El Escobillal

El Escobillal is the main settlement of the ejido of the same name and one of the closest villages to the town of Ángel R. Cabada, just 4 km from the municipal seat. It lies at about 30 metres above sea level on the flat part of the municipality, before the land starts rolling up toward the Tuxtla Mountains. The 2020 census counted 817 residents.

Its story mirrors that of many farming communities in southern Veracruz. The ejido was formally established on 8 March 1939, after a long struggle by local farmers to have their land recognised, in a municipality named after Ángel Rosario Cabada, an agrarian leader born in El Mesón, today's municipal seat. The village primary school was one of the first opened in the countryside around here; a telesecundaria (distance-learning secondary school) only arrived in 2000 and for a while held its classes in the ejido hall.

The climate is hot and humid, averaging 24 to 26 °C, with heavy summer rain; much of the land is farmed, with cattle pasture spreading to the south. Local cooking includes gallinitas en plátano, mojarra a la diabla and casamiento, and the jarana is the music of choice. A few kilometres away, outside the ejido, the municipality has spring-fed swimming spots such as Paraíso Escondido, Cinco Chorros and El Zapote, the Salto de Tula waterfall and the Majahual lagoon, where boats and kayaks can be rented.