Actopan (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 Nahuas, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller popul ...

: ''Ātocpan'' 'thick, humid and fertile land') is a Mexican city,

head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple ani ...

of the municipality of Actopan in the state of Hidalgo. Actopan is widely known for its

gastronomy Gastronomy is the study of the relationship between Human food, food and culture, the art of preparing and serving rich or delicate and appetizing food, the cooking styles of particular regions, and the science of good eating. One who is well ver ...

, especially for ximbo and barbacoa, as well as for the Church and ex-convent of San Nicolás de Tolentino. The city is located north of

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

, from which it is 120 km away, and only 37 km from the city of Pachuca de Soto, the capital of the state of Hidalgo. It is located within the geographical region known as Mezquital Valley. According to the results of the 2020 Population and Housing Census of INEGI, the town has a population of 32,276 inhabitants, which represents 52.91% of the municipal population. The city was a settlement of the Otomi people. In 1117 it was conquered by Chichimeca groups and became a dependency of Acolhuacan in 1120. It was conquered by the Tepanecs of Azcapotzalco at the end of the 14th century. The Mexica conquest took place in 1427 during the reign of Itzcoatl. After the Conquest of Mexico, an ''

encomienda The ''encomienda'' () was a Spanish Labour (human activity), labour system that rewarded Conquistador, conquerors with the labour of conquered non-Christian peoples. In theory, the conquerors provided the labourers with benefits, including mil ...

'' was established in Actopan. According to the ''Universal Dictionary of History and Geography'', the city was founded on July 16, 1546; although the date on which the anniversary of its founding is celebrated corresponds to July 8. In 1575 Actopan was elevated to the category of village. It was elevated to '' Alcaldía Mayor'' in 1568; Actopan was the head and the towns around it were then '' República de Indios'' (Republic of Indigenous People). Later it became Subdelegation in the period of the Bourbon Reforms; and it acquired the character of City Hall and head of party, dependent on the district of Tula, on August 6, 1824. On April 26, 1847, by decree of the Congress of the State of Mexico, Actopan was elevated to the category of town. On October 15, 1861, Actopan was declared a district of the

State of Mexico The State of Mexico, officially just Mexico, is one of the 32 federal entities of the United Mexican States. Colloquially known as Edomex (from , the abbreviation of , and ), to distinguish it from the name of the whole country, it is the mo ...

. On June 7, 1862, it became part of the military canton number 3 of the Second Military District of the State of Mexico, created to confront the French intervention in Mexico. At the beginning, Actopan was temporarily the capital of the district, but it was changed to Pachuca. During the Second Mexican Empire, Actopan became part of the department of Tula. In 1869, the decree of establishment of the state of Hidalgo confirmed the character of District head of the new entity. The Constitution of Hidalgo of 1870 recognized Actopan as the 1st district, category that would be confirmed in the 1st article of the electoral laws of 1880 and 1894. In the 3rd article of the Constitution of Hidalgo of 1 October 1920 it appears in the list as

municipal seat A municipal seat (Spanish: ; ) is the administrative center and seat of government of a municipality or civil parish, with other villages or towns subordinated. The term is used in Brazil, Colombia,municipality number 3 of Hidalgo. When commemorating the fourth centennial of the foundation of Actopan, on July 8, 1946, the XXXVIII Legislature of the Congress of the state of Hidalgo, gave it the category of city.

Toponymy

Some sources indicate that the word Actopan comes from the

Otomi language Otomi ( ; ) is an Oto-Pamean languages, Oto-Pamean language spoken by approximately 240,000 indigenous Otomi people in the Mexican Plateau, central ''altiplano'' region of Mexico. Otomi consists of several closely related languages, many of whi ...

, the INAFED in the ''Encyclopedia of the Municipalities and Delegations of Mexico'' in its page on Actopan, Hidalgo indicates the

etymology Etymology ( ) is the study of the origin and evolution of words—including their constituent units of sound and meaning—across time. In the 21st century a subfield within linguistics, etymology has become a more rigorously scientific study. ...

of the word comes from Otomi; but in the page of Actopan, Veracruz it indicates that the

comes from

. Enrique Rivas Paniagua, in the book ''Lo que el viento nos dejó: hojas del turruño hidalguense'', points out that the name of no municipality in Hidalgo has roots in Otomi. The word ''Actopan'' is of

origin, derived from ''atoctli'', which means 'thick, humid and/or fertile land', and ''pan'', which means 'in' or 'on', so the translation would be as follows: "on thick, humid and fertile land". Another meaning is that it comes from ac root of the word (''atl'') that means water, to (' ''toktok'') that means buried and ''pan'' that means locative, on, in; so its meaning would be "on buried water". It has also been pointed out that the name of the locality could be ''Atocpan'', which due to a certain modification of the language suffered a change in its structure; ''Otocpan'', cited in the "''Archivo Español de Arte y Arqueología del Obispado de México''"; and ''Atecpan'', of Nahuatl origin and meaning "in the pond". The name of the settlement of the Hñähñu people before the Conquest of Mexico in the

was: ''Ma'ñuts'i'', ''Mañutzi'', or ''Mañutshí''. An etymological meaning given is that it comes from the possessive ''ma'', which means 'my', ''un'', which means 'road', and ''itzi'', which is diminutive, so it would translate as "my little road". According to the linguists, Ethel Emilia Wallis and Yolanda Lastra, another meaning is that it comes from ''ñuts'i'', which means to light or

incense Incense is an aromatic biotic material that releases fragrant smoke when burnt. The term is used for either the material or the aroma. Incense is used for aesthetic reasons, religious worship, aromatherapy, meditation, and ceremonial reasons. It ...

(to perfume with incense) and the possessive ''ma'', so it would translate as "Place of lighting or incensing".

Symbols

Glyph

The

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 ...

, (engraved or, by extension, written or painted sign) that represents the city is made up of a corn cane in

corn silk Corn silk is a common name for ''Stigma maydis'', the shiny, thread-like, weak fibers that grow as part of ear (botany), ears of corn (maize); the tuft or tassel of silky fibers that protrude from the tip of the ear of corn. The ear is enclosed i ...

and elotes on a clod drawn as a disk, sown inside with dots or coarse grains. This representation is commonly used as the city's escutcheon.

Name

The official name is Actopan, although it also receives the denomination of ''Ciudad del Convento'' or in a longer way ''Ciudad del Convento y la Barbacoa''. This is due to the importance of the Church and ex-convent of San Nicolás de Tolentino and the typical dish of the city, the barbacoa. On November 14, 1861, being part of the

state of Mexico The State of Mexico, officially just Mexico, is one of the 32 federal entities of the United Mexican States. Colloquially known as Edomex (from , the abbreviation of , and ), to distinguish it from the name of the whole country, it is the mo ...

; it was called Actopan de Hidalgo, in honor of Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla. At the end of the 19th century, it fell into disuse so as not to sound cacophonous with the name of the state.

Motto

After the puma sightings in 2017, in the north of the municipality, in 2019 the Actopan City Hall registered the brand "''Territorio Puma''" (Puma Territory), as part of the identity for districts that are habitat of this feline.

History

Pre-Hispanic period

At an unknown date, the Otomi people founded the village. Around the year 644 the

Toltec The Toltec culture () was a Pre-Columbian era, pre-Columbian Mesoamerican culture that ruled a state centered in Tula (Mesoamerican site), Tula, Hidalgo (state), Hidalgo, Mexico, during the Epiclassic and the early Post-Classic period of Mesoam ...

s made their appearance, and this caused the town to be divided into two parts that continued to exist at the time of the Spanish conquest: Tetitlan and Actopan. By the year 1113, the Otomi people, under the command of Xide, arrived in the region. In 1117 the town was conquered by Chichimeca groups, and because of this invasion, it became dependent on Acolhuacan in 1120. Actopan and Ixcuinquitlapilco were conquered by the Tepanecs of Azcapotzalco at the end of the 14th century. The Mexica conquest took place in 1427 during the reign of Itzcoatl. Almost always mentioned together in chronicles and relations, Actopan and Ixcuinquitlapilco were Otomi communities with Chichimeca- Pame minorities. During this time Ixcuinquitlapilco was the most important town in this region. Historian Peter Gerhar mentions that Actopan was first visited by the Spaniards before the conquest was consummated, at the end of 1519 or beginning of 1520. By 1521 the indigenous people of the area and other nearby parts, participated in the defense of the territory under the command of the tlatoani Cuauhtémoc against the Spanish conquerors. On August 13, 1521

Tenochtitlan , also known as Mexico-Tenochtitlan, was a large Mexican in what is now the historic center of Mexico City. The exact date of the founding of the city is unclear, but the date 13 March 1325 was chosen in 1925 to celebrate the 600th annivers ...

fell to the troops of

Hernán Cortés Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano, 1st Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca (December 1485 – December 2, 1547) was a Spanish ''conquistador'' who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions o ...

and his allies. Between 1521 and 1524, a certain political-military control was established in almost all the territories subject to the Mexica empire, including Actopan.

Viceroyalty of New Spain

The first ''encomenderos'' of Actopan were Hernando Alonso and Juan González Ponce de León. Ixcuinquitlapilco became a '' corregimiento'' in 1531, with Actopan depending on it. Subsequently, the ''

'' was assigned to Rodrigo Gómez de Ávila, who in 1538 ceded his rights to his son-in-law, Juan Martínez Guerrero. The latter was succeeded by his son, Agustín Guerrero de Luna. By 1540 the ''encomienda'' of Actopan belonged to Juan Guerrero, who had inherited the encomienda from his wife, the daughter of the ''conquistador'' Francisco Gómez. The

water supply Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Th ...

was one of the main problems of the town, in 1546 the construction of an aqueduct began. Also in 1546 the Church of Actopan was founded; it is said that the Augustinians, upon seeing the topography of Lxcuinquitlapilco, decided to change the head of the town to Actopan. The first record of

baptism Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

in the Church of Actopan that is known is dated July 8, 1546, date that coincides with the foundation of the

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are as ...

. From 1550 to 1560 the Convent of San Nicolás de Tolentino is built; and the work is attributed to Fray Andrés de Mata. The first attempt to form a congregation of ''indios'' (native indigenous people), coinciding with the founding of the convent, was not completely successful, due to the fact that the ''indios'' abandoned the towns and returned to their old lands. In 1560, Actopan became a dependency of Pachuca, but it was separated, and became '' Alcaldía mayor'' in 1568; Actopan was the head and the towns around it were the '' República de Indios''. The convent was the dividing line between the indigenous republics of Ixcuintlapilco and Actopan, to the southeast was Tenantitlán, a town subject to Ixcuintlapilco, and to the northwest, Actopan. The description of Fray Juan de Medina, in 1571, contained in the "Description of the Archbishopric of Mexico", mentions that in Ixcuintlapilco there were 4000 tributaries, in Tenantitlán 1300 and in Actopan 7000. It is known that by the 1570s, the convent complex was already completed, with three main buildings: the open chapel, the church and the convent; in addition to the stables, the orchard and a water supply system of great proportions for community use. In 1575 it was granted the category of village. In 1576 the

prior The term prior may refer to: * Prior (ecclesiastical), the head of a priory (monastery) * Prior convictions, the life history and previous convictions of a suspect or defendant in a criminal case * Prior probability, in Bayesian statistics * Prio ...

of the convent, Fray Melchor de Vargas, printed the first

catechism A catechism (; from , "to teach orally") is a summary or exposition of Catholic theology, doctrine and serves as a learning introduction to the Sacraments traditionally used in catechesis, or Christian religious teaching of children and adult co ...

in Otomi. In 1580, Actopan sent 90 ''indios'' to work in the mines of Pachuca. Beginning in 1593, a second effort was made to form congregations of ''indios''; In 1604, Friar Esteban García, in his "Chronicle of the Province of the Most Holy Name of Jesus of Mexico", reported that in Actopan, the lieutenants and bailiffs forced them to leave their former places, burning their houses and plots of land. In 1615 the quota of workers that Actopan sent to work in the mines of Pachuca was established, 22 ''indios'' every two weeks. Between the 16th century and the first half of the 17th century, there was a

demographic Demography () is the statistics, statistical study of human populations: their size, composition (e.g., ethnic group, age), and how they change through the interplay of fertility (births), mortality (deaths), and migration. Demographic analy ...

drop in the Indigenous population in Actopan, in 1571 there were 7500 tributaries, while by 1599 these had decreased to 2984. In 1643, there were 1092 tributaries, and in 1688, there were 1509. After the revolt of 1677 in Ixmiquilpan, where the ''indios'' revolted not to work in the mines, a commissioner arrived in Actopan to take away crews, but the ''indios'' mutinied and resisted. In 1681 the prosecutor advised that the i''ndios'' of Actopan should not be forced to work in the mines. Forced labor in the mines was reinstituted in Actopan until 1722. On January 5, 1722, a notification arrives from the mayor of Pachuca to send the workers batches to the mines. On January 7, a delegation arrived from Pachuca to insist on the sending of the batches. On January 9, 1722, the governors began to organize the batches and the ''indios'' of the jurisdiction of Actopan revolted to prevent the reinstatement of the mining distribution system. On January 11, the

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

arrived from Pachuca, there were no confrontations, but groups of ''indios'' remained in the exits of the capital. On January 16, 1722, a retinue from the

viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...

arrived in the jurisdiction, in which it was ordered to proceed with the pacification, apprehension of the culprits, as well as the effective implementation of the ''repartimiento''. On January 22, only two involved were apprehended and taken to jail. The ''indios'' of Actopan had to accept the work regime, with the exception of the town of Santiago Tlachichilco ( Santiago de Anaya). In a regular way the ''repartimiento'' was carried out until the year 1724, on January 10, 1724, some ''indios'' rose up again against the ''repartimiento''. Not many joined the rebellion and with the

that the Mayor was able to gather, it was enough to dissuade the mutineers. On September 2, 1724, the viceroy approved the exemption of the ''repartimiento'' for all the towns in the jurisdiction of Actopan. In the 1740s, José Antonio Villaseñor y Sánchez, in his book ''Theatro Americano'', mentions that the municipality had a total of 13 subject towns and had a population of "fifty families of Spaniards and twenty of mestizos and mulattos and other people and two thousand seven hundred and fifty families of ''indios'', all of the Otomí language, distributed in all its subject towns". It also mentions that to the east is Tetitlán, and subject to it the towns of Magdalena, San Jerónimo, Ixcuintlaplico, and San Agustín Tlaxiaca. And the partiality of Actopan to the west with its towns, which are Santiago Tlachichilco, Santa Bárbara Lagunilla, San Salvador, Santa María Amajac, San Miguel, and Yolotepec. On November 16, 1750, the Convent of Actopan became part of the Archdiocese of Mexico, and the first priest was the parish priest Juan Barrera. On April 19, 1757, a new request was made for the distribution of workers in the Pahuca mines, at the request of Pedro Romero de Terreros. The following day, the general lieutenant mayor of Actopan, Andrés de Aguilar, received the order and notified the governors of the Actopan and Tetitilán partiality. Both governments accepted the order, but said that they could only organize crews of 60 workers from Actopan and 50 from Tetitlán. On April 27, with the escape of a squad that was on its way to Real del monte, the mutiny of the ''indios'' of the jurisdiction began. A part of the rebels, hiding in the Meje hill, tried to take the town. But the defense of the town had already been organized by the Spanish militia, with whom the rebels engaged in fierce combat. On April 30, 1757, the mutineers sent a letter to the vicar priest asking for peace. On May 15, 1803,

Alexander von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 1769 – 6 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, natural history, naturalist, List of explorers, explorer, and proponent of Romanticism, Romantic philosophy and Romanticism ...

arrives in Pachuca, visits the mines in the area and on May 21 leaves for Atotonilco El Grande. On May 22 he spent the night in the town of Baños de Atotonilco near the Villa de Magdalena and the Puente de Dios. During May 23 and 24 he would travel through the Actopan Valley, and then leave on May 25 for

. During the visit, Humboldt drew and studied the Organs of Actopan, also known as Los Frailes, located 17 km southeast of Actopan in the municipality of El Arenal. Humboldt determined their height trigonometrically.

Independence and Independent Mexico

Regarding the participation of the city in the Independence of Mexico, in February 1812, the

royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...

, Domingo Claverino arrived to the city. Between 1824 and 1825 different deaths by

measles Measles (probably from Middle Dutch or Middle High German ''masel(e)'', meaning "blemish, blood blister") is a highly contagious, Vaccine-preventable diseases, vaccine-preventable infectious disease caused by Measles morbillivirus, measles v ...

occurred; the registry was raised by the parish priest of a neighboring town, before the death of the person in charge of the registries in Actopan. In 1847, it received the title of town, given by the Extraordinary Legislature of the Congress of the State of Mexico. During the French Intervention in Mexico, to organize the Mexican Army, on June 7, 1862, the

President of Mexico The president of Mexico (), officially the president of the United Mexican States (), is the head of state and head of government of Mexico. Under the Constitution of Mexico, the president heads the executive branch of the federal government and ...

Benito Juarez Benito may refer to: Places * Benito, Kentucky, United States * Benito, Manitoba, Canada * Benito River, a river in Equatorial Guinea Other uses * Benito (name) ** Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1 ...

, decreed the division of the

into three military districts, the second formed by the territories that integrate the State of Hidalgo, for which he designated Actopan as capital and named Pedro Hinojosa as commander. The lack of infrastructure to house the authorities of that locality, forced to change the headquarters to the city of Pachuca. On October 11, 1863, General D. Tomás Mejía took over the city, defeating General Herrera y Cairo, Governor and Military Commander of the second military district. In May 1864, the authorities of Actopan and San Agustín Metzquititlán, recognized the Second Mexican Empire. After the erection of the state of Hidalgo, different towns were proposed to be the seat of the capital, among them Actopan. On January 8, 1869, the news arose that Actopan would be designated as the capital, supposing that such designation was to distance the government from the influence of the Real del Monte and Pachuca Company; however, the city was rejected for not having the necessary infrastructure. In July 1869, Julio Chávez López, who led a revolution against the government, was defeated when he tried to take the city. He was taken to Chalco, where he was shot in the courtyard of the ''Escuela del Rayo y del Socialismo'' in September 1869. On December 2, 1871 Sotero Lozano attacked Actopan; but he retreated to return being defeated by colonels Inclán and Villagrán. On September 16, 1875, the Pachuca-Actopan

telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...

line was inaugurated. During the Tuxtepec Revolution on April 24, 1876, a combat between the forces of Colonel San Martin and the Porfiristas took place; the latter were forced to retreat. On July 22, the government troops commanded by General José María Flores, forced the Tuxtepecans to leave Actopan, which they had held for several days.

Porfiriato and Mexican Revolution

In 1898 the City Hall decreed July 8 as a municipal holiday. On May 17, 1898, lightning struck the Church of Actopan, wreaking havoc on the façade and destroying an altar. In 1900, the

sewage Sewage (or domestic sewage, domestic wastewater, municipal wastewater) is a type of wastewater that is produced by a community of people. It is typically transported through a sewerage, sewer system. Sewage consists of wastewater discharged fro ...

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface ...

s from the drainage of

reached the jurisdiction of Actopan. In 1910 the Club Antirreleccionista was founded, integrated by local youths. During the

Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution () was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from 20 November 1910 to 1 December 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It saw the destruction of the Federal Army, its ...

on December 1, 1910, the Municipal Assembly of Actopan protested by means of a Decree, its adhesion to President Porfirio Díaz Mori and against the initiated movement. The participation of the locality is minimal during the revolutionary process. On May 22, 1911, Vicente Azpeitia Pardiñas, supporting the Maderista revolution, took the plaza of Actopan, immediately handing it over to Captain Roberto Martínez y Martínez, who was originally from the city. On July 5, 1914, Martínez y Martínez expelled the Huertista Army from the city. On July 16, 1914, the constitutionalist general, Nicolás Flores occupied the Actopan plaza; after the evacuation of the huertista Martin Zayas. On July 23, 1914, a manifesto was written by Nicolás Flores, published in Actopan in which he explains what has been and what is the conduct of the Constitutionalist Army. In November 1914, Higinio Olivo was defeated by the villistas in Actopan. On August 17, 1915, near the town there was a combat between '' Carrancistas'' and '' Villistas'', the latter being defeated. On September 2, 1915, Actopan and Ixmiquilpan were in the hands of the Constitutionalist forces commanded by General Odilón Moreno. In February 1919, the city was in the hands of Villistas forces that evacuated days later. On July 2, 1922, the garrison of Actopan, commanded by Salvador Mayorga, accompanied by the Rodriguez brothers, rose up in arms. During the Delahuertista rebellion on January 1, 1924, Nicolás Flores issues a manifesto in Actopan, in which he makes it known that he has been named governor of Hidalgo by Adolfo de la Huerta. On January 4, 1924, a combat takes place in Chicavasco between the federal forces, under the orders of Colonel Julio T. Villegas, and those of General Cavazos. On January 5, a combat takes place between the federal and rebel troops of Generals Marcial Cavazos, Nicolás Flores and Otilio Villegas, and those of Colonel Francisco López Soto.

20th century

In 1928 the Normal Regional of Actopan was established in the convent, a normal school with its annex boarding school; it remained until 1932, year in which it works with the ''Normal Rural de El Mexe.'' On June 27, 1933, the complex was managed by the ''Direction of Colonial Monuments of the Republic''; on February 2 of the same year, it had been declared an artistic and historical monument. On February 2, 1933, the Church and Convent of San Nicolás de Tolentino was declared a National Historic and Artistic Monument. On April 10, 1939, the first stone of the "Escuela Primaria Centro Escolar 1940" was laid, inaugurated on October 8, 1940; it is one of the oldest primary education centers in the region. In 1946 it was given the category of city. It is estimated that in the mid 1950's the small clock tower of the Church and ex-convent of San Nicolás de Tolentino was removed. On March 12, 1951, the Actopan social sports club asked INAH for the use of the jagüey, which was abandoned; in a letter signed by the president of the club, Federico Hernández, they asked Manuel Toussaint, directly from INAH, to use it as a court, committing himself to its cleaning and care. Several conditions were set: the most important was to take care of the parapet and rebuild the damaged parts of it, as well as to recondition it. Since May 18, 1954, the conditions for sports practice have been in place. In 1965 the July 8 Market was built. On July 27, 1966, a decree was published in which the Government of Mexico cedes to the Government of the State of Hidalgo, an annex of the property of the convent to build a sports field, and on August 17, 1966, it was published in the '' Official Journal of the Federation''; being the denominated "''Jagüey''" the ceded annex. On January 27, 1987, an earthquake of 4.1 on the Richter scale was reported; with a depth of 15 km. After the 1990 census, according to statistical data, INEGI, recognizes the towns of Cañada Chica Aviación and Pozo Grande as officially conurbed to the city of Actopan.

21st century

On February 28, 2001, during a tour of Mexico, the Zapatista Army of National Liberation held a rally in the city. On July 8, 2001, the remodeling of Plaza Juárez was inaugurated, maintaining this aspect until today. Between 2005 and 2006 the '' Terminal de Autotransportes de Actopan'' was built, and in 2008 part of the Old Municipal Palace was demolished to construct a new building that would house new City Hall offices and the Plaza Constitución. Also in 2008 the Actopan Obelisk was built, located in the Reforma Park, and the Jamaiquitas Market was built. The Actopan overpass was completed in March 2009. From May 17 to 21, 2010 there were twenty-two earthquakes in the region, with an intensity of between 3.0 and 4.0 on the Richter scale, with their epicenter at an average distance of 13 km north of the city. On June 25, 2012, a makeshift chapel in honor of Jesus Malverde caught fire and it is not known if it was an accident or a possible attack. Between 2013 and 2015 the remodeling of the July 8 Market took place. Between April 23 and 24, 2016 the north wall of what was the old municipal palace was demolished. On December 30, 2016, close to 500 merchants held a caravan in the center of the city in protest of the increase in gasoline prices. On January 4, 2017, after different protests, both directions of the Mexico-Laredo federal highway were closed, in front of the truck station. Different stores such as Aurrerá, Comercial Mexicana and OXXO were looted; while the '' tianguis'', which is set up on Wednesdays, did not operate completely and different stores remained closed. Of the five gas stations in the city, two were looted by different groups of people who gave away gasoline. The September 7 earthquake in Chiapas and the September 19 earthquake in Puebla were felt in the city, and in general terms there was no serious structural damage. The earthquake of greatest intensity recorded during 2018 in Hidalgo, occurred on March 20 at 04:06 p. m. in the municipality of Actopan, with 3.9 degrees on the Richter scale. On May 30, 2018, about 15 ha, located in the Buenos Aires neighborhood, were consumed by a

fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a fuel in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. Flames, the most visible portion of the fire, are produced in the combustion re ...

. On May 18, 2018, a construction company located in the Centro neighborhood was robbed; an operation was implemented to search for the vehicle, and a chase was initiated in El Arenal. It was at the junction of the highway with Tolcayuca and Villa de Tezontepec, where it collided with a bus; resulting in two dead and seven detainees. On September 7, 2019, a shooting occurred when elements of the Public Security of Hidalgo stopped a robbery, it happened on the highway at the height of the overpass. On March 30, 2020, two people were gunned down on Churubusco Street, on the corner of 2 de Abril, one block from the Obelisco de Actopan. On March 19, different public spaces were closed due to the health emergency caused by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. On April 20, 2020, it was reported that the Wednesday ''tianguis'', scheduled for April 22, 2020, was suspended. On April 26, 2020, the first case of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

was announced in Actopan.The difference between the data provided by the General Directorate of Epidemiology (DGE), which at that time reported 2 cases, is due to the fact that the federal agency includes people from Hidalgo who receive medical attention in other parts of the country. As of April 30, access to vehicles was restricted to the center of the city and a sanitary fence was placed. The Actopan City Hall informed the temporary suspension of the Wednesday and Sunday ''tianguis'', as of May 6; as of May 13, the Wednesday ''tianguis'' agreed to be temporarily relocated to the side of the Actopan-La Estancia highway. On May 11, 2020, the COVID-19 Actopan Immediate Response Hospital, which was built in 15 days, was inaugurated. On May 14, the first death was reported in Actopan. On June 14, the Sunday ''tianguis'' was reinstalled, and on June 17, the Wednesday ''tianguis'' was reinstalled in the center of the city. On June 23 it was announced that the Barbacoa Fair held in the city was suspended. The patronal feast of San Nicolás de Tolentino was also cancelled. On September 25, 2020, the circulation of vehicles in the downtown area of Actopan was resumed. Faced with an increase in COVID-19 infections, as of February 1, 2021; the Actopan City Hall decided to restrict vehicle access to the city center, placed a sanitary fence, closed the Municipal Presidency, and suspended the city's ''tianguis''. By March 2021, circulation in the city center was reopened; and by mid-July, Plaza Juarez was reopened; on March 13, 2022, Parque La Reforma was reopened.

Geography

Location

Its geographical coordinates are 20° 16' 05" north

latitude In geography, latitude is a geographic coordinate system, geographic coordinate that specifies the north-south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from −90° at t ...

and 98° 56' 39" west

longitude Longitude (, ) is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east- west position of a point on the surface of the Earth, or another celestial body. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees and denoted by the Greek lett ...

. It is located north of

, from which it is 125 km away, and only 37 km

northwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A '' compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west— ...

of Pachuca de Soto. The city is bordered on the north by Cañada Chica Antigua and Dajiedhi; on the northeast by La Estancia and San Diego Canguihuindo; on the east by La Peña and La Loma; on the

southeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, Radius, radially arrayed compass directions (or Azimuth#In navigation, azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A ''compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, ...

by El Jiadi and El Arenal; on the south by Bothi Baji, El Palomo and El Huaxtho; on the

southwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A '' compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west— ...

by El Boxtha and on the west by El Daxthá. It is located in the geographic region of the state of Hidalgo called Mezquital Valley. The town is located in the eastern region of Mexico, in the center of the state of Hidalgo and in the center of the municipal territory of Actopan.

Relief and hydrography

The city has an average altitude of 2001 meters above sea level; with a

relief Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...

mainly of

plain In geography, a plain, commonly known as flatland, is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation, and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, and ...

s; with a terrain

slope In mathematics, the slope or gradient of a Line (mathematics), line is a number that describes the direction (geometry), direction of the line on a plane (geometry), plane. Often denoted by the letter ''m'', slope is calculated as the ratio of t ...

of 0 to 3 degrees. Physiographically it is located in the province of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, within the subprovince of Plains and Sierras of Querétaro and Hidalgo. To the north and northeast of the city, a little more than 2 km from the town of La Estancia, is the northern border between the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt and the

Sierra Madre Oriental The Sierra Madre Oriental () is a mountain range in northeastern Mexico. The Sierra Madre Oriental is part of the American Cordillera, a chain of mountain ranges (cordillera) that consists of an almost continuous sequence of mountain ranges that ...

; therefore, there are faults in the region, causing

seismic activity An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

. In terms of edaphology, it has a phaeozem and alluvial

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, water, and organisms that together support the life of plants and soil organisms. Some scientific definitions distinguish dirt from ''soil'' by re ...

type; in terms of geology it has extrusive igneous rocks such as

andesite Andesite () is a volcanic rock of intermediate composition. In a general sense, it is the intermediate type between silica-poor basalt and silica-rich rhyolite. It is fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic in texture, and is composed predomina ...

, intermediate volcanic breccia and volcanoclastic. Regarding hydrography, the city is located in the Pánuco region, within the basin of the Moctezuma River, in the sub-basin of the Actopan River. The city is also located on the Actopan-Santiago de Anaya

aquifer An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing material, consisting of permeability (Earth sciences), permeable or fractured rock, or of unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt). Aquifers vary greatly in their characteristics. The s ...

Climate

The city has a semi-dry

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (approximately 23.5° to 66.5° N/S of the Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ran ...

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in a region, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteoro ...

; the average monthly temperature ranges from 13 °C in December and January, which are the coldest months of the year, to 20 °C in May, which has the highest temperatures. The city's meteorological station has estimated that the average annual temperature is approximately 16.4 °C. In regard to rainfall, the average level observed is around 400 mm, with June and September being the months of highest rainfall and February and December the months of lowest rainfall.

Flora and fauna

Actopan is located in the Sierra Madre Oriental and southern Serranías floristic provinces within the Mesoamerican Mountain region. Most of its vegetation is made up of unarmed and thorny scrublands,

grasslands A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge ( Cyperaceae) and rush ( Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur ...

, maguey, nances, '' opuntia stricta'', mesquites, acacias, bilberry cacti, pitayas, chollas, ''alicoches'' and '' echinocactus''. The

fauna Fauna (: faunae or faunas) is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding terms for plants and fungi are ''flora'' and '' funga'', respectively. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively ...

in this region includes rabbits,

squirrels Squirrels are members of the family (biology), family Sciuridae (), a family that includes small or medium-sized rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and ...

, opossums,

scorpion Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the Order (biology), order Scorpiones. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by a pair of Chela (organ), grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward cur ...

lizards Lizard is the common name used for all squamate reptiles other than snakes (and to a lesser extent amphisbaenians), encompassing over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The ...

, spiders,

centipede Centipedes (from Neo-Latin , "hundred", and Latin , "foot") are predatory arthropods belonging to the class Chilopoda (Ancient Greek , ''kheilos'', "lip", and Neo-Latin suffix , "foot", describing the forcipules) of the subphylum Myriapoda, ...

s, crickets, grasshoppers,

ant Ants are Eusociality, eusocial insects of the Family (biology), family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the Taxonomy (biology), order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from Vespoidea, vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cre ...

s and pinacate beetles. About 14 km from the city is the Actopan Wildlife Corridor, located in Mesa Chica and Los Ejidos El Saucillo, Las Mecas and Santa María Magdalena; with an area of 9267.38 ha. The area was declared a state

wildlife corridor A wildlife corridor, also known as a habitat corridor, or green corridor, is a designated area habitat (ecology), that connects wildlife populations that have been separated by human activities or structures, such as development, roads, or land ...

on June 27, 2020. On June 28, 2017, the Secretary of the Environment and Natural Resources of Hidalgo (Semanath) confirmed the presence of pumas in this area after residents of the region reported several attacks on livestock and sightings of the animal.

Politics

City Hall

The Actopan City Hall was established on August 6, 1824; and is formed by a Municipal President, a '' Síndico Procurador'', eleven

councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...

s and twenty-four Municipal Delegates. By constitutional mandate, every city council has the power to elaborate bylaws that regulate its internal functioning and community life. The City Council is in charge of the government of the municipality of Actopan, which is integrated by the city and forty other localities. The municipality is bordered to the north by the municipalities of Santiago de Anaya and Metztitlán; to the east by the municipalities of Metztitlán, Atotonilco El Grande, Mineral del Chico and El Arenal; to the south by the municipalities of El Arenal, San Agustín Tlaxiaca and Ajacuba; to the west by the municipalities of Ajacuba,

San Salvador San Salvador () is the Capital city, capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its San Salvador Department, eponymous department. It is the country's largest agglomeration, serving as the country's political, cultural, educational and fin ...

and Santiago de Anaya.

Districts and regions

The city is the seat of the III Federal Electoral District of Hidalgo for the election of federal deputies to the

Chamber of Deputies of Mexico The Chamber of Deputies ( Spanish: , ) is the lower house of the Congress of the Union, the bicameral parliament of Mexico. The other chamber is the Senate. The structure and responsibilities of both chambers of Congress are defined in Article ...

; and of the VIII Local Electoral District of Hidalgo for the election of local deputies to the Congress of Hidalgo. According to the '' Instituto Nacional Electoral'' (INE) the city is integrated by fourteen electoral sections, from 0034 to 0047. At the state administrative regional level, Hidalgo belongs to Macroregion V and Microregion VII, and is also the headquarters of Operational Region XI Actopan. This administrative region of Hidalgo allows bringing government programs and actions closer to the local population. On the other hand, it belongs to the I Judicial District of Hidalgo, where judicial procedures of the Judicial Power of the State of Hidalgo are settled.

Twinning

On April 23, 2022, the Actopan City Hall received members and authorities of the Actopan, Veracruz City Hall; in a meeting, both municipalities signed a twinning agreement. On May 25, 2022, the twinning was ratified with the unveiling of a plaque in a ceremony held in the esplanade of Morelos Park in Actopan, Veracruz. On July 4, 2022, the twinning was signed between the city and Águas de São Pedro, Brazil.

Demographics

Population dynamics

According to the results of the 2020 Population and Housing Census conducted by the

National Institute of Statistics and Geography The National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI from its former name in ) is an autonomous agency of the Mexican Government dedicated to coordinate the National System of Statistical and Geographical Information of the country. It w ...

(INEGI), the town has 32,276 inhabitants; the town's population represents 52.91% of the municipal population. Of the population 15 262 are men, which represents 47.29% of the population and 17 014 are women, which represents 52.71% of the population. It occupies the seventh place in the count of localities in the state of Hidalgo. The most extensive and representative

indigenous people There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

in the city are the Otomí people; as of 2020 there are 653 people who speak an

indigenous language An indigenous language, or autochthonous language, is a language that is native to a region and spoken by its indigenous peoples. Indigenous languages are not necessarily national languages but they can be; for example, Aymara is both an indigen ...

. Of which the majority speak the Otomí language, especially the Otomí variant of the Mezquital Valley, which is also referred to by its own speakers as ''hñähñú'', ''ñänhú'', ''ñandú'', ''ñóhnño'' or ''ñanhmu''.Size of the linguistic community according to the number of speakers for the population aged 3 years and older. There are 298 people in the city who call themselves Afro-Mexicans or Afro-descendants. The main religion is

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

; by 2020, about 25,544 people declare themselves Catholic; the city belongs to the Archdiocese of Tulancingo and the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...

is Nicolás de Tolentino. By 2020, about 3,426 people declare themselves

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

Christians including

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

, ''

La Luz del Mundo The (; English: "Church of the Living God, Pillar and Ground of the Truth, The Light of the World")or simply (LLDM)is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christian denomination in the Restorationism, Restorationist tradition, with internati ...

'' Church and

Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a Christian denomination that is an outgrowth of the Bible Student movement founded by Charles Taze Russell in the nineteenth century. The denomination is nontrinitarian, millenarian, and restorationist. Russell co-fou ...

. About 3,188 people declared to be atheists, agnostics, or to have no religion or not to be ascribed to any religion; and only 64 declared other beliefs or different spiritual preferences.

Housing and urban planning

According to the Actopan City Hall, the neighborhoods that make up the city are: Aviación, Benito Juárez, Chapultepec, Centro Norte, Centro Sur, Deportivo Olímpico, Dos Cerritos, Efrén Rebolledo (Parque Urbano), El Cerrito, El Porvenir, Eulalio Ángeles, Fundición Alta, Fundición Baja, Guzmán Mayer, Guadalupe, Jesús Luz Meneses, La Estación, La Floresta, La Hacienda, Las Monjas, Los Frailes, Los Olivos, Niños Héroes, Nuevo Actopan, Obrera, Rojo Gómez, Tierra y Libertad, and Unidad Deportiva. According to INEGI, Cañada Chica, Cañada Aviación, and Pozo Grande, are also part of the city, while El Porvenir and Dos Cerritos are considered separate localities; this is due to the differences in the definition between the demographic and political spheres of both entities. According to the results presented by the General Population and Housing Census 2020, the city has a total of 10,946 homes; of which 8687 are inhabited, 1,571 are uninhabited and 688 are for temporary use; with an average of 3.71 people per home. The construction of the houses in Actopan is made of blocks, brick or prefabricated materials, their roofs are cast, there is even decoration with

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

, sett and a great variety of other materials; however, in some cases their construction is based on adobe, the walls are made of brick and the roofs are made of resistant

sheet metal Sheet metal is metal formed into thin, flat pieces, usually by an industrial process. Thicknesses can vary significantly; extremely thin sheets are considered foil (metal), foil or Metal leaf, leaf, and pieces thicker than 6 mm (0.25 ...

or '' petatillo''.

Poverty and social exclusion

In 2010, it registered a very low degree of

social exclusion Social exclusion or social marginalisation is the social disadvantage and relegation to the fringe of society. It is a term that has been used widely in Europe and was first used in France in the late 20th century. In the EU context, the Euro ...

, in contrast to the municipality, which has a low degree. In 2010, the city registered a social backwardness index of −1.34455. In 2015 the municipality of Actopan ranked 21st out of 84 municipalities on the state scale of social backwardness. The homes with dirt floors are 255 which represents 3.50%; in terms of

public service A public service or service of general (economic) interest is any service intended to address the needs of aggregate members of a community, whether provided directly by a public sector agency, via public financing available to private busin ...

s the homes without drainage are 59 which represents 0.81%; those without electricity are 53 homes (0.73%); without piped water are 152 homes (2.09%); without sanitation are 83 homes (1.14%).

Culture

Architecture

Buildings

The so-called "city center" consists of an area containing the oldest and most important buildings in the city and includes the following four plazas and parks: Plaza Juárez, which is located in front of the ex-convent; Plaza de la Constitución, in front of the Palacio Municipal; Parque Reforma, which houses the obelisk; and Parque del Salto, located in an old aqueduct pond. The Church and ex-convent of San Nicolás de Tolentino is, from the architectural and pictorial point of view, one of the greatest examples of the Novo-Hispanic art of the 16th century. This convent shows a combination of architectural styles such as

Plateresque Plateresque, meaning "in the manner of a silversmith" (''plata'' being silver in Spanish language, Spanish), was an artistic movement, especially Architecture, architectural, developed in Spanish Empire, Spain and its territories, which appeared ...

, Mudejar, Gothic, Romanesque and

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

. It has a unique example of an open chapel 17.5 m wide and 12 m high, entirely covered with

fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

murals. The Actopan Obelisk is located in the Reforma Park; around 2008 it was built, but it was not until 2009 when it was inaugurated. It consists of an elongated quadrangular column mounted on a small base slightly with a larger dimension of the

obelisk An obelisk (; , diminutive of (') ' spit, nail, pointed pillar') is a tall, slender, tapered monument with four sides and a pyramidal or pyramidion top. Originally constructed by Ancient Egyptians and called ''tekhenu'', the Greeks used th ...

, whose sides are reduced until reaching the top, ending in the pyramidal tip called pyramidion. Its total height is 57 meters, inside there is a staircase that leads to the top and is used as a viewpoint. The Actopan Municipal Palace is a two-story building, with a style reminiscent of

neoclassical architecture Neoclassical architecture, sometimes referred to as Classical Revival architecture, is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy, France and Germany. It became one of t ...

; it has a '' soportal'' with

horseshoe arch The horseshoe arch (; ), also called the Moorish arch and the keyhole arch, is a type of arch in which the circular curve is continued below the horizontal line of its diameter, so that the opening at the bottom of the arch is narrower than the ar ...

es, with the relief of the Actopan glyph in the keystone; the

pilaster In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...

s with Ionic capitals continue to support a smooth entablature that leads to the second level. In the second level there is a series of square windows; with a stained glass window and balcony in the central part. The entire complex is topped by a continuous

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an upward extension of a wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/brea ...

and a mixtilinear

pediment Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...

in the central part. This was built in 2008, when the

auditorium An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances. For movie theaters, the number of auditoriums is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoriums can be found in entertainment venues, community halls, and t ...

of the Old Municipal Palace was demolished. The Old Municipal Palace is a rectangular building of a single floor; the access is a large opening with a rebated arch, with pilasters on the sides, which support a triangular frontispiece, the pilasters in the upper section are transformed into corbels in the form of volutes. All crowned by a mixtilinear

with a niche. In 2008 the auditorium was demolished and in 2016 the north section; inside the patio is called Plaza de las Artes.

Monuments

There are two monuments located in Plaza Juarez, one dedicated to Miguel Hidalgo and the other to

. The Monument to Miguel Hidalgo is a

statue A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or Casting (metalworking), cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to ...

of the personage on a hexagonal base, which in turn is on a cylindrical pedestal. The Monument to Benito Juarez placed in 1977, is a bust of the personage on a cylindrical pedestal. Another monument in the city is the monument to Efren Rebolledo, located next to the Efren Rebolledo Elementary School. There is also a monument to Jesús Luz Meneses, located at the intersection of María del Carmen González and Corregidora Streets, built in the 1990s in honor of the works carried out in the area. Among the architectural remains of the city's aqueduct are the "Fuente de Mendoza" and "Fuente El Salto". The Mendoza Fountain has an elongated hexagonal floor plan, three of its sides form a curbstone. The El Salto Fountain is located on an old pond, located in the Nicolás Romero Garden; in 2014 it underwent a remodeling giving it its current appearance. On September 13, 2004, the Monument to the '' Niños Héroes'' was inaugurated; it consists of a semi-circular wall with six

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member ...

s each representing the six Mexican

cadet A cadet is a student or trainee within various organisations, primarily in military contexts where individuals undergo training to become commissioned officers. However, several civilian organisations, including civil aviation groups, maritime ...

s, with a commemorative plaque in the center. On June 21, 2019, the Monument to the Teacher was inaugurated, for the design of the monument a call was issued, where the citizenship participated. This monument consists of a semicircular base, where five doric columns rise; in the center on a pedestal is the sculpture of two hands holding books, and a plaque that says "thank you". In Colonia Guzmán Mayer there is a monument to Genaro Guzmán Mayer. File:Fuente de Mendoza en Actopan, Hidalgo. 009.jpg, Mendoza Fountain. File:Jardín Nicolás Romero "El Salto" en Actopan, Hidalgo. 012.jpg, El Salto fountain File:Plaza Juárez en Actopan, Hidalgo, México. 033.jpg, Monument to Benito Juarez. File:Plaza Juárez en Actopan, Hidalgo, México. 032.jpg, Monument to Miguel Hidalgo. File:Monumento al Maestro en Actopan, Hidalgo. 01.jpg, Monument to the Teacher. File:Monumento a Efren Rebolledo en Actopan, Hidalgo, México 04.jpg, Monument to Efren Rebolledo. File:Monumento en Actopan, Hidalgo, México.jpg, Monument to Jesús Luz Meneses. File:Monumento a los Niños Héroes en Actopan, Hidalgo 04.jpg, Monument to the ''Niños Héroes''. File:Plaza Juárez de noche en Actopan, Hidalgo, México. 02.jpg, Fountain in Plaza Juarez. File:Fuente en la Plaza Constitución en Actopan, Hidalgo. 03.jpg, Fountain in Plaza Constitución. File:Monumento a Genaro Guzmán Mayer en Actopan, Hidalgo, México. 02.jpg, Monument to Genaro Guzmán Mayer.

Plazas and parks

The city's green areas include Plaza Juárez, Parque Reforma, Jardín Nicolás Romero, and Parque Recreativo "La Eroca"; there are also parks in the Efrén Rebolledo (Parque Urbano), Guadalupe, and Guzmán Mayer colonies, with various playgrounds for children. In Plaza Juárez and Parque Reforma there are shoe-shine stands. The Plaza Juárez is a wooded park with a

kiosk Historically, a kiosk () was a small garden pavilion open on some or all sides common in Iran, Persia, the Indian subcontinent, and in the Ottoman Empire from the 13th century onward. Today, several examples of this type of kiosk still exist ...

bandstand A bandstand (sometimes music kiosk) is a circular, semicircular or polygonal structure set in a park, garden, pier, or indoor space, designed to accommodate musical bands performing concerts. A simple construction, it both creates an ornamen ...

in the center. Access to the atrium of the Convent of San Nicolás de Tolentino is through a '' soportal'', formed by a semicircular arcade, with a barrel vault roof. The central

arch An arch is a curved vertical structure spanning an open space underneath it. Arches may support the load above them, or they may perform a purely decorative role. As a decorative element, the arch dates back to the 4th millennium BC, but stru ...

that gives access to the atrium is almost twice the size of the others, and is also roofed by a barrel vault, perpendicular to the one that covers the ''soportal''. On March 3, 2014, construction began on a subway parking garage in Plaza Juarez, which was inaugurated on August 31, 2014. The Reforma Park is where the Actopan Obelisk is located, as well as several

playground A playground, playpark, or play area is a place designed to provide an environment for children that facilitates play, typically outdoors. While a playground is usually designed for children, some are designed for other age groups, or people wi ...

s and exercise equipment. The Nicolás Romero Garden, also known as "''El Salto''" because of the old aqueduct

cistern A cistern (; , ; ) is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. To prevent leakage, the interior of the cistern is often lined with hydraulic plaster. Cisterns are disti ...

located there; in 2014 the cistern was transformed into a

fountain A fountain, from the Latin "fons" ( genitive "fontis"), meaning source or spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. Fountains were o ...

and the park was remodeled. The Recreational Park "''La Eroca''" with green areas, sports, playgrounds, barbecue grills, and a swimming pool. There is also the Plaza de la Constitución, in front of the Municipal Palace; built in 2008 when part of the Old Municipal Palace was demolished.

Painting and murals

On the outskirts of the city in the main arcade of the Actopan Aqueduct, also known as "Los Arcos", there is a set of white

cave painting In archaeology, cave paintings are a type of parietal art (which category also includes petroglyphs, or engravings), found on the wall or ceilings of caves. The term usually implies prehistoric art, prehistoric origin. These paintings were often c ...

s. Oriented to the southeast, a human figure can be seen that measures 32 cm high and 23 cm wide. To the left side is a sun with three elongated rays, which measures 23 cm high and 22.5 cm wide; to the right a half moon of 9.5 cm long and 6.5 cm high is observed. Also a hand is appreciated that sees toward the northwest, and this almost completely erased. In direction to the northwest in the same rock is an inverted "U" that in its interior seven points are found, indicating possibly a celestial vault. In the Convent of Actopan, the iconographic and iconological program is one of the most complex and ambitious in the state of Hidalgo. It is necessary to consider the Renaissance painting as preponderant aesthetic ideology, and the reminiscences of the mural painting of

Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area that begins in the southern part of North America and extends to the Pacific coast of Central America, thus comprising the lands of central and southern Mexico, all of Belize, Guatemala, El S ...

, in the mixture of the decoration and the Christian subjects; characteristics of the tequitqui or Indo-Christian art. The

mural A mural is any piece of Graphic arts, graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' ...

s and

es of the profundis room, the stairway cube and the open chapel stand out. Different murals have been painted in the city, inside the Actopan Obelisk there are a series of murals, where different aspects of the culture, history and identity of Actopan can be appreciated. On May 15, 2015, at the Actopan High School, 23 murals were made in the facilities, as part of the fifth International Image Festival (FINI), and the second International Meeting of Muralists; under the theme "Social Justice", with the participation of 46 international muralists and 22 students. In 2015 after the remodeling of the July 8 Market, two murals were made, both reflecting the customs and traditions of Actopan. In 2016 a mural was made on the stairs of the Municipal Palace of Actopan, signed by Eloy Trejo Trejo, in the "''Actopan es.... Arte, cultura y tradición''" mural, the Convent of Actopan and Efren Rebolledo are appreciated. On July 8, 2017, a mural was inaugurated by the Casa de la Cultura Actopan, to commemorate the 471st anniversary of the founding of the city, located in the porch of the Municipal Palace. In November 2019, students from Escuela Superior de Actopan created a mural located in the center of María del Carmen González Street, in which the mural combines the social theme, violence against women, the LGBT community and gender equality. On September 4, 2020, the " Actopan Pueblo con sabor" mural was inaugurated in the Plaza Constitución; it shows the cultural heritage of the municipality and was created by the artists Daniel Rojo Pacheco, Juan Ugalde Olguín, Alexis Gómez, José Lionel López and Gerardo Zamora. File:Palacio Municipal de Actopan, Hidalgo 10.jpg, "Actopan is... Art, culture and tradition" mural. File:Palacio Municipal de Actopan, Hidalgo 07.jpg, "471st anniversary of the foundation of Actopan" mural. File:Mercado 8 de julio en Actopan, Hidalgo, México (16).jpg, Mural in the Mercado 8 de Julio. File:Mercado 8 de julio en Actopan, Hidalgo, México (10).jpg, Mural in the 8 de Julio market. File:Interior del Obelisco en Actopan, Hidalgo, México. 06.jpg, Mural at the Actopan Obelisk. File:Mural "Actopan Pueblo con sabor". 03.jpg, "Actopan, pueblo con sabor" mural.

Museums and cultural centers

The city has a public library called: Efrén Rebolledo Municipal Public Library, which has 3,000 volumes of books, magazines, pamphlets, etc., in addition to carrying out activities during the holiday period by teaching courses to the children's community. It has a House of Culture founded on January 24, 1991; where different courses in singing, ceramics, literature, dance, sculpture, photography, painting, theater, etc. are offered. There is also the Manuel Ángel Núñez Soto Theater with a seating capacity of 820 people. The Museum of Religious Art was inaugurated on January 1, 2011, it is located inside the Church and ex-convent of San Nicolás de Tolentino. It has four permanent exhibition rooms and contains

Viceroyalty A viceroyalty was an entity headed by a viceroy. It dates back to the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the sixteenth century. British Empire India * British Raj, India was governed by the Governor-General of India, Governor-General and Vi ...

and 18th century art, with carved wood furniture, religious oil paintings from the 18th and 19th centuries, as well as several painted and stewed sculptures. On December 20, 2010, the Bicentennial Museum and Cultural Center was inaugurated; its interiors are designed to offer courses in dance, sculpture, painting, music and other

arts The arts or creative arts are a vast range of human practices involving creativity, creative expression, storytelling, and cultural participation. The arts encompass diverse and plural modes of thought, deeds, and existence in an extensive ...

, as well as exhibitions and the sale of

handicraft A handicraft is a traditional main sector of craft making and applies to a wide range of creative and design activities that are related to making things with one's hands and skill, including work with textiles, moldable and rigid material ...

s. On May 24, 2021, the Actopan City Hall informed the demolition of the building due to differential settlements and structural risks. The damage to the property is estimated at twelve million pesos. The demolition has not been carried out and there are no dates for its action. On August 30, 2011, construction began on the Los Frailes Sports Museum, also known as the "Sports Gallery"; it opened its doors to the public on January 13, 2012. The building consists of two floors: the first floor, with an area of 165 m², houses a lobby,

stairs Stairs are a structure designed to bridge a large vertical direction, vertical distance between lower and higher levels by dividing it into smaller vertical distances. This is achieved as a diagonal series of horizontal platforms called steps wh ...

, gallery and an exhibition pavilion; and the second floor consists of a meeting room, restrooms and terrace with a view of the Los Frailes Sports Field. The Los Frailes Sports Museum is dedicated to different Actopan athletes such as: Velia Flores Guerrero, selected in the

Paralympic Games The Paralympic Games or Paralympics is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disability, disabilities. There are Winter Paralympic Games, Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 ...

of Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004, cyclists Rubén Lugo Caballero, State Sports Award 2002 and Gabriel Cuéllar Valdez, selected in the Olympic Games of Mexico 1968, and in the Pan American Games of Winnipeg 1967, and who was National Road Champion in 1966 and 1968.

Festivities

All Mexican commemorations are celebrated in the city. In the first days of March, a parade is held to commemorate the arrival of spring with preschool students. On September 13 there is a civic ceremony for the '' Niños Héroes'', with the participation of the different educational institutions. The Anniversary of the Independence of Mexico is celebrated with the representation of the

Cry of Dolores The Cry of Dolores () occurred in Dolores Hidalgo, Dolores, Mexico, on 16 September 1810, when Roman Catholic priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla rang his church bell and gave the pronunciamiento, call to arms that triggered the Mexican War of Indep ...

by the Mayor, sale of Mexican snacks, fireworks display and a popular dance, all this on September 15. On September 16, a commemorative parade is held by the city's elementary schools with an average attendance of 3,000 people. During the Anniversary of the

on November 20, a commemorative parade is held in charge of high schools and the general public, with an attendance of approximately 3,000 people, In addition, since 2010 a '' Huapango'' contest is held in the city, which will bring together between 200 and 250 competitors from different states.

Religious and patronal feast days

Among the main religious festivals in the city are the ''Día de la Candelaria'' on February 2. A tradition in Mexico is to dress up the figures every year for each presentation that takes place, and eat tamales that day. The celebration of the '' Cruz de Mayo'', held on May 3, this celebration dedicated to the raising of the

cross A cross is a religious symbol consisting of two Intersection (set theory), intersecting Line (geometry), lines, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of t ...

is held almost everywhere in the city and at construction sites. In the "''El Salto''" garden, a mass is held annually on this date. The main patronal feast is held in honor of San Nicolás de Tolentino, patron saint of the city, and takes place during the first days of September. All the events take place in the atrium of the Church and ex-convent of San Nicolás de Tolentino. Pilgrimages from different localities gather there and various religious ceremonies are held; the main day of the celebration is September 10. Throughout the year, patronal feasts are held in honor of the

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

of each of the parishes in the city's colonies. In the Los Olivos colony, in the northern part of the city, on October 28, a small

fair A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Fairs showcase a wide range of go ...

is held in honor of St. Jude Thaddeus, with various cultural and sporting events. Also in the Guadalupe colony there is a fair in honor of the

Virgin of Guadalupe Our Lady of Guadalupe (), also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe (), is a Catholic Church, Catholic Titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, title of the Blessed Virgin Mary associated with four Marian apparitions to Juan Diego and one to his uncle, J ...

on December 12. In the Cañada Chica Aviación colony, a fair in honor of Teresa of Ávila is held on October 15. In the Pozo Grande colony a fair is held in honor of the

on December 12. Also in Pozo Grande there is a fair on June 21 where the

Sacred Heart of Jesus The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus () is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus Christ is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This devotion to Christ is p ...

is celebrated, with activities such as the barril encebado, roosters, jaripeo, exhibitions, fireworks, processions through the main streets of the colony, and masses.

Easter

Friday of Sorrows The Friday of Sorrows or Passion Friday is a solemn pious remembrance of the sorrowful Blessed Virgin Mary on the Friday before Palm Sunday held in the fifth week of Lent (formerly called "Passion Week"). In the Anglican Ordinariate's Divine Wors ...

, inside the Church and ex-convent of San Nicolás de Tolentino, an Altar of Sorrows is placed in honor of the

Our Lady of Sorrows Our Lady of Sorrows (), Our Lady of Dolours, the Sorrowful Mother or Mother of Sorrows (), and Our Lady of Piety, Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows or Our Lady of the Seven Dolours are Titles of Mary, names by which Mary, mother of Jesus, is referr ...

. This Mexican tradition dates back to the 17th century. In it is placed a sculpture carved in polychrome wood of the 19th century, in the highest and central part. The altar is accompanied by lighted candles or sirios that allude to the seven sorrows of the Virgin and the light of God. Frontals and mats are also made of painted sawdust, flower petals and seeds, to recreate the instruments of the Passion; likewise, fragrant herbs, such as chamomile, are placed on them. Spheres are hung and assembled using the modular origami technique, with purple and gold paper. During Easter there is a procession and mass on

Palm Sunday Palm Sunday is the Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels. Its name originates from the palm bran ...

, in the streets of the center of the town that ends with a mass in the open chapel of the Church and ex-convent of San Nicolás de Tolentino. On

Holy Thursday Maundy Thursday, also referred to as Holy Thursday, or Thursday of the Lord's Supper, among other names,The day is also known as Great and Holy Thursday, Holy and Great Thursday, Covenant Thursday, Sheer Thursday, and Thursday of Mysteries. is ...

there is a mass and representation of the Last Supper and the washing of the feet performed by Jesus. On

Good Friday Good Friday, also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday, or Friday of the Passion of the Lord, is a solemn Christian holy day commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary (Golgotha). It is observed during ...

a procession commemorating the Way of the Cross and the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth takes place through the streets of the city beginning and culminating in the open chapel of the Church and ex-convent of San Nicolás de Tolentino. Also in the afternoon there is a Procession of Silence in honor of the Our Lady of Solitude. This procession takes place through the main streets of downtown starting at the Church and ex-convent of San Nicolás de Tolentino. On

Holy Saturday Holy Saturday (), also known as Great and Holy Saturday, Low Saturday, the Great Sabbath, Hallelujah Saturday, Saturday of the Glory, Easter Eve, Joyous Saturday, the Saturday of Light, Good Saturday, or Black Saturday, among other names, is t ...

a mass of the

Easter Vigil The Easter Vigil, also known as the Paschal Vigil, the Great Vigil of Easter, or Holy Saturday at the Easter Vigil on the Holy Night of Easter, is a Christian liturgy, liturgy held in Christian worship#Sacramental tradition, traditional Christian ...

, Sign of the Risen Christ, is held in the open chapel of the Church and ex-convent of San Nicolás de Tolentino. Masses and processions are also held in the different churches of the city. As in the Pozo Grande colony, where since 2006 a Passion,

Death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...

and Resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth is held in the main streets of the neighborhood.

Day of the Dead

Another tradition of great importance is the celebration of the Day of the Dead, in which some people place an ''

Ofrenda An ''ofrenda'' (Spanish: "Sacrifice, offering") is the offering placed in a home altar during the annual and traditionally Mexican ''Día de los Muertos'' celebration. An ''ofrenda'', which may be quite large and elaborate, is usually created ...

'' in their homes, which is composed of seasonal fruit, typical foods of the region and cempasúchil flowers. They also take flowers to the cemetery on November 1 and 2. In the city during these dates a '' tianguis'' is set up dedicated to the sale of '' calavera de alfeñique'', '' pan de muerto'', '' papel picado'', fruit,

candle A candle is an ignitable candle wick, wick embedded in wax, or another flammable solid substance such as tallow, that provides light, and in some cases, a Aroma compound, fragrance. A candle can also provide heat or a method of keeping time. ...

s, copal and

, among other things. Different cultural programs are also held on this date, mainly an exhibition of altars. Among the Otomi of the Mezquital Valley, the offering is composed of an earthen floor, two lateral walls of reeds and a central one made of maguey stalks. It is customary to elaborate structures based on tables and boxes, covered with tablecloths and embroidered napkins. Once these "basamentos" are built, the offerings are placed on them. When the "basamentos" are not assembled, the families usually make "tendidos", either with petates or some other propitious element, and in them they place fruits, flowers, food, as well as candles and copal.

Christmas Holidays

During the month of December, the so-called ''Fiestas Decembrinas'' (Christmas Holidays) are held, when the city's

Christmas tree A Christmas tree is a decorated tree, usually an evergreen pinophyta, conifer, such as a spruce, pine or fir, associated with the celebration of Christmas. It may also consist of an artificial tree of similar appearance. The custom was deve ...

is lit, which is an average of 12 meters high. This Christmas tree has been in place since 2009. During the lighting there are

fireworks Fireworks are Explosive, low explosive Pyrotechnics, pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large numbe ...

, music, representations of different stories about Christmas, and '' villancicos''. On December 12, the traditional celebrations to Our Lady of Guadalupe are held with multiple

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...

s, fireworks and masses. ''

Las Posadas ''Las Posadas'' is a Novena, ''novenario'' (an extended devotional prayer). It is celebrated chiefly in Latin America, El Salvador, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and by Latin Americans in the United States. It is typically celebrated each year bet ...

'' ( December 16 to 24), Christmas, New Year's Eve and New Year are also celebrated. On January 5, a toy ''tianguis'' is placed in the streets of downtown. In addition, since 2012 in the month of January there is a Cavalcade of Magi, this parade includes fireworks, floats decorated with different children's stories, the main one being the one that transports the Three Magi. Along with the ''Fiestas Decembrinas'', the '' Guadalupe-Reyes Marathon'' takes place, a concept of

Mexican culture Mexico's culture emerged from the culture of the Spanish culture, Spanish Empire and the preexisting Pre-Columbian Mexico, indigenous cultures of Mexico. Mexican culture is described as the 'child' of both Western civilization, western and Indi ...

that refers to the period from December 12 to January 6, for a total of twenty-six days of festivities.

Actopan Fair

The Actopan Fair, also called ''Feria de la Barbacoa'', is held annually at the beginning of July. Since 1949, the official holiday is July 8, date taken as the day of the founding of the city in 1546. The fair is held at the Unidad Deportiva Municipal (Municipal Sports Unit) located in the northeastern part of the city, and some activities are held in the so-called city center; it receives approximately 130,000 to 150,000 visitors, considering all the events. Sports activities and

cultural Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

events are held, as well as dances, '' charreadas'' and a commemorative parade; as well as plays, music bands, painting exhibitions, antique car shows,

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicy ...

performances, ''

Lucha libre ''Lucha libre'' (, meaning "freestyle wrestling" or literally translated as "free fight") is the term for the style of professional wrestling originating in Mexico. Since its introduction to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has develope ...

''; mechanical games are also installed and

are burned. The

food festival A food festival is a festival, that features food, often produce, as its central theme. These festivals have been a means of uniting communities through celebrations of harvests and giving thanks for a plentiful growing season. History Food fe ...

stands out with a great exhibition and sale of food. The ''barbacoa'' contest has been held since 1971 and the Ximbó Festival has been held since 2017.

Handicrafts and traditional costumes

In the city, embroidery is made on

fabric Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, and different types of fabric. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is no ...

with techniques such as cross stitch and frayed. In basketry, baskets, hats and backpacks are created using palm as raw material. Saddlery is also made, as well as ceramic and pottery works. For the folk costume is designated the costume used in the folkloric dance: "''Actopan Ciudad de Cara Bonita''", with choreography and costume design by Abel Pérez Ángeles, Eleuterio Acosta Zúñiga and Teresa León Lopéz. In this dance the color white predominates, for the women the set is made of satin, the skirt with the image of the ex-convent of Actopan stands out, with a 25 cm long skirt, finished with green lace; the white blouse with the image of the glyph of Actopan. The outfit is finished with a shawl and white shoes. For men it is shirt and pants with "''pepenado''" embroidery ( Otomí embroidery, representing the '' Nahui Ollin''). Accompanied with a ''sombrero de dos pedradas'' and white boots. The folk costume of the Mezquital Valley is of Otomí origin; the men used to wear blanket breeches and blanket shirt with some embroidered fabrics, palm hat and huaraches. The women's costume consists of a blanket blouse, embroidered ribbon, ''

rebozo A rebozo is a long flat garment, very similar to a shawl, worn mostly by women in Mexico. It can be worn in various ways, usually folded or wrapped around the head and/or upper body to shade from the sun, provide warmth and as an accessory to an ...

'' of ''ayate'' thread, skirt of colored or white blanket fabric, hair ribbon and glass earrings.

Gastronomy

, the traditional dish is barbacoa baked in a subway oven and wrapped in Maguey stalks, made with beef, lamb and

goat meat Goat meat is the meat of the domestic goat (''Capra hircus''). The term 'goat meat' denotes meat of older animals, while meat from young goats is called 'kid meat'. In South Asian cuisine, goat meat is called mutton, along with sheep meat.''O ...

. In the beginning, it was made with dogs of the xoloitzcuintle breed, as well as other animals. It was not until some time after the arrival of the Spaniards that lamb began to be used. Also as one of its main dishes is the ximbo, also known as "chicken on a stalk"; this dish was first commercialized in the 1990s. The dish consists of rooster or hen meat wrapped with maguey stalks and baked in a subway oven; it also has nopales, pork skin, ''chamorro'' or pork ribs and even veal. Also from the Mezquital Valley come '' tunas'' and xoconostle (sour ''tunas'' with syrup or jam) for dessert; escamoles and chinicuiles stewed with flowers of different cacti, such as maguey,

aloe ''Aloe'' (; also written ''Aloë'') is a genus containing over 650 species of flowering plant, flowering succulent plant, succulent plants.WFO (2022): Aloe L. Published on the Internet;http://www.worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-4000001341. Acc ...

, mesquite, bilberry cactus, nopal; chamuis (mesquite tree

beetle Beetles are insects that form the Taxonomic rank, order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Holometabola. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 40 ...

s); xagis (tender

bean A bean is the seed of some plants in the legume family (Fabaceae) used as a vegetable for human consumption or animal feed. The seeds are often preserved through drying (a ''pulse''), but fresh beans are also sold. Dried beans are traditi ...

s with pork and pasilla chili) and mixiotes. The typical drink is pulque, as well as maguey syrup; the latter is the first thing that is extracted from the maguey; later, when fermented, it results in ''pulque'', from which the curado beverages are derived. Other typical dishes and foods are: chalupas, pambazos,

taco A taco (, , ) is a traditional Mexican cuisine, Mexican dish consisting of a small hand-sized corn tortilla, corn- or Flour tortilla, wheat-based tortilla topped with a Stuffing, filling. The tortilla is then folded around the filling and fing ...

s, mixiotes, mole, tlacoyos, sopes, quesadillas and gorditas.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Federal Highway 85 Mexico-Laredo is the main road in the city, allowing for the distribution and exchange of goods and services. It connects to the Actopan-Tula highway, one of the most important highways in the state. In addition, the city has the ''Bulevar Oriente'' (East Boulevard), which functions as a beltway allowing a faster transfer of tourism and commerce to

Nuevo Laredo Nuevo Laredo () is a city in the Municipality of Nuevo Laredo in the Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Tamaulipas. The city lies on the banks of the Rio Grande, across from Laredo, Texas, Laredo, United States. The 2010 census popula ...

. The city has a bus terminal; the '' Terminal de Autotransportes de Actopan'' "Antonio Mejía Gandolffi" (TAAC). Domestic destinations include

;

Monterrey Monterrey (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...

Nuevo León Nuevo León, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Nuevo León, is a Administrative divisions of Mexico, state in northeastern Mexico. The state borders the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, Zacatecas, and San Luis Potosí, San Luis ...

; Santiago de Querétaro,

Querétaro Querétaro, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Querétaro, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Querétaro, 18 municipalities. Its capital city is Querétaro Cit ...

; Reynosa,

Tamaulipas Tamaulipas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas, is a state in Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into 43 municipalities. It is located in nor ...

;

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population ...

Jalisco Jalisco, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in western Mexico and is bordered by s ...

; Ciudad Valles,

San Luis Potosí San Luis Potosí, officially the Free and Sovereign State of San Luis Potosí, is one of the 32 states which compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 59 municipalities and is named after its capital city, San Luis Potosí. It ...

; and destinations within the state of Hidalgo such as Pachuca, Ixmiquilpan, Zimapán, Tulancingo and Tula de Allende.

Media and communications

As for media, it has Internet, telephone network and mobile telephony. The television signal arrives by cable and open signals such as

Televisa Grupo Televisa, S.A.B., simply known as Televisa, is a Mexican telecommunications and broadcasting company. A major Latin American mass media corporation, it often presents itself as the largest producer of Spanish-language content. In April ...

and TV Azteca; it also receives the signal of the state channel: Channel 3 Hidalgo. The city has a radio signal, Radio UAEH Actopan (XHPECW-FM), being the fifth station that makes up the University System of Radio and Television of the UAEH; which began activities on February 26, 2019. There was also Radio Actopan (XHACT-FM), which operated under the command of

Radio y Televisión de Hidalgo Radio y Televisión de Hidalgo is the state television and radio agency of the Mexican state of Hidalgo. It also airs programming from Canal 22, Canal Once, TV UNAM and DW Español. RTVH was founded in 1982 and began broadcasting on TV that y ...

; it began operations on November 29, 2010, and ended on November 28, 2022. The city has a Postal Administration of '' Correos de México'', a public space connected to the ''México Conectado'' Program and a Digital Community Center. The

postal code A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries throughout the world as a postcode, post code, PIN or ZIP Code) is a series of letters or numerical digit, digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, inclu ...

of the town is 42500, and its telephone prefix is 772.

Education

The illiterate population is 4.07%;Percentage of population aged 15 and over. and the population with incomplete basic education is 30.16%. For the 2018–2019 school year,For statistical purposes, morning and afternoon shifts are considered two different schools; as institutions with multiple educational levels are counted separately. kindergarten and/or nursery education has twelve schools, 24 teachers and 505 students; preschool education has twenty-three schools, 87 teachers and 1762 students; primary education has twenty-four schools, 223 teachers and 5280 students; secondary education has eleven schools (eight general, two '' telesecundaria'' and one technical), 116 teachers and 3083 students; higher secondary education has ten schools (three technological and seven general). In higher secondary education, the Actopan High School stands out, an institution dependent on the Actopan High School belonging to the UAEH; which began activities in 2014, with a general baccalaureate modality. The '' Centro de Bachillerato Tecnológico Industrial y de Servicios No. 83'' also stands out. "Pedro María Anaya Álvarez", an institution under the '' Dirección General de Educación Tecnológica Industrial'' (DGETI), which began operations on September 29, 1975; it has six specialties: Construction, Computer Science, Accounting, Programming, Automotive Maintenance and Computer Equipment Support and Maintenance. In higher education, there is the Centro de Estudios Universitarios Moyocoyani, Plantel Actopan, with degrees in Pedagogy and Administrative Informatics. There is also the Actopan High School of the ''

Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo The Autonomous University of the State of Hidalgo (''Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo'' or UAEH) is a public university located in Pachuca, the capital of the Hidalgo (state), State of Hidalgo in east-central Mexico, with campuses state ...

'' (UAEH), with degrees in law, Psychology, Graphic Design, and Business Creation and Development. On July 17, 2000, it began operations, its facilities are located in the town of El Daxthá, on the outskirts of the city, occupying an area of 49,364.94 m², where it houses six modules, a library, two computer areas, a language center, administrative offices, an auditorium, a machine room and a parking lot.

Healthcare

In the city, 42.06% of the population is not entitled to health services. The city has the Family Medicine Unit (UMF) No. 16 of the Mexican Social Security Institute; the Family Medicine Unit of the Institute for Social Security and Services for State Workers; and a clinic of the Mexican Red Cross. There are also two health centers of the ''Secretaría de Salud de Hidalgo'', one located in the Chapultepec colony and the other in the Cañada Chica Aviación colony. The Actopan General Hospital was inaugurated in 2000. There are seven outpatient and subspecialty areas; two emergency and

gynecology Gynaecology or gynecology (see American and British English spelling differences) is the area of medicine concerned with conditions affecting the Female reproductive system, female reproductive system. It is often paired with the field of obste ...

areas; in toco-surgery there is an expulsion room, labor and delivery room and recovery beds; for hospitalization there are thirty census beds with central nurses,

neonatology Neonatology is a subspecialty of pediatrics that consists of the medical care of newborn infants, especially the ill or premature newborn. It is a hospital-based specialty and is usually practised in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). Th ...

and operating room.

Public services

Public service A public service or service of general (economic) interest is any service intended to address the needs of aggregate members of a community, whether provided directly by a public sector agency, via public financing available to private busin ...

s are potable water,

drainage Drainage is the natural or artificial removal of a surface's water and sub-surface water from an area with excess water. The internal drainage of most agricultural soils can prevent severe waterlogging (anaerobic conditions that harm root gro ...

, and electricity; the availability of these services in the municipality is partially scarce.

Drinking water Drinking water or potable water is water that is safe for ingestion, either when drunk directly in liquid form or consumed indirectly through food preparation. It is often (but not always) supplied through taps, in which case it is also calle ...

, and

sewerage Sewerage (or sewage system) is the infrastructure that conveys sewage or surface runoff ( stormwater, meltwater, rainwater) using sewers. It encompasses components such as receiving drains, manholes, pumping stations, storm overflows, and scr ...

services are provided by the ''Comisión de Agua y Alcantarillado Sistema Actopan'' (CAASA). There are eight water wells to provide service to the population, with a supply of fourteen million liters per day; it is estimated that an Actopan resident uses 205 liters of water per day. The '' Comisión Federal de Electricidad'' (CFE) is in charge of electricity and public lighting. The city has a

fire station __NOTOC__ A fire station (also called a fire house, fire hall, firemen's hall, or engine house) is a structure or other area for storing firefighting apparatuses such as fire apparatus, fire engines and related vehicles, personal protective equ ...

, In terms of

public safety Public security or public safety is the prevention of and protection from events that could endanger the safety and security of the public from significant danger, injury, or property damage. It is often conducted by a state government to ensu ...

, there is an agency of the Public Prosecutor's Office with ten agents. The city also has a social rehabilitation center (Cereso). The Actopan

landfill A landfill is a site for the disposal of waste materials. It is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of waste with daily, intermediate and final covers only began in the 1940s. In the past, waste was ...

is a Type C,Type C from 10 to 50 tons, classified according to Mexican Official Standard NOM-083-SEMARNAT-2003. due to the amount of tons that enter daily around 18 to 23 tons. It is 180 meters long by 30 meters wide and 15 meters deep. It is an open-air landfill, it began operations in 2017 and by 2021 it will be at maximum capacity. It has 10 units for garbage collection, covering 14 routes in 25 colonies.

Economy

In 2015 it presented a

Human Development Index The Human Development Index (HDI) is a statistical composite index of life expectancy, Education Index, education (mean years of schooling completed and expected years of schooling upon entering the education system), and per capita income i ...

of 0.776 (High). In terms of finance there are nine bank branches, among which are Banamex, BBVA Bancomer, Banco Azteca,

HSBC HSBC Holdings plc ( zh, t_hk=滙豐; initialism from its founding member The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation) is a British universal bank and financial services group headquartered in London, England, with historical and business li ...

, Bancoppel, Banco Ahorro Famsa. In industry there are small manufacturing

companies A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether natural, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specifi ...

such as huaraches, bricks for construction, and clothing ''

maquiladora A (), or (), is a factory that is largely duty (economics), duty free and tariff free. These factories take raw materials and assemble, manufacture, or process them and export the finished product. These factories and systems are present thro ...

s''. In terms of agriculture and livestock, grazing areas and crops are located in the colonies on the outskirts of the city, such as Cañada Chica Aviación, Cañada Chica, La Estación, El Cerrito, Dos Cerritos and Pozo Grande; these are activities with little production in the city. In agriculture, small-scale production is

corn Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout Poaceae, grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago ...

and

alfalfa Alfalfa () (''Medicago sativa''), also called lucerne, is a perennial plant, perennial flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae. It is cultivated as an important forage crop in many countries around the world. It is used for grazing, hay, ...

; and in livestock, production is mainly aviculture with poultry. The city has a

slaughterhouse In livestock agriculture and the meat industry, a slaughterhouse, also called an abattoir (), is a facility where livestock animals are slaughtered to provide food. Slaughterhouses supply meat, which then becomes the responsibility of a mea ...

inaugurated in 2015, it has a surface area of 3500 m²; it has administrative areas, loading, unloading, the area of the main warehouse and the corrals, where about eighty herds and twice as many pigs can be slaughtered during eight hours.

Trade

Stores and markets

Commerce is located mainly in the city center and in the surrounding streets, especially the sale of clothing, shoes, fruits and vegetables; there are also commercial chains as well as two convenience stores The city has two Diconsa program stores, as well as two Liconsa dairies in the colonies El Cerrito and La Floresta. The city has two markets: the 8 de Julio Market and the Jamaiquitas Market. The main market in the city is the 8 de Julio Market, it has two levels to house commercial activity and a subway parking lot. It was built in 1965; in 2014 began the remodeling of the market, and the construction of the subway parking, on April 2, 2015, the market was reopened. The Jamaiquitas Market was built in 2008, and has about 30 stores.

Tianguis

In the city, '' tianguis'' are held on Wednesdays and Sundays. The Wednesday '' tianguis'' is one of the most important in the Mezquital Valley. It is located in the so-called center of the city occupying about 45,414 m², distributed in about twenty-two streets. In it you can find a great variety of merchants offering seasonal fruits, vegetables,

legume Legumes are plants in the pea family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seeds of such plants. When used as a dry grain for human consumption, the seeds are also called pulses. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consum ...

s, '' hierbas'',

stones In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

, lime, kitchen utensils, canned products,

seed In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be Sowing, sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds ...

s, beef, pork, chicken, fish, aluminum cases, clay pots, tools, sweets,

clothes Clothing (also known as clothes, garments, dress, apparel, or attire) is any item worn on a human human body, body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin s ...

, food, etc. There is no exact date when this '' tianguis'' began to be set up, although it is known that sales in the area had been taking place since 1550. Some time later the merchants settled on Efrén Rebolledo Street, since most of the vendors came from Santiago de Anaya. This same street is known for its food stalls, maguey syrup and '' pulque''; and you can listen to mariachi,

marimba The marimba ( ) is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars that are struck by mallets. Below each bar is a resonator pipe that amplifies particular harmonics of its sound. Compared to the xylophone, the mari ...

, huasteco or norteño trios, this area is colloquially known as: ''Garibaldito''. It is estimated that around twenty-nine thousand people gather every Wednesday to buy products in this ''tianguis''. On Sundays there is another '' tianguis'' in the downtown area, this one is smaller than the one on Wednesdays; in it you can find fruits, vegetables,

, food, etc. It is located mainly around the Reforma Park where the Actopan Obelisk is located.

Food Market

The ''Central de Abastos'' de Actopan has been in operation since 2005 and only operates on Wednesdays and Saturdays. It is the largest point of commerce in the region, and one of the most important in the state of Hidalgo. On Saturdays it operates with a much smaller number of merchants and offers seasonal fruits, vegetables and

s. On Wednesday it functions as an extension of the '' tianguis'' that is placed that day in the center of the city. This day hosts approximately five thousand merchants from different municipalities of Hidalgo; in an extension of seventeen hectares. It has areas for the sale of fodder, livestock (cattle, pigs, sheep and goats) and poultry, groceries, fruit and vegetables (wholesale and retail); as well as an area where electrical appliances, tools, toys, handicrafts, clothing, second-hand items, and others are sold. On this day there is a Gastronomic Pavilion with thirty-nine stores where you can buy typical food of the region. There is also the largest used car market in the state, as it can gather more than five hundred vehicles.

Tourism

The city offers nine four- and three-star hotels, with a total of 258 available rooms; it has sixteen restaurants, three cafeterias, two nightclubs and nine bars. The city is located within the so-called Corredor Turístico de los Balnearios, promoted by the Federal and State Secretariat of Tourism. This corridor passes through the municipalities of Actopan, Santiago de Anaya, Ixmiquilpan, Tasquillo, Tecozautla and Huichapan. Since November 27, 2011, the city has a tourist transport with capacity for more than thirty people, in its two levels; the second level is open-top. This transportation travels through the main streets and attractions of the city, during the tour the houses where illustrious characters of Actopan lived are shown, such as María del Carmen González, doctor and altruist of the city; Efrén Rebolledo, poet and writer; and Genaro Guzmán Mayer, author of the Hymn to the State of Hidalgo. This transportation does not operate every day, occasionally it only operates on local holidays.

Sports

The most popular sport in the city is soccer, followed by

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

, basketball, baseball, volleyball, cycling, and athletics, among others. In terms of sports infrastructure, there is a

field in the Ozesnos Actopan, as well as a

basketball court In basketball, the basketball court is the playing surface, consisting of a rectangular floor, with baskets at each end. Indoor basketball courts are almost always made of polished wood, usually maple, with -high rims on each basket. Outdoor ...

in the Aviación colony, and a ''

lucha libre ''Lucha libre'' (, meaning "freestyle wrestling" or literally translated as "free fight") is the term for the style of professional wrestling originating in Mexico. Since its introduction to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has develope ...

'' arena. There is also a bullring that is also used as a '' lienzo charro'', located near the town of El Daxthá. In the city there is a '' lienzo charro'' called the ''Centro de Convenciones'' or ''Polideportivo "Mañutzi"'', completely roofed and with a capacity for three thousand people, located within the Municipal Sports Complex. The "Jesús Luz Meneses" Municipal Sports Complex has a gymnasium with volleyball and

s, a baseball field and a fronton court. The Los Frailes Sports Complex, better known as "''El Jagüey''", is used as a soccer stadium; it is 105 m long, 57.5 m wide and 3 m deep. The "''Las Canchitas''" Sports Complex: also known as the "Jesús Luz Meneses" Complex, it has areas for indoor soccer, volleyball and basketball

Notes

References

Bibliography

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External links

{{Commons category
Government of the State of Hidalgo
Official website.
H. City Hall of Actopan
Official website. Populated places in Hidalgo (state)