Texcoco, Mexico State
Encyclopedia
Texcoco is a city and municipality
located in the northeast portion of Mexico State, 25 km northeast of Mexico City
. In the pre-Hispanic era, this was a major Aztec
city on the shores of Lake Texcoco
. After the Conquest, the city was initially the second most important after Mexico City, but its importance faded over time, becoming more rural in character. Over the colonial and post-independence periods, most of Lake Texcoco was drained and the city is no longer on the shore and much of the municipality is on lakebed. Numerous Aztec
archeological finds have been discovered here, including the 125,000 kilo stone statue of Tlaloc
, which now resides at the Museum of Anthropology
in Mexico City. Much of Texcoco’s recent history involves the clash of the populace with local, state and federal authorities. The most serious of these is the continued attempts to develop an airport here, which despite the saturation of the current Mexico City airport
, is opposed by local residents. The city and municipality is home to a number of archeological sites, such as the palace of Nezahualcoyotl
, Tetzcotzingo (Baths of Nezahualcoyotl) and Huexotla. Other important sites include the Cathedral, the Juanino Monastery, and the Universidad Autónoma de Chapingo. The most important annual festival is the Feria Internacioanl del Caballo (International Fair of the Horse), which showcases the area’s mostly agricultural economic base.
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%.
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.
Hernán Cortés
initially arrived to Texcoco in 1519, while Cacamatzin was leader. Here the brigantine
s 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.
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.
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, D.F. 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 the massive 125,000 kilo Tlaloc statue in Texcoco in 1903. Today, the statue stands at the Museum of Anthropology of Mexico City. The local population was against the relocation of the sculpture, going as far as sabotaging the vehicles which came for it. Sculpting a 1:1 replica to place at the original site has been recently proposed with artists studying over 1,500 photographs of the original.
In 2003, archeologists sponsored by the National Geographic, Universidad 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 where 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.
More serious conflicts have surrounded the various proposals to locate an airport here. Attempts to develop an airport that would either supplement or replace the current Mexico City airport have been made since the latter half of the 1990s either here, neighboring San Salvador Atenco or even as far as Tizayuca, Hidalgo. Residents of both Texcoco and San Salvador Atenco have been vehemently opposed to any airport construction in their municipalities. Violent protests erupted in Texcoco in 2001 and 2002 with threats against public officials, which garnered much national and international press coverage. The need for a replacement or supplement airport still exists despite the addition of a second terminal to the current one. The last proposal to develop an airport in Texcoco was made in 2008.
Juan Manuel Mancilla Sanchez was named bishop of the diocese of Texcoco in 2009.
In the historic center of the city exists 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. Thereare also rooms dedicated to music, poetry and astronomy.
The Cathedral of Texcoco originally was 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 been 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 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.
Another notable ex-monastery is the Juanino Monastery which was the site of the Mexico State Constituent Congress which ratified the state’s first constitution. 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
.
Just south of the city limits is the Texcoco’s most notable institution of higher education the Universidad Autónoma Chapingo or Chapingo Autonomous University. The university is a federal public institution of higher education. It offers technical and full bachelor’s degrees as well as having scientific and technological research programs. Many of these programs are related to agriculture, forestry and fishing.
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
. Postgraduate studies were added in 1959. The school received autonomous status in 1978. It offers courses of study in Forestry, Agricultural Economics, Agricultural Industries, Irrigation, Rural Sociology and more.
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 700m2, 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 2,000m2 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.
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 include musical shows, cockfight
s, 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.
, Tepetlaoxtoc
, Papalotla
, Chiautla, Chiconcuac
, Chimalhuacán
, Chicoloapan
, Ixtapaluca, Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl
, Ecatepec
as well as the states of Tlaxcala
and Puebla
to the north and east and Mexico City to the southwest.
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 climate is temperate and semi-arid with a median temperature of 15.9C, 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 city and municipality still keep much of its rural nature, lacking the heavy industry that many of its neighbors have. This requires that many residents here commute to other locations to work, such as Mexico City, Ecatepec and Tlalnepantla
. The large volume of traffic that passes through the municipality via highways results in smog. About 60% of the municipality is either forest or tree farms. About 25% of the land is used for agriculture. Most agriculture is based on family farms which produce avocado
s, plums, apples and pears as well as corn, beans, barley, wheat, maguey and nopal
. Floriculture began in this municipality in the mid 20th century and is practices intensively in the communities of San Simón, San José Texopan, San Diego, San Miguel Coatlinchan, San Miguel Tlaixpan and San Nicolás Tlaminca. Most livestock is dairy cattle produced on ranches such as Xalapango, La Pría, Granja La Castilla, Establo México, Santa Rosa, Santa Mónica and La Moreda. Industry is a very recent development, mostly associated with agriculture. The main craft produced here is blown glass.
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 an four km aqueduct
that transported water from San Pablo Izayo, nine km away on Tlaloc Mountain. The site is mistakenly believed to be baths due to the large water storage tanks found on the site. However, this 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 lead 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 archeological sites, as well as the Palace of Nezahualcoyotl in the city proper, are not promoted for tourism and they have little infrastructure for visitors.
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 build 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 numerous Mexican and foreign films.
Municipalities of Mexico
Municipalities are the second-level administrative division in Mexico . There are 2,438 municipalities in Mexico, making the average municipality population 45,616...
located in the northeast portion of Mexico State, 25 km northeast of 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...
. In the pre-Hispanic era, this was a major Aztec
Aztec
The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...
city on the shores of Lake Texcoco
Lake Texcoco
Lake Texcoco was a natural lake formation within the Valley of Mexico. The Aztecs built the city of Tenochtitlan on an island in the lake. The Spaniards built Mexico City over Tenochtitlan...
. After the Conquest, the city was initially the second most important after Mexico City, but its importance faded over time, becoming more rural in character. Over the colonial and post-independence periods, most of Lake Texcoco was drained and the city is no longer on the shore and much of the municipality is on lakebed. Numerous Aztec
Aztec
The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...
archeological finds have been discovered here, including the 125,000 kilo stone statue of Tlaloc
Tlaloc
Tlaloc was an important deity in Aztec religion, a god of rain, fertility, and water. He was a beneficent god who gave life and sustenance, but he was also feared for his ability to send hail, thunder and lightning, and for being the lord of the powerful element of water. In Aztec iconography he...
, which now resides at the Museum of Anthropology
Museo Nacional de Antropología
The Museo Nacional de Antropología is a national museum of Mexico. Located in the area between Paseo de la Reforma and Calle Mahatma Gandhi within Chapultepec Park in Mexico City, the museum contains significant archaeological and anthropological artifacts from the pre-Columbian heritage of...
in Mexico City. Much of Texcoco’s recent history involves the clash of the populace with local, state and federal authorities. The most serious of these is the continued attempts to develop an airport here, which despite the saturation of the current Mexico City airport
Mexico City International Airport
Benito Juárez International Airport , in Venustiano Carranza, one of the sixteen boroughs into which Mexico's Federal District is divided, is a commercial airport that serves Mexico City, the capital of Mexico...
, is opposed by local residents. The city and municipality is home to a number of archeological sites, such as the palace of Nezahualcoyotl
Nezahualcoyotl
Nezahualcoyotl was a philosopher, warrior, architect, poet and ruler of the city-state of Texcoco in pre-Columbian Mexico...
, Tetzcotzingo (Baths of Nezahualcoyotl) and Huexotla. Other important sites include the Cathedral, the Juanino Monastery, and the Universidad Autónoma de Chapingo. The most important annual festival is the Feria Internacioanl del Caballo (International Fair of the Horse), which showcases the area’s mostly agricultural economic base.
History
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 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 most likely means “among the jarilla (Larrea
Larrea
Larrea is a genus of flowering plants in the caltrop family, Zygophyllaceae. It contains five species of evergreen shrubs that are native to the Americas. The generic name honours Spanish scientist J.A. de Larrea. South American members of this genus are known as jarillas and are so closely related...
) which grow in crags”. However, there are a number of glyph
Glyph
A glyph is an element of writing: an individual mark on a written medium that contributes to the meaning of what is written. A glyph is made up of one or more graphemes....
representations for the place that have appeared the Codex Azcatitlán, the Codex Cruz, the Quinantzin Map
Mapa Quinatzin
The Mapa Quinatzin is a 16th century Nahua pictorial document, consisting of three sheets of amatl paper that depict the history of Acolhuacan....
and other early colonial documents and this translation cannot be verified 100%.
While there is no exact date for the first human settlements in Texcoco, it is likely that the first people here were 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...
or from Teotihuacan
Teotihuacan
Teotihuacan – also written Teotihuacán, with a Spanish orthographic accent on the last syllable – is an enormous archaeological site in the Basin of Mexico, just 30 miles northeast of Mexico City, containing some of the largest pyramidal structures built in the pre-Columbian Americas...
. The Xototl, Tolotzin and Quinatzin Codices indicate that the first people here were ethnically Chichimeca
Chichimeca
Chichimeca was the name that the Nahua peoples of Mexico generically applied to a wide range of semi-nomadic peoples who inhabited the north of modern-day Mexico and southwestern United States, and carried the same sense as the European term "barbarian"...
. This tribe is credited for founding a province known in pre-Hispanic Valley of Mexico
Valley of Mexico
The Valley of Mexico is a highlands plateau in central Mexico roughly coterminous with the present-day Distrito Federal and the eastern half of the State of Mexico. Surrounded by mountains and volcanoes, the Valley of Mexico was a centre for several pre-Columbian civilizations, including...
as Acolhuacan
Acolhuacan
Acolhuacan or Aculhuacan was a pre-Columbian province in the east of the Valley of Mexico, inhabited by the Acolhua. Its capital was Texcoco . Other altepetl in Acolhuacan included Coatl Ichan, Ecatepec, Teotihuacan, and Tepetlaoztoc....
. The most notable rulers of Acolhuacan, who resided in Texcoco were Nopaltzin, Tlotzin Pochotl, Quinatzin, Techotlalatzin
Techotlalatzin
Techotlalatzin was the ruler of the pre-Columbian Mesoamerican city-state of Texcoco from 1357 or 1377 until his death in 1409...
, Ixtlixochitl El Viejo, Nezahualcoyotl, Nezahualpilli
Nezahualpilli
Nezahualpilli was ruler of the Mesoamerican city-state of Texcoco, elected by the city's nobility after the death of his father, Nezahualcoyotl, in 1472....
and Cacamatzin
Cacamatzin
Cacamatzin was the king of Texcoco, the second most important city of the Aztec Empire.Cacamatzin was a son of the previous king Nezahualpilli by one of his mistresses. Traditionally, the Texcocan kings were elected by the nobility from the most able of the royal family...
. 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
Aztec Triple Alliance
The Aztec Triple Alliance, or Aztec Empire began as an alliance of three Nahua city-states or "altepeme": Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan...
. During his forty year reign, the arts, culture and architecture flourished in the dominion.
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...
initially arrived to Texcoco in 1519, while Cacamatzin was leader. Here the brigantine
Brigantine
In sailing, a brigantine or hermaphrodite brig is a vessel with two masts, only the forward of which is square rigged.-Origins of the term:...
s 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
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
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.
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.
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, D.F. 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
Leopoldo Flores
Leopoldo Flores was born in Tenancingo, Estado de México in 1934. He is a muralist, sculptor, intellectual.Flores had his start in the Mural-Pancarta Movement. He was consistent in installing monumental artistic paintings on buildings. With a singular creativity in Aratmosfera painting, consisting...
found the massive 125,000 kilo Tlaloc statue in Texcoco in 1903. Today, the statue stands at the Museum of Anthropology of Mexico City. The local population was against the relocation of the sculpture, going as far as sabotaging the vehicles which came for it. Sculpting a 1:1 replica to place at the original site has been recently proposed with artists studying over 1,500 photographs of the original.
In 2003, archeologists sponsored by the National Geographic, Universidad of Michigan and the Universidad Autónoma de Chapingo
Chapingo Autonomous University
Universidad Autónoma Chapingo is an agricultural college located in Texcoco, Mexico State in Mexico. The university is a federally funded public institution of higher education. It offers technical and full bachelor’s degrees as well as having scientific and technological research programs...
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 where 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
San Salvador Atenco
San Salvador Atenco is the municipal seat of Atenco, in the Mexican state of Mexico.The name "Atenco" comes from a Nahuatl phrase meaning "place on the edge of water". -The town:...
, 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.
More serious conflicts have surrounded the various proposals to locate an airport here. Attempts to develop an airport that would either supplement or replace the current Mexico City airport have been made since the latter half of the 1990s either here, neighboring San Salvador Atenco or even as far as Tizayuca, Hidalgo. Residents of both Texcoco and San Salvador Atenco have been vehemently opposed to any airport construction in their municipalities. Violent protests erupted in Texcoco in 2001 and 2002 with threats against public officials, which garnered much national and international press coverage. The need for a replacement or supplement airport still exists despite the addition of a second terminal to the current one. The last proposal to develop an airport in Texcoco was made in 2008.
Juan Manuel Mancilla Sanchez was named bishop of the diocese of Texcoco in 2009.
The city
The city is divided into 19 sectors and 55 communities. The main communities are Barrio San Pedro, El Xolache I, El Xolache II, Joyas de San Mateo, San Juanito, Santa Úrsula, Niños Héroes, Valle de Santa Cruz, El Centro, Las Salinas, Las Américas, San Lorenzo, El Carmen, San Mateo, San Martín, La Conchita, Joyas de Santa Ana and Zaragoza.In the historic center of the city exists 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
Nezahualcoyotl
Nezahualcoyotl was a philosopher, warrior, architect, poet and ruler of the city-state of Texcoco in pre-Columbian Mexico...
and his wife received visitors and where the scholarly and priestly elite congregated. Thereare also rooms dedicated to music, poetry and astronomy.
The Cathedral of Texcoco originally was the site of a 16th century Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
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
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...
, and the Latin alphabet can been seen on some of its columns. Fragments of the portal, the Latin cross layout of the temple and the open chapel
Capilla abierta
A capilla abierta or “open chapel” is considered to be one of the most distinct Mexican construction forms. Mostly built in the 16th century during the early colonial period, the construction was basically an apse or open presbytery, containing an altar, which opened onto a large atrium or plaza...
are all that is left of the original 16th century monastery. 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.
Another notable ex-monastery is the Juanino Monastery which was the site of the Mexico State Constituent Congress which ratified the state’s first constitution. 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
Obelisk
An obelisk is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape at the top, and is said to resemble a petrified ray of the sun-disk. A pair of obelisks usually stood in front of a pylon...
.
Just south of the city limits is the Texcoco’s most notable institution of higher education the Universidad Autónoma Chapingo or Chapingo Autonomous University. The university is a federal public institution of higher education. It offers technical and full bachelor’s degrees as well as having scientific and technological research programs. Many of these programs are related to agriculture, forestry and fishing.
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
Álvaro Obregón
General Álvaro Obregón Salido was the President of Mexico from 1920 to 1924. He was assassinated in 1928, shortly after winning election to another presidential term....
. Postgraduate studies were added in 1959. The school received autonomous status in 1978. It offers courses of study in Forestry, Agricultural Economics, Agricultural Industries, Irrigation, Rural Sociology and more.
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
Diego Rivera
Diego María de la Concepción Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez was a prominent Mexican painter born in Guanajuato, Guanajuato, an active communist, and husband of Frida Kahlo . His large wall works in fresco helped establish the Mexican Mural Movement in...
called “Tierra Fecundada” (Fertile Land). This work was begun in 1924 and completed in 1927. Covering an area of over 700m2, 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
Unam
UNAM or UNaM may refer to:* National University of Misiones, a National University in Posadas, Argentina*National Autonomous University of Mexico , the large public autonomous university based in Mexico City...
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 2,000m2 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
Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México
The Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México is a public university in the State of Mexico, Mexico. It is the largest university institution in the state with over 84,500 students, with its central campus located in the state capital of Toluca...
Texcoco and the Universidad del Valle de Mexico
Universidad del Valle de México
The Universidad del Valle de México or UVM is a private Mexican university founded in Mexico City in the year 1960. UVM enrolls students at several campuses throughout Mexico, and it holds accreditations from the Mexican Department of Education, COPAES accrediting board, and FIMPES...
. The latter was opened in a two story building in 2004 and contains a large library which is open to the public.
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 include musical shows, cockfight
Cockfight
A cockfight is a blood sport between two roosters , held in a ring called a cockpit. Cockfighting is now illegal throughout all states in the United States, Brazil, Australia and in most of Europe. It is still legal in several U.S. territories....
s, open air theatre and expositions of livestock, commerce and crafts, with one of the main events being bullfighting
Bullfighting
Bullfighting is a traditional spectacle of Spain, Portugal, southern France and some Latin American countries , in which one or more bulls are baited in a bullring for sport and entertainment...
. 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
Roberto Jordan
Roberto Jordán is a popular singer whose heyday occurred during Mexico's nueva ola of music in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Many of his songs were covers of English-language rock and pop songs, with arrangements provided by music teachers and producers Enrique Okamura and Eduardo Magallanes...
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
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
. 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 municipality
As the seat of the municipality, the city of Texcoco is the local government for over 160 other communities which cover a territory of 418.69 km. About 47% of the municipality’s population lives in the city proper. The main communities outside the city proper include San Felipe, San Miguel Tocuila, Santiaguito, Santa María Tulantongo, San Bernardino, Montecillo, Unidad Habitacional Embotelladores, Xocotlán and Santa Inés. The municipality borders the municipalities of San Salvador AtencoSan Salvador Atenco
San Salvador Atenco is the municipal seat of Atenco, in the Mexican state of Mexico.The name "Atenco" comes from a Nahuatl phrase meaning "place on the edge of water". -The town:...
, Tepetlaoxtoc
Tepetlaoxtoc de Hidalgo
Tepetlaoxtoc de Hidalgo is a town and the seat of the municipality of Tepetlaoxtoc, which contains the archeological site of Tepetlaoxtoc, in the State of Mexico in Mexico. The name Tepetlaoxtoc comes from Náhuatl and means in limestone caves, and is used interchangeably to refer to the town, the...
, Papalotla
Papalotla
Papalotla is a small town and municipality in Mexico State in Mexico. The municipality covers an area of .As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 3766....
, Chiautla, Chiconcuac
Chiconcuac de Juárez
Chiconcuac de Juárez, typically referred to simply as Chiconcuac, is a town and municipio in the state of Mexico, approximately 10 kilometers north of Texcoco de Mora. The name Chiconcuac derives from the Aztec word Chicome Coatl, “Seven snakes”, which was a date on the Aztec calendar...
, Chimalhuacán
Chimalhuacán, Mexico State
Chimalhuacán is a city and municipality located in the eastern part of Mexico State, Mexico. It lies just outside the northeast border of the Federal District and is part of the Greater Mexico City urban area. -The city:The city is practically coextensive with the municipality...
, Chicoloapan
Chicoloapan de Juárez
Chicoloapan de Juárez is the municipal seat and largest city in the municipality of Chicoloapan in the state of México, Mexico. It is located in the eastern part of the state, just east of Chimalhuacán and northeast of the Federal District , within the Greater Mexico City urban area.-The city:It...
, Ixtapaluca, Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl
Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl
Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl, or more commonly Ciudad Neza, is a city and municipality of Mexico State adjacent to the northeast corner of Mexico's Federal District: it is thus part of the Mexico City Metropolitan Area. It was named after Nezahualcoyotl, the Acolhua poet and king of nearby Texcoco, and...
, Ecatepec
Ecatepec de Morelos
Ecatepec City, once officially San Cristóbal Ecatepec de Morelos, is a city in the State of México and the seat of Ecatepec de Morelos Municipality; however, both the city and the municipality are often known simply as "Ecatepec". The name "Ecatepec" is derived from Nahuatl, and means "windy hill"....
as well as the states of Tlaxcala
Tlaxcala
Tlaxcala officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Tlaxcala is one of the 31 states which along with the Federal District comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided into 60 municipalities and its capital city is Tlaxcala....
and Puebla
Puebla
Puebla officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 217 municipalities and its capital city is Puebla....
to the north and east and Mexico City to the southwest.
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 climate is temperate and semi-arid with a median temperature of 15.9C, 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 city and municipality still keep much of its rural nature, lacking the heavy industry that many of its neighbors have. This requires that many residents here commute to other locations to work, such as Mexico City, Ecatepec and Tlalnepantla
Tlalnepantla de Baz
Tlalnepantla de Baz is a city and a municipality of the State of Mexico in the north of Mexico City . Tlalnepantla comes from the Náhuatl words tlalli and nepantla to mean the middle land...
. The large volume of traffic that passes through the municipality via highways results in smog. About 60% of the municipality is either forest or tree farms. About 25% of the land is used for agriculture. Most agriculture is based on family farms which produce avocado
Avocado
The avocado is a tree native to Central Mexico, classified in the flowering plant family Lauraceae along with cinnamon, camphor and bay laurel...
s, plums, apples and pears as well as corn, beans, barley, wheat, maguey and nopal
Nopal
Nopales are a vegetable made from the young cladode segments of prickly pear, carefully peeled to remove the spines. These fleshy pads are flat and about hand-sized. They can be purple or green...
. Floriculture began in this municipality in the mid 20th century and is practices intensively in the communities of San Simón, San José Texopan, San Diego, San Miguel Coatlinchan, San Miguel Tlaixpan and San Nicolás Tlaminca. Most livestock is dairy cattle produced on ranches such as Xalapango, La Pría, Granja La Castilla, Establo México, Santa Rosa, Santa Mónica and La Moreda. Industry is a very recent development, mostly associated with agriculture. The main craft produced here is blown glass.
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 an four km aqueduct
Aqueduct
An aqueduct is a water supply or navigable channel constructed to convey water. In modern engineering, the term is used for any system of pipes, ditches, canals, tunnels, and other structures used for this purpose....
that transported water from San Pablo Izayo, nine km away on Tlaloc Mountain. The site is mistakenly believed to be baths due to the large water storage tanks found on the site. However, this 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
José María Velasco
José María Velasco may refer to:*José María Velasco Gómez, 19th century Mexican painter*José María Velasco Ibarra , president of Ecuador*José María Velasco, México, city in Mexican state of Edomex...
in the late 19th century. Another myth about the site is that there were tunnels that lead 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
Ehecatl
Ehecatl is a pre-Columbian deity associated with the wind, who features in Aztec mythology and the mythologies of other cultures from the central Mexico region of Mesoamerica. He is most usually interpreted as the aspect of the Feathered Serpent deity as a god of wind, and is therefore also known...
. 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
Baroque architecture
Baroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...
and considered to be one of the smallest complexes of its type in the Americas.
These archeological sites, as well as the Palace of Nezahualcoyotl in the city proper, are not promoted for tourism and they have little infrastructure for visitors.
The ex Hacienda of El Molino de Flores, now the Molino de Flores Nezahualcóyotl National Park
Molino de Flores Nezahualcóyotl National Park
Molino de Flores Nezahualcóyotl National Park, which used to be the Hacienda Molino de Flores, is located in the Municipality of Texcoco in the State of Mexico 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...
, is located three km east of the city and used to produce pulque
Pulque
Pulque, or octli, is a milk-colored, somewhat viscous alcoholic beverage made from the fermented sap of the maguey plant, and is a traditional native beverage of Mexico. The drink’s history extends far back into the Mesoamerican period, when it was considered sacred, and its use was limited to...
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 build 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 numerous Mexican and foreign films.