Santa Ana

Santa Ana lies in the lowlands of the Huasteca of Hidalgo, just 148 metres above the sea, in rugged terrain of the Huasteca Karst subprovince. It is hot and humid, with heavy summer downpours, and runoff heads for the San Pedro River, part of the Moctezuma basin. INEGI assigns it to San Felipe Orizatlán, a municipality spread between 100 and 600 metres of altitude.

The most striking part of its history is the census. In 1910 there were 48 people; by 1950 no one was left, and in 1980 nine were counted. Ten years later 410 residents appear, and the number has risen steadily since: 405 in 2000, 451 in 2010 and 599 in 2020 (306 men and 293 women), 1.56% of the municipality. The figures do not explain the change, but they show a recent settlement rather than one of the region's old villages.

Orizatlán, the municipal seat, has a church raised in the 16th century with a neoclassical bas-relief and a bell tower decorated with figures of rough stone. The municipality's name joins its patron saint, San Felipe de Jesús, to the Nahuatl word for "place of rice"; Nahuatl speakers in the Huasteca call it Sahwantitlan. Wind bands are part of every popular festival in the area, and zacahuil, river prawns called acamayas, ranch-style chicken and squash are among the municipality's traditional dishes.