Tetecala is a city in the

Mexican state A Mexican State (), officially the Free and Sovereign State (), is a constituent federative entity of Mexico according to the Constitution of Mexico. Currently there are 31 states, each with its own constitution, government, state governor, a ...

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, with which it shares a name. The toponym Tetecala comes from a

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 Nahuas, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller popul ...

name and means "place of stone houses". The full name of the town is Tetecala de la Reforma because the Laws of the Reforma were signed there in the mid-19th century. The municipality reported 7,772 inhabitants in the 2015 census.

History

Prehispanic history

Vestiges of

Olmec The Olmecs () or Olmec were an early known major Mesoamerican civilization, flourishing in the modern-day Mexican states of Veracruz and Tabasco from roughly 1200 to 400 Before the Common Era, BCE during Mesoamerica's Mesoamerican chronolog ...

Chichimeca Chichimeca () is the name that the Nahua peoples of Mexico generically applied to nomadic and semi-nomadic peoples who were established in present-day Bajío region of Mexico. Chichimeca carried the same meaning as the Roman term "barbarian" tha ...

, and

Tlahuica Matlatzinca is a name used to refer to different Indigenous peoples in Mexico, Indigenous ethnic groups in the Toluca Valley in the México (state), state of México, located in the central highlands of Mexico. The term is applied to the ethnic gro ...

Prehispanic human settlements have been found in the area that includes modern Tetecals. It is evident that there were settlements of different sizes and that it was an important place of passage between the manors of Coatlán and Mazatepec.

Colonial history

Tetecala was founded between 1521 and 1583 when it first appears on a map. By 1594 it was called ''San Francisco de Tetecala'' and it was an important agricultural center. Cuautitla was founded about this time. By 1746, Tetecala and the surrounding area had 266 families of "Indians" and 32 of "Spaniards and Mestizos", as well as some of "Mulatos." Eighty years later, the population had increased to 4,040 inhabitants that were distributed in the town of Tetecala, five haciendas, and ten ranches. By Royal Decree of December 4, 1786, the Municipality of Tetecala corresponded to the State of Mexico. The fertile plain of Tetecala was considered the most luxuriant in the jurisdiction of Cuernavaca. Several 17th and 18th century travelers described the area as "very entertaining and fun".

19th Century and early independence

The local parish priest, Andrés González Meraz, illegally seized lands in Tlatempan. One of the last battles of the

Mexican War of Independence The Mexican War of Independence (, 16 September 1810 – 27 September 1821) was an armed conflict and political process resulting in Mexico's independence from the Spanish Empire. It was not a single, coherent event, but local and regional ...

took place in Tetecala on June 2, 1821, when Pedro Ascencio Alquicira attacked royalist Dionisio Boheta. Ascencio was killed the following day. The municipality of Tetecalpa was founded as a part of the

State of Mexico The State of Mexico, officially just Mexico, is one of the 32 federal entities of the United Mexican States. Colloquially known as Edomex (from , the abbreviation of , and ), to distinguish it from the name of the whole country, it is the mo ...

on August 6, 1824. An 1826 census reported 651 day-laborers, 50 farmers, 20 artisans, 19 merchants, two manufacturers of brandy, two presbyters, a surgeon, a teacher, and a responsible civil authority. Commerce stands out since Tetecala had a smaller population than Xochitepec, Tlaltizapán, Puente de Ixtla, or Tlaquiltenango, but it had more commercial activity than any of them. Sugar cane, bananas, huacamote (sic) (tomatoes?), jicama, plums, watermelons, mamey, corn and beans were grown locally. There was a peasant revolt in Tetecala, Miacatlan, and Xochitepec in 1848. Lt. Manuel Arellano led the fight against the hacienda owners, who were supported by Kad Waleder, leader of the American troops who had invaded in 1847. Tetecala supported Juan Alvarez during the

La Reforma In History of Mexico, the history of Mexico, (from Spanish language, Spanish: "The Reform"), or reform laws, refers to a pivotal set of laws, including a Federal Constitution of the United Mexican States of 1857, new constitution, that were ...

(1854−1857). During the ensuing war, Tetecala sheltered

Benito Juarez Benito may refer to: Places * Benito, Kentucky, United States * Benito, Manitoba, Canada * Benito River, a river in Equatorial Guinea Other uses * Benito (name) ** Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1 ...

, the Lerdo de Tejada brothers, Ignacio Manuel Altamirano, Ignacio Ramírez "El Nigromante", Guillermo Prieto, Manuel Doblado, José María Iglesias, and others. The Masonic Lodge ''La Palanca'' was founded in 1857. The state of Morelos was established in 1869; the ''Villa de Tetecala'' became a city and adopted the name ''Tetecala de la Reforma'' on December 11, 1873.

20th Century and revolution

At the outbreak of 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 1910, the owners of the haciendas of Contlalco, Cuautitla, Actopan, and Santa Cruz and wealthy merchants fled the municipality. Several groups of peasants joined the rebel ''Zapatista'' forces. Atrocities were committed by both sides in the conflict, although the terrorism spread by Carranza general Pablo González Garza was without precedent. The distillery and ice house "La Morelense" functioned from 1935 to 1936. There were several sugar and rice mills in the community, which were dismantled in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Former employees became low-income wage earners, and many joined the popular movement led by Rubén Jaramillo. When Jamarillo and his family were gunned down by federal police in 1962, his body was taken to the "Miguel Hidalgo Hospital" (now the House of Culture) in Tetecala for autopsy, which was performed by Dr. Ernesto González Brito. During the 1990s,

Amado Carrillo Fuentes Amado Carrillo Fuentes (; December 17, 1954 – July 5, 1997) was a Mexican drug lord. He seized control of the Juárez Cartel after assassinating his boss Rafael Aguilar Guajardo. Amado Carrillo became known as "''El Señor de Los Cielos''" ( ...

, known as ''El Señor de los Cielos'' (Lord of the Skies) used to hold fiestas for his drug-dealing friends at his home in Tetecala while the government of

Jorge Carrillo Olea Jorge Carrillo Olea (born in Jojutla, Morelos, on November 19, 1937) is a Mexican politician and general, and a member of Institutional Revolutionary Party, PRI. He served as governor of Morelos from October 1, 1994, to May 15, 1998. Early mili ...

seemingly looked the other way.

21st Century

The Escuela de Estudios Superiores de Tetecala (School of Higher Education of Tetecala), affiliated with the Morelos State University opened in August 2016 in Mazatepec. The initial programs were in nursing and nutrition; a program for Rural Surgeons opened in January 2018. The school had 208 students; the rector of the UAEM was Gustavo Urquiza Beltrán, and the first director of the school in Tetecala was Miriam Tapia. Six people died during the September 19, 2017 earthquake. 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 Tetecala. Schools and many businesses were closed from mid March until June 1. On July 2, Tetecala reported 11 infections and three deaths from the virus; the reopening of the state was pushed back until at least June 13. Tetecala reported 13 cases, 13 recuperations, but no deaths from the virus as of August 31. Twenty-two cases were reported on December 27, 2020.

Tourism and attractions

The church of San Francisco of Assisi is in the historic center of Tetecala. It was built in the 18th century in Neoclassic style. The chapel of the Virgin of Candlemas, also from the 18th century, is located on the federal highway. There is a colonial-era fountain in front of the chapel of the ''Alma de de la Virgin''. The area along the Chalma River has lush vegetation, a variety of fruit trees, and abundant fauna. There are old historic mansions housing the House of Culture and the regional public library. President

stayed here when he visited the city in 1857. The water park "La Playa", which features five pools and offers alternative medicine, is found in the municipality. There is a panoramic view of the town from the top of the hill of "Las Cruces". ''Cascos de las Haciendas'' (manor houses) nearby include Santa Cruz Vista Alegre, Actopan, Cuautlita, and Cocoyotla). The traditional ''tianguis'' (market) is on Tuesday.

Culture

Local fiestas are held on February 2 (Virgen de la Candelaria) in Tetecala, May 15 (St.

Isidore the Laborer Isidore the Laborer, born Isidro de Merlo y Quintana, also known as Isidore the Farmer () ( – 15 May 1130), was a Mozarab farmworker who lived in medieval Madrid. Known for his piety toward the poor and animals, he is venerated as a Catholic pa ...

) in Actopan, July 31 (St.

Ignatius of Loyola Ignatius of Loyola ( ; ; ; ; born Íñigo López de Oñaz y Loyola; – 31 July 1556), venerated as Saint Ignatius of Loyola, was a Basque Spaniard Catholic priest and theologian, who, with six companions, founded the religious order of the S ...

) in Actopan, September 29 (St. Michael the Archangel) in Cuautitla, October 4 (San Francisco de Asís) in Tetecala, and December 12 (Virgin of Guadalupe) in the "El Paso" neighborhood. There are two brass bands, one Cuautlita and another in Tetecala. Tetecala was the birthplace of several well-known performers and composers. Saddle-making and basket weaving are local handicrafts. Local food includes corn or chickpea ''pozole'' with pork, chicken and even shrimp; beef jerky with cream and cheese or pork enchilada; green pip ''mole'', red turkey ''mole'', fish in ''mixiote'', tamal, and ''clemole'' seasoned with wild plums and

tamarind Tamarind (''Tamarindus indica'') is a Legume, leguminous tree bearing edible fruit that is indigenous to tropical Africa and naturalized in Asia. The genus ''Tamarindus'' is monotypic taxon, monotypic, meaning that it contains only this spe ...

; peppers stuffed with cheese and mincemeat, and ''huazontles''. Traditional sweets such as pumpkin, sweet pipían, crystallized fruit, quince, tejocote, fruits in syrup, cajeta (crystalized goat's milk), buñuelos, and ice cream are also made.

Communities

''Tetecala de la Reforma'' is the municipal seat. Colonias ''El Charco, San Francisco Sarabia,'' and ''El Cerrito de las Cruces'' are parts of the city. The city is 47 km (29 miles) south of Cuernavaca and 135 km (84 miles) from Mexico City. ''Cuautlita'' is located 6 km southeast of the Tetecala de la Reforma and includes ''Colonia Mariano Matamoros''. ''Contlalco'' is 25 km south of Tetecala de la Reforma. ''Actopan'' is 1 km west of Tetecala de la Reforma.

Geography

Location and area

Relief and waterways

Climate

Flora and fauna

Natural resources

References

External links

*http://www.tetecala.gob.mx/ (Official Site) *https://web.archive.org/web/20050616074451/http://www.e-morelos.gob.mx/e-gobierno/DirMunicipios/tetecala.htm
Encyclopedia of Municipalities: Tetecala (in Spanish)
{{Morelos Municipalities of Morelos Populated places in Morelos Nahua settlements