HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Soconusco is a region in the southwest corner of the state of
Chiapas Chiapas (; Tzotzil and Tzeltal: ''Chyapas'' ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas), is one of the states that make up the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises 124 municipalities ...
in
Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...
along its border with
Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by Hon ...
. It is a narrow strip of land wedged between the
Sierra Madre de Chiapas The Sierra Madre de Chiapas is a major mountain range in Central America. It crosses El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico and Honduras. The Sierra Madre de Chiapas is part of the American Cordillera, a chain of mountain ranges that consists of an almos ...
mountains and the Pacific Ocean. It is the southernmost part of the Chiapas coast extending south from the Ulapa River to the Suchiate River, distinguished by its history and economic production. Abundant moisture and volcanic soil has always made it rich for agriculture, contributing to the flowering of the Mokaya and
Olmec The Olmecs () were the earliest known major Mesoamerican civilization. Following a progressive development in Soconusco, they occupied the tropical lowlands of the modern-day Mexican states of Veracruz and Tabasco. It has been speculated that ...
cultures, which were based on
Theobroma cacao ''Theobroma cacao'', also called the cacao tree and the cocoa tree, is a small ( tall) evergreen tree in the family Malvaceae. Its seeds, cocoa beans, are used to make chocolate liquor, cocoa solids, cocoa butter and chocolate. The largest pr ...
and
rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Thailand, Malaysia, and ...
of Castilla elastica. In the 19th century, the area was disputed between Mexico and Guatemala until a treaty signed in 1882 fixed the modern border by dividing the area's historical extension, with most going to Mexico and a smaller portion east of the Suchiate to Guatemala. In 1890,
Porfirio Díaz José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori ( or ; ; 15 September 1830 – 2 July 1915), known as Porfirio Díaz, was a Mexican general and politician who served seven terms as President of Mexico, a total of 31 years, from 28 November 1876 to 6 Decem ...
and
Otto von Bismarck Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (, ; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898), born Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck, was a conservative German statesman and diplomat. From his origins in the upper class of ...
collaborated to take advantage of southern Mexico's agricultural potential by sending 450 German families to Soconusco near Tapachula in the southern state of Chiapas. Extensive coffee cultivation quickly made Soconusco one of the most successful German colonies, and between 1895 and 1900, 11.5 million kg of coffee had been harvested. Fincas (estates) were erected in the Chiapaneco jungle and given German names such as Hamburgo, Bremen, Lübeck, Argovia, Bismarck, Prussia, and Hanover. This area has experienced a boom-and-bust economy with well-studied migration patterns of agricultural workers. After exporting cacao to central Mexico for thousands of years, the first modern crop for export was coffee. Since then other crops such as tropical fruits, flowers and more have been introduced. The most recent addition is the
rambutan Rambutan (; taxonomic name: ''Nephelium lappaceum'') is a medium-sized tropical tree in the family Sapindaceae. The name also refers to the edible fruit produced by this tree. The rambutan is native to Southeast Asia. It is closely related to s ...
, a southeast Asian fruit.


History


Pre-Columbian era

Soconusco is geographically isolated from the political and economic center of Mexico, and it is relatively little known among the rest of the Mexican population. Geographically, it is part of the Chiapas coast, but it has had a distinct cultural and living identity from the rest of Chiapas since
Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Central America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica. Wit ...
n times and remains so to this day. Soconusco lies on the border between Mexico and
Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...
, but it has had connections with what is now central Mexico since the Mesoamerican period, primarily because of trade routes into Central America and its production of cacao, achiote, and other products. The name is derived from 3 words in
Nahuatl Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have small ...
Xococ (Sour) + Nochtli (Prickly pear cactus) + có (Place) “Xoconochco” means (Place of sour cactus) as noted in the Mendoza Codex. The
Mayan Mayan most commonly refers to: * Maya peoples, various indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica and northern Central America * Maya civilization, pre-Columbian culture of Mesoamerica and northern Central America * Mayan languages, language family spoken ...
name for the area was Zaklohpakab. The area was originally defined as far south as the Tilapa River in what is now Guatemala, but when the final border between Mexico and Guatemala was set in 1882, the Suchiate became the southern boundary.


Mokaya culture

The earliest population of Soconusco region were the coastal Chantuto peoples, going back to 5500 BC. This was the oldest Mesoamerican culture discovered to date. In what is now the municipality of Mazatán, another culture arose. The culture is called Mokaya (people of the corn in Mixe-Zoque) and it is dated to about 4,000 years ago when cacao and ballcourts appear. It is thought that migrations out of this area east gave rise to the
Olmec The Olmecs () were the earliest known major Mesoamerican civilization. Following a progressive development in Soconusco, they occupied the tropical lowlands of the modern-day Mexican states of Veracruz and Tabasco. It has been speculated that ...
civilization. A later, but also important Mesoamerican culture, was centered on the site of Izapa, considered the most important on the Chiapas coast. It dates to about 1500 BC and is classified as Mixe-Zoque but it is also considered to be the link between the older Olmec civilization and the later Mayan ones. The site was important for about 1000 years as a civil and religious structure. While most of its ruins now consist of earthen mounds, its importance lies in the information which has been gathered from its steles and other sculpted stone works. Izapa is considered to be where the Mesoamerican ceremonial 260-day calendar was developed. Before the Aztecs, the area was a restless tribute region of
Tehuantepec Tehuantepec (, in full, Santo Domingo Tehuantepec) is a city and municipality in the southeast of the Mexican state of Oaxaca. It is part of the Tehuantepec District in the west of the Istmo Region. The area was important in pre Hispanic peri ...
, with the dominant ethnicity being
Mame MAME (formerly an acronym of Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator) is a free and open-source emulator designed to recreate the hardware of arcade game systems in software on modern personal computers and other platforms. Its intention is to preserve ...
(Modern linguistic corrected to "Mam" in Guatemala because a Spanish word that is vulgar). Tapachultec language was an old language in the area that became extinct in 1930s.


Aztec conquest

In 1486, Aztec emperor
Ahuitzotl Ahuitzotl ( nah, āhuitzotl, ) was the eighth Aztec ruler, the ''Huey Tlatoani'' of the city of Tenochtitlan, son of princess Atotoztli II. His name literally means "Water Thorny" and was also applied to the otter. It is also theorized that m ...
conquered it; the area was then required to send cotton clothing, bird feathers, jaguar skins, and cacao as tributes. However, rebellions against the Aztecs continued with
Moctezuma Xocoyotzin Moctezuma Xocoyotzin ( – 29 June 1520; oteːkˈsoːmaḁ ʃoːkoˈjoːt͡sĩn̥), nci-IPA, Motēuczōmah Xōcoyōtzin, moteːkʷˈsoːma ʃoːkoˈjoːtsin variant spellings include Motewksomah, Motecuhzomatzin, Montezuma, Moteuczoma, Motecu ...
sending troops to pacify the area in 1502 and 1505.


Spanish Conquest

The first Spanish arrived in the area in 1522. According to chronicler
Bernal Díaz del Castillo Bernal Díaz del Castillo ( 1492 – 3 February 1584) was a Spanish conquistador, who participated as a soldier in the conquest of the Aztec Empire under Hernán Cortés and late in his life wrote an account of the events. As an experience ...
the area had a native population of about 15,000 inhabitants although other estimates have put that number as high as 75,000 in the 1520s.
Pedro de Alvarado Pedro de Alvarado (; c. 1485 – 4 July 1541) was a Spanish conquistador and governor of Guatemala.Lovell, Lutz and Swezey 1984, p. 461. He participated in the conquest of Cuba, in Juan de Grijalva's exploration of the coasts of the Yucat ...
is credited with the conquest of the Soconusco as he headed down into Central America from the Spanish stronghold in southern Veracruz in 1524. The conquest caused a steady depopulation of the area with the disappearance of much of the native population either from migration out of the area or death from the diseases that the Europeans had brought with them. Soconusco was declared a province by the
Spanish Crown , coatofarms = File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Spanish_Monarch.svg , coatofarms_article = Coat of arms of the King of Spain , image = Felipe_VI_in_2020_(cropped).jpg , incumbent = Felipe VI , incumbentsince = 19 Ju ...
in 1526, with its original extension down into what is now Guatemala. Its first governor was Pedro de Montejo Sr. as part of Chiapas. That lasted only a short time after which it was governed from Mexico City. In the late 16th century
Miguel de Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 NS) was an Early Modern Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-eminent novelists. He is best kno ...
, future author of ''
Don Quixote is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of West ...
'', requested from the Spanish king the right to govern Soconusco because of its well-known cacao. The first evangelists came to the area in 1545, sent by
Bartolomé de las Casas Bartolomé de las Casas, OP ( ; ; 11 November 1484 – 18 July 1566) was a 16th-century Spanish landowner, friar, priest, and bishop, famed as a historian and social reformer. He arrived in Hispaniola as a layman then became a Dominican friar ...
. These monks were Dominicans, who divided the area into six parishes. Soconusco was originally under the religious jurisdiction of
Tlaxcala Tlaxcala (; , ; from nah, Tlaxcallān ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tlaxcala ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tlaxcala), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is ...
before it was moved to that to Guatemala. In 1538, the pope created the bishopric of Chiapas, part of which was Soconusco. In 1543, Chiapas became governed by the Audencia de los Confines (
Real Audiencia of Guatemala The Real Audiencia of Santiago de Guatemala ( es, Audiencia y Cancillería Real de Santiago de Guatemala), simply known as the Audiencia of Guatemala or the Audiencia of Los Confines, was a ''Real Audiencia'' (appellate court) in the Imperial Spa ...
, which included much of what is now southern Mexico and Central America, with its capital in
Guatemala City Guatemala City ( es, Ciudad de Guatemala), known locally as Guatemala or Guate, is the capital and largest city of Guatemala, and the most populous urban area in Central America. The city is located in the south-central part of the country, ne ...
. In 1564, the capital of this Audencia was moved to
Panama City Panama City ( es, Ciudad de Panamá, links=no; ), also known as Panama (or Panamá in Spanish), is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has an urban population of 880,691, with over 1.5 million in its metropolitan area. The city is loca ...
and governance of Soconusco switched back to Mexico City. However, in 1568, the
Captaincy General of Guatemala The Captaincy General of Guatemala ( es, Capitanía General de Guatemala), also known as the Kingdom of Guatemala ( es, Reino de Guatemala), was an administrative division of the Spanish Empire, under the viceroyalty of New Spain in Central ...
was established and Soconusco and Chiapas was made part of it. That would remain the case until the end of the
Mexican War of Independence The Mexican War of Independence ( es, Guerra de Independencia de México, links=no, 16 September 1810 – 27 September 1821) was an armed conflict and political process resulting in Mexico's independence from Spain. It was not a single, co ...
in 1821. However, the area maintained important political and economic ties with Mexico City throughout the period. Huehuetán was established as the capital of Soconusco in 1540. It remained so until 1700 when it was moved to Escuintla. In 1794, a hurricane devastated this town, so it was moved again to
Tapachula Tapachula de Córdova y Ordóñez, simply known as Tapachula, is a city and municipality located in the far southeast of the state of Chiapas in Mexico, near the Guatemalan border and the Pacific Ocean. It is one of the most important cities of ...
. Mistreatment by encomienda and hacienda owners also caused population loss and various uprisings such as one in 1712 by the Tzendals, which involved 32 villages centered on Cancuc. To counter the mass depopulation of the area, the Spanish Crown created two alcaldes mayores in 1760 to give more protection to the native population. However, that proved insufficient. and by 1790, the area had lost its status as a province and became part of Chiapas. Soconusco and the highlands of Chiapas were one of the first areas in the Central American region to support independence from Spain. They supported the Three Guarantees of
Agustín de Iturbide Agustín de Iturbide (; 27 September 178319 July 1824), full name Agustín Cosme Damián de Iturbide y Arámburu and also known as Agustín of Mexico, was a Mexican army general and politician. During the Mexican War of Independence, he built ...
but declared their own separate independence from the Spanish Crown in 1821. There was division in the state as to whether ally or unite with Mexico or the new Central American Republic when it split from Mexico in 1823. Those in the highlands preferred union with Mexico but the lowlands, including the Soconusco, preferred Central America.


19th-21st centuries

Soconusco's political status would be undecided for most of the rest of the 19th century. Mexico annexed Chiapas formally in 1824 and made its first formal claim to the Soconusco in 1825. That was not accepted by Guatemala or the ruling elite in Soconusco. In 1830, Central American troops entered the Soconusco to pursue a political dissident, but troops from the highlands of Chiapas countered their entrance. The first attempt to settle a border in the area occurred in 1831 with several others in the decades that follow but without success, in part because of political instability in Mexico. The
Central American Republic Central America is commonly said to include Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. This definition matches modern political borders. Central America begins geographically in Mexico, at the Isthmus of Te ...
dissolved between 1838 and 1840, leaving Guatemala to pursue claims to the Soconusco, which it did by declaring it part of the Quetzaltenango District in 1840. The population there favored inclusion into Guatemala. However,
Antonio López de Santa Anna Antonio de Padua María Severino López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón (; 21 February 1794 – 21 June 1876),Callcott, Wilfred H., "Santa Anna, Antonio Lopez De,''Handbook of Texas Online'' Retrieved 18 April 2017. usually known as Santa Ann ...
sent troops into Soconusco and the rest of Chiapas to press the population to formally unite with Mexico, which Soconusco did in 1842. More negotiations were attempted in 1877 and 1879, but a treaty was not signed by Mexico and Guatemala until 1882 to formalize a border. It split the Soconusco region, with the greater part going to Mexico. One reason behind the reaching of the agreement was concerns of the United States taking advantage of the continued instability between Mexico and the Central American states. However, Guatemala still made claims to the Soconusco until 1895. Since the finalization of the border with Guatemala, Soconusco's history has been dominated by the development of its economy. In the last quarter of the 19th century, the migration of foreigners from the United States and Europe was encouraged by the
Porfirio Díaz José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori ( or ; ; 15 September 1830 – 2 July 1915), known as Porfirio Díaz, was a Mexican general and politician who served seven terms as President of Mexico, a total of 31 years, from 28 November 1876 to 6 Decem ...
regime with land grants and the construction of a rail line. The goal of the government was to bring in foreign capital to the country to develop its natural resources and modernize it. For the Soconusco region, thhat meant the development of coffee plantations. In less than 20 years, between 1890 and 1910, the region became the main producer and exporter of coffee for Mexico. However, these coffee plantations needed large numbers of workers. Recruitment of indigenous peoples from other parts of Chiapas, often through deceit and entrapment was widespread. The need for workers also brought in people from Guatemala as well. The mistreatment of workers here and other parts of Mexico led to the outbreak of the
Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution ( es, Revolución Mexicana) was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from approximately 1910 to 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It resulted in the destruction ...
in 1910. However, plantation owners initially resisted the effects of the war and the economic changes that the rebels demanded. Coffee was more difficult to convert to cash than cattle and so its farms suffered less pillaging by the various factions than in other places. As the markets were abroad, they could resist the economic reforms of
Venustiano Carranza José Venustiano Carranza de la Garza (; 29 December 1859 – 21 May 1920) was a Mexican wealthy land owner and politician who was Governor of Coahuila when the constitutionally elected president Francisco I. Madero was overthrown in a February ...
as well. However, export agriculture is subject to boom-and-bust periods and
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
precipitated a drop in demand for coffee, weakening the plantain owners' position somewhat. Struggles between workers’ groups and plantation owners began in earnest in the 1920s, leading to the establishment of the Partido Socialista Chiapaneco. The amount of land under the control of these owners actually increased during the same period despite some successful attempts at land redistribution. Mexico's coffee production came under competition from abroad, and world coffee prices fell again in the 1930s. Land reform in the area began in earnest during this decade under President
Lázaro Cárdenas Lázaro Cárdenas del Río (; 21 May 1895 – 19 October 1970) was a Mexican army officer and politician who served as president of Mexico from 1934 to 1940. Born in Jiquilpan, Michoacán, to a working-class family, Cárdenas joined the Me ...
, with much of the coffee growing land becoming communally-held in ''
ejido An ''ejido'' (, from Latin ''exitum'') is an area of communal land used for agriculture in which community members have usufruct rights rather than ownership rights to land, which in Mexico is held by the Mexican state. People awarded ejidos in ...
s.'' By 1946, about half of all coffee growing land in the area was owned by about one hundred ejidos. However,
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
had coffee prices drop again and growth of coffee production in the area would not increase again until the 1950s, when international financing became available. Since then, coffee has remained the area's main cash crop, but it has been supplemented by the growing of tropical fruit and other crops, which have kept the Soconusco as an important agricultural center for Mexico. There are still booms and busts in demand, such as a major fall of coffee prices in 1989, caused by the disappearance of the
International Coffee Organization The International Coffee Organization (ICO) was set up in 1963 in London, under the auspices of the United Nations (UN) due to the economic importance of coffee. It administers the International Coffee Agreement (ICA), an important instrument for ...
, and the steady decline of cacao production. In 2005,
Hurricane Stan Hurricane Stan was a relatively weak but deadly tropical cyclone that affected areas of Central America and Mexico in early October 2005. The eighteenth named storm and eleventh hurricane of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, Stan formed from ...
caused the region to lose 65% of its banana crop, mostly in Suchiate and Mazatán. That caused a temporary but significant economic crisis. Another significant effect was a decrease in the number of seasonal migrant workers who come to harvest and process crops. Most of these migrants come from Guatemala although that migration has lessened for economic reasons. The number of Guatemalans migrating legally into Mexico dropped from a high of 79,253 in 1999 to 27,840 in 2007. Most Guatemalan migrants in Mexico are on their way now to the United States. Illegal immigration in the region is still a problem, most of which comes from Central America. Most illegal immigrants work in agriculture and as domestic servants, with women being vulnerable to sexual exploitation, especially those from
Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...
and
El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south ...
.


Notable communities

The Soconusco is divided into fifteen municipalities which are
Acacoyagua Acacoyagua Municipality one of the 122 municipalities of Chiapas, which in turn is one of the states of Mexico. As of 2010, the municipality had a total population of 16,814, up from 14,189 as of 2005. History The area is notable for being the p ...
,
Acapetahua Acapetahua is a town and one of the 122 Municipalities of Chiapas, in southern Mexico. As of 2010, the municipality had a total population of 27,580, up from 14,189 in 2005. As of 2010, the town of Acapetahua had a population of 6,194. Other tha ...
, Cacahoatán, Escuintla, Frontera Hidalgo, Huehuetán, Huixtla, Mazatán, Metapa, Pueblo Nuevo Comaltitlán, Ciudad Hidalgo,
Tapachula Tapachula de Córdova y Ordóñez, simply known as Tapachula, is a city and municipality located in the far southeast of the state of Chiapas in Mexico, near the Guatemalan border and the Pacific Ocean. It is one of the most important cities of ...
, Tuxtla Chico, Unión Juárez and Tuzantán. The region's capital and Mexico's main border city for this area is Tapachula. Tapachula was founded by the Spanish as an Indian town in 1590, with the name coming from the local language meaning “place of the conquered.” Most of the city's monumental structures are in
Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unit ...
style from the early 20th century, when the coffee plantations brought wealth to the area. The main monumental building is the old municipal palace, which is next to the San Agustín parish, both of which face Hidalgo Plaza. Other important sites in the city include the Caimanes Zoo, which has over 1000 alligators and the first to specialize in this species in Mexico. It is also the starting point for tourist routes such as the Ruta del Café (Coffee Route) and to nearby ocean areas with beaches and mangroves. Puerto Chiapas, in the municipality of Tapachula, is one of Mexico's newest port facilities. The port receives various types of ships including cruise liners. It has a beach with dark gray sand, nine km long, a rough surf and a semi humid climate with rains in the summer. Activities for tourists include sports fishing, boating and ATV riding. Unión Juárez is located on the slopes of the Tacaná Volcano. The town is noted for its surrounding coffee plantations and houses made of wood in a style similar to that of Switzerland, giving it the nickname of “La Suiza Chiapaneca.” It has a relatively cold climate with rains in the summer and is the primarily mountain tourist attraction of the state. Tuxtla Chico is a town surrounded by dense tropical vegetation. It conserves much of its distinct architecture such as the Casa del Portal de Madera (House of the Wood Portal and the Candelaria Church, which is one of the main colonial era structures of the Chiapas coast region. Another important structure is the fountain in the center of the main plaza. Near the town is the Finca Rosario Izapa, which is field research station for agriculture, mostly concentrated on studies on cacao and tropical fruits. Cacahoatán is noted for its colorful wooden structures on the border from plantations dedicated to tropical fruit and those dedicated to coffee production in the higher altitudes. Some of these plantations, such as La Palmira offered guided tours. Huehuetán is a town founded during the colonial period as the capital of the Soconusco. Its main church is from this time, today known as the San Pedro Parish, constructed in an austere fashion of adobe. Tuzantán has conserved much of its indigenous identity, populated by ethnic Tuzantecos and Mochos, which are the westernmost Mayan peoples. Their main religious festival is dedicated to the Archangel Michael celebrated in September. Huixtla is the only town on the Chiapas coast which conserves its old train station. The town is surrounded by fields of wild reeds and “La Piedra,” a granite formation, is used to symbolize the area. Acacoyagua was a settlement populated by Japanese immigrants. Nearby is the El Chicol waterfall, which forms deep pools of fresh water surrounded by dense vegetation.


Geography and environment

Soconusco is a strip of land wedged between the Pacific Ocean and the
Sierra Madre de Chiapas The Sierra Madre de Chiapas is a major mountain range in Central America. It crosses El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico and Honduras. The Sierra Madre de Chiapas is part of the American Cordillera, a chain of mountain ranges that consists of an almos ...
, formed by sediment flowing from the mountains, similar to the rest of the Chiapas coast. However, this area is distinguished because of its history and its economic production. It is the southern section of this state's coast, with its northern border at the Ulapa River. Its southern border used to be the Tilapa River in what is now Guatemala, but when the final border between Mexico and this country was set in 1882, the new southern boundary marker became the Suchiate River. The region has a territory of 5,827 km². The climate and ecology of the region varies with elevation. The coastal lowlands are seasonally dry. They are part of the
Central American dry forests The Central American dry forests ecoregion, of the tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests biome, is located in Central America. Geography The ecoregion covers a total area of approximately 68,100 km2. It extends along the Pacific ...
ecoregion, characterized by open woodlands and thorn scrub of dry-season deciduous trees and shrubs. At higher elevations the mountains intercept winds from the Pacific, creating clouds, fog, and
orographic precipitation Orography is the study of the topographic relief of mountains, and can more broadly include hills, and any part of a region's elevated terrain. Orography (also known as ''oreography'', ''orology'' or ''oreology'') falls within the broader discip ...
. The cooler and humid mountain climate supports the tropical evergreen montane moist forests of the
Sierra Madre de Chiapas moist forests The Sierra Madre de Chiapas moist forests is a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion in southern Mexico and southern Guatemala, extending into the northwestern corner of El Salvador. Geography The moist forests ecoregion lies on the southern ...
ecoregion. Higher-elevation areas of the mountains are part the Central American pine-oak forests ecoregion.Corrales, Lenin & Bouroncle, Claudia & Zamora Pereira, Juan. (2015). An overview of forest biomes and ecoregions of Central America. The entire Chiapas coast runs for over 200 km as a series of beaches uninterrupted except for estuaries and
lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into '' coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons ...
s created by the various small rivers that run from the Sierra Madre de Chiapas to the Pacific Ocean. These areas are known for their abundance of mangroves and water lilies as well as aquatic birds. The most important estuary area is the La Encrucijada Ecological Reserve which extends over 144,868 hectares in the municipalities of Pijijiapan, Mapastepec, Acapetahua, Huixtla, Villa Comaltitlán and Mazatán, consisting of lagoons and estuaries that interconnect along the Pacific Ocean. It has the tallest mangroves on the Pacific coast of the Americas, and the La Concepción turtle sanctuary which works to protect several species of marine turtles. These mangroves support a variety of wildlife including oysters, iguanas, alligators, and ocelots. The reserve includes the Hueyate Marsh formed by the Huixtla and Despoblado rivers. The main vegetation here is reeds and palm trees with a large number of turtles. To one side of the reserve is the
Chantuto Archaeological Site The Chantuto Archaeological Site is located in the Soconusco region of coastal Chiapas state, Mexico. The Chantuto were the ancient people who belonged to the coastal region of Southwestern Mexico, west of the modern town of Escuintla, Chiapas, dat ...
, one of the first human settlements in the Chiapas area. The site includes large mounds of discarded shells. Visitors require permits from the Reserve's administration. Between La Encrucijada and the Guatemalan border, there are a series of lesser known beaches. Barra Cahoacán is located 33 km from the city of Tapachula on the highway to Puerto Chiapas. It contains about thirty km of beaches and a semi humid climate with rains in the summer. Barra San José is a beach area bordered on one with by the estuary of the Huehuetán River. This area has cabins and areas with fish farming, mostly raising shrimp. Tourist attractions include jet-ski, water skiing, boating and horseback riding. It has a semi humid climate with rains in the summer, located in the Mazatán municipality. The Barra Zacapulco is a tourist center with large extension of estuaries with mangroves as it is within the La Encrucijada Reserve. It has a humid climate with rains year round in the municipality of Acapetahua. Playa El Gancho is a beach in the Suchiate municipality open to the ocean with an estuary with mangroves. It has a humid climate with rains from May to October. It has sports fishing, boating and camping. Barra de San Simón is near the town of Mazatán. In addition to wide beaches with estuaries, birds and exuberant vegetation, it is home to a sanctuary dedicated to the Virgin of the Conception. The waters of the open ocean are rough but the estuaries have little to no wave action. The large expanses of mangroves here are part of the La Encrucijada Reserve in the Las Palmas zone. Playa Linda is in the Tapachula municipality. It has beaches of fine grayish sand and a rough surf and a semi humid climate with rains in the summer. Activities here include sports fishing, boating and camping. Playa San Benito has beaches with dark grey sand and a rough surf. The beach is lined with restaurants in palapas serving seafood. Some of these have swimming pools. Costa Maya or Playa Maya is in the Tapachula municipality in the Las Gaviotas community. It has open beach and estuaries. Playa Grande are expanses of near-virgin beaches with no constructions on them. It is a recommended place to see the natural flora and fauna of the area. The main nature reserve in the mountain areas of the region is the El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve, near Mapastepec at the north end of the Soconusco. The area is wet with fairly low temperatures and exuberant evergreen tropical vegetation of the cloud forest type. It is home to species such as the
quetzal Quetzals () are strikingly colored birds in the trogon family. They are found in forests, especially in humid highlands, with the five species from the genus ''Pharomachrus'' being exclusively Neotropical, while a single species, the eared q ...
. Visitors are allowed only with permission of the Comisión Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas (CONANP) . At the southern end, the Tacaná Volcano reaches a height of 4,100 meters with all of the climates and vegetation that is found in the Sierra Madres de Chiapas. It forms part of Mexico's border with Guatemala as set by the 1882 Treaty. Tacaná is one of a series of volcanoes that extend through Central America. Despite the fact that it is an active volcano, the area around it is densely populated. At the lower levels the average temperature is around 20 C and at the highest elevation it is about 10C.


Economy

Soconusco is distinguished in Mexico as an agricultural center, mostly cash crops destined for export. The agricultural richness of the area and its function as a corridor to Central America helps to counter the negative economic effect of the region's remoteness from economic center of Mexico. The mainstay of the region's economy is agriculture for export, which makes it relatively economically independent from the rest of the country, despite the recent introduction of some industry and tourism. The dependence on the export of cash crops means that the economy is subject to
boom-and-bust Business cycles are intervals of expansion followed by recession in economic activity. These changes have implications for the welfare of the broad population as well as for private institutions. Typically business cycles are measured by examin ...
periods. These produce times of abundance and economic development but also major economic crisis such as the 1989 fall in coffee prices and a hurricane which wiped out 65% of the banana crop in 2005. These cycles, along with normal yearly harvest period have resulted in migrations of seasonal workers in and out of the area. Most of these workers come from Guatemala for harvests but bust periods can send parts of the local population out of area to find work. The Soconusco is one of the most fertile areas of the country for agriculture with plentiful rain and soil enriched by volcanic ash. Large scale cultivation in the area began in the Mesoamerican period with the growing of cacao. Today, crops include coffee, bananas,
papaya The papaya (, ), papaw, () or pawpaw () is the plant species ''Carica papaya'', one of the 21 accepted species in the genus '' Carica'' of the family Caricaceae. It was first domesticated in Mesoamerica, within modern-day southern Mexico and ...
,
mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree '' Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in Sout ...
, kiwi,
passion fruit ''Passiflora edulis,'' commonly known as passion fruit, is a vine species of passion flower native to southern Brazil through Paraguay and northern Argentina. It is cultivated commercially in tropical and subtropical areas for its sweet, seedy ...
,
carambola Carambola, also known as star fruit, is the fruit of '' Averrhoa carambola'', a species of tree native to tropical Southeast Asia. The mildly poisonous fruit is commonly consumed in parts of Brazil, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the South Pacif ...
and African palm . Over half of the area's working population is dedicated to agriculture and livestock. Coffee, bananas and mangos represent over eighty percent of the areas agricultural production. Thirty seven percent of the area's arable land is dedicated to coffee and another 25% to corn accounting for 62% of all cropland. The rest is mostly dedicated to mangos, cacao and sesame seed. The most exported crops are coffee, mangos, papayas and bananas with over 90% going to the United States. One new tropical fruit being grown in the area is the
rambutan Rambutan (; taxonomic name: ''Nephelium lappaceum'') is a medium-sized tropical tree in the family Sapindaceae. The name also refers to the edible fruit produced by this tree. The rambutan is native to Southeast Asia. It is closely related to s ...
(Nephelium lappaceum L.) native to Malaysia and Indonesia but become increasingly popular in Central America and Mexico. One important grower is the Rancho San Alberto in the Cacahoatán municipality which pioneered the growing of this fruit in the country in the mid 20th century. Overall it is estimated that there are 50,000 producing trees over 500 hectares. Growing sectors of the agriculture include organic produce and African palm. The production of ornamental plants began in the early 2000s in the coffee plantations as did “agrotourism” or the opening of plantations to visitors with accommodations and sometimes spa facilities. Mexico's coffee production has been eclipsed by other growers in the world but it remains an important product. The various major coffee farms are linked by the Ruta del Café or Coffee Route, up in the high slopes and deep valleys of the Sierra near Tapachula. The introduction of this crop by European immigrants not only had an effect on the economy but also the local architecture. As coffee plants need the shade of higher trees, this has conserved much of the original vegetation of the area although the cultivation has had a negative effect on natural water supplies north of Tapachula. Among these plantations is the rainiest place in Mexico, the Finca Covadonga plantation, which receives about 5,000 mm of rain each year. This amount is surpassed only by places in Hawaii and India. The Santo Domingo coffee plantation is noted for its location on the slopes of the Tacaná Volcano. It maintains the look it had during the early 20th century. Visitors can see the main house, housing for workers, chapel, hospital and the installations dedicated to the processing of coffee beans. The main house was constructed in the 1920s by the original owner, who was German. Chiapas is the main producer of bananas in Mexico. Rancho Guadalupe is a banana plantation open to the public for tours. It is located near Puerto Chiapas. Tourism is not the major industry for the region although the state promotes it along with the rest of the Chiapas coast. In addition to the Ruta del Café, there are two others based on the area's natural scenery. Much of the Chiapas’ mangrove areas are linked in a tourist route called the “Ruta del Manglar.” The center is the La Encruciajada Reserve, which was created as part of the North American Waterbird Conservation Plan signed in 1986 by Mexico, the U.S. and Canada. Another feature of the route is the Caimanes y Crocodriles de Chiapas sanctuary, located outside of Tapachula. The mangroves are home to various reptiles such as alligators, the iguana and the ocelot. The Barra de Zacapulco Tourism Center features a marine turtle sanctuary which monitors the population of various species. La Encrucijada also include the Huayate Marsh formed by the Huixtla and Despoblado Rivers. The Volcano Route is centered on the Tacaná Volcano. It was the object of veneration for the Izapa civilization. Its name is from the
Mame MAME (formerly an acronym of Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator) is a free and open-source emulator designed to recreate the hardware of arcade game systems in software on modern personal computers and other platforms. Its intention is to preserve ...
language and means “house of fire.”


Culture

Tapachula is known for its Chinese food, especially
Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding a ...
. More indigenous dishes include
tamale A tamale, in Spanish tamal, is a traditional Mesoamerican dish made of masa, a dough made from nixtamalized corn, which is steamed in a corn husk or banana leaf. The wrapping can either be discarded prior to eating or used as a plate. Tam ...
s,
pozol Pozol (from the Nahuatl ) is the name of both fermented corn dough and the cocoa drink made from it, which has its origins in Pre-Columbian Mexico. The drink is consumed in the south of Mexico in the states of Chiapas and Tabasco. It is a t ...
, sopa de chipilín and other dishes shared with the rest of Chiapas. These dishes are often prepared with beef and pork and prepared with ingredients such as peaches, apples, bananas,
quince The quince (; ''Cydonia oblonga'') is the sole member of the genus ''Cydonia'' in the Malinae subtribe (which also contains apples and pears, among other fruits) of the Rosaceae family. It is a deciduous tree that bears hard, aromatic bright ...
, chayote, and carrots. Chanfaina is cooked ground beef liver with seasonings. Seafood dishes include various fish dishes and stews along with those made of river snails and turtles. The coast area of the region has a cuisine dominated by seafood, tropical fruit, cacao and coffee. It is influenced by that of the
Isthmus of Tehuantepec The Isthmus of Tehuantepec () is an isthmus in Mexico. It represents the shortest distance between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean. Before the opening of the Panama Canal, it was a major overland transport route known simply as the T ...
which can be seen in dishes such as “pollo juchi,” a chicken dish. Traditional handcrafts include leather good for horsemanship made in Tapachula which includes saddles and saddlebags. Ceramics are made in San Felipe Tizapa and wood items in Unión Juárez. Items related to fishing such as nets are made along the entire coast.


References


Tapachulaturistica el rincon turistico en web - seccion "Propio del Soconusco"
{{Authority control Historical regions in Mexico Geography of Chiapas Regions of Mexico Geography of Mesoamerica Mokaya culture