Tepoztlán
Encyclopedia
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
state of Morelos
Morelos
Morelos officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Morelos is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 33 municipalities and its capital city is Cuernavaca....
. It is located at 18°59′07"N 99°05′59"W in the heart of the Tepoztlán Valley. The town serves as the seat of government for the municipality of the same name. The town had a population of 14,130 inhabitants, while the municipality reported 41,629 inhabitants in the 2010 national census.
The town is a popular tourist destination near Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
. The town is famous for the remains of a temple built on top of the nearby Tepozteco mountain, as well as for the exotic ice cream flavors prepared by the townspeople.
Tepoztlán was named a "Pueblo Mágico
Pueblo Mágico
The Programa Pueblos Mágicos is an initiative led by Mexico's Secretariat of Tourism , in conjunction with other federal and state agencies, to promote a series of towns around the country that offer visitors a "magical" experience – by reason of their natural beauty, cultural riches, or...
" in 2002 but its title was removed in 2009 for not complying with the rules. In 2010 Tepoztlán fixed the problems it had and recovered the Pueblo Mágico title.
Etymology
Tepoztlán is derived from NahuatlNahuatl
Nahuatl is thought to mean "a good, clear sound" This language name has several spellings, among them náhuatl , Naoatl, Nauatl, Nahuatl, Nawatl. In a back formation from the name of the language, the ethnic group of Nahuatl speakers are called Nahua...
and means "place of abundant copper" or "place of the broken rocks." This is derived from the words tepoz-tli (copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
) and tlan ("place of/place of abundance").
Climate
The climate around the Tepoztlán Sierra (where el Tepozteco is located) shows temperateTemperate
In geography, temperate or tepid latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar circles. The changes in these regions between summer and winter are generally relatively moderate, rather than extreme hot or cold...
as well as some subtropical variations. The rainy season starts during the Summer and ends at the beginning of Autumn. Precipitation reaches 1000 mm/yr in the Tepoztlán Valley and up to 1200 mm/yr in the mountains.
Economy
AgricultureAgriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
specially growing of maize, chili and tomatoes. livestock growing
Animal husbandry
Animal husbandry is the agricultural practice of breeding and raising livestock.- History :Animal husbandry has been practiced for thousands of years, since the first domestication of animals....
. Traditional pottery and handicrafts (for which there is a lively weekend market or tianguis).
Tourism and Real Estate. Nowadays Tepoztlán gets its most important income through tourism and real estate activity. Properties in town are rated very highly due to the interest of wealthy people and foreigners who have decided to live in this town or those who like owning a summer place to stay.
- Meztitla Scout Camp SchoolMeztitla Scout Camp SchoolThe Meztitla Scout Camp School is the national Scout camp and school owned by the Asociación de Scouts de México, A.C., located in the Central Highlands of Mexico, northeast of the municipality of Tepoztlán, in the state of Morelos...
Owned by the Asociación de Scouts de México, A.C.
Asociación de Scouts de México, A.C.
The Asociación de Scouts de México, Asociación Civil is the national Scouting association of Mexico. Scouting was founded in Mexico in 1920 and became a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement on August 26, 1926. It was registered to Mexican civil authorities on 24 February 1943...
, located nearby Tepozteco mountain, Meztitla is the National Scout Camp School. Although Meztitla is frequented by Scouts of Mexico and the world, it is also open to general public.
History
According to myth, Tepoztlan is the birthplace over 1200 years ago of QuetzalcoatlQuetzalcoatl
Quetzalcoatl is a Mesoamerican deity whose name comes from the Nahuatl language and has the meaning of "feathered serpent". The worship of a feathered serpent deity is first documented in Teotihuacan in the first century BCE or first century CE...
, the feathered serpent god widely-worshipped in ancient Mexico.
It has not yet been possible to determine who first inhabited the area. The earliest findings of pottery and other ceramic utensils date back to approximately 1500 BCE
Common Era
Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...
.
By the 10th century CE
Common Era
Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...
the Toltec
Toltec
The Toltec culture is an archaeological Mesoamerican culture that dominated a state centered in Tula, Hidalgo in the early post-classic period of Mesoamerican chronology...
culture was predominant in the area. Tepoztlán is said to have been the birthplace of Ce Acatl, a very important Toltec leader, later known as Topiltzin Ce Acatl Quetzalcoatl, and who may be the possible historical basis of the Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica is a region and culture area in the Americas, extending approximately from central Mexico to Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, within which a number of pre-Columbian societies flourished before the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the 15th and...
n god Quetzalcoatl
Quetzalcoatl
Quetzalcoatl is a Mesoamerican deity whose name comes from the Nahuatl language and has the meaning of "feathered serpent". The worship of a feathered serpent deity is first documented in Teotihuacan in the first century BCE or first century CE...
.
During the Spanish Conquest Hernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro, 1st Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca was a Spanish Conquistador who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of mainland Mexico under the rule of the King of Castile in the early 16th century...
is said to have ordered the town razed after the refusal of the town leaders to meet him. This event was chronicled by Bernal Díaz del Castillo
Bernal Díaz del Castillo
Bernal Díaz del Castillo was a conquistador, who wrote an eyewitness account of the conquest of Mexico by the Spaniards for Hernán Cortés, himself serving as a rodelero under Cortés.-Early life:...
in The Conquest of New Spain
The Conquest of New Spain
Historia verdadera de la conquista de la Nueva España is the first-person narrative of Bernal Díaz del Castillo , the 16th-century military adventurer, conquistador, and colonist settler, who served in three Mexican expeditions; that of Francisco Hernández de Córdoba to the Yucatán peninsula; the...
.
Indie musician Conor Oberst
Conor Oberst
Conor Mullen Oberst is an American singer-songwriter best known for his work in Bright Eyes. He has also played in several other bands, including Desaparecidos, Norman Bailer , Commander Venus, Park Ave., Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, and Monsters of Folk.-Musical career:Oberst began...
recorded his eponymous self-titled album in the City in 2008. Although in the sleeve the city is misspelt Tepotzlan.
The municipality
The municipality is one of 17 municipalities that border Mexico City. It borders the Milpa AltaMilpa Alta
Milpa Alta is one of the 16 delegaciones into which Mexico's Federal District is divided. It lies in the southeast corner of the Distrito Federal, bordering the States of México and Morelos. It is the second largest and most rural of all delegaciones. It is also the least populous and...
borough at the south side of the capital city.
Towns and villages
The largest localities (cities, towns, and villages) are:| Name | 2010 Census Population |
|---|---|
| Tepoztlán Tepoztlán Tepoztlán is a town in the Mexican state of Morelos. It is located at in the heart of the Tepoztlán Valley. The town serves as the seat of government for the municipality of the same name. The town had a population of 14,130 inhabitants, while the municipality reported 41,629 inhabitants in the... |
14,130 |
| Santa Catarina | 4,521 |
| Unidad Habitacional Rinconada Acolapa | 3,205 |
| Loma Bonita | 2,332 |
| San Juan Tlacotenco | 1,890 |
| Santo Domingo Ocotitlán | 1,541 |
| Tetecolala | 1,449 |
| San Andrés de la Cal | 1,383 |
| Colonia Obrera | 1,316 |
| Colonia Ángel Bocanegra (Adolfo López Mateos) | 1,235 |
| Amatlán de Quetzalcóatl | 1,029 |
| Total Municipality | 41,629 |
See also
- QuetzalcoatlQuetzalcoatlQuetzalcoatl is a Mesoamerican deity whose name comes from the Nahuatl language and has the meaning of "feathered serpent". The worship of a feathered serpent deity is first documented in Teotihuacan in the first century BCE or first century CE...
- Topiltzin Ce Acatl Quetzalcoatl
- MorelosMorelosMorelos officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Morelos is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 33 municipalities and its capital city is Cuernavaca....
- Meztitla Scout Camp SchoolMeztitla Scout Camp SchoolThe Meztitla Scout Camp School is the national Scout camp and school owned by the Asociación de Scouts de México, A.C., located in the Central Highlands of Mexico, northeast of the municipality of Tepoztlán, in the state of Morelos...
External links
- Meztitla(ASMAC website)- In Spanish.
- 360 Virtual Tour Ex-convent of Dominico de la Natividad .