Esperanza

Esperanza is the seat of the municipality of the same name in eastern Puebla, in the Ciudad Serdán region. Its name honours the town's patron, the Virgen de la Esperanza, Our Lady of Hope. The town had 8,445 people in 2020 and stands at about 2,450 m. The municipality was created in 1930; though fairly new, the area has long been home to Nahuatl-speaking communities, and the place is also known as Mixtlan.

Esperanza played a part in Puebla's railway history. When the Mexico City–Veracruz line was completed in 1873, Porfirio Díaz's government ordered a branch to reach Tehuacán, which lay 51 km from the main line, and Esperanza was chosen as the junction. On 24 December 1879 Díaz opened the Esperanza–Tehuacán section in person; at first the cars were pulled by mules, and in 1892 the line was upgraded to steam as part of the route to Oaxaca.

The municipality, about 80 km², lies between 2,400 and 2,800 m, on land that slopes down from the foothills of Citlaltépetl. It borders Chalchicomula de Sesma to the north, Cañada Morelos to the south, Palmar de Bravo to the west and the Veracruz municipalities of Aquila and Maltrata to the east, where the road drops toward Orizaba.