Soteapan, Veracruz

San Pedro Soteapan is a municipio complex within the Sierra Santa Marta, near Catemaco and Coatzacoalcos in southeast Veracruz, southcentral Mexico.

Historically the city was mentioned as a province of Coatzacoalcos by colonial Spanish references, yet was only recognized as a Mexican municipio in 1831.The area in pre-Spanish days was an area of contention between the Aztec empire and its southern neighbors. Further sentiments of Soteapan inhabitants led to numerous conflicts during the civil wars surrounding the defeat of the Mexican Porfiriato dictatorship in the early 1900s.

The area only recently obtained paved road access and is considered one of the most impoverished communities in Mexico. Its population is composed of mainly Popoluca speakers, with a smitten of Nahuatl. Nevertheless, Spanish is the predominant language.

Economically, Soteapan depends on small scale agriculture and cattle ranching. Touristically the area invites visitors to several waterfalls and views of pristine mountains.

As of 2000 the municipio counted 27,487 inhabitants within 528 km², including about 10,000 in the main city of Soteapan and its surroundings, incorporating several of the volcanoes of the Sierra Santa Marta and a large part of the Los Tuxtlas Biosphere Reserve.

References

* [http://www.tuxtlas.com/soteapan/index.html tuxtlas.com – Soteapan]
* [http://portal.veracruz.gob.mx/portal/page?_pageid=1645,1,453_4259556&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL&ciudad=30149 Soteapan government site, in Spanish]