Zacazonapan
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Zacazonapan (pronounced sah-kah-soh-NAH-pahn) is a municipality near Mexico City. It's municipal seat is the village of Zacazonapan. The name comes 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 roughly translates to "in the River of the Dry Corn plants"


The village

The area was settled 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 who were conquered by the Aztecs, making the area a border zone between the
Aztec Empire The Aztec Empire or the Triple Alliance ( nci, Ēxcān Tlahtōlōyān, Help:IPA/Nahuatl, jéːʃkaːn̥ t͡ɬaʔtoːˈlóːjaːn̥ was an alliance of three Nahua peoples, Nahua altepetl, city-states: , , and . These three city-states ruled ...
and
Purépecha The Purépecha (endonym pua, P'urhepecha ) are a group of indigenous people centered in the northwestern region of Michoacán, Mexico, mainly in the area of the cities of Cherán and Pátzcuaro. They are also known by the pejorative "Tarascan ...
lands. After the fall of the Aztec Empire by the Spaniards, the area was subdued by
Andrés de Tapia Andrés de Tapia (1498? - October 1561) was a Spanish soldier and chronicler. He participated in the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, also known as the Conquest of Mexico or the Spanish-Aztec War ( ...
and Gonzalo de Sandoval. They, among other
conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, O ...
s they exploited the area's mineral deposits making it part of the “Real de Minas de Temascaltepec” (today Valle de Bravo). Large
hacienda An ''hacienda'' ( or ; or ) is an estate (or ''finca''), similar to a Roman ''latifundium'', in Spain and the former Spanish Empire. With origins in Andalusia, ''haciendas'' were variously plantations (perhaps including animals or orchards), ...
s dedicated to growing crops and raising cattle were established here as well. Evangelization was carried out by Franciscans, who were followed by Spanish families bringing sugar cane and fruit trees to plant. In 1521, Zacazonapan was included in the
Indian Republic of Tmascaltepec Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South As ...
. The modern village of Zacazonapan has its roots in a hacienda known as Santa Maria. It was very important to the development of the area because of the irrigation system it constructed on its lands, which constituted much of what is now the municipality. The village of Zacazonapan originally belonged to the municipality of
Otzoloapan Otzoloapan Municipality is a municipality located at the southeast of the State of Mexico. The name is from the Náhuatl 'Oceloapan' which means "river of lynxes". It is located in the southwest part of the state bordering the state of Michoac ...
. After arriving in the late 19th century, and receiving a warm welcome, General Juan N. Mirafuentes started a movement to make the village a municipal seat separate from Otzoloapan. This was accomplished on April 5, 1879 with C. Juan de Dios Villafaña Salinas as the first municipal president. The area saw fighting during 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 ...
, but many families hid or moved away during the conflict. During the Cristero War, the area saw fighting as well including the capture and execution of three prominent Cristero priests. As a municipal seat in the State of Mexico, Zacazonapan was remodeled by
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 ...
in 1974. The population of the modern town as of 2005 was 2,718. The nearby ex-hacienda of Santa Maria, constructed in the 16th century was declared a historic monument by the National Institute of Anthropology and History in 1994 as well as the house of Victoriano Arroyo Garibay, constructed in 1900 due to its architecture. There are also unexplored archeological sites in the surrounding municipality. The town has a song written about it, written by Rubén Méndez del Castillo, which won second place in a song contest in the state capital of Toluca in 1972.


The municipality

As municipal seat, the village of Zacazonapan is the governing authority for the following communities: Alcantarilla, La Cañada, Naranjo, El Potrero, Santa María, Tizapa, Temascal, Arrastradero, El Puente, El Puerto, and Cerro Pelón along with 15 unnamed settlements. The population of the entire municipality is 3,836. It is bordered by the municipalities of Otzoloapan,
Tejupilco Tejupilco de Hidalgo is the seat of Tejupilco Municipality in the State of Mexico, Mexico. It is located approximately 100 kilometres (62 mi) southwest of the state capital Toluca, along Federal Highway 34. The name Tejupilco comes from Náh ...
Temascaltepec Temascaltepec is a municipality located in the Ixtapan Region of the State of Mexico in Mexico. Temascaltepec has an area of 547.5 km2. It borders the municipalities of Valle de Bravo, Amanalco de Becerra, Tejupilco, San Simón de Guerrero, ...
and Valle de Bravo. The municipality has a territory of 67.14 square km. The municipality borders the edge of the
Sierra Madre del Sur The Sierra Madre del Sur is a mountain range in southern Mexico, extending from southern Michoacán east through Guerrero, to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in eastern Oaxaca. Geography The Sierra Madre del Sur joins with the Eje Volcánico Transv ...
giving it an uneven landscape with elevations such as the Cerro(hill) de La Pila, Cerro Sombrero, and Cerro Pelón. However, to the north there are also notable cerros such as El Xomil, Peña Colorada, and Peñas del Fraile. The most important river is the Temascaltepec, because of its year-round flow and as it receives the seasonal flow from arroyos such as the Zacazonapan, La Papaya and San José. There is also a series of freshwater springs. In the mid 20th century, the economy of the municipality was based on fishing, agriculture and the production of piloncillo, a sugar cane product used for seasoning. Agriculture (corn, tomato and husk tomato) and fish farming are still the main occupations. The only other significant economic activity, providing a significant number of jobs, is realized by Minera Tizapa, S.A. de C.V., which mines zinc, lead and copper, with small amounts of gold and silver.


References

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