Ixcateopan de Cuauhtémoc
Encyclopedia
Ixcateopan de Cuauhtémoc is a town and municipality located in isolated, rugged mountains in the northern part of Guerrero
state, Mexico
. It is best known as the final resting place of Aztec
Emperor Cuauhtémoc
, whose remains were found under the parish church here in the mid-20th century. This church has been converted into a museum with displays a number of pre-Hispanic artifacts, offerings left in honor of the emperor and the remains of Cuauhtémoc himself.
Ixcateopan de Cuauhtémoc is located 36 km west of famous silver town of Taxco de Alarcón, traveling on the state highway. Unlike its neighbor, the vegetation surrounding Ixcateopan is forested with pine, red
and white cedar
, and walnut trees. Along the highway, there is a waterfall by the name of Cascada de Cacalotenango, which has a small chapel at the top. The distance between Ixcateopan and Chilpancingo
, the capital of the state of Guerrero, is 180 km.
The name Ixcateopan (sometimes spelled Ichcateopan) from the Nahuatl
words “ichcacates” (or “ixcatle”) and “moteopan,” “teopan,” or “teopancalli.” Most interpret the first word as meaning cotton and the second temple, leading to a translation of temple of cotton. However some sources claim the real name of the area is Zompancuahuithli, and the name was changed to Ixcateopan after the arrival of Cuauhtemoc's body and means (here is the temple/church). The glyph in the Mendoncino Codex for Ixcateopan reflects both interpretations, a cotton flower, a depiction of Cuauhtémoc and a pyramid. “De Cuauhtémoc” was added to Ixcateopan’s name by the Congress of the State of Guerrero in 1950.
s. The indigenous community located at what is now the southern edge of the town dates back to at least 350 C. E. This community was an important regional ceremonial center as well as the headquarters for the guardian soldiers. It was also closely associated with the production of cotton and cotton products, a valuable commodity at the time. Ixcateopan was one of the last cities to be subjugated by the Aztec Empire. The location served as a point to gather and then distribute tribute from surrounding areas. Mexica
from other parts of the Aztec Empire, including soldiers, came here due to the wars between them and the P'urhépecha
empire. Because of this, Ixcateopan, originally a purely Chontal city, became multicultural.
Cuauhtémoc, the last Aztec emperor, was born here in 1501. His mother, Cuayauhtitali, was the daughter of the lord of Ixcateopan. Shortly before Cuauhtémoc was born, Ixcateopan was subjugated by the Aztecs and Cuayauhtitli was captured and brought to Tenochtitlan. There she met prince Ahuizotl, who married her. Cuahtémoc was born of this union. Cuauhtémoc was educated in Tenochtitlan and then sent back to Ixcateopan. In 1519, he was called back to the Aztec capital to help defend it against the Spanish. After the deaths of Emperors Moctezuma II
and, a short time later, Cuitláhuac
, Cuauhtémoc became emperor, but was a captive of Hernán Cortés
when Tenochtitlan fell in 1521. After enduring much torture, he and nine other Aztec lords were hung near a place called Izancánac in what is now Chiapas
state. The remains of Cuauhtemoc, the other Aztec lords and a priest who opposed their execution were brought to Ixcateopan and buried here. From that time to the mid-twentieth century, the whereabouts of his tomb remained unknown.
Fray Torbio de Benavente, the local evangelist, and Fray Bernardino de Sahagún
wrote texts about the death and burial of Cuauhtémoc which were initially kept at the Church of San Hipólito in Mexico City
but somehow wound up in the hands of the family of Salvador Rodriguez Juárez, who was the doctor of Ixcateopan in the first half of the 20th century. The documents had been passed down in his family for generations. They told of how Cuauhtémoc’s body had been recovered and brought to Ixcateopan and initially buried at the palace of his maternal grandparents in 1525. In 1529, Fray Toribio de Benavente had the body moved to a spot in front of the destroyed pagan temple, where the Church of Santa María de la Asunción would be built over him. The documents indicated that this tomb was nearly directly under the main altar of the church. After Rodríguez Juárez showed the documents to elders at the parish church, the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH) was contacted, which sent archeologist Eulalia Guzmán to investigate the authenticity of the documents. After examining the documents, investigating the oral traditions of the area and other archeological and historical evidence, it was decided to excavate in the place where the documents indicated.
From February to September 1949, other investigations corroborated the story related by the documents. The main altar of the church was dismantled and taken away and began to excavate below it. They dug about 1.5 meters down, found a rock layer, which covered a multitude of burials which dated from the early colonial period. Another meter or so down, they found a layer of stucco and adobe bricks, then a layer of large rocks with spaces between them filled in by smaller ones, called a momeztli. Underneath this was a cavity with an east-west orientation were the remains of several bodies dating from the 16th century. Underneath these was another cavity covered in an oval copper plate with the inscription Rey e S. Coatemo. (“rey” means king in Spanish and Coatemo as an alternative spelling for Cuauhtémoc) Underneath this were other bones, a spear-point, other pieces of metal and remnants of objects long ago rusted. The discovery of Cuauhtemoc’s tomb was announced on 26 September 1949.
The authenticity of the find was challenged, so the INAH sent other teams to investigate the find. Results of the corroborative efforts were mixed with researchers casting doubt on the age of the bones found, the documents that led to their discovery and the authenticity of the artifacts found at the site. However, over time and with new testing techniques, these objections were overcome one-by-one and by the 1970s the find had become accepted as genuine.
has been taken out. Where the main altar used to be is now a shrine to the last Aztec emperor, with his remains on public display. A small museum occupies the former church’s annex. Jairo Rodríguez, son of the doctor who made the documents about Cuauhtemoc’s burial public knowledge, is the official chronicler of Ixcateopan and the guardian of the museum.
, limestone
, marble and smooth pebble which were covered in stucco
and painted. This excavated complex was dedicated to religious ceremonies, administrative activities and the local hierarchy’s relations with the rest of the world. Religiously, it was of regional importance.
Ixcateopan was a Chontal settlement that was conquered by the Aztecs, by Moctezuma I
and Ahuitzotl. The Chontales are a little-known group with most information about them coming from documents written in 1579, but nothing of their language is known as no human remains from their burials have been found. stages The site has provided much information about the development of what is now the north of Guerrero state in the late pre-Hispanic period, when it was populated by groups such as the Matlatzincas, Tepoztecos, Nahuas as well as Chontales.
The site was first excavated in 1976 by archeologist Juan Yaveún, with subsequent studies by Guadalupe Martínez, Alajandro Pastrana, José Hernández Rivera and Elizabeth Jiménez. However, excavations in the mid 2000’s have uncovered new finds at the site including a set of stairs that run from south to north on the main plaza, dwellings and storage facilities as well as workshops with ceramics showing Aztec and Cholulteca influence and purely local designs. With these, it is possible to reconstruct something of these people’s relations with these groups. Most of the excavations here have followed an east-west axis and about 3,000 m2 have been explored. Efforts have been made to have Ixcateopan and “archeological monuments zone” as well as obtain resources to continue excavations here.
and Teloloapan
. As much of its 310.7km2 territory is on the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt
, it consists of very rugged terrain. This has made the municipality and its seat relatively isolated, with the first major road reaching it in the 1940s. Higher elevations here are covered in pine and cedar (red and white) and include peaks such as the Texal Grande, Tecampanero, La Mesas and Ancón Mountains, which range between 1,830 and 2,150 meters above sea level. Only 15% of the municipality is flat land, and this is mostly small mesa
s scattered in the south and north east of the municipality. The municipality is in the Balsas River
Basin but only streams such as the Atenanguillo, San Pedro Atengo, Salitre flow year-round. There is one major fresh-water spring at the municipal seat but the rest of the municipality depends on groundwater. The climate is warm and fairly moist, with average temperatures ranging between 18 and 22 C in the warmer months and between 17 and 22C in the colder ones. Most of the municipality’s rain falls between June and September.
Unlike many other municipalities in Mexico, the population of Ixcateopan is falling. From 1960 to 2005, the population has valled from over 8,000 to 6,100. Most of the population is scattered among 70 “localidades” of between 2 and 1000, with most between 70 and 200 people.
About 32% of the municipalities population is dedicated to agriculture of which the production of beans stand out, but livestock such as pigs, sheep, goats and horses are raised here as well. Another 38% is involved in mining and manufacturing with the primary commodities being marble and hand-crafted furniture.
Guerrero
Guerrero officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Guerrero is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 81 municipalities and its capital city is Chilpancingo....
state, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. It is best known as the final resting place of Aztec
Aztec
The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...
Emperor Cuauhtémoc
Cuauhtémoc
Cuauhtémoc was the Aztec ruler of Tenochtitlan from 1520 to 1521...
, whose remains were found under the parish church here in the mid-20th century. This church has been converted into a museum with displays a number of pre-Hispanic artifacts, offerings left in honor of the emperor and the remains of Cuauhtémoc himself.
Ixcateopan de Cuauhtémoc is located 36 km west of famous silver town of Taxco de Alarcón, traveling on the state highway. Unlike its neighbor, the vegetation surrounding Ixcateopan is forested with pine, red
Red Cedar
- Trees :* Toona ciliata, an Australian / Asian rainforest tree* Juniperus virginiana, a North American juniper* Thuja plicata, a North American tree in the cypress family- Places :Canada* Red Cedar Lake , a lake in the Temagami region...
and white cedar
Cupressus lusitanica
Cupressus lusitanica, ; Cedro Blanco means White Cedar and is also known as Mexican White Cedar, is a species of cypress native to Mexico and Central America...
, and walnut trees. Along the highway, there is a waterfall by the name of Cascada de Cacalotenango, which has a small chapel at the top. The distance between Ixcateopan and Chilpancingo
Chilpancingo
Chilpancingo de los Bravo is the capital and second-largest city of the state of Guerrero, Mexico. It is located at . In the 2005 census the population of the city was 166,796. Its surrounding municipality, of which it is municipal seat, had a population of 214,219 persons...
, the capital of the state of Guerrero, is 180 km.
The name Ixcateopan (sometimes spelled Ichcateopan) from the Nahuatl
Nahuatl
Nahuatl is thought to mean "a good, clear sound" This language name has several spellings, among them náhuatl , Naoatl, Nauatl, Nahuatl, Nawatl. In a back formation from the name of the language, the ethnic group of Nahuatl speakers are called Nahua...
words “ichcacates” (or “ixcatle”) and “moteopan,” “teopan,” or “teopancalli.” Most interpret the first word as meaning cotton and the second temple, leading to a translation of temple of cotton. However some sources claim the real name of the area is Zompancuahuithli, and the name was changed to Ixcateopan after the arrival of Cuauhtemoc's body and means (here is the temple/church). The glyph in the Mendoncino Codex for Ixcateopan reflects both interpretations, a cotton flower, a depiction of Cuauhtémoc and a pyramid. “De Cuauhtémoc” was added to Ixcateopan’s name by the Congress of the State of Guerrero in 1950.
History
Some of the inhabitants of this area before the Conquest were the Cohuixas and the ChontalChontal
The Chontal Maya are an indigenous people of the Mexican state of Tabasco. "Chontal", from the Nahuatl word for chontalli, which means "foreigner", has been applied to various ethnic groups in Mexico...
s. The indigenous community located at what is now the southern edge of the town dates back to at least 350 C. E. This community was an important regional ceremonial center as well as the headquarters for the guardian soldiers. It was also closely associated with the production of cotton and cotton products, a valuable commodity at the time. Ixcateopan was one of the last cities to be subjugated by the Aztec Empire. The location served as a point to gather and then distribute tribute from surrounding areas. Mexica
Mexica
The Mexica were a pre-Columbian people of central Mexico.Mexica may also refer to:*Mexica , a board game designed by Wolfgang Kramer and Michael Kiesling*Mexica , a 2005 novel by Norman Spinrad...
from other parts of the Aztec Empire, including soldiers, came here due to the wars between them and the P'urhépecha
P'urhépecha
The P'urhépecha, normally spelled Purépecha in Spanish and in English and traditionally referred to as Tarascans, are an indigenous people centered in the northwestern region of the Mexican state of Michoacán, principally in the area of the cities of Uruapan and Pátzcuaro...
empire. Because of this, Ixcateopan, originally a purely Chontal city, became multicultural.
Cuauhtémoc, the last Aztec emperor, was born here in 1501. His mother, Cuayauhtitali, was the daughter of the lord of Ixcateopan. Shortly before Cuauhtémoc was born, Ixcateopan was subjugated by the Aztecs and Cuayauhtitli was captured and brought to Tenochtitlan. There she met prince Ahuizotl, who married her. Cuahtémoc was born of this union. Cuauhtémoc was educated in Tenochtitlan and then sent back to Ixcateopan. In 1519, he was called back to the Aztec capital to help defend it against the Spanish. After the deaths of Emperors Moctezuma II
Moctezuma II
Moctezuma , also known by a number of variant spellings including Montezuma, Moteuczoma, Motecuhzoma and referred to in full by early Nahuatl texts as Motecuhzoma Xocoyotzin, was the ninth tlatoani or ruler of Tenochtitlan, reigning from 1502 to 1520...
and, a short time later, Cuitláhuac
Cuitláhuac
Cuitláhuac or Cuitláhuac was the 10th tlatoani of the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan for 80 days during the year Two Flint ....
, Cuauhtémoc became emperor, but was a captive of Hernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro, 1st Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca was a Spanish Conquistador who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of mainland Mexico under the rule of the King of Castile in the early 16th century...
when Tenochtitlan fell in 1521. After enduring much torture, he and nine other Aztec lords were hung near a place called Izancánac in what is now Chiapas
Chiapas
Chiapas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas is one of the 31 states that, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 118 municipalities and its capital city is Tuxtla Gutierrez. Other important cites in Chiapas include San Cristóbal de las...
state. The remains of Cuauhtemoc, the other Aztec lords and a priest who opposed their execution were brought to Ixcateopan and buried here. From that time to the mid-twentieth century, the whereabouts of his tomb remained unknown.
Fray Torbio de Benavente, the local evangelist, and Fray Bernardino de Sahagún
Bernardino de Sahagún
Bernardino de Sahagún was a Franciscan friar, missionary priest and pioneering ethnographer who participated in the Catholic evangelization of colonial New Spain . Born in Sahagún, Spain, in 1499, he journeyed to New Spain in 1529, and spent more than 50 years conducting interviews regarding Aztec...
wrote texts about the death and burial of Cuauhtémoc which were initially kept at the Church of San Hipólito in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
but somehow wound up in the hands of the family of Salvador Rodriguez Juárez, who was the doctor of Ixcateopan in the first half of the 20th century. The documents had been passed down in his family for generations. They told of how Cuauhtémoc’s body had been recovered and brought to Ixcateopan and initially buried at the palace of his maternal grandparents in 1525. In 1529, Fray Toribio de Benavente had the body moved to a spot in front of the destroyed pagan temple, where the Church of Santa María de la Asunción would be built over him. The documents indicated that this tomb was nearly directly under the main altar of the church. After Rodríguez Juárez showed the documents to elders at the parish church, the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH) was contacted, which sent archeologist Eulalia Guzmán to investigate the authenticity of the documents. After examining the documents, investigating the oral traditions of the area and other archeological and historical evidence, it was decided to excavate in the place where the documents indicated.
From February to September 1949, other investigations corroborated the story related by the documents. The main altar of the church was dismantled and taken away and began to excavate below it. They dug about 1.5 meters down, found a rock layer, which covered a multitude of burials which dated from the early colonial period. Another meter or so down, they found a layer of stucco and adobe bricks, then a layer of large rocks with spaces between them filled in by smaller ones, called a momeztli. Underneath this was a cavity with an east-west orientation were the remains of several bodies dating from the 16th century. Underneath these was another cavity covered in an oval copper plate with the inscription Rey e S. Coatemo. (“rey” means king in Spanish and Coatemo as an alternative spelling for Cuauhtémoc) Underneath this were other bones, a spear-point, other pieces of metal and remnants of objects long ago rusted. The discovery of Cuauhtemoc’s tomb was announced on 26 September 1949.
The authenticity of the find was challenged, so the INAH sent other teams to investigate the find. Results of the corroborative efforts were mixed with researchers casting doubt on the age of the bones found, the documents that led to their discovery and the authenticity of the artifacts found at the site. However, over time and with new testing techniques, these objections were overcome one-by-one and by the 1970s the find had become accepted as genuine.
The town
The town of Ixcateopan has about 2,400 residents, which is over a third of the municipality’s inhabitants. One thing that stands out about this town is that streets are paved in unpolished white marble and many of the walls around properties contain it as well. The town of Ixcateopan has similar colonial architecture as the larger Taxco: white houses topped with peaked roofs with red clay tile roofs; however, they are not as well-maintained as those in Taxco. Because of the discovery of Cuauhtémoc’s tomb here, Ixcateopan has become a place of national interest. Flags fly here at half mast on 28 February, the anniversary of Cuauhtémoc’s death. Because of the discovery of the tomb of Cuauhtemoc and the continued discoveries at the archeological site on the southern edge of town, Ixcateopan draws archeologists, anthropologist and historians.Museum of Santa María de la Asunción
The Museum of Santa María de la Asunción, located just south of the main plaza in the center of town, was the parish church for the community from the 16th century until the mid-20th, when it was declared a national monument. Since the discovery of Cuauhtémoc’s tomb under the main altar, this building and its grounds have been converted from a religious sanctuary to a civil one. Most, but not all, of its Christian iconographyIconography
Iconography is the branch of art history which studies the identification, description, and the interpretation of the content of images. The word iconography literally means "image writing", and comes from the Greek "image" and "to write". A secondary meaning is the painting of icons in the...
has been taken out. Where the main altar used to be is now a shrine to the last Aztec emperor, with his remains on public display. A small museum occupies the former church’s annex. Jairo Rodríguez, son of the doctor who made the documents about Cuauhtemoc’s burial public knowledge, is the official chronicler of Ixcateopan and the guardian of the museum.
Annual ceremony in honor of Cuauhtémoc
Cuauhtemoc has become a symbol of Mexican cultural identity and for many dancers who come here to celebrate, a symbol of their modern identity. Cuauhtémoc has become a symbol of ethnocultural identity, nationalism and resistance, and this place brings indigenous people from all over Mexico and other nations in the Americas. The end of February is important as Cuauhtémoc’s birthday (23 February) and death (28 February) are commemorated here. His day of birth draws the most dance groups who come from all over Mexico, the U.S., Canada and South America, to lay offerings, dance and sing in many different languages. Preparations at the church/museum and the rest of the town occupy the days and nights before the 23rd. For several days straddling the birthday itself, dances and ceremonies continue almost non-stop, accompanies by huehuetls (Aztec drums), and wind instruments made of animal horns and large conch shells and accompanied by copal incense.Archeological zone
South of the Santa María de la Asunción Museum on Vicente Guerrero Street is the archeological zone of Ixcateopan. The site has been dated from between 350 and 1450 C. E. with at least five construction stages, three of which are dated from between 1350 and 1450 C.E. Although construction seemed to have ceased after 1450, it is known that the site was occupied up until the Spanish arrival in 1521. The archeological zone is formed by a series of constructions over a natural elevation and occupied about 5,000 metros2. Local materials were used in its construction: flagstoneFlagstone
Flagstone, is a generic flat stone, usually used for paving slabs or walkways, patios, fences and roofing. It may be used for memorials, headstones, facades and other constructions. The name derives from Middle English flagge meaning turf, perhaps from Old Norse flaga meaning slab.Flagstone is a...
, limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
, marble and smooth pebble which were covered in stucco
Stucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
and painted. This excavated complex was dedicated to religious ceremonies, administrative activities and the local hierarchy’s relations with the rest of the world. Religiously, it was of regional importance.
Ixcateopan was a Chontal settlement that was conquered by the Aztecs, by Moctezuma I
Moctezuma I
Moctezuma I , also known as Motecuhzoma Ilhuicamina, Huehuemotecuhzoma or Montezuma I , was the fifth Aztec emperor - king of Tenochtitlan...
and Ahuitzotl. The Chontales are a little-known group with most information about them coming from documents written in 1579, but nothing of their language is known as no human remains from their burials have been found. stages The site has provided much information about the development of what is now the north of Guerrero state in the late pre-Hispanic period, when it was populated by groups such as the Matlatzincas, Tepoztecos, Nahuas as well as Chontales.
The site was first excavated in 1976 by archeologist Juan Yaveún, with subsequent studies by Guadalupe Martínez, Alajandro Pastrana, José Hernández Rivera and Elizabeth Jiménez. However, excavations in the mid 2000’s have uncovered new finds at the site including a set of stairs that run from south to north on the main plaza, dwellings and storage facilities as well as workshops with ceramics showing Aztec and Cholulteca influence and purely local designs. With these, it is possible to reconstruct something of these people’s relations with these groups. Most of the excavations here have followed an east-west axis and about 3,000 m2 have been explored. Efforts have been made to have Ixcateopan and “archeological monuments zone” as well as obtain resources to continue excavations here.
The municipality
The municipality of Ixcateopan is part of the northern region of Guerrero state. It borders the municipalities of Taxco, Pedro Ascencio AlquisirasPedro Ascencio Alquisiras
Pedro Ascencio Alquisiras is one of the 81 municipalities of Guerrero, in south-western Mexico. The municipal seat lies at Ixcapuzalco. The municipality covers an area of 510.1 km².As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 6,987....
and Teloloapan
Teloloapan
Teloloapan is a city and seat of the municipality of Teloloapan, in the state of Guerrero, south-western Mexico....
. As much of its 310.7km2 territory is on the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt
Trans-Mexican volcanic belt
The Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt also known as the Transvolcanic Belt and locally as the Sierra Nevada , is a volcanic belt that extends 900 km from west to east across central-southern Mexico...
, it consists of very rugged terrain. This has made the municipality and its seat relatively isolated, with the first major road reaching it in the 1940s. Higher elevations here are covered in pine and cedar (red and white) and include peaks such as the Texal Grande, Tecampanero, La Mesas and Ancón Mountains, which range between 1,830 and 2,150 meters above sea level. Only 15% of the municipality is flat land, and this is mostly small mesa
Mesa
A mesa or table mountain is an elevated area of land with a flat top and sides that are usually steep cliffs. It takes its name from its characteristic table-top shape....
s scattered in the south and north east of the municipality. The municipality is in the Balsas River
Balsas River
The Balsas River is a major river of south-central Mexico. The basin flows through the states of Puebla, Morelos, Guerrero, and Mexico. The river empties into the Pacific Ocean at Mangrove Point, adjacent to the city of Lázaro Cárdenas, Michoacán...
Basin but only streams such as the Atenanguillo, San Pedro Atengo, Salitre flow year-round. There is one major fresh-water spring at the municipal seat but the rest of the municipality depends on groundwater. The climate is warm and fairly moist, with average temperatures ranging between 18 and 22 C in the warmer months and between 17 and 22C in the colder ones. Most of the municipality’s rain falls between June and September.
Unlike many other municipalities in Mexico, the population of Ixcateopan is falling. From 1960 to 2005, the population has valled from over 8,000 to 6,100. Most of the population is scattered among 70 “localidades” of between 2 and 1000, with most between 70 and 200 people.
About 32% of the municipalities population is dedicated to agriculture of which the production of beans stand out, but livestock such as pigs, sheep, goats and horses are raised here as well. Another 38% is involved in mining and manufacturing with the primary commodities being marble and hand-crafted furniture.