Xalapa
Xalapa or Jalapa, officially Xalapa-Enríquez, is the capital city of the Mexican state of Veracruz and the name of the surrounding municipality. In 2020 census the city reported a population of 443,063 and the municipality of which it serves as municipal seat reported a population of 488,531. The municipality has an area of 118.45 km2. Xalapa lies near the geographic center of the state and is the second-largest city in the state after the city of Veracruz to the southeast.
Etymology
The name Xalapa comes from the Classical Nahuatl roots xālli and āpan, which means approximately 'spring in the sand'. It's classically pronounced in Nahuatl, although the final /n/ is often omitted. This was adopted into Spanish as Xalapa.The complete name of the city is Xalapa-Enríquez, bestowed in honor of a governor from the 19th century, Juan de la Luz Enríquez. The city's nickname, "City of Flowers", was given by Alexander von Humboldt, who visited the city 10 February 1804. The reference is also related to the city's older colonial history. According to folklore, the Spanish believed that Jalapa was the birthplace and home of the world's most beautiful woman, la Florecita, which literally means 'little flower'. The residents of Xalapa are called Xalapeños or Jalapeños, which is also the name given to the popular large peppers cultivated in this area.
History
The Totonacs first established themselves around Macuiltepetl. This extinct volcano received its name because the Aztecs used it as the fifth reference mountain to get to the gulf of Mexico's shores. Today it is preserved in a park. During the 14th century, four indigenous peoples settled in the territory today known as Xalapa. Each built a small village: Xalitic was founded by the Totonacas; in the northeast Tecuanapan was founded by the Toltecas, and Tlalnecapan was founded by the Teochichimecas.Around 1313, the four villages grew together and joined, forming one large village named Xallapan. Moctezuma Ilhuicamina, the fifth Aztec emperor, invaded the territory during the second half of the 15th century. All the land was ruled as part of the Aztec Empire before the arrival and conquest of the Spanish conquistadores.
In 1519 Hernán Cortés passed through en route to Tenochtitlan. In 1555 Spanish Franciscans completed construction of a convent, an important event in the Nueva España of that time.
File:Carlos IV de rojo.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Charles IV of Spain officially elevated the status of Xalapa to villa on 18 December 1791.
When the Spanish invaded, Xalapa was barely populated. The population rose after the conquest and colonial settlement. When the Spanish improved the Mexico-Orizaba-Veracruz route, Xalapa declined in importance as a transport hub, and its population stagnated in the 17th century.
From 1720 on Xalapa became increasingly important, due to trade with merchants from New Spain arriving to buy and sell the products of the peninsula. Numerous Spanish families from the nearby towns settled in Xalapa, so by 1760 the population had increased to over 1,000 inhabitants, including mestizo and Spanish. Among local items of commerce were botanical medicines particularly ipomoea purga source of a drug known in English as Jalap. The growth of Xalapa in population, culture, commerce and importance, increased dramatically in the 18th century. Responding to residents' requests, Carlos IV of Spain declared Xalapa a town on 18 December 1791.
In 1772, construction of Xalapa Cathedral began. On 18 May 1784, José María Alfaro got the first air balloon in the Americas, airborne, in Xalapa. Due to the abundance of flowers growing in the region, Alexander von Humboldt, who visited the town on 10 February 1804, christened it the "city of the flowers".
On 29 November 1830 by decree, Xalapa was named a city. In 1843, Don Antonio María de Rivera founded the Normal School of Xalapa to train teachers. Today it operates as a preparatory school for students going to college.
In 1847, during the Mexican–American War, Mexican general Antonio López de Santa Anna attempted to defeat the opposing forces near Xalapa in the Battle of Cerro Gordo. He led an army of more than 12,000 soldiers. Mexican troops suffered many casualties; around a thousand were killed and three thousand wounded on 18 April 1847. The US invaders occupied the city the following day. Among them was Lt. Ulysses S. Grant, later the commanding general of the Union armies in the American Civil War. Grant's letters call Jalapa "decidedly the most beautiful place I ever saw in my life" and its climate "the best in the world."
Xalapeños such as Ambrosio Alcalde and Antonio García fought hard to defend the city of Veracruz, but were taken prisoner. They were released and paroled, but after rejoining the fighting against the US, they were recaptured near Teocelo, taken to Xalapa, sentenced to death and executed on 24 November 1847. Today these two men are remembered as martyrs. An obelisk commemorates their sacrifice, between San Jose Church and Alcalde Market, named for Ambrosio Alcalde. US forces marched on to capture Mexico City and departed after the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
In November 1862 Xalapa was attacked in the French invasion; foreigners temporarily took control of the state capital. On 27 November 1867 the corpse of emperor Maximilian I of Mexico, who had been executed in Querétaro, arrived and was held in San José, attended by the priest José María y Daza, then transferred to Veracruz the following day. The remains were shipped back to Austria for burial.
In 1885 General Juan de la Luz Enríquez increased the influence of Xalapa when he moved some legislative authority from Orizaba to Xalapa, in accordance with a decree issued in June 1884 by provisional Governor Juan Manuel Fernández de Jáuregui. Enríquez and Swiss teacher Enrique C. Rébsamen in 1886 founded the Normal School in Xalapa, the first school of this type in the country. Enríquez died in 1892, but the construction of the Normal School and founding of its other schools led to Xalapa becoming known as a center of learning, the "Athens of Veracruz".
On 18 May 1911, Francisco I. Madero visited Xalapa. On 21 June of the same year a minor conflict occurred between federal forces and revolutionaries.
Geography
Climate
Xalapa features an oceanic climate that borders on a humid subtropical climate under the Köppen climate classification. The climate in Xalapa is humid, but the city is relatively cool being located in the mountains over 1400 meters above sea level. The climate can be variable, having a maximum temperature of 38.4 °C and a minimum ranging from 0 °C to 10 °C, but on average the temperature does not fluctuate greatly all year round with an average annual temperature of 18 °C. The warmer season in Xalapa tends to fall between March and reaching a peak in May when the average high reaches 28 °C and low of 16 °C. The cooler season is late December, January and February with an average low of 11 °C and an average high of 21 °C. Travelers to Xalapa will generally find that the most comfortable weather occurs from the beginning of November to mid-April, although they would be well-advised to bring warm clothing, as nighttime winter temperatures can occasionally drop to near 0 °C.The average annual precipitation is 1509.1 mm. During the cooler winter months rainfall is at a minimum, with Xalapa receiving only 42 millimeters in January and 38 millimetres in February on average. Snow, however, is common in winter outside the city at Perote, located around 35 minutes from Xalapa. Very early in the morning, Xalapa often has a mist, giving it a characteristic mountain atmosphere. The greatest rainfall occurs during the summer months, particularly in June, when on average rainfall reaches 328 millimeters, remaining relatively high until mid-September.
The municipality
Xalapa is situated in eastern-central Mexico, approximately northwest of Veracruz city. and roughly 350 kilometres from Mexico City.The municipality of Xalapa has an area of 118.45 square kilometres which comprises 0.16% of Veracruz state. It borders to the north with Banderilla, Jilotepec and Naolinco, to the east with Actopan and Emiliano Zapata, to the south with Coatepec and the west with Tlalnelhuayocan.
Situated east, about away along Mexican Federal Highway 140 is the Cofre de Perote National Park. The park covers an area of, and consists of mainly forested mountains and hills. Its highest point of Cerro de Macuiltépetl rises 1522 metres above sea level. Other hills of prominence include the Cerro de Acalotépetl and the Cerro Colorado.
From Xalapa you can also see the Pico de Orizaba, the highest peak in Mexico. It is also the third highest peak in North America.
Hydrographically, there are numerous streams and springs which are in the area around the city. These include the rivers: Sedeño River, Carneros River, Sordo River, Santiago River, Zapotillo River, Castillo River and the Coapexpan River, 3 artificial lakes and the springs Chiltoyac, Ánimas, Xallitic, Techacapan and Tlalnecapan. Jalcomulco is located southeast of Xalapa which has numerous natural features, such as the mouth of the Pescados River. Cascada de Texolo is located southwest of Xalapa, in the town of Xico. It is an waterfall that drops into a lush canyon, home to numerous animal species.
Demographics
With a population of 443,063 inhabitants in Xalapa City and 488,531 inhabitants in the municipality as 2020, Xalapa is the second biggest city and municipality in terms of population in Veracruz. There are 63 localities, 6 classified as urban and 57 classified as rural, besides Xalapa-Enríquez, other localities includes Santa Bárbara, El Castillo, Lomas Verdes and Las Fuentes. 6,542 are classified as living in indigenous homes, 2,673 of which speak an indigenous language.Xalapa is the core of a metropolitan area, which together with the municipalities of Banderilla, Coatepec, Coacoatzintla, Emiliano Zapata, Jilotepec, Rafael Lucio, Tlalnelhuayocan and Xico had a population of 789,157 inhabitants as 2020, the second biggest metro area in the state after Veracruz.