Magdalena Cuayucatepec

Northwest of Tehuacán, about 13 km from the city as the crow flies, Magdalena Cuayucatepec is the second-largest community in the municipality and one of its twelve juntas auxiliares (sub-municipal districts). It had 10,889 residents in 2020, eight times the 1,345 of the 1900 census; strong growth began in the 1960s (1,999 in 1960, 3,449 in 1970) and has not slowed since.

It lies at 1,733 m on the western side of the Tehuacán valley, a long, wide valley that gives way to the Sierra de Zapotitlán above 2,000 m to the west. The federal encyclopedia of municipalities names farming and livestock as its main activities.

There are two readings of the name. One takes it from the Nahuatl cuahuyocan, wooded place, and tepetl, hill: 'hill with thick woods'. The other links it to the Cuayucas, the people of Cuayuca, giving 'on the hill of Cuayuca'. 'Magdalena' refers to its patron, Mary Magdalene.

For visitors to Tehuacán, the village is about 20 minutes from the centre, with its Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (first stone laid in 1724), the former Carmelite convent (1748-1783) and the Moorish-style town hall. The municipality keeps traditions such as the Santos Reyes procession on 6 January and 'la matanza', the season in October and November when fattened goats are slaughtered and cooked.