Tlalpan

Tlalpan ( nci, Tlālpan, , place on the earth, ) is a borough (''demarcación territorial'') in Mexico City. It is the largest borough, with over eighty percent under conservation as forest and other ecologically sensitive area. The rest, almost all of it on the northern edge, has been urban since the mid-20th century. When it was created in 1928, it was named after the most important settlement of the area, Tlalpan, which is referred to as “Tlalpan center” (Tlalpan centro) to distinguish it from the borough.

This center, despite being in the urbanized zone, still retains much of its provincial atmosphere with colonial era mansions and cobblestone streets. Much of the borough's importance stems from its forested conservation areas, as it functions to provide oxygen to the Valley of Mexico and serves for aquifer recharge. Seventy percent of Mexico City's water comes from wells in this borough.

However, the area is under pressure as its mountainous isolated location has attracted illegal loggers, drug traffickers, and kidnappers; the most serious problem is illegal building of homes and communities on conservation land, mostly by very poor people. , the government recognizes the existence of 191 of the settlements, which cause severe ecological damage with the disappearance of trees, advance of urban sprawl, and in some areas, the digging of septic pits. The borough is home to one of the oldest Mesoamerican sites in the valley, Cuicuilco, as well as several major parks and ecological reserves. It is also home to a number of semi-independent “pueblos” that have limited self-rule rights under a legal provision known as “usos y costumbres” (lit. uses and customs).

Tlalpan center

What is now called “Tlalpan center” or sometimes “the historic center of Tlalpan” began as a pre-Hispanic village located at the intersection of a number of roads that connected Tenochtitlan (Mexico City) with points south. This village was renamed Villa de San Agustín de las Cuevas in 1645, with the last part “de las Cuevas” referring to the many small caves in the area. During the colonial period, the village was a modest farming village, known for its fruit orchards. However, the forests of the area made it attractive to the elite of Mexico City who built country homes and haciendas here, much as they did in other areas south of the city such as Chimalistac, San Ángel and Coyoacán .

Many of these homes and manor houses of the former haciendas still remain in and round Tlalpan center. As the urban sprawl of Mexico City only began to reach this area starting in the mid-twentieth century, much of the former village has retained its provincial streets, older homes and other buildings with façades of reds, whites, blues and other colors, although a number have been converted into other uses such as cafes, restaurants and museums. This makes the area similar to neighboring Coyoacán, and like this neighbor, Tlalpan center is popular with visitors, especially on weekends as people come to see its provincial main square/garden, mansions, narrow winding cobblestone streets lined with large trees, eat in its restaurants and cafes and visit its many nearby parks and other green areas. One popular area with cafes and restaurants is La Portada, on one side of the main plaza.

Tlalpan center has eighty structures from the 16th to the 20th centuries that have been classified by INAH as having historic value. Some of these include old Tlalpan Hacienda, the former home of the Marquis de Vivanco and the San Agustin parish church. The borough of Tlalpan has sought World Heritage Site status for the area because of these structures, the area's history and the nearby site of Cuicuilco.

The center of this former village is the main square or garden officially called the “Plaza de la Constitución” but better known as the “Jardín Principal” (Main Garden). Visually, what stands out is the large kiosk in the center, but historically more important is the “Arbol de los colgaldos” (Tree of the Hanged). This tree, still alive, was used to hang political enemies and bandits, including those opposed to the invading French Army during the French Intervention in Mexico. On weekends, vendors set up stalls selling handcrafts and other items. To one side of the plaza, there is a cantina called La Jalisciense, one of the oldest in Mexico City, having been in operation for over 135 years.

Facing the Jardín Principal, there is the “Palacio de Gobierno” (Government Palace), which was the site of the government of the State of Mexico, when Tlalpan served as state capital for six years in the early 19th century. Since then, it was used as a barracks for Benito Juárez’s soldiers, a jail, a residence for the Empress Carlota and the site of the Instituto Literario (today the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México) . Today, it serves as the headquarters of the borough, although it is also commonly referred to as the “ex palacio municipal” (former municipal palace) referring to the time when Tlalpan was an independent municipality in the State of Mexico. The current structure was built between 1989 and 1900 in Neoclassical style.

On another side of the main square, there is the San Agustin Church. The village church was established here in 1547 by the Dominicans, but the current structure on the site dates from the 18th century. It has an austere façade and faces the main square. Around it is an atrium, some simple gardens and a patios shaded by fruit trees. A fire at the end of the 19th century destroyed the Baroque altar, replaced with the sober one seen today. This parish is the site of the annual San Agustin de las Cuevas Festival, which is the largest religious event in the borough.

Casa Frissac is located just off the main square. It was built in the 19th century in French style as the residence of Jesús Pliego Frissac. According to local legend, bandit Chucho el Roto lived here at one time. In the 20th century, it belonged to Adolfo López Mateos then it became the site of the Lancaster School, which closed in the 1980s. In the 1950s, it was used as a set for the film ''Los Olvidados'', by Luis Buñuel. Today, the house is still the protagonist for a number of local ghost stories; however, its official function is that of a cultural center called the Instituto Javier Barros Sierra. This center began operations in 2001 after 21,800,000 pesos worth of remodeling, which restored the structure to much of its 19th-century look. The center has hosted art exhibits by photographers, graffiti artists, and more—many with a political message. While the center's authorities insist the center is non-political, members of Mexico's PAN party raised objections to the content in the center's first year.

The Museo de Historia de Tlalpan (Museum of the History of Tlalpan, is housed in a building known as “La Casona” (The Mansion), which dates to 1874. In addition to its age, one of its claims to fame is that it is the site of the first long distance telephone call in Mexico, calling a telephone in the then-separate Mexico City. This call was made on 20 March 1878 and the telephone used to make the call is on display here. The mansion was classified as a historic monument by 1986, and it was converted into the current museum in 2003 after extensive remodeling, which included restoration of the original murals. The museum explores the culture and history of the Tlalpan borough. It also has a permanent collection of art work by Gilberto Aceves Navarro, Alberto Castro Leñero, Isabel Leñero, Javier Anzure Joëlle Rapp and Jorge Hernandez.

The museum was opened to be part of a “cultural circuit” integrated with other facilities such as Casa Frissac. Prior to the opening of this museum, the only other museum (as opposed to a cultural center focused on classes) was the Museo Soumaya, which is private. Much of the museum's collection of historic items was donated by over one hundred individual residents and include documents, photographs, artworks and more. These donations cover the eight rural “pueblos” in the Ajusco area, traditional barrios and the major apartment complexes in Coapa and San Lorenzo Huipulco as well as Tlalpan center. An organization called the Centro de Documentacion Historica de la Delegacion now accepts, organizes and cares for the borough collection of historic items.

Twenty blocks of Tlalpan center have been designated at the “ Museo Público de Arte Contémporaneo de Tlalpan (MUPACT), an “open-air” museum of art, which opened in 2006 with eighteen works. The works are displayed on walls, trees, sidewalks and even streets. The borough offers a nominal fee for works selected to be displayed and requires that said works have a “strong social content.” One of the works that has been displayed was when artist Georgina Toussaint convinced the inmates of a Centro de Tratamiento de Varones to draw images of their identity and then displayed the works on the façade of the facility.

A major attraction of the center, not far from the square, is a manor house that belonged to the former Tlalpan Hacienda. The manor was constructed in 1737 around a central courtyard. Although the hacienda no longer exists, the structure is still surrounded by large gardens. The manor house is currently used as a luxury hotel and restaurant, although there are various salons available as well for events. When it was converted to its present use, it was remodeled in “Neo-Mexican” look with touches of Art Nouveau. The main restaurant offers traditional Mexican dishes with chiles en nogada, cabrito (roast goat), escamoles and duck as specialties. It has large gardens filled with peacocks. Much of the interior décor has been modeled in styles from the 19th century and earlier to evoke the grandeur of the area's upper class of that time.

Scattered among the cobblestone streets of the old village are a number of other notable houses and structure from various centuries. The Casa Chata is on the corner of Hidalgo and Matamoros Streets. It was built in the 18th century, with one corner cut off, creating a small façade around the main entrance. The name refers to this feature as “chata” mean flattened, or pushed in. As Tlalpan was the capital of the State of Mexico for six years, a number of constructions related to this function, such as the Casa de Moneda (coin mint) and a government print shop were built and still remain. In the latter, Cuban writer José María Heredia published poems about his stay in Mexico.

Other religious institutions include the Convent of the Capuchinas (the Capuchin Poor Clares), which still functions as a convent, where one can buy cookies made by the resident nuns. There is also the Capilla del Calvario, which was built in the 17th century. The former house of the Count De Regla is found on Congreso Street, and on San Fernando Street, there is a house where José María Morelos y Pavón was held prisoner. Another house on this street was occupied by Antonio López de Santa Anna. A notable market in the area is the Mercado de la Paz, which was built in 1900.

This historic center was designated as a "Barrio Mágico" by the city in 2011.

The borough

Political divisions

Tlalpan is the largest of Mexico City's sixteen boroughs, and vastly larger than the traditional village of Tlalpan. It has a surface of 310 km² and accounts for 20.6% of Mexico City, and a total population of 650,567 inhabitants. It lies at the far south of Mexico City bordering the boroughs of Coyoacán, Xochimilco and Milpa Alta with the state of Morelos to the south and the State of Mexico to the southwest.

Administratively, the borough is divided into five zones: Centro de Tlalpan ( pop. 163,209), Villa Coapa(118,291), Padierna Miguel Hidalgo(148,582) Ajusco Medio (59,905) and Pueblos Rurales(99,447). All of these are divided into neighborhoods variously called “colonias,” “barrios,” “fraccionamientos” or “unidades habitacionales” with the exception of the Pueblo Rurales area, which also contains eight semi independent villages.
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The far northern zones such as Tlalpan Center, Villa Coapa, and Padierna Miguel Hidalgo are urbanized areas where the sprawl of the city has reach, which the southern sections are still rural. The urbanized areas account for only about 15% of the borough, with the rest belonging to conservation areas or ejido communal lands. Pueblos Rurales is the largest zone, but 83% of the borough population is concentrated in the other four.

Urban areas

The urban sprawl of Mexico City reached the borough of Tlalpan in the mid-20th century, but only the far north of the borough is urbanized. This area accounts for over 80% of the borough population, who live in a mix of middle class residential areas and large apartment complexes for the lower classes. This northern area is crossed by a number of major road arteries such as the Anillo Periférico, Calzada de Tlalpan, Viaducto-Tlalpan, Acoxpa, Division del Norte/Miramontes, which experience extremely heavy traffic during rush hour. The highway connecting Mexico City with Cuernavaca also passes through the borough. Intersections of these major roads have large commercial and retail complexes such as that of Avenida Insurgentes and Anillo Periferico, which has several of these complexes, as this is a major highway connection for the south of the city.

Traffic and parking are the most serious issues for the areas in the urban areas, as the borough struggles to keep up with the demand but also keep areas such as Tlalpan Centro at least somewhat provincial. Parking problems are greatest in Ajusco Medio, Padiernoa, Pedregales and Colonia Miguel Hidalgo. Traffic problems are worst in Tlalpan center where the narrow streets get jammed by the vehicles of both residents and visitors, especially around the main plaza. The increasing popularity of this area with visitors makes the situation worse on weekends. In the urban areas, problems are similar to that in other parts of Mexico City and include carjacking, illegal firearms, muggings, graffiti, deterioration of infrastructure. Most crime is reported in the Villa Coapa with Tlalpan center coming in second.

Rural communities

The rest of the borough is filled with forested areas, rugged mountains and small communities, some of which have had a way of life little changed since colonial times. The Pueblos Rurales Zone contains only about one sixth of the borough's population, with the most important concentrations of people being the eight semi-independent communities. These villages are San Miguel Topilejo, San Pedro Mártir, San Andrés Totoltepec, San Miguel Xicalco, San Miguel Ajusco, Santo Tomás Ajusco, Magdalena Petlacalco, and Parres El Guarda.Arista, Lidia.
Los 8 pueblos de Tlalpan

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. '' El Universal''. September 1, 2011. Retrieved on June 2, 2014.

These “pueblos” govern much of their local affairs through “usos y costumbres,” modern legal recognition of the old village governing structures still in place, many of which use some form of direct democracy. This is in stark contrast to areas such as Villa Coapa, where almost all local decisions are made by representatives. Because of the rugged terrain, few roads and little police protection, these settlements are isolated. While protected from some of crime problems that affect their urban counterparts, this isolation has made the area attractive for drug runners bringing their merchandise into Mexico City, for kidnappers, illegal logging and more, which has led to a number of murders in the area.

Many of high peaks between the borough and the State of Mexico are used as lookouts for criminal organizations. Because of this, the borough ranks ninth in criminal activity. The largest problem is illegal settlements. An estimated 191 forested and other areas have been taken over by about 8,000 families. Some of these communities are over twenty years old. Although some of the illegal construction represents individuals trying to claim a large tract, most of it is shantytowns for the poor with few or no services.

Geography and ecology

Tlalpan is located between the mountains that separate Mexico City from the states of Morelos and Mexico and the rocky areas of San Angel, Ciudad Universitaria and the delegation of Coyoacán. The south of the borough consists of the mountain ranges of Chichinautzin and Ajusco, which preserve most of the forested areas remaining in Mexico City. Fifteen of mountains in this area reach at least 3,000 masl, which include the two highest: Cruz del Marqués (3,930masl) and Pico del Aguila (3,880masl) . The borough, like the rest of the Valley of Mexico, lies on central part of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt .

Much of the geology of the area formed when the Xitle volcano erupted in 100 CE, which created numerous caves and formed the basis of the volcanic soil that, 600 years later, makes the area's agriculture so productive. The borough has two types of soil: rocky in higher elevations and—in lower areas—less solid and containing more groundwater, making it somewhat spongy. The area experiences regular seismic activity, mostly of low intensity, which is believed mostly from small ancient faults reactivated by regional stresses, or by the sinking of the Valley of Mexico. The south of the Valley, including Tlalpan, is also affected by the underground movement of magma, especially when such contacts the waterlogged regions of the former Lake Xochimilco. Most of these tremors go unnoticed except for those that occur close to the surface such as the one centered 5 km south of the Ciudad Universitaria on 16 October 2005 (mag. 3.1). However, even this one was not felt far from its epicenter. Three areas in the borough are susceptible to seismic activity over 7.5 on the Richter scale: Colonia Isidro Fabela, Villa Coapa, and Tlalpan Centro. These areas are subject to special building inspections and annual earthquake drills. The borough has a warmer and more humid climate than the rest of Mexico City.

, 83.5% of the borough was officially defined as conservation space; however, the increase in illegal settlements and logging has been eroding this percentage. The forests are important to the Valley of Mexico/Mexico City as they not only release oxygen into the air, they are an important area for the recharge of the valley's aquifers. Wells from this borough provide 70% of Mexico City's potable water. The borough has 120 wells for potable water (out of a total of 450 in the city), which extract about 60 liters each second from each well. However, water shortages are relatively common in the borough proper. Most of this is due to the lack of wells, drilling equipment and pipelines to serve local residents, with the city authorities only reserving less than a fifth of its infrastructure budget for works in Tlalpan. One serious outage of water occurred in 2001 when thirty nine of the borough's colonias were without dependable water for two weeks because of the lack of water reserves. Deforestation and other ecological damage make a number of areas susceptible to flooding during the rainy season from June to October. These include Anillo Periférico, Renato Leduc, Boulevard de la Luz and the Picacho Highway. Forest fires are a common problem not only in the Bosque de Tlalpan but also in Parque Fuentes Brotantes, Parque Ciudad de Mexico and the Cerro de Zacatepetl.

Forests and green areas

Degradation of forest areas

Tlalpan has some of the largest forested lands within the Mexico City limits, with over 80% of this borough officially declared to be in conservation. However, only four percent of the borough is considered to be unharmed ecologically. The areas most affected by human activity are at the foot of the Xitle and Xictontle volcanos. The forest under protection in the borough equals 30,000 hectares but it is protected by only thirty-eight forest rangers, each with a territory of about 1,000 hectares of forest, canyons and volcanic areas. Three are provided by the Procuraduría Federal de Protección al Ambiente, fifteen from the Comisión de Recursos Naturales of Mexico City and twenty by the borough itself. These rangers work against illegal loggers, settlers and drug traffickers, who are often armed. The three main problems in the protected areas is illegal logging, the dumping of trash and rubble, squatting, and the theft of volcanic rock (for building materials). Most of the time, all the rangers can do is report the illegal activity to federal authorities but response is spotty.

The major problem is illegal settlements. In all of Mexico City there are over 800 illegal settlements which have some official recognition and occupy almost 60% of lands considered to be protected. These areas may hold as many as 180,000 residents who lack basic services, and cause grave ecological damage. These settlement make trees disappear and furthers urban sprawl. Erosion in conservation areas impedes aquifer recharge and disrupts the flow of surface water.

In Tlalpan, settlements are in Ajusco Medio, Pedregales and Padierna, where the mountainous terrain and/or volcanic rock severely limits the ability to provide services, often leading to residents creating septic pits. Since 2003, illegal settlements in Tlalpan have grown from 148(peligra), to 191 settlements that the government recognizes the existence of. Many settlements have occurred because communal owners of ejidos have illegally sold parts of their land at cheap prices to settlers on the outskirts of the city proper. Most illegal building is done by the very poor but there are also cases in which those which money illegally take over large sections of land for their own use. Illegal settlements have been made by individual families but increasingly developers are working to build illegal settlements in protected areas as well, by buying land and creating subdivisions with services, hoping to fix things with authorities later. In the early 2000s, the borough conducted over 125 operations to evict illegal settlements, dismantling over 440 housing units, but since 2005, the borough no longer has the authority to do this. Many of these illegal settlements seek and then get court orders prohibiting their removal and demanding services, first potable water then drainage.

To moderate the damage, there have been both public and private reforestation efforts. In 2005, forty families worked to plant 1,000 new trees in the Bosque de Tlalpan as part of an annual event sponsored by ecological associations such as Cultura Integral Forestal and Ciencia Cultura y Bosques. This annual event takes place in early July during the beginning of the rainy season and has been repeated for over twenty years. The event was initially sponsored by the Cultura Integral Forestal, made up of principally ex employees of the Loreto y Peña Pobre paper factory. Replanting efforts are focused on the main mountains of the Bosque de Tlalpan as well as the Tenantongo Valley in the same forest, planting mostly holm oak and ash trees. The annual effort has reforested over 1,500 hectares, using seeds encased in a clay ball designed to protect the seed and allow its germination. However, reforestation efforts have not been able to keep up with the deforestation of much of the borough.

Parque Nacional Cumbres del Ajusco

This is a national forest which covers much of the Sierra de Ajusco and Chichinautzin mountain ranges that separate Mexico City from the states of Morelos and the State of Mexico. A portion of this forest is located in the borough of Tlalpan, as well as Milpa Alta and Xochimilco. Much of the range consists of volcanic cones, almost all dormant, with the most prominent being Xitle. Depending on altitude, the climate ranges from temperate to cold, with all but the highest elevations covered in mostly pine forests. In winter, the highest peaks occasionally are covered in snow.

Bosque de Tlalpan

The Bosque de Tlalpan, also called the Parque Nacional Bosque de Pedregal, is fully surrounded by urban area, just south of the Anillo Periférico and between the highways heading to Cuernavaca and to Picacho-Ajusco. The Bosque de Tlalpan is filled with pines, oyamel fir, cedars, oaks and eucalyptus trees, which grow on a solidified lava bed. Wildlife includes eagles, falcons, squirrels and the Mexican mouse opossum. It has been open to the public since 1968. It has parking, restaurants and food stalls in cabins, playgrounds its own Casa de Cultura or cultural center.

One of the attractions in the park is the Tenantono Pyramid, which is located in a remote area of the park. Better known is the old Casa de la Bombas. This is an early 20th-century structure originally built in Colonia Condesa, Tlalpan to house a pump used to extract water from the ground. It ceased being a pump station in 1940 and laid vacant until 1975, when it was disassembled and moved to the Bosque. However, it was not reassembled until 1986 as part of a larger structure which now serves as a “Casa de Cultura” or cultural center. The façade of the center is made of volcanic stone called “chiluca” in French style, which was popular when it was originally built. The additions combine modern and Neoclassical elements but the interior is completely modern. The main areas are the gallery and the forum which host exhibitions and other events. There are also a number of workshops for dance, drama, music, literature and other arts. It is also the home of the Orquesta Juvenil de Tlalpan (Youth Orchestra of Tlalpan) .

Other parks

Fuentes Brotates de Tlalpan is a national park with an area of about one km2 running alongside a small canyon. It has a small lake and its own Casa de Cultura (cultural center). It has problems with trash and its ecosystem is heavily damaged, although there a number of large Moctezuma cypress trees.

The Parque Ecológico Loreto y Peña Pobre is located on what were the lands of a former paper factory and extends over 21,000m2. This factory, called Loreto y Peña Pobre, was built in the late 19th century (a time called the Porfiriato in Mexico) when many factories and other infrastructure was built in this area. The paper factory shut down in the 20th century, and its main building eventually became a mall, called the Plaza Inbursa (formerly Plaza Cuicuilco), which is known for its various entertainment options such as restaurants and movie theaters. In 1989, the rest of the lands were converted into this ecological park. It contains a model house showing alternative technologies designed to avoid environmental damage. Workshops are offered for children at the site, as well as restaurants serving organic food.

The Parque Juana de Asbaje was established in 1999, on the site of a former psychiatric hospital on land measuring 17,000m2. It has green areas along with a bookstore selling coloring books of pre-Hispanic deities for children and replicas of archeological objects. In 2005, the area generated controversy as the borough sought to relocate the Luis Cabrera Library. Residents initially objected, stating that it would develop too much of what is legally public space. However, later studies found that the land was not originally part of the public land grant, and the expanded library would be beneficial to the community. It was then built and has a collection of 11,000 books.

The Parque Ecologico Ejidal San Nicolás Totolapan is located by the semi-independent rural village of the same name covering over 2,000 hectares. It contains an important reserves of tree species such as pine, oyamel fir, white cedar and holm oak, as well as meadows. It is home to eighty-two species of animals, many of which are migratory species from the United States and Canada. It is open to the public for hiking, skiing, camping, mountain biking and horseback riding.

History

The first major population center in this part of the Valley of Mexico was Cuicuilco, which was populated as early as 1000 BCE. The current site contains an unusual circular pyramid, and is believed to mimic one of the volcanoes in the area. Cuicuilco was destroyed by a volcanic eruption from Xitle in 100 CE, whose lava flow eventually covered much of the south of the Valley of Mexico, creating what is now called the Pedregales del Sur as well as numerous caves and caverns. This also created areas with rich volcanic soil which would allow for agriculture and repopulation 600 years later.

However, the area would not have another major city state, and eventually it was dominated by the Aztecs from Tenochtitlan by the 15th century. It is from their language, Nahuatl, that the name of Tlalpan, would come to be used for the largest village in the area. It means “over the earth” and refers to roads that converged here, linking Tenochtitlan with points south. The borough's glyph or symbol is the one given to the historic center by the Aztecs, a footprint over a symbol for clay soil.

The area come under control of the Spanish after the fall of Tenochtitlan, and the village's name was changed from Tlapan to Villa de San Agustin de las Cuevas in 1645. San Agustin is the area's patron saint, and the name of the parish church built by the Dominicans in the early 16th century. The last part means “of the caves,” referring to the many caves and caverns formed in the area by an eruption of the Xitle volcano in 100 CE. Initially, this area south of the Valley of Mexico was part of lands administered by authorities in Coyoacán. During the colonial period, the old village of Tlalpan was a modest farming village, known for its orchards and extensive forests. The latter made it attractive as a retreat for the wealthy of Mexico City. These elite established country homes and haciendas, which eventually became the economic base of the area. By the 18th century, the village of Tlalpan was large enough to be an ecclesiastical center.

After Independence, the Constitution of 1824, divided Mexico into states, with the area around Mexico City separated as a Federal District. However, the Tlalpan area was initially part of the then very large State of Mexico, which surrounded Mexico City. Tlalpan became the capital of the State of Mexico from 1837 until 1855, when the area was incorporated into the Federal District. U.S. troops passed this way in 1847 on the road to Coyoacán where they fought Mexican troops at the Battle of Churubusco .

After this war, President Antonio López de Santa Anna, expanded the Federal District south over Tlalpan to the southern mountains to make the Federal District more defensible. The village of Tlalpan became the head of what was then called the Southern Prefecture. Foreign troops passed through here again during the French Intervention in Mexico. Mexican opponents of this invasion in the village were hung at the “Arbol de los colgados” in the central plaza or square.

The latter decades are marked by industrialization. In the 1860s and 1870s varies types of modern infrastructure was introduced including telegraph (1866), railroad (1869) and the first long distance telephone in Mexico in 1878. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, (known as the Porfirato), various factories were established in the area including the then well known paper factory called Loreto y Peña Pobre. Today, the site of this factory is an ecological park. However, the village itself remained relatively untouched, filled with cobblestone streets and haciendas owned by the wealthy and filled with orchards growing apples, plums and more. No battle of the Mexican Revolution occurred here, but Zapatista troops passed through, allowing for a historic meeting between Emiliano Zapata and Francisco Villa