Town 9 km southwest of Orizaba
The old textile town of Santa Rosa, with a community history museum in a former factory warehouse and the gateway to the Sierra de Zongolica.
Ciudad Mendoza sits at the western end of the Orizaba valley, where the Río Blanco comes down from the mountains. It grew up as Santa Rosa Necoxtla around a large textile mill built in the late nineteenth century, one of several factories that turned this valley into one of Mexico's first industrial corridors.
The mill workers of Santa Rosa, Río Blanco and Nogales were at the heart of the strike of January 1907, which was put down by federal troops and is remembered as one of the sparks of the Mexican Revolution. In 1930 the municipality was renamed after Camerino Z. Mendoza, a local revolutionary leader killed by Victoriano Huerta's forces, and it became a city in 1933.
The town's community museum of regional history occupies a former warehouse of the textile factory, with photographs, documents and a model of the valley's factories in revolutionary times. Ciudad Mendoza lies inside the Cañón del Río Blanco National Park and is known as the gateway to the Sierra de Zongolica to the south.
What to see and do
Visit the community museum of regional history in the old factory warehouse; check opening days before going.
Look at the old textile mill buildings that shaped the town.
Stop in neighboring Río Blanco, where the 1907 strike is remembered.
Use the town as a starting point for the road south into the Sierra de Zongolica.
Getting there
Ciudad Mendoza is about 20 to 25 minutes west of Orizaba on the old federal highway, passing through Río Blanco and Nogales. Local buses run frequently along this road between Orizaba and Ciudad Mendoza.
9 km southwest of Orizaba
Directions from Orizaba on Google Maps
Distances are in a straight line; the road is usually longer.
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Weather mild
Ciudad Mendoza shares the climate of Orizaba, 9 km away. The best months to visit are Feb, Mar, Apr, Dec.
Make Orizaba your base
Ciudad Mendoza is an easy trip from Orizaba, a Pueblo Mágico with places to stay, food, and more to see.
More around Orizaba
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Cañón del Río Blanco
· Nature reserve · 4 km away
A national park since 1938 around Orizaba, with pine-covered peaks, waterfalls on the Río Blanco, and trails above the valley. -
Cascada El Elefante
· Waterfall · 5 km away
A waterfall deep in the Río Blanco canyon, reached by a stairway of 500 steps, with a turquoise swimming pool next door. -
Laguna de Nogales
· Lake · 7 km away
A spring-fed lake in the town of Nogales, clear and cold, where locals swim, row, and stroll under the trees. -
Barranca de Metlac
· Viewpoint · 12 km away
A deep, misty ravine with 19th-century railway tunnels, an old track you can walk, and some of Mexico's tallest bridges. -
Fortín de las Flores
· Town · 13 km away
A flower-growing town on the road to Córdoba, with gardenia and orchid nurseries and a large bonsai museum. -
Sótano de Popocatl
· Cave · 19 km away
A river that plunges about 80 meters into a sinkhole in the Sierra de Zongolica foothills; rappel down with guides or look from the rim. -
Acultzingo
· Town · 25 km away
A mountain town below the Cumbres de Acultzingo, the steep, winding pass on the old Puebla road with sweeping valley views. -
Pico de Orizaba
· Mountain · 26 km away
Mexico's highest peak, the snow-capped volcano that towers over Orizaba; its national park has forests and high trails.
Location from OpenStreetMap. Written by Puebloteca.