Juchitepec is a

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 ...

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 ...

in central

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 Guatema ...

. The municipal seat is the city of Juchitepec de Mariano Rivas. Juchitepec means “Hill of the Flowers” in

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 ...

. The municipality covers an area of 149.56 km². It has one major community outside the seat called San Matias Cuijingo. The municipality is located at the southwest of the state, and borders the municipalities of

Tenango del Aire Tenango del Aire is a municipality located in the southeast portion of the State of Mexico and is about 42 km southeast of Mexico City. The municipal seat is the town of Tenango del Aire. The municipality is bordered by Temamatla, Tlalmanal ...

Tepetlixpa Tepetlixpa is a municipality in Mexico State in Mexico. The municipality covers an area of . As of 2000, the municipality had a total population of 16,871. Nepantla de Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz The municipality is home to Nepantla de Sor Juan ...

Ozumba Ozumba is one of 125 municipalities in the State of Mexico. Its municipal seat is the town of Ozumba de Alzate. It is located in the southeast portion of the Valley of Mexico, 70 km southeast of Mexico City near the Mexico City- Cuautla high ...

and

Ayapango Ayapango is one of 125 municipalities located in the southeast portion of the State of Mexico, southeast of Mexico City. It's municipal seat and largest town is Ayapango de Gabriel Ramos Millán. Despite the fact that this municipality is distinctl ...

in the State of Mexico, and with

Totolapan Totolapan is a municipality in the north of the Mexican state of Morelos, surrounded by the State of Mexico to the north; to the south with Tlayacapan and Atlatlahucan; to the east and southeast with Atlatlahucan; and to the west with Tlaln ...

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) ...

in the state of

Morelos Morelos (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Morelos ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Morelos), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 36 municipalities and its capital city is Cuer ...

to the south, and the borough of

Milpa Alta Milpa Alta is a borough (''demarcación territorial'') in Mexico City. It lies in the southeast corner of the nation's capital, bordering the State of Mexico and Morelos. It is the least populated, second largest and most rural of all the boroughs ...

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 ...

to the west. A large part of the population is employed in commerce. Other major economic activities include agriculture and livestock. As of the 2010 census, the municipality had a total population of 23,497 inhabitants.

Towns and villages

The largest localities (cities, towns, and villages) are:2010 census tables: INEGI

History

Juchitepec (Xochiltepetl) was founded in 1381 by a ruler named Acamapixtli. In pre-Hispanic times, the

Olmec The Olmecs () were the earliest known major Mesoamerican civilization. Following a progressive development in Soconusco, they occupied the tropical lowlands of the modern-day Mexican states of Veracruz and Tabasco. It has been speculated that t ...

lived in the zone. Juchitepec was one of the first places conquered by the Spanish because it was on the route

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 ...

took when he arrived. On July 3, 1531 a decree was written which defined Juchitepec's eight districts: Cuautzozongo, Calayuco, Zancalco, Oacalco, Tetlancheo, Tepepatlacher, Tlacotlapilco and Tlacaelcalpam. On May 2, 1880, Juchitepec was elevated to the rank of town. The

Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution ( es, Revolución Mexicana) was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from approximately 1910 to 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It resulted in the destruction ...

impacted Juchitepec because in 1911 some of the first Zapatista groups entered and demanded money from the rich. Some years later Juchitepec attained

infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and priv ...

plumbing Plumbing is any system that conveys fluids for a wide range of applications. Plumbing uses pipes, valves, plumbing fixtures, tanks, and other apparatuses to convey fluids. Heating and cooling (HVAC), waste removal, and potable water delivery ...

and

electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described ...

. Today there is a library and a cultural center.

Cultural and tourist attractions

Juchitepec is in an isolated location. However, thanks to the beauty of its streets and gardens, it has been the setting of several movies and commercials. In the center of town is the Church of Santo Domingo that was built in the

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 ...

. Juchitepec does not have a native dance, but in its two biggest parties, the traditional dances are "The Dance of Moors and Christians" and

chinelos Chinelos are a kind of traditional costumed dancer which is popular in the Mexican state of Morelos, parts of the State of Mexico and the Federal District of Mexico City, especially the boroughs of Milpa Alta and Xochimilco. The tradition arose fr ...

, originating in Morelos. The typical food of Juchitepec is mole, barbecue, chicken or calf

mixiote A mixiote is a traditional pit- barbecued meat dish in central Mexico; especially in the Basin of Mexico. It can also be prepared in an oven. It is usually made with mutton or rabbit, but chicken, lamb, and pork are also used. The meat is c ...

and

carnitas Carnitas, literally meaning "little meats", is a dish of Mexican cuisine that originated in the state of Michoacán. Carnitas are made by braising or simmering pork in oil or preferably lard until tender. The process takes three to four hours, a ...

prepared in a special way, popcorn, cheese

tamales A tamale, in Spanish tamal, is a traditional Mesoamerican dish made of masa, a dough made from nixtamalized corn, which is steamed in a corn husk or banana leaf. The wrapping can either be discarded prior to eating or used as a plate. Tamales ...

rajas Rajas (Sanskrit: रजस्) is one of the three Guṇas (tendencies, qualities, attributes), a philosophical and psychological concept developed by the Samkhya school of Hindu philosophy.James G. Lochtefeld, Rajas, in The Illustrated Encycloped ...

and corn and bean

tlacoyo A tlacoyo is an oval-shaped Mexican dish of pre-Hispanic origin made of masa. Tlacoyos are thicker than fresh corn tortillas and are stuffed with cheese, fava beans, cooked ground beans, chicharron, and other ingredients before being fried or ...

s. The traditional drink is the tecui.

References

{{Mexico State Municipalities of the State of Mexico Populated places in the State of Mexico