Toluca , officially Toluca de Lerdo , is the
state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* '' Our ...
capital of the
State of Mexico as well as the seat of the Municipality of Toluca. With a population of 910,608 as of the 2020 census, Toluca is the fifth most populous city in
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 Guate ...
. The city forms the core of the
Greater Toluca metropolitan area, which with a combined population of 2,347,692 forms the
fifth most populous metropolitan area in the country.
Located southwest of
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley of ...
, the city's rapid growth stems largely from its proximity to the capital.
Etymology
When Toluca was founded by the
Matlatzinca Matlatzinca or Ocuiltec may refer to:
* Matlatzinca people Matlatzinca is a name used to refer to different indigenous ethnic groups in the Toluca Valley in the state of México, located in the central highlands of Mexico. The term is applied to th ...
s, its original name was ''Nepintahihui'' (land of corn). The current name is based on the
Náhuatl name for the area when it was renamed by the
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 ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl ...
s in 1473. The name has its origin in the word ''tollocan'' that comes from the name of the god, ''Tolo'', plus the locative suffix, ''can'', to denote "place of Tolo".
It is also referred to in a number of
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 ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl ...
codices
The codex (plural codices ) was the historical ancestor of the modern book. Instead of being composed of sheets of paper, it used sheets of vellum, papyrus, or other materials. The term ''codex'' is often used for ancient manuscript books, ...
as ''Tolutépetl'', meaning hill of the god, Tolo, an allusion to the nearby
volcano
A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface.
On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates ...
.
The name Toluca de Lerdo was adopted in 1861 in honor of
President Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada.
History
Pre-Columbian era
The Valley of Toluca was known as Matlatzinco Valley in ancient times and home to at least four linguistic groups: the
Matlatzinca Matlatzinca or Ocuiltec may refer to:
* Matlatzinca people Matlatzinca is a name used to refer to different indigenous ethnic groups in the Toluca Valley in the state of México, located in the central highlands of Mexico. The term is applied to th ...
,
Otomi,
Mazahua Mazahua may refer to:
* Mazahua people, an indigenous people of Mexico
* Mazahua language
The Mazahua language ( maz, Jñatrjo) is an Oto-Pamean language spoken in the central states of Mexico by the ethnic group that is widely known as the Ma ...
, and
Nahua peoples. In the
Postclassic period, the valley was ruled by a large powerful capital city whose ruins are located today in the village of
Calixtlahuaca, just north of the city of Toluca. In 1478 the
Mexica emperor
Axayacatl conquered the
Toluca Valley. The capital was stripped of its dynasty and power and some lands were distributed to kings and nobles from the
Valley of Mexico.
One of the rivals of Calixtlahuaca was Tollocan, a minor city-state before 1478. When Axayacatl destroyed Calixtlahuaca, he placed the imperial provincial capital in Tollocan. Calixtlahuaca and other towns in the Toluca Valley paid tribute to the
Aztec Empire through Tollocan. After the Spanish conquest, the name Tollocan was changed to Toluca. Archaeologists have not yet located a major Postclassic settlement within the modern city. Either the pre-Hispanic city of Tollocan was destroyed and covered over by the expansion of Toluca, or else the remains of Tollocan could lie outside of the modern city. A small Postclassic site was discovered on the hill called Tolochi, which is in the north of the modern city, but the remains seem too insubstantial to have been a major provincial capital. The tree of "Las Manitas Rojas", which literally means "little red hands", was planted before the
Spanish Conquest in what is now the monastery of Nuestra Señora del Carmen. This tree is significant because it shows that Toluca was important enough for the Aztecs to create a botanical garden.
Colonial period
In 1521, the Spanish conquered the Valley of Toluca. Leading the troops was
Gonzalo de Sandoval, one of Cortes' many sergeants. Toluca's first governor was Pedro Cortés Coyotzin. The Valley of Toluca and what is now the city of Toluca were included in the concession made by King
Carlos V of
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, ...
to
Hernán Cortés.
In 1524, the evangelization process started in Toluca. The most notable figure of this effort is Fray Andrés Castro, from
Burgos
Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Burgos.
Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence o ...
, the old capital of
Castile, by making a great number of improvements to the city and being the first one to learn the native Matlatzincan language. The friar was well loved by the Matlazinca people, as he worked to protect them from the injustices of the early colonial period. He is remembered to this day with a plaza that bears his name which includes a sculpture depicting him.
A Spanish community was established in 1530, but it was not until 1677 that Toluca was categorized as a town. In 1793, the construction of a road to
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley of ...
was started. Although Toluca was recognized as a city as early as 1662,
only in 1799, was Toluca officially named a city by the King
Carlos IV of Spain on September 12.
Independence and post-independence
In 1810, at the beginning of the independence movement,
Miguel Hidalgo stayed in Toluca for a few days on his way to the
Battle of Monte de las Cruces. In 1811, a group of indigenous natives of Mexico was shot and killed by Spanish royalists. In memorial to those who were killed in this incident, the place where this occurred was named "Plaza of the Martires". In 1812, the first city council of Toluca was installed. In 1821,
independence
Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the s ...
was proclaimed by the local authorities.
After the creation of the State of Mexico in 1825, the state capital moved to different cities several times.
until in 1830, Toluca was finally designated as the constitutional capital of the State of Mexico. In 1832, the building of "Los Portales" was started in downtown Toluca. In 1836, because of the centralization of the Mexican federal government, all branches of government were relocated to Mexico City after some were in Toluca for several years.
In 1847, thanks to Ignacio Ramírez, "El Nigromante" or the Institute of Literature opened. In 1851, the "Teatro Principal" was built by González Arratia.
Mariano Riva Palacio was named governor of the state and he started the most important modernization process of the city in the 19th century. In 1881, The Industrial Union was founded, the railroad was opened and the Bank of State of Mexico created the first bills in the country. In 1882, the Teachers College was founded. In 1910, people celebrated a century of Independence, and the Plaza España was inaugurated.
Geography
The
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality ...
of Toluca, which has a geographical extent of , includes numerous communities other than Toluca de Lerdo, the largest of which are the municipalities of
San Pablo Autopan and
San José Guadalupe Otzacatipan. The municipality is bordered by the municipalities of
Almoloya de Juárez,
Temoaya,
Otzolotepec,
Xonacatlán,
Lerma,
San Mateo Atenco,
Metepec,
Calimaya,
Tenango del Valle,
Villa Guerrero and
Zinacantepec.
The
Lerma River flows from Lake Almoloya del Río through the center of the municipality towards the west, flowing into
Lake Chapala. From this point westward the river takes the name of
Río Grande de Santiago. And it goes from this lake to 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 contine ...
in the state of
Nayarit
Nayarit (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Nayarit ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Nayarit), is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 20 municipalities and its ...
. The river is about long; about 60% of it is known as Lerma River and 40% as Santiago River. The
Nevado de Toluca or
Xinantécatl
Nevado de Toluca () is a stratovolcano in central Mexico, located about west of Mexico City near the city of Toluca. It is the fourth highest of Mexico's peaks, after Pico de Orizaba, Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl. The volcano and the area ar ...
is southwest of the city. The god Tolo was supposed to reside in the volcano's crater. Its original indigenous name was ''Chignahualtecatl'' which means "Nine Mountains" but later was named ''Xinantecatl'' which means "naked man", because the silhouette of its crater resembles a sleeping man, before the Spaniards named it ''Nevado'', meaning "snow-covered". It is a place of increasing sporting activity, such as
mountain biking,
climbing, and high altitude running. It is the only volcano in Mexico that has two lagoons and can be reached by automobile. There have been proposals to turn this mountain into a
ski hill
A ski is a narrow strip of semi-rigid material worn underfoot to glide over snow. Substantially longer than wide and characteristically employed in pairs, skis are attached to ski boots with ski bindings, with either a free, lockable, or partial ...
because of its accessibility and the low temperatures that exist on the mountain throughout the year, but recent reports on
global warming
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in a broader sense also includes ...
have raised fears that the snow cap on the mountain will disappear completely within a few decades. The area was converted into the
Nevado de Toluca National Park in January 1936 with about in area. The park has forest land, especially of
pine
A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family (biology), family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanic ...
s and
obeto trees. The prevalent animals are camp rats, teporingos, squirrels, tlacuaches, lizards, snakes, and eagles. On the lower part of this mountain there are picnic tables and BBQ grills. In the higher part of the volcano (inside) there are two lagoons in which visitors can practice
scuba-diving and fishing. This volcano is unique in Mexico in that one can enter the crater by car.
Sierra Morelos Park is about away from the center of Toluca. This is a reforested area with a small artificial lake, a picnic area and playground.
Climate
Under the
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...
, Toluca features a
subtropical highland climate (''Cwb''), with relatively cool, dry winters, and mild, wet, humid summers. Freezing temperatures are common during winter.
Toluca's climate is the coolest of any large Mexican city due to its altitude ( above sea level). Winter nights are cold and the temperature may drop below . Throughout the year, the temperature is rarely below or above .
The climate is prone to extended dry periods particularly in the winter. Almost nine-tenths of the annual rainfall occurs between May and October. Just outside the heavily industrialized city, the municipality has forests with oak, pine, fir, cedar, cypress and other flora, characteristic of the temperate zone of central Mexico.
Economy
In colonial times, Toluca first gained economic importance as a producer of smoked and cured meats, especially
chorizo sausage. The nearby town of
Lerma still carries on this tradition. However, since that time, Toluca's economy has expanded far beyond sausage to become one of the most industrialized areas in Mexico.
Its geographic position in the center of the country and proximity to Mexico City as well as its well-developed infrastructure, have allowed Toluca to grow into a major industrial zone for the state.
Toluca began consolidating in the 1940s,
but the most intense industrialization began in the 1950s and continued through most of the 1980s. The growth and industrialization of Toluca is closely tied to the growth and changes in economic activities that have occurred in the Mexico City metropolitan area.
Most industrial enterprises are on the small and micro-level but the city has attracted a large number of international corporations. Major products produced include food processing, metals and machinery, paper products, printed matter as well as auto production. The industrial base of the Toluca metropolitan area employs over 33% of the municipality's population and 6% of the entire state's population.
Outside of the metropolitan area, the economy is still based on agriculture and livestock, with some income from tourism. Only a little over four percent of the total municipal population engages in agriculture raising corn, wheat, beans, potatoes, peas, fava beans and oats on a little over half of the municipality's territory. Livestock raising is a greater source of income with 10,286 sites producing cattle, pigs, sheep and domestic fowl. Tourism is based on the Nevado de Toluca volcano and the archeological zone of Calixtlahuaca. Despite being little known internationally, they manage to represent about 50% of the state's tourism income.
Toluca lies in the southern part of the valley and its economic influence is most strongly felt in the southern and central parts of the valley. The northern parts of the valley have closer ties to
Atlacomulco. The core metropolitan area of Toluca consists of the municipalities of Toluca, Lerma, Metepec, San Mateo Atenco,
Ocoyoacac and Zinacantepec. The economic interdependence of these municipalities are most similar to that of the communities in the Mexico City metropolitan area. There are two "outer spheres" of the metropolitan area. The first consists of the municipalities of
Almoloya del Río,
Capulhuac,
Mexicaltzingo,
San Antonio la Isla,
Tenango del Valle and
Xonacatlán. The furthest sphere consists of
Santiago Tianguistenco,
Santa María Rayón
Santa María Rayón is a town and the municipal seat of the Rayón Municipality, State of Mexico in Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is border ...
,
Santa Cruz Atizapán
Santa Cruz Atizapán is a town and municipality, in Mexico State in 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 Sta ...
and
Chapultepec, México. These spheres are defined not only by geographical distance but also by population growth and rate of urbanization.
Industrial zone
Toluca is located in the economic center of Mexico. Toluca has become an important economic city because of its industries and infrastructure that produce drinks, food, textiles, cars, electric products and such. Since 1944, many industries have settled in Toluca rather than in other cities. In 1965, the industrial zone of Toluca-Lerma-Tianguistenco, which is located on the north side of Toluca, began to attract industries to the area. The city now has five additional major industrial parks: Industrial Toluca, Parque Industrial Lerma, Parque Industrial Exportec I., Parque Industrial Exportec II and the Parque Industrial El Coecillo.
Chrysler's
Toluca Car Assembly has manufactured automobiles since 1968. The complex — where the FIAT 500 is assembled — employs 2300 people.
Other companies located here or that have industrial parks in Toluca are
BMW,
Mercedes Benz,
Coca-Cola,
Femsa,
Grupo Bimbo,
Nissan,
Nestlé
Nestlé S.A. (; ; ) is a Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland. It is the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other metrics, sin ...
,
Pfizer
Pfizer Inc. ( ) is an American multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered on 42nd Street in Manhattan, New York City. The company was established in 1849 in New York by two German entrepreneurs, Charles Pfize ...
,
Bayer,
Crisa,
Barcel,
Knorr,
Trelleborg Automotive, and
HSBC. Many of those aforementioned companies have complete manufacturing and R&D facilities in the Toluca industrial park. Mercedes-Benz manufactures the C-Class, E-Class, G-Class, here and upgrades the GL-Class, S-Class and CLS-Class to armored vehicles at this facility. BMW manufactures its 3, 5, 7 and X5 series and also offers armored variants.
Transportation
Road
Toluca has an infrastructure of highways that connect the city with the main cities of the country as well as its international Airport, and inter-city bus Station.
The ''Libramiento (bypass) Toluca'' is a project to directly connect the Toluca-Mexico City highway to the east of the city to the Toluca-Atlacomulco highway the extends north. It will permit easier access to the airport as well as a bypass route for traffic heading from Mexico City to the west and northwest. The libramiento is already complete, but it is not used by many people because of the high tolls.
The highways that connect Toluca with Mexico City and
Guadalajara are being expanded and modernized due to the "Mexiquese Outer Loop" (''Circuito Exterior Mexiquense'') project, which aims to improve major highways leading from Mexico City to the rest of the country.
One proposed highway, called Autopista Lerma - Tres Marías y Ramal Tenango (Lerma - Tres Marías and Tenango branch highway), aims to improve transit between Toluca and Cuernavaca, as well as other cities to the south. Currently, almost all major roadways serving Toluca transit in the north. It will allow transit from Toluca to southern and eastern destinations bypassing Mexico City but connecting the city with the Mexico City–Cuernavaca highway. However, the project is opposed by
Greenpeace Mexico as well as a number of local groups, primarily due to the possible damage it can cause to the "Great Water Forest" "
Gran Bosque del Agua
Gran may refer to:
People
* Grandmother, affectionately known as "gran"
*Gran (name)
Places
* Gran, the historical German name for Esztergom, a city and the primatial metropolitan see of Hungary
* Gran, Norway, a municipality in Innlandet co ...
" forest, which contains an important aquifer for the Toluca, Cuernavaca and Mexico City metropolitan areas. There are also concerns that the highway will extend development into small towns that do not want it.
Rail
A
commuter rail
Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are co ...
line known as
Toluca–Mexico City commuter rail will connect Toluca to Mexico City. The line will commence service in 2021.
Airport
Toluca is served by
Licenciado Adolfo López Mateos International Airport
Toluca International Airport, officially Licenciado Adolfo López Mateos International Airport is an international airport in Toluca, Mexico (state), State of Mexico, Mexico. It is part of the Mexico City Metropolitan Airport Group, and it is b ...
. The airport has a runway and is located from Toluca and from the country's capital, thus serving as an overflow airport for Mexico City. This airport has started a development initiative of the Federal and State Governments, as well as the private sector, which provided an investment of almost 3,200 million U.S. dollars in the last 2 years.
This airport has created 4,500 jobs and has contributed to the increase of commercial activity for the metropolitan area. It has also attracted many airline passengers who live in Mexico City to use the Toluca airport, which represents migration in potential consumers of 2.2 million passengers in 2007 and it is projected that for 2008 up to five millions travelers may utilize the Toluca Airport, which would make it the 4th busiest in the country.
Bike sharing
Toluca's Huizi public bike share system was launched in 2015 with 27 stations and 350 bicycles. The system is operated by
PBSC Urban Solutions.
Education
Since Toluca is the capital of the State of Mexico, there are several diverse and important educational centers such as the state-funded
public university
A public university or public college is a university or college that is in state ownership, owned by the state or receives significant government spending, public funds through a national or subnational government, as opposed to a private unive ...
, the
Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México (UAEM). Also, it is home to major private universities, including campuses of the
Universidad Tecnológica de México (UNITEC),
Tecnológico de Monterrey (ITESM), and the
Universidad del Valle de México.
There are currently 574 schools in Toluca, with about 8,320 teachers. The illiteracy rate is 7.33%, which is considered high.
UAEM, the state's public university, has its roots in the Literary Institute, later named the Scientific and Literary Institute, which was founded in 1828. It has been a prestigious institution and educated figures such as
José María Heredia,
Ignacio Ramírez,
Felipe Sánchez Solís
Felipe is the Spanish variant of the name Philip, which derives from the Greek adjective ''Philippos'' "friend of horses". Felipe is also widely used in Portuguese-speaking Brazil alongside Filipe, the form commonly used in Portugal.
Noteworthy p ...
,
Ignacio Manuel Altamirano and
Adolfo López Mateos. The Institute became an autonomous university in 1956. The original building, situated downtown near Benito Juárez street, has been remodeled and houses the dean's offices. The university has installations in various parts of the city, but the most noticeable is "Ciudad Universitaria" (lit. "university city"), a campus built around the hill Cerro de Coatepec. A monumental bust of
Adolfo López Mateos, alumnus and former president of Mexico (1958–1964), is displayed at the top of the hill.
Primary and secondary schools
Private schools in Toluca include:
* ''
Instituto Simón Bolívar Toluca''
Landmarks
The center of the town is the Zócalo, also known as ''Plaza de los Mártires'' ("Plaza of the Martyrs"), which includes buildings such as the Palace of the State Government and the Justice Palace (Palacio de Justicia). The square is named after events that took place after the Battle of Tenango Hill during the
Mexican War of Independence
The Mexican War of Independence ( es, Guerra de Independencia de México, links=no, 16 September 1810 – 27 September 1821) was an armed conflict and political process resulting in Mexico's independence from Spain. It was not a single, co ...
. Insurgent commander José Maria Oviedo was faced with the royalist army of Rosendo Porlier, who succeeded in driving the rebels northward to Toluca. Viceroy Venegas ordered reinforcements for Porlier's army and dispersed the insurgents, causing them to lose artillery and supplies. In addition, the royalist forces took over a hundred prisoners and executed them in the main square. The bodies of the prisoners were buried in a mass grave behind what is now the Municipal Palace. A temple was built over the spot after the end of the Revolution. A monument to Father
Miguel Hidalgo, the "father" of the Mexican Revolution is in the center of the square. It was created in
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...
by
Rivalta in 1899. The pedestal has reliefs depicting the storming of the Alhóndiga de Granaditas and the Battle of Monte de las Cruces.
The central plaza is surrounded by state and municipal government buildings. The state government palace and the Chamber of Deputies are recent constructions, but the buildings housing the state court and the municipal palace date from the 19th century. The state court building originally was the home of the state government and was designed by Ramón Rodriguez Arangoiti, who also designed the imperial wing of the
Chapultepec Castle. The municipal palace was completed in 1873 on land that once belonged to a
Franciscan
, image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg
, image_size = 200px
, caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans
, abbreviation = OFM
, predecessor =
, ...
monastery. The Chamber of Deputies building contains murals done by
Leopoldo Flores, which together are known as ''Construction: Images and Flight'' depicting man constructing buildings and himself at the same time. The municipal palace and the Chamber of Deputies are decorated with
Neoclassic façades, but the other government buildings, built in the 1960s are faced with
tezontle
Tezontle ( es, tezontle) is a porous, highly oxidized, volcanic rock used extensively in construction in Mexico. It is usually reddish in color due to iron oxide.
Tezontle is a well-cemented, agglomeritic and scoriaceous rock.
Uses Construction ...
in the style of the 18th-century palaces in Mexico City.
The Temple of La Merced is one of the most ancient convents still preserved and one of the most important founded by Spaniards. It is a beautiful building of a religious order called ''mercenarios'', and it shows architectural styles from the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. Its principal façade has 3 naves and was constructed in the 18th century on the remains of the old Temple of San Francisco. The interior of the temple exhibits neoclassical style with gold-leaf. It features oil paintings from the aforementioned times, such as the "Birth of San Pedro Nolasco", founder of the ''Mercenarios'' order. The temple became a hospice for orphans and beggars. Baroque construction style can be seen in the pilasters, niches and the order's shield. Inside, you can see paintings of Felipe Gutierrez, a Mexican painter who graduated from the San Carlos Academy. It is located in downtown Toluca on Jose Ma. Morelos street.
Los Portales represent the social and commercial life of the city. They are a composed of three sets of arches or portals that extend on the 3 sides of the city block that extends behind the main cathedral. Behind the sets of arches there is walking space that takes you around the stores that are contained within. The western arches follow the perimeter of what was the La Asunción Franciscan monastery. The eastern and southern arches were completed in 1836 by José María González Arratia. The original western arches were built by the Buenaventura Merlín. Each side consists of basket-handle arches, each with a balcony. Each side has its own name. The eastern one, with 37 arches, is called "20 de Noviembre" or "Constitución"; the southern one, with 44 arches, is called "Madero" and the western one, with 35 arches, is called "Reforma". There are four additional arches at the entrance to Avenida Independencia. Near Los Portales are some of the city's oldest businesses, some of which date from the 19th century such as the pharmacy on Calle Santos Degollado, a brass and iron workshop on Avenida Lerdo and a leather workshop on Avenida Juárez.
The Plaza de Fray Andrés de Castro is located next to Los Portales and connected to the older arches by means of a passageway with a transparent roof. It is a semi-enclosed space which was once the
sacristy of the La Asunción Franciscan Monastery. The sacristy was built by Felipe de Ureña and José Rivera and is essentially a reproduction of the
Santa María del Puerto
Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring children gifts during the late evening and overnight ...
hermitage in
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), an ...
and is one of the few remaining buildings of the old monastery. The square in front was recently remodeled but still contains traditional stores selling garapiña, traditional candies,
tacos and other regional foods. The Municipal Historic Archive is located above the passageway leading to Los Portales.
The
Cathedral of Toluca was begun in 1867 by José Francisco de Paula on land originally belonging to the Asunción de Toluca Franciscan monastery. The building was originally designed by Agustín Carrillo. However, in 1870,
Ramon Rodriguez Arangoiti redesigned the cathedral, based on his experience with old Roman
basilicas although the present-day building still contains a number of the elements of the original design such as the aisle that runs parallel to the façade serving as a
narthex, allowing access to the central and two side
nave
The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-typ ...
s. The straight central nave is lighted by round arched windows. The outside façade consists of two parts. The first has seven columned areas, as well as niches with the images of
Saint John,
Saint Thomas,
Saint Peter
) (Simeon, Simon)
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire
, death_date = Between AD 64–68
, death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire
, parents = John (or Jonah; Jona)
, occupa ...
and
Saint James Saint James or St. James may refer to:
People Saints
*James, brother of Jesus (died 62 or 69), also known as James the Just
*James the Great (died 44), Apostle, also known as James, son of Zebedee, or Saint James the Greater
**Saint James Matamoro ...
. The second part rises above the main doors with three columned areas containing balconies, stained-glass windows and
balustrades, terminating in a rectilinear
pediment with an image of the Ascension of the Lord.
In this, the cathedral shares design elements with the Cathedral of Mexico City.
Above this, there is a clock with sculptures depicting the Fathers of the
Greek Orthodox Church,
Saint John Chrisotomus
In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Ortho ...
,
Saint Basil the Great,
Saint Athanasius and
Saint Gregory of Nyssa. The cathedral is topped by a dome with a bronze statue of
Saint Joseph, who is the patron saint of the city, holding the infant
Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...
.
Overall the cathedral is a mix of styles, represents the various stages in which it was built and remodeled.
The Tercer Orden Temple is located to the side of the main cathedral. Its façade is integrated into the main cathedral's in the popular indigenous
Baroque architecture of the 18th century. It was the seat of the
bishopric until 1978, when it was moved to the main cathedral. The temple contains a number of paintings, including ''The Three Orders'' and ''The Family Tree of
Saint Francis St. Francis or Saint Francis may refer to:
Roman Catholic saints
*Francis of Assisi (1181–1226), Italian founder of the Order of Friars Minor (Franciscans)
*Francis of Paola (1416–1507), Italian (Calabrian) founder of the Order of the Minims
* ...
''.
The
Cosmovitral is located in a stone and ironwork building in the center of Toluca, designed in 1910 by engineer
Manuel Arratia
Manuel may refer to:
People
* Manuel (name)
* Manuel (Fawlty Towers), a fictional character from the sitcom ''Fawlty Towers''
* Charlie Manuel, manager of the Philadelphia Phillies
* Manuel I Komnenos, emperor of the Byzantine Empire
* Manu ...
in order to accommodate the "16 de Septiembre" market. It was constructed in
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Moder ...
and
Neoclassical style, with an area of . It is now a botanical garden with more than 400 species of plants from all over the world. It also features a series of stained glass windows that are considered the largest in the world. These windows were created and designed by a Mexican artist named
Leopoldo Flores. Cosmovitral was inaugurated in 1980 and completed in 1990. The stained glass ceiling represents the
Milky Way
The Milky Way is the galaxy that includes our Solar System, with the name describing the galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars that cannot be individually distinguished by the naked ey ...
and joins the "Hombre Sol" (Sun Man) with the Galaxy of
Andromeda. It is a monumental piece measuring with more than 30 thousand pieces and half a million glass pieces of 28 different colors coming from many different parts of the world such as Italy, Germany, France, Belgium, Japan, Canada and the United States. It has a series of scenes that symbolize man's search of the light, the good and the wisdom to elevate his spirit to liberate him from the shadows of evil and the ignorance in an epic tale without beginning or end. At the spring equinox, the solar disc crosses the heart of "El hombre Sol" (the sun man), causing an explosion of light.
Toluca has a lot of green areas and among them is the Sierra Morelos park, this park is one of the largest in the city that covers 302 hectares is located on the slopes of Cerro de La Teresona and houses an important population of forests of pine, eucalyptus and oak.
The Santa Veracruz Temple is the home of a famous image of "Our Lord of the Holy Cross" also known as a "Black Christ". This image was originally housed in the San Francisco Temple, but the increasing number of worshippers dictated the building of its own sanctuary. Construction began in 1753, but because of friction between the Franciscans and worshippers, it was not completed until 1797. Although the original plans included two towers, only one was built, containing two hexagonal bodies, pairs of columns and balconies with semicircular rails. Both bodies are topped with domes, each bearing a cross. The space that was reserved for the second tower instead has an ornate clock.
Museums
Toluca, being the capital of the
State of Mexico, is home of several important museums. It is second only to
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley of ...
in number of museums. Some of them honor important Mexican artists such as
José María Velasco Gómez,
Felipe Santiago Gutiérrez
Felipe Santiago Gutiérrez (20 May 1824, Texcoco - 4 April 1904, Texcoco) was a Mexican painter, known primarily for portraits. He also worked in Colombia, for twenty years.
Life and career
After completing his primary education in his hometow ...
, and
Luis Nishizawa
Luis Nishizawa (February 2, 1918 – September 29, 2014) was a Mexican artist known for his landscape work and murals, which often show Japanese and Mexican influence. He began formal training as an artist in 1942 at the height of the Mexican mu ...
, among others.
These museums are the following:
* The Museo de Bellas Artes (Museum of
Fine Arts) was founded in 1945 by the ex-governor
Isidro Fabela. It is the oldest museum of Toluca. It displays art by
José Juarez
José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ).
In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacul ...
,
Cristóbal de Villalpando,
Miguel Cabrera, among others. It is housed in an 18th-century building that was once the "Descalced Carmelite Purísima Concepción" convent and built between 1697 and 1711. One of the most valuable pieces is a
catafalque dating from the mid 18th century. Since these artifacts were almost always burned by Church authorities, this is an extremely rare piece.
* The Museo de Ciencias Naturales (Museum of Natural Sciences) has been located in
Matlatzinca Park Matlatzinca or Ocuiltec may refer to:
* Matlatzinca people, an ethnic group of Mexico
* Matlatzinca languages Matlatzinca or Ocuiltec may refer to:
* Matlatzinca people Matlatzinca is a name used to refer to different indigenous ethnic groups in t ...
since 1971. It was found by the ex-governor
Carlos Hank González
Carlos Hank González (August 27, 1927–August 11, 2001), nicknamed ''El Profesor'' ("The Professor"), was a Mexican politician and businessman. Originally a teacher, he was an entrepreneur who built political contacts along with businesse ...
. It presents expositions related to natural sciences. Also it holds
Luis Camarena González
Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish language, Spanish form of the originally Germanic language, Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese language, Portuguese and ...
’s collections of butterflies, insects, mammals and crustaceans.
* The Museo de la Estampa (Print Museum) was dedicated in 1987 to graphic art. It displays
lithographic,
xylographic
Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts. Areas that ...
,
chalcographic
Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an in ...
,
serigraphic,
offset and
neographic art from
Manuel Manilla,
José Guadalupe Posada,
Carlos Alvarado Lang
Carlos Alvarado Lang (January 14, 1905 – September 3, 1961) was a Mexican printmaker and professor. He taught metal engraving and later served as the program director at Academy of San Carlos, from 1929 to 1949.
Biography
Carlos Alvarad ...
,
Alfredo Zalce
Alfredo Zalce Torres (12 January 1908 – 19 January 2003) was a Mexican artist and contemporary of Diego Rivera, David Siqueiros and other better-known muralists. He worked principally as a painter, sculptor, and engraver, also taught, a ...
,
Rufino Tamayo, etc. It has seven display rooms and an embossing workshop.
* The Museo de la Acuarela (Watercolor Museum) was founded in 1993 and is one of the few museums in the world dedicated to watercolors. It has rooms dedicated to Mexican artists like
Pastor Velázquez,
Vicente Mendiola,
Edgardo Coghlan Edgardo Coghlan (1928 – September 28, 1995), was a Mexican painter who mostly specialized in watercolors depicting Mexican landscapes and people. His work became very popular during his lifetime, collected by museums, other institutions and Mexic ...
,
Ignacio Barrios and
Ángel Mauro. It also has a ''Estado de México'' room with pieces which have won national prizes. It is located in a house that has always been known as "El Gallito" (Little Rooster), a name which appears in the crest of the main façade.
* The Museo de la
Numismática (Numismatics Museum) was founded in 1987 by the state government in order to show Mexico's history through coins from the pre-Hispanic period up to the present day. It is one of a kind in
Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived ...
. The collection of bills is very important because of its antiquity.
* The Museo
José María Velasco (José María Velasco Museum) was founded in honor of one of the most famous landscape artists of the 19th century. It holds about 40 pieces from the artist as well as drawings and oil paintings. It has a library and a central patio where cultural events take place. The building was once occupied by Father Miguel Hidalgo before he fought in the Battle of Monte de las Cruces. Works on permanent display include: "The Volcanoes Seen from the
Ocotlán Valley Ocotlán (from the Nahuatl ''ocotl'' ("pine tree"), meaning "place of pines") may refer to:
Languages
*Ocotlán Zapotec, Zapotec language of Oaxaca, Mexico
Places in Mexico
*Ocotlán, Jalisco
:* Battle of Ocotlán (1924)
* Ocotlán de Morelos (O ...
", "The Valley of Mexico from Molino del Rey" and "Self-Portrait".
* The Museo
Felipe Santiago Gutiérrez
Felipe Santiago Gutiérrez (20 May 1824, Texcoco - 4 April 1904, Texcoco) was a Mexican painter, known primarily for portraits. He also worked in Colombia, for twenty years.
Life and career
After completing his primary education in his hometow ...
(
Felipe Santiago Gutiérrez
Felipe Santiago Gutiérrez (20 May 1824, Texcoco - 4 April 1904, Texcoco) was a Mexican painter, known primarily for portraits. He also worked in Colombia, for twenty years.
Life and career
After completing his primary education in his hometow ...
Museum) also has a room of Mexican paintings from the 19th century. It has a collection of 225 oil paintings, watercolors and drawings which reflects Gutiérrez's evolution as an artist.
*The Museo-Taller
Luis Nishizawa
Luis Nishizawa (February 2, 1918 – September 29, 2014) was a Mexican artist known for his landscape work and murals, which often show Japanese and Mexican influence. He began formal training as an artist in 1942 at the height of the Mexican mu ...
(Luis Nishizawa Workshop-Museum) was founded in honor of the artist in 1992. It has 7 halls and a library specializing in art and an information center. It is located in the old El Cóporo neighborhood, housed in one of Toluca's oldest mansions which is mentioned in numerous 17th century documents.
*
The
Centro Cultural Mexiquense contains three museums. The Museo de Arte Moderno (Museum of Modern Art) holds a great collection of Mexican paintings of the 20th and 21st centuries. The pieces come from other museums like Bellas Artes as well as from artist and institutional donations. Some of the artists represented are
Gilberto Navarro,
José Luis Cuevas,
Siqueiros,
Leopoldo Flores, etc. The Museo de Culturas Populares (Museum of Popular Cultures) displays a large collection of crafts, including items make of wood, bones, glass, seeds, as well as textiles, traditional toys and regional candy and other foods. The Museo de Antropología e Historia (Museum of Anthropology and History) has more than 1000 pieces on display, with an introductory room, five archeological rooms, seven ethnographic rooms and one historical room. Its theme is Mexico's place in the evolution of the hemisphere's history and geography, as well as the geopolitical and strategic importance of the State of Mexico. Some of the finest Aztec stone sculptures are on display, including an important image of the god
Ehecatl.
* The Museo de Sitio (Site Museum) at
Calixtlahuaca is located just north of the modern city of Toluca in its municipality. This small museum has some of the finds excavated at the site in the 1930s. It has a circular form in imitation of the famous circular temple of Calixtlahuaca.
*The CASART or Casa de Artesanias (House of Handcrafts) is located on Avenida Tollocan near the highway leading to Mexico City. This large outlet run by the government specialized in crafts produced in the Toluca Valley area. Items include sweaters from
Gualupita,
rebozos (shawls) from
Tenancingo, rugs from
Temoaya, pottery from
Metepec,
Temascalcingo and
Valle de Bravo, as well as wooden items from
Santa María Rayón
Santa María Rayón is a town and the municipal seat of the Rayón Municipality, State of Mexico in Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is border ...
.
* The Museo Modelo de Ciencias e Industria (
Modelo Museum of Science and Industry
Modelo Museum of Science and Industry ( Spanish: ''Museo Modelo de Ciencia e Industria'', MUMCI), is located in Toluca, capital city of Estado de Mexico. MUMCI's main goal is fostering people's interest in industry and related sciences. Besides ...
) is a science museum of
Grupo Modelo, a leading company in the brewing industry.
Culture
Toluca is home to a series of traditional festivities such as the typical solemn "silent procession" that takes place every
Holy Friday when the
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...
congregation from Toluca and its surroundings get together in the centre of the city to express their respect and devotion for
Jesus Christ's sacrifice. Easter and
Lent are celebrated in a similar way.
Currently, there are two official orchestras: a State one and a Municipal one. The one from the State is the
Orquesta Sinfónica del Estado de México. Higher education institutions have marching bands, and in some towns there are wind bands.
The dancing institutions include the
Instituto Mexiquense de Cultura. There are also schools of dance such as the Escuela de Bellas Artes and the
UAEM.
There is also a youth marching band of Toluca called "Eagles of Anahuac". This band was formed about 35 years ago and was the first youth marching band in the country.
Food and drink
Mexican food mixes European and Mesoamerican elements. In Toluca the most famous dish is
chorizo, a regional sausage made of ground pork and tomato sauce, pumpkin
mole,
pipian
A pumpkin seed, also known in North America as a pepita (from the Mexican es, pepita de calabaza, "little seed of squash"), is the edible seed of a pumpkin or certain other cultivars of squash. The seeds are typically flat and asymmetrically ...
and other ingredients such as salt, pepper, white wine, almonds, potatoes, vinegar, garlic and chile. In Mexico, the word "chorizo" is used as a nickname for anything (anybody) from Toluca. Other popular dishes, which must be mentioned are "
tacos de carnitas" (pork tacos) and "tacos de plaza" made of barbacoa, pork,
chicharron (fried pork rind), papalo (
Porophyllum ruderale
''Porophyllum ruderale'' is an herbaceous annual plant whose leaves can be used for seasoning food. The taste has been described as "somewhere between arugula, cilantro and rue". The plant is commonly grown in Mexico and South America for use in ...
), onion, coriander,
nopales,
cuerito
Cuerito is pig skin (pork rind) from Mexican cuisine, Venezuelan cuisine and Spanish cuisine. ''Cuero'' is the Spanish-language word for skin, leather or hide, so ''cueritos'' means "little skins". They are usually pickled in vinegar s, chili sauce, salt and lime.
The traditional food includes vegetables from the region such as "quelites", "quintoniles", "huazontles", spinach, "verdolagas", carrots, potatoes, tomatoes and so forth.
Toluca has a variety of traditional candies such as "alegrías", "jamoncillos" (a candy bar with flavors such as lemon, pineapple, apple or chocolate), "lemons" (lemons decorated with coconut), "chilacayotes" (pumpkin in syrup), "cocadas" (mainly made with coconut), "palanquetas" (a peanut bar covered with melted sugar).
Traditional drinks include "mosquito" and, as in many other regions of Mexico, "tepache". "Mosquito" is a drink obtained from the infusion of fruit in alcohol. "Mosquito" can be also flavored with sugar, syrup or honey.
"Tepache", the popular beverage of fermented pineapple and other fruit, is not native to the Valley of Toluca since this tropical plant does not grow there.
Sports
Several professional clubs are based in Toluca:
Additionally, Toluca is home to the following amateur or college teams.
Toluca is home of the
Liga MX football club
Deportivo Toluca
Deportivo Toluca Fútbol Club S.A. de C.V. (), commonly known as Club Deportivo Toluca, is a Mexican football club, playing in the Primera División de México, the top-flight of Mexican football. Toluca's stadium, Estadio Nemesio Díez Riega is ...
. Their home is one of the landmarks of the city, the
Estadio Nemesio Díez (Nemesio Diez Stadium), located between Constituyentes and Morelos avenues downtown. Its nickname is "La Bombonera" (The Bonbon Box).
Famous
boxers often use Toluca as a
training center. These have included
Julio César Chávez and
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...
's
Wilfredo Vazquez, among others.
Professional wrestler
Tito Santana is billed from Toluca, although he is actually from
Mission, Texas.
Notable people
*
Alejandro Ariceaga
Alejandro Ariceaga (1949–2004) was a Mexican writer and journalist.
Works
* Seven Stories Alexandrians (1967)
* Other People (1973)
* The Old Chameleon Secret Identity (1980)
* A Short Term (1981)
* Temperate Weather (1983)
* City As Beaut ...
*
José María Bustamante
José María Bustamante (March 19, 1777, Toluca – December 4, 1861, Mexico City) was a Mexican composer.
Bustamante worked at various churches in Mexico City as a chapel master, his last posting being at the Metropolitan Cathedral. Active in t ...
*
Ángel María Garibay K.
*
Luis Nishizawa
Luis Nishizawa (February 2, 1918 – September 29, 2014) was a Mexican artist known for his landscape work and murals, which often show Japanese and Mexican influence. He began formal training as an artist in 1942 at the height of the Mexican mu ...
*
Adriana Barraza
*
Salvador Mejía Alejandre
Salvador, meaning " salvation" (or "saviour") in Catalan, Spanish, and Portuguese may refer to:
* Salvador (name)
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* Salvador (band), a Christian band that plays both English and Spanish music
** ''Salvador'' ...
*
Alberto Chimal
Alberto Chimal (born 1970 in Toluca) is a Mexican writer. He also coordinates and teaches literary workshops, and is an authority on the subject of literature on the Internet and digital writing.
Chimal's book of short stories ''Éstos son los ...
*
Ninel Conde
*
Mayrín Villanueva
*
Carmen Becerra
*
Diego Gama
*
Tito Santana
*
Diego Luna
Diego Dionisio Luna Alexander (; born 29 December 1979) is a Mexican actor, director, and producer. He is known for his portrayal of Cassian Andor in '' Rogue One: A Star Wars Story'' and the Disney+ series ''Andor''.
Following an early ca ...
Twin towns – sister cities
Toluca is
twinned
Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to:
* In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so;
* Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning
* Twinning inst ...
with:
*
Da Nang
Nang or DanangSee also Danang Dragons ( ; vi, Đà Nẵng, ) is a class-1 municipality and the fifth-largest city in Vietnam by municipal population. It lies on the coast of the East Sea of Vietnam at the mouth of the Hàn River, and is o ...
, Vietnam (2015)
*
Debrecen
Debrecen ( , is Hungary's second-largest city, after Budapest, the regional centre of the Northern Great Plain region and the seat of Hajdú-Bihar County. A city with county rights, it was the largest Hungarian city in the 18th century and i ...
, Hungary (2015)
*
Fort Worth, United States (1998)
*
Nanchang, China (1988)
*
Novi Sad
Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; hu, Újvidék, ; german: Neusatz; see below for other names) is the second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the P ...
, Serbia (2015)
*
Ramallah and al-Bireh, Palestine (2014)
*
Saitama, Japan (1979)
*
Suwon, South Korea (1999)
See also
*
List of highest large cities in the world
Notes
References
Sources
Link to tables of population data from Census of 2005INEGI: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática
México Enciclopedia de los Municipios de México
External links
Official Ayuntamiento de Toluca website
{{Authority control
Cities in Mexico
Capitals of states of Mexico
*
Populated places established in 1522
1522 establishments in New Spain
1520s establishments in Mexico
1522 in New Spain
Matlatzinca settlements
Nahua settlements
Otomi settlements
Mazahua settlements