Mazatepec is a city in the Mexican state of

Morelos Morelos, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Morelos, is a landlocked state located in south-central Mexico. It is one of the 32 states which comprise the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Mun ...

. . The city serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality of the same name. The name Mazatepec means ''hill of deer''. To the north and northeast is Miacatlán, to the northwest is Coatlán del Río, to the south is Amacuzac, to the east is Puente de Ixtla, and to the west is Tetecala. The municipality reported 9,967 inhabitants in the 2015 census.

History

Mazatepec is a town located in Morelos. The name Mazatepec comes from the Nahuatl mazatl "''deer''", and tepetl "''hill''". Mazatepec became part of the political and religious cultural center of

Xochicalco Xochicalco () is a pre-Columbian archaeological site in Miacatlán in the western part of the Mexican state of Morelos. The name ''Xochicalco'' may be translated from Nahuatl as "in the house of Flowers". The site is located 38 km southwest ...

, which was occupied since the Preclassic (1500-1000 BC) but its greatest development and boom occurred in the Classic, between AD 300 and 900. In the year AD 603, a group of

Toltec The Toltec culture () was a Pre-Columbian era, pre-Columbian Mesoamerican culture that ruled a state centered in Tula (Mesoamerican site), Tula, Hidalgo (state), Hidalgo, Mexico, during the Epiclassic and the early Post-Classic period of Mesoam ...

s settled there. Later, Mazatepec came under the power of the manor of ''Cuauhnahuac'' (

Cuernavaca Cuernavaca (; , "near the woods" , Otomi language, Otomi: ) is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state, state of Morelos in Mexico. Along with Chalcatzingo, it is likely one of the origins of the Mesoamerica, Mesoamerican civilizatio ...

), which in turn was a tributary of the

Aztecs The Aztecs ( ) were a Mesoamerican civilization that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the ...

. During the colonial era, Mazatepec was integrated into the jurisdiction of Cuernavaca, belonged to the ''Marquisate of the Valley of Oaxaca'' with the name of ''San Lucas Mazatepec''. On this site

Hernán Cortés Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano, 1st Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca (December 1485 – December 2, 1547) was a Spanish ''conquistador'' who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions o ...

established the first cattle ranch in Mexico. After Independence (1821), when the State of Mexico was created, Mazatepec was a municipality that belonged to the District of Tetecala, conserving this category when the State of Morelos was created (1869). In prehispanic times Mazatepec was part of a religious and political center under the reign of

. The state of Morelos reported 209 cases and 28 deaths due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico The COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico is part of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide pandemic of COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The virus was confirmed to hav ...

, as of April 27, 2020; two cases were reported in Mazatepec. Schools and many businesses were closed from mid March until June 1. On June 2, Mazatepec reported five confirmed cases and one death from the virus; the reopening of the state was pushed back until at least June 13. Mazatepec reported 16 cases, 13 recuperations, and three deaths from the virus as of August 31. Nineteen cases were reported on December 27, 2020.

Culture

Attractions and festivals

''La Loma'' (the hill) provides a panoramic view of the town of Mazatepec, including the ''Laguna de Coatetelco'' (Lake Coatetelco). There is a fair in ''La Loma'' on the 5th Friday of

Lent Lent (, 'Fortieth') is the solemn Christianity, Christian religious moveable feast#Lent, observance in the liturgical year in preparation for Easter. It echoes the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring Temptation of Christ, t ...

. There are brass bands, locally produced ice cream, fireworks, and mechanical rides. The Parish of St. Luke in Mazatepec dates from 1696 and was built by the order of the

Franciscans The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor being the largest conte ...

. His feast is celebrated October 17–24. The Sanctuary of the Lord of Calvary is built on prehispanic ruins. In the

zócalo Zócalo () is the common name of the town square, main square in central Mexico City. Prior to the European colonization of the Americas, colonial period, it was the main ceremonial center in the Aztecs, Aztec city of Tenochtitlan. The plaza us ...

(town square) of Mazatepec there is a bronze monument called "El Origen" in honor of the name of Mazatepec, which in the Nahuatl language means "In the Cerro del Venado".Guia Turistica: Municipio Mazatapec
retrieved Dec 27, 2018 The bullring "San Lucas" and the "Unidad Deportiva de Mazatepec" (athletic complex) are both located in the municipal seat. There is a week-long celebration in honor of

Emiliano Zapata Emiliano Zapata Salazar (; 8 August 1879 – 10 April 1919) was a Mexican revolutionary. He was a leading figure in the Mexican Revolution of 1910–1920, the main leader of the people's revolution in the Mexican state of Morelos, and the insp ...

in the bullring during the month of August. Cuauchichinola is home to a rustic waterpark called, ''Los Ojitos de Agua'' ("little eyes of water"). There is a fair in honor of St. Mark on April 25. You can also swim in the Chalma River on the edge of town. Santa Cruz is home to ''Ex-hacienda de Santa Cruz Vista Alegre'' which has hosted movies, soap operas, and commercials.

Notable people

* General

Vicente Aranda Vicente Aranda Ezquerra (; 9 November 1926 – 26 May 2015) was a Spanish film director, screenwriter and producer. Due to his refined and personal style, he was one of the most renowned Spanish filmmakers. He started as a founding member ...

was born in the hacienda of Cuauchichinola and joined the ''Zapatista'' forces in March 1911 under the orders of General Lorenzo Vásquez. He participated in the capture and looting of

Jojutla Jojutla is a municipality in the state of Morelos, Mexico. Its municipal seat is the city of ''Jojutla de Juárez''. The name ''Jojutla'' comes from Nahuatl ''Xoxōuhtlān'' () and means, ''Place of abundant blue skies''. Another interpretation i ...

and

Tlaquiltenango Tlaquiltenango is a city in the Mexican state of Morelos. It is south of Mexico city and southeast of Cuernavaca, the state capital via Mexican Federal Highway 95D. The city serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality, with ...

, on March 18, 1911. Aranda was dismissed after the massacre but rejoined Zapata after the proclamation of the Plan de Ayala. Vicente Aranda remained in the liberating army of the south until 1920, when the Revolutionary Unification took place. In 1921 he was elected Federal Deputy for the first district of the State of Morelos. Later he was municipal president of Jojutla and died there on July 22, 1926. There is a town named for him in the municipality of Jojutla. * General Julián González Guadarrama was born in the town of Mazatepec on November 30, 1890. He joined the

Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution () was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from 20 November 1910 to 1 December 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It saw the destruction of the Federal Army, its ...

in Chontalcoatlán in March 1911 under the command of General Joaquín Miranda of the forces of General

Ambrosio Figueroa Ambrosio may refer to: People *Alessandra Ambrosio (born 1981), a Brazilian model *Arturo Ambrosio (1870–1960), an Italian film producer *Fabrisia Ambrosio, Brazilian-born physical therapist and academic *Franco Ambrosio (1932–2009), an ...

. Later he fought in Iguala,

Guerrero Guerrero, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guerrero, is one of the 32 states that compose the administrative divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Guerrero, 85 municipalities. The stat ...

, where he was crippled and returned to his hometown. He rejoined the ''Zapatista'' forces under the orders of Colonel Silvino Pérez Benítez. He participated in the battles of Zacatepec and the Siege of Cuernavaca. Gonzalez Vasquez participated in the organization of the first league of the agrarian communities of which he was Senior Officer until March 1935; later he was president of the State Committee of the National Revolutionary Party. He was a Federal Deputy to the XLI Legislature. Julián González died in Cuernavaca after dedicating himself to agriculture there.Enciclopedia de los Municipios: Morelos: Mazatepec
retrieved Dec 27, 2018 * Maxima Trinidad Perez Coria of PRI (Institutional Revolutionary Party) was elected Presidente Municipal (mayor) in the election of July 1, 2018.

References

External links