Camarón de Tejeda is a town in the

Mexican state The states of Mexico are first-level administrative territorial entities of the country of Mexico, which is officially named Mexico, United Mexican States. There are 32 federal entities in Mexico (31 states and the capital, Mexico City, as a sepa ...

Veracruz Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...

. It serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality of the same name. It is most famous for the 1863

Battle of Camarón The Battle of Camarón (french: Bataille de Camerone) which occurred over ten hours on 30 April 1863 between the Foreign Legion of the French Army and the Mexican army, is regarded as a defining moment in the Foreign Legion's history. A small ...

at the town's Hacienda Camarón. In the 2005 INEGI Census, Camarón de Tejeda reported a population of 2,019, with 5,660 in the surrounding municipality. The area is essentially rural with a population density of 32 people/km². The town is named for the large number of shrimp (''camarón'' in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

) found in a small river in the area.

History

Camarón was an ancient Totonac town called Temaxcal. At the town's

hacienda An ''hacienda'' ( or ; or ) is an estate (or ''finca''), similar to a Roman ''latifundium'', in Spain and the former Spanish Empire. With origins in Andalusia, ''haciendas'' were variously plantations (perhaps including animals or orchards), ...

, a

Mexican Army The Mexican Army ( es, Ejército Mexicano) is the combined land and air branch and is the largest part of the Mexican Armed Forces; it is also known as the National Defense Army. The Army is under the authority of the Secretariat of National De ...

of more than 3000 triumphed over 65 troops of the

French Foreign Legion The French Foreign Legion (french: Légion étrangère) is a corps of the French Army which comprises several specialties: infantry, Armoured Cavalry Arm, cavalry, Military engineering, engineers, Airborne forces, airborne troops. It was created ...

in the

on 30 April 1863. After the battle, the words "de Tejeda" were added to the town's name by Mexican Colonel Francisco de Paula Milán to honor pro- Madero politician Sixto Adalberto Tejeda Olivares (1883-1960), originally of Chicontepec. Before having its current name, the town was known by several others, including Villa Tejeda in 1927, and Adalberto Tejeda in 1955.

Geography

The town is located in the central part of the

, at 19° 01’ north

latitude In geography, latitude is a 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 the south pole to 90° at the north pol ...

, 96° 37’ 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 letter l ...

, at an altitude of 320 meters above sea level.

Hacienda Camarón

250px, Map of the Hacienda The

Hacienda An ''hacienda'' ( or ; or ) is an estate (or ''finca''), similar to a Roman ''latifundium'', in Spain and the former Spanish Empire. With origins in Andalusia, ''haciendas'' were variously plantations (perhaps including animals or orchards), ...

Camarón is located to the right of the road from

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

. It is composed of a courtyard at its center, 50 meters on each side, enclosed by a wall. Two large doors open to the west. The north section of the structure borders the road and has many rooms for housing, aligned east-to-west. To the south of the courtyard are found two large storage rooms. The first remains largely intact and forms the supports for the second, situated at a southwest angle to the corral, being nothing but some pieces of wood supported by a brick wall, with a thatched roof. Facing it at a southeast angle are the remains of another storage room. This, with its brick wall, formerly supported the building's frame. On the south side of the structure, the final storage room has a space through which a person can pass. Opposite the Hacienda, on the other side of the road, are two condemned houses and the ruins of ten Indian boxes^{/sup>.

References

External links

Official web site (Spanish)
*
Municipal Official Information

{{DEFAULTSORT:Camaron de Tejeda
French Foreign Legion
Populated places in Veracruz}