Tonatico
Encyclopedia
Tonatico is a town and municipality
of State of Mexico, in Mexico
located 153 kilometers from Mexico City
, 105 from Cuernavaca
, 84 from Toluca
, 68 from Taxco
and 5 from Ixtapan de la Sal
. Tonatico, of Náhuatl
origin, is from the Náhuatl word tonatihco, place of the sun.
conquered the place, then known as Tenati-Tlan, "behind the walls", which had existed a few thousand years, and founded Tonatiuh-Co, which had the same borders than the current town. However, no records of this exist. The region had been principally populated by the Matlazincas, but at the time of the Spanish Conquest, the area belonged to Tlatoani
Axayacatzin of Cuahnahuac(present-day Cuernavaca
). In 1521 Hernán Cortés
sent Andrés de Castro to keep the local peoples from supporting Cuauhtémoc
and subdue the area. Don Gaspar Alonso, a conquistador, forsaked his heritage and sided with the natives of Tonatico, taking on the name of Tlachcolcatcal or Tlacatecutli. He most likely died in the town after Spanish dominatino. In 1525, the Spanish founded the modern town, modifying the indigenous name to Tonaltinco or Tonaltiunco. A few years later Franciscan
friars come to evangelize the area. At the same time a statue of the Virgin Mary arrived, now-called the Our Lady of Tonatico who is credited with miracles related to problems Tonatico had with nearby Ixtapan de la Sal. However, the town eventually came under the control of Ixtapan de la Sal in 1553.
During the Mexican War of Independence
both Hermenegildo Galeana
and Pedro Ascencio de Alquisiras were active in this area. In 1863, Don Teodoro Estrada and Don Fructuoso Vázquez fought here against the French
. In 1870, the town became the seat of the current municipality of Tonatico, but the territory it governs is only about half the size of its historical extent. The Liberation Army of the South
(Zapatistas) were active here, first burning the municipal library in 1912, attacking federal troops in the main church and lastly dispersed federal troops from here in 1916. Tonatico's annual Passion Play
was inaugurated during Holy Week
1940, the same year that the Feria del Calvario (Calvary Festival) was promulgated for the third Friday in Lent
every year. The 1985 Mexico City earthquake
also affected this area as well, damaging the Sanctuary of Our Lady.
Our Lady of Tonatico is housed in the Sanctuary of Our Lady in the town.
The actual president for 2009-2012 is Mr. Jose L. Pedroza Beltran well known by the nickname of EL TORBE.
Tonatico has had a number of notable residents. Teodoro Estrada was born in Zumpahuacan State of Mexico, fought against the French, next to Porfirio Diaz
. His performance on the battlefield gave him the grade of colonel. Porfirio Diaz had him murdered in Tenancingo. Brigadier General Domitilo Ayala Arenas was born on May 12, 1885 in La Audiencia Tonatico. He fought with the Liberation Army of the South
, next to Emiliano Zapata
. He died February 12, 1932 in Mexico City
. Don Sebastián Lealba was born in Tonatico February 26, 1830, and died in Tetipac
, Guerrero
. He was the leader of the movement with which Tonatico gained municipal independence on April 26, 1908. There is a bust of Don Sebastián in the municipal hall.
Notable landmarks in Tonatico include:
The population of the town as of 2005 was 6,889 people.
, Zumpahuacan
, Villa Guerrero
and with the state of Guerrero
to the south. The territorial extension of Tonatico is 91.724 km2. The population of the municipality as of 2005 was 10,901.ref name="INEGI"/>
Population growth rate is very slow, growing only at 3.61% from 1970 to 1980 and even less (0.51%) from 1990 to 1995. The number of births in the municipality have been: in 1996, 280; in 1997, 290 and in 1998 only 84. The average family size is five.
Tonatico has several mountains such as “La Cruz”, the “Tapachichi,” but the largest is “La Puerta” that is 1685 meters high. The “Salto de Zumpantitlán” is a waterfall that Tonatico has, along with “Tenancingo”, “San Geronimo” and “Taplalla” rivers.
The main important economic activity is agriculture, particularly corn, which is grown on over 2300 hectares. Another major crop is onions which is sown on 750 hectares, and on a smaller scale can be found cucumbers, beans, tomatoes, chiles, alfalfa
and flowers. In this municipality there is no industrial production, but there is tourism because it has thermal springs. Another activity is mining. According to INEGI, in 1995. Tonatico had 2,258 households in total. Within these, 1605 had potable water, another 1880 had sewer connections. and finally 2164 had electrical power.
Around the municipality have been found prehistoric animal remains and cave paintings. It is said that Axayacatl
conquered the place, then known as Tenati-Tlan, "behind the walls", which had existed a few thousand years, and founded Tonatiuh-Co, which had the same borders than the current town.
Remains of pre-Hispanic animals have been found, as well as caves with cave paintings within ravines.
Artifacts from pre-Hispanic peoples include ixtamiles, temascales, tanks, pots channels etc.
In Tecomatepec, several clay whistles which are used to entertain the children. Some people make reed flutes.
The ayacachtli or rattle make of "bules", "cirianes", "socos", or another objects that sound when shaken.
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
of State of Mexico, in 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...
located 153 kilometers from 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...
, 105 from Cuernavaca
Cuernavaca
Cuernavaca is the capital and largest city of the state of Morelos in Mexico. It was established at the archeological site of Gualupita I by the Olmec, "the mother culture" of Mesoamerica, approximately 3200 years ago...
, 84 from Toluca
Toluca
Toluca, formally known as Toluca de Lerdo, is the state capital of Mexico State as well as the seat of the Municipality of Toluca. It is the center of a rapidly growing urban area, now the fifth largest in Mexico. It is located west-southwest of Mexico City and only about 40 minutes by car to the...
, 68 from Taxco
Taxco
Taxco de Alarcón is a small city and municipality located in the Mexican state of Guerrero. The name Taxco is most likely derived from the Nahuatl word tlacheco, which means “place of the ballgame.” However, one interpretation has the name coming from the word tatzco which means “where the father...
and 5 from Ixtapan de la Sal
Ixtapan de la Sal
Ixtapan de la Sal is a town and municipality located in the State of Mexico, Mexico. It is 60 km south of Toluca, the state capital. The word Ixtapan comes from Nahuatl. There are two theories as to the origin of the name. The first one states that it is composed of iztal, which means salt,...
. Tonatico, of Náhuatl
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...
origin, is from the Náhuatl word tonatihco, place of the sun.
The town
In the area around the modern town have been found prehistoric animal remains and cave paintings. According to legend, AxayacatlAxayacatl
Axayacatl was the sixth Aztec Emperor, a ruler of the Postclassic Mesoamerican Aztec Empire and city of Tenochtitlan, who reigned from 1469 to 1481.He is chiefly remembered for subjugating Tlatelolco, Tenochtitlan's sister city, in 1473....
conquered the place, then known as Tenati-Tlan, "behind the walls", which had existed a few thousand years, and founded Tonatiuh-Co, which had the same borders than the current town. However, no records of this exist. The region had been principally populated by the Matlazincas, but at the time of the Spanish Conquest, the area belonged to Tlatoani
Tlatoani
Tlatoani is the Nahuatl term for the ruler of an altepetl, a pre-Hispanic state. The word literally means "speaker", but may be translated into English as "king". A is a female ruler, or queen regnant....
Axayacatzin of Cuahnahuac(present-day Cuernavaca
Cuernavaca
Cuernavaca is the capital and largest city of the state of Morelos in Mexico. It was established at the archeological site of Gualupita I by the Olmec, "the mother culture" of Mesoamerica, approximately 3200 years ago...
). In 1521 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...
sent Andrés de Castro to keep the local peoples from supporting Cuauhtémoc
Cuauhtémoc
Cuauhtémoc was the Aztec ruler of Tenochtitlan from 1520 to 1521...
and subdue the area. Don Gaspar Alonso, a conquistador, forsaked his heritage and sided with the natives of Tonatico, taking on the name of Tlachcolcatcal or Tlacatecutli. He most likely died in the town after Spanish dominatino. In 1525, the Spanish founded the modern town, modifying the indigenous name to Tonaltinco or Tonaltiunco. A few years later Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
friars come to evangelize the area. At the same time a statue of the Virgin Mary arrived, now-called the Our Lady of Tonatico who is credited with miracles related to problems Tonatico had with nearby Ixtapan de la Sal. However, the town eventually came under the control of Ixtapan de la Sal in 1553.
During the Mexican War of Independence
Mexican War of Independence
The Mexican War of Independence was an armed conflict between the people of Mexico and the Spanish colonial authorities which started on 16 September 1810. The movement, which became known as the Mexican War of Independence, was led by Mexican-born Spaniards, Mestizos and Amerindians who sought...
both Hermenegildo Galeana
Hermenegildo Galeana
Hermenegildo Galeana was a hero of the Mexican War of Independence.Hermenegildo Galeana may also refer to:*Hermenegildo Galeana, Chihuahua, a town named in his honour*Hermenegildo Galeana, Puebla, a municipality...
and Pedro Ascencio de Alquisiras were active in this area. In 1863, Don Teodoro Estrada and Don Fructuoso Vázquez fought here against the French
French intervention in Mexico
The French intervention in Mexico , also known as The Maximilian Affair, War of the French Intervention, and The Franco-Mexican War, was an invasion of Mexico by an expeditionary force sent by the Second French Empire, supported in the beginning by the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of Spain...
. In 1870, the town became the seat of the current municipality of Tonatico, but the territory it governs is only about half the size of its historical extent. The Liberation Army of the South
Liberation Army of the South
The Liberation Army of the South was an armed group formed and led by Emiliano Zapata that took part in the Mexican Revolution. The force was commonly known as the Zapatistas....
(Zapatistas) were active here, first burning the municipal library in 1912, attacking federal troops in the main church and lastly dispersed federal troops from here in 1916. Tonatico's annual Passion Play
Passion play
A Passion play is a dramatic presentation depicting the Passion of Jesus Christ: his trial, suffering and death. It is a traditional part of Lent in several Christian denominations, particularly in Catholic tradition....
was inaugurated during Holy Week
Holy Week
Holy Week in Christianity is the last week of Lent and the week before Easter...
1940, the same year that the Feria del Calvario (Calvary Festival) was promulgated for the third Friday in Lent
Lent
In the Christian tradition, Lent is the period of the liturgical year from Ash Wednesday to Easter. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer – through prayer, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial – for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and...
every year. The 1985 Mexico City earthquake
1985 Mexico City earthquake
The 1985 Mexico City earthquake, a magnitude 8.0 earthquake that struck Mexico City on the early morning of 19 September 1985 at around 7:19 AM , caused the deaths of at least 10,000 people and serious damage to the greater Mexico City Area. The complete seismic event...
also affected this area as well, damaging the Sanctuary of Our Lady.
Our Lady of Tonatico is housed in the Sanctuary of Our Lady in the town.
The actual president for 2009-2012 is Mr. Jose L. Pedroza Beltran well known by the nickname of EL TORBE.
Tonatico has had a number of notable residents. Teodoro Estrada was born in Zumpahuacan State of Mexico, fought against the French, next to Porfirio Diaz
Porfirio Díaz
José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori was a Mexican-American War volunteer and French intervention hero, an accomplished general and the President of Mexico continuously from 1876 to 1911, with the exception of a brief term in 1876 when he left Juan N...
. His performance on the battlefield gave him the grade of colonel. Porfirio Diaz had him murdered in Tenancingo. Brigadier General Domitilo Ayala Arenas was born on May 12, 1885 in La Audiencia Tonatico. He fought with the Liberation Army of the South
Liberation Army of the South
The Liberation Army of the South was an armed group formed and led by Emiliano Zapata that took part in the Mexican Revolution. The force was commonly known as the Zapatistas....
, next to Emiliano Zapata
Emiliano Zapata
Emiliano Zapata Salazar was a leading figure in the Mexican Revolution, which broke out in 1910, and which was initially directed against the president Porfirio Díaz. He formed and commanded an important revolutionary force, the Liberation Army of the South, during the Mexican Revolution...
. He died February 12, 1932 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...
. Don Sebastián Lealba was born in Tonatico February 26, 1830, and died in Tetipac
Tetipac
Tetipac is a city and seat of the municipality of Tetipac, in the state of Guerrero, south-western Mexico....
, Guerrero
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....
. He was the leader of the movement with which Tonatico gained municipal independence on April 26, 1908. There is a bust of Don Sebastián in the municipal hall.
Notable landmarks in Tonatico include:
- The house of Gaspar Alonso dating from late 17th century.
- The remains of a mill for wheat, on the farm of San Miguel from the 17th century.
- The ruins the first houses that were constructed, mainly on Francisco Javier Mine Street from the 17th century.
- The remains of old stone bridges on the San Jerónimo River, probably from the 16th century.
- A stone bridge constructed on San Jerónimo, which is still in good condition.
- A sundialSundialA sundial is a device that measures time by the position of the Sun. In common designs such as the horizontal sundial, the sun casts a shadow from its style onto a surface marked with lines indicating the hours of the day. The style is the time-telling edge of the gnomon, often a thin rod or a...
in pink stone, which today is on the arch of the North front door to the vestibule of the church. - Sanctuary of Our Lady of Tonatico, whose construction was initiated in 1650 and is still in use.
- Chapel dedicated to El Niño de la Azucena, built in 1948.
- Chapel to the El Señor de la Agonía (Our Lord of Agony), built in 1956.
- Chapel of the Calvary, which has been expanded and remodeled in the last decades
The population of the town as of 2005 was 6,889 people.
The municipality
As municipal seat, the town of Tonatico has governing jurisdiction over the following communities:La Audiencia, Ojo de Agua, La Puerta de Santiago, El Rincón, Salinas, San Bartolo, Los Amates (San José de los Amates), San Miguel, El Terrero, Tlacopan, La Vega, El Zapote and Colixtlahuacán. The municipality of Tonatico borders with Ixtapan de la Sal, PilcayaPilcaya
Pilcaya is a town and municipality of State of Guerrero, Mexico located 153 kilometers from Mexico City, 105 from Cuernavaca, 84 from Toluca, 68 from Taxco and 5 from Ixtapan de la Sal. Pilcaya, of Náhuatl origin, is from the Náhuatl word pilcacyan, place of a hanging object.-The Town:Pilcaya is...
, Zumpahuacan
Zumpahuacán
Zumpahuacán is a town and municipality in México State. The name “Zumpahuacán” comes from the Nahuatl language "Tzompahuacán". Tzompahuacán means "place of the strawberry tree" Zumpahuacán is a town and municipality in México State. The name “Zumpahuacán” comes from the Nahuatl language...
, Villa Guerrero
Villa Guerrero
The municipality of Villa Guerrero is located in the north of the state of Jalisco, México, between 103°22'30 and 103°50'00 longitude west and 21°54'00 and 22°10'00 latitude north, at an altitude of above sea level....
and with the state of Guerrero
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....
to the south. The territorial extension of Tonatico is 91.724 km2. The population of the municipality as of 2005 was 10,901.ref name="INEGI"/>
Population growth rate is very slow, growing only at 3.61% from 1970 to 1980 and even less (0.51%) from 1990 to 1995. The number of births in the municipality have been: in 1996, 280; in 1997, 290 and in 1998 only 84. The average family size is five.
Tonatico has several mountains such as “La Cruz”, the “Tapachichi,” but the largest is “La Puerta” that is 1685 meters high. The “Salto de Zumpantitlán” is a waterfall that Tonatico has, along with “Tenancingo”, “San Geronimo” and “Taplalla” rivers.
The main important economic activity is agriculture, particularly corn, which is grown on over 2300 hectares. Another major crop is onions which is sown on 750 hectares, and on a smaller scale can be found cucumbers, beans, tomatoes, chiles, alfalfa
Alfalfa
Alfalfa is a flowering plant in the pea family Fabaceae cultivated as an important forage crop in the US, Canada, Argentina, France, Australia, the Middle East, South Africa, and many other countries. It is known as lucerne in the UK, France, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, and known as...
and flowers. In this municipality there is no industrial production, but there is tourism because it has thermal springs. Another activity is mining. According to INEGI, in 1995. Tonatico had 2,258 households in total. Within these, 1605 had potable water, another 1880 had sewer connections. and finally 2164 had electrical power.
Around the municipality have been found prehistoric animal remains and cave paintings. It is said that Axayacatl
Axayacatl
Axayacatl was the sixth Aztec Emperor, a ruler of the Postclassic Mesoamerican Aztec Empire and city of Tenochtitlan, who reigned from 1469 to 1481.He is chiefly remembered for subjugating Tlatelolco, Tenochtitlan's sister city, in 1473....
conquered the place, then known as Tenati-Tlan, "behind the walls", which had existed a few thousand years, and founded Tonatiuh-Co, which had the same borders than the current town.
Remains of pre-Hispanic animals have been found, as well as caves with cave paintings within ravines.
Artifacts from pre-Hispanic peoples include ixtamiles, temascales, tanks, pots channels etc.
In Tecomatepec, several clay whistles which are used to entertain the children. Some people make reed flutes.
The ayacachtli or rattle make of "bules", "cirianes", "socos", or another objects that sound when shaken.