Misantla is a city 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 ...
of
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 ...
, the administrative seat of the
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 ...
''(
municipio
' (, ) and ' () are country subdivisions in Italy and several Hispanophone and Lusophone nations, respectively. They are often translated as "municipality". In the English language, a municipality often is defined as relating to a single city or t ...
)'' of the same name. The municipality is bordered by
Martínez de la Torre Martínez de la Torre is a city and its surrounding municipality of the same name located in the central part of the Mexican state of Veracruz. The city had a 2005 census population of 56,433, while the municipality had a population of 97,768. Ther ...
,
Colipa Colipa is a small town in the Mexican state of Veracruz. It has a population of about 3,000. The weather is generally hot and the rainy season runs from October through December.
Colipa is also a great town. Is known for their industry with the "co ...
and
Papantla
Papantla () is a city and municipality located in the north of the state of Veracruz, Mexico, in the Sierra Papanteca range and on the Gulf of Mexico. The city was founded in the 13th century by the Totonacs and has dominated the Totonacapan regio ...
.
Misantla is located in the valley of the Misantla River in the
Sierra de Chiconquiaco
The Sierra de Chiconquiaco is a coastal mountain range in Veracruz state of eastern Mexico.
Geography
The Sierra extends generally east–west. It is bounded on the north by the plain of the Nautla River, which empties eastwards into the Gulf of ...
.
Travelwise, Misantla is about from the beaches of the
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...
, however, the roads to the Coast are not reliable. Misantla is located two hours North of
Xalapa
Xalapa or Jalapa (, ), officially Xalapa-Enríquez (), is the capital city of the Mexican state of Veracruz and the name of the surrounding municipality. In the 2005 census the city reported a population of 387,879 and the municipality of which ...
(the capital of the state) on Veracruz State Highway 65, a most scenic mountain route, well-paved.
Federal Highways 180
__NOTOC__
Year 180 ( CLXXX) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Rusticus and Condianus (or, less frequently, year 933 '' Ab ...
and
129 are on either side of it. Misantla has
Pre-Columbian pyramid, located northwest of town.
It is the municipal seat of several different communities such as Morelos, Guerrero, el Pozón, Buenos Aires, Arroyo Hondo, etc. In the local
Native American Totonac language
Totonac is a Totonacan language cluster of Mexico, spoken across a number of central Mexican states by the Totonac people. It is a Mesoamerican language and shows many of the traits which define the Mesoamerican Linguistic Area. Along with so ...
it means "place of the Deer", although there are no longer deer in the wild. Misantla is over 450 years old, it was founded by the Spanish
conquistador
Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, O ...
s and the Native population. Weather in Misantla is very hot and humid. The main crops are coffee beans, oranges and corn. Misantla is not only an agricultural community but also people raise cattle for a living. In the city, vendors invaded the pretty streets with street commerce, thus street commerce is another very common activity.
Misantla is also known as ''La Tierra del Cachichin'' ("land of Cachichin"). Cachichin is a very sour, unpleasant nut which used to be abundant; nowadays, however, the nut is steadily disappearing.
History
The region was originally populated by people of the Tajin or Totonaca culture. The Chiconquiaco Codex that records in 1542 the settlement was founded to concentrate and evangelize the natives. On August 25, 1544, the tax that Misantla had to pay in the town of Xalapa was fixed. On January 20, 1564, the day of San Sebastián, the population of San Juan Misantla moved, by decision of the Franciscans who evangelized the region, from the old place to the new one, at the junction of the Palchán and Misantla rivers. Two of the first Catholic evangelists in the region were
Toribio de Benavente Motolinia
Toribio of Benavente, O.F.M. (1482, Benavente, Spain – 1565, Mexico City, New Spain), also known as Motolinía, was a Franciscan missionary who was one of the famous Twelve Apostles of Mexico who arrived in New Spain in May 1524. His publish ...
and
Fray Buenaventura de Fuenlabrada
Fray or Frays or The Fray may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Fictional entities
*Fray, a phenomenon in Terry Pratchett's ''The Carpet People''
*Fray, the main character in the video games:
**''Fray in Magical Adventure''
**''Fray CD'' ...
, who lived in the town of
Chapultepec
Chapultepec, more commonly called the "Bosque de Chapultepec" (Chapultepec Forest) in Mexico City, is one of the largest city parks in Mexico, measuring in total just over 686 hectares (1,695 acres). Centered on a rock formation called Chapultep ...
. The new foundation was called Santa María de la Asunción Misantla, although the first church built was dedicated to San Sebastián, being destroyed by a fire in 1565.
The body of Baruch Pérez León, commander of the municipal police department, was found near the Martínez de la Torre garbage dump on January 29, 2021. Pérez León had been reported missing the night before, and there were indications he had been tortured before he was shot. Police commanders in
San Juan Evangelista
San Juan Evangelista is a municipality located in the plains of the Sotavento zone in the central zone of the State of Veracruz, about 260 km from state capital Xalapa. It has a surface of 968.94 km2. It is located at .
Geographic limits
The ...
and
Huatusco
Huatusco de Chicuellar (commonly known as Huatusco), is a city in the Mexican state of Veracruz, on the Xalapa–Mexico City railroad that was founded by Italian immigrants. It is bordered by Calcahualco, the state of Puebla, Ixhuatlán del C ...
had been assassinated in February 2019 and May 2020, respectively.
Notable people
*
Digna Ochoa
Digna Ochoa (born Digna Ochoa y Plácido; May 15, 1964 – October 19, 2001) was a human rights lawyer in Mexico. During her career, Ochoa had represented some of Mexico's poorest constituents against government interests. On October 19, 2001, Och ...
(1964–2001), human rights lawyer
Government
Municipal presidents
References
External links
*
Municipal Official Site*
Municipal Official Information
{{Authority control
Populated places in Veracruz
Totonac sites
Populated places established in 1564