Ixtlahuaca de Rayón (often just simply called "Ixtlahuaca") 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 municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality ...

of Ixtlahuaca (not Ixtlahuaca del Rayón) north of

Toluca Toluca , officially Toluca de Lerdo , is the state capital of the State of Mexico as well as the seat of the Municipality of Toluca. With a population of 910,608 as of the 2020 census, Toluca is the fifth most populous city in Mexico. The city f ...

in the northwest part of 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 ...

, 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 south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

. The distance between

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 of ...

and Ixtlahuaca is 32 km. The name Ixthahuaca comes from

Náhuatl Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan languages, Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahuas, Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in ...

and means plains without trees. The city and municipality were officially established by decree on November 14, 1816 by the Congress of the State of Mexico.

The town of Ixtlahuaca de Rayón

The city of Ixtlahuca de Rayón had a population of 7,114 at the 2005 census. When the town was officially established, the appendage of "de Rayón" was added to the name in honor of

Francisco López Rayón Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name '' Franciscus''. Nicknames In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed " Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Comunitatis'' (father o ...

who was executed by royalist forces during the

Mexican War of Independence The Mexican War of Independence ( es, Guerra de Independencia de México, links=no, 16 September 1810 – 27 September 1821) was an armed conflict and political process resulting in Mexico's independence from Spain. It was not a single, co ...

here on the side of the municipal palace. The original Mazahua town was located about 4 miles east of the current city. The population center was moved in 1545 when it was decided that the area needed a parish church of its own (it had been dependent on the parish of Tlalchichilpan prior), and the priest decided upon the location, finishing construction in 1552. Viceroy Luis de Velasco designated the area as a town. Ixtlahuaca gained city status in 1992.

The municipality of Ixtlahuaca

The

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality ...

of Ixtlahuaca is one of 125 municipalities in the State of Mexico. Its largest cities are San Bartolo del LLano, San Pedro Los Baños, Santo Domingo de Guzmán, Emiliano Zapata, and the city of Ixtlahuaca del Rayón. As

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, The total population of the municipality is 126,505 as of 2005. Ixtlahuaca borders municipalities of

Jocotitlán Jocotitlán is a municipality located in the northwestern part of the State of Mexico on the central highlands of the country of Mexico. The municipal seat is the town of Jocotitlán and is located at the foot of the Jocotitlán or Xocotépetl v ...

Jiquipilco Jiquipilco Municipality is one of the municipalities of the State of Mexico in Mexico. It is north of the Toluca Valley, part of the region consisting of the southern and western slopes of Cerro La Catedral, which has a concentration of speakers o ...

Temoaya Temoaya is a municipality in the State of Mexico, Mexico. It's municipal seat is the town of Temoaya which is the sixth largest town in the municipality. It is located from Toluca and from Mexico City. It is known for its large ethnic Otomi popu ...

Almoloya de Juárez Almoloya de Juárez is a town in the State of Mexico and the seat of the municipality of Almoloya de Juárez. The name Almoloya comes from the Nahuatl, that is properly ''Almoloyan'', composed of: atl, "water"; molo "impersonal voice of moloni, to ...

San Felipe del Progreso San Felipe del Progreso is a municipality in the northwest of the State of Mexico. The municipal seat and third largest town is the town of San Felipe del Progreso. It is in the western part of the state, 59 km from the state capital of Toluca ...

and

Villa Victoria Villa Victoria is a municipality in Mexico State in Mexico. The municipality covers an area of 424.03 km². In 2005, the municipality had a total population of 77,819. See also * San Agustín Altamirano San Agustín Altamirano (also known a ...

. The area was originally called J'apui, which comes from the

Mazahua language The Mazahua language ( maz, Jñatrjo) is an Oto-Pamean language spoken in the central states of Mexico by the ethnic group that is widely known as the Mazahua but calls itself the Hñatho. It is a Mesoamerican language and has many of the tra ...

, as a number of Mazahua tribes came to settle the land near the Xocotépetl volcano. The area was conquered by

Moctezuma II Moctezuma Xocoyotzin ( – 29 June 1520; oteːkˈsoːmaḁ ʃoːkoˈjoːt͡sĩn̥), nci-IPA, Motēuczōmah Xōcoyōtzin, moteːkʷˈsoːma ʃoːkoˈjoːtsin variant spellings include Motewksomah, Motecuhzomatzin, Montezuma, Moteuczoma, Motecu ...

just before the arrival of the Spanish. The Mazahuas, along with other tribes that inhabited the areas west and north of

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 ...

(now

) submitted to Spanish domination without a fight and their lands were distributed among

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 ...

's soldiers.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ixtlahuaca De Rayon Municipalities of the State of Mexico Populated places in the State of Mexico