Amatitlán de Azueta

Two layers of history fit into this name. Amatitlán comes from Nahuatl amatl, the amate tree, and titlan, among: "place ringed by amate trees". The addition of Azueta recalls José Azueta, one of the heroes of the defence of the port of Veracruz against the US landing of 1914. The village had 1,734 people in 2020 and lies at 1,155 m, just 4 km in a straight line from Acatlán de Osorio, the municipal seat, so it works almost as its next-door neighbour; Puebla city is about 97 km away in a straight line and Tehuacán 79.

Acatlán, "the Pearl of the Mixteca", covers volcanic ranges and ravines between 900 and 1,600 m, split into two parts, one of them against Oaxaca. The climate is hot: averages of 18 to 26 °C and 700 to 900 mm of summer rain, and over half the land is still covered in tropical forest. The Acatlán, El Chivo and Mixteco rivers flow all year. In the Classic period the area was a centre of the Ñuiñe culture, known for its small colossal-style ceramic heads, and there are archaeological remains at El Zapote, where the first Acatlán stood; an earthquake destroyed it in 1711 and the present town was founded the following year. In 1813 Morelos, Matamoros, Galeana, Guerrero and Guadalupe Victoria passed through.

The seat's festive calendar is long: San Gabriel on 24 March, the Holy Cross on 3 May, San Juan Bautista on 24 June, the Virgen de las Nieves on 5 August, San Rafael on 24 October with tecuani dances, the Day of the Dead with a fair at the cemetery, and above all the Holy Week fair, with horse races. Pottery is still made, along with palm hats. On the table: mole poblano, tamales, corn on the cob and chilate with tempesquistle; for sweets, palanqueta and jamoncillo; to drink, aguardiente, also mixed with jobo fruit. A sundial carved in marble graces central Acatlán.