Magdalena

Magdalena is the seat of one of the smallest municipalities in Veracruz, on the foothills of the Sierra de Zongolica south of Orizaba. The town lies at almost 1,500 metres and had 854 people in 2020; the whole municipality counts just seven localities, among them Helicotla and Capultitla, right next to the seat.

The name has shifted over the centuries: in the 16th century it was Magdalena Temimilucan, in 1831 Santa María Magdalena Tlamimilola, rendered as 'place of the hillock and the little slope', and since 1936 simply Magdalena. Its streams drain to the Río Blanco, and the climate is mild and damp, averaging about 19 °C with around 1,800 mm of rain a year. Oak, pine and walnut cover the hills, and the fields grow maize and coffee.

The town hall and the church are counted as its historic buildings. The main feast falls on 21 and 22 July for Saint Mary Magdalene, the patron, with fireworks, brass bands, Moors-and-Christians and tocotín dances, football and basketball tournaments, a dance and the mayordomía. At All Saints people decorate graves with marigolds and set up home altars with pan de muerto, oranges, bananas, boiled chayote and chocolate.

A few families still weave woollen garments on backstrap looms. Local food includes turkey mole, bean and chile tamales, xocotamales and corn atole. The municipality's natural sight is the Tzontecomoztok caves, which hold a small lagoon inside; go with someone from town who knows the way.