Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( ,
also ,
nah, Acapolco), is a city and major seaport in the
state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
of
Guerrero
Guerrero is one of the 32 states that comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 81 municipalities and its capital city is Chilpancingo and its largest city is Acapulcocopied from article, GuerreroAs of 2020, Guerrero the pop ...
on the
Pacific Coast of Mexico
The Pacific Coast of Mexico or West Coast of Mexico stretches along the coasts of western Mexico at the Pacific Ocean and its Gulf of California (Sea of Cortez).
Geography
Baja California Peninsula
On the western Baja California Peninsula coas ...
, south of
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
. Acapulco is located on a deep, semicircular bay and has been a port since the early colonial period of Mexico's history.
It is a
port of call for shipping and cruise lines running between
Panama
Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...
and
San Francisco, California
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
, United States.
The city of Acapulco is the largest in the state, far larger than the state capital
Chilpancingo
Chilpancingo de los Bravo (commonly shortened to Chilpancingo; ; Nahuatl: Chilpantsinko) is the capital and second-largest city of the state of Guerrero, Mexico. In 2010 it had a population of 187,251 people. The municipality has an area of in ...
. Acapulco is also Mexico's largest beach and
balneario
A balneario (Portuguese spelling: balneário) is an Iberian and Latin American resort town, typically a seaside resort, and less commonly along the shores of lakes and rivers or next to hot springs. In Spain, balneario typically only refers to spa ...
resort city.
Acapulco de Juárez is the municipal seat of the municipality of
Acapulco
Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , also , nah, Acapolco), is a city and major seaport in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semicircular bay and has bee ...
.
The city is one of Mexico's oldest beach resorts, coming into prominence in the 1940s through the 1960s as a getaway for Hollywood stars and millionaires. Acapulco was once a popular tourist resort, but due to a massive upsurge in gang violence and homicide numbers since 2014, Acapulco no longer attracts many foreign tourists, and most now only come from Mexico itself. It is both the sixth deadliest city in Mexico and the
seventh-deadliest city in the world; the US government has warned its citizens not to travel there. In 2016 there were 918 murders, and the homicide rate was one of the highest in the world: 103 in every 100,000. In September 2018 the city's entire police force was disarmed by the military, due to suspicions that it has been infiltrated by drug gangs.
The resort area is divided into three parts: the north end of the bay and beyond is the "traditional" area, which encompasses the area from ''Parque Papagayo'' through the and onto the beaches of ''Caleta'' and ''Caletilla'', the main part of the bay known as "" ('golden zone' in Spanish), where the famous in the mid-20th century vacationed, and the south end, "" ('diamond' in Spanish), which is dominated by newer luxury high-rise hotels and condominiums.
The name "Acapulco" comes from
Nahuatl
Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller ...
language ''Aca-pōl-co'', and means "where the reeds were destroyed or washed away"
or "at the big reeds", which inspired the city's seal, which is an Aztec-type
glyph
A glyph () is any kind of purposeful mark. In typography, a glyph is "the specific shape, design, or representation of a character". It is a particular graphical representation, in a particular typeface, of an element of written language. A g ...
showing two hands breaking reeds.
The "de Juárez" was added to the official name in 1885 to honor
Benito Juárez
Benito Pablo Juárez García (; 21 March 1806 – 18 July 1872) was a Liberalism in Mexico, Mexican liberal politician and lawyer who served as the 26th president of Mexico from 1858 until his death in office in 1872. As a Zapotec peoples, Zapo ...
, former
president of Mexico
The president of Mexico ( es, link=no, Presidente de México), officially the president of the United Mexican States ( es, link=no, Presidente de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos), is the head of state and head of government of Mexico. Under the Co ...
(1806–1872). The island and municipality of
Capul
Capul, officially the Municipality of Capul ( war, Bungto han Capul; tl, Bayan ng Capul), is a 5th class island municipality in the province of Northern Samar, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 12,323 people.
A li ...
, in the Philippines, derives its name from Acapulco. Acapulco was the eastern end of the trans-Pacific sailing route from Acapulco to
Manila
Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
, in what was then a Spanish colony.
History
Pre-Columbian
![Puerto de Acapulco Boot 1628](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/Puerto_de_Acapulco_Boot_1628.png)
By the 8th century around the
Acapulco Bay
Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , also , nah, Acapolco), is a city and major seaport in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semicircular bay and has bee ...
area, there was a small culture which would first be dominated by the
Olmec
The Olmecs () were the earliest known major Mesoamerican civilization. Following a progressive development in Soconusco, they occupied the tropical lowlands of the modern-day Mexican states of Veracruz and Tabasco. It has been speculated that t ...
s, then by a number of others during the pre-Hispanic period before it ended in the 1520s. At Acapulco Bay itself, there were two Olmec sites, one by
Playa Larga
Playa (plural playas) may refer to:
Landforms
* Endorheic basin, also known as a sink, alkali flat or sabkha, a desert basin with no outlet which periodically fills with water to form a temporary lake
* Dry lake, often called a ''playa'' in the s ...
and the other on a hill known as ''El Guitarrón''. Olmec influence caused the small spread-out villages here to coalesce into larger entities and build ceremonial centers.
Later,
Teotihuacan
Teotihuacan (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Teotihuacán'') (; ) is an ancient Mesoamerican city located in a sub-valley of the Valley of Mexico, which is located in the State of Mexico, northeast of modern-day Mexico City. Teotihuacan is ...
influence came to the area via
Cuernavaca
Cuernavaca (; nci-IPA, Cuauhnāhuac, kʷawˈnaːwak "near the woods", ) is the capital and largest city of the state of Morelos in Mexico. The city is located around a 90-minute drive south of Mexico City using the Federal Highway 95D.
The na ...
and Chilpancingo. Then
Mayan
Mayan most commonly refers to:
* Maya peoples, various indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica and northern Central America
* Maya civilization, pre-Columbian culture of Mesoamerica and northern Central America
* Mayan languages, language family spoken ...
influence arrived from the
Isthmus of Tehuantepec
The Isthmus of Tehuantepec () is an isthmus in Mexico. It represents the shortest distance between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean. Before the opening of the Panama Canal, it was a major overland transport route known simply as the Te ...
and through what is now
Oaxaca
Oaxaca ( , also , , from nci, Huāxyacac ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of Mexico. It is ...
. This history is known through the archaeological artifacts that have been found here, especially at ''Playa Hornos, Pie de la Cuesta'', and ''Tambuco''.
In the 11th century, new waves of migration of
Nahuas
The Nahuas () are a group of the indigenous people of Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. They comprise the largest indigenous group in Mexico and second largest in El Salvador. The Mexica (Aztecs) were of Nahua ethnicity, a ...
and ''Coixas'' came through here. These people were the antecedents of the
Aztec
The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those g ...
s. In the later 15th century, after four years of military struggle, Acapulco became part of the
Aztec Empire
The Aztec Empire or the Triple Alliance ( nci, Ēxcān Tlahtōlōyān, Help:IPA/Nahuatl, jéːʃkaːn̥ t͡ɬaʔtoːˈlóːjaːn̥ was an alliance of three Nahua peoples, Nahua altepetl, city-states: , , and . These three city-states ruled ...
during the reign of
Ahuizotl
Ahuitzotl ( nah, āhuitzotl, ) was the eighth Aztec ruler, the '' Huey Tlatoani'' of the city of Tenochtitlan, son of princess Atotoztli II. His name literally means "Water Thorny" and was also applied to the otter. It is also theorized that mo ...
(1486–1502). It was annexed to a tributary province named ''Tepecuacuilco''. However, this was only transitory, as the Aztecs could only establish an unorganized military post at the city's outskirts. The city was in territory under control of the ''Yopes'', who continued defending it and living there until the arrival of the Spanish in the 1520s.
16th century
![Yope Acapulco](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/Yope_Acapulco.png)
There are two stories about how Acapulco bay was discovered by Europeans. The first states that two years after the
Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire
The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, also known as the Conquest of Mexico or the Spanish-Aztec War (1519–21), was one of the primary events in the Spanish colonization of the Americas. There are multiple 16th-century narratives of the eve ...
,
Hernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano, 1st Marquess of the Valley of Oaxaca (; ; 1485 – December 2, 1547) was a Spanish ''conquistador'' who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of w ...
sent explorers west to find gold. The explorers had subdued this area after 1523, and Captain Saavedra Cerón was authorized by Cortés to found a settlement here. The other states that the bay was discovered on December 13, 1526, by a small ship named the El Tepache Santiago captained by Santiago Guevara.
The first
encomendero
The ''encomienda'' () was a Spanish labour system that rewarded conquerors with the labour of conquered non-Christian peoples. The labourers, in theory, were provided with benefits by the conquerors for whom they laboured, including military ...
was established in 1525 at ''Cacahuatepec'', which is part of the modern Acapulco municipality. In 1531, a number of Spaniards, most notably Juan Rodriguez de Villafuerte, left the Oaxaca coast and founded the village of Villafuerte where the city of Acapulco now stands. Villafuerte was unable to subdue the local native peoples, and this eventually resulted in the Yopa Rebellion in the region of ''Cuautepec''. Hernán Cortés was obligated to send Vasco Porcayo to negotiate with the indigenous people giving concessions. The province of Acapulco became the encomendero of Rodriguez de Villafuerte who received taxes in the form of cocoa, cotton and corn.
Cortés established Acapulco as a major port by the early 1530s, with the first major road between Mexico City and the port constructed by 1531. The wharf, named Marqués, was constructed by 1533 between Bruja Point and Diamond Point. Soon after, the area was made an "alcadia" (major province or town).
![Carl Saltzmann - View of Acapulco, 1879](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/Carl_Saltzmann_-_View_of_Acapulco%2C_1879.jpg)
Spanish trade in the Far East would give Acapulco a prominent position in the economy of
New Spain
New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( es, Virreinato de Nueva España, ), or Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain during the Spanish colonization of the Am ...
. In 1550 thirty Spanish families were sent to live here from Mexico City to have a permanent base of European residents.
Galleons started arriving in Acapulco from Asia by 1565. Acapulco would become the second most important port, after
Veracruz
Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...
, due to its direct trade with the Philippines. This trade would focus on the yearly
Manila-Acapulco Galleon
fil, Galyon ng Maynila
, english_name = Manila Galleon
, duration = From 1565 to 1815 (250 years)
, venue = Between Manila and Acapulco
, location = New Spain (Spanish Empire ...
trade, which was the nexus of all kinds of communications between New Spain, Europe and Asia. In 1573, the port was granted the monopoly of the Manila trade.
17th–19th centuries
![JLNYCAcapulcoBay](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/JLNYCAcapulcoBay.jpg)
On January 25, 1614, a delegation led by
samurai
were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...
Hasekura Tsunenaga
was a kirishitan Japanese samurai and retainer of Date Masamune, the daimyō of Sendai. He was of Japanese imperial descent with ancestral ties to Emperor Kanmu. Other names include Philip Francis Faxicura, Felipe Francisco Faxicura, and Phi ...
, which included over one hundred
Japanese Christians
Christianity in Japan is among the nation's minority religions in terms of individuals who state an explicit affiliation or faith. Between less than 1 percent and 1.5% of the population claims Christian belief or affiliation. Although formally b ...
as well as twenty-two samurai under the
shōgun
, officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...
Tokugawa Ieyasu
was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fellow ...
, arrived from
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
to Acapulco as part of a mission to form closer relations with
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
Europe. A fight soon broke out in which a Japanese samurai stabbed a Spanish colonial soldier in Acapulco. This was witnessed and recorded by historian
Chimalpahin Domingo Francisco de San Antón Muñón Chimalpahin Quauhtlehuanitzin (1579, Amecameca, Chalco—1660, Mexico City), usually referred to simply as Chimalpahin or Chimalpain, was a Nahua annalist from Chalco. His Nahuatl names () mean "Runs Swi ...
, who was the grandson of an
Aztec
The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those g ...
nobleman. Some of Tsunenaga's delegation would stay and marry with the locals.
The
galleon trade made its yearly run from the mid-16th century until the early 19th. The luxury items it brought to New Spain attracted the attention of English and Dutch
pirates
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...
, such as
Francis Drake
Sir Francis Drake ( – 28 January 1596) was an English explorer, sea captain, privateer, slave trader, naval officer, and politician. Drake is best known for his circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition, from 1577 to 1580 (t ...
,
Henry Morgan
Sir Henry Morgan ( cy, Harri Morgan; – 25 August 1688) was a privateer, plantation owner, and, later, Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica. From his base in Port Royal, Jamaica, he raided settlements and shipping on the Spanish Main, becoming wea ...
and
Thomas Cavendish
Sir Thomas Cavendish (1560 – May 1592) was an English explorer and a privateer known as "The Navigator" because he was the first who deliberately tried to emulate Sir Francis Drake and raid the Spanish towns and ships in the Pacific and retu ...
, who called it "The Black Ship". A Dutch fleet invaded Acapulco in 1615, destroying much of the town before being driven off. The
Fort of San Diego
The Fort of San Diego ( es, Fuerte de San Diego), formerly also known as the Fort of San Carlos ( es, Fuerte de San Carlos) is a star fort in Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico. It was built by the Spanish Empire, and it was one of the most important Spa ...
was built the following year to protect the port and the cargo of arriving ships. The fort was destroyed by an earthquake in 1776 and was rebuilt between 1778 and 1783.
At the beginning of the 19th century, King Charles IV declared Acapulco a Ciudad Official and it became an essential part of the Spanish Crown. However, not long after, the
Mexican War of Independence
The Mexican War of Independence ( es, Guerra de Independencia de México, links=no, 16 September 1810 – 27 September 1821) was an armed conflict and political process resulting in Mexico's independence from Spain. It was not a single, co ...
began. In 1810,
José María Morelos y Pavón
José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ).
In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacu ...
attacked and burnt down the city, after he defeated royalist commander Francisco Parés at the Battle of Tres Palos.
The independence of Mexico in 1821 ended the run of the Manila Galleon.
Acapulco's importance as a port recovered during the
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush that began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California fro ...
in the mid-19th-century, with ships going to and coming from Panama stopping here. This city was besieged on 19 April 1854 by
Antonio López de Santa Anna
Antonio de Padua María Severino López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón (; 21 February 1794 – 21 June 1876),Callcott, Wilfred H., "Santa Anna, Antonio Lopez De,''Handbook of Texas Online'' Retrieved 18 April 2017. usually known as Santa Ann ...
after Guerrero's leadership had rebelled by issuing the
Plan de Ayutla
A plan is typically any diagram or list of steps with details of timing and resources, used to achieve an objective to do something. It is commonly understood as a temporal set of intended actions through which one expects to achieve a goal.
F ...
. After an unsuccessful week of fighting, Santa Anna retreated.
20th century
![Acapulco - Palmasola-Punto-mas-alto](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Acapulco_-_Palmasola-Punto-mas-alto.JPG)
In 1911,
revolutionary forces took over the main plaza of Acapulco.
In 1920, the
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...
(the future
King Edward VIII
Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire and Emperor of India from 20 January 1 ...
) visited the area. Impressed by what he saw, he recommended the place to his compatriots in Europe, making it popular with the elite there. Much of the original hotel and trading infrastructure was built by a businessman named Albert B. Pullen from
Corrigan, Texas
Corrigan is a town in north central Polk County, Texas. It is located along U.S. Highway 59 and is about 100 miles from Houston. Its population was 1,477 in the 2020 census.
Background
Corrigan largely emerged when the Houston East and West Tex ...
, in the area now known as Old Acapulco. In 1933 Carlos Barnard started the first section of ''Hotel El Mirador'', with 12 rooms on the cliffs of
La Quebrada. Wolf Schoenborn purchased large amounts of undeveloped land and Albert Pullen built the ''Las Americas Hotel''.
In the mid-1940s, the first commercial wharf and warehouses were built.
In the early 1950s, President
Miguel Alemán Valdés
Miguel Alemán Valdés (; 29 September 1900 – 14 May 1983) was a Mexican politician who served a full term as the President of Mexico from 1946 to 1952, the first civilian president after a string of revolutionary generals. His administr ...
upgraded the port's infrastructure, installing electrical lines, drainage systems, roads and the first highway to connect the port with Mexico City.
The economy grew and foreign investment increased with it. During the 1950s, Acapulco became the fashionable place for millionaire Hollywood stars such as
Elizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was a British-American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 1950s. ...
,
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...
,
Eddie Fisher
Edwin Jack Fisher (August 10, 1928 – September 22, 2010) was an American singer and actor. He was one of the most popular artists during the 1950s, selling millions of records and hosting his own TV show, ''The Eddie Fisher Show''. Actress Eli ...
and
Brigitte Bardot
Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot ( ; ; born 28 September 1934), often referred to by her initials B.B., is a former French actress, singer and model. Famous for portraying sexually emancipated characters with hedonistic lifestyles, she was one of the ...
. The 1963 Hollywood movie ''
Fun in Acapulco
''Fun in Acapulco'' is a 1963 American musical comedy film starring Elvis Presley and Ursula Andress.
The film featured the Top 10 ''Billboard'' hit "Bossa Nova Baby" and reached No. 1 on the national weekly box office charts a week after the ass ...
'', starring
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...
, is set in Acapulco although the filming took place in the United States. Former swing musician
Teddy Stauffer
Ernst Heinrich "Teddy" Stauffer (2 May 1909 – 27 August 1991) was a Swiss bandleader, musician, actor, nightclub owner, and restaurateur. He was dubbed Germany's " swing-king" of the 1930s. He formed the band known as the Teddies (also know ...
, the so-called "Mister Acapulco", was a hotel manager ("Villa Vera", "Casablanca"), who attracted many celebrities to Acapulco.
From a population of only 4,000 or 5,000 in the 1940s, by the early 1960s, Acapulco had a population of about 50,000. In 1958, the Diocese of Acapulco was created by
Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...
. It became an archdiocese in 1983.
![Acapulco zona hotelera 02](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/Acapulco_zona_hotelera_02.jpg)
During the 1960s and 1970s, new hotel resorts were built, and accommodation and transport were made cheaper. It was no longer necessary to be a millionaire to spend a holiday in Acapulco; the foreign and Mexican middle class could now afford to travel here. However, as more hotels were built in the south part of the bay, the old hotels of the 1950s lost their grandeur.
For the
1968 Summer Olympics
The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...
in neighboring
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
, Acapulco hosted the
sailing
Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (land yacht) over a chosen cour ...
(then yachting) events.
In the 1970s, there was a significant expansion of the port.
The
Miss Universe 1978
Miss Universe 1978, the 27th Miss Universe pageant, was held on 24 July 1978 at the Centro de Convenciones de Acapulco in Acapulco, Mexico. It was the first time in the pageant's history that the event was held in Mexico. Margaret Gardiner of So ...
pageant took place in the city. In 1983, singer-songwriter
Juan Gabriel
Alberto Aguilera Valadez (; January 7, 1950 – August 28, 2016), known professionally as Juan Gabriel (), was a Mexican singer, songwriter and actor. Colloquially nicknamed as Juanga () and El Divo de Juárez, Juan Gabriel was known for his f ...
wrote the song "Amor eterno", which pays homage to Acapulco. The song was first and most famously recorded by
Rocío Dúrcal
María de los Ángeles de las Heras Ortiz (4 October 1944 – 25 March 2006), better known professionally as Rocío Dúrcal (), was a Spanish singer and actress. Widely successful in Mexico, she earned the sobriquet of ''Reina de las Rancheras'' ...
. Additionally, Acapulco is the hometown of actress, singer, and comedian
Aída Pierce, who found fame during the 1980s, 1990s and the first decade of the 21st century.
The tollway known as the ''Ruta del Sol'' was built during the 1990s, crossing the mountains between Mexico City and Acapulco. The journey takes only about three-and-a-half hours, making Acapulco a favorite weekend destination for Mexico City inhabitants. It was in that time period that the economic impact of Acapulco as a tourist destination increased positively, and as a result new types of services emerged, such as the
Colegio Nautilus. This educational project, backed by the state government, was created for the families of local and foreign investors and businessmen living in Acapulco who were in need of a bilingual and international education for their children.
The port continued to grow and in 1996, a new private company, API Acapulco, was created to manage operations. This consolidated operations and now Acapulco is the major port for car exports to the Pacific.
The city was devastated by
Hurricane Pauline
Hurricane Pauline was one of the deadliest Pacific hurricanes to make landfall in Mexico. The sixteenth tropical storm, eighth hurricane, and seventh major hurricane of the 1997 Pacific hurricane season, Pauline developed out of a tropical wave f ...
in 1997. The storm stranded tourists and left more than 100 dead in the city. Most of the victims were from the
shantytowns built on steep hillsides that surround the city. Other victims were swept away by thirty-foot (9 m) waves and winds. The main road, Avenida Costera, became a fast-moving river of sludge three feet (1 m) in depth.
21st century
![DianaCazadoraAcapulco](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/DianaCazadoraAcapulco.jpg)
In the 21st century, the
Mexican Drug War has had a negative effect on tourism in Acapulco as rival drug traffickers fight each other for the Guerrero coast route that brings drugs from South America as well as soldiers that have been fighting the cartels since 2006.
A major gun battle between 18 gunmen and soldiers took place in the summer of 2009 in the Old Acapulco seaside area, lasting hours and killing 16 of the gunmen and two soldiers.
This came after the
2009 swine flu pandemic
The 2009 swine flu pandemic, caused by the H1N1 influenza virus and declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) from June 2009 to August 2010, is the third recent flu pandemic involving the H1N1 virus (the first being the 1918–1920 Span ...
outbreak earlier in the year nearly paralyzed the Mexican economy, forcing hotels to give discounts to bring tourists back.
However, hotel occupancy for 2009 was down five percent from the year before.
The death of
Arturo Beltrán Leyva in December 2009 resulted in infighting among different groups within the Beltrán Leyva cartel.
Gang violence continued to plague Acapulco through 2010 and into 2011, most notably with at least 15 dying in drug-related violence on March 13, 2010, and another 15 deaths on January 8, 2011. Among the first incident's dead were six members of the city police and the brother of an ex-mayor. In the second incident, the headless bodies of 15 young men were found dumped near the Plaza Sendero shopping center. On August 20, 2011, Mexican authorities reported that five headless bodies were found in Acapulco, three of which were placed in the city's main tourist area and two of which were cut into multiple pieces.
On February 4, 2013, six Spanish men were tied up and robbed and the six Spanish women with them were gang-raped by five masked gunmen who stormed a beach house on the outskirts of Acapulco, though after these accusations, none of the victims decided to press charges. On September 28, 2014, Mexican politician Braulio Zaragoza was gunned down at the ''El Mirador'' hotel in the city. He was the leader of the conservative opposition
National Action Party (PAN) in southern Guerrero state. Several politicians have been targeted by
drug cartels
A drug cartel is any criminal organization with the intention of supplying drug trafficking operations. They range from loosely managed agreements among various drug traffickers to formalized commercial enterprises. The term was applied when the ...
operating in the area. Investigations are under way, but no arrests have yet been made. The insecurity due to individuals involved with drug cartels has cost the city of Acapulco its popularity among national and international tourists. It was stated by the ''Dirección General de Aeronáutica Civil'' that the number of international flyers coming to Acapulco decreased from 355,760 flyers registered in 2006 to 52,684 flyers in the year 2015, the number of international tourists flying to Acapulco dropped 85% in the interval of nine years. In 2018, the
Mexican Armed Forces
The Mexican Armed Forces ( es, Fuerzas Armadas de México) are the military forces of the United Mexican States. The Spanish crown established a standing military in colonial Mexico in the eighteenth century. After Mexican independence in 1821, ...
entered the city, placing it under occupation. The police department was disarmed after allegations of the latter being linked to the cartels.
Geography and climate
![Aeropuerto Acapulco 03](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/Aeropuerto_Acapulco_03.jpg)
The city, located on the Pacific coast of
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
in the state of
Guerrero
Guerrero is one of the 32 states that comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 81 municipalities and its capital city is Chilpancingo and its largest city is Acapulcocopied from article, GuerreroAs of 2020, Guerrero the pop ...
, is classified as one of the state's seven regions, dividing the rest of the Guerrero coast into the
Costa Grande and the
Costa Chica.
Forty percent of the municipality is mountainous terrain; another forty percent is semi-flat; and the other twenty percent is flat. Altitude varies from sea level to . The highest peaks are ''Potrero, San Nicolas'', and ''Alto Camarón''. One major river runs through the municipality, the ''Papagayo'', along with a number of ''arroyos'' (streams). There are also two small lagoons, Tres Palos and Coyuca, along with a number of thermal springs.
Acapulco features a
tropical wet and dry climate
Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry winter) and ''As'' (for a dry summer). The driest month has less than of p ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...
: Aw): hot with distinct wet and dry seasons, with more even temperatures between seasons than resorts farther north in Mexico, but this varies depending on altitude. The warmest areas are next to the sea where the city is. Tropical storms and hurricanes are threats from May through November. The forested area tends to lose leaves during the winter dry season, with evergreen pines in the highest elevations. Fauna consists mostly of deer, small mammals, a wide variety of both land and seabirds, and marine animals such as turtles.
Oddly enough, January, its coolest month, also features its all-time record high.
The temperature of the sea is quite stable, with lows of between January – March, and a high of in August.
Government
As the seat of a municipality, the city of Acapulco is the government authority for over 700 other communities,
which together have a territory of 1,880.60 km
2.
This municipality borders the municipalities of Chilpancingo,
Juan R Escudero (Tierra Colorada),
San Marcos
San Marcos is the Spanish name of Saint Mark. It may also refer to:
Towns and cities Argentina
* San Marcos, Salta
Colombia
* San Marcos, Antioquia
* San Marcos, Sucre
Costa Rica
* San Marcos, Costa Rica (aka San Marcos de Tarrazú)
...
,
Coyuca de Benítez
Coyuca de Benítez is a city and seat of the municipality of Coyuca de Benítez, in the state of Guerrero, south-western Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of Nort ...
with the Pacific Ocean to the south.
The metropolitan area is made up of the municipalities of Acapulco de Juárez and Coyuca de Benitez. The area has a population () of 786,830.
For the names and terms of some Acapulco
mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
s, you can check a
List of municipal presidents of Acapulco.
Demographics
Population
Acapulco is the most populated city in the state of Guerrero, according to the results of the II Population and Housing Census 2010 carried out by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) with a census date of June 12, 2010, The city had until then a total population of 673 479 inhabitants, of that amount, 324 746 were men and 348 733 women. It is considered the twenty-second most populous city in Mexico and the tenth most populous metropolitan area in Mexico. It is also the city with the highest concentration of population of the homonymous municipality, representing 85.25 percent of the 789.971 inhabitants.
The metropolitan area of Acapulco is made up of six towns in the municipality of Acapulco de Juárez and four in the municipality of Coyuca de Benítez. In agreement with the last count and official delimitation realized in 2010 altogether by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography, the National Council of Population and the Secretariat of Social Development, the metropolitan area of Acapulco grouped a total of 863 431 inhabitants in a surface of 3 538.5 km
2, which placed it as the tenth most populated district in Mexico. It is estimated according to a study by the National Autonomous University of Mexico on climate and geography, carried out in 2002, that between 2015 and 2020 the city of Acapulco will exceed one million inhabitants.
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;Notes:
Economy
Tourism is the main economic activity of the municipality and most of this is centered on Acapulco Bay. About seventy-three percent of the municipality's population is involved in commerce, most of it related to tourism and the port. Mining and manufacturing employ less than twenty percent and only about five percent is dedicated to agriculture. Industrial production is limited mostly to bottling, milk products, cement products, and ice and energy production. Agricultural products include tomatoes, corn, watermelon, beans, green chili peppers, and melons.
Tourism
![Papagayo Park in Acapulco Mexico 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b7/Papagayo_Park_in_Acapulco_Mexico_1.jpg)
Acapulco is one of Mexico's oldest coastal tourist destinations, reaching prominence in the 1950s as the place where Hollywood stars and millionaires vacationed on the beach in an exotic locale.
In modern times, tourists in Acapulco have been facing problems with corrupt local police who steal money by extortion and intimidate visitors with threats of jail.
The city is divided into three tourist areas.
Traditional Acapulco is the old part of the port, where hotels like Hotel Los Flamingos, owned by personalities
Johnny Weissmuller
Johnny Weissmuller (born Johann Peter Weißmüller; June 2, 1904 – January 20, 1984) was an American Olympic swimmer, water polo player and actor. He was known for having one of the best competitive swimming records of the 20th century. H ...
and
John Wayne
Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Gol ...
are located, is on the northern end of the bay. Anchored by attractions such as the beaches of Caleta and Caletilla, the
cliff divers of La Quebrada, and the city square, known as ''El Zocalo''. The heyday of this part of Acapulco ran from the late 1930s until the 1960s, with development continuing through the 1980s.
This older section of town now caters to a mostly middle-class, almost exclusively Mexican clientele, while the glitzier newer section caters to the Mexican upper classes, many of whom never venture into the older, traditional part of town.
Acapulco Dorado had its development between the 1950s and the 1970s, and is about 25 minutes from the Acapulco International Airport. It is the area that presents the most tourist influx in the port, runs through much of the Acapulco bay, from Icacos, passing through Costera Miguel Aleman Avenue, which is the main one, to Papagayo Park. It has several hotels,
Acapulco Diamante, also known as Punta Diamante, is the newest and most developed part of the port, with investment having created one of the greatest concentrations of luxury facilities in Mexico, including exclusive hotels and resorts of international chains, residential complexes, luxury condominiums and private villas, spas, restaurants, shopping areas and a golf course. Starting at the Scenic Highway in Las Brisas, it includes Puerto Marqués and Punta Diamante and extends to Barra Vieja Beach. It is 10 minutes from the Acapulco International Airport. In this area, all along ''Boulevard de las Naciones'', almost all transportation is by car, limousine or golf cart.
Acapulco's reputation of a high-energy party town and the nightlife have long been draws of the city for tourists. From November to April, luxury liners stop here daily and include ships such as the , the , ''
Crystal Harmony
MS is a cruise ship owned and operated by Nippon Yusen Kaisha. She was originally built by the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries shipyard in Nagasaki, Japan, as ''Crystal Harmony'' for Crystal Cruises. In 2006, ''Crystal Harmony'' was transferred from ...
'', and all the Princess line ships. Despite Acapulco's international fame, most of its visitors are from central Mexico, especially the affluent from Mexico City.
Acapulco is one of the embarkation ports for the Mexican cruise line
Ocean Star Cruises
Ocean Star Cruises is a cruise line based in Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North Ame ...
.
For the Christmas season of 2009, Acapulco received 470,000 visitors, most of whom are Mexican nationals, adding 785 million pesos to the economy. Eighty percent arrive by land and eighteen percent by air.
The area has over 25,000 condominiums, most of which function as second homes for their Mexican owners.
Acapulco is still popular with Mexican celebrities and the wealthy, such as
Luis Miguel
Luis Miguel Gallego Basteri (born 19 April 1970) is a Puerto Rican-born Mexican singer, often referred to as ''El Sol de México'' (The Sun of Mexico), which is the nickname his mother gave him as a child—"mi sol". Luis Miguel has sung in mu ...
and
Plácido Domingo
José Plácido Domingo Embil (born 21 January 1941) is a Spanish opera singer, conductor, and arts administrator. He has recorded over a hundred complete operas and is well known for his versatility, regularly performing in Italian, French, ...
, who maintain homes there.
Problems
From the latter 20th century on, the city has also taken on other less-positive reputations. Some consider it a ''passé'' resort, eclipsed by the newer
Cancún
Cancún ( ), often Cancun in English (without the accent; or ) is a city in southeast Mexico on the northeast coast of the Yucatán Peninsula in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. It is a significant tourist destination in Mexico and the seat ...
and
Cabo San Lucas
Cabo San Lucas (, "Saint Luke Cape"), or simply just Cabo, is a resort city at the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula, in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur. As at the 2020 Census, the population of the city was 202,694 inhabitan ...
. Over the years, a number of problems have developed here, especially in the bay and the older sections of the city. The large number of wandering vendors on the beaches, who offer everything from newspapers to massages, are a recognized problem. It is a bother to tourists who simply want to relax on the beach, but the government says it is difficult to eradicate, as there is a lot of unemployment and poverty in the city.
Around the city are many small shantytowns that cling to the mountainsides, populated by migrants who have come to the city looking for work. In the last decade, drug-related violence has caused massive problems for the local tourism trade.
Another problem is the garbage that has accumulated in the bay. Although 60.65 tons have recently been extracted from the bays of Acapulco and nearby
Zihuatanejo
Zihuatanejo (), or Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, is the fourth-largest city in the Mexican state of Guerrero. It was known by 18th century English mariners as Chequetan or Seguataneo. Politically the city belongs to the municipalities of Mexico, municipali ...
, more needs to be done. Most of trash removal during the off seasons is done on the beaches and in the waters closest to them. However, the center of the bay is not touched. The reason trash winds up in the bay is that it is common in the city to throw it in streets, rivers and the bay itself. The most common items cleaned out of the bay are beer bottles and car tires.
Acapulco has seen some success in this area, having several beaches receiving the high "blue flag" certifications for cleanliness and water quality.
Cuisine
Acapulco's cuisine is very rich. The following are typical dishes from the region:
Relleno is baked pork with a variety of vegetables and fruits such as potatoes, raisins, carrots and chiles. It is eaten with bread called ''bolillo''.
Pozole is a soup with a salsa base (it can be white, red or green),
hominy
Hominy (Spanish: maíz molido; literally meaning "milled corn") is a food produced from dried maize (corn) kernels that have been treated with an alkali, in a process called nixtamalization ( is the Nahuatl word for "hominy"). "Lye hominy" is a ...
, meat that can be either pork or chicken and it is accompanied with ''antojitos'' (snacks) like tostadas, tacos and tamales. This dish is served as part of a weekly Thursday event in the city and the state, with many restaurants offering the meal with special entertainment, from bands to dancers to celebrity impersonators.
Attractions
![Flag of Mexico in Acapulco](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/Flag_of_Mexico_in_Acapulco.jpg)
Acapulco's main attraction is its nightlife, as it has been for many decades.
Nightclubs change names and owners frequently.
For example, Baby 'O has been open to the national and international public since 1976 and different celebrities have visited their installations such as Mexican singer Luis Miguel, Bono from U2 and Sylvester Stallone. Another nightclub is Palladium, located in the Escénica Avenue, the location gives the nightclub a beautiful view of the Santa Lucia Bay at night. Various DJs have had performances in Palladium among them DVBBS, Tom Swoon, Nervo and Junkie KID.
Informal lobby or poolside cocktail bars often offer free live entertainment. In addition, there is the beach bar zone, where younger crowds go. These are located along the Costera road, face the ocean and feature techno or alternative rock. Most are concentrated between the Fiesta Americana and Continental Plaza hotels. These places tend to open earlier and have more informal dress. There is a
bungee jump
Bungee jumping (), also spelled bungy jumping, is an activity that involves a person jumping from a great height while connected to a large elastic cord. The launching pad is usually erected on a tall structure such as a building or crane, a ...
in this area as well.
![Cliffdivers in La Quebrada, Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a7/Cliffdivers_in_La_Quebrada%2C_Acapulco%2C_Guerrero%2C_Mexico.jpg)
Another attraction at Acapulco is the
La Quebrada Cliff Divers
The La Quebrada Cliff Divers are a group of professional high divers, based in Acapulco, Mexico. They perform daily shows for the public, which involve diving 30 meters (100 ft) or 41 meters (135 ft) from the cliffs of La Quebrada in ...
.
The tradition started in the 1930s when young men casually competed against each other to see who could dive from the highest point into the sea below. Eventually, locals began to ask for tips for those coming to see the men dive.
Today the divers are professionals,
diving from heights of into
an inlet that is only wide and deep, after praying first at a shrine to the Virgin of Guadalupe.
On the evening before December 12, the feast day of this Virgin, freestyle cliff divers jump into the sea to honor her. Dives range from the simple to the complicated and end with the "Ocean of Fire" when the sea is lit with gasoline, making a circle of flames which the diver aims for.
The spectacle can be seen from a public area which charges a small fee or from the Hotel Plaza Las Glorias/El Mirador from its bar or restaurant terrace.
There are a number of beaches in the Acapulco Bay and the immediate coastline. In the bay proper there are the La Angosta (in the Quebrada), Caleta, Caletilla, Dominguillo, Tlacopanocha, Hornos, Hornitos, Honda, Tamarindo, Condesa, Guitarrón, Icacos, Playuela, Playuelilla and Playa del Secreto. In the adjoining, smaller Bay of Puerto Marqués there is Pichilingue, Las Brisas, and Playa Roqueta. Facing open ocean just northwest of the bays is Pie de la Cuesta and southeast are Playa Revolcadero, Playa Aeromar, Playa Encantada and Barra Vieja. Two lagoons are in the area, Coyuca to the northwest of Acapulco Bay and Tres Palos to the southeast. Both lagoons have mangroves and offer boat tours. Tres Palos also has sea turtle nesting areas which are protected.
In addition to sunbathing, the beaches around the bay offer a number of services, such as boat rentals, boat tours, horseback riding, scuba diving and other aquatic sports. One popular cruise is from Caletilla Beach to Roqueta Island, which has places to snorkel, have lunch, and a lighthouse. There is also an underwater statue of the Virgin of Guadalupe here, created in 1958 by Armando Quesado in memory of a group of divers who died here. Many of the scuba-diving tours come to this area as well, where there are sunken ships, sea mountains, and cave rock formations.
Another popular activity is deep-sea fishing. The major attraction is sail fishing. Fish caught here have weighed between 89 and 200 pounds.
Sailfish
The sailfish is one or two species of marine fish in the genus ''Istiophorus'', which belong to the family Istiophoridae (marlins). They are predominantly blue to gray in colour and have a characteristically large dorsal fin known as the sa ...
are so plentiful that boat captains have been known to bet with a potential customer that if he does not catch anything, the trip is free.
In the old part of the city, there is a traditional main square called the Zócalo, lined with shade trees, cafés and shops. At the north end of the square is ''Nuestra Señora de la Soledad'' cathedral, with blue onion-shaped domes and Byzantine towers. The building was originally constructed as a movie set, but was later adapted into a church.
Acapulco's most historic building is the
Fort of San Diego
The Fort of San Diego ( es, Fuerte de San Diego), formerly also known as the Fort of San Carlos ( es, Fuerte de San Carlos) is a star fort in Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico. It was built by the Spanish Empire, and it was one of the most important Spa ...
, located east of the main square and originally built in 1616 to protect the city from
pirate
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...
attacks.
The fort was partially destroyed by the Dutch in the mid-17th century, rebuilt, then destroyed again in 1776 by an earthquake. It was rebuilt again by 1783 and this is the building that can be seen today, unchanged except for renovations done to it in 2000. Parts of the moats remain as well as the five bulwarks and the battlements.
Today the fort serves as the Museo Histórico de Acapulco (Acapulco Historical Museum), which shows the port's history from the pre-Hispanic period until independence. There are temporary exhibits as well.
For many years tourists could ride around the city in colorful horse-drawn carriages known as ''calandrias'', but the practice ended in February 2020 due to concerns about mistreatment of the animals.
![Crowne Plaza Hotel in Acapulco, Mexico](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/Crowne_Plaza_Hotel_in_Acapulco%2C_Mexico.jpg)
The El Rollo Acapulco is a sea-life and aquatic park located on Costera Miguel Aleman. It offers wave pools, water slides and water toboggans. There are also dolphin shows daily and a swim with dolphins program. The center mostly caters to children.
Another place that is popular with children is the ''Parque Papagayo'': a large family park which has a life-sized replica of a Spanish galleon, three artificial lakes, an aviary, a skating rink, rides, go-karts and more.
The Dolores Olmedo House is located in the traditional downtown of Acapulco and is noted for the murals by
Diego Rivera
Diego María de la Concepción Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez, known as Diego Rivera (; December 8, 1886 – November 24, 1957), was a prominent Mexican painter. His large frescoes helped establish the ...
that adorn it. Olmedo and Rivera had been friend since Olmedo was a child and Rivera spent the last two years of his life here. During that time, he painted nearly nonstop and created the outside walls with tile mosaics, featuring Aztec deities such as
Quetzalcoatl
Quetzalcoatl (, ; Spanish: ''Quetzalcóatl'' ; nci-IPA, Quetzalcōātl, ket͡saɬˈkoːaːt͡ɬ (Modern Nahuatl pronunciation), in honorific form: ''Quetzalcōātzin'') is a deity in Aztec culture and literature whose name comes from the Nahu ...
. The interior of the home is covered in murals. The home is not a museum, so only the outside murals can be seen by the public.
There is a small museum called ''Casa de la Máscara'' (House of Masks) which is dedicated to masks, most of them from Mexico, but there are examples from many parts of the world. The collection contains about one thousand examples and is divided into seven rooms called Masks of the World, Mexico across History, The
Huichols
The Huichol or Wixárika are an indigenous people of Mexico and the United States living in the Sierra Madre Occidental range in the states of Nayarit, Jalisco, Zacatecas, and Durango, as well as in the United States in the states of California ...
and the Jaguar, Alebrijes, Dances of Guerrero, Devils and Death, Identity and Fantasy, and Afro-Indian masks.
The Botanical Garden of Acapulco is a tropical garden located on lands owned by the Universidad Loyola del Pacífico. Most of the plants here are native to the region, and many, such as the
Peltogyne mexicana or purple stick tree, are in danger of extinction.
One cultural event that is held yearly in Acapulco is the ''Festival Internacional de la Nao'', which takes place in the Fort of San Diego, located near the Zócalo in downtown of the city. The Festival honors the remembrance of the city's interaction and trades with Oriental territories which started back in the Sixteenth Century. The Nao Festival consists of cultural activities with the support of organizations and embassies from India, China, Japan, Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and South Korea. The variety of events go from film projections, musical interpretations and theatre to gastronomical classes, some of the events are specifically for kids.
The annual French Festival takes place throughout Acapulco city and offers a multitude of events that cement cultural links between Mexico and France. The main features are a fashion show and a gourmet food fair. The Cinépolis Galerías Diana and the Teatro Juan Ruíz de Alarcón present French and French literary figures who give talks on their specialised subjects. Even some of the local nightclubs feature French DJs.
Other festivals celebrated here include
Carnival
Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival typi ...
, the feast of San Isidro Labrador on 15 May, and in November, a crafts and livestock fair called the Nao de China.
There are a number of golf courses in Acapulco including the Acapulco Princess and the Pierre Marqués course, the latter designed by
Robert Trent Jones
Robert Trent Jones Sr. (June 20, 1906 – June 14, 2000) was a British–American golf course architect who designed or re-designed more than 500 golf courses in 45 U.S. states and 35 countries. In reference to this, Jones took pride in sayi ...
in 1972 for the
World Cup Golf Tournament. The Mayan Palace course was designed by
Pedro Guericia and an economical course called the Club de Golf Acapulco is near the convention center. The most exclusive course is that of the Tres Vidas Golf Club, designed by
Robert von Hagge. It is located next to the ocean and is home to flocks of ducks and other birds.
Another famous sport tournament that has been held in Acapulco since 1993 is the
Abierto Mexicano Telcel
The Mexican Open (currently sponsored by Telcel and HSBC Mexico, HSBC and called the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC) is a men's professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts, and usually held annually in late February at ...
tennis tournament, an
ATP 500
The ATP 500 tournaments (previously known as the ''ATP World Tour 500'' tournaments, ''ATP International Series Gold'', and ''ATP Championship Series'') are the fourth highest tier of annual men's tennis tournament after the four Grand Slam tourn ...
event that takes place in the tennis courts of the
Princess Mundo Imperial, a resort located in the Diamante zone of Acapulco. Initially it was played in clay courts but it changed to hard court. The event has gained popularity within the passing of the years, attracting some of the top tennis players in the world including
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic ( sr-Cyrl, Новак Ђоковић, translit=Novak Đoković, ; born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player. He has been ranked world No. 1 for a record total 373 weeks, and has finished as the year-end No. 1 ...
,
Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal Parera (, ; born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He is currently ranked world No. 2 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He has been ranked List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis ...
and
Marin Cilic
Marin (French) or Marín (Spanish "sailor") may refer to:
People
* Marin (name), including a list of persons with the given name or surname
* MaRin, in-game name of professional South Korean ''League of Legends'' player Jang Gyeong-hwan (born 19 ...
. The total prize money is US$250,000.00 for
WTA (women) and US$1,200,000.00 for
ATP (men).
Acapulco also has a
bullring
A bullring is an arena where bullfighting is performed. Bullrings are often associated with the Iberian Peninsula, but they can also be found through Iberian America and in a few Spanish and Portuguese ex-colonies in Africa. Bullrings are o ...
, called the Plaza de Toros, near Caletilla Beach. The season runs during the winter and is called the Fiesta Brava.
Spring break
Before 2010, over 100,000 American teenagers and young adults traveled to resort areas and
balneario
A balneario (Portuguese spelling: balneário) is an Iberian and Latin American resort town, typically a seaside resort, and less commonly along the shores of lakes and rivers or next to hot springs. In Spain, balneario typically only refers to spa ...
s throughout Mexico during
spring break each year.
The main reason students head to Mexico is the drinking age of 18 years (versus 21 for the United States), something that has been marketed by tour operators along with the sun and ocean. This has become attractive since the 1990s, especially since more traditional spring break places such as
Daytona Beach, Florida
Daytona Beach, or simply Daytona, is a coastal Resort town, resort-city in east-central Florida. Located on the eastern edge of Volusia County, Florida, Volusia County near the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic coastline, its population ...
, have enacted restrictions on drinking and other behaviors. This legislation has pushed spring break tourism to various parts of Mexico, with Acapulco as one of the top destinations.
In the late 1990s and early 2000s,
Cancún
Cancún ( ), often Cancun in English (without the accent; or ) is a city in southeast Mexico on the northeast coast of the Yucatán Peninsula in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. It is a significant tourist destination in Mexico and the seat ...
had been favored as the spring break destination of choice. However, Cancún has taken some steps to control the reckless behavior associated with the event, and students have been looking for someplace new. This led many more to choose Acapulco, in spite of the fact that for many travelers, the flight is longer and more expensive than to Cancún. Many were attracted by the glitzy hotels on the south side and Acapulco's famous nightlife.
In 2008, 22,500 students came to Acapulco for spring break. Hotels did not get that many in 2009, due mostly to the economic situation in the United States,
and partially because of scares of drug-related violence.
In February 2009, the US State Department issued a travel alert directed at college students planning spring break trips to Acapulco. The warning—a result of violent activity springing from Mexico's drug cartel débâcle—took college campuses by storm, with some schools going so far as to warn their students about the risks of travel to Mexico over spring break.
Bill O'Reilly devoted a segment of his show, ''
The O'Reilly Factor
''The O'Reilly Factor'' (originally titled ''The O'Reilly Report'' and also known as ''The Factor'') is an American cable television news and talk show. ''The O'Reilly Factor'' first aired in the United States on Fox News Channel on October 7 ...
'', to urge students to stay away from Acapulco.
[ In June 2009, a number of incidents occurred between the drug cartel and the government. These included coordinated attacks on police headquarters and open battles in the streets, involving large-caliber weapons and grenades. However, no incidents of violence against travelers on spring break were reported.
]
Transportation
Ten passenger airline
An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines for ...
s, including four international ones, fly to Acapulco International Airport. In the city, there are many buses and taxi services one can take to get from place to place, but most of the locals choose to walk to their destinations. However, an important mode of transportation is the government-subsidized 'Colectivo' cab system. These cabs cost 13 pesos
The peso is the monetary unit of several countries in the Americas, and the Philippines. Originating in the Spanish Empire, the word translates to "weight". In most countries the peso uses the same sign, "$", as many currencies named "dollar" ...
per person to ride, but they are not private. The driver will pick up more passengers as long as seats are available, and will transport them to their destination based on first-come, first-served rules. The colectivos each travel a designated area of the city, the three main ones being Costera, Colosio, Coloso, or a mixture of the three. Coloso cabs travel mainly to old Acapulco. Colosio cabs travel through most of the tourist area of Acapulco. Costera cabs drive up and down the coast of Acapulco, where most of the hotels for visitors are located, but which includes some of old Acapulco. Where a driver will take you is partly his choice. Some are willing to travel to the other designated areas, especially during slow periods of the day.
The bus system is highly complex and can be rather confusing to an outsider. As far as transportation goes, it is the cheapest form, other than walking, in Acapulco. The most expensive buses have air conditioning, while the cheaper buses do not. For tourists, the Acapulco city government has established a system of yellow buses with Acapulco painted on the side of them. These buses are not for tourists only, but are certainly the nicest and most uniform of the bus systems. These buses travel the tourist section of Acapulco, driving up and down the coast. There are buses with specific routes and destinations, generally written on their windshields or shouted out by a barker riding in the front seat. Perhaps the most unusual thing about the privately operated buses is the fact that they are all highly decorated and personalized, with decals and home-made interior designs that range from comic book scenes, to pornography, and even to "Hello Kitty
, also known by her full name , is a fictional Character (arts), character created by Yuko Shimizu, currently designed by Yuko Yamaguchi, and owned by the Japanese company Sanrio. Sanrio depicts Hello Kitty as an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphi ...
" themes.
The conflictive public transportation would be upgraded on 25 June 2016 with the implementation of the . The Acabús infrastructure has a length of , with 16 stations spread throughout the city of Acapulco and has five routes. This project will help organize traffic because the buses now have a specific line on the roads and there would be more control over transportation and passengers.
International relations
Consulates
Twin towns and partner cities
International
* Manila
Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
, 1969
* Netanya
Netanya (also known as Natanya, he, נְתַנְיָה) is a city in the Northern Central District of Israel, and is the capital of the surrounding Sharon plain. It is north of Tel Aviv, and south of Haifa, between Poleg stream and Wingate I ...
, 1980
* Sendai
is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Miyagi Prefecture, the largest city in the Tōhoku region. , the city had a population of 1,091,407 in 525,828 households, and is one of Japan's 20 Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, desig ...
, 1983
* Qingdao
Qingdao (, also spelled Tsingtao; , Mandarin: ) is a major city in eastern Shandong Province. The city's name in Chinese characters literally means " azure island". Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, it is a major nodal city of the One Belt ...
, 1985
* Quebec City
Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...
, 1986
* Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
, 1986
* Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Bev ...
, 1988
* Onjuku
is a town located in Chiba, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 7,523 in 3683 households and a population density of 300 persons per km². The total area o the town is . The name of the town is made of two ''kanji'' characters: t ...
, 1988
* Cannes
Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions I ...
, 1994
* McAllen
McAllen is the largest city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States, and the 22nd-most populous city in Texas. It is located at the southern tip of the state in the Rio Grande Valley, on the Mexico–United States border. The city limits extend ...
, 1997
* Santa Marta
Santa Marta (), officially Distrito Turístico, Cultural e Histórico de Santa Marta ("Touristic, Cultural and Historic District of Santa Marta"), is a city on the coast of the Caribbean Sea in northern Colombia. It is the capital of Magdalena ...
, 2005
* Manta
Manta or mantas may refer to:
* Manta ray, large fish belonging to the genus ''Manta''
Arts and entertainment Fictional entities
* Manta (comics), a character in American Marvel Comics publications
* Manta (''Uridium''), a spaceship in the Br ...
, 2005
* Ordizia
Ordizia, formerly known as Villafranca de Ordizia, is a town and municipality located in the Goierri region of the province of Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country, northern Spain.
The professional cycle road race Prueba V ...
, 2008
* Yalta
Yalta (: Я́лта) is a resort city on the south coast of the Crimean Peninsula surrounded by the Black Sea. It serves as the administrative center of Yalta Municipality, one of the regions within Crimea. Yalta, along with the rest of Crimea ...
, 2012
* Sosúa
Sosúa is a beach town in the Puerto Plata province of the Dominican Republic. Located approximately from the Gregorio Luperón International Airport in San Felipe de Puerto Plata.
The town is divided into three sectors: ''El Batey'', which is ...
, 2012
* Nassau, Bahamas, Nassau, 2012
* Callao, 2014
* Cartagena, Colombia, Cartagena, 2017
* Eilat, 2017
Domestic
* Teocaltiche, 2005
* Dolores Hidalgo, 2009
* Guanajuato City, 2010
* Boca del Río, Veracruz, Boca del Río, 2012
* Morelia, 2013
Pending transboundary UNESCO World Heritage Site nominations
In 2014, the idea to nominate the Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade Route was initiated by the Mexican ambassador to UNESCO with the Filipino ambassador to UNESCO.
An Experts' Roundtable Meeting was held at the University of Santo Tomas (UST) on April 23, 2015, as part of the preparation of the Philippines for the possible transnational nomination of the Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade Route to the World Heritage List. The nomination will be made jointly with Mexico.
The following are the experts and the topics they discussed during the roundtable meeting: Dr. Celestina Boncan on the Tornaviaje; Dr. Mary Jane A. Bolunia on Shipyards in the Bicol Region; Mr. Sheldon Clyde Jago-on, Bobby Orillaneda, and Ligaya Lacsina on Underwater Archaeology; Dr. Leovino Garcia on Maps and Cartography; Fr. Rene Javellana, S.J. on Fortifications in the Philippines; Felice Sta. Maria on Food; Dr. Fernando Zialcita on Textile; and Regalado Trota Jose on Historical Dimension. The papers presented and discussed during the roundtable meeting will be synthesized into a working document to establish the route's Outstanding Universal Value.
The Mexican side reiterated that they will also follow suit with the preparations for the route's nomination.
Spain has also backed the nomination of the Manila-Acapulco Trade Route Route in the UNESCO World Heritage Site list and has also suggested the Archives of the Manila-Acapulco Galleons to be nominated as part of a separate UNESCO list, the UNESCO Memory of the World Register.
See also
* Acapulco (municipality)
* Triangle of the Sun
* Loco in Acapulco
References
Bibliography
External links
*
{{Authority control
Acapulco,
1550 establishments in the Spanish Empire
Populated coastal places in Mexico
Beaches of Guerrero
Populated places established in 1550
Populated places in Guerrero
Port cities and towns on the Mexican Pacific coast
Seaside resorts in Mexico