Zacatecas is a city and municipality in Mexico, and the capital and largest city of the state of Zacatecas. Located in north-central Mexico, the city had its start as a Spanish mining camp in the mid-16th century. Native Americans had already known about the area's rich deposits of silver and other minerals. Due to the wealth that the mines provided, Zacatecas quickly became one of the most important cities in New Spain, with much of its silver enriching the Spanish crown. The area saw battles during the turbulent 19th century, but the next major event was the Battle of Zacatecas during the Mexican Revolution when Francisco Villa captured the town, an event still celebrated every anniversary. Today, the colonial part of the city is a World Heritage Site, due to the Baroque and other structures built during its mining days. Mining still remains an important industry. The name Zacatecas is derived from the Zacateco people and has its roots in Nahuatl. The name means "people of the grasslands".
Chapultepec, more commonly called the "Bosque de Chapultepec" in Mexico City, is one of the largest city parks in the Western Hemisphere, measuring in total just over 686 hectares. Centered on a rock formation called Chapultepec Hill, one of the park's main functions is an ecological space in Greater Mexico City. It is considered the first and most important of Mexico City's "lungs", with trees that replenish oxygen to the Valley of Mexico. The park area has been inhabited and considered a landmark since the Pre-Columbian era, when it became a retreat for Aztec rulers. In the colonial period, Chapultepec Castle was built here, eventually becoming the official residence of Mexican heads of state. It would remain so until 1940, when it was moved to another part of the park called Los Pinos.
The State of Mexico is one of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is the most populous, as well as the most densely populated state. It is divided into 125 municipalities and its capital city is Toluca de Lerdo.
Tlacotalpan is a town in Tlacotalpan Municipality in the Mexican state of Veracruz, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1998 primarily for its architecture and colonial-era layout. The town was established in 1550 on what was originally an island in the Papaloapan River. From the colonial era to the 20th century, it was an important port, one of few interior river ports in Latin America. However, with the construction of the railroad, Tlacotalpan's importance faded. Starting in the latter 20th century, efforts to conserve the town's Spanish/Caribbean architecture and layout began, culminating in World Heritage status. Today, its main economic support is fishing and tourism, especially to the annual feast in honor of Our Lady of Candlemas.
Iztapalapa is one of the Federal District of Mexico City’s 16 boroughs, located on the east side of the entity. The borough is named after and centered on the formerly independent municipality of Iztapalapa, which is officially called Iztapalapa de Cuitláhuac for disambiguation purposes. The rest is made up of a number of other communities which are governed by the city of Iztapalapa.
La Magdalena Contreras is one of the 16 administrative boroughs of the Federal District of Mexico City. As of the 2010 census, it has a population of 239,086 inhabitants and is the third-least populous of Mexico City's boroughs. It lies at an elevation of 2,365 m (7,759 ft) above sea level. It is named after two historically important communities—La Magdalena Atlitic and Colonia Contreras. The northern end of the borough is urbanized. The rest of Magdalena Contreras, with its mountains and ravines, is designated as a conservation zone. However, urban sprawl has put pressure on these conservation areas. In an effort to preserve the area's forests and natural resources, the borough government has started promoting ecotourism. The largest ecotourism park is Los Dinamos where canyons and ravines are cut by streams and freshwater springs that eventually form the Río Magdalena, Mexico City’s only remaining free-flowing river.
Acolman de Nezahualcóyotl is a town and municipality located in the northern part of Mexico State, part of the Greater Mexico City area, just north of the city proper. According to myth, the first man was placed here after being taken out of Lake Texcoco. In the community of Tepexpan, the fossilized bones more than 12,000 years old of a man were found in the 20th century. The settlement was founded in the 8th century and was an important commerce center at the time of the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire. After the Conquest, Acolman became the site of an important Augustinian monastery in the 16th century which still contains important art and architecture from that time period.
Huixquilucan Municipality is one of the municipalities in State of Mexico, Mexico. It lies adjacent to the west side of the Federal District and is part of Greater Mexico City but independent of. The name "Huixquilucan" comes from Nahuatl meaning, "place full of edible thistles."
Atlacomulco is a city and municipality located in the northwest of the State of Mexico in central Mexico, 63 kilometres (39 mi) from the state capital of Toluca. The name is derived from the Nahuatl phrase "atlacomulli" which means "where there are wells." The city, with a population of 20,477 is surrounded by rural area in which 75% of the rest of the municipality lives. The municipality has a sizable percentage of indigenous language speakers, mostly Mazahua. The Mazahua name for the area is Embaró, which means "colored rock." Agriculture is still the main economic activity, but the development of a number of industrial parks, such as Atlacomulco 2000, which allowed the seat to reach city statues by 1987. Atlacomulco is also the origin of a political organization called the "Atlacomulco Group" made up of powerful political figures who deny its existence.
San Juan Bautista Coixtlahuaca is a small town and municipality located in the Mixteca Region of the State of Oaxaca, Mexico, and the center of the Coixtlahuaca district. The name, “Coixtlahuaca” means ‘plain of snakes’ in the Nahuatl language.
The Virgin of Los Remedios or Our Lady of Los Remedios is a title of the Virgin Mary developed by the Trinitarian Order, founded in the late 12th century. The devotion became tied to the Reconquista of Spain, then still at its height. In the following century it spread to other parts of Europe. When Spain began the exploration and conquest of the Americas, it was a favorite devotion of the Spanish conquistadores. It remains a popular devotion in Spain and Latin America.
Huehuetoca is a municipio (municipality) in State of Mexico, central Mexico, and also the name of its largest town and municipal seat.
The Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de los Remedios is a 16th-century Mexican Catholic parish church built atop the Tlachihualtepetl pyramid in the municipality of Cholula located in the central Mexican state of Puebla. The church was built with brada stone and embellished with 24-carat gilded panels and shims, called laminilla. It has an altar in the neoclassical style. It was built between May 1574 and August 1575 and consecrated on March 25, 1629. The base on which the church is built one of the largest pyramids of the ancient world, being 54 metres (177 ft) high, covering 54 acres and shaped by several superimposed structures over the course of six centuries.
Chimalhuacán is an archeological site located in the city and municipality of Chimalhuacán Atenco in the eastern part of Mexico State, Mexico. It lies just outside the northeast border of the Federal District. The name derives from the Nahuatl words “chimalli” (shield), hua and can (place), this would mean "Place of Shields".The ancient name of the city by its founders was “Chimalhuacantoyac”.The word Atenco, is also Nahuatl; A, “water”; tentli, “lip” and co, “place”, hence would mean “at the water side”.
Pueblo Culhuacán is an officially designated neighborhood of the Iztapalapa borough of Mexico City, which used to be a major pre Hispanic city. Ancient Culhuacán was founded around 600 CE and the site has been continuously occupied since. The city was conquered by the Aztecs in the 15th century, but the Aztecs considered the city to have status with early rulers marrying into Culhua nobility to legitimize themselves. After the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, the Franciscans and later the Augustinians made Culhuacán a major evangelization center, with the latter building the monastery complex which remains to this day. Today, Culhucan is fully integrated into Mexico City physically and politically. This area was designated as a "Barrio Mágico" by the city in 2011.
Cerro de la Estrella National Park is centered on the Cerro de la Estrella mountain which is located entirely within eastern Mexico City, in the borough of Iztapalapa.
Cuauhtinchan Archeological Zone or Malinalco Archeological Zone, located just west of the town center on a hill called Cerro de los Idolos, which rises 215 meters above the town. On its sides are a number of pre-Hispanic structures built on terraces built into the hill. The main structures are at the top. This is one of the most important Aztec sites and was discovered in 1933, and explored by José Garía Payón in 1935. The visible complex dates from the Aztec Empire but the site’s use as a ceremonial center appears to be much older. The sanctuary complex was built from the mid 15th century to the beginnings of the 16th. To get to the Cerro de los Idolos one must climb 426 stairs up 125 meters. Along the stairway leading to the site, there are signs with area’s history written in Spanish, English and Nahuatl. The site contains six buildings. The Cuauhcalli or House of the Eagles, which dates from 1501, is the main building, which is significant in that it is carved out of the hill itself. The building is in the shape of a truncated pyramid, built this way due to the lack of space on the hill. The monolithic Cuauhcalli has been compared to the Ellora in India, Petra on the shores of the Dead Sea and Abu Simbel in Egypt. This was a sanctuary for the Eagle Warriors for rites such as initiation. A thirteen-step staircase leading into this temple is flanked by side struts. and two feline sculptures that face the plaza in front. The Cuauhcalli consists of two rooms, one rectangular and the other circular, with an opening in the wall between the two. After being carved out of the rock, the walls and ceiling were covered in stucco and painted with murals, most of which are almost completely gone. In the upper part, the entrance is symbolized by the open jaws of a serpent, complete with fangs, eyes and a forked tongue, which was painted red. This upper portion is covered by a thatched roof of the grass the area is named for.
San Miguel de Allende is a municipality of Guanajuato, Mexico, and is also part of the Bajio region. Its seat of government is located in the city of San Miguel de Allende, which is also the most populous settlement of the municipality.
Palacio del Virrey, also known as Casa Real de los Virreyes is the early name of the National Palace of Mexico, current seat of the federal executive branch. Originally was a large-sized fortress-palace that later was assigned as the Viceregal Palace, that was very internal modified and was housed other royalty after country's Independence. It was originally one of the large-sized "Old Houses" built by Spanish Conquistador Hernán Cortés after his Triple Alliance defeat, that was built on Moctezuma's "New Houses" ruins, belong the present-day Historic center's Zócalo, later the Spanish Crown was chosen the building to set the Viceregal Palace due was belong to the main plaza, without changes in its structure and use since the Colonial era to the country's Independence.
