Cuautitlán (), is a municipality in the
State of Mexico, just north of the northern tip of the
Federal District (Distrito Federal) within the
Greater Mexico City
Greater Mexico City refers to the conurbation around Mexico City, officially called Metropolitan Area of the Valley of Mexico ( es, Zona metropolitana del Valle de México). It encompasses Mexico City itself and 60 adjacent municipalities of the S ...
urban area. The city of Cuautitlán is the municipal seat and makes up most of the municipality. The name comes from
Nahuatl and means 'between the trees.'
City and municipal seat
In the Mexican national census of 2020, the municipality recorded an overall population of 178,847. The great majority of these inhabitants — some 117,995 people — resided in the urban confines of the city of Cuautitlán itself.
History
Cuautitlán as an urban center began in the mid-14th century, though its general area had long been settled before that.
It was under
Azcapotzalco
Azcapotzalco ( nci, Āzcapōtzalco , , from '' āzcapōtzalli'' “anthill” + '' -co'' “place”; literally, “In the place of the anthills”) is a borough (''demarcación territorial'') in Mexico City. Azcapotzalco is in the northwestern p ...
before being conquered by the
Triple Alliance, whereafter it became a province under the domain of
Tlacopan
Tlacopan, also called Tacuba, was a Tepanec / Mexica altepetl on the western shore of Lake Texcoco. The site is today the neighborhood of Tacuba, in Mexico City.
Etymology
The name comes from Classical Nahuatl ''tlacōtl'', "stem" or "rod" and ...
, divided into four further sub-provinces.
After the Conquest, Cuautitlán was evangelized by the
Franciscans
, image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg
, image_size = 200px
, caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans
, abbreviation = OFM
, predecessor =
, ...
. They constructed San Buenaventura monastery and established the brotherhood of the ''Purísima Concepción de Nuestra Señora de Cuautitlán''. Saint
Juan Diego (1474–1548) reputedly lived there with his wife Maria Lucia up to the time of her death in 1529. They lived there in a one-roomed mud house thatched with corn stalks. The house still survives in a good state of preservation. Cuautitlán gained city status in 1968.
It is the birthplace of painter and sculptor
Luis Nishizawa (1918-2014).
The municipality
As municipal seat, Cuautitlán has governing jurisdiction over the following communities: Colonia Venecia, Ejido de Santa Bárbara, Ex-hacienda la Corregidora (La Corregidora), Fracción San Roque (El Prieto), Granja San Isidro, Hacienda San Mateo, La Chinampa, La Laguna, La Trinidad, Machero, Rancho Puente la Cruz, San Mateo Ixtacalco, Santa María Huecatitla, and Xaltipa (Jaltipa).
The municipality has an area of 40.9 km² (15.8 sq mi).
References
External links
Sitio Oficial de CuautitlánOfficial website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cuautitlan
Mexico City metropolitan area
Populated places in the State of Mexico
Nahua settlements