Barranca de Santa Clara

Barranca de Santa Clara is a village in the municipality of Zacoalco de Torres, at about 1,500 metres above sea level, named for its patron saint, Santa Clara de Asís, and for its position between two hills. It is thought to have been founded in the 18th century, though the exact date is unknown. A fire destroyed many early civil records; the oldest surviving birth entry is from January 1881. According to Wikipedia it had 957 inhabitants at the 2010 census. The first car in the village belonged to Gilberto Beas, when there were still no roads for vehicles; the post office arrived in the 1920s and the telephone in the 1980s.

The church of Santa Clara de Asís, in Franciscan Baroque style and built of quarry stone, has a single nave and a tower on the east side; it was finished in 1902 and stands on Calle Hidalgo, one block from the main plaza. Bands play in the plaza during the August fiestas, and the community is identified with El Zalate, a tree over a hundred years old. In the rainy season the Santa Clara stream, also called El Plátano, El Aguacate or El Manantial, runs through the village and empties into the Zacoalco lagoon. From Cerro El Picacho there is a panoramic view of the village.

The biggest fiestas are the Virgen de la Candelaria, from late January to 2 February, with a bullfighting fair at the lienzo charro, and Santa Clara, with a novena, floats and bands, ending on 12 August. Holy Week brings a Palm Sunday procession and a Good Friday Via Crucis. Celebrations feature birria, pozole, frijoles puercos and tamales. The economy rests on farming, livestock, construction and commerce, with remittances playing a major role.