Texcoco, State Of Mexico
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Texcoco de Mora () is a city located in the
State of Mexico The State of Mexico ( es, Estado de México; ), officially just Mexico ( es, México), is one of the 32 federal entities of the United Mexican States. Commonly known as Edomex (from ) to distinguish it from the name of the whole country, it is ...
, 25 km northeast 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 o ...
. Texcoco de Mora is the
municipal seat A municipal seat or ''cabecera municipal'' is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a municipality or civil parish with other villes or towns subordinated. The term is used in Brazil, Colombia,municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
of Texcoco. In the pre-Hispanic era, this was a major
Aztec The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those g ...
city on the shores of
Lake Texcoco Lake Texcoco ( es, Lago de Texcoco) was a natural lake within the "Anahuac" or Valley of Mexico. Lake Texcoco is best known as where the Aztecs built the city of Tenochtitlan, which was located on an island within the lake. After the Spanish con ...
. After the
Conquest Conquest is the act of military subjugation of an enemy by force of arms. Military history provides many examples of conquest: the Roman conquest of Britain, the Mauryan conquest of Afghanistan and of vast areas of the Indian subcontinent, t ...
, the city was initially the second most important after Mexico City, but its importance faded over time, becoming more rural in character. Over the colonial and post-independence periods, most of Lake Texcoco was drained and the city is no longer on the shore and much of the municipality is on lakebed. Numerous
Aztec The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those g ...
archeological finds have been discovered here, including the 125 tonne stone statue of Tlaloc, which was found near San Miguel Coatlinchán and now resides at the
Museum of Anthropology This is a list of museums with major collections in ethnography and anthropology. It is sorted by descending number of objects listed. # Canadian Museum of History, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada #: 3.75 million artifacts # Musée du quai Branly, P ...
in Mexico City. Much of Texcoco's recent history involves the clash of the populace with local, state and federal authorities. The most serious of these is the continued attempts to develop an
airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...
here, which despite the saturation of the current
Mexico City airport Mexico City International Airport ( es, link=yes, Aeropuerto Internacional de la Ciudad de México, AICM); officially ''Aeropuerto Internacional Benito Juárez'' (Benito Juárez International Airport) is the main international airport serving ...
, is opposed by local residents. The city and municipality is home to a number of archeological sites, such as the palace of
Nezahualcoyotl Nezahualcoyotl may refer to: * Nezahualcoyotl (tlatoani), the ruler of Texcoco * Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl, a city in the State of Mexico * Nezahualcóyotl metro station, in Mexico City * The Nezahualcóyotl Award, a literary prize in Mexico * Nezah ...
, Texcotzingo (Baths of Nezahualcoyotl) and Huexotla. Other important sites include the Cathedral, the Juanino Monastery, and Chapingo Autonomous University. The most important annual festival is the Feria Internacional del Caballo (International Fair of the Horse), which showcases the area's mostly agricultural economic base.


Toponymy

The official name of the municipality is Texcoco and the official name of the city is Texcoco de Mora, in honor of Dr. José María Luis Mora. However, both are commonly called Texcoco. The name has been spelled a number of other ways over the city's history including Tetzcuco, Tezcoco and Tezcuco (). The name is derived 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 Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller ...
and most likely means “among the jarilla (
Larrea ''Larrea'' is a genus of flowering plants in the caltrop family, Zygophyllaceae. It contains five species of evergreen shrubs that are native to the Americas. The generic name honours Bishop Juan Antonio Hernández Pérez de Larrea, a patron of ...
) which grow in crags”. However, there are a number of
glyph A glyph () is any kind of purposeful mark. In typography, a glyph is "the specific shape, design, or representation of a character". It is a particular graphical representation, in a particular typeface, of an element of written language. A g ...
representations for the place that have appeared the Codex Azcatitlán, the Codex Cruz, the Quinantzin Map and other early colonial documents and this translation cannot be verified 100%.


History


Pre-Columbian

The
Paleontological Museum in Tocuila The Paleontological Museum in Tocuila (Museo Paleontológico en Tocuila) is a fossil museum located in Municipality of Texcoco, State of Mexico, central Mexico. It displays part of one of the richest deposits of Late Pleistocene fauna in America. ...
displays part of one of the richest deposits of Late Pleistocene fauna in the Americas, found in an ancient river mouth that used to flow into
Lake Texcoco Lake Texcoco ( es, Lago de Texcoco) was a natural lake within the "Anahuac" or Valley of Mexico. Lake Texcoco is best known as where the Aztecs built the city of Tenochtitlan, which was located on an island within the lake. After the Spanish con ...
. While there is no exact date for the first human settlements in Texcoco, it is likely that the first people here were
Toltec The Toltec culture () was a Pre-Columbian era, pre-Columbian Mesoamerican culture that ruled a state centered in Tula (Mesoamerican site), Tula, Hidalgo (state), Hidalgo, Mexico, during the Epiclassic and the early Post-Classic period of Mesoam ...
or from
Teotihuacan Teotihuacan (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Teotihuacán'') (; ) is an ancient Mesoamerican city located in a sub-valley of the Valley of Mexico, which is located in the State of Mexico, northeast of modern-day Mexico City. Teotihuacan is ...
. The Xototl, Tolotzin and Quinatzin Codices indicate that the first people here were ethnically
Chichimeca Chichimeca () is the name that the Nahua peoples of Mexico generically applied to nomadic and semi-nomadic peoples who were established in present-day Bajio region of Mexico. Chichimeca carried the meaning as the Roman term "barbarian" that des ...
. This tribe is credited for founding a province known in pre-Hispanic
Valley of Mexico The Valley of Mexico ( es, Valle de México) is a highlands plateau in central Mexico roughly coterminous with present-day Mexico City and the eastern half of the State of Mexico. Surrounded by mountains and volcanoes, the Valley of Mexico wa ...
as
Acolhuacan Acolhuacan or Aculhuacan (Nahuatl: ''ācōlhuahcān''; ) was a pre-Columbian province in the east of the Valley of Mexico, inhabited by the Acolhua. Its capital was initially Coatlichan, but this settlement was eventually eclipsed in importance b ...
. The most notable rulers of Acolhuacan, who resided in Texcoco were Nopaltzin, Tlotzin Pochotl, Quinatzin,
Techotlalatzin Techotlalatzin (or Techotlala, removing the Classical Nahuatl honorific ''-tzin'') was the ruler (''tlatoani'') of the pre-Columbian Mesoamerican Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Centr ...
, Ixtlixochitl El Viejo, Nezahualcoyotl,
Nezahualpilli Nezahualpilli (Nahuatl for "fasting prince"; 1464–1515, ) was king (''tlatoani'') of the Mesoamerican city-state of Texcoco, elected by the city's nobility after the death of his father, Nezahualcoyotl, in 1472. Nezahuapilli's mother was Azcal ...
and
Cacamatzin Cacamatzin (or Cacama) (1483–1520) was the tlatoani (ruler) of Texcoco,Diaz, B., 1963, The Conquest of New Spain, London: Penguin Books, the second most important city of the Aztec Empire. Cacamatzin was a son of the previous king Nezahualpil ...
. All of these rulers were considered to be great warriors and priests who influenced the history of this valley. The most prominent of these rulers was Nezahualcoyotl who was one of the founders of the
Aztec Triple Alliance The Aztec Empire or the Triple Alliance ( nci, Ēxcān Tlahtōlōyān, jéːʃkaːn̥ t͡ɬaʔtoːˈlóːjaːn̥ was an alliance of three Nahua city-states: , , and . These three city-states ruled that area in and around the Valley of Mexico ...
. During his forty-year reign, the arts, culture and architecture flourished in the dominion.


Colonial period

Hernán Cortés Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano, 1st Marquess of the Valley of Oaxaca (; ; 1485 – December 2, 1547) was a Spanish ''conquistador'' who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of w ...
initially arrived to Texcoco in 1519, while Cacamatzin was leader. Here the
brigantine A brigantine is a two-masted sailing vessel with a fully square-rigged foremast and at least two sails on the main mast: a square topsail and a gaff sail mainsail (behind the mast). The main mast is the second and taller of the two masts. Older ...
s to attack
Tenochtitlan , ; es, Tenochtitlan also known as Mexico-Tenochtitlan, ; es, México-Tenochtitlan was a large Mexican in what is now the historic center of Mexico City. The exact date of the founding of the city is unclear. The date 13 March 1325 was ...
were constructed in 1521. On Juárez Street there is an obelisk which marks this event. After the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire,
Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...
friars came to Texcoco to evangelize, principally Juan de Tecto, Juan de Ayora and Pedro de Gante. Gante founded the first primary school in Mesoamerica, teaching Latin, Spanish, sewing, carpentry and knitting. He also wrote the first catechism in Nahuatl. In the north of the Texcoco cathedral, there is a chapel named after him. In 1551, indigenous leader Fernando Pimentel y Alvarado petitioned to have Texcoco recognized as a city by the Spanish Crown. This petition was granted and it received a coat of arms. While the overall style of the coat of arms is Spanish, the emblems inside, such as a coyote and a warrior with headdress are Aztec. In the very early colonial period, Texcoco was the second most important city in New Spain.


Post-independence

Despite its initial importance, Texcoco did not develop as a major city like some of its neighbors during the colonial period and for much of the post-independence period. It was mostly important for fishing and agriculture. From 1827 to 1830, Texcoco was the second capital of the State of Mexico, until it was moved to San Agustín de las Cuevas, today
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 ...
. Texcoco became the head of one of the districts of Mexico State in 1837. The appendage of “de Mora” was added in 1861. In 1919, it became a modern municipality.
Leopoldo Flores Leopoldo Flores (1934 – April 3, 2016) was a Mexican artist mostly known for his murals and other monumental works which are concentrated in the city of Toluca, State of Mexico. He was born into a poor family in rural State of Mexico, but his ...
found a massive 125 tonne Tlaloc statue at Texcoco in 1903. Today, the statue stands in front of the
National Museum of Anthropology The National Museum of Anthropology ( es, Museo Nacional de Antropología, MNA) is a national museum of Mexico. It is the largest and most visited museum in Mexico. Located in the area between Paseo de la Reforma and Mahatma Gandhi Street withi ...
in Mexico City; the local population resisted the relocation of the sculpture, even sabotaging the vehicles which came for it. There has been a proposal to install a 1:1 replica at the original site, with artists studying over 1,500 photographs of the original. In 2003, archeologists sponsored by the
National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...
,
University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
and the Universidad Autónoma de Chapingo discovered a number of pre-Hispanic artifacts in an area which has been proposed for building an airport. The finds are at areas that are or were the shores of Lake Texcoco and sheds light on water tables over the centuries. Some of the pieces found include ceramics, utensils and ceremonial objects. In 2005, traditional crafts vendors blocked the main roads of the historic center of Texcoco to demand that they not be relocated away from the city cathedral. They state that the area is an important meeting point especially on holidays. It is estimated that 1,500 people depend on sales made here during festivals such as Day of the Dead, Candelaria, Christmas and Independence Day. In 2006, there were outbreaks of violence among merchants and farmers versus police in Texcoco and neighboring
San Salvador Atenco San Salvador Atenco is the municipal seat of Atenco, in the Mexican state of Mexico. The name "Atenco" comes from a Nahuatl phrase meaning "place on the edge of water". The town Fifteen excavations have been done in this area, uncovering mammo ...
, blocking the Texcoco-Lechería highway. The merchants were from the Belisario Dominguez market in Texcoco who have been denied public space in which to sell their merchandise, mostly flowers. State and federal police have blocked the area which the flower vendors used just outside the market proper. Supporters of the flower sellers from San Salvador Atenco have intervened in both the talks and the blocking of roads in protest.


Government

As the seat of the municipality, the city of Texcoco is the local government for over 160 other communities which cover a territory of 418.69 km. About 47% of the municipality's population lives in the city proper. The main communities outside the city proper include San Felipe, San Miguel Tocuila, Santiaguito, Santa María Tulantongo, San Bernardino, Montecillo, Unidad Habitacional Embotelladores, Xocotlán and Santa Inés. The municipality borders the municipalities of
San Salvador Atenco San Salvador Atenco is the municipal seat of Atenco, in the Mexican state of Mexico. The name "Atenco" comes from a Nahuatl phrase meaning "place on the edge of water". The town Fifteen excavations have been done in this area, uncovering mammo ...
, Tepetlaoxtoc,
Papalotla Papalotla is a municipality in the 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 bordered to the north by the United States; to the s ...
, Chiautla, Chiconcuac,
Chimalhuacán Chimalhuacán () ( Nahuatl for "place of those who have shields") is a city and municipality located in the eastern part of State of Mexico, Mexico. It lies just outside the northeast border of Mexico City and is part of the Greater Mexico City ...
, Chicoloapan,
Ixtapaluca Ixtapaluca is a city and a municipality in the eastern part of the State of Mexico in Mexico. It lies between the Federal District and the western border of the state of Puebla. The name Ixtapaluca means "Where the salt gets wet". As of 2006, Izt ...
,
Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl Nezahualcóyotl (), or more commonly Neza, is a city and municipal seat of the municipality of Nezahualcóyotl in Mexico. It is located in the state of Mexico, adjacent to the east side of Mexico City. The municipality comprises its own intrasta ...
,
Ecatepec Ecatepec (), officially Ecatepec de Morelos, is a municipality in the central Mexican state of Mexico, and is situated in the north part of the greater Mexico City urban area. The municipal seat is San Cristóbal Ecatepec. The city of Ecatepec i ...
as well as the states of
Tlaxcala Tlaxcala (; , ; from nah, Tlaxcallān ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tlaxcala ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tlaxcala), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 60 municipaliti ...
and
Puebla Puebla ( en, colony, settlement), officially Free and Sovereign State of Puebla ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its cap ...
to the north and east and Mexico City to the southwest. The city is divided into 19 sectors and 55 communities. The main communities are Barrio San Pedro, El Xolache I, El Xolache II, Joyas de San Mateo, San Juanito, Santa Úrsula, Niños Héroes, Valle de Santa Cruz, El Centro, Las Salinas, Las Américas, San Lorenzo, El Carmen, San Mateo, San Martín, La Conchita, Joyas de Santa Ana and Zaragoza.


Geography

Tescoco lies about 25 km east of the centre of Mexico City. Major elevations in the municipality include the Tlaloc Mountain (4,500 meters) the Tetzcutzinco, Moyotepec and Tecuachacho. Most elevations are named after the major community to be found on them. There are also a number of small canyons. Part of the municipality used to be covered by Lake Texcoco, but most of this lake has since been drained. The rivers that fed it, such as the Cozcacuaco, the Chapingo and the San Bernardino still exist. The city of Texcoco used to be located on the shore of Lake Texcoco. This lake covered an area of 9,600 km2, but since early colonial times, floods or fears of flooding have led to various drainage projects, which over time has nearly destroyed the lake completely. Starting in the 1970s and continuing to the present day, there have been efforts to clean the polluted remnants of the lake. The remains of Lake Texcoco extend about 1,700 hectares in which aquatic birds and migratory birds from the U.S. and Canada can still be seen. The climate is temperate and semi-arid with a median temperature of 15.9 °C, and few frosts. Most rains come between the months of June and October. The higher peaks have forests of conifers and oaks while the drier lowlands have semi desert vegetation. Animal life includes deer, coyotes and ocelots, as well as smaller mammals. The municipality has lost a number of larger bird species such as the falcon, eagle and buzzard. Smaller birds such as swallows, canaries and others remain. Except for rattlesnakes, almost all reptiles have disappeared.


Demography

In 2005 the municipality had a population of 259,308.


Economy

The city and municipality still keep much of its rural nature, lacking the heavy industry that many of its neighbors have. This requires that many residents here commute to other locations to work, such as Mexico City, Ecatepec and
Tlalnepantla Tlalnepantla de Baz is one of 125 municipalities of the state of Mexico, north of Mexico City. The municipal seat and largest city in the municipality is the city of Tlalnepantla. ''Tlalnepantla'' comes from the Náhuatl words ''tlalli'' (land) ...
. The large volume of traffic that passes through the municipality via highways results in smog. About 60% of the municipality is either forest or tree farms. About 25% of the land is used for agriculture. Most agriculture is based on family farms which produce
avocado The avocado (''Persea americana'') is a medium-sized, evergreen tree in the laurel family (Lauraceae). It is native to the Americas and was first domesticated by Mesoamerican tribes more than 5,000 years ago. Then as now it was prized for i ...
s, plums, apples and pears as well as corn, beans, barley, wheat,
maguey Maguey may refer to various American plants: * Genus '' Agave'', especially ** Species ''Agave americana'', the century plant ** Species ''Agave salmiana ''Agave salmiana'' (also known as ''maguey pulquero'' and green maguey) is a species of the ...
and
nopal Nopal (from the Nahuatl word for the pads of the plant) is a common name in Spanish for ''Opuntia'' cacti (commonly referred to in English as ''prickly pear''), as well as for its pads. There are about 114 known species in Mexico, where it i ...
. Floriculture began in this municipality in the mid 20th century and is practices intensively in the communities of San Simón, San José Texopan, San Diego, San Miguel Coatlinchan, San Miguel Tlaixpan and San Nicolás Tlaminca. Most livestock is dairy cattle produced on ranches such as Xalapango, La Pría, Granja La Castilla, Establo México, Santa Rosa, Santa Mónica and La Moreda. Industry is a very recent development, mostly associated with agriculture. The main craft produced here is blown glass.


Culture and community

In the early 1970s, an idea emerged to create a regional fair to represent Texcoco to the rest of Mexico, exhibiting its agriculture and livestock. The first Feria de las Flores was held in 1975, however, it was not successful. In 1978, the focus of the fair was changed to horses, creating the first Feria Internacional del Caballo (International Fair of the Horse), for which a number of installations were built such as a bullring, an open-air theatre, a kiosk, stables, corrals, music stage and exhibition halls. This version of the festival has been successful and held yearly ever since. The Feria occurs at the end of March and includes musical shows,
cockfight A cockfight is a blood sport, held in a ring called a cockpit. The history of raising fowl for fighting goes back 6,000 years. The first documented use of the ''word'' gamecock, denoting use of the cock as to a "game", a sport, pastime or ente ...
s, open-air theatre and expositions of livestock, commerce and crafts, with one of the main events being
bullfighting Bullfighting is a physical contest that involves a bullfighter attempting to subdue, immobilize, or kill a bull, usually according to a set of rules, guidelines, or cultural expectations. There are several variations, including some forms wh ...
. Traditional crafts include blown glass, clay and ceramics, and painted dried plants which are a traditional decoration for Christmas here. The city also holds an annual cultural festival called the Festival Cultural Nezahualcoyotl. Artists which have appeared at the event include
Los Hermanos Carrión LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to: Science and technology * Length of stay, the duration of a single episode of hospitalisation * Level of service, a measure used by traffic engineers * Level of significance, a measure of statistical significanc ...
, Roberto Jordan and José Luis Rodríguez "El Puma." In 2008, the festival had its first international participants, with Filippa Giorgano coming from Italy and the group Los Bunkers from
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
. The ten-day event has activities related to dance, music, painting, crafts readings and culture. The Feria de la Cazuela occurs in July in Santa Cruz de Arriba, very close to the city. This events includes traditional crafts especially pots, jars, plates and trays. The ex Hacienda of El Molino de Flores, now the
Molino de Flores Nezahualcóyotl National Park Molino de Flores Nezahualcóyotl National Park, located in the Municipality of Texcoco, the State of Mexico, Mexico. History Site of the former Hacienda Molino de Flores, which produced pulque Pulque (; nci, metoctli), or octli, is an alco ...
, is located three km east of the city and used to produce
pulque Pulque (; nci, metoctli), or octli, is an alcoholic beverage made from the fermented sap of the maguey (agave) plant. It is traditional in central Mexico, where it has been produced for millennia. It has the color of milk, a rather viscous co ...
and grains. Most of the buildings on the site, such as the main house, the church of San Joaquin and the Chapel of Señor de la Presa (Lord of the Dam), were constructed by Miguel de Cervantes and his wife. According to tradition, the chapel was named for an apparition of Christ which supposedly occurred on the rocks that border the Cuxcahuaco which crosses this property. The chapel is built out of the rockface, much like the temple at
Malinalco Malinalco () is the municipality inside of Ixtapan Region, is a town and municipality located 65 kilometers south of the city of Toluca in the south of the western portion of the State of Mexico. Malinalco is southwest of Mexico City. Malinalc ...
. The hacienda reached its peak in the late 19th and early 20th century. After the Mexican Revolution, it was abandoned and it deteriorated. The hacienda was declared a national park by President Lázaro Cárdenas in 1937. Due to its style and condition, the hacienda has been used as a set for Mexican and foreign films.


Landmarks

The historic center of the city contains the palace of Nezahualcoyotl, the Cathedral and the Chapel of Gante as well as a Casa de Cultura, which contains a small museum. The Palace of Nezahualcoyotl is also known as the archeological zone of Ahuehuetitlan or the Cerrito de los Melones. The palace had at least 300 rooms, five courtyards, a
Mesoamerican ball court A Mesoamerican ballcourt ( nah, tlachtli) is a large masonry structure of a type used in Mesoamerica for over 2,700 years to play the Mesoamerican ballgame, particularly the hip-ball version of the ballgame. More than 1,300 ballcourts have been i ...
and an area called Tleotlapan (land of gods) which was a shrine with a nine-story pyramid. In the great halls were places where
Nezahualcoyotl Nezahualcoyotl may refer to: * Nezahualcoyotl (tlatoani), the ruler of Texcoco * Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl, a city in the State of Mexico * Nezahualcóyotl metro station, in Mexico City * The Nezahualcóyotl Award, a literary prize in Mexico * Nezah ...
and his wife received visitors and where the scholarly and priestly elite congregated. There are also rooms dedicated to music, poetry and astronomy. The Mexico State Constituent Congress ratified the state's first constitution at the former Juanino Monastery. The Casa de Cultura contains murals done by artist José Marin and contains various chapters of the history of Mexico. Puerto de Bergantines is the location where Hernán Cortés built brigantines and set sail from to attack
Tenochtitlan , ; es, Tenochtitlan also known as Mexico-Tenochtitlan, ; es, México-Tenochtitlan was a large Mexican in what is now the historic center of Mexico City. The exact date of the founding of the city is unclear. The date 13 March 1325 was ...
by water in 1521. This site is marked by an
obelisk An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by Anc ...
. The most important archeological site outside of the city is the site of Tetzcutiznco or Tetzcotzingo, but is popularly called the Baths of Nezahualcoyotl. It is located on a hill in the community of San Miguel Tlaminca. The site consists of a sophisticated hydraulic system, terraces, shrines, thrones and dwellings. About six structures have been completely excavated and are open to visitors. The site was a retreat for Nezahualcoyotl which reached its peak at about 1466 covering 120 hectares. The hydraulic system includes ten km of canals and a four km aqueduct that transported water from San Pablo Izayo, nine km away on Tlaloc Mountain. The site was mistakenly believed to be baths due to the large water storage tanks found on the site. However, the water was used not for bathing but rather to water the elaborate gardens which had plants brought from Veracruz, Oaxaca and other parts of Mesoamerica. The idea that these were baths can be traced back to the paintings made of them by José María Velasco in the late 19th century. Another myth about the site is that there were tunnels that led all the way to Teotihuacan. In reality, the underground passages are believed to have been caves that were dynamited when North American soldiers were looking for treasure in 1847. Excavation work by INAH began in 1981, but much of the site is still unexcavated. The site has suffered damage from vandalism and graffiti, including a portion called the Patio of the Gods, where ceremonies to mark the spring equinox and the birthday of Nezahualcoyotl (August 28) are still held. In San Luis Huexotla, there is another archeological zone with a circular pyramid dedicated to
Ehecatl Ehecatl ( nci-IPA, Ehēcatl, eʔˈeːkatɬ, ) is a pre-Columbian deity associated with the wind, who features in Aztec mythology and the mythologies of other cultures from the central Mexico region of Mesoamerica. He is most usually interpreted as ...
. There are also remains of a wall and a Mesoamerican ball court. The monastery of San Luis was constructed in 1627 is located on one side of this site. It is of
Baroque style The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
and considered to be one of the smallest complexes of its type in the Americas. These archaeological sites, as well as the Palace of Nezahualcoyotl in the city proper, are not promoted for tourism and they have little infrastructure for visitors.


Transport

There are frequent bus services to
Metro Indios Verdes Indios Verdes (; Spanish ) is a station of the Mexico City Metro along Insurgentes Norte Avenue in the ''colonias'' (neighborhoods) of Residencial Zacatenco and Santa Isabel Tola, in Gustavo A. Madero, Mexico City. It is an at-grade stati ...
, a terminus of the
Mexico City Metro The Mexico City Metro ( es, Metro de la Ciudad de México) is a rapid transit system that serves the metropolitan area of Mexico City, including some municipalities in Mexico State. Operated by the Sistema de Transporte Colectivo (STC), it is ...
. Attempts to develop an airport that would either supplement or replace the current Mexico City airport have been made since the latter half of the 1990s either here, neighboring San Salvador Atenco or even as far as Tizayuca, Hidalgo. Residents of both Texcoco and San Salvador Atenco have been vehemently opposed to any airport construction in their municipalities. Violent protests erupted in Texcoco in 2001 and 2002 with threats against public officials, which garnered much national and international press coverage. The need for a replacement or supplement airport still exists despite the addition of a second terminal to the current one. The last proposal to develop an airport in Texcoco was made in 2008.


Education

Just south of the city limits is the Texcoco's most notable institution of higher education the Chapingo Autonomous University. The university is a federal public institution of higher education. It offers technical and full bachelor's degrees as well as having scientific and technological research programs. Many of these programs are related to agriculture, forestry and fishing. The school began as the Escuela Nacional de Agricultura (National School of Agriculture) which was founded in 1854 at the Monastery of San Jacinto in Mexico City. The school was moved in 1923 to the ex Hacienda of Chapingo President
Álvaro Obregón Álvaro Obregón Salido (; 17 February 1880 – 17 July 1928) better known as Álvaro Obregón was a Sonoran-born general in the Mexican Revolution. A pragmatic centrist, natural soldier, and able politician, he became the 46th President of Me ...
. Postgraduate studies were added in 1959. The school received autonomous status in 1978. It offers courses of study in Forestry, Agricultural Economics, Agricultural Industries, Irrigation, Rural Sociology and more. The main attraction for visitors at this school is its murals. In the old hacienda chapel, which is now the University Ceremonies Room is a mural by
Diego Rivera Diego María de la Concepción Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez, known as Diego Rivera (; December 8, 1886 – November 24, 1957), was a prominent Mexican painter. His large frescoes helped establish the ...
called “Tierra Fecundada” (Fertile Land). This work was begun in 1924 and completed in 1927. Covering an area of over 700m2, the work divides into three parts. The left panel depicts man's struggle to have land, the right panel shows the evolution of Mother Nature and the center shows the communion between man and earth. It is considered to be one of Rivera's best works. More recently, the school acquired an unnamed mural by Luis Nishizawa. This work was produced during his last year at the Escuela Nacional de Artes Plasticas (ENAP) of
UNAM The National Autonomous University of Mexico ( es, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in Latin America, where it's also the bigges ...
and depicts the agriculture of Mexico in both the past and the present. The work is six meters high, nine meters wide and in the form of a triangle. It is placed in a building that is commonly called “El Partenon.” The school is also home to the National Museum of Agriculture. This installation covers about 2,000m2 and covers the development of agriculture in Mexico from the pre-Hispanic past to the present day. The collection has about 4,000 objects relating to technology, agronomy including farming implements and photographs by Hanz Gutmann. Other educational institution located in the city include the Centro Universitario
UAEM The Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México (UAEM) (Autonomous University of Mexico State) is a public university in the State of Mexico, Mexico. It is the largest university institution in the state with over 84,500 students, with its centr ...
Texcoco and the Universidad del Valle de Mexico. The latter was opened in a two-story building in 2004 and contains a large library which is open to the public.


Religious sites

The cathedral was originally built on the site of a 16th-century
Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...
monastery. Later, it was rebuilt in 1664 as the Parish of San Antonio de Padua. The complex also housed the first European-style school for natives in
Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Central America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica. W ...
, and the Latin alphabet can be seen on some of its columns. Fragments of the portal, the Latin cross layout of the temple and the
open chapel A capilla abierta or “open chapel” is considered to be one of the most distinct Mexican construction forms. Mostly built in the 16th century during the early colonial period, the construction was basically an apse or open presbytery containin ...
are all that is left of the original 16th century monastery. The feast day of the Anthony of Padua, the city's patron saint is celebrated on 13 June. Another festival if the Molino de Flores (Flower Windmill) which takes place on Pentecost. Juan Manuel Mancilla Sanchez was named bishop of the diocese of Texcoco in 2009.


Sport

Emperadores de Texcoco The Emperadores de Texcoco is a soccer club in the Mexican Football League Second Division in Texcoco, Estado de Mexico, Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North ...
play in the
Mexican Football League The Mexican football league system is organized by the Mexican Football Federation, except for the Liga MX and the Ascenso MX that are organized independently; The tournaments consist of five levels, male and female professional levels. In additio ...
Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
at the Papalotla Stadium.


Media

La Uni-K ( XHOEX-FM) is a noncommercial, social community radio station broadcasting on 89.3 FM.


Notable people


Mayors

* Mauricio Valdéz Rodríguez (1973 - 1975) * Silverio Pérez (1976 - 1978) * Isidro Burgos Cuevas (1991 - 1993) * Héctor Terraza González (1994 - 1996) * Jorge de la Vega (1996 - 2000) * Horacio Duarte (2000 - 2003) * Higinio Martínez Miranda (2003 - 2006) * Constanzo de la Vega (2006 - 2009) * Amado Acosta García (2009 - 2012) * Arturo Martinez Alfaro (2012 - 2013) * Delfina Gomez Alvarez (2013 - 2015) * Joel Huerta (2015 - 2020)


See also

*
Texcoco (altepetl) Tetzcoco (Classical Nahuatl: ''Tetzco(h)co'' ) was a major Acolhua altepetl (city-state) in the central Mexican plateau region of Mesoamerica during the Late Postclassic period of pre-Columbian Mesoamerican chronology. It was situated on the ...


References


External links

* {{Authority control Mexico City metropolitan area Populated places in the State of Mexico Nahua settlements Valley of Mexico Populated places established in 1551 1550s establishments in Mexico 1551 establishments in New Spain