Xalapa

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Xalapa Cathedral
Xalapa Cathedral

Xalapa (or Jalapa) is the capital city of the Mexican state of Veracruz. In the year 2005 census the city reported a population of 387,879 and the municipality of which it serves as municipal seat reported a population of 413,136. The municipality has an area of 118.45 km² (45.734 sq mi). Xalapa lies near the geographic center of the state and is the second-largest city in the state after the city of Veracruz.

The municipal seat of Xalapa is the city of Xalapa de Enríquez, named in honor of the gobernador (governor) Juan de la Luz Enriquez. In everyday usage, however, the city is generally referred to by the shorter name Xalapa. Its name is pronounced IPA [xaˈlapa] in Spanish and [həˈlɑpə] in English. It was called "La ciudad de las flores " (City of Flowers) by Alexander Von Humboldt.

Its name comes from the Nahuatl roots "Xalli" (sand) and "Apan" (water place), which approximately means "spring in the sand." This name is pronounced IPA [ʃaˈlapan] in Nahuatl, though final [n] is often omitted in Nahuatl pronunciation; the [ʃ] sound (like English 'sh') was written 'x' in the 16th century, but does not occur in modern Spanish (but is common for place names in Mexico), and its normal counterpart is the [h] sound (IPA [x] or [h]) which is normally written 'j' in modern Spanish. The spelling Xalapa (like the word México) reflects the archaic spelling. "Jalapa" (like Méjico) is modernized and is used mostly by foreigners.

[edit] History

Olmec Head in the anthropological museum of Xalapa
Olmec Head in the anthropological museum of Xalapa

The Totonacas were the first people who established themselves around the "Macuiltepetl" - a 'five-peaked' hill, which today is a park. During the 14th century, four cultures settled in the territory today known as Xalapa. Each of them built a small village: Xalitic (in the sand) was founded by the Totonacas; Techacapan (river of waste) was founded by the Chichimecas; in the northeast Tecuanapan (river of the beasts) was founded by the Toltecas and Tlalnecapan was founded by the Teochichimecas. Moctezuma Ilhuicamina, fifth Aztec Emperor, invaded the territory during the second half of the 15th century; therefore all the land became part of the Aztec Empire until the arrival of the Spanish conquistadores.

Eventually around 1313, the four villages grew and joined forming one big village which was given the name Xallapan. In 1519 Hernán Cortés passed through Xalapa enroute to Tenochtitlan. 1555 saw the final construction of the Franciscan convent which is the second most important event in that time in Nueva España. In 1772 the construction of the Xalapa Cathedral began.

Xalapa is also known as the "Athens of Veracruz" because of the strong cultural influence of its three major universities, Universidad Veracruzana (the main public university in the State of Veracruz), Universidad de Xalapa and Universidad Anáhuaca de Xalapa, and also for the wide variety of cultural events in Xalapa like its theater, museums, and street art.

Xalapa also has the widest collection of Diego Rivera's paintings in all Mexico, at a gallery called Pinacoteca Diego Rivera, nearby City Hall and Parque Juárez in the downtown area.

In folklore, the Spaniards believed that Xalapa was the birthplace and home of the "Florecita" (literally little flower), the most beautiful woman in the world. Even today, some people continue to adhere to this belief, and some natives insist that it is not a legend.

Jalapeño chilis are named after an old factory of canned chili peppers called "La Jalapeña" located in this city.

It has been a sister city of Covina, California, USA, since 1964. It is also twinned with Omaha, Nebraska.

[edit] References

  • Veracruz Enciclopedia de los Municipios de México

[edit] External links

Coordinates: 19°32′24″N, 96°55′39″W

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