Uxpanapa is a
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality' ...
in the southeastern part of 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 ...
of
Veracruz
Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...
, adjacent to the state of
Oaxaca
Oaxaca, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca, is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of the Mexico, United Mexican States. It is divided into municipalities of Oaxaca, 570 munici ...
. It is bordered by the municipalities of
Jesús Carranza
Jesús Carranza Neira (June 16, 1813 – May 25, 1899) was a Mexican mule driver, rancher, and landowner. He was a veteran who fought in the Mexican–Apache Wars, on the side of Benito Juárez and the liberals during the Reform War, and for the ...
,
Hidalgotitlán
Hidalgotitlán is a town in the Mexican state of Veracruz, with a population of near 18,000 in 2000. Its name derives from two words: one Spanish and the other indigenous. The first part is the family name (after the father of the modern Mexican ...
,
Minatitlán, and
Las Choapas
Las Choapas is a city and its surrounding municipality in the southeastern extremes of the Mexican state of Veracruz. It is bordered by the municipalities of Uxpanapa, Minatitlán, Moloacán, and Agua Dulce in Veracruz, Huimanguillo in Tabasco, ...
in Veracruz, as well as
Santa María Chimalapa
Santa María Chimalapa is a town and municipality in Oaxaca in southeastern Mexico and the easternmost and largest municipality in Oaxaca, but is also the least densely populated municipality in Oaxaca.
It is part of the Juchitán District in th ...
in Oaxaca. It has an area of 2,600 km².
Its municipal seat is the town of
La Chinantla (Poblado Diez), its largest community, with a 2005 census population of 2,579 inhabitants. Other significant communities in the municipality include the towns of Villa Juarez (poblado 1), Saturnino, Helio García Alfaro (Poblado Once), Río Uxpanapa (Poblado Catorce), La laguna, Agustin Melgar, La Horqueta (Poblado Doce), Hermanos Cedillo (Poblado Dos A), Plan de Arroyo (poblado 2 B), and Poblado Cinco. In the 2005 INEGI census the municipality recorded a population of 24,906 inhabitants.
[
]
The municipality contains a northern extension of the ecologically sensitive
Selva Zoque
The Selva Zoque (), which includes the Chimalapas rain forest, is an area of great ecological importance in Mexico. Most of the forest lies in the state of Oaxaca but parts are in Chiapas and Veracruz. It is the largest tract of tropical rainfor ...
tropical rainforest.
The municipality is located in a valley of the same name, it has excellent
ecotourism
Ecotourism is a form of nature-oriented tourism intended to contribute to the Ecological conservation, conservation of the natural environment, generally defined as being minimally impactful, and including providing both contributions to conserv ...
views, jungles, rock formations and rivers lined with sandy and gravel beaches and caves. The dry season starts in March and ends in June, and the wet season starts in July and ends in February, when it may rain for a whole month.
It is populated by people of different races, Mexican Blacks (negros, Mulatos), indigenous people, ( Mixe, Zapotec,
Chinantec
The Chinantec or Chinantecan languages constitute a branch of the Oto-Manguean family. Though traditionally considered a single language, ''Ethnologue'' lists 14 partially mutually unintelligible varieties of Chinantec. The languages are spoken b ...
and Tecos as well as mestizos, and people of Spaniard, French, Arabic, and German origins.
The religion of the people is mostly catholic, Protestants, Native Mexican religions, Pre-colonial witchcraft, Wiccan and Atheism.
The region is a source of Olmec, Mayan, Chimalapan, Zapotec and Totonacan Antiquities treasured by the inhabitants, best represented by the lion statue on top of La Esmeralda, Chimalapa municipal agency.
The municipality was the base of "La Gringa" and "EL Corte" plantations, dedicated to the cultivation of rubber plants, bananas, and coffee and the illegal extraction of Emeralds, Gold and Rubies, owned by American companies before being expelled during the Mexican Revolution of 1910.
References
Link to tables of population data from Census of 2005INEGI: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática
VeracruzEnciclopedia de los Municipios de México
External links
Municipio de UxpanapaOfficial website (in Spanish)
{{Veracruz
Municipalities of Veracruz