Chilapa de Álvarez, informally known as Chilapa, is a town located in the Chilapa de Álvarez Municipality under the Mexican state of

Guerrero Guerrero is one of the 32 states that comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 81 municipalities and its capital city is Chilpancingo and its largest city is Acapulcocopied from article, GuerreroAs of 2020, Guerrero the pop ...

. The town is located approximately 54 kilometers east of the state capital

Chilpancingo Chilpancingo de los Bravo (commonly shortened to Chilpancingo; ; Nahuatl: Chilpantsinko) is the capital and second-largest city of the state of Guerrero, Mexico. In 2010 it had a population of 187,251 people. The municipality has an area of in ...

. Chilapa's first official charter was issued 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 ...

government in the 15th century after the area's conquest by

Moctezuma I Moctezuma I (–1469), also known as Moteuczomatzin Ilhuicamina (), Huehuemoteuczoma or Montezuma I ( nci, Motēuczōma Ilhuicamīna , nci, Huēhuemotēuczōma ), was the second Aztec emperor and fifth king of Tenochtitlan. During his reign, th ...

in 1458. The Spanish officially designated the town ''Chilapa de Santa Maria de Asuncion'' in 1522; in the late 19th century it was renamed ''Chilapa de Álvarez'' in honor of

Mexican president The president of Mexico ( es, link=no, Presidente de México), officially the president of the United Mexican States ( es, link=no, Presidente de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos), is the head of state and head of government of Mexico. Under the C ...

Juan Álvarez Juan Nepomuceno Álvarez Hurtado de Luna, generally known as Juan Álvarez, (27 January 1790 – 21 August 1867) was a general, long-time caudillo (regional leader) in southern Mexico, and president of Mexico for two months in 1855, following ...

. Traces of human occupation in the area date to 1200 BC. Chilapa is noted for its large Saturday ''

tianguis A is an open-air market or bazaar that is traditionally held on certain market days in a town or city neighborhood in Mexico and Central America. This bazaar tradition has its roots well into the pre-Hispanic period and continues in many cases ...

'', or Aztec market, and its crafts. Local culinary specialities of Chilapa include

pozole Pozole (; from nah, pozoll, meaning ''cacahuazintle'', a variety of corn or maize) is a traditional soup or stew from Mexican cuisine. It is made from hominy with meat (typically pork, but possibly chicken), and can be seasoned and garnished w ...

, chalupas, ''pan de chilapa'' bread, and homemade

mezcal Mezcal (, ), sometimes spelled mescal, is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from any type of agave. The word ''mezcal'' comes from Nahuatl , which means "oven-cooked agave", from and .What is MezcalElmezcal.org Traditionally the word " ...

. The municipal

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

has a mechanical figurine of Juan Diego, who appears at a window in the cathedral spire and drops rose petals onto the plaza below. Every August 15, a festival called

Tigrada Tigrada is a festival which is held every August 15 on the streets of the southwestern Mexican city of Chilapa de Álvarez."Inside The Hidden World Of Jaguars". 2017. Nationalgeographic.Com. Accessed November 26, 2017 In Tigrada parade, the townsp ...

is held on the streets of Chilapa. It is linked to Mesoamerican mythology and is supposed to call on the

god

Tepēyōllōtl In Aztec mythology, Tepēyōllōtl (; "heart of the mountains"; also Tepeyollotli) was the god of darkened caves, earthquakes, echo (phenomenon), echoes and jaguars. He is the god of the Eighth Hour of the Night, and is depicted as a jaguar le ...

to bring rainfall and productive land.

References

External links

Enciclopedia de los Municipios de México - Chilapa de Álvarez Web page with many photos of Chilapa de Alvarez - Chilapa Web
Populated places in Guerrero {{Guerrero-geo-stub