El Trapiche

El Trapiche sits in Cuauhtémoc municipality right on the edge of the state capital: Colima's first streets are about three kilometres away and its historic centre seven. With 3,328 people in 2020 it is the municipality's third-largest community, and it has grown steadily since 1910, when it counted just 614. It lies around 645 m above sea level, on the lower slopes that rise toward the volcanoes.

The name is literal. A trapiche is a mill for crushing sugarcane, and cane fields still surround the town. It has its own Junta Municipal (a local council), a main garden square in front of the church, and keeps a village feel despite being so close to the city.

The big event is the fiesta for the Virgen de la Candelaria, about ten days ending on February 2. In 2026 it ran from January 24 to February 2 with daily receptions, bullfights in the local ring, street dances, fairground rides, a night-time horseback parade and fireworks on the final day, while the parish held masses, pilgrimages and dawn rosaries from January 22. Events in the square are free and start around 8:30 pm.

On the road toward San Joaquín, just before the Las Cañas stream, four huge volcanic boulders stand in a line 81 metres long, with carvings and hollows on their tops; they were reported to INAH in 2021 as a possible ceremonial site. They sit on fenced private land, and you can only make them out when the cane is low.