Juárez Hidalgo

Juárez is the seat of the municipality of Juárez Hidalgo, in the Sierra Alta, at 1,605 metres on a plateau of the Carso Huasteco. It recorded 616 people in 2020, well below the 956 of 1921; its highest figure in recent decades was 735, in 2010. Before the Conquest the site was called Itzlapanitla; with evangelisation it became San Guillermo, a name it kept until the Revolution, and the present one joins the names of two heroes, Benito Juárez and Miguel Hidalgo.

The climate is semi-dry and semi-warm, averaging about 17 °C with 1,500 mm of rain, a high figure for the region. Water drains to the Amajac river sub-basin, and the rivers La Piedra Colorada, Ocotenango and Abrevadero cross the municipality. The hills carry red ocote pine, oak, pine and palm, with willows, poplars and quince on field edges; birds include the mockingbird, goldfinch and meadowlark. The municipality's most important crop is coffee (458 hectares in 2015), ahead of maize.

The church of San Guillermo, from the 16th century, has a churrigueresque facade and is the main monument. In the plaza stand a statue of Benito Juárez, another of Leona Vicario and a bust of Hidalgo. INEGI lists leather jackets, saddle upholstery, gloves, bags, petacas and belts among the crafts; tamales are made in banana leaf, with chile or bean fillings, and sweets use piloncillo and walnut.