Zozocolco

History

Before the conquest this was Totonac land organized around Tonatico, a polity whose main settlement stood near the Apulco River, with Tzozocolco as a subject or allied community. Totonac villages were scattered rather than clustered, so in the 16th century the Spanish gathered people into European-style towns. Tonatico was granted in encomienda in 1529, its tribute passed to the Crown in 1544, and around 1568 its population was moved to Zozocolco. The church of San Miguel Arcángel was built in the 17th century, and in 1719 the people of San Miguel Zozocolco took formal possession of their lands.

The late colonial sierra was restless, with repeated uprisings against heavy tribute and abuses. During the War of Independence the Totonac leader Serafín Olarte, from nearby Coxquihui, raised an army that stayed in the fight for years. From about 1840 mestizo families settled in what had been an indigenous refuge, and they gradually took over local offices, though Totonac families and traditions still predominate.

Under Porfirio Díaz sugarcane and coffee replaced the traditional cotton, and communal lands were privatized. In the 1920s the town built its Unión bridge, paved its streets with stone, and installed the church clock. A dirt road to Papantla came in 1973, electricity in 1975, and piped water in 1979. Zozocolco was named a Pueblo Mágico in 2015.