Mapastepec is a town and

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in the southeastern state of

Chiapas Chiapas (; Tzotzil language, Tzotzil and Tzeltal language, Tzeltal: ''Chyapas'' ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas), is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. Its name derives from the place name ''mapachtepec'', "Hill of the

Raccoon The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the common raccoon to distinguish it from other species, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest of the procyonid family, having a body length of , and a body weight of ...

", a compound of the

Nahuatl Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller ...

words ''mapachi'' ("raccoon") and ''tepetl'' ("mountain"). Mapestepec is on the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

, with roughly half of its territory on the

Pacific Coastal Plain The Pacific Coastal Plain is located in Mexico. This region lies along the Pacific coastline from Alaska to Mexico. The plains range is from the Mexican border with the United States to Cape Corrientes, about range of about half the western coast o ...

and half in the

Sierra Madre de Chiapas The Sierra Madre de Chiapas is a major mountain range in Central America. It crosses El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico and Honduras. The Sierra Madre de Chiapas is part of the American Cordillera, a chain of mountain ranges that consists of an almos ...

mountain range. It is partly within two of Mexico's

Biosphere Reserves Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB) is an intergovernmental scientific program, launched in 1971 by UNESCO, that aims to establish a scientific basis for the improvement of relationships between people and their environments. MAB's work engag ...

, featuring a number of important species, including the

horned guan The horned guan (''Oreophasis derbianus'') is a large, turkey-like bird native to Central America. It is the only species in the genus ''Oreophasis''. Taxonomy The holotype specimen of "''Oreophasis Derbianus'' " G.R. GrayGen. Bds., 3, 1844, p. ...

(''Oreophasis derbianus''),

Baird's tapir The Baird's tapir (''Tapirus bairdii''), also known as the Central American tapir, is a species of tapir native to Mexico, Central America, and northwestern South America. It is the largest of the three species of tapir native to the Americas, as ...

(''Tapirus bairdii''), the

Jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus '' Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the th ...

(''Panthera once'') and rare cloud forest and mangrove habitat. The primary sector makes up over half of the local economy. Key products include cheese and dairy products and the local

Ataulfo mango The 'Ataúlfo' mango is a mango cultivar from Mexico. Ataulfo mangos are golden yellow and generally weigh between , with a somewhat sigmoid (oblong) shape and a gold-yellow skin. The flesh is not fibrous, and the pit is thin. They were named for ...

History

Mapastepec was founded in 1486 as an

Aztec The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those g ...

tributary state A tributary state is a term for a pre-modern state in a particular type of subordinate relationship to a more powerful state which involved the sending of a regular token of submission, or tribute, to the superior power (the suzerain). This tok ...

, under the name of Mapachtépec. In 1611, the first census conducted by the colonial authorities recorded Mapastepec's population as 265. Mapastepec was upgraded to the status of

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

(''villa'') by a decree issued by Ephraim A. Osorio, then governor of the State of

, on July 5, 1955.

Key dates in recent history

* 1915 - Abolition of territorial administrative structure under political authorities (the '' Jefaturas políticas''), with subsequent reorganization and creation of free municipalities * 1955 - On July 5, State Governor Efrain A. Osorio promulgates decree granting the status of "town" to the municipal capital * 1962 - Construction of Pacific coastal road, with connecting road to Mapastepec (see also

Mexican Federal Highway 200 Federal Highway 200 (''Carretera Federal 200''), also known as Carretera Pacífico, is a Federal Highway of Mexico. The Carretera Pacífico is the main leg of the Pacific Coastal Highway within Mexico and travels along the Pacific Coast from Mexi ...

) * 1983 - Mapastepec integrated into

Soconusco Soconusco is a region in the southwest corner of the state of Chiapas in Mexico along its border with Guatemala. It is a narrow strip of land wedged between the Sierra Madre de Chiapas mountains and the Pacific Ocean. It is the southernmost pa ...

, political region VIII of the state of Chiapas * 1984 - Town Hall built to house the Municipal Presidency * 1990 - Creation of El Triunfo natural protected area, which became a

Biosphere Reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...

in 1993 * 1995 - Creation of La Encrucijada natural protected area, recognized as a Biosphere Reserve in 2006 * 1998 - Heavy rains in September cause rivers to overflow, destroying the village of Valdivia * 2005 -

Hurricane Stan Hurricane Stan was a relatively weak but deadly tropical cyclone that affected areas of Central America and Mexico in early October 2005. The eighteenth named storm and eleventh hurricane of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, Stan formed from ...

washes away part of the coastal railway line

Geography

Location

The municipality of Mapastec is situated in the southern part of the state of

. It is bounded by the municipalities of La Concordia,

Ángel Albino Corzo Ángel Albino Corzo is one of the 122 municipalities of Chiapas, in southern Mexico. It covers an area of 1748.81 km². Its municipal seat is the town of Jaltenango de la Paz. As of 2010, the municipality had a total population of 26,628, u ...

and

Montecristo de Guerrero Montecristo de Guerrero is a town and one of the 119 Municipalities of Chiapas, in southern Mexico. As of 2010, the municipality had a total population of 6,900, up from 5,086 as of 2005. It covers an area of 190.3 km². As of 2010, the to ...

to the north,

Siltepec Siltepec is a town and one of the 125 municipalities of Chiapas in southern Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North A ...

Acacoyagua Acacoyagua Municipality one of the 122 municipalities of Chiapas, which in turn is one of the states of Mexico. As of 2010, the municipality had a total population of 16,814, up from 14,189 as of 2005. History The area is notable for being the p ...

and

Acapetahua Acapetahua is a town and one of the 122 Municipalities of Chiapas, in southern Mexico. As of 2010, the municipality had a total population of 27,580, up from 14,189 in 2005. As of 2010, the town of Acapetahua had a population of 6,194. Other tha ...

to the east, the

to the south, and

Pijijiapan Pijijiapan is a town and municipality in the Mexican state of Chiapas, on the coast of the Pacific Ocean about midway between the border with the state of Oaxaca and the international frontier with Guatemala. As of 2010, the municipality had a ...

to the west. The municipality covers an area of , representing 19.81% of the Soconusco region and 1.44% of the state of Chiapas. It stretches from the Pacific Ocean to the

mountain range, with a maximum altitude of

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

(a.s.l.). The highest peaks are La Cumbre, La Bandera and El Pujido. Mountainous and hilly terrain makes up approximately 50% of the area of the municipality, with low foothills accounting for another 10%. 40% of its territory lies on the Pacific coastal plain, and some 6% of this area is alluvial floodplain and saltmarsh. Alluvial soils predominate. The town of Mapestepec, the municipal capital, is at a.s.l. The main rivers of Mapastepec are the Río Novillero, Río San Nicolás, Río Gobierno and Río Las Flores. Smaller

perennial stream A perennial stream is a stream that has continuous flow of surface water throughout the year in at least parts of its catchment during seasons of normal rainfall, Water Supply Paper 494. as opposed to intermittent river, one whose flow is interm ...

s include the Arroyo Sesecapa, Arroyo Tablasón and Arroyo Cuilapa. A number of

intermittent streams A stream is a continuous body of surface water flowing within the bed and banks of a channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to by a variety of local or regional names. Long large streams ar ...

run through the municipality. The principal

bodies of water A body of water or waterbody (often spelled water body) is any significant accumulation of water on the surface of Earth or another planet. The term most often refers to oceans, seas, and lakes, but it includes smaller pools of water such as p ...

are the Chantuto, Pampa Buenavista and Pampa Castaña lagoons, and the El Coco estuary.

Climate

Hot and humid from January to September and a milder coastal climate from October to December. Its average annual temperature is , with an average annual rainfall of . The heaviest rainfall occurs from June to September.

Demographics

Population

The total population of the municipality was 47,932 at the time of the 2015 Intercensal Survey, conducted by the

National Institute of Statistics and Geography The National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI by its name in es, Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática) is an autonomous agency of the Mexican Government dedicated to coordinate the National System of Stat ...

(''Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía'' - INEGI). This represented an increase from 43,913 in 2010, and 39,055 in 2005. In 2015, women made up 50.9% of the inhabitants of the municipality and men 49.1%, with an average age of 24. The population represented 0.9% of the state of Chiapas. The population of the town of Mapastepec was 17,931 in 2010, followed by Sesecapa (2,143) and Nuevo Milenio Valdivia (1,789). In 2015, 52 of the 118 localities in the municipality had more than 100 inhabitants. Isolation and the poor condition of roads, particularly at higher altitudes, makes access to public services difficult for many of the smaller settlements.

Indigenous languages

The 2010 Census of Population and Housing (''Censo de Población y Vivienda 2010'') recorded 131 speakers of an indigenous language in Mapastepec, representing 0.33 percent of its population. The most widely spoken of these languages were Zapotec (41),

Mame MAME (formerly an acronym of Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator) is a free and open-source emulator designed to recreate the hardware of arcade game systems in software on modern personal computers and other platforms. Its intention is to preserve ...

) (13),

Tzotzil The Tzotzil are an indigenous Maya people of the central Chiapas highlands in southern Mexico. As cited by Alfredo López Austin (1997), p. 133, 148 and following. As of 2000, they numbered about 298,000. The municipalities with the largest Tzo ...

(13) and Tzeltal (12), with another twelve languages represented. An additional 34 respondents did not specify which indigenous language they spoke.

Religion

As at 2005, 65.68% of the population was Catholic, higher than the figure for the region of Soconusco (58.98%) and slightly above the national figure of 63.83%. 14.77% of the population was Protestant, 4.81% non-evangelical biblical, and 13.07% professed no religion.

Environment

Protected areas

More than half of the territory of Mapastepec (51.85%) is situated in protected and conservation areas, totalling . The Huizapa-Sesecapa Reforestation Area (''Zona de Reforestación Huizapa-Sesecapa'') lies on the Pacific coastal plain. Created by decree of October 8, 1936, it was the first protected natural area in the state of Chiapas. The Pico El Loro-Paxtal ecological conservation zone was created by decree of November 22, 2000 to protect cloud forest in the Sierra Madre de Chiapas foothills. Parts of Mapastepec are within two important natural reserves in the

World Network of Biosphere Reserves The UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR) covers internationally designated protected areas, known as biosphere reserves, which are meant to demonstrate a balanced relationship between people and nature (e.g. encourage sustainable dev ...

designated by the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

Man and the Biosphere Programme Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB) is an intergovernmental scientific program, launched in 1971 by UNESCO, that aims to establish a scientific basis for the improvement of relationships between people and their environments. MAB's work engag ...

. The El Triunfo reserve, created by decree of March 13, 1990, was inscribed on the list of Mexican Biosphere Reserves in 1993. It contains two of the most endangered ecosystems in Mexico: the Soconusco tropical rainforest, and cloud forest growing to over 2,000 meters (6,600 ft) above sea level.

La Encrucijada Biosphere Reserve La Encrucijada Biosphere Reserve ( es, Reserva de la Biósfera La Encrucijada) (established 2006) is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve situated in the Pacific Coastal Lowlands physiographic region of Mexico. It covers stretching over six municipalities ...

, established as a reserve by decree on June 6, 1995, was inscribed on the list of Biosphere Reserves in 2006. La Encrucijada is also protected under the

Ramsar Convention The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar sites (wetlands). It is also known as the Convention on Wetlands. It i ...

, figuring on the

List of Ramsar wetlands of international importance This is the list of Wetlands of International Importance as defined by the Ramsar Convention for the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands, recognizing the fundamental ecological functions of wetlands and their economic, cultural, scientif ...

. It was inscribed on the

list of Ramsar sites in Mexico This list of Ramsar sites in Mexico includes wetlands that are considered to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention. Mexico currently has 138 sites designated as "Wetlands of International Importance" with a surface area of . F ...

on March 20, 1996. Located to the south of the town of Mapastepec, La Encrucijada contains one of the most significant wetland and coastal lagoon networks in Mexico, with mangroves among the tallest of the Pacific coast of the Americas. Both the El Triunfo and La Encrucijada Biosphere Reserves are under the administration of the

National Commission of Protected Natural Areas National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

(''Comisión Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas'', CONANP), an agency of the

Federal government A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...

. CONANP has a water management office for El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve in the town of Mapastepec.

Flora

The vegetation of Mapastepec varies from the lowland jungle and mangroves of the Pacific coastal plain to oak–pine forest in the high mountains of the

. Emblematic mangrove and lowland species in La Encrucijada Biosphere Reserve include the red mangrove (''

Rhizophora mangle ''Rhizophora mangle'', the red mangrove, is distributed in Estuary, estuarine ecosystems throughout the tropics. Its Vivipary, viviparous "seeds", in actuality called propagules, become fully mature plants before dropping off the parent tree. Th ...

''), white mangrove (''

Laguncularia racemosa ''Laguncularia racemosa'', the white mangrove, is a species of flowering plant in the leadwood tree family, Combretaceae. It is native to the coasts of western Africa from Senegal to Cameroon, the Atlantic Coast of the Americas from Bermuda and ...

''), black mangrove (''

Avicennia germinans ''Avicennia germinans'', the black mangrove, is a shrub or small tree growing up to 12 meters (39 feet) in the acanthus family, Acanthaceae. It grows in tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas, on both the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts, ...

''), buttonwood (''

Conocarpus erectus ''Conocarpus erectus'', commonly called buttonwood or button mangrove, is a mangrove shrub in the family Combretaceae. This species grows on shorelines in tropical and subtropical regions around the world. Range Locations it is known from inc ...

''), gumbo-limbo, also known as copperwood, or chaca (''

Bursera simaruba ''Bursera simaruba'', commonly known as gumbo-limbo, copperwood, chaca, West Indian birch, naked Indian, and turpentine tree, is a tree species in the family Burseraceae, native to the Neotropics, from South Florida to Mexico and the Caribbean ...

''), Mexican palmetto (''

Sabal mexicana ''Sabal mexicana'' is a species of palm tree that is native to far southern North America. Common names include Rio Grande palmetto, Mexican palmetto, Texas palmetto, Texas sabal palm, palmetto cabbage and palma de mícharos. The specific epith ...

''), ('' Cyperus spp.''), and Malabar chestnut, or saba nut (''

Pachira aquatica ''Pachira aquatica'' is a tropical wetland tree in the mallow family Malvaceae, native to Central and South America where it grows in swamps. It is known by its common names Malabar chestnut, French peanut, Guiana chestnut, Provision tree, Saba n ...

''). Other species growing in the lowland areas and adjacent highlands include ''(

Pithecellobium dulce ''Pithecellobium dulce'', commonly known as Manila tamarind, Madras thorn, monkeypod tree or camachile, is a species of flowering plant in the pea family, Fabaceae, that is native to the Pacific Coast and adjacent highlands of Mexico, Central A ...

''), and pinguin (''

Bromelia pinguin ''Bromelia pinguin'' is a plant species in the genus ''Bromelia''. This species is native to Central America, Mexico, the West Indies and northern South America. It is also reportedly naturalized in Florida. It is very common in Jamaica Ja ...

''). The cloud forest of El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve also contains a rich diversity of

orchids Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

cycads Cycads are seed plants that typically have a stout and woody (ligneous) trunk with a crown of large, hard, stiff, evergreen and (usually) pinnate leaves. The species are dioecious, that is, individual plants of a species are either male or ...

and tree ferns (

Cyatheales The order Cyatheales, which includes most tree ferns, is a taxonomic order of the fern class, Polypodiopsida. No clear morphological features characterize all of the Cyatheales, but DNA sequence data indicate the order is monophyletic. Some sp ...

). Among other species are the hardwood Ecuador laurel or salmwood (''

Cordia alliodora ''Cordia alliodora'' is a species of flowering tree in the borage family, Boraginaceae, that is native to the American tropics. It is commonly known as Spanish elm, Ecuador laurel, cypre or salmwood. It can reach 35 m in height. Uses ''Cordia a ...

'') in the high forests, the guanacaste (''

Enterolobium cyclocarpum ''Enterolobium cyclocarpum'', commonly known as guanacaste, caro caro, monkey-ear tree, or elephant-ear tree, is a species of flowering tree in the pea family, Fabaceae, that is native to tropical regions of the Americas, from central Mexico ...

''), the ceiba or kapok (''

Ceiba pentandra ''Ceiba pentandra'' is a tropical tree of the order Malvales and the family Malvaceae (previously emplaced in the family Bombacaceae), native to Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, northern South America, and (as the variety ''C. pentandr ...

''), the lowland evergreen sapodilla (''

Manilkara zapota ''Manilkara zapota'', commonly known as sapodilla (), sapote, naseberry, nispero or chicle, is a long-lived, evergreen tree native to southern Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. An example natural occurrence is in coastal Yucatán in the ...

''), ''

Calycophyllum candidissimum ''Calycophyllum candidissimum'', the degami, dagame or lemonwood, is a species of flowering plant in the family Calycophyllum, native to southern Mexico, Cuba, Central America, Colombia, and Venezuela. It is the national tree of Nicaragua N ...

'', and the yellow-wood ('' Terminalia oblongata''). Fruits include avocados, mamey, mango, custard apple, soursop, papausa, cuajinicuil, and caspirol.

Fauna

The endangered

(''pavón cornudo''; ''Oreophasis derbianus''), considered the state bird, is found in El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve in the high mountains of Mapastepec and neighboring municipalities. Also present is the emblem of the reserve, the

Resplendent quetzal The resplendent quetzal (''Pharomachrus mocinno'') is a small bird found in southern Mexico and Central America, with two recognized subspecies, ''P. m. mocinno'' and ''P. m. costaricensis''. These animals live in tropical forests, particularly ...

(''Pharomachrus mocinno''). Other key species include

Azure-rumped tanager The azure-rumped tanager or Cabanis's tanager (''Poecilostreptus cabanisi'') is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae. It is a local resident in humid broadleaf forests and adjacent plantations of the Pacific slope of western Guatemala and s ...

(''Poecilostreptus cabanisi''), the

king vulture The king vulture (''Sarcoramphus papa'') is a large bird found in Central and South America. It is a member of the New World vulture family Cathartidae. This vulture lives predominantly in tropical lowland forests stretching from southern Mexic ...

(''Sarcoramphus papa''),

(''Tapirus bairdii''); the

(''Panthera once''), the

oncilla The oncilla (''Leopardus tigrinus''), also known as the northern tiger cat, little spotted cat, and tigrillo, is a small spotted cat ranging from Central America to central Brazil. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, and the popul ...

(''Leopardus tigrinus'') and the

otter Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine, with diets based on fish and invertebrates. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which also includes wea ...

(''Lutrinae''). Also found are hummingbirds, the harpy eagle, hawk, parrot, owl, skylark, ''chupamiel'', mockingbird, rook, buzzard, pigeons, doves, yellow-throated toucans and many other bird species. Mammals and reptiles include the spider monkey, raccoon, porcupine, anteater, skunk, deer, puma, bobcat, agouti, wild boar, opossum, rabbit, rattlesnake, coral snake, false coral snake, ''nahuyaca'', and ''Chichicua''. There is high insect diversity. Emblematic species of La Encrucijada Biosphere Reserve on the coastal plain include the

northern tamandua The northern tamandua (''Tamandua mexicana'') is a species of tamandua, an anteater in the family Myrmecophagidae. They live in tropical and subtropical forests from southern Mexico, through Central America, and to the edge of the northern Andes ...

(''Tamandua mexicana''),

orange-chinned parakeet The orange-chinned parakeet (''Brotogeris jugularis''), also known as the Tovi parakeet, is a small mainly green parrot of the genus ''Brotogeris''. It is found from Mexico, through Central America, to Venezuela. Its natural habitats are subtropi ...

(''Brotogeris jugularis''),

American crocodile The American crocodile (''Crocodylus acutus'') is a species of crocodilian found in the Neotropics. It is the most widespread of the four extant species of crocodiles from the Americas, with populations present from South Florida and the coasts ...

(''Crocodylus acutus''), spectacled caiman (''Caiman crocodilus''), green iguana (''Iguana iguana''),

wood stork The wood stork (''Mycteria americana'') is a large American wading bird in the family Ciconiidae (storks), the only member of the family to breed in North America. It was formerly called the "wood ibis", though it is not an ibis. It is found in ...

(''Mycteria americana''),

orange-fronted parakeet The orange-fronted parakeet or orange-fronted conure (''Eupsittula canicularis''), also known as the half-moon conure, is a medium-sized parrot that is resident from western Mexico to Costa Rica. Taxonomy The orange-fronted parakeet was Species ...

(''Aratinga canicularis''),

nine-banded armadillo The nine-banded armadillo (''Dasypus novemcinctus''), also known as the nine-banded long-nosed armadillo or common long-nosed armadillo, is a mammal found in North, Central, and South America, making it the most widespread of the armadillos. It ...

(''Dasypus novemcinctus''),

gray fox The gray fox (''Urocyon cinereoargenteus''), or grey fox, is an omnivorous mammal of the family Canidae, widespread throughout North America and Central America. This species and its only congener, the diminutive island fox (''Urocyon littora ...

(''Urocyon cinereoargenteus''),

boa constrictor The boa constrictor (scientific name also ''Boa constrictor''), also called the red-tailed boa, is a species of large, non-venomous, heavy-bodied snake that is frequently kept and bred in captivity. The boa constrictor is a member of the family B ...

(''Boa constrictor''), black spiny-tailed iguana (''

Ctenosaura similis ''Ctenosaura similis'', commonly known as the black iguanaLiner, Ernest A. and Gustavo Cass-Andreu. (2008). ''Standard Spanish, English and Scientific Names of the Amphibians and Reptiles of Mexico (2nd. ed.).'' Herpetological Circular No. 38. So ...

''),

olive ridley sea turtle The olive ridley sea turtle (''Lepidochelys olivacea''), also known commonly as the Pacific ridley sea turtle, is a species of turtle in the family Cheloniidae. The species is the second-smallest and most abundant of all sea turtles found in th ...

(''Lepidochelys olivacea''), and

scorpion mud turtle The scorpion mud turtle or Tabasco mud turtle (''Kinosternon scorpioides'') is a species of mud turtle in the family Kinosternidae. It is found in Mexico, Central and South America. It is a medium to large kinosternid (mud turtle) with a domed, ...

(''Kinosternum scorpioides''). Also endemic to the area are the

cinnamon-tailed sparrow The cinnamon-tailed sparrow (''Peucaea sumichrasti'') is a species of bird in the family Passerellidae that is endemic to Mexico. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland. It is threate ...

(''Peucaea sumichrasti''),

berylline hummingbird The berylline hummingbird (''Saucerottia beryllina'') is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and the United States. Taxonomy and system ...

(''Amazilia berillyna''), green-fronted hummingbird (''Amazilia viridifrons''),

giant wren The giant wren (''Campylorhynchus chiapensis'') is a species of bird in the family Troglodytidae. It is found in Mexico and Guatemala.Kroodsma, D. E. and D. Brewer (2020). Giant Wren (''Campylorhynchus chiapensis''), version 1.0. In Birds of th ...

(''Campylorhynchus chiapensis''),

Mexican hairy dwarf porcupine The Mexican hairy dwarf porcupine or Mexican tree porcupine (''Coendou mexicanus'') is a species of rodent in the family Erethizontidae. It is found in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Mexico, Nicaragua and Belize.Biodiversi ...

(''Coendou mexicanus''), Mexican spiny-tailed iguana (''

Ctenosaura pectinata ''Ctenosaura pectinata'' is a species of moderately large lizard in the family Iguanidae. The species is native to western Mexico. The standardized English name is the western spiny-tailed iguana. Liner, Ernest A., and Gustavo Casas-Andreu (20 ...

''), flammulated flycatcher (''Deltarhynchus flammulatus''),

Red-breasted chat The red-breasted chat (''Granatellus venustus'') is a species of bird in the family Cardinalidae, the cardinals or cardinal grosbeaks. It is endemic to Mexico. Taxonomy and systematics The genus ''Granatellus'' was traditionally placed in fam ...

(''Granatellus venustus''),

West Mexican chachalaca The West Mexican chachalaca (''Ortalis poliocephala'') is a species of bird in the family Cracidae, the chachalacas, guans, and curassows. It is endemic to Mexico. Taxonomy and systematics The West Mexican chachalaca was first described as ' ...

(''Ortalis poliocephala''),

rose-bellied bunting The rose-bellied bunting or Rosita's bunting (''Passerina rositae'') is a species of bird in the family Cardinalidae, the cardinals or cardinal grosbeaks. It is endemic to a very small area of southern Mexico.Brewer, D. (2020). Rose-bellied Bun ...

(''Passerina rositae''), longtail spiny lizard (''Sceloporus siniferus''), citreoline trogon (''Trogon citreolus''),

Sonora mud turtle The Sonora mud turtle (''Kinosternon sonoriense''), also known as the Sonoyta mud turtle, is a species of turtle in the Kinosternidae family. It is found in Mexico and the United States. The Sonoran mud turtle species is heavily influenced by it ...

(''Kinosternon sonoriense''), and the

cinnamon myotis The cinnamon myotis (''Myotis fortidens'') is a species of vesper bat. It is found in Guatemala and Mexico. References

Mouse-eared bats Bats of Central America Bats of Mexico Least concern biota of North America Taxonomy articles create ...

bat (''Myotis fortidens'').

Environmental issues

Chiapas has a wide variety of natural resources. Heavy exploitation over many years, in particular of timber, has led to significant deforestation in the municipality, causing species loss and environmental degradation. Logging and forest fires are also associated with the

leaching Leaching is the loss or extraction of certain materials from a carrier into a liquid (usually, but not always a solvent). and may refer to: *Leaching (agriculture), the loss of water-soluble plant nutrients from the soil; or applying a small amoun ...

of nutrients from the soil and with soil erosion, aggravated by heavy rainfall. Pollution of local waterways is related to agricultural activities including fertilizer use. These environmental issues are the focus of municipal government ecological management, conservation and sustainability planning.

Cultural and tourist attractions

Festivals

The most important

feast days The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context do ...

celebrated in Mapastepec are the feast day of the ''Señor de Esquipulas'', honoring the

Black Christ of Esquipulas The Black Christ of Esquipulas is a darkened wooden image of Christ enshrined within the Cathedral Basilica of Esquipulas in Esquipulas, Guatemala. It is one of the famed black Christological images of Latin America. Pious legends claim the ima ...

on January 15, and the

Feast of Saints Peter and Paul The Feast of Saints Peter and Paul or Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul is a liturgical feast in honor, of the martyrdom in Rome of the apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul, which is observed on 29 June. The celebration is of ancient Christi ...

on June 29.

Paul the Apostle Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

(''San Pedro Apostol'') is considered the patron saint of the town of Mapastepec. The town also honors the

Virgin of Guadalupe Our Lady of Guadalupe ( es, Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe), also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe ( es, Virgen de Guadalupe), is a Catholic title of Mary, mother of Jesus associated with a series of five Marian apparitions, which are believed t ...

. Easter, the

Day of the Dead The Day of the Dead ( es, Día de Muertos or ''Día de los Muertos'') is a holiday traditionally celebrated on November 1 and 2, though other days, such as October 31 or November 6, may be included depending on the locality. It is widely obser ...

( es, Día de Muertos), Christmas and the New Year are also celebrated. In March, a trade and agriculture fair is held in the town of Mapastepec, featuring associated cultural events and musical performances. Since 2016 it has been promoted as the Cheese Fair (''Feria del Queso''), a showcase for local dairy produce.

Crafts

Handcrafted woodcuts are made in the municipality.

Gastronomy

Typical dishes of the municipality are iguana tamales, armadillo stew, baked chicken, marshmallow candies, ''nuegados chilacayote,'' coconut water, beer, cocoa, and white pozol.

Sports

The four main football fields in Mapastepec are the November 20 field, Santa Cruz, Olimpia and Anahuac. In addition to other sports, the traditional sport of

Charrería Charrería () is a sport and discipline arising from equestrian activities and livestock traditions used in the haciendas of old Mexico. Evolving from the traditions brought from Spain, most specifically the municipality of Salamanca in the 16th ...

is also popular.

Economic activity

The economy of the municipality is based on agriculture, beef and dairy cattle and other livestock farming, fishing and aquaculture, forestry and construction, tourism, trade and services. The dairy industry, celebrated in the annual Cheese Fair is a significant sector, producing some 20 major cheeses including cream cheese, mediacrema cheese, cheese snacks, cheese, Cotija cheese, and cream.

Agriculture and livestock

The

primary sector The primary sector of the economy includes any industry involved in the extraction and production of raw materials, such as farming, logging, fishing, forestry and mining. The primary sector tends to make up a larger portion of the economy in de ...

occupies more than half of the working population of the municipality (52.82% in 2000). The agricultural sector is the largest economic sector. The principal crops grown are

avocado The avocado (''Persea americana'') is a medium-sized, evergreen tree in the laurel family (Lauraceae). It is native to the Americas and was first domesticated by Mesoamerican tribes more than 5,000 years ago. Then as now it was prized for i ...

banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...

cocoa beans The cocoa bean (technically cocoa seed) or simply cocoa (), also called the cacao bean (technically cacao seed) or cacao (), is the dried and fully fermented seed of ''Theobroma cacao'', from which cocoa solids (a mixture of nonfat substances ...

coffee beans A coffee bean is a seed of the ''Coffea'' plant and the source for coffee. It is the pip inside the red or purple fruit often referred to as a coffee cherry. Just like ordinary cherries, the coffee fruit is also a so-called stone fruit. Even thou ...

fodder Fodder (), also called provender (), is any agriculture, agricultural foodstuff used specifically to feed domesticated livestock, such as cattle, domestic rabbit, rabbits, sheep, horses, chickens and pigs. "Fodder" refers particularly to food g ...

, green

chili peppers Chili peppers (also chile, chile pepper, chilli pepper, or chilli), from Nahuatl '' chīlli'' (), are varieties of the berry-fruit of plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for ...

green beans Green beans are young, unripe fruits of various cultivars of the common bean (''Phaseolus vulgaris''), although immature or young pods of the runner bean (''Phaseolus coccineus''), yardlong bean ( ''Vigna unguiculata'' subsp. ''sesquipedalis' ...

maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...

mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree ''Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South a ...

orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

African oil palm ''Elaeis guineensis'' is a species of palm commonly just called oil palm but also sometimes African oil palm or macaw-fat. It is the principal source of palm oil. It is native to west and southwest Africa, specifically the area between Angola an ...

parlour palm ''Chamaedorea elegans'', the neanthe bella palm or parlour palm, is a species of small palm tree native to the rainforests in Southern Mexico and Guatemala. The parlor palm is one of the most heavily sold houseplant palms in the world. It is o ...

(''Chamaedorea'' spp.),

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

sesame Sesame ( or ; ''Sesamum indicum'') is a flowering plant in the genus ''Sesamum'', also called benne. Numerous wild relatives occur in Africa and a smaller number in India. It is widely naturalized in tropical regions around the world and is cu ...

sorghum ''Sorghum'' () is a genus of about 25 species of flowering plants in the grass family (Poaceae). Some of these species are grown as cereals for human consumption and some in pastures for animals. One species is grown for grain, while many othe ...

and

watermelon Watermelon (''Citrullus lanatus'') is a flowering plant species of the Cucurbitaceae family and the name of its edible fruit. A scrambling and trailing vine-like plant, it is a highly cultivated fruit worldwide, with more than 1,000 varieti ...

. Approximately half of the municipality lies on the Pacific coastal plain, facilitating extensive agriculture and allowing for significant mechanization. Agricultural tractors are widely used. Mapastepec grows many kinds of mango. Varieties include the

, a protected

designation of origin Designation may refer to: * Designation (law), the process of determining an incumbent's successor * Professional certification * Designation (landmarks), an official classification determined by a government agency or historical society * Designa ...

cultivar originating locally from the Soconusco region of Chiapas. Also grown are the cultivars known in Mexico as ''Criollo'', ''Jobo'', ''Manila'' and ''Manililla'', and the

Tommy Atkins Tommy Atkins (often just Tommy) is slang for a common soldier in the British Army. It was certainly well established during the nineteenth century, but is particularly associated with the First World War. It can be used as a term of reference ...

. The livestock sector includes beef and dairy cattle and poultry, as well as sheep, pigs and horses.

Tourism

The beaches of the Pacific coast are one of the main draws for tourists in the municipality. Ecological reserves constitute another point of interest. They include the El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve, with its cloud forest and tropical rainforest habitats, and the wetlands, coastal lagoons and mangroves of La Encrucijada Biosphere Reserve, which is also a Ramsar wetland site. According to information from the Ministry of Tourism, in the year 2000 the town of Mapastepec had five hotels with 53 rooms.

Services

Most of the services available in the municipality are found in the town of Mapestepec. These include public transportation, gas and service stations, hotels and restaurants, garages and repair shops, a hospital, clinics, and medical professionals. The town Mapastepec has a Rural Hospital with a number of medical units run by the

Mexican Social Security Institute The Mexican Institute of Social Security ( es, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, IMSS) is a governmental organization that assists public health, pensions and social security in Mexico operating under the Secretariat of Health. It also forms ...

(''Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, IMSS'') under its IMSS Prospera program Health services provided include an emergency department, surgical facilities, a labor ward, a pediatrics department, a general hospital and laboratory services.

Railway

There were two unsuccessful attempts to build a railway along the coast of Chiapas in the 19th century before an Anglo-American company, The Mexican Pacific Railroad Limited, built the Pan American Railway (''Ferrocarril Panamericano'') in the early 20th century. Work began in 1902 with initial repairs to a short existing rail segment from the port town of

Puerto Arista Puerto Arista (Arista Port) is a small community and tourist attraction located on the north coast of Chiapas, Mexico in the municipality of Tonalá. While it originally was a port, its lack of harbor and suitability for large cargo ships eventua ...

on the northern coast of Chiapas in 1902. In 1903, construction began in San Jerónimo Doctor (now Ixtepec) in the state of Oaxaca, building south towards the Guatemalan border. Work was completed as far as Tonalá in Chiapas by December of that year. The railway reached the municipalities of Pijijiapan and Mapastepec in 1906, arriving at

Suchiate Suchiate is a municipality in the Mexican state of Chiapas, on the border with Guatemala. It is in the Soconusco region, and is the southernmost municipality both in Chiapas and in all of Mexico. On the eastern edge of the municipality, flowin ...

on the border with

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

on July 1, 1908. The national rail operator

Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México (better known as N de M and especially in its final years as FNM) was Mexico's state owned railroad company from 1938 to 1998, and prior to 1938 (dating from the regime of Porfirio Díaz), a major railroad con ...

took over the line in 1914. It was privatized in 1999 under a 30-year concession to

Genesee & Wyoming Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (G&W) is an American short line railroad holding company, that owns or maintains an interest in 122 railroads in the United States, Canada, Belgium, Netherlands, Poland, United Kingdom and formerly Australia. It operates ...

subsidiary Ferrocarriles Chiapas-Mayab. Ferrocarriles Chiapas-Mayab gave up its concession in 2007 after

badly damaged the line in October 2005, rendering it inoperable. State-owned company

Ferrocarril Transístmico The Ferrocarril Transístmico ( es, Trans-Isthmus, Isthmic Railroad), also known as Ferrocarril del Istmo de Tehuantepec, S.A. (corporation), S.A. de C.V. or simply Ferroistmo, is today a railroad with no rolling stock, owned by the Mexico, Mexica ...

took over the concession in 2008, and the line has since been known as the

Isthmus of Tehuantepec The Isthmus of Tehuantepec () is an isthmus in Mexico. It represents the shortest distance between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean. Before the opening of the Panama Canal, it was a major overland transport route known simply as the Te ...

Railway (''Ferrocarril del Istmo de Tehuantepec''). Work was done to repair a number of bridges but the line remained out of commission. In 2015, a feasibility study was conducted into repairing and rehabilitating the line. In 2018 it remains out of service.

References

{{Chiapas Municipalities of Chiapas