Cuajimalpa
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cuajimalpa de Morelos (more commonly known simply as Cuajimalpa) is a borough of Mexico City, and the name of a neighboring municipality within the State of Mexico.
It names comes from the indigenous expression "over sticks of wood".
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[edit] Etymology
Cuajimalpa's name comes from the Nahuatl word Cuauhximalpan that is composed of "cuauh"(itl) (tree, wood), with the transitive verb "xima", (carpentering, to work, or to polish), followed by a "I" formative and of the preposition "pan" (above, have more than enough, in). The first two elements form "cuauhximal-li" (small chip) that without the formulative suffix "li" (tli aphaeresis, lost the t to be eles between two) and with the posposition it comes to mean "on the wooden chips" and it designates a place where wooden chips are worked.
[edit] History
[edit] Early Years
Although Cuajimalpa's history certainly extends to the pre-Columbian city of Tenochtitlan, still much is unknown about its history prior to the arrival of the Spanish.
Founded as a municipality on February 8, 1862, Cuajimalpa belonged to the Town of Santa Fe, separated from the neighboring towns of Acopilco, San Pablo Chimalpa, San Mateo Tlaltenango, Santa Lucía, La Venta and San Pedro Cuajimalpa, this last one considered as head of the municipality due to its proximity to the El Camino Real route between the cities of Toluca and Mexico City.
During the Spanish Conquest, San Pedro Cuajimalpa was the place where Cortés and his men spent the night that became known as "Noche Triste" (sad night), after leaving Tenochitlan, and in gratitude to his patron Saint San Pedro, he gave to this town this nickname.
San Pedro Cuajimalpa existed in the place that occupies its modern-day market, an old inn refuge of travelers, which during the Mexican War of Independence was used by Royalists, during the dates that surround the battle of the Mount of the Cruces, and in the later retreat of the rebels.
The house was destroyed in the 1970s and the site is today is a center of psychological support and the offices of civil protection, in front of the main garden of the delegation called Hidalgo Garden, the priest's demurrage Miguel Hidalgo, marries where apparently the decision was given of retiring of the city, in the street José María Castorena, it has been pointed out with a statue of Hidalgo the supposition place of this, supposedly low the argument that from this place one could see the city, thing that today and much before it is impossible.
In 1862, Cuajimalpa was made a municipality which today represents an important residential area of Greater Mexico City.
[edit] 20th Century
During the 20th century, two railroad lines were built through Cuajimalpa, one leaving San Lázaro station in Mexico City which goes to Toluca, and the one between the manufacturing areas of Loreto and Peña Pobre, in San Angel, to take advantage of the wood in the area. The train was retired in 1953 after an accident at Arteaga y Salazar streets.
In 1898, the first water aqueduct system was introduced to San Pedro Cuajimalpa. Until 1916, the public illumination was by gas lamps. The nearby modern real estate development of Santa Fe is settled upon the site of several old mines. Ancient pottery and prehispanic statuettes have also been found in the red mud of the area.
In 1917, Desierto de los Leones National Park was created, within which is a convent erected by the order of the Barefoot Carmelite.
During the revolutionary period, the mountains and valleys of the delegation were the site of many fights between Zapatistas and Carrancistas. It is said that the Zapatistas amputated the ears of the males of the town, to be able to distinguish them from the Carrancistas.
During the government of Lázaro Cárdenas, Cuajimalpa experienced an expansion of the residential developments that already denominated the Delegacion with new construction that characterizes Cuajimalpa's appearance today. The growth was promoted by the president's family member Avila Camacho, which bought large plots of land in the areas near Herradura, Interlomas, Bosques de las Lomas, Lomas de Chapultepec and Lindavista.
In this period, Mexican personalities such as Azcarraga Milmo, Mario Moreno "Cantinflas", Pedro Infante, and several Presidents began to arrive to Cuajimalpa and specifically to the Contadero. Among them were the wife of Miguel de la Madrid, who occupied the Exhacienda Stands out the Doves, and the brother of Carlos Salinas, with his country residence "El Encanto", and several houses of José López Wicket, the celebrated "Colina del Perro".
Since the 1980s, large urban centers have been developed in Cuajimalpa, such as upscale Santa Fe and Parque de la Colina, which were built on lands used preivously for mining and trash disposal.
In the 1970's, a series of industrial parks was developed in Santa Fe that included a Center of Social Readaptation (CERESO), built on a landfill that expels gases nightly, causing unpleasant scents. In Parque de la Colina, they created a golf course and private residential area.
Development in the area has been at the expense of the forests that have served as part of the ecology of the Valley of Mexico, and were one of the main sources feeding the aquifers of the Valley. The development of a unit of the Metropolitan Autonomous University has been impeded by the action of local residents and national environmentalists.
[edit] Geography & Climate
Cuajimalpa de Morelos is located in the southwest of the Federal District. It borders Miguel Hidalgo and Alvaro Obregón boroughs and the municipalities of Ocoyoacac, Huixquilican and Jalatlaco in the state of Mexico. It has a median altitude of 2,760 meters above sea level (9,055 ft), and has an area of 8,095 hectares, of which 6,473 are wildlands and 1,622 hectares are urbanised, organised in 47 "colonias" (neighborhoods) and 4 towns, with a regional seat. In terms of percentages the territory of Cuajimalpa represents 5.1% of the Federal District area.
Cuajimalpa is an important provider of oxygen and filter of atmospheric pollutants, given its large forested zone. It receives the highest precipitation of the Federal District and has a system of ravines, gullies and superficial streams of water, that are important in the recharge of groundwater and the climate control.
Also, it bestows topographical characteristic favorable to the conservation of flora and fauna native to the Valley of Mexico.
Orography.- The borough has two important elevations:
Volcan La Palma, 3,800 meters above sea level (12,467 ft, it's highest point). Cerro San Miguel 3,780 meters above sea level (12,401 ft)
Other important altitude facts are:
2,760 meters above sea level at the bourough's city hall. (9,055 ft) 2,460 meters above sea level at it's lowest part. (8,070 ft)
Hidrography.- The borough belongs to the basin of Rio Moctezuma and the sub-basin of Lago Texcoco-Zumpango.The main streams are: Rio Santo Desierto, Arroyo Agua de Leones, Río Borracho, Arroyo Agua Azul and Río Atitla
The climate is primarily semi cold with a high degree of humidity. The yearly median temperature ranges mostly between 10 °C to 12 °C (50°F to 54°F). Total rainfall averages between 1,200 to 1,500 mm (47 to 59 in). The following chart illustrates the rhythm of the weather year-through for Cuajimalpa according to the National Weather Service of Mexico (Servicio Meteorológico Nacional)
| Climate chart for Cuajimalpa | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D |
|
11
18
5
|
7
19
5
|
12
21
7
|
28
22
8
|
86
22
9
|
225
20
9
|
277
18
8
|
266
19
8
|
212
18
8
|
79
18
7
|
11
18
6
|
6
18
5
|
| temperatures in °C • precipitation totals in mm source: [1] |
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Imperial conversion
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[edit] Government
Mayor, without trustworthy registrations
* (1861 - ?): Ángel Gonzalez * (¿ - ?): Juan de Mata González * (¿ - 1883): Lucio Cortés * (1903 - ?): Enrique Rivera, con cargo de Prefecto * (1883 - 1910): Pedro Segura
Revolutionary time, Prefectures
* (1910 - 1912): Rómulo Luna * (1912 - 1913): José Ma. Leyva, nombrado por Madero * (1913 - 1914): Marcelino Nava, nombrado por Huerta * (1914 - 1915): Pedro Muciño, electo * (1915 - 1919): Maurilio Sánchez, nombrado por Carranza * (1920 - 1920): Margarito Vázquez, electo * (1921 - 1923): Enrique Segura, electo * (1923 - 1925): Jacinto Ortiz, electo * (1925 - 1929): Teófilo Sánchez, electo
Delegates "Mayor" by the President
* (1929): Fermín López Urbina * (1929 - 1935): Jose E. Ancona * (1935 - 1942): Erasmo Reséndiz Sánchez * (1942 - 1947): Eulalio Cabañas * (1947 - 1964): J. Ascensión Almaraz Espinoza "Don Chon Almaraz" * (1964 - 1970): Lic. Mario Ruiz M. * (1970 - 1976): Dr. Ramón Osorio * (1976 - 1980): Lic. Margarita García F. * (1980 - 1982): Lic. Máximo Evia * (1982 - 1988): Lic. María Inés Solís G. * (1988 - 1993): Lic. Margarita Peimber Sierra * (1993 - 1994): Lic. Jaime del Rio * (1994 - 1997): * (1997 - 2000): Lic. Yenny Saltiel Cohen
Mayor "Jefes Delegacionales", chosen by direct vote
* (2000 - 2003): Francisco de Souza * (2003 - 2006): Ignacio Ruiz Lopez * (2006 - 2009): Remedios Ledesma
[edit] External links
- (Spanish) Delegación Cuajimalpa Official site
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