Tenango del Valle
Tenango del Valle | |
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Municipality | |
UTC-5 (Central) | |
Postal code (of seat) | 52300 |
The
History of the town and municipality
The name "Tenango" shows the modern town's relationship with the nearby ruins of
At the time of the Spanish conquest the southern part of the Toluca Valley, including the Tenango area, was dominated ethnically by the Matlatzincas, whose center was the Teotenango site on Tetepetl Hill. However, this city had been conquered around 1474 by Axayacatl and was part of the Aztec Empire, so it was politically dominated by the Aztecs. Spanish takeover of the southern Toluca Valley was accomplished by Andres de Tapia, with support of Gonzalo de Sandoval from Toluca. However, due to the Teutenango Treaty of 1582, credit for the conquest is given to Martin Dorantes.[1]
After subduing the Matlatzinca population, the conquistadors decided to move the population from the Teotenango site to the valley below, establishing the modern town of Tenango del Valle. Next came the establishment of encomiendas, or land grants which gave the Spaniards who received them control over the native population. Teotenango became the encomienda of Juan de Burgos and Diego Rodriguez. Atlatlahuaca and Xochiaca, other communities in the modern municipality of Tenango del Valle, were granted to Hernando de Jerez with Zictepec and Zepayautla becoming part of the encomienda of Tacuba.[1]
Encomiendas were not allowed to pass onto descendants, and for this reason, the
Initially, the
During the 20th century, the town grew with the introduction of schools, an industrial park to provide jobs, and better transport and communication infrastructure. By 1994, Tenango de Arista reached the status of city.[1]
The city
Tenango de Arista is better known as Tenango del Valle, is located in the south of the Valley of Toluca. It sits at about 2,600 meters above sea level, with a temperate climate, with some frost in winter and rains primarily in the summer.
The main attraction of the town is the archeological zone of Teotenango, which is located on Tetepetl Hill, just north-northwest of the main plaza of the modern town. Inside the town itself, there are two large
The main square of the town contains a kiosk, and is surrounded by portals and a
Tenango is noted for its traditional cuisine such as barbacoa, meat consumé, cecina, and rabbit dishes. The town is also the home of two alcoholic drinks called "piñitas" (a drink made primarily with pineapple juice and vodka) and "banderitas" (a type of apple liqueur).[1][2][6] It is also known for leatherworking, especially belts, purses and wallets as well as saddle-making. Its most representative festival is in honor of "Padre Jesús" (lit. Father Jesus) in mid-January. This festival includes dances such as "Moros y cristianos" and "Concheros."[2] In addition, the spring equinox is celebrated here in the main plaza.[3]
Teotenango
This archeological site was the town which was abandoned in favor of the new settlement on the valley floor after the Spanish Conquest of the Aztec Empire. It is located on Tetepetl Hill, just north and west of the modern town's main square. It was the largest fortified city in the Valley of Toluca in pre-Hispanic times. It was excavated in the 1970s by the Instituto Mexiquense de Cultura, who continues to maintain the site as well as the Roman Piña Chan Archeological Museum located at the base of Tetepetl Hill.[3][6] This site is one of the major tourist draws for the State of Mexico after Teotihuacan, Valle de Bravo and Chalma.[7] The obelisk that marks the entrance to the reconstructed site was built in the 1930s and is in honor of Ignacio Lopez Rayon. It is built to emulate the style of the pyramid of Conjuto A.[3] The archeological zone of Teotenagno receives about 4,000 visitors annually.[1]
The municipality
As municipal seat, the city of Tenango de Arista has governing jurisdiction over the following communities: San Bartolomé Atlatlahuca, Rancho Gómez Tagl, Rancho la Providencia, Santa Cruz, Pueblo Nuevo (Pueblo Nuevo), San Francisco Putla, San Francisco Tepexozuca, San Francisco Tetetla, Colonia San José, Loma San Joaquín, Rancho de José Herrera (La Deportiva), San Miguel Balderas, San Pedro Tlanixco, San Pedro Zictepec, Santa María Jajalpa, Santiaguito Cuaxustenco, Santa Cecilia, El Coloso (Las Cruces), La Cooperativa, Colonia Azteca, La Isleta (Islote), La Haciendita, La Herradura, Acatzingo, El Guarda, San Isidro, Colonia San Román (El Llano), La Hacienda de Cuautenango, Monte Calvario, San Juan Tepehuixco, Rancho el Cerrito (Los Charcos), El Zarzal, Cruz Blanca, Colonia de las Minas, Loma Rancho Juan Méndez, Los Cedros, Colonia San José (Barranca Mocha), La Loma (Las Ruinas), and Los Lavaderos. The total population of the municipality is 68,669 people,[4] and it extends for 208.88 square kilometres (80.65 sq mi). It borders the municipalities of Calimaya, Santa María Rayón, Texcalyacac, Tenancingo, Villa Guerrero, and Toluca.[1]
The geography of the municipality includes a number of elevations such at the Tetepetl, the Azul, the Ladera, the Tepehuisco, the Zacatonal and the Cuexcontepec. There are no rivers in this area but there are a number of fresh-water springs that feed streams such as Arroyo Grande, La Cieneguita, El Zaguan, Dos Caminos, La Cienega, Almoloya and Las Cruces. The climate is classified as temperate and mostly moist with most rains coming in the summer. Freezing temperatures are experienced in winter with strong winds often present in February and March. The average temperature is 13.5 °C (56.3 °F), varying between 29.5 °C (85.1 °F)in the summer and 5 °C (41 °F) in winter.[1]
Natural resources in the area mostly consist of the municipalities forests, in which there are a number of species used for lumber. Animal wildlife has been nearly extinguished here due to human activity and mostly consists of rabbits, birds and some coyotes.[1]
More than half of the land in the municipality (54%) is used for agriculture and about a third is used for forestry.[1]
Agriculture remains the principal economic activity of the municipality, with more than half the land in the municipality (54%) dedicated to it. Corn is the primary crop. Second is livestock such as sheep, cattle and pigs accounting for 70% of the animals raised here. About one-third of the municipality land is used for the production of forest products such as wood. Supplementing this is the Parque Industrial Tenango, which contains industries such as Micron, a plastics producer and various food processing plants.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r "Estado de Mexico – Tenango del Valle" (in Spanish). Enciclopedia de los Municipios de México. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved 5 August 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f "Tenango del Valle" (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 August 2009.
- ^ a b c d e Tello, Anabel (2003-02-22). "Tenango del Valle: Santuario arqueologico" (in Spanish). Mexico City: Reforma. pp. 8–9.
- ^ a b "Principales resultados por localidad 2005 (ITER)". Archived from the original on 2011-06-13. Retrieved 2008-03-22.
- ^ a b "Municipio de Tenango del Valle" (in Spanish). Tenango del Valle. Retrieved 5 August 2009.
- ^ ISBN 968-5437-26-2.
- ^ Espinosa, Arturo (2004-04-04). "Esperan 5 milliones de turistas" (in Spanish). Mexico City: Reforma. p. 4.