Tlalnepantla

On the northern slope of Morelos, at about 2,066 m, Tlalnepantla is the seat of the least populous of the municipalities that border Mexico City. It had 4,383 residents in 2020 (3,872 in 2010); the whole municipality counted 7,166 in 2015. The name is Nahuatl, from tlalli, earth, and nepantla, in the middle: in the middle of the land. It is not Tlalnepantla de Baz in the State of Mexico.

Nahua and Tlahuica settlements came before the town, and by the 1590s Teocaltitla existed, the origin of the present village. The Augustinians began the convent and parish of the Purification in the 16th century and it was finished in 1791; the church was burned during the War of Independence and restored in 1933. The barrios were grouped as Tlalnepantla-Cuahutenco around 1680 to 1690, the name was shortened in 1869, and the town passed from the State of Mexico to Morelos on 17 April of that year.

The economy revolves around nopal: according to Wikipedia, about 89% of agriculture is prickly pear grown as a vegetable, sold in Mexico City, Monterrey, Tijuana and the United States, and the municipality is said to be the country's top producer. Corn and tomatoes, once the staples, are now second. On the table that means nopal sandwiches, tamales and eggs with nopales, along with mole verde and cecina with cheese. The climate is temperate and sub-humid, averaging about 17 °C, and the municipality has no rivers: rainwater runs through ravines.

The main fiestas are the Pentecost fair, 50 days after Easter, with rodeo, rides and fireworks, and Santiago Apóstol on 25 July. Carnival has been held since 1905, was suspended during the Revolution and returned in 1929, with chinelos and four brass bands that play at the fairs.