Ocozocoautla

History

Ocozocoautla's roots are Zoque. Caves and hilltop sites around the area, such as Cerro Ombligo and El Higo, show ritual use from the Early Preclassic through the Postclassic period. The first Spaniards to cross the region, in 1523, found the Zoques divided into small chiefdoms; some paid tribute to the Mexica, others to the Chiapanecs of what is now Chiapa de Corzo, and some were more independent. The town's name is Nahuatl and means "forest of ocozote trees".

Spaniards settled in the valley towns, including Ocozocoautla, and founded the first haciendas. From the sixteenth to the nineteenth century, landowning families and the Church held the power. An important colonial trade route for goods bound for Spain ran from Ocozocoautla through Quechula to Villahermosa. In 1722 local people rose against a priest who had ordered a sacred ceiba tree cut down.

By the late nineteenth century it was a farming town led by estate-owning families. It was raised to city status on January 19, 1926, and "de Espinosa" was added in 1928 in honor of the revolutionary politician Luis Espinosa. Farming and ranching grew after the 1930s. In a 2010 vote residents chose to keep the name rather than change it to Coita de Espinosa. The 2017 earthquake badly damaged several churches and the town hall. It was named a Pueblo Mágico on June 26, 2023.