San Gabriel Chilac

San Gabriel Chilac is the seat of the municipality of the same name in the Tehuacán valley, near that city. It is a Nahuatl-speaking town. The name is explained two ways: "where little snails abound", after the fossil snails found in the area, or as a shortening of Ana Chilacatla Momotla, the woman who, according to the founding documents, ruled the town with her husband Basilio Toltecatl. Its founding is dated to 1539; it belonged to the old district of Tehuacán and became a free municipality in 1895.

Chilac is best known for its Day of the Dead, the mik-ilhuitl, which draws hundreds of visitors every 1 and 2 November. Preparations start a month ahead: craftsmen set up beside the cemetery to restore the grave crosses, others cut coloured paper and plastic to decorate the candles given to families who lost someone during the year, and people tidy the graves and build reed shelters to gather in during the festival. On 28 October the town remembers those who died in accidents; on the 31st the children arrive, announced at noon with bells and rockets; and on 1 November the pre-dawn mass is lit only by the candles each person carries alight from home. Offerings include bean and chilli tamales, red atole, chocolate, turkey mole and bread.

The town also has a Water Museum, founded in 2005 and devoted to water conservation, supported by the Quali-Alternativas cooperatives.