Malinalco
Malinalco is the municipality inside of Ixtapan Region, is a town and municipality located 65 kilometers south of the city of Toluca in the south of the western portion of the State of Mexico. Malinalco is southwest of Mexico City.
Malinalco has always been associated with magic or sorcery due to the legend that it was the home the goddess Malinalxochitl. The municipality is home to the famed village of Chalma, where according to legend, an image of a Black Christ miraculously appeared in a cave that was devoted to the god Oxtoteotl. It is the second-most visited shrine in Mexico, after the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
The Aztecs conquered the area in the 1470s, and established a sanctuary for their military elite, the Eagle and Jaguar warriors. The complex was built on the Cerro de los Idolos, over an older ceremonial site. The main attraction of this archeological site is the Cuauhcalli or House of Eagles, which is a building carved out of the side of the mountain.
The name Malinalco comes from the Nahuatl word malinalli, which is a kind of grass called zacate del carbonero in Spanish, the word xóchitl, which means flower and co, which means place, which a translation of “where they worship the goddess Malinalxóchitl, the malinalli flower”. The name also refers to one of the time periods on the Aztec calendar, marked by the malinalli plant, according to the Quauhtinchan Annals. In Aztec and early colonial times, the area was represented by a number of glyphs, often with elements of the malinalli plant and/or a human skull to indicate sacrifice.
Unlike most other municipalities in the state of Mexico, Malinalco does not use an Aztec glyph or coat of arms. Instead, it has a logo that was designed by Ernesto Romero Tetazin in 1985. It consists of the seal of the nation of Mexico, from which rises a figure that simulates a low mountain under a malinalli flower. This includes the motto “Your archeology is the perseverance of our race, culture and work”. To the left is the word Malinaltepetl.
Geography
As municipal seat, the town of Malinalco is the governing authority over 54 other named communities, which covers an area of 186.28 km2. The municipality, which shares its name with the seat, has a population of 22,970 of which only 6,523 live in the town of Malinalco. It has an average elevation of 1750 meters above sea level and is bordered by the municipalities of Joquicingo, Ocuilan, Zumpahuacán, Tenancingo and the state of Morelos. Malinalco is wedged between the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt and the Sierra Norte of the state of Morelos, Elevations are higher in the north with the highest being the Cerro de la Loma at approximating 2700 meters above sea level. The major river is the Chalma River, also called the Ocuilan River. Another river is the Colapa, which flows into the Chalma. There are also a number of fresh-water springs such as the San Miguel, Ateopa and Cuatzonco, most of which are the source of potable water for the communities of the municipality. The climate is warm but not hot with rains mostly in the summer. The landscape is bright green in the summer and a golden color in the winter. Average temperatures vary between 20C in the higher elevations to 35C in the lower ones. The higher elevations mostly have mixed pine forests, with more tropical vegetation in the lowlands. Wildlife includes deer, various small mammals, a number of reptile species and birds.The San Miguel River is part of the Chalma-Malinalco sub-basin. It is an intermittent river and crosses the entire municipality, including the town itself. It has been used to dump trash so that the river produces disease, fetid odors and environmental damage. This has discouraged tourism to the town, and prevented the town from becoming a “Pueblo Mágico.” Plans to rescue the river include reforestation around the river’s source, improving drainage systems in Malinalco and other communities, eliminating liquid discharges into the river and better solid waste management in the municipality. A recycling facility has been built in Malinalco, in order to better handle the waste generated, sending less to the landfill.
Biodiversity
Malinalco has some of the widest biodiversity in Mexico. Its tropical deciduous, pine, and gallery forests accommodate a huge variety of flora and fauna. Dozens of mammals such as civet, armadillos, foxes, coyotes, squirrels and deer are common. Jaguars may live in the region, according to the UAEMEX. There are also many species of insects, crustaceans, birds, and edible mushrooms. There are very few dangerous animals, such as coral snakes, rattlesnakes, and scorpions. There are a number of myths that have demonized some animals like the scorpion vinagrillo or nana, the salamanquesca, a blue-tailed lizard, the Matip night and many others. The Living Museum "The Malinalco Bugs" and the turtle camp Mali-Xanat display some of the local species.History
According to mythology, the god Huitzilopochtli abandoned his sister Malinalxóchitl because she was practicing evil witchcraft. While she slept, he left her in the middle of the forest. When she woke, she was furious at having been abandoned by her brother. She gathered people loyal to her and marched off to settle in what is now Malinalco. Another version of the story has Malinalxóchitl as the leader of a dissident Mexica tribe, who left to settle in what is now Malinalco and intermarried with the people already there.Since far in the pre-Hispanic past, Malinalco was considered a magical place, filled with gods and sorcerers. The area shows influences from the Teotihuacan culture, the Toltecs, Matlatzincas and Aztecs, but little is known of the area’s pre-Aztec history. Remains of an earlier ceremonial center exist at the summit of the Cerro de los Idolos, but this center and its associated residential zones have not been excavated. The first settlements in this part of Mexico State date back to the early post-Classic and the beginning of the late post-Classic. This was a time when many populations were on the move in the highlands of Mexico, with new peoples moving south from what is now northern Mexico. The first people to arrive were probably the Culhuas, led by a chief named Cuauhtepexpetlatzin, after this group had already settled in the Valley of Mexico. Other peoples to arrive include the Matlazincas, the Ocuiltecos and the Otomi. Malinalco was a populous city-state that fought wars with Cuauhnahuac, and appears to have had commercial ties to the valleys of Mexico and Puebla-Tlaxcala.
By the time the Aztecs arrived, the area was dominated by the Matlazincas, who had settled earlier in the Toluca Valley by 8th century CE, then migrated. By the mid-15th century, the Aztecs and the Matlazincas had something of an understanding. However, in 1476, the Aztecs subjected this area to their empire under the rule of Axayacatl. While Axayacatl conquered this area, it was a successor, Ahuizotl who had most of the Aztec shrines, temples and other constructions built, including the fort and sanctuary for Aztec military elite. The purpose behind these buildings was to demonstrate the power of the ruling elite. The town was the capital of a tributary province that paid tribute in maguey mantas and grain, and was a source of stone for the Mexica.
When the Spanish arrived, the inhabitants of Malinalco resisted the conquistadors. Andrés de Tapia was in charge of subduing the populations of Malinalco and Ocuilán. Once this was achieved, the area was organized into encomiendas. Malinalco was first under the jurisdiction of Cristobál Rodriguez de Avalos and then the Spanish Crown itself.
The Franciscans were the first to arrive and begin the evangelization process, followed by the Dominicans. However, it was the Augustinians who stayed and built the monastery from which evangelization would center. This monastery was originally called San Cristobál but later the named was changed to Divino Salvador. After the construction of the Temple of the Divino Salvador, neighborhood chapels were constructed in the various parts of town. It is likely that these chapels started out as simple thatched roof structures. During the colonial period, a communal water supply system was developed, taking advantage of the natural water flows in the box canyon that surrounds the town. The Jalmolonga Hacienda was one of the economic focuses of the area, which was part of the Rodriguez encomienda. Later, when the Jesuits came, they took over this hacienda, which was productive enough to support many of the expenses of the San Pedro and San Pablo College located in Mexico City. When the Jesuits were expelled in the 18th century, this land was eventually sold to the Count of Regla, Manuel Romero de Terreros.
During the Mexican War of Independence, José María Morelos y Pavon passed through in 1813, signing a document acknowledging the local indigenous laws regarding agricultural practices, and demanding the withdrawal of an ecclesiastical request to send money to Spain to fight the French. While Benito Juárez and the liberals won the Reform War in 1861 against the conservatives, conservatives in the Malinalco area continued to fight for a while from the mountains. When the Reform Laws were applied against the Monastery of the Divino Salvador, it continued to operate as a monastery for a while, although the state owned the land and buildings.
Due to its proximity to the state of Morelos, Malinalco was Zapatista territory during most of the Mexican Revolution. Malinalco put itself under the command of General Genovevo de la O starting in 1911. By 1913, Zapatistas and troops loyal to Venustiano Carranza both claimed this area. During the regime of Victoriano Huerta, Malinalco stayed loyal to the Zapatistas, despite government efforts to eradicate the rebels.