Córdoba, known officially as Heroica Córdoba, is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

and the seat of the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

of the same name in the

Mexican state The states of Mexico are first-level administrative territorial entities of the country of Mexico, which is officially named United Mexican States. There are 32 federal entities in Mexico (31 states and the capital, Mexico City, as a separate en ...

Veracruz Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...

. It was founded in 1618. The city is composed of 15

barrio ''Barrio'' () is a Spanish word that means " quarter" or " neighborhood". In the modern Spanish language, it is generally defined as each area of a city, usually delimited by functional (e.g. residential, commercial, industrial, etc.), social, a ...

s (neighborhoods) bounded to the north by Ixhuatlán del Café and

Tomatlán Tomatlán (meaning "Tomato land" or "place of tomato" from Nahuatl) is a town and municipalities of Jalisco, municipality, in Jalisco south of Cabo Corrientes (Mexico), Cabo Corrientes in central-western Mexico. The municipality covers an area ...

, and to the south by

Amatlán de los Reyes Amatlán de los Reyes is a municipality in Veracruz, Mexico. It is located about 105.63 mi from state capital Xalapa to the south. It has an area of 148.9 km2. It is located at . The municipality is delimited to the north by Córdoba Municipa ...

and Naranjal. The eastern area abuts Fortin de las Flores and

Chocamán Chocamán is a municipality in the Mexican state of Veracruz. It is located about 146 km south of the Veracruz state capital Xalapa. It has an area of 41.13 km2. It is located at . The municipality of Chocamán is delimited to the north and n ...

and the western area borders Amatlán de los Reyes. Córdoba has a municipal area of 226 km.² It is divided into 176 localities, of which the most important are San José de Tapia, las Flores, Miraflores, Los Naranjos, Brillante Crucero, el Porvenir, San Rafael Caleria, Santa Elena, San Miguelito, and San Nicolás. This city is also known as The City of the Thirty Gentlemen since it was founded by 30 from the most important families of the region, due to the fact that it had to be founded due to the assaults that took place in the region near Yanga. The city boasts of its historical importance, its colonial places and buildings, its cultural centers, parks and its gastronomy. Along with Fortín, Amatlán and Yanga, it forms part of a very important

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually ...

in the Altas Montañas region to form a large metropolitan area together with the City of Orizaba.

Natural geography

Córdoba is located in the center of the state of Veracruz, at 18º51'30" north latitude and 96º55'51" west longitude. It lies between the hills of Matlaquiahitl and Tepixtepec, at an elevation of 817 meters (2,680 feet) above mean sea level. Its climate is warm and humid, with an annual average temperature of 19.8 °C (67.6 °F). There is abundant rainfall in summer and autumn, with little rain in winter.

History

11Córdoba desde el camino de Coscomatépec

Colonial period

The village of Córdoba was founded in 1618 by the Spanish to protect royal interests from attacks by

Gaspar Yanga Established and achieved self-government for a maroon colony of freed Africans. Gaspar Yanga—often simply Yanga or Nyanga (May 14, 1545 - 1618)

's slave rebellion.

Mexican War of Independence

After the capture of the city by Mexican rebel forces in August 1821, the Mexican revolutionary

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 ...

and the Spanish viceroy Juan de O'Donojú signed the Treaty of Córdoba here, ratifying the

Plan de Iguala The Plan of Iguala, also known as The Plan of the Three Guarantees ("Plan Trigarante") or Act of Independence of North America, was a revolutionary proclamation promulgated on 24 February 1821, in the final stage of the Mexican War of Independenc ...

and confirming Mexico's independence. In 1902 Córdoba became the interchange point of the

narrow-gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

Córdoba and Huatusco Railroad to Coscomatepec.

Modern times

The city was severely damaged by the 1973 Veracruz earthquake.

Economy

The main economic activities are agriculture, ranching, industry and trade. The principal crops are

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus '' Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalk ...

coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. Seeds of ...

avocado The avocado (''Persea americana'') is a medium-sized, evergreen tree in the laurel family ( Lauraceae). It is native to the Americas and was first domesticated by Mesoamerican tribes more than 5,000 years ago. Then as now it was prized for ...

, orange,

lemon The lemon (''Citrus limon'') is a species of small evergreen trees in the flowering plant family Rutaceae, native to Asia, primarily Northeast India (Assam), Northern Myanmar or China. The tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit is used for culin ...

, and

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...

, along with some non-traditional crops as anturios,

heliconia ''Heliconia'', derived from the Ancient Greek language, Greek word (), is a genus of flowering plants in the monotypic family Heliconiaceae. Most of the ca 194 known species are native to the tropical Americas, but a few are indigenous to c ...

s and palma camedor. A highway connects Córdoba with the state's principal port,

. There is an adequate workforce, with a relatively low annual wage, providing opportunities for hiring for industry. Córdoba is the focal point for the local sugar milling and

coffee processing Coffee production is the industrial process of converting the raw fruit of the coffee plant into the finished coffee. The coffee cherry has the fruit or pulp removed leaving the seed or bean which is then dried. While all green coffee is proc ...

industries, and it is also an important place for marketing and refining tropical fruits. Several medical institutions provide public-health services in Córdoba, including the

ISSSTE The Mexican Institute for Social Security and Services for State Workers or Civil Service Social Security and Services Institute ( es, Instituto de Seguridad y Servicios Sociales de los Trabajadores del Estado, or ISSSTE) is a federal governmen ...

, the

IMSS IMSS may refer to: * Mexican Social Security Institute, (''Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social'', ''IMSS'', its Spanish acronym) * ''Istituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza'', now the ''Museo Galileo'', a museum in Florence, Italy * Integrated Ma ...

, and the SCSP. There is also a local Cruz Roja (Red Cross) hospital, and several private hospitals. The city has a large number of entertainment centers, including billiard halls, ballrooms and discothèques. Cordoba has three libraries, three auditoriums, a theatre and a museum.

Transportation

From 1902 to 1953, Córdoba was served by the Córdoba and Huatusco Railroad

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

railroad. The line operated as a unique and scenic gauge branch of Ferrocarril Mexicano from 1909 through 1951.

Demographics

According to the most current figures from the INEGI, the municipality of Córdoba has an approximate population of 204,721 inhabitants, which represents 2.57% of the total population of the State of Veracruz, which makes it the 4th. largest and most populous city in the state, surpassed only by Veracruz (552,156 inhabitants), Xalapa (457,928 inhabitants) and Coatzacoalcos (305,260 inhabitants). Of the total population of Córdoba, 95,960 are men and 108,761 are women, with the male-female ratio in 2010 being 87.7

Notable locations

One of Córdoba's most important locations is its

zócalo The Zócalo () is the common name of the main square in central Mexico City. Prior to the colonial period, it was the main ceremonial center in the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan. The plaza used to be known simply as the "Main Square" or "Arms Sq ...

(main square). The square, called the Parque de 21 de Mayo, uses the traditional Spanish layout, with a church on the east side, the Palacio Municipal (city hall) on the west, and commercial establishments on the north and south sides. The Paso Coyol Ecological Park es, Parque ecológico Paso Coyol is a eco-conscious park that was once an abandoned lot.

Notable residents

Some of Córdoba's notable residents were: * Miguel Layún (professional footballer) * Rubén Bonifaz Nuño (poet and classical translator) * Raúl Mendoza (professional wrestler of WWE-

NXT NXT may refer to: Professional wrestling * ''WWE NXT'', a professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that began in 2010 ** NXT (WWE brand), WWE's Florida-based brand and former developmental territory * ''NXT UK'', the British spin- ...

) *

Antonio Modesto Quirasco Antonio Modesto Quirasco (May 20, 1904 – July 3, 1981) was a Mexican politician. He was governor of Vera Cruz State. 1904 births Governors of Veracruz Institutional Revolutionary Party politicians 1981 deaths Politicians from Veracru ...

(politician) * Emilio Carballido (writer and dramatist) * Luis Cessa (Major League Baseball pitcher) *

Jorge Cuesta Jorge Mateo Cuesta Porte-Petit (b. Córdoba, Veracruz, September 23, 1903 – d. Tlalpan, August 13, 1942) was a Mexican chemist, writer and editor. Biography Cuesta attended school in his hometown, before he did his studies at the Faculty o ...

(chemist and writer) * Diego Fernández de Córdoba, Marquis of Guadalcázar

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Córdoba is twinned with: *

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana's most populous parish—the equivalent of counti ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, since 2002

References

Link to tables of population data from Census of 2005

Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática The National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI by its name in es, Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática) is an autonomous agency of the Mexican Government dedicated to coordinate the National System of Stat ...

(INEGI)
Veracruz
''Enciclopedia de los Municipios de México'', INAFED *

External links

Official website

Municipal Official Site

Municipal Official Information

News Homepage of Córdoba, Veracruz
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cordoba, Veracruz Populated places in Veracruz Populated places established in 1618 1618 establishments in the Spanish Empire