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San Luis Acatlán is the seat of the municipality of San Luis Acatlán, located in the
Mexican state A Mexican State (), officially the Free and Sovereign State (), is a constituent federative entity of Mexico according to the Constitution of Mexico. Currently there are 31 states, each with its own constitution, government, state governor, a ...
of
Guerrero Guerrero, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guerrero, is one of the 32 states that compose the administrative divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Guerrero, 85 municipalities. The stat ...
. It is located in the Costa Chica region of the state, about 158 km from
Acapulco Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , ; ), is a city and Port of Acapulco, major seaport in the Political divisions of Mexico, state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Located on a deep, semicirc ...
. Most often called simply "Acatlán", the name comes from the locality of Acatlán located in the modern state of
Puebla Puebla, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Puebla, is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its capital is Puebla City. Part of east-centr ...
. The name itself derives 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 ...
, meaning "among the reeds". Indigenous shepherds from Puebla arrived to this place between two rivers in Guerrero around 1750. San Luis derives from the name it was given in 1522 when soldiers of
Pedro de Alvarado Pedro de Alvarado (; 1485 – 4 July 1541) was a Spanish conquistador, ''conquistador'', ''adelantado,'' governor and Captaincy General of Guatemala, captain general of Guatemala.Lovell, Lutz and Swezey 1984, p. 461. He participated in the c ...
arrived here on this saint's day (August 25). The town's population as of 2005 was 7,938.


History

The areas has been occupied by
Mixtec The Mixtecs (), or Mixtecos, are Indigenous Mesoamerican peoples of Mexico inhabiting the region known as La Mixteca of Oaxaca and Puebla as well as La Montaña Region and Costa Chica of Guerrero, Costa Chica Regions of the state of Guerre ...
s and Tlapanecos since the seventh century. Around 1457, the territory was conquered by the
Aztec Empire The Aztec Empire, also known as the Triple Alliance (, Help:IPA/Nahuatl, �jéːʃkaːn̥ t͡ɬaʔtoːˈlóːjaːn̥ or the Tenochca Empire, was an alliance of three Nahuas, Nahua altepetl, city-states: , , and . These three city-states rul ...
, under the rule of Moctezuma Ilhuicamina. A number of stories exist about the town's beginnings but the most widely accepted has that the area was settled by the Tlapanecos, a group descended from a race called the Yopes. This group was in constant struggle with the Mexicas and other groups that caused them to move around in search of safer ground. In their wanderings, these people also founded towns such as Cintla, Tepetlapa, Ayutla de Álvarez, Suchitonala and
Azoyú Azoyú is a city and seat of the municipality of Azoyú, in the southern Mexican state of Guerrero.Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía The National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI from its former name in ) is an au ...
. In 1522, after the
Spanish conquest The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered in the European Age of Discovery. It ...
, soldiers associated with Pedro de Alvarado arrived, asking him for authorization to found a Spanish town here after discovering gold in a nearby river. Alvarado came here under orders 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 ...
to establish the town, naming it Villa de San Luis. In 1531, nearby Yopes attacked it. The Spanish response was to attack the Yopes, killing most, and taking many of their young as slaves. The few that remained dispersed to
Oaxaca Oaxaca, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca, is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of the Mexico, United Mexican States. It is divided into municipalities of Oaxaca, 570 munici ...
and
Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...
down to
Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...
. After the river's gold ran out, the town became deserted. In 1532, the area was annexed to a town named Jalapa or Ayacaxtla. It was not until 1591, when the town became officially independent again due to efforts of the
Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
s to repopulate it. Around 1750, Olmeca shepherds migrating from Puebla settled here, naming it after the place they came from and building their homes among Spanish ruins. In 1750, the first shepherds arrive to this place from Acatlán, Puebla. That's why, they imposed the aggregate Acatlán at the end of the town name. Later Zapotecs from Oaxaca and another group called the Xalpatlahuac from the low mountainous region of Guerrero joined them. The town was nearly wiped out again in 1825 when a large flood left few survivors.


Festival


Atlzazilistle (Festival to petition for rain)

In late April and early May, the
Nahuas The Nahuas ( ) are a Uto-Nahuan ethnicity and one of the Indigenous people of Mexico, with Nahua minorities also in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. They comprise the largest Indigenous group in Mexico, as well as ...
in this community participate in this event of pre-Hispanic origins to bring about the rainy season and to assure good crops. Community members who have migrated as far as
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 ...
and
Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl Nezahualcóyotl (), or more commonly Neza, is a city and municipal seat of the municipalities of Mexico, municipality of Nezahualcóyotl in Mexico. It is located in the List of states of Mexico, state of State of Mexico, Mexico, adjacent to the ...
return each year for this event. The festival begins on April 25 with the blessing of the seeds and climaxes in the beginning of May with a number of events. During this time these people offer birds, flowers, food,
copal Copal is a tree resin, particularly the aromatic resins from the copal tree '' Protium copal'' ( Burseraceae) used by the cultures of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica as ceremonially burned incense and for other purposes. More generally, copal includ ...
and wax figures at the various hills and other places considered sacred. However, the highlight of this event are the staged fights among various masked figures. The rain petition begins on the last days of the festival when men in masks, wearing
jute Jute ( ) is a long, rough, shiny bast fibre that can be Spinning (textiles), spun into coarse, strong threads. It is produced from flowering plants in the genus ''Corchorus'', of the mallow family Malvaceae. The primary source of the fiber is ...
sacks and carrying
whip A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...
s, called "tlacololeros" move in procession to the community leader's house. Here they offer the leader (called a "mayordomo")
mezcal Mezcal (, ), sometimes spelled mescal, is a liquor, distilled alcoholic beverage made from any type of agave. Agaves or magueys are endemic to the Americas and found globally as ornamental plants. The ''Agave'' genus is a member of the Agavoid ...
and
pozole Pozole (; from ) is a traditional soup or stew from Mexican cuisine. It is made from hominy with meat (typically chicken or pork), and can be seasoned and garnished with shredded lettuce or cabbage, chili peppers, onion, garlic, radishes, avoca ...
to invite him to the ceremonies. After this, the entire community goes to church as the church bells ring. In the early morning of May 2, dances dating back to pre-Hispanic times are performed. On May 3, there is a procession to Mount Cruzco. Last but not least, in the center of the town, men with leather masks, huge gloves and orange, yellow or green overalls painted to make them look like
tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large Felidae, cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is ...
s (or sometimes
jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large felidae, cat species and the only extant taxon, living member of the genus ''Panthera'' that is native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the biggest cat spe ...
s) gather in groups of up to 22 to stage fights. The belief is that the harder the tigers fight, the more abundant the rains will be when they come. Each tiger is anonymous and fighters take care to dress away from everyone else to maintain that anonymity. Younger boys, are dressed similarly by their fathers, with cardboard masks and have the tasks of keeping the crowds back and sometimes helping one tiger against another. The adult tigers, called "tecuani" have leather masks decorated by local artisans, some of which are worth as much as US$200.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:San Luis Acatlan Populated places in Guerrero 1591 establishments in New Spain Populated places established in 1522