Miahuatlán

Miahuatlán is the seat of the municipality of the same name, in the foothills of the Sierra de Chiconquiaco at almost 1,800 metres and only 7 km north of Naolinco. It is a cool, wet town, averaging 14 to 16 °C, with more than 1,600 mm of rain a year. The 2020 census counted 3,667 people here, three quarters of the whole municipality.

The name is Nahuatl: miáhuatl is the tassel or flower of the maize plant and tlan marks a place, so it reads "where the maize tassels are". Tradition says the first Nahuatl-speaking settlers found maize in flower here, and some residents still speak the language. The town dates its founding to 4 April 1653, by people from Cexuchitlán, today La Flor in Juchique de Ferrer. San José and San Juan Miahuatlán were merged in 1899 with San José as the seat; the municipality was re-created in 1922 and dropped "San José" from its name in 1932.

The saint still runs the calendar: the patron fiesta of San José, with processions, dances and fireworks, falls around 19 March, the Virgin of the Assumption is honoured in mid-August, and San Isidro Labrador on 15 May. The church of San José faces the main square, next to the town hall and bandstand.

This is ranching country: maize, coffee and beans, and above all dairy cattle, which supply the farmhouse cheeses the town council itself promotes. Around town are oak woods, ravines and streams feeding the Actopan river; downstream of the Miahuatlán waterfall begins the chain of falls and small dams on the Naolinco river. Being so close, it pairs easily with a visit to Naolinco.