| Villa Guerrero/Tequaloyan | |
|---|---|
| — Municipality — | |
| Coordinates: | |
| Country | Mexico |
| State | State of Mexico |
| Government | |
| • Municipal president | C. Tito Maya de la Cruz (2010) |
| Time zone | CST (UTC-6) |
| • Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| Website | www.villa-guerrero.com (non Official ) (under construction)www.villaguerrero.com.mx} |
Villa Guerrero is a town and municipality in the State of Mexico, Mexico. It is located on the southern slopes of the Nevada de Toluca, which is also known as "Xinantecatl", is 50 minutes/58 km from Toluca. Its original name was Tequaloyan, which in Náhuatl means "place where there are wild beasts that devour men". The original name comes from the previous existence of wild animals called "tecuani" (tē=someone, people; cuā=eat; ni=habitual suffix) as now noted in the coat of arms shield. Its name was changed in 1867 to honor Vicente Guerrero, the second president of Mexico.[1]
Tequaloyan started out as a dominion that was founded by the Otomis in the seventh century. Starting in the tenth century, it came under the influence of the Toltec and Teotihuacan civilizations. From 1221 to 1295, it was part of the Cuitlach Teuhctli domain. In 1472 the area was conquered by the Aztec Empire under Axayacatl. During this period, the town of Tequaloyan, along with some other communities rose in importance.[1]
After the Spanish Conquest, the town became an administrative and political center, with the surrounding lands distributed to various conquistadors who created a number of haciendas including San Miguel, San José, and San Nicolás Buenavista. The natives were evangelized by Augustinians who came from neighboring Malinalco. While one of the first secular governors was Don Lucas de Caballero, true separation of ecclesiastical and secular powers came about between 1692 and 1744 finalizing with the naming of Juan de la Cruz as Governor of Tequaloyan, with ecclesiastical authority in the area remaining with Malinalco and Tenancingo.[1]
During the Mexican War of Independence, one battle between the insurgents and royalist forces took place here on January 3, 1812. Rosendo Porlier of the royalist forces attacked José María Oviedo of the rebels, who fortified the town and helped to defend it. Porlier returned on January 17 to attack Tequaloyan as the nearby ravine of the Texcaltenco River, leading to Oviedo's death. This hastened the arrival of José María Morelos, who along with Hermenegildo Galeana, Nicolás Bravo and Mariano Matamoros gathered a force of 3,200 men to defeat the royalist forces on the 19th and 20th of the same month, allowing the insurgents to win again at Tenancingo two days later.[1]
Because of it size at the time (over 1,000 inhabitants), Tequaloyan was designated officially as a town with the promulgation of the Constitución Española de Cádiz in 1812, with Don Francisco Hernández as its first mayor; however it belonged first to the municipality of Apatzingán then to the municipality of Toluca from 1814 to 1826 when the town voted to secede. This is considered to be the foundation of the town's municipal seat status.[1]
During the Mexican Revolution, on August 18, 1914, Constitutionalist forces under Lt. Col. Bruno Neira entered the town to confront those sympathetic to the Zapatista cause.[1]
According with the results presented by INEGI in 2005, the town has a total of 8,437 inhabitants.[2]
As municipal seat, the town of Villa Guerrero is the governing authority for the following communities: Buenavista El Carmen, Cruz Vidriada, La Finca, El Islote, El Izote, Jesús Carranza (Rancho de Jesús), La Loma de la Concepción (La Loma), Matlazinca, El Moral, Porfirio Díaz, Potrero de la Sierra, Potrero Nuevo, El Progreso Hidalgo, San Bartolomé (San Bartolo), San Diego, San Felipe, San Francisco, San Gaspar, San José, San Lucas, San Mateo Coapexco, San Miguel, San Pedro Buenos Aires (San Pedro), Santa María Aranzazú (Santa María), Santiago Oxtotitlán, Tequimilpa, Totolmajac, Zacango, Coxcacoaco, Ejido de la Finca, La Joya, El Peñón, Ejido de San Mateo Coapexco, Los Ranchos de San José, La Merced (Ex-hacienda la Merced), El Potrero Loma del Capulín, Los Arroyos (La Baja de San Felipe), Cuajimalpa (Los Cuervos), Presa Tecualoya, Loma de Zacango (El Aventurero), San Martín, El Venturero Santa María Aranzazú, La Alta de Santiago Oxtotitlán, La Loma de Santiago Oxtotitlán, El Potrero de Santiago Oxtotitlán, Potrerillos Santa María Villa Guerrero, and Zanjillas San Bartolomé.[2]
The municipality is 267.8 square kilometers[1], and has a total population of 52,090.[2]
Villa Guerrero is bordered to the north by Zinacantepec, Toluca, Calimaya and Tenango del Valle; to the east by the municipalities of Tenancingo and Zumpahuacán, to the south by Ixtapan de la Sal and west with the same Ixtapan de la Sal and Coatepec Harinas.[1]
Its two major geographical features (aside from the view of the Nevado de Toluca) are the Cerro (Hill) Cuate or of Cuaximalpa with an altitude of 3,760 meters above sea level, followed by the Cerro Cuexcontepec at 3,330 meters. A chain of hills called the Chignahuitecatl divides the municipality on the east from Ixtapan de la Sal and Coatepec Harinas. It is noted for its deep ravines and jagged cliffs and has been compared to Riasa, in Spain. As part of the Alto Balsas basin, it has a number of rivers including the Texcaltenco, the Chiquito de Santa María, the San Gaspar, the Los Tizantez, the Tequimilpa, the Cruz Colorada or San Mateo and the Calderón. Many of these contain waterfalls such as the Salto de Candelitas, the Atlaquisca the Maquilero; the Salto del Río Grande de San Gaspar, and the Salto de la Neblina. The territory also possesses natural springs such as La Estrella, La Piedra Ahuecada, El Coponial, Los Chicamoles, and El Agua de la Pila as well as a thermal spring popularly-known as El Salitre.[1]
The economy of the municipality is based on agriculture with about half of the territory dedicated to such and about half is left as forest. In the 1940s, Mexico State governor Wenceslao Labra introduced 300,000 avocado trees to the area. Avocados, along with peaches are extensively grown, most of which are sold at the Mercado Merced in Mexico City. However, the most important economic development occurred from the 1930s to the 1950s when large numbers of Japanese immigrants settled in the area, initiating floriculture. Roses in various varieties, are the primary flower grown, followed by the "gerbera", the "casablanca", the "stargeiser", chrysanthemum and the Dutch tulip as well as other ornamental plants such as the dollar eucalyptus, aster and most recently the royal palm which is in danger of extinction. The level of quality of Villa Guerrero's flowers have allowed them to penetrate the national and international flower markets, exporting flowers to the United States, Canada and various European countries. This floriculture is said to be the "pride of the Villaguerrenses" and is now the main economic staple of the municipality. Other economic ventures such as industry and tourism are negligible are nacient.[1]