Cuapiaxtla

Cuapiaxtla is the seat of the municipality of the same name, in eastern Tlaxcala and very close to the Puebla state line. According to Wikipedia the town sits at about 2,450 m above sea level, and the municipality, which borders Atltzayanca, Huamantla, El Carmen Tequexquitla and, to the south, San José Chiapa in Puebla, covers about 84.5 km² between 2,400 and 2,700 m. At the 2020 census the municipality had 16,222 people in 28 localities, and the seat itself counted 10,070. It should not be confused with Cuapiaxtla de Madero, a different municipality in Puebla.

The history that is documented is one of hacienda country. Near the town, at San Francisco Cuexcontzi, there were farming terraces and pyramid platforms tied to the city of Los Teteles de Atotonilco; the present seat may have been founded by an Otomí group linked to the lordship of Tecoac. In 1545 Charles V recognised the local leaders as nobles and granted them the cacicazgo of Cuapiaxtla, and by about 1712 haciendas existed, producing pulque, grain and aguardiente. In 1849 residents opposed annexing Tlaxcala to Puebla, and in 1873 they welcomed President Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada at the railway station. Electric light arrived in the 1960s.

The main building is the parish church of San Lorenzo, which was a visita served by secular clergy from 1641 to 1693, when Bishop Manuel Fernández de Santa Cruz made it a parish. The temple of the Señor del Vecinito is also described as a historic monument. Today the economy mixes farming, livestock, forestry and some industry.