Tuxpan is a small village in between

Zitácuaro Zitácuaro, officially known as Heroica Zitácuaro, is a city in the Mexican state of Michoacán. The city is the administrative centre for the surrounding municipality of the same name, which lies at the extreme eastern side of Michoacán and b ...

and Ciudad Hidalgo in the

Mexican state A Mexican State (), officially the Free and Sovereign State (), is a constituent federative entity of Mexico according to the Constitution of Mexico. Currently there are 31 states, each with its own constitution, government, state governor, a ...

Michoacán Michoacán, formally Michoacán de Ocampo, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Michoacán de Ocampo, is one of the 31 states which, together with Mexico City, compose the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The stat ...

. It is located 118 km (73 mi) from

Morelia Morelia (; from 1545 to 1828 known as Valladolid; Otomi language, Otomi: ) is a city and municipal seat of the municipalities of Mexico, municipality of Morelia in the north-central part of the state of Michoacán in central Mexico. It is both th ...

. Tuxpan is distinguished for its fantastic church dedicated to

James, son of Zebedee James the Great ( Koinē Greek: Ἰάκωβος, romanized: ''Iákōbos''; Aramaic: ܝܥܩܘܒ, romanized: ''Yaʿqōḇ''; died AD 44) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. According to the New Testament, he was the second of the apostles t ...

, St. James the Apostle ''(Santiago Apostol)'', in which a majestic painting by

Cristóbal de Villalpando Cristóbal de Villalpando (ca. 1649 – 20 August 1714) was a Baroque Criollo artist from New Spain, arts administrator and captain of the guard. He painted prolifically and produced many Baroque works now displayed in several Mexican cathedrals ...

is exhibited.

Etymology

The town was born with the name of "Tuspa," which was given by the

Otomi people The Otomi (; ) are an Indigenous people of Mexico inhabiting the central Mexican Plateau (Altiplano) region. The Otomi are an Indigenous people of the Americas who inhabit a discontinuous territory in central Mexico. They are linguistically rel ...

some centuries before the birth of

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

. It was changed by the Aztecs in 1225 to ''Tochpan''; in Nahua, ''tochtli'' means "rabbit" and ''an'' means "place". The name can be interpreted as "place of rabbits". Catholic settlers registered Tuxpan as Santiago Tuxpan, in honor of one of the 12 apostles of Christ. This name continued until the birth of the first

Republic of Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, when it was changed to "Tuxpan".

History

The first occupiers of the land of Tuxpan was the indigenous group of the Otomi. The only evidence found of when the Otomi people lived in Tuxpan are some archaeological artifacts that can be traced back to some centuries BC. In 1200 AD the Otomi of Tuxpan formed part of a 340 town strong

Purépecha Empire The Purépecha Empire, also known by the term Iréchikwa, was a polity in pre-Columbian Mexico. Its territory roughly covered the geographic area of the present-day Mexican state of Michoacán, as well as parts of Guanajuato, Guerrero, and Jalisc ...

. The Aztecs were never able to conquer this land due to the great power of the Purépecha Alliance. This relationshipgave Tuxpan over 250 years of peace. In 1464, the Aztec king Axayacatl started to invade the Purépechaterritories. As part of the Purépecha Alliance, the 300 men strong Tuxpan fought against the thousands of Aztec soldiers. Defeat was inevitable, and the town was destroyed and burned down. The battle was considered an incredible act of heroism by the Aztecs and Purépecha people. In 1466, the Purépecha Empire swore to protect Tuxpan from any other battle to come. The target in

was to move most of the native Indians to newly built or reconstructed towns. Catholic missionaries prepared the land so it could officially be made into a town. On October 4, 1598, a special ceremony was held for the birth of the town of Tuxpan, Michoacán. All sorts of people attended the ceremony, including the Indian chief of the land, government officials, men who had already purchased a large area of land, and the many Indians who already lived on the land.

Culture

Every year Tuxpan celebrates its most important date on the Saturday before

Easter Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...

. During the next two weeks the town is in a state of celebration. A carnival is set up where people can enjoy all sorts of games. This is very similar to the carnival ambient in the United States. Aside from the typical Mexican dishes (quesadillas, tacos, and tamales), the culinary specialty this time of the year is a pasta which is in fact a type of vanilla ice cream. Conserva is also a popular choice; this is a variety of fruits boiled with sugar until it is honey-like. The first Saturday of every March is dedicated to the sport of horse racing. It is held in small racetrack on the westside of town. The races star in the afternoon and continue until early evening. During the event, downtown Tuxpan is completely deserted. A beauty pageant is organized by the town every year to select a girl worthy of representing Tuxpan during the festivities. The participants are generally 15- to 19-year-old girls. The process of choosing a winner is similar to any other pageant. The queen is also the main attraction at the parade. On the first Tuesday after the Sábado de Carreras, the town has a unique parade in which all sorts of people participate. The queen of the beauty pageant along with the runner-up and the third-place winner make up an important part of the parade. The schools also play an important part in the event, from pre-k to high school. The last section is dedicated to the "charros"; men and women dress up as such and ride horses in the parade.

Tourism

The main natural attraction in Tuxpan is El Salto or "the jump". It is a cascade about 2.5 miles northeast of the downtown area. Many people go to see the magnificent scene that the cascade creates. Visitors usually prepare a barbecue and spend the day swimming and playing games.

El Cerro de la Cruz, "The Mountain with the Cross"

This mountain can be seen from almost anywhere in Tuxpan. In 2004 the municipal government built stairs all the way to the top of the mountain. People from all over enjoy climbing the stairs to the pinnacle and are rewarded by a majestic view of the entire valley.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tuxpan, Michoacan Populated places in Michoacán