Amecameca

Infobox Settlement
official_name =
name = Amecameca de Juárez
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settlement_type = Town & Municipality
total_type =Municipality
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subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = MEX
subdivision_type1 = State
subdivision_name1 = State of Mexico
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leader_title = Municipal President
leader_name = Juan Manuel Guerrero Gutiérrez (2006-2009)
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established_title = Founded
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established_title2 = Municipal Status
established_date2 = 1824
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population_as_of = 2005
population_footnotes = Municipality
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population_total = 48,363
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population_blank1_title = Seat
population_blank1 = 31,422
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timezone = CST
utc_offset = -6
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latd=19 |latm=07 |lats=40 |latNS=N
longd=98 |longm=45 |longs=46 |longEW=W
elevation_footnotes = of seat
elevation_m = 2480
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postal_code_type = Postal code (of seat)
postal_code = 56900
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blank1_name = Demonym
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website = http:www.amecameca.gob.mx
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Amecameca de Juárez is a town and the seat of the "municipio" (municipality) of Amecameca in México State, Mexico. Commonly referred to as simply "Ameca", it is located in the southeastern portion of the [State of Mexico. The name "Amecameca", which originally was "Amaquemecan", derives from Nahuatl. Its roots are the words “amatl”, which means paper. “Queme” means to indicate or suggest. It also means a place or location. Therefore, Amaquemecan means "The place where the papers indicate something".cite book |author=Lopez, Horacio |year=1999 |title=Amecameca |location=México |publisher=Gobierno del Estado de México]

The town

Because of its close proximity to the volcano Popocatépetl, Ameca is a popular tourist destination for people from around the globe.

The municipality

As municipal seat, the town of Amecameca de Juárez has governing authority over the following communities:

Agua Viva, Aldea de los Reyes (Los Reyes), Atlancatzi, Bosque de los Árboles de Navidad 1a. Sección, Camino al Salto (Coapexco), Camino Real a Tepapay (Chichica), Carretera a Tlamacas, Coapexco, Cocozatonco, Colonia el Castillo Zacamoalpa, Colonia San Juan Grande, Cuiloxotitla, El Arenal, El Japonés, El Ocotal, El Tecorral, Huerto los Nogales, Las Cartoneras, Maracana, Nexatenco, Pueblo Nuevo (Ejido de Santiago), Rancho Chupícuaro (Texquimeca), Rancho Don Martín, Rancho el Risco, Rancho las Palomas, Rancho los Tepalcates, Rancho San José, Rancho San Rafael, Rancho Santa María Tomacoco, Rancho Tepeyehual, Rancho Vetania, San Antonio Zoyatzingo, San Diego Huehuecalco, San Diego Tlaxcaltitla, San Francisco Zentlalpan, San Nicolás (Zapotitla), San Pedro Nexapa, Santa Isabel Chalma, Santiago Cuauhtenco, Santuario del Señor del Sacromonte, Tenexcaltitla Tetecla (Temazcal), and Ximoco

The municipality of Amecameca is located next to the Sierra Nevada inside the volcanic axis and the river basin of Moctezuma-Pañuco. The municipality borders: Tlalmanalco to the north; Pueblal State to the east; Atlautla and Ozumba to the south; and Ayapango and Juchitepec to the west. Amecameca’s surface area is 181.72 km² and is divided into the following delegations:
*San PedroNexapa, which is closest to Popocatépetl. Its people are characterized by their participation in logging.
*San Diego Huehuecalco which is characterized by pig and cattle ranching.
*San Antonio Zoyatzingo, on the other hand, is known for the raising of lambs.
*San Francisco Zentlalpan’s people are mostly dedicated to traditional medicine. There are various fortune tellers and healers in the community.
*Santiago Cuautenco is located in the spurs of the Sierra Nevada.
*Santa Isabel Chalma is a very traditional community that prefers little contact with outsiders.

It covers a total surface area of 181.72 km² and, in the year 2000 census, reported a population of 45,255. [cite book |author=Anonymous |year=2002 |title=Cuaderno Estadístico Municipal de Amecameca |location=Aguascalientes |publisher=Instituto Nacional de Estadística Geográfica e Informática]

History

The first groups to settle down in Amecameca were the Totolimpanecas, who arrived in 1268. Later came another clan of the Totolimpanecas. These two groups populated the neighborhoods now-called Itztlacozauhcan and Tlayllotlacan Amaquemecan. In 1269 another group, the Tenancas, came. They settled down in Tzacualtitlan Tenanco Amaquemecan and Atlauhtlan Tzacualtitlan Amaquemecan. Both groups exercised command over their own territories. Its foundations were called Chiconcuac and Atlauhtlan respectively. In 1336, a grandson of Atonaltzin founded the Tlaylloltlacan Teohuacan.In 1465, the Mexicas conquered the Chalcas, replacing their sovereign with military governors. They took farmland for the maintenance of the nobles in Tenochitlan. This is how Amaquemecan and Chalco came to be part of the Aztec system, participating with other units in the valley of Mexico in wars outside the valley.

During 1519 to 1521, the Spanish conquest determined the future of the Valley of Mexico. By the end of the XVI century, deep transformations and changes had occurred: military and cultural conquest, the expansion of the Catholic religion and the extermination of the population by wars and diseases. The region of Amecameca had about 20,000 habitants in the XV century, but by the year 1599, the population declined to about 5000. [cite book |author=Galicia, R |year=1993 |title=lagos y volcanes: Chalco Amecameca, pasado y presente |location=Chalco, México |publisher=Ayuntamiento Constitucional |ISBN-10= 9686341382]

Biosphere

Amecameca has a humid climate all year round with some rains in the summer. The average temperature is between 12°C and 18°C most of the year but in January, the average temperature is between -3°C and 12°C. Months from June to November are rainy and from December to May are dry, cold, getting warmer by April. Hailstorms are very common between October and March. Most of the depressions and slopes of the valley are used for cattle ranching and agriculture. Principal crops cultivated are oats, barley, corn and vegetables. In addition, regional fruits are nuts, apples, pears, peaches and plums. The cultivation of other plants and other vegetables varies from carrots to pumpkins. Forests are basically composed of pines and cypresses. Trees are tall, usually reaching 30 m. high. Among the animals that can be found at Amecameca, are rabbits, squirrels, coyote deer and a type of wild cat. There are viper bells and small lizards. There are the quails, owls, crows and sparrows. Many of the mentioned animals are nowadays in danger of extinction because of hunting.

Rivers and Mountains

The Sierra Nevada is the region’s most important mountain chain. The average altitude of the this mountain chain is 4,000 meters above sea level. It ends with the Popocatépetl and Iztaccihuatl volcanoes. Popocatépetl and Iztaccihuatl are the second and third highest mountains in Mexico with an altitude of 5,452 m. and 5,284 m. respectively. Amecameca is next to the volcanoes, located 7937.6 ft above sea level. All the rivers, streams and springs come from the Sierra Nevada from the constant glacier melt. Mexican ancestors worshipped these mountains, especially the Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhualt, which were considered gods. The main rivers are: Tlamanalco and Amecameca in the north; and in the south the Tomacoco. The Amecameca River provides potable water to the whole municipality.

Economy

Agriculture

The land is characterized as unfertile because of the lack of minerals is due to the overgrowth of certain kinds of crops. However, in the municipality there are large extensions of very productive land. Some plants that are cultivated are pumpkins, flowers, barley, wheat, corn, alfalfa and fruit trees. Most of the goods cultivated are designated for local consumption; the rest for local and regional trading. Cattle raising is also a known activity in Amecameca. There are a lot of cattle fattening farms and also many farms where animals like sheep, rabbits and pigs are raised. A lot of products like chickens, eggs and pigs and lambs meat, are done in many farms at the municipality.

Commerce

Trading is the most important activity. In Amecameca, there are all kinds of stores with many kinds of products like food, clothes, handicraft and tools. There are two major industries: the Amaquemecan POublishing House, which produces books for children, and the Protinbos Distributor, which distributes wood, furniture and different products made of wood. Food industries have also an important place inside the economy. The wheatmill of La Covadonga is an important producer of wheat flour. Other industries that are found in Amecameca are SANDAK and PANAM, which are footwear factories. The paper factory, San Rafael, supplies with of raw material from Amecameca. There are also a lot of dairy factories that produce cheese, butter, jelly, cream and desserts.

Tourism

La Hacienda Panoaya The hacienda is located at the kilometer 58 of the Mexico-Cautla road. The original owner of the hacienda was Pedro Paez Izital who received the land by decree of the Spanish king in 1534. Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz spent part of her childhood and wrote her first poem here. Near the end of the 20th century, the hacienda was at the point of ruin but was saved in 1999 to become a museum and a recreational park. The main house has been converted into a museum to honor Sor Juana and the old granery has been converted into the Museo Internacional de los Volcanes (International Museum of Volcanos), with focus on the nearby Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl volcanos. The recreational park features the opportunity to pet and feed differenct species of animals, like pigs, lambs, chickens, llamas, cows and ducks, but the main attraction are the tame deer. The visitor is able to feed the animals following certain rules.

El Sacromonte National Park: The park has an area of 45 hectares. It includes Sacromonte Hill, from which one is able to appreciate Amecameca's downtown and Iztaccihuatl and Popocatepetl . The vegetation of the park is mostly of cedar trees, eucalyptus trees and ash trees.

Christmas Tree Forest is a park where visitors are able to cut their own Christmas tree with government permission and spend a day in the most beautiful park of the country.

Notable people

*Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz: Perhaps Amecameca's most famous native. She was a 17th century writer and prodigy.
* Atonaltzin: Commander Totolimpaneca, founder of Amaquemecan in 1268.
* Chalchiuhtzin: Commander Tecuanipa, first to climb Popocatepetl in 1347.
* Quecholquehuatzin: Famous musician and singer staff Axayácatl who lived in the fifteenth century.
* Colonel Sylvester Lopez: Liberal who fought against the French intervention. Died shot by the hosts of Victoriano Huerta in 1913, while trying to protect several young people.
* Atenógenes Santamaria: Leading writer and priest of Amecameca. He lived in the nineteenth century.
* Laura Mendez of Cuenca: A brilliant poet and writer. She was born in Tamariz.
* Enrique Villada: Contemporary writer and poet. He has lived in Amecameca since 1985. His works have been published in prestigious cultural journals of our country. He has two poem books.
* Arturo Covarrubias: Artist and restorer of religious works. He lives in the delegation of Chalma. [ [http://www.e-local.gob.mx/work/templates/enciclo/mexico/mpios/15009a.htm/ Amecameca] Instituto Nacional Para el Federalismo y Desarrollo Municipal]

References

External links

* [http://www.amecameca.gob.mx/ Amecameca Municipality Official Site]
* [http://www.e-local.gob.mx/work/templates/enciclo/mexico/mpios/15009a.htm/ Instituto Nacional Para el Federalismo y Desarrollo Municipal]
* [http://www.bosquenavidad.com/ Christmas Trees Forest]