite with its signature Torres de Satélite sculpture. Ciudad Satélite was one of a number of large scale projects undertaken by the federal government in the Mexico City area in the 1950s and 1960s, along with the Conjunto Habitacional de Tlaltelolco and the Ciudad Universitaria. From the late 1940s to early 1950s, Mexico City began to grow towards the northern limits of the Federal District, and compelling urbanization into adjoining Mexico State. One of the projects conceived for the suburban zone of Naucalpan was a development called Ciudad Satélite. The project was headed by architect Luis Barragán in 1958 and financially backed the Banco Internacional Hipotecario. The city’s design and coordination was supervised by architect Mario Pani. It was designed to be a suburban community with a “green corridor” (highway lined by parks) connecting it to Mexico City proper. Attractive land prices created a boom market soon after the first units were sold in the mid 1960s, and over the next ten years, the green corridor disappeared. In addition to being a major bedroom community, it has been a major shopping district since the opening of the Centro Comercial Satélite in 1962.

The Torres de Satélite were constructed by architects Luis Barragan and Matias Goeritz with the collaboration of painter Jesús Reyes Ferreira in the mid 20th century. The five sculptures form prisms that range in height from thirty to fifty-two metres (98 to 171 feet). They are located in the traffic circle of one of the busiest roads in the State of Mexico. They were constructed to be symbols of the vanguard of world class design in Mexico and as a “welcome” of the expansion of Greater Mexico City to Naucalpan. The Torres de Satélite have been catalogued by UNESCO as architectural heritage.

The second best-known landmark in Naucalpan was recently demolished. The Toreo de Cuatro Caminos (lit. the Bullring of the Four Roads) was built in the 1940s in what was a hacienda. Over the years, the city built up and the area around the bullring became a major local transportation hub. The northwest end of the Mexico City Metro Line 2 ends here, at a large bus station which is only a couple of blocks from the Toreo. At the Toreo itself, fifteen local bus routes as well as buses to Toluca and other points west converge here. These buses clog the surrounding streets of Ingenieros Militares, Rodolfo Gaona and San Mateo. The domed roof of this bullring was a symbol of the city for many years, but in 2009, the demolition of this building began to make way for a commercial complex. Most of the bus routes have been relocated for the demolition and reconstruction, and a bus terminal is being considered for the area. Despite the loss of the building, the symbol of Metro Cuatro Caminos will remain a depiction of the dome.

In addition to Ciudad Satélite and the Toreo, other attractions here include the Cerro Moctezuma, the Villa Alpina, the Conde y Tlatilco Pyramid, a Mexica shrine in the city center and the Museum of Naucalpan. Historic structures from the colonial period include the Caracoles, the Aqueduct, the Bridge of Santa Cruz, the arches of the Sanctuary of Los Remedos, the Parish of San Luis Tlatilco. In the city center is the Museum of the Tlatilca Culture. Arena Naucalpan is a major arena in Naucalpan, Estado de México. It’s long been a home for lucha libre, and is currently the central arena of IWRG. The arena hosts a lucha libre show each Thursday and Sunday. The Naucalli Park occupies an area of forty three hectares and is a major natural area filled with trees and other vegetation. It also contains recreational and sporting facilities such as skating rinks, bike paths, playgrounds (naucalli) and the Casa de Cultura Naucalli. The Symphony Band of Naucalpan regularly plays here at its own concert hall.

The city hosts the campuses of a number of institutions of higher education. The Colegio de Ciencias y Humanidades Plantel Naucalpan is a technical college associated with UNAM. It was opened in 1971 as part of the decentralization of UNAM’s activities. Most of the majors are related to science and technology. Other educational institutions which have facilities in Naucalpan include the Universidad Nuevo Mundo; Universidad de Norteamérica, the Colegio en Alta Dirreción Empresarial, and the Universidad del Valle de Mexico. The Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México has plans to build a campus here in 2010 as part of its expansion efforts.

On Pafununcio Padilla there are two five-story buildings which are locally called “Los Esqueletos” or The Skeletons. These are two buildings which have been abandoned for thirty five years when their owner died intestate during construction. Since then they have had problems with indigents and vandalism, causing fear in neighbors. By law, the buildings pass on to the owner’s sons, but they have never done the paperwork to claim them.

The patroness of the city and municipality of Naucalpan is the mythological Virgin of Los Remedios.

She is a small image of the Virgin Mary, measuring 27 cm (11 in) in height. This image is strongly linked with the Spanish Conquest, especially the episode known as the Noche Triste (Night of Sorrows).
It is said he led his men to an indigenous religious sanctuary to escape the Aztecs, stopping here on their way to Otumba.

According to legend, one of Cortés’ soldiers, Gonzalo Rodríguez de Villafuerte, was carrying a small image of the Virgin Mary and hid her under one of the maguey plants in order to retrieve and pay homage to her later if he survived.

During a later battle in this area, the Spanish reported seeing a young girl throwing dirt into the eyes of the Aztecs to help the Spanish.

Another legend states that this image appeared at the Cerro de los Pajaros, where a chapel was built in 1574, which later was expanded in 1628 with a vaulted roof and cupola.

Being connected with the Conquest, this image of the Virgin is considered to be “Spanish” and a patroness to them and to the indigenous who adopt Spanish ways. She is considered one of the Virgins who correlate with the four cardinal directions (in her case, the west), along with the Virgins of Tepeyac, of Piedad and de la Bala.

Despite her importance to the area, this image was kept at the Mexico City Cathedral until 1810. In that year, she was moved to her sanctuary in Naucalpan, dressed as a general. She was proclaimed as a patroness of Spain and the “guardian of the Spanish Army.” The purpose of this was to counter Miguel Hidalgo’s use of the Virgin of Guadalupe as a symbol of his independence movement.

This image was center of one of the first annual processions to be held in Mexico, which went from the Church of Santa Veracruz in Mexico City to her home sanctuary in Naucalpan. Her feast day is still celebrated on September 1, On this day, the sanctuary is profusely decorated with white flowers, which includes a carpet of flower petals in the San Miguel Arcangel esplanade. This sanctuary is not located in the city proper, but in the mountainous western part of the municipality where the Los Remedios National Park stands. Her feast day is celebrated with dances knowns as “Los Apaches,” “Los Moros,” “Chichimecas” and “Pastorcitas,” with 450th anniversary of her finding celebrated in 1990.

The part of the city that lies within Naucalpan Municipality is nearly co-extensive with the municipality, with only the Los Remedios National Park and several ejidos remaining mostly unurbanized. The municipality consists of 233 neighborhoods in the city proper, 18 small villages, 71 residential developments and two rural housing developments. Together, these localities cover an extension of 149.86km2. The municipality is located in the Valley of Mexico, just northeast of Mexico City and northwest of Mexico State capital of Toluca. The municipality borders the municipalities of Atizapan de Zaragoza, Tlalnepantla de Baz, Jilotzingo, Huixquilucan de Degollado, Xonacatlán and Lerma with the Mexico City Federal District to the east and southeast.

The highest peaks are the Organo and La Malinche mountains at 3,650 metres (11,980 feet) above sea level. Other notable elevations include la Cantera, El Cedral, San Joselito, La Plantación and Peña del Rayo. The main rivers through the area include the Totolina, San Lorenzo and Los Remedios. Water supply for the municipality is supplemented by 28 deep wells, and an aqueduct that brings water from the Lerma River. It has a temperate climate with a rainy season in the summer and early fall. Freezing temperatures occur between November and February, but the last significant snowfall occurred in 1967. Vegetation outside the city proper consists of conifers and oaks, with orchards of fruit trees such as plums, apples and pears. Most wildlife consists of small mammals such as squirrels and opossums along with small reptiles and birds. However, deforestation is a major problem. There are eight ejidos, five of which are dedicated to agriculture and the rest to other activities. Agricultural production includes animal feed, barley, beans, corn, wheat, avocados, peaches and cactus fruit. Livestock includes cattle, pigs, sheep and domestic fowl. There is also some trout farming. Building stone, sand and gravel are still mined here. However, the overwhelming majority of the municipality’s economic activity is the industry and commerce in the city proper.

The major un-urbanized area of the municipality is the Los Remedios National Park, located in the far west. This park was established by decrees in 1938 by the federal government with an area of 400 hectares. Within its borders is the Sanctuary of the Virgin of Los Remedios, a colonial era aqueduct and a pre-Hispanic archeological zone with a Chichimeca temple. All of these are located in and around the mountain called Cerro Moctezuma. The site was an Aztec observatory and is also believed to be where Cortés and his men rested after fleeing Tenochtitlan.

The aqueduct is 500 metres (1,600 feet) long and consists of fifty arches which measure 16 metres (52 feet) high and extend 1.7 metres (5 feet 7 inches) into the ground. The first stage was built in 1616 under viceroy Diego Fernandez de Cordoba with the objective of bringing water to the Sanctuary of Los Remedios from a spring at the village of San Francisco Chimalpa. This water was also used to irrigate fields in the villages of San Bartolomé, Santa Maria Nativitas and Santa Cruz. The aqueduct is mostly of clay pipes with two large spiral towers to release air. These towers flank the Sanctuary of the Virgin of Los Remedios and are nicknamed “caracoles” (snails) By 1764, the amount of water this system delivered was no longer enough and viceroy Joaquín de Monserrat had the arched system built, which was finished in 1765. Eventually, this system could not deliver water and became simply an architectural monument.

Seventy five percent of the original surface of the park now has illegal settlements, including settlements which have been authorized by local authorities. While these settlements can be confiscated and destroyed under federal law, this has not happened. The federal environmental agency Profepa has received complaints about the most recent invasions into the park area, which as felled dozens of trees. The agency has responded with inspections of plans by a developer to build two subdivisions near the colonial era aqueduct to verify if the land is private or public. One reason for this is that the park lacks conservation plans, fences and other means to fend off development efforts. The illegal settlements and development have also affected adjoining ejido land that adjoin the park. This and the fact that housing is now starting to encroach the archeological zone has prompted the involvement of INAH and the organization of neighboring communities to protest.

Naucalpan is one of the most powerful municipalities in the country; in the area next to Mexico City there’s many little and medium-sized businesses; such as pharmaceutical labs, spare parts businesses and chemical products and textile manufacturing factories.

The commercial and services sector is important, in the last 40 years it’s grown. Its thrive begun with the opening of the Plaza Satélite mall in 1971. In 2007 another mall was built: La Cúspide Sky Mall.

According to the Reyes-Barreto-Rodríguez (2007) study of the wealth distribution in the State of Mexico, Naucalpan de Juárez in the year 2000 generated enough wealth to cover the necessities of their citizens twice, in contrast to other municipalities that only create one third of the needs of their citizens in a year. Naucalpan and its neighbor Ecatepec host the 19% of the population of the State of Mexico and both produce a bit more than 22% of the income of the state.

Subtropical highland variety of the oceanic climate exists in elevated portions of the world that are within either the tropics or subtropics, though it is typically found in mountainous locations in some tropical countries. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is “Cwb” (Oceanic Subtropical Highland Climate).

You can dial 078 from any phone, where you can find free information about tourist attractions, airports, travel agencies, car rental companies, embassies and consulates, fairs and exhibitions, hotels, hospitals, financial services, migratory and other issues.

Or dial the toll-free (in Mexico) number 01-800-006-8839.

You can also request information to the email correspondencia@sectur.gob.mx

MORE EMERGENCY NUMBERS:

General Information: 040 (not free)

SNational Emergency Service: 911

Radio Patrols: 066
Police (Emergency): 060
Civil Protection: +52(55)5683-2222
Anonymous Complaint: 089

Setravi (Transport Mobility): +52(55)5209-9913
Road Emergency: 074

Cruz Roja: 065 o +52(55)5557-5757
Firefighters: 068 o +52(55)5768-3700

It was named after Nezahualcoyotl, the Acolhua poet and king of nearby Texcoco, and was built on the drained bed of Lake Texcoco. The name Nezahualcóyotl comes from Nahuatl, meaning “fasting coyote”.

The entity has an Aztec glyph as well as a coat of arms. The glyph depicts the head of a coyote, tongue outside the mouth with a collar or necklace as a symbol of royalty. It was one of the ways of depicting the Aztec king.

The current coat of arms, which includes the glyph, was authorized by the municipality in the 1990s.

Nezahualcoyotl, for whom the city and municipality were named, was the lord of Texcoco, one of the allies of the Aztec Triple Alliance.

Texcoco dominated the area in which the modern municipality stands; however the land on which Ciudad Neza stands was under Lake Texcoco until the 20th century.

Drainage of the interconnected lakes of the Valley of Mexico began in the early colonial period. The first major drainage project was begun in 1590, with the aim of eliminating the chronic flooding that plagued Mexico City.

By the time of the Mexican War of Independence, flooding was still a problem in the Mexico City area, and at that time a project was begun to drain Lake Texcoco directly.

The Lake Texcoco area was declared federal property in 1912, after which efforts to completely drain the lake commenced which continued until the 1930s.

Starting in 1917 under Venustiano Carranza, efforts to determine legal ownership of lands that began to appear due to the drainage of the lake were undertaken. Most of this land was declared federal property to be sold.

In 1933, the Mexico City-Puebla highway was built through this area.

The first settlements in what is now the municipality were extensions of the municipalities of Chimalhuacán, La Paz and Ecatepec.

The area was known for a bird species called the chichicuilote-atziztizuilotl, which inhabited the lakes and ponds of the Valley of Mexico. Today it is nearly extinct.
The center of the city had an area that specialized in the sale of the bird, both alive and cooked.

These initial settlements were without infrastructure or public services, and efforts to procure these began in the 1940s.

In 1945 the Xochiaca dam and the Tequixquiac tunnel were built, the diversion of potable water allowed for the creation of the first formal neighborhoods of Juárez Pantitlán, México and El Sol.

By 1949, the area had 2,000 inhabitants. In the 1950s the population of the area grew quickly as people from various parts of Mexico immigrated to the Mexico City area in search of opportunity. This grew to 40,000 by 1954, despite of the lack of other services such as electricity.

The area gained more formal administrative status from the state of Mexico in the 1950s as it grew, but by 1959, a group representing the now-33 neighborhoods of the area protested the lack of services, which still included sufficient potable water.

In 1960, the idea emerged to separate this area from the municipality of Chimalhuacán in order to create a new municipality. By this time, the area had a population of 80,000. This idea culminated into the creation of the municipality of Nezahualcóyotl on 3 April 1963 by the state legislature, with Jorge Sáenza Gómez Knoth as the first municipal president.

Conversion of the area into a municipality helped greatly in getting water, pavement, sewer and streetlights in the 1960s and 1970s. However, the sale of land here was legally complicated due to problems in land title. This began to be regulated in the mid-1970s and would continue through the 1980s and into part of the 1990s.

By the early 1980s, major public buildings such as hospitals, the municipal palace, schools, libraries and the Museum of Archeology had been built. The Xochiaca area had become a landfill with a sports facility built along its edge.

The city grew quickly during the 1980s with new neighborhoods, shopping centers and other urban areas built. It became necessary to have a municipal committee dedicated to the control of urban growth.

In the 1990s the Ciudad Deportivo (Sports City) and the Universidad Tecnológica de Nezahualcóyotl were established. The population surpassed one million by 1995.

The city has produced a number of athletes, such as Humberto “La Chiquita” González and Graciela Hernández, the first of many wheelchair basketball gold medalists in the Pan American Games.

The city is looked down upon by the residents of Mexico City proper, calling it “mi-Nezota” or “Neza York,” which refers to its sprawling size, and urban atmosphere devoid of the colonial structures in the center of town.

Trash collection is still done by donkey cart in a number of areas of the city. The city has one of the highest crime rates in the State of Mexico.

All of its civil constructions such as the municipal palace, the Casa de Cultura, the Alfred del Mazo Vélez Auditorium and others are of modern design. In front of the municipal palace there are monuments to Nezahualcóyotl, Cuauhtémoc and Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla located on the Plaza Unión de Fuerzas. Germán Aréchiga Torres is history writer specialist in this place.

Since 2013 the city has had its own cathedral, officially called the Cathedral of Jesús Señor de la Divina Misericordia (Jesus of the Divine Mercy), but is more commonly called the Cathedral of Nezahualcóyotl. The cathedral was inaugurated by ex bishop José María Hernández González and contains an adjoining chapel, atrium, bookstore and exterior altarpieces which contains the Lord’s Prayer in six languages: Spanish, Latin, Nahuatl, Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. The year after its opening, the cathedral was robbed of an urn and the sanctuary of Nuestra Señora de María Faustina de Polonia, with a value of over 300,000 pesos.

The main cultural center for the city is the Centro Cultural “Jaime Torres Bodet” (“Cultural Center Jaime Torres Bodet”), inaugurated on August 25, 1987. The building has three areas. On the ground floor are workshops, exposition halls and conference rooms. On the first floor, there is the Bodet Library, and on the second floor is the Centro de Información y Documentación de Nezahualcóyotl (Center for Information and Documentation of Nezahualcóyotl. This center compiles historical, legal, cartographic, photographic and other types of information about the city and municipality.

Those desiring to learn a new language have to pay 8 dollars per month to take a course in either German, English, Japanese or French language. If a person wants to learn the four languages simultaneously, he has to pay 32 dollars per month. The language center’s main objective is to offer language courses at low prices for low income people.

Other cultural centers include the José Martín Cultural Center, which has the José Guadalupe Posadas gallery, and the Hortus Gallery, which is the first contemporary art gallery in the city.

El Castillito (“The little castle”) used to be a recreation place for children until 2005. It was created the library Elena Poniatowska, after was relocated and in the place where used to be, was inaugurated a digital library.

Stadium “José López Portillo”, better known as the Neza 86 Stadium was built in 1981. It was originally inaugurated with its formal name. It was re-inaugurated for the games of the 1986 FIFA World Cup, with the symbol of “México 86,” leading to its common name. The stadium seats 28,000 people and is officially part of the campus of the Universidad Tecnológica de Nezahualcóyotl (UTN). It has been the home of a number of soccer organizations such as the Coyotes Neza, the Osos Grises and the Toros Neza. Since 2002, it has also been the home stadium of Mexico City professional soccer team Atlante F.C..

The Parque del Pueblo (People’s Park) is an 8.5-hectare area which has an artificial lake, a zoo and a train that tours the area. The park was opened in 1975 and also contains a natural history museum, spaces for educational workshops, a lake and an open-air theatre. The center of the park is its zoo. It and the rest of the park were closed in 2001 for extensive renovations and reopened in 2003. The zoo houses 260 animals of 57 different species, 31 of which are in danger of extinction. It has also successfully bred species such as white-tailed deer, Bengal tigers, llamas, bison and coyotes. The park receives about 20,000 visitors per year with the zoo charging only five pesos for admission. The admission charge finances administration costs and also goes into a fund to treat drug addiction in the city.

The Ciudad Deportiva is a construction that was begun in 1990, located on the edge of what was the Bordo de Xochiaca landfill. This was the first stage of the reclamation of the landfill area, building sports facilities for volleyball, tennis, soccer (for children and adults), baseball and other sports.

To be a “cholo” is to be a part of a youth subculture associated with drugs and gangs which is strongly associated with Ciudad Neza.

The word cholo, as used in various Latin American countries, referred to a person of mixed race (mestizo) from the lower classes. The origin of the cholo culture stems from the “pachuco” culture of the United States in the 1940s among the Hispanics there, which eventually morphed into the gangs that populate cities such as Los Angeles.
The phenomenon of gangs came to Mexico from the U.S. in the 1980s.

The first Mexican cholo groups came about in the 1990s, and were called by various names, such as “barrios,” “clickas” and “gangas”. Many of these groups were formed by youths who had spent time in the United States and returned with a different identity. Most cholos are youths between 13 and 25 years old who generally do not finish school beyond the eighth grade.

These groups mimic the organization of gangs found in the United States, especially California. Cholos have their own style of dress and speech. They are known for hand signals, tattoos and graffiti. They are also involved in the use and sale of drugs, especially marijuana. Groups of cholos control various territories in the city. Most of the violence among these groups is over territory. Some of the better known cholo gangs in Neza are “41 Street,” “DK13,” “Cobras 13,” “Los Sur 13,” “Cobras 38,” “Los Mexican,” “Los de la 33,” “La 14” and the “Sur Kings.”

The former municipal president, Luis Sánchez, states that this kind of activity is waning and claims only two cholo groups are true active gangs. The rest are imitations of the lifestyle as a type of counterculture. He also states that no more than 500 youths belong to the gangs which have been identified by the authorities.
Other sources state that this is not true and more than 100 groups operate in the city with many more members.

The Bordo de Xochiaca landfill was one of the largest landfills in the Valley of Mexico, covering 150 hectares (370 acres). It was an open-pit landfill which operated from the 1970s until it was closed in 2006. At one time it was ranked as one of the dirtiest in the world by the World Bank. At the time of closure, it was estimated to contain about twelve thousand tons of trash.

In the 2000s, a project called Ciudad Jardín Bicentenario was undertaken to seal the landfill and reclaim the land for various purposes. The project first aimed to close and seal the landfill. At the start of the project, about 600 people, who lived around the fill making a living by sorting through the trash were relocated. Next steps were taken to stabilize the ground and install a system to monitor and manage methane and other gases produced by the decomposing garbage. 2,500 metres (8,200 ft) of tubes were laid to collect methane gas to lead the collected material to an extraction station.

The gas is extracted to keep it from going directly into the atmosphere and to use it for fuel, principally to produce electricity. Investors also predict that they recovery system will prevent 93,000 tonnes (92,000 long tons; 103,000 short tons) of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere. Rainwater catchment systems were also placed in the area to capture and reuse runoff for the irrigation and cleaning of the 350,000 square metres (3,800,000 sq ft) of grass that has been planted on the site.

The entire project has required an investment of three billion pesos, with most of the money coming from Grupo Carso, headed by Carlos Slim Helú. The Ciudad Jardín Bicentenario contains a shopping mall, a rehabilitation center related to the Teletón, campuses of the Universidad de La Salle and the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, offices of the federal judiciary, an installation of the Telmex Foundation, a hospital called VIVO associated with the Star Médica association.

Lastly, the landfill area also contains the expansion and completion of the Ciudad Deportiva. The facilities were finished in 2009 and stated by investors to be the most modern sports facility in Mexico. The facility was inaugurated in March 2009 by state Governor Enrique Peña Nieto and principal investor Carlos Slim Helú. It contains a nearly Olympic-sized stadium, a cycling track, two gymnasiums, 25 soccer fields, five for indoor soccer, two American football fields, four tennis courts, four basketball courts, four volleyball courts, two jai alai courts, two baseball fields, an aerobics floor, playgrounds and recreational areas. However, as of January 2010, it is closed to the public because state and municipal authorities have not regularized the title of the land on which it sits. Entrance to the facilities will be free, due to corporate sponsorship to cover administrative costs.

The project has generated over six thousand jobs directly and indirectly and will benefit more than two million inhabitants of Nezahualcóyotl, Chimalhuacán and other areas of the eastern Valley of Mexico.

Mexico City Metro Line B Buenavista-Ciudad Azteca: Nezahualcóyotl, Impulsora, Río de los Remedios

Mexibus Line 3 Chimalhuacán-Pantitlán:Las Torres, Bordo de Xochiaca, Rancho Grande, Las Mañanitas, Rayito del Sol, General Vicente Villada, El Castillito, Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, Palacio Municipal, Adolfo López Mateos, Lago de Chapala, Nezahualcóyotl, Virgencitas, Vicente Riva Palacio, Maravillas, El Barquito

Until the 2000s, most migrants to the United States, especially to places like New York, were from poor rural areas.

However, since the turn of the century, another wave of immigrants is coming from poor urban areas such as Nezahualcóyotl. These immigrants tend to be younger and better educated than their rural counterparts, and tend also to keep separate from them.

This is bringing into existence a new Mexican subculture called “Neza York” distinguished by dress, speech and the likelihood of learning English. Businesses with names like Tacos Neza and Neza Grocery have appeared in New York City.

The city of Nezahualcóyotl is nearly co extensive with the municipality of Nezahualcóyotl with 99.46% of the municipality’s population of 1,110,565 (as of 2010) living within the city limits. Only six localities are considered to be outside the city proper: Colonia Gustavo Baz Prada, Ciudad Jardín, Relleno Sanitario Nezahualcóyotl Segundo, Polígonos, Escuela Laura Riojas de Colosio and 17 de Junio, but the city functions as the local government for these communities. It is the second most populous municipality in the State of Mexico, just below Ecatepec, and the ninth largest in the country. It lies at 2,220 meters above sea level.

The municipality is located in the east of the Valley of Mexico and is part of Greater Mexico City. The municipality borders the municipalities of Ecatepec de Morelos, La Paz, Chimalhuacán and San Salvador Atenco in the State of Mexico. To the west and south, it borders the borough of Gustavo A. Madero, Venustiano Carranza, Iztapalapa and Iztacalco of Mexico City and at the northwest it borders the remains of the Federal Zone of Lake Texcoco.

The municipality has a territory of 63.44 square kilometers, 81% of which is occupied by the city, which consists of 86 neighborhoods called colonias. The rest is part of the Federal Zone of the Ex-Basin of Texcoco.

The municipality is flat with only one elevation reading 1,220 meters above sea level. The Los Remedios and a brand of the Churubusco River run through here. At the far northeast is a remnant of Lake Texcoco and an artificial lake was built here as part of the Parque del Puebla to serve as an ecological reserve.

The climate is temperate with a fairly cold winter and rain mostly falling between June and October. Average temperature is about 15C with temperatures as high as 34C and as low as −5C.

The area has little to no native wild flora and fauna due to the fact that it was underwater until the 20th century and the area is nearly completely urbanized. However, in winter a number of bird species such as cranes and storks pass through.

By metro to Jamaica station (line 9).
From Papantla to Nezahualcoyotl run buses (0:15 min) every 10 min.

You can dial 078 from any phone, where you can find free information about tourist attractions, airports, travel agencies, car rental companies, embassies and consulates, fairs and exhibitions, hotels, hospitals, financial services, migratory and other issues.

Or dial the toll-free (in Mexico) number 01-800-006-8839.

You can also request information to the email correspondencia@sectur.gob.mx

MORE EMERGENCY NUMBERS:

General Information: 040 (not free)

National Emergency Service: 911

Radio Patrols: 066
Police (Emergency): 060
Civil Protection: +52(55)5683-2222
Anonymous Complaint: 089

Setravi (Transport Mobility): +52(55)5209-9913
Road Emergency: 074

Cruz Roja: 065 o +52(55)5557-5757
Firefighters: 068 o +52(55)5768-3700

The village first appears in records around 1603 though villages in this area have existed since pre-Hispanic times. The village officially becomes the municipal seat in 1872. In 1901 the Parish of Nopaltepec is established and was expanded in 1932.

The villages of this area in the pre-Hispanic era, were dominated by the Teotihuacan culture. Around 1134, the Chichimecas migrated here from what is now the north of Mexico, taking over these same villages. What now the municipality was part of the dominion of Xaltoca around 1200 and when this lord fell, the kind King Xolotl consolidated this area along with Teotitln, Atepoxco, as well as other villages of the time.

During the Aztec empire, Nopalteppec was part of the Acolhua region. After the Conquest, the area became part of the “alcaldia mayor” (major mayorship) of Otompan and would remain so throughout the 18th century.

The municipality would not be officially declared until 1871 with the name of Santa María de la Asunción Nopaltepec.

The Battle of Venta de Cruz took place here in 1816 as part of the Mexican War of Independence.

…

This area was most likely settled by the Otomi although it is said that these Otomi descended from the Chichimeca. A series of villages were established in this area in the Classic period between 200 and 900 AD with the first known ruler being Motolina.

When the chiefdom of Xaltocan fell in 1200, many other Otomis came to take refuge here, founding the town.

The area came under the rule of Azcapotzalco during the reign of Tezozomoc. The Aztec rule was established here by Nezahualcoyotl from Texcoco, who made Otumba a regional capital, serving as a point of collection for tribute.

As an Aztec city, it contained a sacred plaza with a temple and perhaps a lord’s palace. Outside this plaza area was the residential area for the elite called the pipiltin, consisting of large houses occupied by extended families.

There was probably also a central market. Outside of that was a second residential zone for the common population, called the macehualtin. The organization of the city reflected that of Texcoco but at a smaller scale.

There is evidence that this city produced crafts such as ceramics on a large scale.

The Battle of Otumba is part of the story of the Fall of Tenochtitlan, specifically La Noche Triste. The Spanish had to flee the Aztec capital and reach Tlaxcalan, where they would find allies.

After being beleaguered on the causeway leading out of the city, Hernán Cortés fled towards Tlaxcala and was intercepted by a group of warriors of the Tenocha, Tepaneca, Xochimilco, and other peoples.

However, despite the fact that they had already seen horses, seeing Spanish knights in full regalia proved to have shock value, as the warriors had never seen such in open battle.

The fight lasted for four hours until Cortés attacked a warrior named Cihuacóatl Matlatzincatzin, the tallest and most adorned of the attackers. He and thirteen knights charged the army’s leader and killed him.

This charge broke the natives’ ranks and they fled. This battle gives Otumba the denomination of “La Heroica Otumba.”

Despite the poor conditions and heavy losses of the Spanish army and the overwhelming number of Aztec warriors, the Spanish prevailed and were able to reach Tlaxcala to regroup. Some 20,000 Aztecs were killed.

While the town lends its name to this battle, it really occurred in a place called Temalacatitlán.

After the battle, people from Otumba and other surrounding areas sent ambassadors to Cortes to ask forgiveness for fighting against him with the Aztecs. The ambassador from Tenochtitlan, however, still expressed the city’s opposition to him.

Cortes had the natives from Otumba capture the ambassador from Tenochtitlan for him as proof of their loyalty.

After the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, Cortes passed through here a second time sometime later to visit mines in Pachuca. The Spanish divided Otumba into a number of encomiendas, many of which belonged to Cortes himself.

When Cortes went to Spain in 1528, the Otumba area was seized by Nuño de Guzmán who declared it a province of the crown, along with a number of other areas. When Cortes returned, he retook Otumba and installed his son Martín Cortés as tribute collector.

For the rest of the colonial period, Otumba was an important stopping point on the royal roads that connected Mexico City with Puebla, Hidalgo, and especially the port of Veracruz.

It was also the place where incoming viceroys would meet their predecessors and receive the scepter of rule before entering Mexico City itself. Because of the road traffic, the town grew into an important commercial center for the rest of the colonial period.

During the Mexican War of Independence, one important insurgent, Eugenio Montaño, was from Otumba. He, along with José Francisco Osorno, fought mostly in the Apan area until 1813, when the royalist forces battled his troops near Calpulalpan.

Montaño lost and his body was found by the royalists at the Tepetates Hacienda. Looking for vengeance, the royalists cut off Montaño’s head and cut the rest of the body into four pieces.

The head was sent to his family and the body parts were hung in at the four corners of his house in Otumba. The parish priest tried to bury the body in the church but the royalist dug it back up and rehung the pieces.

A short time later, the body was permanently interred in the baptistery of the church.

Here Guadalupe Victoria proclaimed his Montano Plan in 1827. Here also, Nicolás Bravo was proclaimed the president of Mexico in 1839.

For much of its colonial history, Otumba had been a district seat of one type or another. Its current status as a municipality was established in 1821. In 1861, it was officially declared a town.

A rail line was constructed through here in the late 19th century and the municipal palace was constructed in 1890. A second rail line would be constructed in the mid-20th century.

The train station would become the scene of some important incidents of the Mexican Revolution. In 1915, General Rodolfo Fierro, allied with Francisco Villa, seized the local telegraph station and sent orders in Álvaro Obregón’s name to that General’s troops to perform maneuvers that were beneficial to the Villa army.

Another occurrence was an attack on a train called El Dorado, which was carrying Venustiano Carranza. The attack was carried out by forces loyal to Alvaro Obregon but did not succeed in killing Carranza.

Ángel María Garibay K., who was a noted linguist, humanist, and canon law expert, was the parish priest of Otumba from 1932 to 1941. While stationed here he wrote a number of important works.

For several years, the government has worked on restoration and beautification projects with the aim of being included as one of the Pueblos con Encanto del Bicentenario (Bicentennial Towns with Charm).

The program was initiated in 2008, with Otumba as one of the eighteen towns selected.

The hope is also that the improvements and designation will attract tourists. Like most towns in Mexico, the center of Otumba is a main plaza surrounded by the most important buildings of the community.

The main plaza is decorated with leafy trees and a kiosk, which has a small café inside, surrounded by the Parish of the Purisima Concepción with its cloister from the 16th century, the municipal palace, and the Gonzalo Carrasco Museum.

The Parish of the Purísima Concepción began as the Franciscan monastery, probably built in the 1530s. The parish was established in 1603 with important aspects of the parish church dating to the 18th century.

It was one of the most important and visited constructions in the early colonial period.

The church is constructed over a pre-Hispanic platform. On its Saints Day, the town of Otumba lays out a carpet of flower petals on the atrium of the church along with decorative floral portals, dances, barbacoa, and mole.

A stone monument from the colonial era called La Picota is situated in the atrium of the parish church. It was broken after the Mexican War of Independence, reducing its height from four meters to two.

Beside this monument is where new viceroys received their power symbolically from the outgoing viceroy. The vandalism of the column is thought to be a popular repudiation of the colonial system.

The portal is in Plateresque and has an arch framed by thin columns on which wind-sculpted vines and flowers.

The door is surrounded by an alfiz, a design that is repeated in the choir area. The interior is covered by a barrel vault, which probably dates from the 18th century. The facade of the cloister contains an open chapel with the interior of simple design and murals.

The municipal palace is a sober Neo-colonial construction.

The facade has two levels of arches with windows and ironwork balconies on the other sides. These details and the balustrade make the building appear older, but it was constructed in the 20th century.

It was built this way to respect the colonial look of its predecessor.

The Gonzalo Carrasco Museum and Cultural Center is located in the house in which the painter was born, which is on one side of the main plaza on Plaza de la Constitucion 17. It has been designated as an architectural monument.

The house traditionally was called the Portal El Fénix, home of the Carrasco family, who were merchants. Gonzalo Carrasco was a Jesuit, theologian, and painter who was active in the late 19th century and early 20th.

He studied at the Academy of San Carlos and with José María Velasco and his work adorns a number of buildings in Mexico and other countries. Portal El Fénix is a two-story structure with a central courtyard.

The lower floor was dedicated to businesses such as a general store, hairdressers, and wine shop, with the family’s residence upstairs. A number of rooms have been restored to what they were like in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

However, the most representative part of the building was called the Tienda Grande (Large Store), a term which came to be used to refer to the entire structure. It was located in the front under the balconies.

Here were sold basic necessities such as bread, fabric, wax, grains, and more. This house burned in 1876, but was rebuilt.

Local residents initiated the restoration of the building in the latter 20th century, which was opened in 1981 as the Casa de Cultura y Museo Gonzalo Carrasco. It contains eleven halls.

Five halls are dedicated to pre-Hispanic pieces from the Aztec, Teotihuacan, and Otomi cultures. There are also photographs of codices, of civil and religious constructions, of the construction of the Otumba rail line, and haciendas and of the pulque they made.

A number of rooms such as the dining room, bedrooms, kitchen, and living room are left as the family lived in them, with some of the original furniture. One room is dedicated to Carrasco’s work.

Outside of the main plaza area, but just as important, is the railroad station. Its establishment made Otumba a key communication interchange as well as an important point of transfer for the shipment of pulque to Mexico City.

The first rail concession through the Otumba area was granted in 1837, although it was canceled later. In small sections a rail line was built through here and put into service in 1873, transporting passengers and cargo to and from Mexico City to points east and south.

The current station was built in 1906 as part of the Mexico City-Veracruz line of the old Ferrocarril Mexicano. The station was abandoned shortly after 1995 when the railroad system was privatized.

Today, the station serves as a museum for the municipality, the Museo del Ferrocarril en Otumba.

It contains exhibits such as a copy of the first train ticket issued in Mexico along with the reconditioned telegraph office and an archive of photographs from the late 19th and early 20th century.

In the municipal market, one can find tlacoyos, quesadillas made with squash flowers, mushrooms, barbacoa, mixiote, mole, and pulque. In season, a number of other unusual dishes are served such as maguey larvae, chinicuiles, escamoles and snails.

Otumba was a major center for the sale and trading of donkeys during the colonial period because it was at the crossroads of the highways into Mexico City, where many donkeys passed by carrying merchandise and riders.

Donkeys were used well into the 20th century due to the poor conditions of many roads in Mexico and the inability of trucks to enter farms and haciendas producing pulque, milk, and cactus fruit.

Even though the municipality is transitioning to a suburb of Mexico City, the donkey is still considered a valuable part of the culture and in some places is still used for work.

The Feria del Burro (Donkey Fair) was first held in 1965 and is the oldest annual fair in existence in the State of Mexico. The fair was begun as an adjunct to the celebration of the Señor de Animas, which has since been forgotten.

The principal attraction, the donkeys, are presented in a number of ways.

There is polo played on donkeys, costume contests where the animals are dressed as famous people, a donkey race around the main plaza, and a large parade with floats.

In addition, there are traditional festival attractions such as sports events, local food, fireworks, and folk dance. There is a crafts expo with more than 85 producers with 17 different types of crafts, with a Crafts Contest.

Money earned from the event has gone to improving the appearance of the town, such as burying electric and telephone cables. The annual event has drawn as many as 50,000 visitors.

Burrolandia, or the Donkey Sanctuary of Mexico, is an animal shelter that specializes in donkeys and contains about twenty animals. Burrolandia was begun by the Flores family on land next to the family’s home in 2006.

It is not scenic, as donkeys wander around rusting 1940s-era cars. Visitors are given donkey ears and tails to wear as they visit a small museum, along with papier-mâché burros. There are puppet shows and burro rides.

Burroland is sustained by donations from visitors, local companies, and international groups like Donkey Sanctuary in Britain. Despite the animals’ historical importance in Mexico, pickup trucks and tractors are preferred by farmers even in the poorest areas.

While the animals may still have their place culturally, the lack of work has made them more of a burden than an asset. The donkey population plummeted from one million in 1991 to about 581,000 in 2007 as many were killed by their owners or sold to slaughterhouses.

Another reason farmers get rid of the animals is that they are associated with backwardness, and now the animals are not even worth 500 pesos anymore. This has spawned the Otumba effort to create the sanctuary as well as other projects such as free veterinary care for those animals still on farms.

As a municipal seat, the town of Otumba is the local governing authority for over eighty other communities, covering a territory of 143.42 km2. The population of the municipality is 29,873 with less than a third living in the town proper.

The municipality borders the municipalities of Axapusco, Tepetlaoxtoc, San Martín de las Pirámides, and the states of Tlaxcala and Hidalgo to the southeast and east.

Geographically about fifteen percent of the territory is rugged terrain, forty percent is rolling hills and forty-five percent is flat. Elevation varies between 2300 and 2900 meters above sea level and includes the Las Bateas, San Pedro, La Charra, Pelón, and La Cruz mountains.

There are no rivers here but intermittent streams that flow during the rainy season such as El Soldado, Las Bateas, Huixcoloco, Mihuaca, and San Vicente. The climate is temperate to moderately cold with a dry climate with maguey and nopal cactus growing wild and less than eight percent of the land forested.

High temperatures can reach 31C in the summer and -2.3C in the winter.

Wild vegetation and wildlife are mostly restricted to the highest elevations and include pines, willows, mimosas, jacarandas, squirrels, armadillos, opossums, coyotes, and various reptiles and insects.

About 59% of the municipality’s land is used for agriculture, which depends on both seasonal rains and irrigation. Major crops are cactus fruit and nopal Livestock raised here includes domestic fowl, horses, sheep, goats, pigs, and cattle.

The industry consists of only small-scale operations that produce locally needed products such as processed foods, textiles, furniture, and bricks. Likewise, most commerce is of a local nature. Crafts are practiced on a minor scale working with fine woods, obsidian, and onyx.

The municipality contains a number of tourist attractions but these not fully are not taken advantage of. One of these is the ex-monastery of Oxtotipac, which was established by the Franciscans over what was a teocalli, or Aztec sacred precinct.

The complex is in Plateresque style and consecrated to San Nicolas de Bari. The facade looks a bit like a reliquary with its two rose windows, with a portería, or main entryway, consisting of five arches with finely carved columns.

This facade dates from 1675 and breaks with the usual austerity of Franciscan monasteries decorated with vegetable motifs. The interior columns are delicately worked in stone and contain interlinked Renaissance and Romance style ornamentation as well as Otomi elements.

The monastery contains two baptismal fonts, one of which is from the 16th century. It recently underwent a four-year restoration project costing approximately 700,000 pesos.

Work on this monastery was sponsored by a civil association called Adopte una Obra de Arte (Adopt a Work of Art) along with the State of Mexico. One of the major causes of damage to the monastery was the theft of its religious art, so security measures were installed.

Indoor and outdoor walls were repaired and three altarpieces were cleaned and restored, along with a number of other sculptures and paintings. The cloister area holds a collection of artworks original to the monastery.

In some of the smaller communities of the municipality, such as Huayapan, San Antonio, San Miguel, and Soapayuca, about 80% of the constructions are non-modern, many of which have had their facades renovated.

A number of old haciendas in the municipality have been renovated and adapted to new uses.

Haciendas in this area turned to pulque production after the cattle had overgrazed the pastures. The San Antonio Xala Haciendas was a pulque hacienda from the 19th century which now is a hotel and restaurant.

The elegant rooms and main chapel are open for visits. The San Antonio Xala Hacienda has been reconditioned as a rustic vacation center with cabins, horse facilities, a pool, an event hall, and a car from one of the first trains to go through the region.

It also has a restaurant that specializes in local cuisine including breads and cheeses made on the premises. The Soapayuca Hacienda today houses offices of the Adidas Corporation.

The courtyard contains a majestic fountain and its chapel with an image of Christ in the entrance is unique. The former Santa María de Guadalupe Tepa Hacienda has a ceremonial mound 40 meters in diameter and other constructions that date from the Teotihuacan period.

In the mid-2000s, the state government granted permission to the municipality to use the land to build ball fields and a municipal cemetery, but this work was halted by INAH in order to preserve the pre-Hispanic ruins.

The San Antonio Ometuxco Hacienda is located about fifteen km outside the town of Otumba. The main house, according to some of the oldest residents here, shined in the sun which reflected off of its fine ceramic tiles.

Today, Roman-style statues, remains of Talavera tile, and leafy trees still remain. The hacienda belonged to Ignacio Torres Adalid, who was the director of taxation during the regime of Porfirio Díaz.

After that, it belonged to a foreigner, and after that, it belonged to a group of ten farmers, who decided to sell it in 1910. It was sold to another foreigner in 1978, who still owns it but has abandoned it.

The rooms of the house have old furniture and other things, but the most valuable possessions are the house’s murals, paintings, fountains, and gardens, along with religious figures in the chapel.

This also used to be a pulque-producing hacienda and the tinacal, or production area, still remains, made of wood with thick beams. There are murals here as well, about the history of pulque.

The small community of Apaxco claims to have one of the most beautiful churches in the region named the Temple of San Esteban Axapusco. It has been restored, with new paint and gold leaf.

The main altarpieces trace the genealogy of Jesus and the walls contain murals about the Twelve Apostles which date from the 17th century. Other attractions include caves which were occupied by the Chichimecas in Oztotipac and water parks/spas such as Los Pajaritos and El Temascal.

The first human inhabitants were hunter-gatherers of various ethnicities. Later, the presence of the Olmecs helped to form the first sedentary agrarian societies. After this, the Nahua eventually became the dominant ethnicity.

Most of these Nahuas were of the Xochimilca and Chichimeca tribes.

By the 16th century, the area was firmly under the control of the Aztec Empire as a tributary province.

After arriving in the Valley of Mexico, the first Spanish crossed through here on their way to Tenochtitlan.

The people here allied themselves with the Spanish in 1521 against the Aztecs, an alliance which allowed the people here to suffer less modification of their lifestyles than in other parts of early New Spain.

However, this area remained a tributary province with tribute going to the Spanish instead of the Aztecs. The area was divided into encomenderos, but the natives maintained much of their communal farmland despite efforts by hacienda owners to confiscate them.

During the colonial period, the main town in this area was Chimalhuacan, generally called Chimalhuacan-Chalco. The village of Ozumba was founded in 1525 by Francisco Atlanlzincuilzin, who was its first leader.

Evangelization was done by the Franciscans at the end of the 16th century when the monastery was most likely established here. The earliest parts of the building date from this time.

According to the first records, the first formal church parish was established here in 1606.

Ozumba was under the religious jurisdiction of Tlalmanalco. The bishops and other administrators eventually ceased being monks, with these duties handed over to regular clergy.

From 1773 to 1813, a large number of priests were assigned to the parish, with only two staying long-term. During the Mexican War of Independence, Morelos’ success in Cuautla forced viceroy Felix Calleja to retreat to Ozumba with more than 200 wounded.

After Independence and the erection of the State of Mexico, Ozumba became a municipality in 1825, when the area had about 4,000 inhabitants. “de Alzate” was added to the official name in 1879.

From 1860 to 1870, the area was plagued by a bandit group known as Los Plateados. The first train arrived in 1882, connecting Ozumba with the outside world, especially Cuautla and Mexico City.

This contact resulted in the replacement of Nahuatl with Spanish as the dominant language.

During the Mexican Revolution, Ozumba was on the border of lands controlled by the government and those controlled by the rebels, leading to significant violence here, including the derailment of the train by Zapatista troops.

Ozumba remained mostly in government hands, but the Zapatistas attacked frequently, capturing it for brief periods on two occasions. The violence ended in 1917, and the town has been mostly quiet since.

The original municipal palace was demolished in the 1950s and replaced with the current one.

The municipal market was constructed in the 1970s.

Violence returned to the town when gunmen, presumably from the “La Familia Michoacana” drug cartel, shot up municipal president Luis Alfredo Galicia Arrieta’s house in the town in the middle of the night in December 2009.

The town of Ozumba is located on Fed 115 south of Amecameca. It is part of the “Volcano Route” (a tourism promotion of the State of Mexico) which includes the municipalities of Chalco, Tlalmanalco, Amecameca, and Nepantla.

The town and municipality experience ash and small quakes from the Popocatépetl volcano from time to time. For this reason, it is one of the 20 communities near the active volcano subject to emergency evacuation procedures in the event of an eruption.

These procedures affect 60,000 people in 14 municipalities in Mexico State alone.

The town has narrow streets whose layout dates back to the colonial era. The main plaza is a simple layout with an open area for concerts and other events and a kiosk of simple design. It is surrounded by stands offering street food such as tacos and quesadillas.

Most of the town’s activity focuses on the Nuestra Senora de la Inmaculada Concepcion Church with its large atrium. Many come here to rest, and children are allowed to play in the area as well as to see the murals painted at the side entrance.

The Church of Nuestra Señora de la Inmaculada Conception began as a Franciscan monastery established in the 16th century. Only the side entrance and columns of the church date from the 16th century.

The rest, including the church, dates from the 17th century to the early 18th century. This latter construction was due to the dilapidated condition of the original church, which was rebuilt, starting in 1696.

The tower was constructed in 1717 by architects Juan Perez and Juan Ventura. Baptismal records indicate that this monastery church became the parish church of the area in the 17th century.

The facade has undergone some changes since it was first built. Today, it consists of three bodies crowned by a crest. In the first two bodies, there are images between the columns. The third body is decorated with a stone image of the Virgin Mary.

The crest contains an image of God, the Father looking down on those entering the church with hands spread in blessing. The tower contains stone and plaster decorative elements.

The two main features are the main altarpieces and the high choir on the right-hand side. This is one of the few of its kind remaining in Mexico and it is completely made of intricately carved wood.

The main altarpiece completely covers the wall behind the main altar.

The center part of the cutout and replaced by a Neoclassical one. Its restoration to a more original appearance is relatively recent and based on research by the INAH to determine what it probably looked like.

In the center of the altarpiece is an image of the Immaculate Conception, surrounded by images of the saints associated with the life of the Virgin Mary as well as Franciscan friars such as Anthony of Padua, Diego de Acala Obispo, Francis of Assisi, and Bernardino of Siena and others such as Saint Dominic and Augustine of Hippo.

Two sculptures are missing… those of Saint Cecilia and King David due to theft. Although extremely ornate, this piece is considered to be part of the “sober” Baroque tradition. The entire altarpiece is gilded and the main feature is the repeating Solomonic Baroque columns.

Other colonial altarpieces in various styles line the nave and stand in the side chapels, some with paintings by well-known Mexican artists such as Juan Correa and the Arellano family. The altarpiece of the Passion of Christ was begun in 1741.

Its sculpting was finished in 1746 and was gilded between 1749 and 1753. It was originally dedicated to Jesus the Nazarene until the 19th century. This sculpture was then moved to the second body. There used to be seven archangels here but only two remain.

The Chapel of the Third Order has a more traditional altarpiece, with two bodies approachable from three sides. It contains niches, some of which are now empty. These contained images such as those of San Hugo and the Immaculate Conception.

The altarpiece was done by a sculptor named Domingo and contains two of his paintings. At the top are paintings done by someone named Arellano. Some aspects of the altars are modern such as the statue of Thérèse de Lisieux.

Originally, there was a statue of Anthony of Padua here.

Unfortunately, this church, along with a number of others in the area, has suffered the theft of artwork. This has included statues of saints, altar items, and paintings such as “The Transit of the Virgin” which was stolen in the 1990s.

The monastery area is to the right of the church. The main entrance is a “portería” or an arched, colonnaded entry. Inside this portería are murals depicting scenes from the early evangelization efforts by the Franciscans in Mexico.

It has been theorized that this portería originally served as the monastery’s chapel and where evangelization efforts were concentrated. This would explain the six major scenes which are depicted on the walls.

These murals are all that is left of the monastery’s original decoration from the 16th century.

The murals were retouched in the mid-19th century. They are one of the earliest examples of Rubens’s motif in the New World and contain one of the very few depictions of Peter of Ghent.

On the left-hand side is a depiction of Hernán Cortés greeting the arrival of the first twelve Franciscan monks to arrive at Tenochtitlan-Mexico City. These friars had walked barefoot from Veracruz on the Gulf coast, 250 to the east.

Cortés greets them on the causeway leading into the city as the head of a retinue of conquistadors and high-ranking Aztec nobles. The Aztecs show surprise when Cortés and the other Spaniards bow to the monks.

To the right of the main door is a depiction of the “Niños Mártires” or child martyrs of Tlaxcala. According to the story, in 1527, Axotecatl, one of the four lords of Tlaxcala, sent his sons to be educated by the Franciscans.

Then the boys returned, they had converted to Christianity and began to smash native idols and scold their father for his polygamy and drinking. The lord beat one son, whom the Spaniards named Cristobal, and then burned him to death.

The other two boys fled but continued to preach until they met a martyr’s fate.

This scene not only shows martyrdom but also shows how the Franciscans invested in childhood education and even suggests that they may have loved the boys more than their own parents.

To the far right is a relatively rare scene of Cortés being flagellated, which depicts a story from Texcoco. According to the story, an Indian missed mass and was punished by public flogging, prompting an angry response from the native community.

To pacify the situation, Cortés arranged with the friars to arrive late to Mass and to receive the flogging in front of the natives. The idea was to show that the punishment was impartial.

However, the Franciscans also viewed Cortés flogging as voluntary and as a sign of his piety. The depiction has two messages, one of the special relationship between the Church and the Spaniards as well as the acceptance of public punishment.

Above the doorframe is an image of Francis of Assisi holding three globes that support an image of Mary Immaculate as María de Ágreda writes the Mystical City of God and Duns Scotus writes a defense of the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception.

This image would appear in later monasteries such as the Mission Landa in the Sierra Gorda of Querétaro, at a college in Zacatecas, and at another college in Mexico City.

Although most are (semi) abandoned and not restored for tourists, the town has a number of other architectural and historic sites. The abandoned train station is on the Mexico City-Cuautla section of the Ferrocarril Interocianico (Inter-Ocean Railway) which connects Acapulco with Veracruz.

The station was built in 1895. Casa de Cultura José A. Alzate has temporary art and other exhibits as well as classes in dance, painting, music, theater, and other arts. It is named after Jose Antonio de Alzate y Ramirez Santillana, who was baptized here in 1737.

He was a scientist with influence in the social, political, and economic fields during the intellectual movement of Mexico in the 18th century. The scientist’s childhood home is also located here.

Colonial-era constructions include the Juan Rulfo house, the Casa de la Nueva York, and the Chapel of San Francisco, one of the oldest churches in the municipality. Rodolfo Ortega’s house is representative of the architectural style of the municipality.

The municipal market is located on the main road in front of the church. It is a typical rural market of Mexico State selling basic necessities such as food, seed, grain, and even cattle.

Particularly during the rainy season, this market, as well as many others in the area, also offers up to 90 species of edible wild mushrooms. These are most often sold by older women in areas just outside the market building.

The value of mushrooms in this region of Mexico helps to maintain traditional ethnobiological knowledge. The most commonly prepared food items sold in the food stalls are barbacoa and moronga, a type of blood sausage prepared in various ways.

Principal festivities here are the Feast of the Nuestra Señora de la Inmaculada Concepcion on 8 December, the anniversary of the municipality on 23 June, and the Festival of the Gremios on 15 August.

On feast days, traditional dances include Concheros, Moros y Cristianos and Marotas.

There is one institution of higher education located here called the Universidad Alzate de Ozumba.

As municipal seat, the town of Ozumba is the governing authority for thirteen other named communities. Together the municipality has a total population of 24,055 (2005) over 65% of which live in the town proper.

The municipality covers a territory of 48.92 sq km. It is bordered by Ayapango, Amecameca, Atlautla, Tepetlixpa, and Juchitepec as well as to the south by the state of Morelos.

The most important geographical feature of the area is the Popocatepetl volcano although it lies outside of the municipality proper. Much of the land here was tempered by past lava flows.

The town is surrounded by many ravines and the municipality’s territory is very rugged. The ravines are formed by small streams, whose water flows and swirls into spirals. This is what gives the area its name.

Most ravines align northeast to southwest. The highest elevation is the Xoyacan Mountain which separates it from Amecameca and Ayapango. Another major elevation is the Chimal or Huilotepec Mountain which also forms part of its border, separating it from Tepetlixpa.

The Cuautepec Mountain separates the municipality from the state of Morelos.

Between the town of Ozumba and Chimalhuacan, there is a small elevation which is locally known as the Cerrito (small mountain) and it is one of the few elevations in the center of the municipality.

The only natural surface water is found in ravines and springs.

The most notable ravines are called the Tlapunatlaco, the San Bartolo, and the San Francisco. The north and central parts of the municipality have a temperate climate, while the lower southern part has a somewhat warmer climate.

Most of the wild vegetation here is pine and oak forest, which has been heavily exploited by man. Fauna includes armadillo, cacomixtle), rabbits, bobcats, bats, skunks, hummingbirds, doves, butterflies, scorpions, and spiders.

Sixty-five percent of the land here is used for agriculture with most of the rest being developed.

Some of the main crops are produced in family orchards and include walnuts, capulins, avocados, Mexican hawthorns, peaches, apricots, apples, and others. A number of commercial flowers and medicinal plants are also grown here.

Agriculture is still the most important economic activity, with some livestock and some logging done at the foothills of the Popocatepetl volcano.

The only industry is small workshops that produce farm implements, saddles, fireworks, and boots. Despite agriculture’s importance, just under half the municipality’s population is engaged in commerce.

The municipality has two main attractions, a variety of natural areas and parks, and its architectural heritage consists of early colonial churches and monasteries completed before the end of the 17th century.

The community of San Mateo Tecalco has both. The largest park is Parque Olla and there are year-round freshwater springs at Pozas de Santa Maria. It also has one of the oldest churches in the municipality.

Just south of the municipal seat is the community of San Vicent Chimalhuacan, which is often called Chimalhuacan-Chalco or simply Chimal. Natural attractions here include the Parque El Salto with its small waterfall, gardens, and caves located just west of the Dominican monastery.

This area is popular with local tourists despite the lack of facilities. Another natural area is the Parque La Herradura, which is a forested area in the foothills of the Popocatepetl volcano.

The most important architectural attraction here is the former Dominican monastery which dates from the 16th century. It has a wide church with thick buttresses. The main entrance is sculpted in sandstone containing the coats of arms of Castilla and of the Dominican order.

The complex overall is a mix of Moorish and Plateresque styles. A plaque states that Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz was baptized here in 1651 although she was really baptized in 1648. The baptismal font dates from 1542.

This church has been converted into a cultural center due to the annual celebrations held here to commemorate the birth of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz. The parish church for the community is the Church of San Vicente Ferrer which was once the richest church in the municipality.

Today it has a small archeological museum containing carved stone, ceramics, clay figures, utensils, and more from the pre-Hispanic era. The Arco de los Conejos and Los Guardias are colonial-era monuments marking the entrance to San Vicente Chimalhuacan.

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There are a number of other attractions in the more rural areas of the municipality. The Pozas del Alvaresco and the Pozas de Atzinco are natural springs which emit water during the rainy season.

The Hacienda de Actopan is located just east of the town and is available to rent for functions. The Hacienda de Actempan is located east of the town and is semi-abandoned. The Puente de los Aztecs is a pre-Hispanic era bridge located in a rural area of the municipality.

Popocatépetl comes from the Nahuatl words popōca “it smokes” and tepētl “mountain”, meaning “smoking mountain”.

The volcano is also referred to by Mexicans as El Popo. The alternate nickname Don Goyo comes from the mountain’s association in the lore of the region with San Gregorio. Goyo is the short form of Gregorio.

The crater’s walls vary from 600 to 840 m in height.

The generally symmetrical volcano is modified by the sharp-peaked remnant of an earlier volcano.

At least 3 previous major cones were destroyed by gravitational failure during the Pleistocene, producing massive debris-avalanche deposits covering broad areas south of the volcano.

The modern volcano was constructed to the south of the late Pleistocene to Holocene El Fraile cone.

Three major Plinian eruptions (the last occurring around 800 AD) have occurred at Popocatépetl since the mid-Holocene, accompanied by pyroclastic flows and volumetric lahars that engulfed the basins beneath the volcano.

The volcano is about 730,000 years old. The elevation at the peak is 5,450 m. The volcano is cone-shaped with a diameter of 25 km at its base. The crater is elliptical with an orientation northeast-southwest.

Popocatépetl is currently an active volcano after being dormant for about half of the last century. In 1991 the volcano’s activity increased and since 1993 smoke can be seen constantly emanating from the crater.

Popocatépetl has been one of the most active volcanoes in Mexico. Since 1354, 18 eruptions have been recorded. In 1927 a major eruption occurred, thus beginning a period of rest.

Then, on December 21, 1994, after several years of inactivity, the volcano registered an explosion that produced gas and ash that were transported by the prevailing winds more than 25 km away.

Currently, its activity is moderate, but constant, with the emission of fumaroles, composed of gases and water vapor, and sudden and unexpected minor expulsions of ash and volcanic material.

The last violent eruption of the volcano was recorded in December 2000, which, following the predictions of scientists, led to the evacuation of thousands of people in the areas near the volcano.

On December 25, 2005, a new explosion occurred in the volcano’s crater, causing a column of smoke and ash three kilometers high and the expulsion of lava.

On June 3, 2011, Popocatépetl once again emitted large fumaroles without causing damage. On November 20, 2011, a large explosion took place that shook the earth and was heard in the towns near the slopes, but without major alteration.

The volcano registered a fumarole of water vapor and ash on the morning of January 16, 2012, without this representing risks to the population surrounding the colossus.

On April 16, 2012, was raised the volcanic alert traffic light from yellow phase 2 to yellow phase 3 due to the great activity that has been occurring, without it thus far representing a serious danger to society.

At 3:23 on April 30, 2013, the Popocatépetl volcano threw incandescent fragments 800 meters from the crater on the northeast slope, reported the National Center for Disaster Prevention (CENAPRED).

On May 12, 2013, after the strong roar that was felt in the town of Atlixco, the volcanic alert light was changed from yellow phase 2 to phase 3. On June 2, 2013, CENAPRED returned the alert level to yellow phase 2.

On June 17 and 18, the volcano recorded several larger explosive events, recording fumaroles that reached 4 km above the level of the crater and expulsions of incandescent rock that reached the slopes on the South-West side of the colossus.

The alert remained yellow in phase 2.

The volcano became active on July 7, 2013, releasing ash clearly visible in nearby towns. The ash also reached Mexico City, expelling pyroclastic flows and incandescence. The volcanic traffic light turned yellow in phase 3.

The volcano registered an explosion on January 22, 2019, releasing incandescent material and ash. This explosion could be felt in areas surrounding the volcano (areas of the state of Puebla and the State of Mexico).

Once upon a time, in pre-Hispanis times, there were two young people named Itzaccíhuatl and Popocatépetl. Itzaccíhuatl was a beautiful princess from the Tlaxcala, and Popocatépetl was a brave Aztec warrior.

Both lived at a time when Tlaxcala was at war with its cruel enemies, the Aztecs.

Popocatépetl deeply loved Itzaccíhuatl and wanted to marry her. Popocatépetl asked to marry Itzaccíhuatl. The leader agreed but had one condition: Popocatépetl had to return safely from the war to marry her.

So, Popocatépetl went off to battle, leaving Itzaccíhuatl behind, eagerly awaiting his return. However, a jealous rival of Popocatépetl spread false rumors and told Itzaccíhuatl that her beloved had died in the fight.

Heartbroken and deceived, Itzaccíhuatl couldn’t bear the sorrow and passed away.

Soon, Popocatépetl returned from the battle. But upon his arrival, he received the devastating news of the death of his beloved. Overcome with grief, he wandered for days and nights, searching for a way to honor their love.

He decided to build a great tomb beneath the sun, piling up ten hills to create a massive mountain. After completing this monumental task, he took the lifeless body of his princess and placed her on the mountaintop.

He kissed her for the last time and, holding a smoky torch, knelt by her side to watch over her forever.

Since then, they have remained together, facing each other. As time passed, snow covered their bodies, turning them into two enormous volcanoes that stood unchanged until the end of time.

***

There’s another legend connected to this volcano, and it’s about a friendly nickname given to the mountain by the people living nearby. They call this volcano “Don Goyo,” which is short for Gregorio.

It’s said that from time to time, an elderly man appears in various villages in the area and introduces himself as Don Gregorio or Gregorio Chino. The locals believe that this old man is the embodiment of the volcano.

Locals believe that Don Goyo, the old man, comes to make sure that the people living in the area act with honesty and show respect to the volcano. They believe that if they do so, good luck will come their way.

There is indication of Mazahua presence in the area from the seventh century. However, they were constantly besieged by neighboring peoples.

This area was conquered in 1379 by the Purépecha chiefs Acamapichtli and Tezozómoc. The area came under Aztec rule when Axayácatl during his campaign to reach Tlalchimaloyan, now Ciudad Hidalgo, Michoacán in 1474 and remained under Tenochtitlan’s rule until the Spanish Conquest.

The Spanish took over the area around 1552, calling it “San Felipe el Grande”.

By the time of the Mexican War of Independence, when the priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla came to the town, it was known as “San Felipe del Obraje”.

On January 1, 1826, San Felipe del Obraje was declared a municipality and on October 13, 1877, the village was renamed San Felipe del Progreso.

The predominant weather is the mild with rains In the summer.

The annual temperature varies between 12 and 18 degrees Celsius; with extremes of 2C and 28C.

The rainy season is in July, August and September.

In February and March, it is windy, while in December, January, and in February and March there can be some frost.

In April and May temperatures are moderately warm.

Despite heavy logging, the municipality is heavily forested.

Trees here include: oyamel, cedar, pine, holm oak, strawberry trees, oaks, and ocote.
Animals in the wild include: coyotes, trigrillos, vipers, chamaleons, buzzards, eagles, badgers, foxes, weasels, squirrels, ferrets, moles, ducks, barn owls, hares, rabbits, armadillos, skunks, tlacuaches, wildcats, quail and turtledoves.

There is an area closest to the border with Michoacan that has been set aside as monarch butterfly sanctuary for their annual migration south in the winter.

Unfortunately, much of this habitat was destroyed in a 1997 forest fire; however, the municipality has worked since then to rehabilitate the area.

The predominant religion is Catholicism with 90 percent of the communities. There are some exceptions like San Agustin Mextepec and Mayorazgo.

The Mazahua Ceremonial Center is located between Santa Ana Nichi-Fresno and “Nichi-San Antonio de las Huertas”. It is visited regularly, but especially on the first Sunday of each month. The ethnic Mazahua conduct their rituals and practice their customs, attracting tourism, both national and international to the area. There is a tourist centre with playground equipment, 96 white-tailed deer, 35 Andes cattle and other interesting animals. There are also a heliport, a museum, a craft center, board rooms, auditorium outdoors, craft workshops and roadways with beautiful flowers and plants among a forest of pines and oyameles.

Agriculture is the basic activity of San Felipe, growing corn, potato, zacaton, beans, tomatoes, squash, wheat, oats, and barley are grown. Live-stock includes cattle, sheep, horses, poultry and rabbits, but these are strictly for auto-consumption.

There are a large number of sawmills with licenses to cut wood. There is a deposit of tezontle which is administered by the government of San Felipe. There are quarry deposits that have not been exploited, like sandbars, tepojal, etc.

You can dial 078 from any phone, where you can find free information about tourist attractions, airports, travel agencies, car rental companies, embassies and consulates, fairs and exhibitions, hotels, hospitals, financial services, migratory and other issues.

Or dial the toll-free (in Mexico) number 01-800-006-8839.

You can also request information to the email correspondencia@sectur.gob.mx

MORE EMERGENCY NUMBERS:

General Information: 040 (not free)

SNational Emergency Service: 911

Radio Patrols: 066
Police (Emergency): 060
Civil Protection: +52(55)5683-2222
Anonymous Complaint: 089

Setravi (Transport Mobility): +52(55)5209-9913
Road Emergency: 074

Cruz Roja: 065 o +52(55)5557-5757
Firefighters: 068 o +52(55)5768-3700

According to myth, this site was chosen by the gods to create the center of the universe. Settlement began here around 500 BCE as a village making stone objects. Starting in the 2nd century CE, it grew into a political and religious center which lasted until the 9th century. This was the largest urban center to be constructed in central Mexico until Tenochtitlan further south in the 15th century. All that is left of this city is the archeological site, which preserves structures such as the Pyramids of the Sun and Moon, the Temple of Quetzalcoatl, the market and numerous smaller structures, most of which were government buildings.

At the time of the Spanish conquest, the Teotihuacan area was venerated by the Aztecs, but this status died off with the coming of Christianity. The area came under the control of Texcoco. The area was renamed San Juan Teotihuacan and was the encomienda of Francisco de Verdugo Bazan by the end of the 16th century. During the Mexican War of Independence no battles were fought here although both insurgent and royalist armies passed through at one time or another. The municipality was taxed heavily to feed Mexico City during this time, leading to the abandonment of many fields.

The Mexican Revolution in the early 20th century had profound effects on the municipality as well as many other rural areas in Mexico. The various factions loyal to insurgents such as Emiliano Zapata, Venustiano Carranza and Álvaro Obregón came and went producing anarchy and scarcity of food. By the end of the war, there was widespread hunger in the municipality, with fields in ruins.

Since then, much of the municipality’s history has been tied to the archeological site. Archeological explorations started at the site by Leopoldo Batres as early as 1905. The Pyramid of the Sun was the first to be explored and restored, followed by a number of other religious structures. In 1962, the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH) began work at the site under Ignacio Bernal, which was completed in 1964. This project explored and restored the Palace complex Quetza-Mariposa, the Calle de los Muertos, the Pyramid of the Moon and finished work on the Pyramid of the Sun. A highway from Mexico City was also built. The site was opened to the public by President Adolfo López Mateos.

The site has been a source of revenue for the municipality as well as a source of controversy. INAH has classified much of the area into three sectors: A, B, and C. A includes the Calzada de los Muertos (Avenue of the Dead), pyramids and other structures within what is commonly thought of as the site. Sectors B and C are two peripheral rings around sector A. Each of these sectors have building and other land use restrictions, which depend on how far the center any given site is. These restrictions have come into conflict with development concerns.

The largest of these controversies occurred in the mid 2000s when Bodega Aurrerá, a subsidiary of Wal-Mart of Mexico, gained permissions to build a supermarket in the Purificación neighborhood, which is within Sector C. Municipal authorities and INAH granted permits for the projects with some restrictions. However, activists, including some high profile names such as José Luis Cuevas, Francisco Toledo, Elena Poniatowska and Homero Aridjis, opposed the store’s presence on cultural and economic grounds. However, the store was built and has been operating since 2005.

In 2008, the diocese of San Juan Teotihuacan was authorized by the Vatican. The first bishop, Guillermo Francisco Escobar Galicia, is a native of the Teotihuacan area.

In December 2009, about 300 members of the Sindicato Mexicano de Electricistas (SME), the nation’s electricians’ union, sabotaged a substation at km 110 of the Teotihuacan-Tulancingo highway, blacking out power to about 45,000 people in various municipalities. SME and the federal government have been at odds over the privatization of electricity in the country.

The town has been named a Pueblo con Encanto (Town with Charm) by the government of the State of Mexico, as well as a Pueblo con Encanto del Bicentenario (of the Bicentennial). It was chosen as representative of the history of the State of Mexico due to the archeological site and the historic buildings that are in the town proper.

The origin of the modern town is marked by the former monastery of San Juan Evangelista, which was founded in 1548. The main entrance from the atrium contains decorated arches. The portal is of quarried stone which has been sculpted with ornamentation. The rest of the facade contains niches with statues of saints as well as Solomonic columns. The church bell tower includes an old bell gable topped by merlons is the form of cactus typical of the region. To the right of the main church is the open chapel which is fronted by six arches supported by Doric columns and contains a baptismal font. Inside the church is a finally sculpted wooden pulpit. Much of the old cloister area remains as well.

Monday is market day and the town hosts one of the most traditional “tianguis” in the Valley of Mexico, where hundreds of stalls are set up between the archeological site and the old monastery. Most of the merchandise is foodstuffs and prepared dishes. The tianguis is known for its fruits and vegetables, as well as a number of craft items. Here and at the permanent municipal market, one can try local dishes such as barbacoa, mixiote, quail and many preparations with nopal, which grows abundantly. The municipal market dates from the early 20th century. In 2005, when the market decided to install a new drainage system, INAH was called into do archeological work, as it is within the site’s perimeter and no archeological surveys had been undertaken here before. The exploration discovered the vestiges of a home altar dating from about 450 CE and three graves with the remains of six individuals. The altar is 25 cm tall with the remains of posts which probably held up a roof. The graves contained the remains of four infants, one youth and one adult, which archeologist think are related.

In the La Concepción neighborhood, there is the Temple of Nuestra Señora de la Purificacíon. The main entrance was made with quarried stone in Baroque style. The facade is divided into three bodies: the first stands out due to portal arch highly decorated with flowers in relief. The second body contains the choir window flanked by columns which are also sculpted with vegetable motifs. The tower contains Solomonic columns and columns with Corinthian capitals. The cornices has vegetative decoration.

The Jardin de las Cactáceas or Cactus Garden covers four hectares and exhibits a wide variety of plants found in the deserts and arid grasslands of Mexico. Some of the plants include maguey, various palms, barrel cactus and other cacti. It is located next to the archeological site.

The town has two main traditional festivals: the feast day of John the Baptist (the patron of the town) in late June and the feast of Christ the Redeemer in July, which runs concurrently with the Obsidian Fair. During the festival of Christ the Redeemer, which lasts eight days, one can see a number of traditional dances such as the Aztecs, Santiagueros and Sembradores. There are also amusement rides, fireworks and sporting events.

In the 2000s, two other annual events have been added the Festival Aerostatico Teotihuacan and the Festival Musica para los Dioses. The Festival Aerostatico Teotihuacan (Teotihuacan Hot-Air Balloon Festival) has been held each year since 2005. The event attracts about 15,000 people each year with an average of twenty balloons participating. Other events include paragliding and skydiving exhibitions, ultragliders, a farming and livestock show, and a gastronomy and crafts fair. The 2010 event was dedicated to the Bicentennial of Mexico’s Independence and featured a dirigible 44 meters long and the return of John Ninomiya, a man who is able to fly attached to a bunch of balloons. The event takes place at the “Globopuerto Volare, located on the Tulancingo-Teotihuacan highway. The Festival Musica para los Dioses (Music for the Gods Festival) is an annual rock and roll event. The festival has attracted as many as fifty bands and crowds of more than 20,000. Attendees bring or rents camping gear, including tents in a secure location as a recreation of Woodstock to stay for the 35-hour event. The annual festival has been going on since 2006 and has featured acts such as the Babasónicos, Maldita Vecindad, Instituto Mexicano del Sonido and Panteón Rococó. The Festival Musica para los Dioses is considered to be the most important rock and camping fest in all of Mexico.

The main attraction here is the Teotihuacan archeological site, which is a World Heritage Site. The center of the site is the Calzada de los Muertos or the Avenue of the Dead, which is almost four kilometres long. The city surrounds this avenue in mostly symmetrical form, which can best be seen at the Pyramid of the Moon at the north end or the Temple of Quetzalcoatl at the south end. Most visitors head for the Pyramid of the Sun and then the Pyramid of the Moon. The Pyramid of the Sun is the second largest in Mexico, with only the pyramid at Cholula being larger. It measures 64 meters tall, and consists of five bodies with stairs. Visitors may climb to the top of the pyramid, which is reputed to have energizing qualities, especially during the spring equinox. The Pyramid of the Moon is located at the north end of the Calzada de los Muertos. It has four bodies with stairs. There are a number of other palaces and structures worth visiting such as The Citadel, the Palace of Quetzalpapalotl, the Temple of the Plumed Snails and the Palace of the Jaguars. Recently a mural museum has been constructed at the site which contains 34 of the site’s murals along with selected artifacts.

Despite the size and importance of the site, the ruins have not spurred the development of a major tourism industry here. Only four hotels exist near the site and most who earn a living from tourism do so by selling souvenirs both inside and outside the site’s gates. General commerce and tourism together only employ about 32 percent of the population. However, businesses catering to tourists has developed haphazardly. The entrance is crowded with beer billboards, hotels, restaurants and dozens of stands selling souvenirs and up to hundreds of wandering vendors both inside and outside the archeological site. Within zones A and B of the site are 500+ wandering vendors, 240 souvenir shops, 32 restaurants, 10 billboards, a radio antenna, a hotel and a spa/water park. Most of these have been constructed since the 1980s on what used to be farmland. This farmland was one of the arguments the federal government used to convince UNESCO to make Teotihuacan a World Heritage Site. INAH acknowledges that the stands and vendors are an eyesore but it is not something the agency can resolve on its own. The agency states that it is working with state and other federal authorities to move the commerce into permanents buildings. However, most of the vendors have been very resistant to any change.

Also controversial has been the development of major commerce centers near the site. A large commercial plaza was built in an area located in Sector B in the 1990s. In 2001, after many court battles, the land the plaza was on was expropriated, and the buildings were demolished in 2003. In 2004 and 2005, the proposal to build a Bodega Aurrera supermarket, a subsidiary of Wal-Mart of Mexico, generated even more controversy, even though the site is located farther away in Sector C, where construction of this type is permitted. The supermarket was built in the Purificación neighborhood, 3 km from the Pyramid of the Moon and 2.4 km from the Pyramid of the Sun. Many saw the symbolism of a Wal-Mart so close to the archeological site threatening. Opponents have included conservationists, indigenous groups, intellectuals, artists and ecologists, including Luis Cuevas, Francisco Toledo, Elena Poniatowska and Homero Aridjis. During the controversy, rumors of murder and open talk of corruption circulated widely, with some comparing the construction to the Spanish conquest The construction proposal divided the local community, with those supporting the store pointing to the jobs it would create. Local opponents were also worried about the superstore’s effects on smaller businesses. Despite being confronted with evidence of “irregularities” authorized by Wal-Mart de Mexico, Wal-Mart’s executives in Bentonville, Ark. shut down their investigation of the Teotihuacán controversy in 2006.

Permission to build was granted by INAH with stipulations as to the size of the building and architectural elements, so that it would not affect the “cultural and natural landscape.” INAH also require excavation of the site prior to building. Prior to the construction of the store, excavations were undertaken at the site. Two altars were found measuring eight cm and twenty five cm, both of which are preserved in the parking lot. UNESCO experts determined that the construction posed no threat to the site.

In 2012 a New York Times Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation on the ethics and legality of the Teotihuacán Wal-Mart development revealed that Wal-Mart de Mexico had been involved in distributing nearly $300,000 in bribes to local officials, resulting in the secret alteration of a 2003 zoning map to allow for Wal-Mart to be built inside the buffer zone surrounding the pyramids. Amidst rising allegations of corruption, the superstore was rapidly completed in time for Christmas 2004 before publicly announced plans to find an alternate site were realized.

Activists who opposed the store’s opening still oppose its presence, sending letters to the president of Mexico demanding its closure, claiming that Wal-mart has reneged on promises. INAH supports some of these claims saying that the store has violated several laws with its opening, but blames both the municipality and the State of Mexico for allowing the violations to stand.

Opening in November 2004, the store is located 2.4 km (1.5 mi) from the Pyramid of the Sun and cannot be seen from the top of the structure. Since its opening, the supermarket has been a success, becoming an economic engine for the town since it attracts thousands of shoppers from the surrounding area each week. The store also received over 2,000 applications for 185 permanent jobs before opening. However, its location at the town’s entrance has exacerbated existing traffic congestion.

In 2009, controversy erupted between the INAH and the State of Mexico over plans to light the pyramids at night. INAH is opposed because their archeologists feel the installation of the equipment will damage the structures.

As municipal seat, the town of San Juan Teotihuacán is the local governing authority for about 115 other named communities with a combined territory of 82.65km2. A little under half the municipality’s population lives in the town proper. The municipality borders the municipalities of Temascalapa, Acolman, Otumba de Gómez Farías, San Martín de las Pirámides and Tecámac.

Most of the territory is flat, except for some large hills such as the Maninal and the Colorado. The most important rivers here are the San Juan and the San Lorenzo, both of which pass through the municipal seat. Another river is the San Sebastián Xolalpa, also known as the Barranquillas del Aguila. There are also a number of fresh water springs which provide drinking and irrigation water. The Parroquia spring is the source of the San Juan River. Channeling water from some of these sources is the San Agustín Actipan aqueduct. The climate is temperate and semi-arid with rains in the summer. Average year round temperature is 15.4 C with highs reaching up to the low 30sC. There can be frosts from October to March. Some areas of the municipality have small forests of cedar, pine, fir and other trees. In other area, dry climate vegetation such as cactus, maguey, grasses and other plants are prominent. Wildlife includes skunks, rabbits, moles, buzzards, hummingbirds, quail, rattlesnakes, frogs as well as a large number of other birds, reptiles and insects.

Most of the municipality’s land is dedicated to agriculture, with forests coming second at around fourteen percent. Most agriculture is seasonal and tied to the annual rainy season. Main crops include alfalfa, oats, barley, beans, corn, wheat and prickly pears. There are orchards that produce pears, apples, tejocotes, peaches, apricots, plums and other fruits. Most livestock consists of pigs or domestic fowl kept on family plots. Most of the forest areas are not economically valuable. Agriculture employs the majority (48%) of the municipality’s population. Most crafts produced here are imitation pre-Hispanic pieces to sell to tourists.

There is some industry here mostly the processing of agricultural products such as food, drinks, tobacco, wood and paper. There is some industry related to petroleum, other chemicals and metals. This sector employs about 20 percent of the population.

Outside the town and Teotihuacan site there are some other tourist attractions. Reino Animal (Animal Kingdom) is a safari park located on the road to Tulancingo. Here the animals wander freely while visitors are confined to vehicles. There are also two spas/water parks called Cuauhtemoc and La Fuente. These parks contain swimming pools, slides, green areas and more.

You can dial 078 from any phone, where you can find free information about tourist attractions, airports, travel agencies, car rental companies, embassies and consulates, fairs and exhibitions, hotels, hospitals, financial services, migratory and other issues.

Or dial the toll-free (in Mexico) number 01-800-006-8839.

You can also request information to the email correspondencia@sectur.gob.mx

MORE EMERGENCY NUMBERS:

General Information: 040 (not free)

SNational Emergency Service: 911

Radio Patrols: 066
Police (Emergency): 060
Civil Protection: +52(55)5683-2222
Anonymous Complaint: 089

Setravi (Transport Mobility): +52(55)5209-9913
Road Emergency: 074

Cruz Roja: 065 o +52(55)5557-5757
Firefighters: 068 o +52(55)5768-3700

The name is derived from Nahuatl phrase “tenamitl” which means “small walls or fortifications” and the suffix “co” meaning “place.” Changes in pronunciation are due to the influence of Spanish. The walls/fortifications refer to the natural steep formations of the mountains of the original indigenous settlement, which was difficult to access. The modern town is denoted by both a seal and an Aztec glyph. The seal depicts walls, as per its name as well as a rebozo, a garment which is manufactured here. The Aztec glyph is how the area was represented in pre Hispanic records. It also indicates walls.

The seat of the municipality is the town of Tenancingo, surrounded by mountains and forest. The main elevation overlooking the town is the Cerro de las Tres Marías, topped by a giant white statue of Christ the King (Cristo Rey), built in 1985, designed by Hector Morret and visible from just about anywhere in the valley below. The monument is reachable by either climbing a staircase with 1,030 steps or by paved road.

Since it is relatively isolated, Tenancingo has maintained much of its country feel and old traditions despite extensive economic growth and tourism. It has a colonial era layout, centered on a main plazas filled with young poplars, which replaced aged junipers that grew here before. Market (tianguis) days are still Thursdays and Sundays, which almost five square city blocks with stalls. The plaza contains a traditional kiosk as well as a notable marble statue of Miguel Hidalgo, which was sculpted here but was in the Jardín de los Martires in Toluca for many years before its return. It is said to be the oldest sculpture of its kind in the State of Mexico. The area is known for its rebozos, chairs painted with floral designs and a local sausage/cold cut called “Obispo,” which attract tourists, most of whom come to the area by buses that connect it with Toluca and Mexico City .

Facing this plaza is the municipal hall, built when the municipality was formed and the San Francisco Asis Parish. This church was built in the 17th century of sandstone. Its interior has a Baroque tabernacle dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary and a second chamber dedicatd to the Virgin Mary.

Calvario Temple

Another important church is the Calvario Temple, constructed century in Neoclassical style and finished in 1813. It is also known as the Our Lady of Sorrows Sanctuary and the Basilica of San Clemente, and was recently named a cathedral for the Tenancingo diocese. The interior, especially the cupola contains works by local painter Petronilo Monroy as well as large canvases with scenes of the Passion of the Christ by José María Monroy Briseño. However the latter are exhibited only during Holy Week.

The municipal market was inaugurated in 1972 and the Flower Market was built sometime later, dedicated to the municipality’s recent dedicated to the growing of cut flowers.

The Teotla neighborhood (barrio) is one of the oldest in the town. It contains a small plaza and small church.

The municipality is in the south of the State of Mexico, 48 km from the state capital of Toluca. The municipality has one city, four neighborhoods (barrios), twenty ranches, fourteen villages, six “agricultural neighborhoods (colonias),” eight “urban neighborhoods (colonias),” ten “semi urban neighborhoods (colonias)” and two communities of a type called “internado,” which together form a territory of 160.18km2. The municipality borders the municipalities of Tenango del Valle, Joquicingo, Zumpahuacán, Malinalco and Villa Guerrero . The local government consists of a municipal president, one syndic, and ten representatives called “regidors.”

Attractions in the municipality (outside the seat) include the Tecomatlán Parish, the chapels located in the communities of San Simonito, Zepayautla, Acatzingo and Teola and the former haciendas of Tenería, Monte de Pozo and Santa Ana.

However, the major cultural landmark for the area is the Desierto del Carmen monastery and National Park, located twelve km south of the town of Tenancingo. It is a heavily forested area which centers on the Carmelite monastery, one of few in Mexico that still hosts monks and religious activities.

The monastery was built in the late 18th century and consecrated in 1801 as a new home for the monks of the Desierto de los Leones, when they decided that they needed to be further away from the expanding Mexico City. The monastery was abandoned for a time in the early 20th century but the order retook the facility, establishing a school called the Colegio de Filosofía de los Carmelitas Descalzados in 1951 and in 1956, it was designated as a “house of prayer” open to all. It still hosts religious gatherings along with quiet spaces open to the public for prayer and contemplation. The monastery complex has a number of living facilities and storage units as well as former hermitages dedicated to John the Baptist, Saint Joseph and Mary Magdalene. The church contains a life-sized wood crucifix called the Cristo de las Siete Suertes. The surrounding forest has hiking trails and picnic areas as well as three lookout points: Balcon del Diablo, San Elias and Peña Colorada.

Most of the population of the municipality lives in the valley floor, in or near the municipal seat. However, small communities can be found at very high elevations such as San José Chalmita and San Antonio Agua Bendita. The municipality is poor with 60.2% of the population suffering from either moderate (43.1%) or extreme (17.1%) poverty. 15.3 percent live in substandard housing and thirty percent live without one or more services such as running water and electricity. 42.1% percent are considered to have substandard access to nutrition.

Average years of schooling for residents is 8.1 years, below the state average of 9.1. The municipality has 179 educational centers including 69 preschools, 63 primary schools, 33 middle schools, 14 high schools and four vocational schools. There are several campuses with higher studies such as the Escuela Central Agrícola de Tenería (est. 1927), the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México – Centro Universitario UAEM Tenancingo and the Centro Universitario Iberoamericano de Tenancingo. There are no educational facilities specifically targeting an indigenous population.

Major local celebrations include Lunes de Carnaval (when residents elect an “Ugly King”) and a procession of silence and passion play during Holy Week. The Carnival of Tenancingo was established in 1982. Other important dates include Epiphany, the Feria de Jarro on Ash Wednesday and the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (July 16). These are popular dates for weddings and confirmation and feature native folk dance, religious services, fireworks, traveling amusement rides as well as local food specialties. There are two main ingredients in local cuisine: chayotes, once the main agricultural crop and so important that residents call themselves “chayotes”, and obispo, a kind of sausage or cold cut. Common dishes include chayotes con pipian, tinga (chicken or pork), carnero en salsa and chilacayotes con venas de chile.

The main economic activities of the municipality are agriculture, commerce and handcrafts. Although a recent phenomenon, its main agricultural crop is cut flowers, grown in greenhouses with many exported. Cultivated species include gladiolas and roses. Other crops include avocados and peaches and there is some honey and other bee products now produced as a consequence of the flower trade. Santa Ana Ixtlahuatzingo is particularly noted for the growing of flowers, as is the community of San Miguel Tecomatlán.

The main handcrafts produced by the municipality are rustic furniture, fruit liquors, sweaters, baskets and, by far the best known, rebozos. Furniture making is mostly concentrated in the La Campana neighborhood of the seat. The classic style of the area is lacquered in white or pastel colors, decorated with flowers painted by hand. Much of the fruit liquor production is exported. Most of the basket production is concentrated in the town of Chalchihuapan.

Rebozos have been made in the municipal area since the colonial period using both indigenous backstrap looms and Spanish pedal looms. This continues to this day with most production today concentrated in the town of Tenancingo and nearby Acatzingo. The municipality has about thirty weavers and over 180 “empuntadoras”, those who finger-weave the fringes. Making a rebozo require fifteen steps, from the ikat dying method to the weaving and the creation of the fringes. There are fringe weaves that take up to four months to do. Prices for rebozos generally run between 400 and 4,000 pesos each, depending on the quality of the thread, the tightness and complexity of the weave and the intricateness of the woven fringes.

There are several notable rebozo weavers in Tenancingo. One of these is Evaristo Borboa, who received a National Galardon from the federal government for his work in 2014. His work has been exhibited in Mexico and abroad, in such countries as Japan and Germany. He has worked as a weaver all his life, starting when he was eight years old and is only one of two in Tenancingo who weaves with a backstrap loom (along with Salomon Gonzalez Pedraza) . He uses commercially made cotton thread and used to use natural dyes but has since switched to synthetics. Most of Evaristo’s buyers are foreigners because of the publicity he has received. He has said that he will die with threads in his hand and knows the exact number of threads in each rebozo he makes. Another notable rebozo maker is Luis Rodriguez Martinez, who distributes his ware in various parts of Mexico including Puebla, Oaxaca, Morelos, Michoacán, Guanajuato, Guadalajara and Mexico City.

Weaving is mostly done by men with women knotting the fringe. In Ixpuichapan, there is an association of women dedicated to the weaving of fringes.

Luis Rodriguez Martinez has stated that the craft is in danger of disappearing from Tenancingo. Currently there are 35 weavers from 200 about 70 years ago and thirty of these have been in operation for more than sixty years. The main reason for the loss of artisans is the low prices of rebozos, including imitations from abroad. Weavers have taken to making other items such as neckties and bags using the same material as the rebozos. Children of weavers, including those of Evarito Borboa, are deciding not to follow in their parents’ footsteps.

To help preserve the tradition, in 2014, the town hosted the first National Rebozo Contest, sponsored by FONART and the state tourism secretary. It attracts over thirty artisans and about 3,500 people each year with pieces available here running between 200 and 15,000 pesos.

The municipality is located in a small valley just southeast of the Toluca Valley. The ruggedness of the area is due to its formation by an eruption of the Nevado de Toluca volcano. It is possible that the valley was a lake, which eventually dried up as the rocks here are both volcanic and sedimentary.

The average altitude is 2,300, varying between 2,060 and 2,490 meters above sea level. Major peaks include Peña Colorada, La Vibora, la Tezontlera, La Cantera and La Malinche, with the last two part of a small range called the Nixcongo. From the highest elevations of the municipality, it is possible to see the peaks of the Nevado de Toluca and Popocatepetl.

Wild vegetation is still abundant in the municipality with numerous plants species native to the area. Wildlife includes squirrels, armadillos, cacomixtle, rabbits, coyotes, bats, opossums, various lizards and other reptiles and various bird species. The higher elevations are heavily forested.

The municipality’s climate is temperate and semi moist with a rainy season. Average annual precipitation is between 1,000 and 1,500mm with most of this falling in the late summer and early fall. The rest of the year is mostly dry. Average annual temperature is 18.2 C.

The only surface water is dams constructed to collect runoff located in San José Tenería, Ejido de Tenancingo, San Nicolás Tepetzingo, Colonia San Isido and Ixpuichiapan, which provide water both for drinking and agriculture.

The main natural attraction is the Hermenguildo Galeana Park, a 343-hectare reserve established in 1980 about 10 km outside the municipal seat. It is accessed only by dirt road and is heavily forested, but offers cabins, palapas and areas for horseback riding and other sports. The Santa Ana Ixtlahualcingo Falls are four km outside the community of the same name which also has camping. One half km from here is another water fall called San Simonito.

Pre Hispanic period

The first human settlements in the area date back as far as 1800 BCE, found in Ixpuichiapan and the Cerro de las Tres Marías. Between 1300 and 800 BCE settlements spread to the Nixcongo, Exhacienda de Monte de Pozoa and the Texpoxtepec area, showing Olmec influence.

The pre Hispanic town was located about five km south of the modern one, today called Acatzingo de la Piedra. The area abounds in artifacts such as ceramics and petroglyphs. During the pre Classic to the Classic period, remains from this area show Purépecha influence in the Nixcongo and Monte de Pozo areas with settlements in San Simonito, Tecomatlan and San Jose Chalmita showing Matlatzinca influence. With the rise of the Aztecs, the lord of Tenancingo allied himself with Axayacatl to help subdue Malinalco, Calpulli Coapipitzoatepec (Xochiaca), allowing it to remain independent.

Colonial period

After the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, the area became part of an encomienda given to Juan Salcedo, with the family controlling the lands for several generations. Evangelization of the same area was done by the Augustinians starting in 1537 and constructed the first hermitage here.

In the first organization of New Spain in 1535, Tenancingo was part of the archbisphoric of Mexico in the eastern province. The modern town was founded in 1551 at the foot of what is now the Cerro de las Trés Marías, in the valley of Tenancingo 5 km from the indigenous town. The native population was relocated to an area now called Barrio de Salitre and were obligated to build a hermitage here dedicated to Our Lady of Refuge. The Augustinians constructed what is now the San Francisco parish. In 1561 priest Alfonso Martinez de Zayas took over evangelization efforts and also took control over large extensions of land in order to plant wheat.

From 1565 to 1577 various Spaniards such as Angel Villafaña, Catalina de Ablornez and Francisco Bullon were granted lands here and by 1600 the Tenancingo region was divided into areas controlled by the towns of Tenancigo, Tepetzingo, Exlahutzingo, Talcoquiapan, Cultepec, Teculoyan, Icotlan, Chichualhucan and Tlaxomulco. The region became known for its cultivation of grapes, berries and olives. In 1613, the San Francisco Parish was expanded under the direction of the Franciscans.

At least as far back as 1790, the town was noted for the making of rebozos. The first haciendas was established in 1771 in the small town of Chiquihuitepec, one of three that would remain until the Mexican Revolution.

19th century

In 1801, the Carmelite monastery in Tenancingo was finished, the new home for the monks formerly at the Desierto de los Leones.

In 1812, the area was the scene of a battle of the Mexican War of Independence which pitted José María Morelos y Pavón against Royalist general Rosendo Porlier. Earlier, Porlier had taken control of the area but Morelos succeeded in driving these forces out.

After the war, the area was partitioned from that of Malinalco to form a new municipality. The following decades saw this municipality change with the gain of the towns of San Simón de los Comales in 1837 and the towns of San Martin, Xochiaca and Zepayautla in 1847. The municipality lost the town of San Francisco Tepexocuca to Tenango del Valle in 1847 and the communities of Zumpahuacan, San Gaspar, San Pablo and San Antonio in 1875.

In 1860, the town was sacked by a group rebelling against the government and set on fire.

In 1861, Tenancingo was officially declared a town and gained the appendage “de Degollado” to its name, in honor of Santos Degollado. This was followed by city status in 1878.

In 1866, an association of artisans was formed in the town to support those who make rebozos and other items.

In the latter 19th century there was construction and other improvements with the Calvario Temple consecrated in 1863, the Capilla de Jesus in 1866 and the municipal palace and Alameda Park in 1878. The streets were realigned in 1871.

In 1885 there was a skirmish between the towns of San José Chalmita and Zumpahuacan.

20th century to the present

The first decades of the 20th century brought conflict to the area; first the Mexican Revolution and then the Cristero War. Both resulted in the hindrance of economic development although the three main haciendas (including Teneria, then owned by prominent politician José Ives Limantour) were broken up and the land redistributed. At the start of the Cristero War, the churches were closed by the government but not the Carmelite monastery, which had already been abandoned when the last hermit, Friar Pedro de Santa Maria died in 1915. Reaction included attacks by a band of Cristeros under Benjamin Mendoza, which blocked the Tenancingo-San José Chalmita road and killing a number of people.

In 1929, a smallpox and measles epidemic killed many of the municipality’s inhabitants, especially the young.

After these calamities, the rest of the 20th century is mostly marked by development of infrastructure and the economy. Paving of streets and sidewalks was begun in 1930 with one of the main streets named after Pablo Gonzalez Casanova in 1936. The civil hospital was inaugurated in 1937.

Local newspapers of various types were established in the municipality starting in 1937 and a radio station, XEQ, went on the air in 1942, with the song “Tenancingo” by Manuel Rentaria Polanco.

The municipal library was inaugurated in 1949. The Lux Cinema was established in 1952, the Petronilo Monroy middle school in 1957 and the Benito Juarez Plaza in 1970.

For conservation and tourism purposes, in 1972, the State of Mexico government declared Tenancingo a “typical city” and a monument was constructed to mark the 100th anniversary of its declaration as s city.

In 1979, the potable water and drainage system was expanded and improved, with the Casa de Cultura built in 1981 and the football stadium in 1982.

However, there have still been economic problem in the municipality. In 1981, flower producers in Santa Ana Ixtlahuatzingo destroyed five rainwater capturing tanks as part of ongoing socio-political disputes, igniting a conflict between it and the seat of the municipality. Poverty and access to resources are still issues.

Tenancingo was named a diocese by Pope Benedicto XVI in 2009, separating from the Toluca diocese with the Basilica named as cathedral.

You can dial 078 from any phone, where you can find free information about tourist attractions, airports, travel agencies, car rental companies, embassies and consulates, fairs and exhibitions, hotels, hospitals, financial services, migratory and other issues.

Or dial the toll-free (in Mexico) number 01-800-006-8839.

You can also request information to the email correspondencia@sectur.gob.mx

MORE EMERGENCY NUMBERS:

General Information: 040 (not free)

SNational Emergency Service: 911

Radio Patrols: 066
Police (Emergency): 060
Civil Protection: +52(55)5683-2222
Anonymous Complaint: 089

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Tetepetl Hill is a sharp rise from the Valley of the Matlatzinco running along the west side of the modern town of Tenango de Arista in the State of Mexico.

It forms an elongated mesa, with steep slopes on the north and east sides, varying in height from 70 to 250 meters that serve as natural defenses. While the surface of this mesa is 16.5 square km, only about 2 square km in the extreme northeast of the mesa was inhabited.

With the exception of this corner of the mesa, the entire hill is covered by a layer of dark gray solidified lava, the result of a volcanic eruption that occurred approximately 10,000 years ago.

This makes most of the mesa difficult to cross and impossible to farm. To make the city possible, the northeast corner needed to be significantly modified by terracing and filling in low areas.

The mesa contains no rivers, but there are a number of fresh-water springs which served as the ancient city’s water supply.

The high plains in the center of modern Mexico, called the “altiplano”, is one of the most important areas of Mesoamerica. The altiplano extends over what is now the Distrito Federal, most of the states of Puebla, Tlaxcala and Mexico State as well as parts of the states of Morelos and Hidalgo. Sophisticated cultures were developed by peoples such as the Nahuas, the Tlahuicas and the Matlatzincas.

The Valley of Toluca is in the altiplano, to the west of the Distrito Federal in Mexico State. From early pre-Hispanic times, this valley was an important settlement area for a number of ethnic groups, whose economic and cultural development was strongly influenced by the natural resources that existed here. The Valley of Toluca was also an important gateway to the tropical lowlands to the south and west. Trade routes through the valley brought valued commodities such as salt, tropical fruits, semiprecious stones and ocean products such as shells. Later, after the conquest of the valley by the Aztec Empire, it became an important point of control for tribute goods coming to the capital of Tenochtitlan. It was also important as a staging area for the regular wars between the Aztecs and the Purépecha (in what is now Michoacán) as possession of much of the western valley was in dispute.

Teotenango is located in the far southern part of the Valley of Toluca. This area was initially settled and developed during the end years of the Teotihuacan civilization. The site experienced five periods of occupation and development, extending over 1,000 years and ending when the Spanish forced the resettlement of the population to the valley floor below.

Occupation of this area did not begin on Tetepetl Hill but rather at a location on the valley floor on the north side of the hill. This settlement has been named Ojo de Agua by archeologists. It was founded by Otomí people who were joined and strongly influenced by emigrants from the falling Teotihuacan civilization. These people are now referred to as the Teotenancas. Objects from this part of the site show very strong similarities with objects from Teotihuacan and date from 650 to 750 C. E. This is considered to be the first stage of the development of Teotenango.

The second stage is dated from 750-900 C.E. show simultaneous occupation of both the Ojo de Agua site and the northern edge of Tetepetl Hill, by the same ethnic group. The first constructions of the Teotenango site date from this period, including the temazcal, structures 2C and 3C and some structures that lie under structures in Conjuntos A and C. The reason the settlement moved from the valley floor to the mesa was due to natural defenses that the mesa provided. Constructions here still are mostly of dwellings of adobe and still show strong Teotihuacan influence indicated by two inclined walls supporting a vertical one.

During the third stage (900 – 1162 CE), most of the currently visible structures of the ceremonial center, such as the pyramidal bases for temples, were built. Of these constructions, the ball court and the Serpent Base stand out. Some residences were also built.

The beginning of the fourth stage (1162-1476) is characterized by the conquest and takeover of the city by the Matlatzincas. They added some small constructions to the ceremonial center, and amplified some other structures, but are mostly credited with the construction of the city’s massive defenses, such as the wall on the west side. During the time the city’s population grew significantly, with residential areas spreading toward the south. The Matlatzincas extended the domain of this city to include the entire Valley of Toluca, which major outposts in Toluca, Calixtlahuaca, Tenancingo.

The fifth and final stage (1474-1550 C.E.) is characterized by the conquest of Teotenango by the emperor Axayacatl and subsequent Aztec occupation of the city and the valley. Some Aztec architectural influence is felt with the best examples being Building 1C, and the narrow staircase built into the western defense wall. It also includes the initial stages of resettlement of the population of Teotenango to new Spanish colonial village of Tenango de Valle (also known as “Village of Teotenango”) on the valley floor below. This resettlement was completed by 1550, after which the site above was completely abandoned.

The abandoned site remained mostly exposed and vaguely known about locally since colonial times. But it was not until 1969 when archeologist Wanda Tomasi presented a plan to excavate the site. She contacted the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH) center for the region, at the time directed by Román Piña Chan, who decided to convert Tomasi’s idea into a state project to gain finance and support from then-governor Carlos Hank Gonzalez. In the 1970s, Piña Chan succeeded in getting five million pesos for investigation, exploration, land purchases and the construction of a site museum, with aims of making the site accessible to the public. Since the State of Mexico invested the money in the project, INAH ceded management rights to the state, with the condition that research and security of the site would continue. The project was able to excavate less than half of the two km2 site, limited to the ceremonial center concentrated on the northeast of the mesa. Little is known of the residential areas that extend to the south and east.

Another area that was left unexcavated was the initial Teotenanca settlement, Ojo de Agua, on the valley floor on the north side of Tetepetl Hill. Using sonar in the 1970s, a small platform was detected about two meters underground and a few objects were uncovered and put on display at the site museum. However, lack of funding prevented any serious work here, but did allow for measures to protect the area from damage, although it still remains private property.

Excavated structures at the site

The site consists of five major groupings of buildings called “conjuntos” labeled A, B, C, D, and E. Conjunto D is more commonly referred to as the Plaza del Serpiente (Plaza of the Serpent). Conjunto E is more commonly referred to as the ball court area. Buildings within each of the conjuntos are denoted with numbers, such as 1A, 1B, etc. The archeological site has more than forty excavated and at least partially restored monuments.

The main entrance to the city is through the Plaza of the Jaguar, which lies on the hill on the north side just below the level of the rest of the city. From this plaza a series of stone steps takes one up to the city level. The Jaguar Relief shows as seated jaguar, wearing a medallion around its neck and it is in the process of eating a kind of flower or heart. To the left of this image is the representation of the date marker Two Rabbit and to the right is the date marker Nine House. One of the interpretations of this set of reliefs is that it represents the occurrence of an eclipse. The Jaguar represents some kind of earth monster eating the sun, represented by the flower or heart figure. An eclipse did indeed occur on the date Two Rabbit Nine House on the Aztec calendar.

Conjuntos A and B each consist of a plaza with a temple pyramid or pyramid base with one or more smaller buildings associated with it. Both are located at the extreme east of the excavated zone, near where the hill’s steep slopes to the valley floor begin. Conjunto B contains a nearly complete pyramid with a small altar in front and various platforms for dwellings. Some of the structures here show Otomi architectural influence. Buildings here were roofed with thick layers of mud reinforced with poles and had stucco floors which contain evidence of cooking/heating fires.

Conjunto C is a small group of buildings just behind to west of the Jaguar relief and the main stairs entering the city. This area contains some of the oldest exposed structures at the site.

The Plaza de la Serpiente (Conjunto D) is located in the western part of the excavated area. The largest structure here is the Serpent Base which measures 120 m long by 40 m wide. The name of the plaza and the building come from a sculpted stone found at the northeast corner of the Serpent Base, formed in the shape of a snake’s head. A smaller structure, denoted 1D, is a base 90 cm high divided into various rooms with interior patios. These patios are square and contain drainage system for wastewater. The structure also contains an entrance hallway and pits for fires in the interior.

The Calle de la Rana (Frog Street) is located in the far northwest of the excavated site. It is a cleared area which lies at a lower level than the structures surrounding it. Through it, access was gained to the Plaza del Serpiente. Its name comes from a sculpture of a frog done in a rock from the hill which juts out. The Matlatzincas built their western defensive wall along this street.

The defensive walls of the city were mostly constructed by the Matlatzincas, who conquered the city in 1200 C.E. The largest and most intact are located on the west side of the city which reach heights of 10 meters and are up to 1.5 meters wide. These were constructed without mortar and took advantage of the contours of the land. This wall was about two meters long and stretch from north to south on the west side.

The ball court area (Conjunto E) lies to the south of the Plaza de la Serpiente and Conjunto C. The court is sunken and I-shaped, with the top and bottom of the “I” facing east and west. The actual play space is the body of the “I” which is bordered by walls that first head up vertical from the floor, then steeply incline away from the play area. On the lower, vertical parts of the wall, the stone rings were placed for scoring. Construction denoted as 2E is a grouping of residential structures that are some of the oldest in the city.

The temazcal, or ritual/purification steam bath is located on the east side of the ballgame complex. There is a shallow hole in the center of the area where rocks would be heated then sprinkled with water to produce steam. From the center of the sauna, there is a drainage ditch to take away excess and dirty water. Only the sunken foundation remains. The part above the surface was most likely constructed of adobe, with a kind of a thatched roof. The temazcal was built long before the ball court and was partially destroyed with the court was built.

With the excavation of Teotenango, the Roman Piña Chan Archeological Museum was created to put the artifacts found on display. This museum offers a general overview of the cultural development of the highlands of Mexico, from the first human settlements to the highly stratified societies which characterized the post-classic period, with special emphasis on Teotenango. The museum is operated by the Instituto Mexiquense de Cultura (Mexico State Institute of Culture) and is located in Tenango del Valle at the entrance to the archeological site. The museum has three exhibition rooms for its permanent collection, which numbers more than 1,000 pieces. The museum’s largest collection is of pieces from the era after the Matlatzinca conquest, including copper utensils, stone tools and sculptures. There are a number of pieces of Aztec origin, including sculptures of Xipe Totec and Chicomecoatl, goddesses of fertility. There are also a few pieces from the era of initial contact with the Spaniards. Lastly, it contains some pieces from other sites, such as stone tools, clay figures and animal-shaped jars from Tlatilco, a small, very early settlement in the Valley of Mexico. The exhibits here show a more complex social organization with more external infludences at Teotenango than is evident at Teotihuacan. One of the famous finds during excavation of the site was the “panhuehuetl” or musical drum of Teotenango, made of wood and decorated with a buzzard fighting an eagle, representing the struggle between the Teotenancas-Matlatzincas and the Aztecs for dominance in the area.

Since formal excavation work was carried out in the 1970s, the site and its museum have been managed by the Instituto Mexiquense de Cultura. There are two reasons for this. First, the excavation and restoration work was done by the Instituto Mexiquense de Cultura and not by federal Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia as was customary. Second, a series of constitutional reforms since that time has sought to encourage more direct participation of state and local authorities in the preservation and management of archeological sites and other monuments to Mexico’s culture and history. However, as the reforms passed, INAH issued warnings about the Teotenango site’s vulnerability to encroachment due to the urban development taking place in Tenango del Valle. Of the 600 hectares set aside by the initial project, only two-thirds is still considered to be adequately protected. Urban development in the Tenango del Valle area has accelerated since the year 2000 and many constructions now border the protected area, which is not fenced. Encroachment generally takes the form of these constructions threatening the stability of site structures above and below the surface as well as the unauthorized taking of objects at the site. Almost all of this is occurring at the site’s south and west sides, where almost no formal excavation work has been done and about which little is known.

You can dial 078 from any phone, where you can find free information about tourist attractions, airports, travel agencies, car rental companies, embassies and consulates, fairs and exhibitions, hotels, hospitals, financial services, migratory and other issues.

Or dial the toll-free (in Mexico) number 01-800-006-8839.

You can also request information to the email correspondencia@sectur.gob.mx

MORE EMERGENCY NUMBERS:

General Information: 040 (not free)

National Emergency Service: 911

Radio Patrols: 066
Police (Emergency): 060
Civil Protection: +52(55)5683-2222
Anonymous Complaint: 089

Setravi (Transport Mobility): +52(55)5209-9913
Road Emergency: 074

Cruz Roja: 065 o +52(55)5557-5757
Firefighters: 068 o +52(55)5768-3700

The name Teōtīhuacān was given by the Nahuatl-speaking Aztecs centuries after the fall of the city around 550 CE. The term has been glossed as “birthplace of the gods”, or “place where gods were born”, reflecting Nahua creation myths that were said to occur in Teotihuacan.

Nahuatl scholar Thelma D. Sullivan interprets the name as the “place of those who have the road of the gods.” This is because the Aztecs believed that the gods created the universe at that site.

The name is pronounced as “teotiwákan” in the Nahuatl language. By normal Nahuatl orthographic conventions, a written accent would not appear in that position. Both this pronunciation and Spanish pronunciation – “teotiwakán” – are used.

The original name of the city is unknown, but it appears in hieroglyphic texts from the Maya region as Puh (“place of reeds”).

This suggests that, in the Maya civilization of the Classic period, Teotihuacan was understood as a Place of Reeds similar to other Postclassic Central Mexican settlements that took the name of Tollan, such as Tula-Hidalgo and Cholula.

This naming convention led to much confusion in the early 20th century, as scholars debated whether Teotihuacan or Tula-Hidalgo was the Tollan described by 16th-century chronicles. It now seems clear that Tollan may be understood as a generic Nahua term applied to any large settlement.

In the Mesoamerican concept of urbanism, Tollan and other language equivalents serve as a metaphor, linking the bundles of reeds and rushes that formed part of the lacustrine environment of the Valley of Mexico and the large gathering of people in a city.

Origins and foundation of Teotihuacan

The early history of Teotihuacan is quite mysterious, and the origin of its founders is uncertain.

Around 300 BCE, people of the central and southeastern areas of Mesoamerica began to gather into larger settlements. Teotihuacan was the largest urban center of Mesoamerica before the Aztecs, almost 1000 years prior to their epoch.

The city was already in ruins by the time of the Aztecs. For many years, archaeologists believed it was built by the Toltec. This belief was based on colonial period texts, such as the Florentine Codex, which attributed the site to the Toltecs.

However, the Nahuatl word “Toltec” generally means “craftsman of the highest level” and may not always refer to the Toltec civilization centered at Tula, Hidalgo. Since Toltec civilization flourished centuries after Teotihuacan, the people could not have been the city’s founders.

In the Late Formative era, a number of urban centers arose in central Mexico. The most prominent of these appears to have been Cuicuilco, on the southern shore of Lake Texcoco.

Scholars have speculated that the eruption of the Xitle volcano may have prompted a mass emigration out of the central valley and into the Teotihuacan valley. These settlers may have founded or accelerated the growth of Teotihuacan.

Other scholars have put forth the Totonac people as the founders of Teotihuacan. There is evidence that at least some of the people living in Teotihuacan immigrated from those areas influenced by the Teotihuacano civilization, including the Zapotec, Mixtec, and Maya peoples.

The builders of Teotihuacan took advantage of the geography in the Basin of Mexico. From the swampy ground, they constructed raised beds, called chinampas. Creating high agricultural productivity despite old methods of cultivation.

This allowed for the formation of channels, and subsequently canoe traffic, to transport food from farms around the city. The earliest buildings at Teotihuacan date to about 200 BCE. The largest pyramid, the Pyramid of the Sun, was completed by 100 CE.

Year 378: “Conquest” of Tikal

In January 378, while Spearthrower Owl supposedly ruled in Teotihuacan, the warlord Siyah K’ak’ “conquered” Tikal, removing and replacing the Maya king, with support from El Peru and Naachtun, as recorded by Stela 31 at Tikal and other monuments in the Maya region.

In 378 a group of Teotihuacanos organized a coup d’etat in Tikal, Guatemala.

This was not the Teotihuacan state, it was a group of the Feathered-Serpent people, thrown out of the city. The Feathered-Serpent Pyramid was burnt, all the sculptures were torn from the temple, and another platform was built to efface the facade.

Year 426: “Conquest” of Copán and Quiriguá

In 426, K’inich Yax K’uk’ Mo’ takes over as king of Copán in present-day Honduras, as described by Copán Altar Q. Soon thereafter, Yax K’uk’ Mo’ installs Tok Casper as king of Quiriguá, about 50 km north of Copán.

Zenith of Teotihuacan

The city reached its peak in CE 450 when it was the center of a powerful culture whose influence extended through much of the Mesoamerican region. At its peak, the city covered over 30 km², and housed a population of 150,000 people, with one estimate reaching as high as 250,000.

Various districts in the city housed people from across the Teotihuacano region of influence, which spread south as far as Guatemala.

Notably absent from the city are fortifications and military structures.

The nature of political and cultural interactions between Teotihuacan and the centers of the Maya region (as well as elsewhere in Mesoamerica) has been a long-standing and significant area for debate.

Substantial exchange and interaction occurred over the centuries from the Terminal Preclassic to the Mid-Classic period. “Teotihuacan-inspired ideologies” and motifs persisted at Maya centers into the Late Classic, long after Teotihuacan itself had declined.

However, scholars debate the extent and degree of Teotihuacano influence. Some believe that it had direct and militaristic dominance; others that the adoption of “foreign” traits was part of a selective, conscious, and bi-directional cultural diffusion.

New discoveries have suggested that Teotihuacan was not much different in its interactions with other centers from the later empires, such as the Toltecs and Aztecs.

It is believed that Teotihuacan had a major influence on the Preclassic and Classic Maya, most likely by conquering several Maya centers and regions, including Tikal and the region of Peten, and influencing Maya culture.

Architectural styles prominent at Teotihuacan are found widely dispersed at a number of distant Mesoamerican sites, which some researchers have interpreted as evidence for Teotihuacan’s far-reaching interactions and political or militaristic dominance.

A style particularly associated with Teotihuacan is known as talud-tablero, in which an inwards-sloping external side of a structure (talud) is surmounted by a rectangular panel (tablero).

Variants of the generic style are found in a number of Maya region sites, including Tikal, Kaminaljuyu, Copan, Becan, and Oxkintok, and particularly in the Petén Basin and the central Guatemalan highlands.

The talud-tablero style pre-dates its earliest appearance at Teotihuacan in the Early Classic period; it appears to have originated in the Tlaxcala-Puebla region during the Preclassic.

Analyses have traced the development into local variants of the talud-tablero style at sites such as Tikal, where its use precedes the 5th-century appearance of iconographic motifs shared with Teotihuacan.

The talud-tablero style was disseminated through Mesoamerica generally from the end of the Preclassic period, and not specifically, or solely, via Teotihuacano influence. It is unclear how or from where the style spread into the Maya region.

The city was a center of industry, home to many potters, jewelers, and craftsmen. Teotihuacan is known for producing a great number of obsidian artifacts. No ancient Teotihuacano non-ideographic texts are known to exist (or known to have existed).

Inscriptions from Maya cities show that Teotihuacan nobility traveled to, and perhaps conquered, local rulers as far away as Honduras.

Maya inscriptions note an individual nicknamed by scholars as “Spearthrower Owl”, apparently ruler of Teotihuacan, who reigned for over 60 years and installed his relatives as rulers of Tikal and Uaxactun in Guatemala.

Scholars have based interpretations of the culture at Teotihuacan on archaeology, the murals that adorn the site, and hieroglyphic inscriptions made by the Maya describing their encounters with Teotihuacano conquerors.

The creation of murals, perhaps tens of thousands of murals, reached its height between 450 and 650. The artistry of the painters was unrivaled in Mesoamerica and has been compared with that of painters in Renaissance Florence, Italy.

Collapse of Teotihuacan

Scholars had thought that invaders attacked the city in the 7th or 8th century, sacking and burning it. More recent evidence, however, seems to indicate that the burning was limited to the structures and dwellings associated primarily with the ruling class.

Some think this suggests that the burning was from an internal uprising. They say the invasion theory is flawed because early archaeological work on the city was focused exclusively on the palaces and temples, places used by the upper classes.

Because all of these sites showed burning, archaeologists concluded that the whole city was burned. Instead, it is now known that the destruction was centered on major civic structures along the Avenue of the Dead.

Some statues seem to have been destroyed methodically, with their fragments dispersed.

Evidence for population decline beginning around the 6th century lends some support to the internal unrest hypothesis. The decline of Teotihuacan has been correlated to lengthy droughts related to the climate changes of 535–536.

This theory of ecological decline is supported by archaeological remains that show a rise in the percentage of juvenile skeletons with evidence of malnutrition during the 6th century.

This finding does not conflict with either of the above theories, since both increased warfare and internal unrest can also be effects of a general period of drought and famine.

Other nearby centers such as Cholula, Xochicalco, and Cacaxtla competed to fill the power void left by Teotihuacan’s decline. They may have aligned themselves against Teotihuacan to reduce its influence and power.

The art and architecture at these sites emulate Teotihuacan forms, but also demonstrate an eclectic mix of motifs and iconography from other parts of Mesoamerica, particularly the Maya region.

The sudden destruction of Teotihuacan is not uncommon for Mesoamerican city-states of the Classic and Epi-Classic periods.

Many Maya states suffered similar fates in the coming centuries, a series of events often referred to as the Classic Maya collapse. Nearby in the Morelos valley, Xochicalco was sacked and burned in 900 and Tula met a similar fate around 1150.

There is a theory that the collapse of Teotihuacan was caused by its agriculture being devastated by the CE 535 eruption of the Ilopango volcano in El Salvador.

Archaeological evidence suggests that Teotihuacan was a multi-ethnic city, with distinct quarters occupied by Otomi, Zapotec, Mixtec, Maya, and Nahua peoples. The Totonacs have always maintained that they were the ones who built it.

The Aztecs repeated that story, but it has not been corroborated by archaeological findings. In 2001, Terrence Kaufman presented linguistic evidence suggesting that an important ethnic group in Teotihuacan was of Totonacan or Mixe–Zoquean linguistic affiliation.

He uses this to explain general influences from Totonacan and Mixe–Zoquean languages in many other Mesoamerican languages, whose people did not have any known history of contact with either of the above-mentioned groups.

Other scholars maintain that the largest population group must have been of Otomi ethnicity because the Otomi language is known to have been spoken in the area around Teotihuacan both before and after the Classic period and not during the middle period.

In their landmark 1992 volume, An Illustrated Dictionary of the Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya, Miller, and Taube list eight deities:

• The Storm God
• The Great Goddess
• The Feathered Serpent. An important deity in Teotihuacan; most closely associated with the Feathered Serpent Pyramid
• The Old God
• The War Serpent. Taube has differentiated two different serpent deities whose depictions alternate on the Feathered Serpent Pyramid: the Feathered Serpent and what he calls the “War Serpent”. Other researchers are more skeptical
• The Netted Jaguar
• The Pulque God
• The Fat God. Known primarily from figurines and so assumed to be related to household rituals

Esther Pasztory adds one more:

• The Flayed God. Known primarily from figurines and so assumed to be related to household rituals

The consensus among scholars is that the primary deity of Teotihuacan was the Great Goddess of Teotihuacan. The dominant civic architecture is the pyramid. Politics were based on the state religion; religious leaders were the political leaders.

Teotihuacanos practiced human sacrifice: human bodies and animal sacrifices have been found during excavations of the pyramids at Teotihuacan. Scholars believe that the people offered human sacrifices as part of a dedication when buildings were expanded or constructed.

The victims were probably enemy warriors captured in battle and brought to the city for ritual sacrifice to ensure the city could prosper. Some men were decapitated, some had their hearts removed, others were killed by being hit several times over the head, and some were buried alive.

Animals that were considered sacred and represented mythical powers and the military were also buried alive, imprisoned in cages: cougars, a wolf, eagles, a falcon, an owl, and even venomous snakes.

Numerous stone masks have been found at Teotihuacan, and have been generally believed to have been used during a funerary context, although some scholars call this into question, noting that masks “do not seem to have come from burials”.

Teotihuacan was a mix of residential and work areas. Upper-class homes were usually compounds that housed many such families, and one compound was found that was capable of housing between sixty and eighty families.

Such superior residences were typically made of plaster, each wall in every section elaborately decorated with murals. These compounds or apartment complexes were typically found within the city center.

The vast lakes of the Basin of Mexico provided the opportunity for people living around them to construct productive raised beds, or chinampas, from swampy muck, construction that also produced channels between the beds.

Different sections of the city housed particular ethnic groups and immigrants. Typically, these sections of the city were speaking multiple languages.

Knowledge of the huge ruins of Teotihuacan was never completely lost. After the fall of the city, various squatters lived on the site. During Aztec times, the city was a place of pilgrimage and identified with the myth of Tollan, the place where the sun was created.

In the late 17th century Carlos de Sigüenza y Góngora (1645–1700) made some excavations around the Pyramid of the Sun. Minor archaeological excavations were conducted in the 19th century.

In 1905 Mexican archaeologist and government official in the regime of Porfirio Díaz Leopoldo Batres led a major project of excavation and restoration. The Pyramid of the Sun was restored to celebrate the centennial of the Mexican War of Independence in 1910.

The site of Teotihuacan was the first to be expropriated for the national patrimony under the Law of Monuments (1897), giving jurisdiction under legislation for the Mexican state to take control. Some 250 plots were farmed on the site.

Peasants who had been farming portions were ordered to leave and the Mexican government eventually paid some compensation to those individuals. A feeder train line was built to the site in 1908, which allowed for the efficient hauling of material from the excavations and later brought tourists to the site.

In 1910, the International Congress of Americanists met in Mexico, coinciding with the centennial celebrations, and the distinguished delegates, such as its president Eduard Seler and vice president Franz Boas were taken to the newly finished excavations.

Further excavations at the Ciudadela were carried out in the 1920s, supervised by Manuel Gamio. Other sections of the site were excavated in the 1940s and 1950s. The first site-wide project of restoration and excavation was carried out by INAH from 1960 to 1965, supervised by Jorge Acosta.

This undertaking had the goals of clearing the Avenue of the Dead, consolidating the structures facing it, and excavating the Palace of Quetzalpapalotl.

During the installation of a “sound and light” show in 1971, workers discovered the entrance to a tunnel and cave system underneath the Pyramid of the Sun. Although scholars long thought this to be a natural cave, more recent examinations have established the tunnel was entirely manmade.

The interior of the Pyramid of the Sun has never been fully excavated.

In 1980-82, another major program of excavation and restoration was carried out at the Pyramid of the Feathered Serpent and the Avenue of the Dead complex. Most recently, a series of excavations at the Pyramid of the Moon have greatly expanded evidence of cultural practices.

In 2005, a three hundred and the thirty-foot-long tunnel was discovered underneath the pyramid after rainfall uncovered an entrance adjacent to it. Several side-chambers were also discovered.

The tunnel and chambers were explored in 2013 with a remote control robot named Tlaloc II-TC, supervised by archaeologist Sergio Gómez Chávez, the director of the Tlalocan Project.

In one of the side chambers, the robot discovered strange Yellow spheres of Teotihuacan made of a core of clay covered in Jarosite formed by oxidation of pyrite. It is suggested the spheres were once metallic and would have shone with a brilliant luster.

They are indeed unique, but no one has an idea what they mean. Other finds in the underground section of the pyramid included masks covered in crystals such as quartz and jade along with pottery dating from around CE 100.

The team continues to explore further into the tunnel, encouraged by these promising results.

In November 2014 “large quantities” of mercury were discovered in a chamber 60 feet below the 1800-year-old pyramid known as the “Temple of the Feathered Serpent” along with jade statues, jaguar remains, and a box filled with carved shells, and rubber balls.

The city’s broad central avenue, called “Avenue of the Dead” (a translation from its Nahuatl name Miccoatli), is flanked by impressive ceremonial architecture, including the immense Pyramid of the Sun, the third-largest pyramid in the World (after the Great Pyramid of Cholula and the Great Pyramid of Giza).

Along the Avenue of the Dead are many smaller talud-tablero platforms. The Aztecs believed they were tombs, inspiring the name of the avenue. Scholars have now established that these were ceremonial platforms that were topped with temples.

Further down the Avenue of the Dead is the area known as the Citadel, containing the ruined Temple of the Feathered Serpent. This area was a large plaza surrounded by temples that formed the religious and political center of the city.

The name “Citadel” was given to it by the Spanish, who believed it was a fort. Most of the common people lived in large apartment buildings spread across the city. Many of the buildings contained workshops where artisans produced pottery and other goods.

The geographical layout of Teotihuacan is a good example of the Mesoamerican tradition of planning cities, settlements, and buildings as a representation of the view of the Universe. Its urban grid is aligned to precisely 15.5º east of North.

One theory says this is due to the fact that the sun rose at that same angle during the same summer day each year. Settlers used the alignment to calibrate their sense of time or as a marker for planting crops or performing certain rituals.

Another theory is that there are numerous ancient sites in Mesoamerica that seem to be oriented with the tallest mountain in their given area.

This appears to be the case at Teotihuacan, although the mountain to which it is oriented is not visible from within the Teotihuacan complex due to a closer mountain ridge.

Pecked-cross circles throughout the city and in the surrounding regions indicate how the people managed to maintain the urban grid over long distances. It also enabled them to orient the Pyramids to the distant mountain that was out of sight.

The Ciudadela was completed during the Miccaotli phase, and the Pyramid of the Sun underwent a complex series of additions and renovations. The Great Compound was constructed across the Avenue of the Dead, west of Ciudadela.

This was probably the city’s marketplace. The existence of a large market in an urban center of this size is strong evidence of state organization. Teotihuacan was at that point simply too large and too complex to have been politically viable as a chiefdom.

The Ciudadela is a great enclosed compound capable of holding 100,000 people. About 700,000 cubic meters (yards) of material were used to construct its buildings. Its central feature is the Temple of Quetzalcoatl, which was flanked by upper-class apartments.

The entire compound was designed to overwhelm visitors.

The archaeological site is under threat from development pressures. In 2004 Wal-Mart was given permission to build a large store in the third archaeological zone of the park. Priceless artifacts uncovered during store construction were reportedly trucked off to a local dump.

Later, Teotihuacan has become the center of controversy over Resplandor Teotihuacano (“Teotihuacan Glow“). This massive light and sound spectacular installed to create a nighttime show for tourists.

A  large number of perforations for the project have caused fractures in stones and irreversible damage.

The name Tepotzotlán is of Nahuatl origin and means “among humpbacks,” referring to the shape of the hills that surround this area.

The oldest surviving Aztec glyph for this area is found in the Ozuna Codex, which features a humpbacked person sitting on top of a hill. This is now the symbol of the municipality.

Another version of the glyph shows a humpbacked person defending a “teocalli” or sacred precinct.

The municipality also has a lesser-known European-style coat-of-arms. This contains the officially adopted version of the glyph in the upper part, a representation of the Arcos del Sitio, the facade of the Church of San Francisco Javier and chimneys and a tractor representing both the agriculture and industry found here. Underneath these are written the words “Libertad, Cultura y Trabajo” (Liberty, Culture and Work).

The first ethnic group was most likely the Otomi, who settled here between 2500 BCE. and 100 CE (pre-classic period). At about 100 C. E., the Teotihuacan became ascendant, with the Otomis here subject to Teotihuacan until about 700 CE. During the period that Teotihuacan was in decline, a Nahua-Chichimeca tribe headed by Chicontonatiuh, took control of this area, along with what is now Maxuexhuacan, Chapa de Mota, and Huehuetoca.

After the death of Chichontonatuih, nine other chiefs ruled this same area until 1174. After this time other Nahua and Chichimeca people began to arrive here and the rest of the Valley of Mexico. The area then came to be ruled by a chieftain named Xotlotl, who explored the valley’s lakes and took the first census ever here, counting about a million people living in the Valley of Mexico.

Rule over this area passed from father to son peacefully for a number of generations until the early 14th century.

Conflict with neighboring Xaltocan and Texcoco led to a number of political intrigues, including the assassination of one of the few female lords in the Valley of Mexico, Ehuatlicuetzin in 1372.

In the first part of the 15th century, the Aztec Empire began to consolidate and extend its power north. At this time the area was ruled by Ayactlacatzin and the area was called Xaquintehcutli. Ayactlacatzin negotiated an alliance with Moctezuma I to allow this dominion, renamed Tepotzotlán, to remain semi-independent after Azcapotzalco fell to the Triple Alliance in 1460. This arrangement stayed intact until the fall of Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan in 1521.

Macuilxochitzin was governor of Tepotzotlán when the Spanish arrived here in 1520. This dominion opposed the Spanish invasion. When the Spanish subdued the main city, they destroyed everything in their path.

Evangelization work was begun here in 1525 by friars Alonso de Guadalupe and Alonso de Herrero, who built a hermitage over the ruins of the old city in Tepotzotlán in the same year.

The Church of San Pedro Apostol sits on the site of the hermitage today. These were followed by Toribio de Benavente Motolina and Jerónimo de Mendieta of the Franciscans. By 1547, Tepotzotlan had become a center of the spread of the new faith, with surrounding villages under its jurisdiction.

Diego Nequametzin, son of Macuilxochitzin, succeeded his father and ruled under the Spanish from 1534 to 1549, but severe economic problems as well as epidemics of typhoid and smallpox decimated the population here. Eventually, the area became completely under the control of an encomienda under Juan de Ortega. When Ortega died, the land became property of the Spanish Crown, who created a “corregimiento” under the dominion of the nearby city of Cuautitlán. The Indians here were granted limited autonomy in the way of a “Republic of the Indians”, with Pedro de San Agustín as the first governor.

In 1580, the first of the Jesuits arrived, eventually established three schools; one for the training of Jesuit priests in indigenous languages, a school for Indian boys called San Martín to teach Spanish, reading, writing, religion, music and trade skills, and last a college to train Jesuit novices. The first two were founded completely in Tepotzotlán but the third and largest was due to the movement of priest training from the College of San Pedro y San Pablo in Mexico City to here in 1585. It was named the College of San Francisco Javier and all three would be housed in the same complex, bringing Tepozotlán fame as one of the most important educational centers of New Spain. This college would produce a number of famous Jesuits such as Carlos de Sigüenza y Góngora, Francisco Javier Clavijero, Francisco Javier Alegre and Eusebio Francisco Kino.

These Jesuit schools, along with the large number of haciendas and ranches that the Jesuits owned in this area, pushed both the cultural and economic development of this region north of Mexico City and would continue to do so until the Jesuits were expelled from Mexico in 1767. After the expulsion, the school complex was ceded to regular clergy for the training of priests under the name of Real Colegio de Instrucción Retiro Voluntario y Corrección para el Clero Secular until it was abandoned permanently in the early 20th century. Tepozotlán became a municipality in 1814, patterning itself after the precepts contained in the Cadiz Constitution, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of Apatzingan. The municipality remained rural and quiet until the Mexico City-Querétaro highway was built in 1954. This highway would have a profound impact on the economic development of Tepotzotlán, making it a part of the fast-growing Mexico City Metropolitan Area from the mid-20th century on.

The city of Tepotzotlán is located very close to the Mexico City-Querétaro highway, which cuts across the municipality. It is made up of the neighborhoods of San Martín, Tlacateco, Texcacoa, Capula, Las Animas, El Trébol, Ricardo Flores Magón and Puente Grande. Because of the highway and the growth of the Mexico City metropolitan area, the city is experiencing rapid growth. Population is growing an average of 3.5% annually. The highway has provided a route for commuters since it was built in the 1950s enticing people to move out of the city to here. This movement of people has accelerated since the 1985 Mexico City earthquake as the Tepotzotlán area is far less prone to violent shaking than Mexico City proper.

The parts of town closest to the highway are the most developed, hosting industrial parks and housing developments. However, the center of town has maintained its colonial-era appearance with cobblestone alleys, arcades and plazas. There is a small, secular plaza in front of the main church, which contains a kiosk at which many cultural events take place. The municipal market is known for its food stands selling traditional dishes as quesadillas, sopes, pambazos, and tacos as well as barbacoa, and carnitas. More elaborate dishes here include cabrito, chapulines, snails and escamoles (ant eggs) which are generally available in the restaurants in town like Hostería del Convento. On weekends, tianguises pop up all over the center of the town, selling food, crafts, artwork, handcrafted furniture, tile, baskets and leather items. Festivals in the town and municipality include the Festival of Flowers in March, the Feast of Saint Peter (patron saint of Tepotzotlan) in June, the Festival of the Señor del Nicho (Preciosa Sangre de Cristo) in September and the International Festival of Music in September.

The city had a population of 39,374 as of 2005 and is 2300 meters above sea level. Tepotzotlán has been named one of the Pueblos Mágicos of Mexico, mostly due to the town’s center, which not only has conserved its colonial look despite its proximity to Mexico City, but also because it is the home of the Church of San Francisco Javier and the Museo de Virreinato (Museum of the Viceroyalty). Since being named a Pueblo Magico, much effort has been put into rescuing and restoring much of the buildings of the town’s past.

Museum of Viceroyalty of New Spain

The Museo del Virreinato, or Museum of the Viceroyalty of New Spain (Colonial) Period, is housed in a complex that was built by the Society of Jesus or Jesuits in the 1580s. Here they established three schools. The first was dedicated to training Jesuit missionaries the indigenous languages of Mexico, the second was to provide education to Indian boys. The third was the movement of the training of Jesuit priests from the College of San Pedro y San Pablo in Mexico City to a new facility called the College of San Francisco Javier. These schools would make Tepotzotlán one of the most prestigious educational centers in New Spain.

Most of the complex is taken up by the Museo del Virreinato situated in what used to be the College of San Francisco Javier. The Museo is considered to be one of the most impressive in the country due both to its collection and to the aesthetics of the building that houses it. The complex contains a number of interior courtyards, such as the Aljibes and the Naranjo, as well as a domestic chapel, library, dormitories, refectory, and kitchen. A wide arched passageway in the back of the complex leads to the extensive gardens area of more than 3 hectares, filled with gardens, sculptures and the original Salta de Agua fountain, which marked the end of the old Chapultepec aqueduct.

Much of its collection is made of liturgical pieces from the old Museum of Religious Art which was part of the Mexico City Cathedral. The collection is one of the largest from the Mexican colonial era. There are exhibits of non-religious everyday items from the colonial period such as silverware and other objects of precious metals, textiles and tools. The Church of San Francisco Javier is no longer used for religious services and is now part of the museum. This church contains one of the most important collections of Churrigueresque altarpieces in Mexico.

Aqueduct of Xalpa

The Aqueduct of Xalpa, better known s the Arcos del Sitio is a monumental aqueduct that carried water from the Oro River to Tepozotlán. The aqueduct was built between the 18th and 19th centuries. It was begun by the Jesuits to bring water to their monastery and college but it was not finished because the Jesuits were expelled from Mexico in 1767. It would not be finished until the 19th century by Manuel Romero de Terreros. The site that gives the aqueduct the name “Arcos del Sitio” is the deepest gorges through which it passes. Here the aqueduct reaches 61 meters in height, with four levels of arches. The total length of the aqueduct is 41,900 meters. It is the highest aqueduct in Latin America. This gorge is at the site of the old La Concepcíon Hacienda, which was one of many owned by the Jesuits. In 1780, it was acquired by Pedro Romero de Terreros and was in the family until 1980. In 1993, restoration work was begun, ending in 1997. It was a farming hacienda that provided much of the foodstuffs for the Jesuits. Today, the hacienda is open to the public by appointment and can host guests as well as special events. Also here is the Centro Ecoturístico y de Educación Ambiental. It is now home to the Centro Ecoturistico y de Educación Ambiental Arcos del Sitio. It contains 54 hectares and hosts sports such as hiking, mountain biking and camping. The area is filled with reptiles, amphibians and birds. Annually, about 750,000 visit this park.

Parque Ecológico Xochitla

The Parque Ecológico Xochitla is located three km outside the city of Tepotzotlán, which used to be a hacienda known as La Resurrección. It is operated by the non-profit Xochitla Foundation. It is about 70 hectares of parkland with about 7,000 species of trees and other plants. It also has workshops, playgrounds, expositions, a greenhouse and a lake with a wide variety of aquatic plants. It also contains a very large and very old ginkgo biloba tree from China.

Sierra de Tepotzotlán Park

The Sierra de Tepotzotlán state park comprises 13,175 hectares over the municipalities of Tepotzotlán and Huehuetoca. It was declared a state park and ecological preservation zone in 1977. However, since then, much of the park was decommissioned to establish Military Base 37C. Since then much of the sierra has been decommissioned as a park to create the Military Base 37C. The sierra contains forests of holm oak, strawberry trees and kermes oak, with areas of scrub and meadows. In the low-lying areas cactus and agave can be found. Along the river that runs through here are ash trees, trees of heaven, willows and others. Wildlife consists of small mammals such as coyotes and squirrels as well as a large number of birds and reptiles. Sports that can be practiced here included hiking, camping, swimming, rock climbing and rappelling.

The total municipal population was 67,724 as of 2005. While very few in number, indigenous groups still represented here are Nahuas and Otomis. There is also a community of Triques, who arrived here from Justrahuacan, Putla, Oaxaca and still speak the Trique language.

The municipality varies in altitude from 2,250 to 2,900 meters above sea level.

The municipality has a mostly temperate climate with most rain falling in the summer and freezing temperatures common in the winter months.

Predominant winds are from the northeast. 91% of the municipality is rural with about 9% developed. Much of the rural area is the Sierra de Tepotzotlán mountain range, which extends into neighboring Huehuetoca.

There are two rivers here, the Hondo de Tepotzotlán and the Lanzarote, with a number of fresh-water springs and streams.

There is one large dam called La Concepción along with a number of small ones, which are primarily used for the raising of fish.

Industry is a growing part of the economic base, with over ninety factories dedicated to the production of metals, processed meats, car parts, textiles and dyes. In third place is tourism which is mostly limited to the town center, the Arcos de Sitio and the ecological park. Much of the valley here is still dedicated to agriculture but this is being replaced by urbanization. Much of this urbanization is in the way of industrial parks, such as the Parque Industrial El Convento I and the Parque Industrial FRISA San Jose, which is of recent construction.

You can dial 078 from any phone, where you can find free information about tourist attractions, airports, travel agencies, car rental companies, embassies and consulates, fairs and exhibitions, hotels, hospitals, financial services, migratory and other issues.

Or dial the toll-free (in Mexico) number 01-800-006-8839.

You can also request information to the email correspondencia@sectur.gob.mx

MORE EMERGENCY NUMBERS:

General Information: 040 (not free)

SNational Emergency Service: 911

Radio Patrols: 066
Police (Emergency): 060
Civil Protection: +52(55)5683-2222
Anonymous Complaint: 089

Setravi (Transport Mobility): +52(55)5209-9913
Road Emergency: 074

Cruz Roja: 065 o +52(55)5557-5757
Firefighters: 068 o +52(55)5768-3700

Tescoco lies about 25km east of the centre of Mexico City. Major elevations in the municipality include the Tlaloc Mountain (4,500 meters) the Tetzcutzinco, Moyotepec and Tecuachacho. Most elevations are named after the major community to be found on them. There are also a number of small canyons. Part of the municipality used to be covered by Lake Texcoco, but most of this lake has since been drained. The rivers that fed it, such as the Cozcacuaco, the Chapingo and the San Bernardino still exist.

The city of Texcoco used to be located on the shore of Lake Texcoco. This lake covered an area of 9,600 km2, but since early colonial times, floods or fears of flooding have led to various drainage projects, which over time has nearly destroyed the lake completely. Starting in the 1970s and continuing to the present day, there have been efforts to clean the polluted remnants of the lake. The remains of Lake Texcoco extend about 1,700 hectares in which aquatic birds and migratory birds from the U.S. and Canada can still be seen.

The climate is temperate and semi-arid with a median temperature of 15.9°C, and few frosts. Most rains come between the months of June and October. The higher peaks have forests of conifers and oaks while the drier lowlands have semi desert vegetation. Animal life includes deer, coyotes and ocelots, as well as smaller mammals. The municipality has lost a number of larger bird species such as the falcon, eagle and buzzard. Smaller birds such as swallows, canaries and others remain. Except for rattlesnakes, almost all reptiles have disappeared.

The official name of the municipality is Texcoco and the official name of the city is Texcoco de Mora, in honor of Dr. José María Luis Mora. However, both are commonly called Texcoco.

The name has been spelled a number of other ways over the city’s history including Tetzcuco, Tezcoco and Tezcuco.

The name is derived from Nahuatl and most likely means “among the jarilla (Larrea) which grow in crags”.

However, there are a number of glyph representations for the place that have appeared the Codex Azcatitlán, the Codex Cruz, the Quinantzin Map and other early colonial documents and this translation cannot be verified 100%.

Pre-Columbian

The Paleontological Museum in Tocuila displays part of one of the richest deposits of Late Pleistocene fauna in the Americas, found in an ancient river mouth that used to flow into Lake Texcoco. While there is no exact date for the first human settlements in Texcoco, it is likely that the first people here were Toltec or from Teotihuacan. The Xototl, Tolotzin and Quinatzin Codices indicate that the first people here were ethnically Chichimeca. This tribe is credited for founding a province known in pre-Hispanic Valley of Mexico as Acolhuacan.

The most notable rulers of Acolhuacan, who resided in Texcoco were Nopaltzin, Tlotzin Pochotl, Quinatzin, Techotlalatzin, Ixtlixochitl El Viejo, Nezahualcoyotl, Nezahualpilli and Cacamatzin. All of these rulers were considered to be great warriors and priests who influenced the history of this valley. The most prominent of these rulers was Nezahualcoyotl who was one of the founders of the Aztec Triple Alliance. During his forty-year reign, the arts, culture and architecture flourished in the dominion.

Colonial period

Hernán Cortés initially arrived to Texcoco in 1519, while Cacamatzin was leader. Here the brigantines to attack Tenochtitlan were constructed in 1521. On Juárez Street there is an obelisk which marks this event. After the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, Franciscan friars came to Texcoco to evangelize, principally Juan de Tecto, Juan de Ayora and Pedro de Gante. Gante founded the first primary school in Mesoamerica, teaching Latin, Spanish, sewing, carpentry and knitting. He also wrote the first catechism in Nahuatl. In the north of the Texcoco cathedral, there is a chapel named after him.

In 1551, indigenous leader Fernando Pimentel y Alvarado petitioned to have Texcoco recognized as a city by the Spanish Crown. This petition was granted and it received a coat of arms. While the overall style of the coat of arms is Spanish, the emblems inside, such as a coyote and a warrior with headdress are Aztec. In the very early colonial period, Texcoco was the second most important city in New Spain.

Post-independence

Despite its initial importance, Texcoco did not develop as a major city like some of its neighbors during the colonial period and for much of the post-independence period. It was mostly important for fishing and agriculture. From 1827 to 1830, Texcoco was the second capital of the State of Mexico, until it was moved to San Agustín de las Cuevas, today Tlalpan. Texcoco became the head of one of the districts of Mexico State in 1837. The appendage of “de Mora” was added in 1861. In 1919, it became a modern municipality.

Leopoldo Flores found a massive 125 tonne Tlaloc statue at Texcoco in 1903. Today, the statue stands in front of the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City; the local population resisted the relocation of the sculpture, even sabotaging the vehicles which came for it. There has been a proposal to install a 1:1 replica at the original site, with artists studying over 1,500 photographs of the original.

In 2003, archeologists sponsored by the National Geographic, University of Michigan and the Universidad Autónoma de Chapingo discovered a number of pre-Hispanic artifacts in an area which has been proposed for building an airport. The finds are at areas that are or were the shores of Lake Texcoco and sheds light on water tables over the centuries. Some of the pieces found include ceramics, utensils and ceremonial objects.

In 2005, traditional crafts vendors blocked the main roads of the historic center of Texcoco to demand that they not be relocated away from the city cathedral. They state that the area is an important meeting point especially on holidays. It is estimated that 1,500 people depend on sales made here during festivals such as Day of the Dead, Candelaria, Christmas and Independence Day.

In 2006, there were outbreaks of violence among merchants and farmers versus police in Texcoco and neighboring San Salvador Atenco, blocking the Texcoco-Lechería highway. The merchants were from the Belisario Dominguez market in Texcoco who have been denied public space in which to sell their merchandise, mostly flowers. State and federal police have blocked the area which the flower vendors used just outside the market proper. Supporters of the flower sellers from San Salvador Atenco have intervened in both the talks and the blocking of roads in protest.

The historic center of the city contains the palace of Nezahualcoyotl, the Cathedral and the Chapel of Gante as well as a Casa de Cultura, which contains a small museum. The Palace of Nezahualcoyotl is also known as the archeological zone of Ahuehuetitlan or the Cerrito de los Melones. The palace had a least 300 rooms, five courtyards, a Mesoamerican ball court and an area called Tleotlapan (land of gods) which was a shrine with a nine-story pyramid. In the great halls were places where Nezahualcoyotl and his wife received visitors and where the scholarly and priestly elite congregated. There are also rooms dedicated to music, poetry and astronomy.

The Mexico State Constituent Congress ratified the state’s first constitution at the former Juanino Monastery. The Casa de Cultura contains murals done by artist José Marin and contains various chapters of the history of Mexico. Puerto de Bergantines is the location where Hernán Cortés built brigantines and set sail from to attack Tenochtitlan by water in 1521. This site is marked by an obelisk.

The most important archeological site outside of the city is the site of Tetzcutiznco or Tetzcotzingo, but is popularly called the Baths of Nezahualcoyotl. It is located on a hill in the community of San Miguel Tlaminca. The site consists of a sophisticated hydraulic system, terraces, shrines, thrones and dwellings. About six structures have been completely excavated and are open to visitors. The site was a retreat for Nezahualcoyotl which reached its peak at about 1466 covering 120 hectares.

The hydraulic system includes ten km of canals and a four km aqueduct that transported water from San Pablo Izayo, nine km away on Tlaloc Mountain. The site was mistakenly believed to be baths due to the large water storage tanks found on the site. However, the water was used not for bathing but rather to water the elaborate gardens which had plants brought from Veracruz, Oaxaca and other parts of Mesoamerica. The idea that these were baths can be traced back to the paintings made of them by José María Velasco in the late 19th century.

Another myth about the site is that there were tunnels that led all the way to Teotihuacan. In reality, the underground passages are believed to have been caves that were dynamited when North American soldiers were looking for treasure in 1847. Excavation work by INAH began in 1981, but much of the site is still unexcavated. The site has suffered damage from vandalism and graffiti, including a portion called the Patio of the Gods, where ceremonies to mark the spring equinox and the birthday of Nezahualcoyotl (August 28) are still held.

In San Luis Huexotla, there is another archeological zone with a circular pyramid dedicated to Ehecatl. There are also remains of a wall and a Mesoamerican ball court. The monastery of San Luis was constructed in 1627 is located on one side of this site. It is of Baroque style and considered to be one of the smallest complexes of its type in the Americas.

These archaeological sites, as well as the Palace of Nezahualcoyotl in the city proper, are not promoted for tourism and they have little infrastructure for visitors.

Religious sites

The cathedral was originally built on the site of a 16th-century Franciscan monastery. Later, it was rebuilt in 1664 as the Parish of San Antonio de Padua.

The complex also housed the first European-style school for natives in Mesoamerica, and the Latin alphabet can be seen on some of its columns. Fragments of the portal, the Latin cross layout of the temple and the open chapel are all that is left of the original 16th century monastery.

The ex Hacienda of El Molino de Flores, now the Molino de Flores Nezahualcóyotl National Park, is located three km east of the city and used to produce pulque and grains. Most of the buildings on the site, such as the main house, the church of San Joaquin and the Chapel of Señor de la Presa (Lord of the Dam), were constructed by Miguel de Cervantes and his wife. According to tradition, the chapel was named for an apparition of Christ which supposedly occurred on the rocks that border the Cuxcahuaco which crosses this property. The chapel is built out of the rockface, much like the temple at Malinalco. The hacienda reached its peak in the late 19th and early 20th century. After the Mexican Revolution, it was abandoned and it deteriorated. The hacienda was declared a national park by President Lázaro Cárdenas in 1937. Due to its style and condition, the hacienda has been used as a set for Mexican and foreign films.

In the early 1970s, an idea emerged to create a regional fair to represent Texcoco to the rest of Mexico, exhibiting its agriculture and livestock. The first Feria de las Flores was held in 1975, however, it was not successful. In 1978, the focus of the fair was changed to horses, creating the first Feria Internacional del Caballo (International Fair of the Horse), for which a number of installations were built such as a bullring, an open-air theatre, a kiosk, stables, corrals, music stage and exhibition halls. This version of the festival has been successful and held yearly ever since. The Feria occurs at the end of March and includes musical shows, cockfights, open-air theatre and expositions of livestock, commerce and crafts, with one of the main events being bullfighting. Traditional crafts include blown glass, clay and ceramics, and painted dried plants which are a traditional decoration for Christmas here.

The city also holds an annual cultural festival called the Festival Cultural Nezahualcoyotl. Artists which have appeared at the event include Los Hermanos Carrión, Roberto Jordan and José Luis Rodríguez “El Puma.” In 2008, the festival had its first international participants, with Filippa Giorgano coming from Italy and the group Los Bunkers from Chile. The ten-day event has activities related to dance, music, painting, crafts readings and culture.

The Feria de la Cazuela occurs in July in Santa Cruz de Arriba, very close to the city. This events includes traditional crafts especially pots, jars, plates and trays.

The feast day of the Anthony of Padua, the city’s patron saint is celebrated on 13 June.

Another festival if the Molino de Flores (Flower Windmill) which takes place on Pentecost.

Just south of the city limits is the Texcoco’s most notable institution of higher education the Chapingo Autonomous University.

The school began as the Escuela Nacional de Agricultura (National School of Agriculture) which was founded in 1854 at the Monastery of San Jacinto in Mexico City. The school was moved in 1923 to the ex Hacienda of Chapingo President Álvaro Obregón.

The main attraction for visitors at this school is its murals. In the old hacienda chapel, which is now the University Ceremonies Room is a mural by Diego Rivera called “Tierra Fecundada” (Fertile Land). This work was begun in 1924 and completed in 1927. Covering an area of over 700 square meters, the work divides into three parts. The left panel depicts man’s struggle to have land, the right panel shows the evolution of Mother Nature and the center shows the communion between man and earth. It is considered to be one of Rivera’s best works.

More recently, the school acquired an unnamed mural by Luis Nishizawa. This work was produced during his last year at the Escuela Nacional de Artes Plasticas (ENAP) of UNAM and depicts the agriculture of Mexico in both the past and the present. The work is six meters high, nine meters wide and in the form of a triangle. It is placed in a building that is commonly called “El Partenon.”

The school is also home to the National Museum of Agriculture. This installation covers about 2,000 square meters and covers the development of agriculture in Mexico from the pre-Hispanic past to the present day. The collection has about 4,000 objects relating to technology, agronomy including farming implements and photographs by Hanz Gutmann.

Other educational institution located in the city include the Centro Universitario UAEM Texcoco and the Universidad del Valle de Mexico. The latter was opened in a two story building in 2004 and contains a large library which is open to the public.

There are frequent bus services to Metro Indios Verdes, a terminus of the Mexico City Metro.

You can dial 078 from any phone, where you can find free information about tourist attractions, airports, travel agencies, car rental companies, embassies and consulates, fairs and exhibitions, hotels, hospitals, financial services, migratory and other issues.

Or dial the toll-free (in Mexico) number 01-800-006-8839.

You can also request information to the email correspondencia@sectur.gob.mx

MORE EMERGENCY NUMBERS:

General Information: 040 (not free)

National Emergency Service: 911

Radio Patrols: 066
Police (Emergency): 060
Civil Protection: +52(55)5683-2222
Anonymous Complaint: 089

Setravi (Transport Mobility): +52(55)5209-9913
Road Emergency: 074

Cruz Roja: 065 o +52(55)5557-5757
Firefighters: 068 o +52(55)5768-3700

Tlalnepantla experiences a temperate climate typical of the region.

Summers are generally warm with average temperatures, while winters can be cooler, especially during the night. Rainfall is more prevalent in the summer months, contributing to the overall greenery of the area.

The best time to visit Tlalnepantla

The ideal time to visit Tlalnepantla depends on the type of experience one seeks.

The months between November and February constitute the cooler season, making it suitable for those who prefer milder temperatures. The summer months, from June to August, showcase the region’s lush greenery.

The original name of the area was Tenayohcan, from the Nahuatl tena (wall), yoh (abundance), and can (place), meaning “place where there are many walls” or “fortified place.”

In the 16th century, the Franciscan friars, who played a major role in evangelizing the region, renamed the settlement San Bartolomé as part of their efforts to replace local traditions with Christian names and customs.

Soon after their arrival, the Franciscans attempted to establish a religious center for the area. Eventually, a dispute arose between the two towns of Tenayuca and Teocalhueyacan over which would house the Franciscan monastery.

To resolve this conflict, a monastery was decided to be built halfway between the two towns. This new area was named Tlalnepantla, which means “middle land.”  The Corpus Christi monastery was completed in 1550.

Tlalnepantla, sometimes incorrectly called “Tlanepantla”. The word “tlalnepantla” comes from the Náhuatl words “tlalli” (“land”) and “nepantla” (“middle”), so the Tlalnepantla name means “the middle land” in Nahuatl.

In the 19th century, the name was formalized as Tlalnepantla.

The town also was known as Tlalnepantla de Galeana, after Hermenegildo Galeana, who was a revolutionary leader during Mexico’s War of Independence. Galeana is remembered for his bravery, and strategic leadership.

The town was also named Tlalnepantla de Comonfort, after Ignacio Comonfort, a Mexican military officer and politician who served as President of Mexico from 1855 to 1858 during a turbulent period in Mexico’s history.

In 1948, the municipality was elevated to city status.

The suffix “de Baz” comes from the last name of Gustavo Baz Prada.

Gustavo Baz Prada was an important politician and soldier of Emiliano Zapata’s army during the Mexican Revolution. After the Revolution, Baz Prada became Governor of the State of Mexico and President of the UNAM).

The municipality of Tlalnepantla de Baz hides thousands of historical facts in its corners that date back to the pre-Hispanic era. Vestiges of mammoth, the saber-toothed cat, bison, and wolves have been found in this area.

Around the 11th century, a group called the Amaquemecan settled in this region.

The Amecamecan were led by their leader Xolotl, in search of a better climate and more food. The same Xolotl established the chiefdom of Tenayuca Oztopolco and even carried out the first census in the Americas.

At the time, other groups like the Acolhuas, Tepanecas, and Otomíes already lived in the area, so alliances were formed among them. However, later, the region was conquered and became part of the Aztec Empire.

After the Spanish conquest, the area was abandoned and there began to be movement again with the arrival of the Franciscans. Shortly after their arrival, they founded San Bartolomé to replace the name of Tenayuca.

Later, the name of the area was formalized as Tlalnepantla.

Between 1525 and 1587, the Corpus Christi convent and temple was built, one of the most emblematic and important places in this municipality, which preserves paintings dating back to the 16th century.

Later, more attention began to be paid to this area because it became one of the most important areas in the region due to its strategic location, as it was the obligatory passage to reach various parts of the Valley of Mexico.

The official birth of Tlalnepantla was in 1848 and by 1888 it was divided into 11 municipalities.

Since 1948 the town of Tlalnepantla was elevated to the rank of city.

The church and monastery of Corpus Christi were built by both Mexicas and Otomis of pink and gray stone. The side gate shows clearly the influence of both of these people. In 1963, the church gained cathedral status.

• The aqueduct Tlalnepantla – Villa de Guadalupe
• The Caja del Agua
• The Hacienda of Santa Mónica
• The Hacienda de Emmedio
• The Centro Cultural Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz

Tenayuca Pyramid

The pyramid at Tenayuca is a small version of the Templo Mayor in Tenochtitlan. It has dual staircases, each leading to two temples, at the top of the pyramid. One was dedicated to Tlaloc and the other one to Huizilopochtli.

Serpent sculptures surrounding the pyramid are possibly of pre-Aztec origin.

There is a small museum of the site and the history that surrounds it.

Santa Cecilia Acatitlan

Another smaller pyramid is at Santa Cecilia Acatitlan, just north of Tenayuca. This one was rebuilt as the original was destroyed and some of its blocks were used to build the Santa Cecelia Parish church that is next to it.

This pyramid has one staircase and one temple atop.

There is a museum with a small collection of pre-Hispanic sculptures.

Getting to Tlalnepantla is easy due to its proximity to Mexico City.

The following are common transportation options:

Mexico City has Terminal de Autobuses de Pasajeros de Oriente (TAPO) and Terminal de Autobuses de Pasajeros de la Ciudad de Mexico (Tapo). From these terminals, you can find buses that connect to Tlalnepantla.

Mexico City’s Line 4 metro (subway) connects Tlalnepantla with the city.

Taxis and rideshare services are available in Mexico City and can take you directly to Tlalnepantla. Make sure to use authorized services, and it’s often helpful to have the destination address written down.

Renting a car is another option if you prefer the flexibility of driving.

Before your journey, it’s advisable to check the latest travel information and routes. Tlalnepantla’s central location and connectivity make it accessible for visitors arriving from various parts of Mexico City and beyond.

The municipality of Toluca, which has a geographical extent of 420.14 sq km, includes numerous communities other than Toluca de Lerdo, the largest of which are the municipalities of San Pablo Autopan and San José Guadalupe Otzacatipan.

The municipality is bordered by the municipalities of Almoloya de Juárez, Temoaya, Otzolotepec, Xonacatlán, Lerma, San Mateo Atenco, Metepec, Calimaya, Tenango del Valle, Villa Guerrero and Zinacantepec.

The Lerma River flows from Lake Almoloya del Río through the center of the municipality towards the west, flowing into Lake Chapala.

From this point westward the river takes the name of Río Grande de Santiago. And it goes from this lake to the Pacific Ocean in the state of Nayarit. The river is about 1,180 km long; about 60% of it is known as Lerma River and 40% as Santiago River.

Climate

Toluca features a subtropical highland climate, with relatively cool, dry winters, and mild, wet, humid summers. Freezing temperatures are common during winter.

Toluca’s climate is the coolest of any large Mexican city due to its altitude (2,680 m above sea level). Winter nights are cold and the temperature may drop below 0 °C.

Throughout the year, the temperature is rarely below −3 °C or above 27 °C.

The climate is prone to extended dry periods, particularly in the winter. The rainy season extends from June to October.

Just outside the heavily industrialized city, the municipality has forests with oak, pine, fir, cedar, cypress, and other flora, characteristic of the temperate zone of central Mexico.

When Toluca was founded by the Matlatzincas, its original name was Nepintahihui (“land of corn”).

The current name is based on the Náhuatl name for the area when it was renamed by the Aztecs in 1473.

The name has its origin in the word “tollocan” which comes from the name of the god, Tolo, plus the locative suffix, can, to denote the “place of Tolo”. It is also referred to in a number of Aztec codices as Tolutépetl, meaning hill of the god, Tolo, an allusion to the nearby volcano.

The name Toluca de Lerdo was adopted in 1861 in honor of President Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada.

Pre-Columbian era

The Valley of Toluca was known as Matlatzinco Valley in ancient times and home to at least four linguistic groups: the Matlatzinca, Otomi, Mazahua, and Nahua peoples.

In the Postclassic period, the valley was ruled by a large powerful capital city whose ruins are located today in the village of Calixtlahuaca, just north of the city of Toluca.

In 1478 the Mexica emperor Axayacatl conquered the Toluca Valley. The capital was stripped of its dynasty and power and some lands were distributed to kings and nobles from the Valley of Mexico.

One of the rivals of Calixtlahuaca was Tollocan, a minor city-state before 1478. When Axayacatl destroyed Calixtlahuaca, he placed the imperial provincial capital in Tollocan. Calixtlahuaca and other towns in the Toluca Valley paid tribute to the Aztec Empire through Tollocan.

After the Spanish conquest, the name Tollocan was changed to Toluca.

Archaeologists have not yet located a major Postclassic settlement within the modern city. Either the pre-Hispanic city of Tollocan was destroyed and covered over by the expansion of Toluca, or else the remains of Tollocan could lie outside of the modern city.

A small Postclassic site was discovered on the hill called Tolochi, which is in the north of the modern city, but the remains seem too insubstantial to have been a major provincial capital.

The tree of “Las Manitas Rojas”, which literally means “little red hands”, was planted before the Spanish Conquest in what is now the monastery of Nuestra Señora del Carmen. This tree is significant because it shows that Toluca was important enough for the Aztecs to create a botanical garden.

Colonial period

In 1521, the Spanish conquered the Valley of Toluca. Leading the troops was Gonzalo de Sandoval, one of Cortes’ many sergeants. Toluca’s first governor was Pedro Cortés Coyotzin. The valley of Toluca and what is now the city of Toluca were included in the concession made by King Carlos V of Spain to Hernán Cortés.

In 1524, the evangelization process started in Toluca. The most notable figure of this effort is Fray Andrés Castro, from Burgos, the old capital of Castile, by made a great number of improvements to the city and was the first one to learn the native Matlatzincan language.

The friar was well-loved by the Matlzinca people, as he worked to protect them from the injustices of the early colonial period. He is remembered to this day with a plaza that bears his name which includes a sculpture depicting him.

A Spanish community was established in 1530, but it was not until 1677 that Toluca was categorized as a town.

In 1793, the construction of a road to Mexico City was started. Although Toluca was recognized as a city as early as 1662, only in 1799, was Toluca officially named a city by the King Carlos IV of Spain on September 12.

Independence and post-independence

In 1810, at the beginning of the independence movement, Miguel Hidalgo stayed in Toluca for a few days on his way to the Battle of Monte de las Cruces.

In 1811, a group of indigenous natives of Mexico was shot and killed by Spanish royalists. In memorial to those who were killed in this incident, the place where this occurred was named “Plaza of the Martires”.

In 1812, the first city council of Toluca was installed. In 1821, independence was proclaimed by the local authorities.

After the creation of the State of Mexico in 1825, the state capital moved to different cities several times. until in 1830, Toluca was finally designated as the constitutional capital of the State of Mexico. In 1832, the building of “Los Portales” was started in downtown Toluca.

In 1836, because of the centralization of the Mexican federal government, all branches of government were relocated to Mexico City after some were in Toluca for several years.

In 1847, thanks to Ignacio Ramírez, “El Nigromante” or the Institute of Literature opened. In 1851, the “Teatro Principal” was built by González Arratia. Mariano Riva Palacio was named governor of the state and he started the most important modernization process of the city in the 19th century.

In 1881, The Industrial Union was founded, the railroad was opened and the Bank of State of Mexico created the first bills in the country. In 1882, the Teachers College was founded.

In 1910, people celebrated a century of Independence, and the Plaza España was inaugurated.

The center of the town is the Zócalo, also known as Plaza de los Mártires (“Plaza of the Martyrs”), which includes buildings such as the Palace of the State Government and the Justice Palace (Palacio de Justicia). The square is named after events that took place after the Battle of Tenango Hill during the Mexican War of Independence.

Insurgent commander José Maria Oviedo was faced with the royalist army of Rosendo Porlier, who succeeded in driving the rebels northward to Toluca. Viceroy Venegas ordered reinforcements for Porlier’s army and dispersed the insurgents, causing them to lose artillery and supplies.

In addition, the royalist forces took over a hundred prisoners and executed them in the main square.

The bodies of the prisoners were buried in a mass grave behind what is now the Municipal Palace. A temple was built over the spot after the end of the Revolution. A monument to Father Miguel Hidalgo, the “father” of the Mexican Revolution is in the center of the square.

It was created in Florence by Rivalta in 1899. The pedestal has reliefs depicting the storming of the Alhóndiga de Granaditas and the Battle of Monte de las Cruces.

The central plaza is surrounded by state and municipal government buildings. The state government palace and the Chamber of Deputies are recent constructions, but the buildings housing the state court and the municipal palace date from the 19th century.

The state court building originally was the home of the state government and was designed by Ramón Rodriguez Arangoiti, who also designed the imperial wing of the Chapultepec Castle.

The municipal palace was completed in 1873 on land that once belonged to a Franciscan monastery.

The Chamber of Deputies building contains murals done by Leopoldo Flores, which together are known as Construction: Images and Flight depicting man constructing buildings and himself at the same time.

The municipal palace and the Chamber of Deputies are decorated with Neoclassic façades, but the other government buildings, built in the 1960s are faced with tezontle in the style of the 18th-century palaces in Mexico City.

The Temple of La Merced is one of the most ancient convents still preserved and one of the most important founded by Spaniards. It is a beautiful building of a religious order called mercenarios, and it shows architectural styles from the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. Its principal façade has 3 naves and was constructed in the 18th century on the remains of the old Temple of San Francisco.

The interior of the temple exhibits a neoclassical style with gold leaf. It features oil paintings from the aforementioned times, such as the “Birth of San Pedro Nolasco”, founder of the Mercenarios order.

The temple became a hospice for orphans and beggars. Baroque construction style can be seen in the pilasters, niches, and the order’s shield. Inside, you can see paintings of Felipe Gutierrez, a Mexican painter who graduated from the San Carlos Academy.

It is located in downtown Toluca on Jose Ma. Morelos street.

Los Portales represent the social and commercial life of the city. They are composed of three sets of arches or portals that extend on the 3 sides of the city block that extends behind the main cathedral.

Behind the sets of arches, there is a walking space that takes you around the stores that are contained within. The western arches follow the perimeter of what was the La Asunción Franciscan monastery.

The eastern and southern arches were completed in 1836 by José María González Arratia. The original western arches were built by the Buenaventura Merlín. Each side consists of basket-handle arches, each with a balcony.

Each side has its own name. The eastern one, with 37 arches, is called “20 de Noviembre” or “Constitución”; the southern one, with 44 arches, is called “Madero” and the western one, with 35 arches, is called “Reforma”.

There are four additional arches at the entrance to Avenida Independencia. Near Los Portales are some of the city’s oldest businesses, some of which date from the 19th century such as the pharmacy on Calle Santos Degollado, a brass and iron workshop on Avenida Lerdo, and a leather workshop on Avenida Juárez.

The Plaza de Fray Andrés de Castro is located next to Los Portales and connected to the older arches by means of a passageway with a transparent roof. It is a semi-enclosed space that was once the sacristy of the La Asunción Franciscan Monastery. The sacristy was built by Felipe de Ureña and José Rivera and is essentially a reproduction of the Santa María del Puerto hermitage in Madrid and is one of the few remaining buildings of the old monastery. The square in front was recently remodeled but still contains traditional stores selling garapiña, traditional candies, tacos, and other regional foods. The Municipal Historic Archive is located above the passageway leading to Los Portales.

The Cathedral of Toluca was begun in 1867 by José Francisco de Paula on land originally belonging to the Asunción de Toluca Franciscan monastery. The building was originally designed by Agustín Carrillo. However, in 1870, Ramon Rodriguez Arangoiti redesigned the cathedral, based on his experience with old Roman basilicas although the present-day building still contains a number of the elements of the original design such as the aisle that runs parallel to the façade serving as a narthex, allowing access to the central and two side naves. The straight central nave is lighted by round-arched windows. The outside façade consists of two parts. The first has seven columned areas, as well as niches with the images of Saint John, Saint Thomas, Saint Peter, and Saint James. The second part rises above the main doors with three columned areas containing balconies, stained-glass windows, and balustrades, terminating in a rectilinear pendiment with an image of the Ascension of the Lord. In this, the cathedral shares design elements with the Cathedral of Mexico City. Above this, there is a clock with sculptures depicting the Fathers of the Greek Orthodox Church, Saint John Chrisotomus, Saint Basil the Great, Saint Athanasius, and Saint Gregory of Nyssa. The cathedral is topped by a dome with a bronze statue of Saint Joseph, who is the patron saint of the city, holding the infant Jesus. Overall the cathedral is a mix of styles, representing the various stages in which it was built and remodeled.

The Tercer Orden Temple is located to the side of the main cathedral. Its façade is integrated into the main cathedral’s in the popular indigenous Baroque architecture of the 18th century. It was the seat of the bishopric until 1978 when it was moved to the main cathedral. The temple contains a number of paintings, including The Three Orders and The Family Tree of Saint Francis.

The Cosmovitral is located in a stone and ironwork building in the center of Toluca, designed in 1910 by engineer Manuel Arratia in order to accommodate the “16 de Septiembre” market. It was constructed in Art Nouveau and Neoclassical style, with an area of 5,000 square metres (53,820 square feet). It is now a botanical garden with more than 400 species of plants from all over the world. It also features a series of stained glass windows that are considered the largest in the world. These windows were created and designed by a Mexican artist named Leopoldo Flores. Cosmovitral was inaugurated in 1980 and completed in 1990. The stained glass ceiling represents the Milky Way and joins the “Hombre Sol” (Sun Man) with the Galaxy of Andromeda. It is a monumental piece measuring 3,200 square m with more than 30 thousand pieces and half a million glass pieces of 28 different colors coming from many different parts of the world such as Italy, Germany, France, Belgium, Japan, Canada, and the United States. It has a series of scenes that symbolize man’s search for the light, the good, and the wisdom to elevate his spirit to liberate him from the shadows of evil and ignorance in an epic tale without beginning or end. At the spring equinox, the solar disc crosses the heart of “El hombre Sol” (the sunman), causing an explosion of light.

The Santa Veracruz Temple is the home of a famous image of “Our Lord of the Holy Cross” also known as a “Black Christ”. This image was originally housed in the San Francisco Temple, but the increasing number of worshippers dictated the building of its own sanctuary. Construction began in 1753, but because of friction between the Franciscans and worshippers, it was not completed until 1797. Although the original plans included two towers, only one was built, containing two hexagonal bodies, pairs of columns, and balconies with semicircular rails. Both bodies are topped with domes, each bearing a cross. The space that was reserved for the second tower instead has an ornate clock.

Toluca, being the capital of the State of Mexico, is home of several important museums. It is second only to Mexico City in number of museums. Some of them honor important Mexican artists such as José María Velasco Gómez, Felipe Santiago Gutiérrez, and Luis Nishizawa, among others.

The Museo de Bellas Artes (Museum of Fine Arts) was founded in 1945 by the ex-governor Isidro Fabela. It is the oldest museum of Toluca. It displays art by José Juarez, Cristóbal de Villalpando, and Miguel Cabrera, among others. It is housed in an 18th-century building that was once the “Discalced Carmelite Purísima Concepción” convent and was built between 1697 and 1711. One of the most valuable pieces is a catafalque dating from the mid-18th century. Since these artifacts were almost always burned by Church authorities, this is an extremely rare piece.

The Museo de Ciencias Naturales (Museum of Natural Sciences) has been located in Matlatzinca Park since 1971. It was founded by the ex-governor Carlos Hank González. It presents expositions related to natural sciences.

Also, it holds Luis Camarena González’s collections of butterflies, insects, mammals, and crustaceans.

The Museo de la Estampa (Print Museum) was dedicated in 1987 to graphic art. It displays lithographic, xylographic, chalcographic, serigraphic, offset and neographic art from Manuel Manilla, José Guadalupe Posada, Carlos Alvarado Lang, Alfredo Zalce, Rufino Tamayo, etc. It has seven display rooms and an embossing workshop.

The Museo de la Acuarela (Watercolor Museum) was founded in 1993 and is one of the few museums in the world dedicated to watercolors. It has rooms dedicated to Mexican artists like Pastor Velázquez, Vicente Mendiola, Edgardo Coghlan, Ignacio Barrios, and Ángel Mauro. It also has an Estado de México room with pieces that have won national prizes. It is located in a house that has always been known as “El Gallito” (Little Rooster), a name which appears in the crest of the main façade.

The Museo de la Numismática (Numismatics Museum) was founded in 1987 by the state government in order to show Mexico’s history through coins from the pre-Hispanic period up to the present day. It is one of a kind in Latin America. The collection of bills is very important because of its antiquity.

The Museo José María Velasco (José María Velasco Museum) was founded in honor of one of the most famous landscape artists of the 19th century. It holds about 40 pieces from the artist as well as drawings and oil paintings. It has a library and a central patio where cultural events take place. The building was once occupied by Father Miguel Hidalgo before he fought in the Battle of Monte de las Cruces. Works on permanent display include: “The Volcanoes Seen from the Ocotlán Valley”, “The Valley of Mexico from Molino del Rey” and “Self-Portrait”.

The Museo Felipe Santiago Gutiérrez (Felipe Santiago Gutiérrez Museum) also has a room of Mexican paintings from the 19th century. It has a collection of 225 oil paintings, watercolors, and drawings which reflects Gutiérrez’s evolution as an artist.

The Museo-Taller Luis Nishizawa (Luis Nishizawa Workshop-Museum) was founded in honor of the artist in 1992. It has 7 halls a library specializing in art and an information center. It is located in the old El Cóporo neighborhood, housed in one of Toluca’s oldest mansions which is mentioned in numerous 17th century documents.

The Centro Cultural Mexiquense contains three museums. The Museo de Arte Moderno (Museum of Modern Art) holds a great collection of Mexican paintings of the 20th and 21st centuries. The pieces come from other museums like Bellas Artes as well as from artist and institutional donations. Some of the artists represented are Gilberto Navarro, José Luis Cuevas, Siqueiros, Leopoldo Flores, etc. The Museo de Culturas Populares (Museum of Popular Cultures) displays a large collection of crafts, including items made of wood, bones, glass, and seeds, as well as textiles, traditional toys, and regional candy and other foods. The Museo de Antropología e Historia (Museum of Anthropology and History) has more than 1000 pieces on display, with an introductory room, five archeological rooms, seven ethnographic rooms, and one historical room. Its theme is Mexico’s place in the evolution of the hemisphere’s history and geography, as well as the geopolitical and strategic importance of the State of Mexico. Some of the finest Aztec stone sculptures are on display, including an important image of the god Ehecatl.

The Museo de Sitio (Site Museum) at Calixtlahuaca is located just north of the modern city of Toluca in its municipality. This small museum has some of the finds excavated at the site in the 1930s. It has a circular form in imitation of the famous circular temple of Calixtlahuaca.

The CASART or Casa de Artesanias (House of Handcrafts) is located on Avenida Tollocan near the highway leading to Mexico City. This large outlet run by the government specializes in crafts produced in the Toluca Valley area. Items include sweaters from Gualupita, rebozos (shawls) from Tenancingo, rugs from Temoaya, pottery from Metepec, Temascalcingo, and Valle de Bravo, as well as wooden items from Santa María Rayón.

The Museo Modelo de Ciencias e Industria (Modelo Museum of Science and Industry) is a science museum of Grupo Modelo, a leading company in the brewing industry.

The Nevado de Toluca or Xinantécatl is 30 km (19 mi) southwest of the city. The god Tolo was supposed to reside in the volcano’s crater. Its original indigenous name was Chignahualtecatl which means “Nine Mountains” but later was named Xinantecatl which means “naked man”, because the silhouette of its crater resembles a sleeping man, before the Spaniards named it Nevado, meaning “snow-covered”.

It is a place of increasing sporting activity, such as mountain biking, climbing, and high-altitude running. It is the only volcano in Mexico that has two lagoons and can be reached by automobile. There have been proposals to turn this mountain into a ski hill because of its accessibility and the low temperatures that exist on the mountain throughout the year, but recent reports on global warming have raised fears that the snow cap on the mountain will disappear completely within a few decades.

The area was converted into the Nevado de Toluca National Park in January 1936 with about 1.517 sq km in area. The park has forest land, especially of pines and obeto trees.

The prevalent animals are camp rats, teporingos, squirrels, tlacuaches, lizards, snakes, and eagles. On the lower part of this mountain, there are picnic tables and BBQ grills. In the higher part of the volcano (inside), there are two lagoons in which visitors can practice scuba-diving and fishing.

This volcano is unique in Mexico in that one can enter the crater by car. Sierra Morelos Park is about 3 km away from the center of Toluca. This is a reforested area with a small artificial lake, a picnic area, and a playground.

Mexican food mixes European and Mesoamerican elements. In Toluca, the most famous dish is chorizo, a regional sausage made of ground pork and tomato sauce, pumpkin mole, pipian and other ingredients such as salt, pepper, white wine, almonds, potatoes, vinegar, garlic, and chile. In Mexico, the word “chorizo” is used as a nickname for anything (anybody) from Toluca. Other popular dishes, which must be mentioned are “tacos de carnitas” (pork tacos) and “tacos de plaza” made of barbacoa, pork, chicharron (fried pork rind), papalo, onion, cilantro, nopales, cueritos, chili sauce, salt, and lime. The traditional food includes vegetables from the region such as “quelites”, “quintoniles”, “huazontles”, spinach, “verdolagas”, carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, and so forth.

Toluca has a variety of traditional candies such as “alegrías”, “jamoncillos” (a candy bar with flavors such as lemon, pineapple, apple, or chocolate), “lemons” (lemons decorated with coconut), “chilacayotes” (pumpkin in syrup), “cocadas” (mainly made with coconut), “palanquetas” (a peanut bar covered with melted sugar).

Traditional drinks include “garapiña” and “mosquito”. “Garapiña” is a drink based on fermented pineapple, and “mosquito” is a drink obtained from the infusion of fruit in alcohol. “Mosquito” can be also flavored with sugar, syrup, or honey.

Toluca is home to a series of traditional festivities such as the typical solemn “silent procession” that takes place every Holy Friday when the Catholic congregation from Toluca and its surroundings get together in the center of the city to express their respect and devotion for Jesus Christ’s sacrifice. Easter and Lent are celebrated in a similar way.

Currently, there are two official orchestras: a State one and a Municipal one. The one from the State is the Orquesta Sinfónica del Estado de México. Higher education institutions have marching bands, and in some towns, there are wind bands.

The dancing institutions include the Instituto Mexiquense de Cultura and the homeless-destined IMSS and DIF. There are also schools of dance such as the Escuela de Bellas Artes and the UAEM.

There is also a youth marching band of Toluca called “Eagles of Anahuac”. This band was formed about 35 years ago and was the first youth marching band in the country.

Road

Toluca has an infrastructure of highways that connect the city with the main cities of the country as well as its international Airport, and inter-city bus Station.

The Libramiento (bypass) Toluca is a project to directly connect the Toluca-Mexico City highway to the east of the city to the Toluca-Atlacomulco highway that extends north. It will permit easier access to the airport as well as a bypass route for traffic heading from Mexico City to the west and northwest. The libramiento is already complete, but it is not used by many people because of the high tolls.

The highways that connect Toluca with Mexico City and Guadalajara are being expanded and modernized due to the “Mexiquese Outer Loop” (Circuito Exterior Mexiquense) project, which aims to improve major highways leading from Mexico City to the rest of the country. One proposed highway called Autopista Lerma – Tres Marías y Ramal Tenango (Lerma – Tres Marías and Tenango branch highway), aims to improve transit between Toluca and Cuernavaca, as well as other cities to the south. Currently, almost all major roadways serving Toluca transit in the north. It will allow transit from Toluca to southern and eastern destinations bypassing Mexico City but connecting the city with the Mexico City–Cuernavaca highway. However, the project is opposed by Greenpeace Mexico as well as a number of local groups, primarily due to the possible damage it can cause to the “Great Water Forest” “Gran Bosque del Agua” forest, which contains an important aquifer for the Toluca, Cuernavaca and Mexico City metropolitan areas. There are also concerns that the highway will extend development into small towns that do not want it.

Rail

A commuter rail line known as Toluca–Mexico City commuter rail will connect Toluca to Mexico City. The line will commence service in 2018.

Airport

Toluca is served by Licenciado Adolfo López Mateos International Airport. The airport has a 4,200-metre (13,800-foot) runway and is located 15 km from Toluca and 60 km from the country’s capital, thus serving as an overflow airport for Mexico City. This airport has started a development initiative of the Federal and State Governments, as well as the private sector, which provided an investment of almost 3,200 million U.S. dollars in the last 2 years.

This airport has created 4,500 jobs and has contributed to the increase of commercial activity in the metropolitan area. It has also attracted many airline passengers who live in Mexico City to use the Toluca airport, which represents migration in potential consumers of 2.2 million passengers in 2007 and it is projected that for 2008 up to five million travelers may utilize the Toluca Airport, which would make it the 4th busiest in the country.

Bike sharing

Toluca’s Huizi public bike share system was launched in 2015 with 27 stations and 350 bicycles. The system is operated by PBSC Urban Solutions.

In the area have been found the bones of mammoths and other animals, excavated starting in 1991. It is an important site because it establishes the presence of man here to about 15000 – 13000 BC, making it one of the oldest human settlements in the Americas.

Ceramic pieces here date to about 400 BC. Teotihuacan presence is documented around 200 to 750 AD, mostly agricultural villages that also produced items like baskets and rope.

Between 850 and 1110, the area was inhabited by peoples speaking Náhuatl and Otomis, while the area was under Toltec domination from the city of Tula (located in the present-day state of Hidalgo).

The current city was founded by the Tepanecas in 1356, but its first tlatoani (chief), named Cuauhtzinteuctli, did not begin his rule until 1408. The city’s last tlatoani died in 1519 of measles brought over by the Spanish.

After the Spanish Conquest, the area was reorganized into large haciendas with the city of Tultitlán under the jurisdiction of Tacuba.

The village became a parish in 1605. In 1645, an image of San Antonio de Padua arrived and became the town’s patron saint. The small village remained so until 1969 when it was named a town, attaining city status in 1997.

Principal sites to see in the city include the Temple of San Lorenzo from the 16th century and modifications dating from the 18th century to the 20th century.

The Temple of San Antonio de Padua was initiated in the 18th century and finished in the 20th.

The Chapel of the Holy Cross (Capilla de la Santa Cruz) was probably begun in the 17th century and is now integrated into the new municipal palace.

Aside from these constructions is a cypress (Ahuehuete) located in the center of the city that is at least 250 years old.

The municipality was established in 1820. It has two geographically separate sections.

The larger southwestern section of the municipality, which contains its municipal seat, borders the municipalities of Cuautitlán, Tultepec, Coacalco de Berriozábal, Tlalnepantla, Cuautitlán Izcalli, and the Gustavo A. Madero borough of Mexico City.

The geographically separate northeastern section, which contains San Pablo de las Salinas, Paraje San Pablito, and Las Chinampas, is also bordered by Ecatepec de Morelos, Jaltenco, and Nextlalpan.

The two sections are separated by the municipalities of Tultepec and Coacalco, which border both sections.

The municipality has a territory of 71.1 km².

The area is subtropical due to its altitude with rainy and dry seasons. It is divided into two geographic zones: the plains and the mountain range of La Sierra de Guadalupe, which extends into various other municipalities and was declared an ecological park.

The area is a source of building materials such as stone, and agricultural activities such as the growing of corn, alfalfa, and fruit trees are still practiced.

However, the urbanization of the area is diminishing the land dedicated to these activities. Industry is now the major employer with entities devoted to chemicals, cardboard boxes, plastics, and various types of metal production.

One of the most famous attractions in Tultitlan is the San Antonio Local Festival.

Each year, it falls on June 14 when all the people from the neighboring areas of Tultitlan center around the town’s parish church to worship San Antonio de Padua, the saint who gives name to the town.

The figure of the saint is carried along the streets among the crowd of people and musicians until it finally arrives at the church.

The festival begins on June’s first days and is extended almost for one month. Along the Festival there are many things to see such as the traditional pottery from the region and other handcrafted objects produced in Mexican states.

People can also appreciate the beautiful fireworks that are always fired up every night from the beginning to the end of the festival.

It is also a perfect opportunity to explore the center of the plaza where much traditional food is found such as quesadillas, pambazos, tlacoyos, and other appetizers and many traditional candies.

In addition to this food, the inhabitants also can find a great variety of strange drinks made with combinations of vodka, beer, whisky, ron, tequila, coke, and mineral water.

Walking along the locals found in the streets there is a special area where many sorts of farm animals are placed. Many explorers stop here to get sheep, turkeys, chickens, pigs, and even cows.

For a low price, they can get a new pet that would require a huge space at home.

The municipality is surrounded by mountain ranges and other elevated areas covering about 50% of the total area and include the Sierra de Temascaltepec, Sierra de Tenayac, Sierra de Valle de Bravos as wells as the hills that roll around the mountain ranges.

These elevations include a number of small volcanoes such as the “Cerro Gordo”.

The main river of the area is the Río Balsas, whose system includes the tributaries of El Salto, Barranca Honda, Tiloxtoc rivers.

Valle de Bravo’s weather is mild- humid. It rains during summer: it starts in June and ends in September. The warmest months are: May, June, July and August. The average temperature is 17.5 °C (63.50 °F). The minimum temperature is 1.3°C (34.34°F) and the maximum is 32°C (89.60°F).

The municipality still has indigenous communities with Nahuas, Matlatzinca and Purépecha and their languages can be still heard.

The first to arrive to the area were the who settled mostly in the present-day communities of Santa Maria Ahuacatlán, La Peña and Otumba.

Between 1474 and 1479, the Aztec chief Axayacatl conquered the region, establishing what it would be the last addition to the Aztec Empire.

After the destruction of Tenochtitlan by the Spanish, campaigns to subdue this area were carried out by Andrés de Tapia and Gonzalo de Sandoval, followed by evangelization by the Dominicans and the Augustinians.

Around 1530, the Franciscan friar Gregorio Jiménez de la Cuenca founded the town as a congregation called “El Pino”.

Between 1607 and 1615, a Franciscan convent was established here, giving the town that grew up around it its original name of San Franciscano del Valle de Temascaltepec.

The town suffered greatly during the Mexican War of Independence due to the monarchy’s attempts to repress the rebellion there.

Another short-lived rebellion occurred in 1834 when Carlos Guadalupe Tepixtoco Abad proclaimed his plan to re-establish the empire of Moctezuma. However, most people considered the cause to be ridiculous and the movement quickly died out.

The village gained town status in 1842 and city status in 1878. Valle de Bravo became a municipality in 1852.

In the beginning of the 19th century, Professor G. Velázquez wrote the poem “Valle de Bravo en la poesía de Pagaza”, describing the region’s beauty. The town also saw incursions by Zapatistas during the Mexican Revolution.

In the 20th century, the geographic configuration of the landscape changed.

In 1937, the Federal Commission on Electricity began plans for an electrical plant called Ixtapantongo, later called the “Miguel Alemán” hydroelectric system. Construction began in 1938 and ended in 1947 ending with a Villa Victoria Dam that flooded 2,900 hectares, creating the current reservoir which extends all the way to the state of Michoacán.

The electrical plant generates 458,775 kilowatts per hour and forms a part of the water system supplying Mexico City. The town is situated on a small plateau at the foot of several hills at the edge of this lake.

During the 1960s the place became world-famous for its auto racing event Circuito Avandaro which was suspended in 1969 after pilot Moisés Solana’s fatal accident.

On September 11–12, 1971, Valle de Bravo became the Mexican Woodstock as a large gathering of between 200,000 and 300,000 hippies from all over the country, Central and North America arrived in town to take part in the massive Festival de rock y ruedas Avandaro held in the hamlet of Tenantongo.

As of 2005 it had a population of 22,166. The dam is actually a series of dams named Valle, Tilostoc, Colorines, Ixtapantongo and the newest at Santo Tomás de los Plátanos.

With the creation of the lake came the development of exclusive resort facilities such as hotels, golf clubs, country cabins, sailing clubs and a myriad of restaurants.

Temple of Santa María Ahuacatlán was originally a chapel when it was started in 1864 but has been converted into a church which is still under construction.
The main altar contains a Black Christ which is still worshipped. Inside the church are extremely large canvases by Phillippa, an English artist who was recently commissioned. These canvases depict the relationship between Mazahua legend and the Black Christ.

The Parish of Saint Francis of Asisi used to have two very large naves constructed by the Franciscans, one nave for the Spanish and one for the indigenous people. All that is preserved from the 17th century are the baptismal font, the holy water font and a carving of Saint Francis which is located in a vaulted niche in the present-day main nave. Other, more recent features of the church include murals and Italian oil paintings. The main bell was cast during the Mexican Revolution. The third and main nave was constructed in the 1950s in which all residents of the town participated; however, this project was not terminated until 1994.

The Casa de la Cultura (House of Culture) is located in front of the municipal dock on Lake Avandaro. Classes are given there in activities such as aerobics, music and painting to children and adults. It also hosts conferences and workshops on natural medicine as well as art expositions. The complex includes a library, a ballroom, a cafe, exhibition rooms and an auditorium. Also, the workshop of painter Ismael Ramos is found here.

The Joaquín Arcadio Pagaza Museum is dedicated to the conservation, research and spread of the region’s cultural history. It features objects that were the property of Don Joaquín Arcadio Pagaza, a notable person here. It displays paintings and sculpture from local, national and international artists. It also supports literature by sponsoring conferences, films, theatre and other events. It also offers courses and workshops in fine arts, music and literature as well as a library.

The Municipal Boardwalk and Dock, on the edge of Lake Avandaro, is the main attraction in the town. There are a number of restaurants on the boardwalk and some that float alongside the dock. On weekends, artists display and sell their work here. Boats for excursions on the lake can be rented here as well as horses. It’s an artificial lake where you can practice water sports and enjoy trips on a yacht or on a boat. On the banks of this river there are more than 42 nautical clubs. It is great for navigation, sailing, and water-skiing.

The Jardín Central (Central Garden) is located on the side of the Parish of San Francisco. There is live music at the bandstand on Sunday afternoons and street food such as corn, campechanas, tacos, pambazos and traditional ice cream for sale. A bust of Nicolás Bravo, for whom the town was named also stands in this location.

One major sport In Valle is paragliding. The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale designated Valle to be the host of the 2009 World Championship, with 150 competitors from more than 40 countries. The Monarca Paragliding Open, an annual paragliding winter competition held in Valle de Bravo and Temascaltepec, will have the ninth edition in January–February 2011. In addition to paragliding, ultralight flying is popular. Age is not a factor in who can participate; however, first-time fliers do so in tandem.

At Valle de Bravo you can enjoy safe night life but also you can enjoy sunny days and at night you can go to many bars and restaurants located in downtown.

Also to the north is the village of La Peña, which is on a high peak above the treeline. Here are some archeological remnants of Mazahua and Matlatzinca origin.

Just outside it is the Velo de la Novia (Bride’s Veil) waterfall, where the San Juan creek drops 35 meters in the middle of relatively untouched forest. The area has been converted into a natural park.

The Maranatha Retreat lies just to the north of Valle de Bravo. It used to be a Carmelite convent, but today it is open to people of all faiths. It was built in the 1860s and 1870s by Father Miguel Angel Perez Alonso fusing elements of Byzantine, Mediterranean, Mexican Baroque and Asian architecture.

Valle de Bravo also lies in the wintering grounds of the monarch butterfly. Piedra Herrada, located 25 km east of the town on the north side of the Los Saucos highway, is a federal reserve for the protection of the butterflies. In this sanctuary, visitors can rent horses to explore the sanctuary as well as a guide. The butterflies can be found all winter long at the top of the mountaintop in the abundant fir trees.

Just south of the town of Valle de Bravo is a small village called Avandaro, which hosted the “Rock y Ruedas” festival in September 1971.

Holidays such as New Year’s Eve and Semana Santa bring large numbers of visitors to the town leading to strong recommendations to arrange lodging well in advance.

Other yearly events include the Festival Vallesano (March) where people participate in sporting, horseback-riding, art exhibitions and food-tasting events as well as cultural and musical performances.

However, the largest annual celebration is the cultural festival known as the Festival de las Almas (Festival of the Souls) which has occurred each of the last five years in late September or early October.

The 2007 festival brought in 4.5 million pesos to the area with 8 days of festivities, 151 programmed events centered on film, dance, art exhibitions, music, literature, workshops and theater, as well as Day of the Dead altars. It has spread to include events in Apaxco, Cuautitlán Izcalli, Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl, Temascalcingo, Texcoco and Toluca. This event featured “Alan” State Dance Troupe from Ossetia Alania, Russia as well as artists from thirteen other countries. Roughly 160–170,000 people attended the event.

From Mexico City

Buses from Mexico City $7-$12 (3:28 hours) run each 30 minutes.
Buses from Mexico City via Toluca $10-$27 (4:00 hours) run each 30 min/1 hour.
Taxi from Mexico City $30-$45 (1:35 hours).

From Toluca

Buses from Toluca $6-$9 (1:35 hours) run each 30 minutes.
Taxi from Toluca $18-$22 (0:50 min).

You can dial 078 from any phone, where you can find free information about tourist attractions, airports, travel agencies, car rental companies, embassies and consulates, fairs and exhibitions, hotels, hospitals, financial services, migratory and other issues.

Or dial the toll-free (in Mexico) number 01-800-006-8839.

You can also request information to the email correspondencia@sectur.gob.mx

MORE EMERGENCY NUMBERS:

General Information: 040 (not free)

SNational Emergency Service: 911

Radio Patrols: 066
Police (Emergency): 060
Civil Protection: +52(55)5683-2222
Anonymous Complaint: 089

Setravi (Transport Mobility): +52(55)5209-9913
Road Emergency: 074

Cruz Roja: 065 o +52(55)5557-5757
Firefighters: 068 o +52(55)5768-3700

The town of Villa del Carbón lies near the center of the municipality at an altitude of 2,600 meters above sea level and has a population of 8,029 (2005 census). Most of the houses and other buildings in this town have white facades with pitched roofs covered in Spanish-style clay tile. The roads in the center of town are of cobblestone.

The main church of the town is called the Temple of Nuestra Señora de la Peña de Francia. It was constructed between 1700 and 1740 and is the origin of this particular community in the municipality. The church was originally constructed to house an image of the Virgin Mary called “La Virgen de la Peña de Francia,” which is one of only two brought to Mexico from Spain. The other is in Salamanca, Guanajuato. Those living around the church were not part of a named town, they were only known as “those who make charcoal.” People looking to locate this community were directed to the church of the community that made charcoal (and is the origin of the town’s name). This Virgin is black, like charcoal, and over time, many miracles became attributed to her. For this reason, this image was hidden by the local people for many years in fear that the authorities would take it from them. Today, however, she is plainly on display at the main altar. The church itself is a typical one for the early 18th century and reminiscent of Romantic style. In 1904, Crispín Montiel painted the cupola of the church with Biblical personages. The large trees on the church property date back to the founding of the municipality. To the side of the church is the Luisa Isabel Campos de Jiménez Cantú Municipal Park, which contains an open-air Greek-style theatre, surrounded by pine trees.

Across from the church is the main town plaza called Plaza Hidalgo, which was built and named in 1906 in preparation for the upcoming centennial of Mexico’s Independence. The kiosk in the center was the site of the town’s fountain, which used to provide potable water for the community. The kiosk contains the tourist information center for the municipality. The plaza was remodeled during town renovation work in the 1960s and 1970s, which is when the current palms and giant eucalyptus trees were planted.

Aside from the church, the plaza is surrounded by the old and new municipal palaces, a number of residential structures with shops on the ground floors. The old municipal building site is now the Casa de Cultura Dr. Jorge Jiménez Cantú. The original municipal palace was built at the end of the 17th century and was of Neoclassical architecture. By 1926, the old building had deteriorated enough to warrant demolition. A new, two-story building was constructed and inaugurated in 1931. This center contains the municipality library, an auditorium and a continuing education center.

Due to its traditional architecture and surrounding scenery, the town was included as one of the Pueblos con Encanto (Towns with Charm) program of the State of Mexico. The town has been actively seeking to take advantage of it, advertising itself as such and participating in the Pueblos con Encanto Bicentenario (Bicentennial Towns with Charm) program in preparation for Mexico Bicentennial of Independence in 2010.

While the town of Villa del Carbon is the largest community in the municipality, it is not the oldest. The oldest communities in the municipality are Cachihuapan, Taxhimay, Temanacoya y Zacapexco. Zacapexco is located to the southeast of the municipal seat and is old enough to be mentioned in the Huamantla Codex which was written in the 11th or 12th century as one of the Otomí groups to have left the cave in Chiapan to settle on the Zacatepexco Hill. The name Zacatepexco is from Nahuatl meaning “where there is a staw bed.” Another ancient community is the village of Taxhimay, located east of the municipal seat. Its name come from Otomí and means “pasture of white sheep,” as it is one of the few areas in the municipality with significant pasture land.

To the north of this community is the Taxhimay Hacienda, which was owned by a major textile family from Tepeji del Río. In 1931, the Taxhimay Dam was built near here, which completely inundated the small village of San Luis de las Peras. This hacienda provided the space to the villages resettlement.

The oldest communities of this municipality are of Otomí or Nahua ethnicity. The Otomí arrived to this are first and their most representative villages are Taxhimay, Piequexhimó and San Lorenzo Pueblo Nuevo. The later Nahua villages are represented by Cachihuapan, San Luis Anáhuac, Temanacoya and Xajay. Both sets of communities retain many of their cultural roots. There is a story that when the communities of San Luis Taxhimay (Otomí) and San Luis Anáhuac (Nahua) were being “refounded” as Spanish colonial villages, there was a dispute between them as to who should become the custodian of which of two saint images: one of Saint Louis, King of France and one of Our Lord of Lament. The story states that the dispute was finally settled by a coin toss, with the first image going to San Luis Anáhuac and the latter to San Luis Taxhimay.

The municipality of Villa del Carbón is located in the north of Mexico State, northwest of Mexico City. Much of the territory consists of rugged hills and mountains, with the high point being Cerro de la Bufa, at 3,600 meters above sea level. These hills and mountains join with the Sierra de Tepotzotlán to the east. These mountains here are known at the Sierra de Monte Alto. These mountains are covered in conifer forests and account for 58% of the municipality. Semi-arid rolling hills cover 34% and only about 9% is flat land, generally found in small isolated patches. The high altitude of between 2,300 and 3,600 meters gives the municipality a temperate climate, with freezing temperatures not uncommon in the winter. The highlands have a wet climate, while the lower hills can be semi-arid. Significant winds are present in much of the municipality.

The relatively abundant rains at the high elevations give rise to a large number of small fresh-water springs, which create small streams that eventually join into the municipality’s four rivers: the San Jeronimo, Las Animas, Los Sabios and El Oro. There is one other “river” called the “Río Seco” (Dry River) which flows only during the rainy season. Most of the bodies of water here have been created by the El Llano, Taxhimay, Benito Juárez and Molinitos Dams, with only one natural lake called Santa Catarina.

Early human settlement in the Villa del Carbón area is demonstrated by cave paintings at a rock shelter located near the San Jeronimo River. The first known ethnicity to settle here are the Otomí, who called this area “Nñonthe” (top of the hill) Evidence of their early occupation is found in the way of primitive ceramic and human and animal figurines. These Otomí would be joined by other nomadic groups, who eventually synthesized their language and mythology. As they did so, this area became known as the Otomí region of Chiapan, which rough correlates with the modern-day municipalities of Villa del Carbón and Chapa de Mota. This region, along with neighboring Xillotepec (today Jilotepec) had significant influence in the early Mesoamerican world, as it was located where commercial traffic between Tula and Teotihuacan passed. This would lead to a number of fortifications and other structures. Remains of these can be found today such as the fortifications at Cañada and Taxhimay, the ceremonial mound at El Mogote and a highly deteriorated and overgrown set of buildings known as Iglesias Viejas (Old Churches). The oldest currently existing communities are still Otomí in character. This is because unlike their early neighbors, the Mazahuas and the Matlatzincas, the Otomí favored areas with rugged terrain, so they dominated this area until about the 12th century. Later, Nahua people would come and settle in the area. By the 15th century, however, the Aztecs (a Nahua people) would dominate this area, making the Otomí a tributary people.

This would end with the Spanish Conquest of the Aztec Empire in the early 16th century. In the late 16th century, a number of Spanish families began renting lands from local chiefs here on which to raise cattle and sheep. These ranches would lead to more Spanish immigration to the area, who intermarried with the local population. During most of the colonial period, until 1714, the Chiapan area remained intact as an entity. In 1714, the area was split in what are now roughly the municipalities of Chapa de Mota and Villa del Carbón. At that time, however, the community which is now the municipal seat was only known by through its church as the “Congregation of Santa María de la Peña de Francia.” Later in the colonial period the community also became known as a major supplier of charcoal to surrounding communities such as San Pedro Atzcapotzaltongo, Magú, Cañada de Cisneros and even Mexico City. This activity gave it the moniker of “Villa Nueva del Carbón de nuestra Señora Santa María de la Peña de Francia” (New Village of Charcoal of Our Lady of Holy Mary of the Hill of France. It also gave rise to a number of legends. In order to identify the community, one would be directed to the Villa Nueva, en donde hacen carbon” (the New Village, where they make charcoal), which eventually led to the place being marked on maps simply as “El Carbón” and verbally, the phrase became contracted to Villa del Carbón.

When the Mexican War of Independence broke out in 1810, Villa del Carbon and the surrounding communities did not immediately join in with Miguel Hidalgo’s cause. Support came after the nearby Battle of Monte de las Cruces in 1810, which Hidalgo won. After that, many from here decided to join Hidalgo’s army. One notable participant from the municipal seat is José Manuel Correa, aka, José María Correa who fought with Pino, Arriaga, and Chito Villagrán and defeating the royalist commander Andrade en Venta Hermosa in 1811.

In the years immediately following Independence, this municipality suffered from the lack of political stability, which led to high crime rates, especially highway robbery. The rugged terrain here was ideal for these marauders to prey upon travelers and protect themselves from authorities. Finally in 1834, President Antonio López de Santa Anna ordered Commander Francisco de Medina Troncoso y Ruizgómez to the region to combat the bandits, who had become extremely brazen. These forces fought with the bandits at their fortifications around Villa del Carbon, managing to overrun them in five days. In celebration, the bells of the church of Villa del Carbón rang out.

Another important event in the history of Villa del Carbón is the arrival of the captured Melchor Ocampo in 1861 to be imprisoned at the Los Fresnos House. Later, he was transferred to Tepeji del Río, Hidalgo, where he was eventually executed. During the French Intervention in 1863, Villa del Carbón sided with the Maximilian, forming a regiment led by Colonel Patricio Garnada to fight for the emperor. The municipal seat was burned later in 1863 by Cuellar, including the priest’s house.

During the Mexican Revolution, there is some evidence that the town had recurrent problems the Liberation Army of the South, such as the severing of telegraph lines. During the Cristero War, the town lost one of its leaders in 1928. In 1931, the town was electrified and was reached by its first highway, connecting the municipal seat to San Martín Cachihuapan. In this same year, the new municipal palace, zocalo and municipal park were built. The municipal palace’s clock was installed in 1943.

In the 1920s and 1930s a number of ejidos such as San Lorenzo el Viejo, San Luis Anahua and Monte de Peña were created.

Tourism is the major source of income for the municipality, based on its natural resources. The various small streams fed by fresh-water springs converge into four rivers in the territory. These rivers were dammed in the first half of the 20th century, originally for agricultural purposes but they have become an important source of tourism, including ecotourism revenue. There are four main dams that attract tourists: Taxhimay, El Llano, Molinitos and Benito Juárez. These dams offer a number of activities, such as mountain biking, hiking, rappelling, swimming, jet skiing, kayaking, canoeing, sailing and sport fishing, especially for trout. Accommodations here include tent and RV camping facilities and rustic cabins.

The largest and most important dam economically is the Taxhimay Dam. It was constructed in 1934, flooding the valley and covering the small community of San Luís de las Peras, leaving only the church tower and part of the cupola visible above the water. Canoe tours to visit the tower and cupola are available. In addition to offering the activities listed above, it also hosts the annual XTERRA Triathlon. The El Llano Dam is 20 km from the town of Villa del Carbón and is located within a state park, which is also part of the Zacapexco ejido. The area has a relatively cold climate and the dam is surrounded by conifer forests. This area hosts the “Extremetour” event organized by Raid Mexico . It also boasts a cabin large enough to accommodate twenty people.

Two smaller dams, the Benito Juárez and Molinitos are still primarily also offer many activities but on a smaller scale.

Trout has become an important economic resource. The large number of rivers and streams that feed into dams have created places to fish for trout as well as trout-farming. In locations like the Taxhimay Dam, boat rentals for fishing include cooking what you catch. Trout-farms raise and sell the fish to locales inside and outside of Villa del Carbón. There are also a number of restaurants dedicated to cuisine based on trout and other forest products. These restaurants are mostly located were rivers run near the highways to Mexico City and Atlacomulco.

In and around the municipal seat, charreada is a major part of the local culture and competitions here have gone national. The main sponsor of these events is the Villa de Carbón Charreada Association, which has gained statues in the charreada world over the years. This association now hosts national-level competitions at the Lienzo Charro Cornielio Nieto, located just outside the town of Villa del Carbón. One particular group of note is the Escaramuza Charra (a group of twelve women who perform choreographed equine displays). This group has placed in the top three in many regional and national-level competitions and placed fifth in the national championships of 2005. Villa del Carbón main charreada events take place on March 10 (founding of the municipality), September 16 (Mexican Independence) and December 8 (Feast day of the patron saint of Villa del Carbón). On these days, the events are accompanies by musical events, dances, craft expositions and regional cuisine.

With ranches and charreadas an important part of Villa de Carbón’s history and culture, crafts related to these, especially leather-making and leather products. Principal goods made are boots, leather jackets, hats and other items related to the needs of horsemen. Crafts-production employs significant percentage of the municipality’s residents. The most important item produced here is called “botines,” which is a kind of ankle-high boot associated with charreada. Villa del Carbón is one of the last locations in Mexico to be a significant producer of this footwear and they are exported to many locations in the country. Another craft practiced here is the making of knit items such as scarves, ponchos, wraps, sweaters,etc. These are mostly available at the tianguis (temporary market) that pops up on weekends at Plaza Hidalgo in the town center. Lastly, the town also has a number of “rompope” (a sweet egg liqueur) producers. Rompope was brought to Mexico by Spanish friars and its production here originated with the monasteries they established. Over time, however, its production fell into secular hands.

Early pre-Hispanic history refers to the area around the Cerro de Xico and the Island of Xico as most of the modern city was underwater until relatively recently. The area was mostly fishing villages from 900 BC to 100 AD. However, from 550 to 650, the area was dominated by the Teotihuacan culture. From 650 to 750, an Otomi settlement gained prominence.

The Acxotecas arrived around 1328, the same time that chinampa farming began here. Xico was conquered by the Aztec Tezozomoc in 1381, after which groups of Mexicas settle here extending the chinampa farming system in the 14th and 15th centuries.

The area was ceded to Hernán Cortés by the Spanish kind in 1529.

For a geologically significant chunk of time, the city and the surrounding area was underwater, drowned by Lake Chalco, just like much of the Mexico Basin. Lake Chalco along with Lakes Texcoco and Xochimilco were formed when lavas from the Chichinautzin volcanic field blocked river drainages to the south. During the 16th and 17th centuries following the Spanish conquest of Mexico, the lakes were largely drained in order to avoid periodic flooding.

The modern area began in the 19th century when Porfirio Díaz ordered the draining of Lake Chalco which devastated the economies of the former coastline communities.

The Mexican Revolution tried the compensate these communities by the creation of ejidos, the two largest here being Estación Xico with 507 hectares and San Miguel Xico with 250 hectares. These ejidos, as well as the present-day city and municipality, rest almost entirely on former lakebed.

For the most part, the area laid barren until the late 1970s, when the government drained the lake entirely resulting in the sudden influx of families coming from the central and southern parts of Mexico to occupy the newly found land. Corporate agriculturists and desperate landless peasants struck illegal or quasi-legal deals with the communal organizations and wrested control of the rich volcanic soil. Thousands and thousands of families poured into the region, hoping for work. Farmers climbed over the rim of the volcano and plowed fields inside the crater.

However, the area did not become a separate municipality until 1994.

The only notable sites in the area are The Cerro del Marqués which contains architecture and archeological remains but these are not open to the public. However, there is the Museo Comunitario (Community Museum) which displays local archeological finds located in the Casa de Cultura “Chalchiuhtlicue”.

There is also the Ex – Hacienda de Xico which was constructed at the same time the lake was drained.

Cerro de Xico

Cerro de Xico or the “Hill of Xico” lies at the extreme southern end of Mexico City in the municipality of Xico within the Chichinautzin volcanic field. Cerro de Xico isn’t actually a hill – it’s a beautifully round tuff ring formed by phreatomagmatic eruptions through the middle of Lake Chalco, whose remains can be seen surrounding the crater rim. Being located just 40km south of the city center, the volcanic crater is slowly being engulfed by the ever advancing urban sprawl, even though the interior is still being used for agriculture naturally protected from the swarming city by the tuff ring.

You can dial 078 from any phone, where you can find free information about tourist attractions, airports, travel agencies, car rental companies, embassies and consulates, fairs and exhibitions, hotels, hospitals, financial services, migratory and other issues.

Or dial the toll-free (in Mexico) number 01-800-006-8839.

You can also request information to the email correspondencia@sectur.gob.mx

MORE EMERGENCY NUMBERS:

General Information: 040 (not free)

National Emergency Service: 911

Radio Patrols: 066
Police (Emergency): 060
Civil Protection: +52(55)5683-2222
Anonymous Complaint: 089

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Road Emergency: 074

Cruz Roja: 065 o +52(55)5557-5757
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As a municipal seat, the town of Zinacantepec is the local governing authority for more than 130 other named communities, which together form a territory of 308,68 square km.

About one-third of the municipality’s population lives in the town proper. Despite its rural and traditional nature, very few speakers of indigenous languages are left.

The Nevado de Toluca volcano is a dominating geographical feature here, with a significant part of the National Park being located in the municipality.

The elevation here varies between 3,200 and 2,750 meters above sea level and the soil is made of composites from past lava flows and ash deposits from the nearby volcano, which is now dormant.

Some other smaller volcanoes exist here, such as the Molcajete, formed by the Nevado’s third stage of eruptions.

Surface water is mostly in the form of the Tejalpa River, some small streams, and some freshwater springs, all of which are fed by the runoff from the Nevado de Toluca.

Much of the wild vegetation is a forest with pines, cedars, and fir trees, which mostly exist in the national park, along with most of the wildlife, which includes squirrels, opossums, coyotes, eagles, crows, and some snakes and other reptiles.

Climate

The area has a temperate, mildly wet climate with freezes common in the foothills of the volcano.

Highs in the summer are around 28°C with lows in the winter can get to −5°C.

Most rains fall between June to October.

The history of the town and municipality begins about 1500 years ago at an elevation now named “Cerro de Murciélago” (“Bat Mountain”).

The hill contained two caves that used to be filled with thousands of bats. The presence of these animals was considered a sign of fertility.

The hill remained populated until the 18th century when a plague pushed the population toward the Franciscan monastery, which functioned as a hospital.

A deity named Zinacan was associated with the mountain. Shortly after the Spanish Conquest, this deity would be believed to be an incarnation of the Devil.

Today, the bat population of the area is limited to a few caves in the Nevado de Toluca National Park.

The mountain is mined for gravel and alongside it is the Hacienda de Santa Cruz de Los Patos, which is now part of the Mexiquense College, as a research center and library.

The earliest known ethnicity in the area is the Otomi, who still are present, especially in smaller communities in the municipality such as San Luis Mextepec and Acahulaco.

In the south of the municipality, there are Matlatzincas. However, there are very few. The area was conquered by the Aztecs in the latter 15th century by Axayacatl. Zinacantepec was then ruled by Tlacopan as a tributary province.

During the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, the Otomis sided with the Spanish and the Matlazincas. Gonzalo de Sandoval came to the Toluca Valley with 18 cavalries and 100 infantry. They were joined by 60,000 Otomi and conquered the Matlatzincas.

The area around what is now the city of Toluca, including Zinacantepec, came under the rule of Hernán Cortés administrated by his cousin Juan Gutiérrez Altamirano in what would become the County of Santiago de Calimaya.

The west part of the valley became part of the encomendero of Juan de Sámano. This same family founded the Hacienda de La Gavia which owned much of the arable land in the municipality.

While no battles were fought here during the Mexican War of Independence, many joined the army of Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla against the colonial government, with many fighting at the Battle of Monte de las Cruces.

After the war, Zinacantepec became a municipality in 1826.

During the Reform War, vandalism and general lawlessness gripped the municipality as well as neighboring Toluca. This was finally put to an end by Felipe Berriozabal in the 1860s.

During the Mexican Revolution, Zinacantepec was taken in 1912 by General José Limón and Alberto Sámano in support of Francisco I. Madero. The Zapatistas camped in some of the smaller communities of the municipalities, confronting federal forces and sacking homes.

Although just west of the city of Toluca, Zinacantepec remains mostly rural, preserving much of its traditions and customs from over 300 years ago.

Major religious festivals include one in honor of the Virgin of Los Dolores (also called Del Rayo) from May 21 to 23 and one for the patron of the town, the Archangel Michael on December 3.

One legend associated with the Virgin was that the image was left at the local monastery by a woman who had been cured of the plague.

In 1762, a bolt of lightning struck and destroyed the church tower, but the Virgin, who was inside, was unharmed.

The town’s main church, the Parish of San Miguel, was the monastery church until the monastery church was closed during the Reform War. The church remained open but with non-monastic priests.

The structure dates from the 17th century and has typical features for constructions from that time such as a cruciform plan, a central dome, and an ornate two-tier bell tower.

Since it was Franciscan, the facade is a sober Baroque with minimal ornamentation.

Inside, on the south wall is a stone pulpit decorated with carved scales.

It also contains an unusual ceramic baptismal font that dates from the early colonial period. The rest of the church is fairly modern but colonial paintings and church furnishings from earlier periods can be found in the sacristy.

Market day is Sunday when the street is filled with vendors and local specialties such as red and green mole, local produce, tamales, and small tacos made with corn tortillas about 6 cm in diameter. Local drinks include pulque and fruit liquors.

Universidad Politécnica Del Valle de Toluca has its secondary campus in the town. It offers programs of study in engineering and business.

Monastery complex

The Toluca Valley was evangelized by the Franciscans starting in the 1520s.

During the 1550s and 1560s, a network of missions was built spreading out from Toluca, where missionaries would begin by studying the languages and customs of the native peoples of the valley.

Of these missions, the monastery at Zinacantepec is the best preserved. The mission with its open chapel was begun in 1550, with the rest of the monastery built between 1560 and 1570.

The modern town of Zinacantepec was built around it when the local populace abandoned the nearby hill and settled around the monastery in the 18th century.

The monastery remained in operation from the early colonial period until the Reform War when it was closed by the government. It is said that it was occupied by Zapatista forces during the Mexican Revolution.

Later in the 20th century, part of it was used to house priests who ran the still functioning Parish of San Miguel. It was declared a national monument in 1933.

In 1976, the State of Mexico took over the cloister portion of the complex (leaving the church open for worship) and began to renovate it with the purpose of founding a museum, along with the Fondo Nacional para Actividades Sociales (FONAPAS).

The museum was opened in 1980 as the Museo del Virrenato del Valle de Toluca (Museum of Viceregal Art of the Valley of Toluca. The collection is housed in the rooms of the cloister with the open chapel area serving as the main entrance.

The oldest portion of the complex is the open chapel, which dates from the time when the structure began as a small mission. The chapel is integrated into a porch-like entrance (or arcade) in the front of the building, which was added in the 1560s.

The altarpiece of the chapel is recessed into the back wall which has a pediment and contains ten panels. The central figure is the Archangel Michael, the original patron saint of the mission.

Above him is a female saint, possibly Saint Clare, with archangels and luminaries of the Church on the surrounding panels. God, the Father looks down from the pediment with the Four Evangelists at the base.

In a small room on the south end of the porch-like entrance is the original mission baptistery. Here is the first baptismal font, which is a huge monolithic basin cut from gray volcanic stone.

The outside is carved with both Christian and indigenous symbols.

Carved medallions illustrate episodes in Christ’s life, and there is a relief of the Archangel Michael casting Lucifer from heaven. The indigenous symbolism includes Aztec speech markers and pre-Hispanic water imagery.

Encircling the cord rim is a Spanish and Nahuatl inscription that says – “This baptismal font and the room in which it is found was mandated by the venerable guardian Fray Martin de Aguirre in the village of Zinacantepec in the year 1581”.

This font is one of the most important pieces at the museum.

Above the low main door into the cloister, there is a mural from the 16th century called the “Tree of Life” which illustrates a genealogical tree of the Franciscan Order, growing from the chest of Francis of Assisi.

Unlike many of the other frescos, this one contains various colors, including red and green accents, and flesh tones, and is framed by bands of color. This mural as well as the font and the panels of the altarpieces were designed for the early evangelical efforts of the monastery.

Inside the main entrance is a vestibule that leads to the main courtyard of the cloister.

This area is plainer than the porch-like entrance, with only black and white 16th-century frescos adorning the walls and some gray gargoyles on the upper parts of the columns.

Many of the frescos and gargoyles are now fragmentary.

The cloister has two floors and a courtyard surrounded by 20 arches supported by Tuscan columns. The ceilings are made from large wood beams and the floors are paved in local stone.

On the north and south sides of the upper cloister, there are two sundials. One is meant to be used in the summer and the other in winter.

The cloister complex is now the Museo Virreinal de Zinacantepec (Viceregal Museum of Zinacantepec). It has twenty exhibition halls, with more than 275 works of art over the three centuries of the colonial period in Mexico.

The collection also includes more ordinary items such as cooking utensils, weapons, furniture, and clay objects.

The collection includes sixty paintings of viceroys and archbishops of New Spain, wood sculptures of religious figures, Spanish armor, and a Christ figure made of meshed corn stalks.

Most of the paintings have been classified as anonymous due to the lack of signatures.

The museum is considered to have one of the most important colonial-era collections in the state, along with the Ex Monastery of Acolman and the Museo Nacional del Virreinato in Tepotzotlan.

More than 300 pieces of the collection were the subject of a major restoration project in 2003 for 500,000 pesos.

Another important aspect of the museum is its library. This library contains 1,587 volumes about 43 subjects including theology, philosophy, law, history, and others.

The oldest book here is a copy of the Suma Teologia by Thomas of Aquinas.

The books had been in the care of the Museum of Bellas Artes in Mexico City rather than the Municipal Library of Toluca before coming to Zinacantepec, The books have been available to academics since 2005.

The bookshelves and some other furniture are original to the monastery.