Tenayuca-Santa Cecilia

Tenayuca-Santa Cecilia is the Barrio Mágico title that Mexico's federal tourism ministry gave in June 2024 to two old villages in Tlalnepantla de Baz, San Bartolo Tenayuca and Santa Cecilia Acatitlan, which sit about 2.5 km apart on the northern edge of Mexico City's sprawl. They were the first Barrios Mágicos in the State of Mexico, and the award was handed over at the third Tianguis Internacional de Pueblos Mágicos, held in San Antonio, Texas.

The history here runs far deeper than the city now wrapped around it. Tenayuca was the first capital of the Chichimecs who came into the valley under their leader Xólotl around the 13th century, before the seat moved to Texcoco; it later fell under the Tepanecs of Azcapotzalco and, in the 15th century, under the Aztecs. Its pyramid was enlarged seven times, and the conquistador Bernal Díaz del Castillo called the place the "town of serpents" for the stone snakes around it. Santa Cecilia, once a lakeshore community that answered to Tenayuca, keeps a second pyramid with its shrine rebuilt on top. Both archaeological sites have their own pages in this guide; this one is about the neighbourhood that grew up around them.

In Tenayuca, the parish church of San Bartolomé Apóstol stands just across the plaza from the pyramid. Franciscan friars had it built in the 16th century from pink stone quarried in the Sierra de Guadalupe, and blocks taken from the pre-Hispanic platforms went into its walls, some still carved with glyphs. Santa Cecilia has cobbled lanes that feel like a country village, a colonial chapel beside its pyramid, and the Eusebio Dávalos Hurtado museum of Aztec sculpture, five rooms of Late Postclassic stonework plus household objects from the late 1800s.

The barrio shows itself at fiesta time. On 24 August San Bartolo honours its patron with flowers in the church, dawn mañanitas, dances of arrieros and santiagueros, a fair and fireworks. Santa Cecilia holds a novena from 13 to 21 November, and on the 22nd mariachis and brass bands serenade the saint before a street party with rockets. A market sets up in Tenayuca on Sundays, and Santa Cecilia is known for its pozole restaurants.