Zumpahuacán is the municipal seat of
Zumpahuacán Municipality.
It is a town in the
State of Mexico. The name "Zumpahuacán" comes from the
Nahuatl "Tzompanhuahcān", which means "place of coral trees" (''
Erythrina coralloides
''Erythrina coralloides'' (flame coral tree, naked coral tree) is a species of flowering tree in the pea family, Fabaceae, that is native to eastern Mexico. It ranges from Tamaulipas south to Oaxaca, and some taxonomists believe it is also native ...
''). Another possible translation could be "place of the skulls of the sacrified".
The main welcome sign as you enter the municipality uses this latter interpretation.
The town
Archeological, anthropological and linguistic studies date human habitation in the area to at least 8000 B.C. with the peoples here having cultural and linguistic links to cultures in what is now the state of
Oaxaca
Oaxaca ( , also , , from nci, Huāxyacac ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of Mexico. It is ...
and later, with cultures of the high central plains of Mexico. The original village was founded in what is now called Pueblo Viejo ("old village") or San Juan Viejo in Spanish and Quilocán ("place of edible herbs") in a flat area surrounded by rocky cliffs and near the Temozolapa River, seven km from the modern village. It is believed that this settlement was founded by the
Mexicas or
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 d ...
s, who were joined by
Matlatzincas around 1300 to 1400 AD. The area was conquered and incorporated into the
Aztec Empire under the rule of
Axayacatl
Axayacatl (; nci, āxāyacatl ; es, Axayácatl ; meaning "face of water"; –1481) was the sixth of the of Tenochtitlan and Emperor of the Aztec Triple Alliance.
Biography
Early life and background
Axayacatl was a son of the princess Ato ...
between 1464 and 1467.
The modern town was founded in 1550 when the village of Quilocán was moved to this location and renamed "San Juan Viejo" to evangelize the population under the rule of Alonso de la Serna. In 1565, under the supervision of Pedro Ponce de León constructed the parish church. Pedro Ponce de León may have been the grandson of Cuatlatlapatzin of Tlaxcala. The name was changed to Zumpahuacán in 1689 when authorities bowed to public pressure after a considerable redistribution of lands in the area. The town suffered an epidemic of
smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...
in 1841 and
cholera in 1850. Cholera almost wiped out the entire population. Zumpahuacán belonged to the municipality of
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 ...
until 1861, became part of
Tenancingo. in 1875, the town separated into its city with Lucio Manuel Peña as the first municipal president.
On 2 February 1894, Felipe Castañeda G. was executed by firing squad in the town. Though not famous for his acts, he was responsible for the "Proclamation of Zumpahuacán", which was a precursor to the
Mexican Revolution. This document was one of the first to disavow the government of
Porfirio Díaz, with the town later siding with the
Liberation Army of the South
The Liberation Army of the South ( es, Ejército Libertador del Sur, ELS) was a guerrilla force led for most of its existence by Emiliano Zapata that took part in the Mexican Revolution from 1911 to 1920. During that time, the Zapatistas foug ...
.
As of the 2005 INEGI census, the town had a population of 4,232 people.
The municipality
As municipal seat, the town of Zumpahuacán is the government of the following surrounding communities: Ahuacatlán (Guadalupe Ahuacatlán), Ahuatzingo, Tlapizalco (Guadalupe Tlapizalco), Colonia Guadalupe Victoria, San Antonio Guadalupe (San Antonio), San Gaspar, San Pablo Tejalpa, Santa Cruz Atempa, Santa Cruz los Pilares (La Loma), El Tamarindo, San Pedro Guadalupe(Despoblado), Santa María la Asunción, El Zapote, Colonia San Nicolás Palo Dulce (Palo Dulce), Santa Ana Despoblado, Santa Catarina (Santa Catarina de la Cruz), Santiaguito, San José Tecontla, La Ascensión, San Juan, Paraje San Gabriel (San Miguel), Amolonca, Guadalupe Chiltamalco, Llano del Copal (La Muñeca), San Miguel Ateopa, La Cabecera, Barrio de Santa Ana, San Mateo Despoblado, and Chiapa San Isidro. The total population of the municipality was 16,149 people as of 2005.
The municipality has a total area of 201.54 km2.
The original town of Quilocán lies 7 km from the municipal seat and remains an unexplored archeological site, although it has been subject to some looting in recent years.
Zumpahuacán lies on a volcanic axis and has a large number of mountains, valleys, hills and depressions. Three of the most notable elevations are: Totsquilla at 2,800 meters above sea level, Santiago or San Miguel at 2,780 meters and Tlalchichilpa at 2,100 meters. Most of these elevations are due to the region's past volcanic activity. It is also part of the Balsas River watershed, which contains a number of natural freshwater springs and seasonally flowing ravines.
Over 80% of the municipality's economic activity is based on agriculture.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zumpahuacan
Populated places in the State of Mexico
Municipality seats in the State of Mexico