Tzintzuntzan, Michoacán
Encyclopedia
Tzintzuntzán is a town and municipality
located in the north of Michoacán state, 53 km from the capital of Morelia
and 17.5 km from Pátzcuaro
, located on the northeast shore of Lake Pátzcuaro
. It is best known as the former capital of the Tarascan state
until it was conquered by the Spanish in the 1520s. Today, Tzintzuntzan is a small town with two major attractions, the archeological site of Tzintzuntzan and the former monastery complex of San Francisco. The municipality contains another important archeological site called Ihuatzio
. It is also notable for its festivals, which include the Festival of Señor del Rescate, Day of the Dead celebrations and a cultural event related to New Year's.
, meaning “place of the hummingbird
s.” The P'urhépecha had a god named Tzintzuuquixu, meaning “hummingbird of the south,” which, like the Mexica
to Tenochtitlán, was involved in guiding the tribe to the Lake Pátzcuaro area. The municipality has a coat of arms which features images of Tarascan kings Tzintzincha, Chiguacua and Chiguangua. It also contains a section representing the Spanish conquest of the Tarascan state in the form of the last emperor Tzintzincha or Tanganxoán bowing before the Spanish Crown and cross, asking to be baptized.
The Tarascans (today P'urhépecha
) were one of the tribes that arrived to the Pátzcuaro Lake area in the 12th century. From the 12th to the 14th century, the P’urépecha came to dominate the region with their capital at Tzintzuntzan. In 1400, emperor Tariácuri divided it among his three descendants, Irepan, Hiquingare and Tanganxoán with each receiving Pátzcuaro, Ihuatzio
and Tzintzuntzan respectively. However, Tanganxoán managed to reunify the three, reabsorbing Ihuatzio and Pátzcuaro, returning Tzintzuntzan as the most powerful city in the lake region.
From 1450 to 1521, the Tarascan empire was not only able to hold off invasions by some of the Aztec
s’ most successful emperors such as Axayacatl
, Ahuizotl and Moctezuma II
, they inflicted heavy losses on invading Aztec armies and continued extending their dominion. In fact, until the Spanish arrival in the 1520s, the P’urhépecha had not known military defeat.
Tzintzuntzan was a large, prosperous city when the Spanish arrived to conquer the area in the 1520s. At that time, it was governed by Tanganxoán II, who was burned at the stake
by Nuño de Guzmán in 1529. It was made the first capital city of Michoacán until Vasco de Quiroga
moved it to Pátzcuaro in 1539,(patz) which at the time was considered to be nothing more than a neighborhood of the powerful Tzintzuntzan. Although Tzintzuntzan was given the title of city in 1523, by 1539 it had lost its former splendor and economic importance. With the rise of neighboring Pátzcuaro, this area was all but abandoned. The land here was under the jurisdiction of Pátzcuaro until after the Mexican War of Independence
, when it became part of the jurisdiction of Quiroga
in 1831. Later, in honor to what it was, Tzintzuntzan was named a “Ciudad Primitiva” (Primitive City) in 1861. The modern town gained municipal status in 1930.
First modern references to the yacatas of Tzintzuntzan date from 1855, when it was first identified as the capital of the ancient Tarascan state, but the ruins were not excavated until the 1930s. The Museo de Sitio de la Zona Arqueológica was inaugurated in 1992, with the aim of displaying artifacts found at the Tzintzuntzan site.
and a large atrium, with much of the building material obtained from the nearby yacata pyramids that the Spanish destroyed. The Church of San Francisco is the first built and still conserves the arch that separates the presbytery
from the nave
, which was the original portal of the 16th century. Next to this portal is a small open chapel from the same time period. There is a plaque on this open chapel that states that it stands on the site of the first Mass to be celebrated in Michoacán. Inside this the Church of La Soledad is the “Santo Entierro,” which is a wax figure of Christ displayed in a glass coffin. It is believed that the arms and legs of this statue are growing. One end of the coffin has an extension added for the feet, with the toes reaching the glass end. Inside the coffin are U.S. and Mexican currency.
The cloister area was built mostly in the 17th century, with the walls painted in murals from different eras, as well as a wood relief carving that represents piety. Next to this cloister is a second, larger open chapel with a presbytery and a transversal gallery. The complex’s atrium is a large, park-like setting and is named the Atrium of the Olive Trees. This is due to the large gnarly trees that were planted here by Vasco de Quiroga, and supposedly have never borne fruit.
In the 2000s, this complex has been undergoing extensive renovation, which is being sponsored by the State Secretary of Tourism, INAH. and the Adopte una Obra de Arte (Adopt a Work of Art) project, which is a private organization that pairs donors with restoration projects. The town area around the ex monastery has been declared a protected area by INAH to mandate orderly urban expansion and to protects the monastery complex. One of the regulations is that no buildings near the complex can be higher than the monastery’s walls.
Part of the restoration project includes the founding of a workshop or school to teach young unemployed people the skills involved in restoration projects, with students working on the monastery project and others. The project also is in the process of founding a cultural center for the community to be located in monastery complex once restoration work is completed. Enough of the restoration work has been completed so that events connected with the Festival Internacional de Música de Morelia and the Academia Mexicana de la Lengua have been held here. Courses to train tour guides for the municipality have also been offered, as well as classes in English and P’urhépecha and a photography exposition.
. In the late 1800s, the town was severely affected by a measles
epidemic. A sacristan
found an old painting of Jesus hidden away in storage and asked for permission to make a vow to it. The vow was that if prayers to this image stopped the epidemic, the sacristan would sponsor a party in gratitude. The party indeed took place and has been repeated annually ever since. This is despite the loss of the original painting due to fire in 1944. The current painting on display is a copy, which believers say is taking on the burnished tones of the original. The festival is called a movable feast and is celebrated during the time period of Carnival
, just before Ash Wednesday
. While Carnival is celebrated in this part of Michoacán, the festival of Señor del Rescate is more important, bringing indigenous peoples from all over Michoacán, as well as attracting pilgrims from other parts of Mexico and even from parts of the United States.
The Danza del Señor del Rescate represents a fight between good and evil. It features a number of characters including queens, angels and demons. Traditionally, girls wear beige, yellow or white dresses with a cape and crown, imitating the Christ painting. The devils represent evil and the angels form a barrier the demons cannot pass. During the dance, the demons jump out at the crowds to try to scare them. During the fiesta, bells ring to scare evil spirits and many pilgrims, some on their knees, enter the Church of San Francisco to give thanks, ask for a miracle or be blessed with a crown placed on their heads, which represents Christ’s blessings and redemption.
Like the rest of Mexico, Day of the Dead
commemorations are important here, and like the rest of the Lake Pátzcuaro area, the celebration is more often called Night of the Dead. In this municipality, homage to the dead in cemeteries begins the night of 1 November and continues to the morning of the 2nd with a candlelight vigil. These dates coincide with the pre-Hispanic harvest festival. Cultural festivities for this event include a parade with floats related to the Night of the Dead commemorations that take place along the edges of Lake Pátzcuaro, as well as handcrafts and cooking competitions, which features atole
. The name of this these celebrations is the Semana Artístico-Cultural de Noche de Muertos (Artistic-Cultural Week of the Night of the Dead).
Although the P’urhépecha new year is celebrated at the beginning of February, at the end of December, Tzintzuntzan holds the Festival Cultural de Fin de Año (Cultural Festival of the End of the Year) at the adjacent archeological site. The event is sponsored by the municipality, the state secretary of tourism and other organizations. The event hosts traditional dancers and “pireris” (a type of traditional P’urépecha singer). The goal of the festival is to allow P’urhépecha groups from around Lake Pátzcuaro a chance to demonstrate their culture. Some of the featured dances include the “Danza de los Tumbies,” “Danza de los Moros” and the “Pescador Navegante.” In the evening, the P’urépecha ball game (uáruhua) with the ball on fire also takes place.
, Huiramba, Pátzcuaro and Erongarícuaro
.
The municipality is in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt
, in the Pátzcuaro Basin with peaks such as Lagarto, Tariácuri and Patambicho. Its main fresh water supply is Lake Pátzcuaro. The climate is temperate with a rainy season in the summer. Most of the area is covered in forests of pine, oak and cedar trees. Animal life mostly consists of small mammals such as coyotes, squirrels, armadillos and rabbits.
Most of the municipality’s land is suited only for forestry activities. Land which is suitable for agriculture grows corn, wheat and beans principally. Livestock such as cattle, pigs and fowl are also raised here. Some manufacturing enterprises, such as those that process food, wood and non-metallic minerals are located here. Tourism is an important earner for the municipality, especially for the lake islands of Pacanda, Yunuén as well as the municipal seat itself with its archeological ruins. Most of the population is employed in commerce, selling pottery, textiles, embroidered items, baskets and religious figures.
The community of Ihuatzio is located just south of the town of Tzintzuntzan and was one of the other major cities of the Tarascan empire. It was probably founded around 900 C.E. It is now a small community with an archeological site, of which only the area called the “Plaza de Armas” has been excavated. Like Tzintzuntzan, this site also contains yácatas. The small community of Santa Cruz in the municipality of Tzintzuntzan is noted for its embroidery
, especially on tablecloths. Figures such as animals, humans, saints as well as entire landscapes can be found in embroidery here. An experimental artificial wetland has been constructed in the community of Cucuchucho on the shores of Lake Pátzcuaro. This experimental constructed wetland
is located in the town of Cucuchucho, in the municipality of Tzintzuntzan, state of Michoacan, Mexico, on the shores of Lake Pátzcuaro. The wetland systems contains various water treatment processes such as solid removal and storage tanks, solids wetland, clarifier wetland, maturation lagoon, aquaculture lagoon and others. The wetland project is designed to treat wastewater before it returns to Lake Pátzcuaro and processes the discharge of a population of 700 people.
Municipalities of Mexico
Municipalities are the second-level administrative division in Mexico . There are 2,438 municipalities in Mexico, making the average municipality population 45,616...
located in the north of Michoacán state, 53 km from the capital of Morelia
Morelia
Morelia is a city and municipality in the north central part of the state of Michoacán in central Mexico. The city is in the Guayangareo Valley and is the capital of the state. The main pre-Hispanic cultures here were the P'urhépecha and the Matlatzinca, but no major cities were founded in the...
and 17.5 km from Pátzcuaro
Pátzcuaro
Pátzcuaro is a large town and municipality located in the state of Michoacán. The town was founded sometime in the 1320s, at first becoming the capital of the Tarascan state and later its ceremonial center...
, located on the northeast shore of Lake Pátzcuaro
Lake Pátzcuaro
Lake Pátzcuaro is a lake in the municipality of Pátzcuaro, Michoacán, Mexico.The natives believe that the lake is the place where the barrier between life and death is the thinnest....
. It is best known as the former capital of the Tarascan state
Tarascan state
The Tarascan state was a state in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, roughly covering the geographic area of the present-day Mexican state of Michoacán. At the time of the Spanish conquest of Mexico it was the second-largest state in Mexico. The state was founded in the early 14th century and lost its...
until it was conquered by the Spanish in the 1520s. Today, Tzintzuntzan is a small town with two major attractions, the archeological site of Tzintzuntzan and the former monastery complex of San Francisco. The municipality contains another important archeological site called Ihuatzio
Ihuatzio
Ihuatzio is a city located near Lake Pátzcuaro in the Mexican state of Michoacán. It was once the capital of the P'urhépecha kingdom, also known as the Tarascan state...
. It is also notable for its festivals, which include the Festival of Señor del Rescate, Day of the Dead celebrations and a cultural event related to New Year's.
History
The name Tzintzuntzan comes from the P'urhépecha languageP'urhépecha language
P'urhépecha is a language isolate or small language family spoken by more than 100,000 P'urhépecha people in the highlands of the Mexican state of Michoacán...
, meaning “place of the hummingbird
Hummingbird
Hummingbirds are birds that comprise the family Trochilidae. They are among the smallest of birds, most species measuring in the 7.5–13 cm range. Indeed, the smallest extant bird species is a hummingbird, the 5-cm Bee Hummingbird. They can hover in mid-air by rapidly flapping their wings...
s.” The P'urhépecha had a god named Tzintzuuquixu, meaning “hummingbird of the south,” which, like the 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...
to Tenochtitlán, was involved in guiding the tribe to the Lake Pátzcuaro area. The municipality has a coat of arms which features images of Tarascan kings Tzintzincha, Chiguacua and Chiguangua. It also contains a section representing the Spanish conquest of the Tarascan state in the form of the last emperor Tzintzincha or Tanganxoán bowing before the Spanish Crown and cross, asking to be baptized.
The Tarascans (today 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...
) were one of the tribes that arrived to the Pátzcuaro Lake area in the 12th century. From the 12th to the 14th century, the P’urépecha came to dominate the region with their capital at Tzintzuntzan. In 1400, emperor Tariácuri divided it among his three descendants, Irepan, Hiquingare and Tanganxoán with each receiving Pátzcuaro, Ihuatzio
Ihuatzio
Ihuatzio is a city located near Lake Pátzcuaro in the Mexican state of Michoacán. It was once the capital of the P'urhépecha kingdom, also known as the Tarascan state...
and Tzintzuntzan respectively. However, Tanganxoán managed to reunify the three, reabsorbing Ihuatzio and Pátzcuaro, returning Tzintzuntzan as the most powerful city in the lake region.
From 1450 to 1521, the Tarascan empire was not only able to hold off invasions by some of the 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...
s’ most successful emperors such as 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....
, Ahuizotl and 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...
, they inflicted heavy losses on invading Aztec armies and continued extending their dominion. In fact, until the Spanish arrival in the 1520s, the P’urhépecha had not known military defeat.
Tzintzuntzan was a large, prosperous city when the Spanish arrived to conquer the area in the 1520s. At that time, it was governed by Tanganxoán II, who was burned at the stake
Burned at the Stake
Burned at the Stake is a 1981 film directed by Bert I. Gordon. It stars Susan Swift and Albert Salmi.-Cast:*Susan Swift as Loreen Graham / Ann Putnam*Albert Salmi as Captaiin Billingham*Guy Stockwell as Dr. Grossinger*Tisha Sterling as Karen Graham...
by Nuño de Guzmán in 1529. It was made the first capital city of Michoacán until Vasco de Quiroga
Vasco de Quiroga
Vasco de Quiroga was the first bishop of Michoacán, Mexico and one of the judges in the second Audiencia that governed New Spain from January 10, 1531 to April 16, 1535....
moved it to Pátzcuaro in 1539,(patz) which at the time was considered to be nothing more than a neighborhood of the powerful Tzintzuntzan. Although Tzintzuntzan was given the title of city in 1523, by 1539 it had lost its former splendor and economic importance. With the rise of neighboring Pátzcuaro, this area was all but abandoned. The land here was under the jurisdiction of Pátzcuaro until after 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...
, when it became part of the jurisdiction of Quiroga
Quiroga, Michoacán
Quiroga is a municipality in the Mexican state of Michoacán. The municipal seat of Quiroga is also called Quiroga.-Geographic location:The municipality of Quiroga is located at the north of the State, at coordinates 19 º 40 'N latitude and 101 ° 32' west. At an altitude of 2080 meters above sea level...
in 1831. Later, in honor to what it was, Tzintzuntzan was named a “Ciudad Primitiva” (Primitive City) in 1861. The modern town gained municipal status in 1930.
Archeological site
The pre-Hispanic city of Tzintzuntzan extended from Lake Pátzcuaro to the hills just to the east and had a population of between 25,000 and 30,000 when the Spanish arrived in the 1520s. The city lost most of its population after the Conquest, and what is now called the Tzintzuntzan archeological site is only the ceremonial center and is located one km west of the current center of the town. The site is located on a hill that overlooks the modern town and Lake Pátzcuaro. It is situated on a large artificial platform that was excavated into the side of the hill. The ceremonial center contains a large plaza and several buildings know to house priests and nobility but the main attraction is the five “yácatas” or semi-circular pyramids that face out over the lake area. This ceremonial center was called Taríaran or “House of the Wind.” On each of the yacatas was a temple made of wood, in which the most important rites of the P’urhépecha people and government took place, including burials, of which about sixty have been found. These are the best known P’urépecha yacatas and considered to be an icon of the region.First modern references to the yacatas of Tzintzuntzan date from 1855, when it was first identified as the capital of the ancient Tarascan state, but the ruins were not excavated until the 1930s. The Museo de Sitio de la Zona Arqueológica was inaugurated in 1992, with the aim of displaying artifacts found at the Tzintzuntzan site.
Monastery of San Francisco
The main attraction of the modern town is the former monastery complex of San Francisco, which was founded in the 16th century. The complex designed and initiated in 1530 by Spanish architect (and Franciscan friar) Fray Pedro de Pila. The complex contains the Church of San Francisco, The Church of La Soledad, two open chapelsCapilla abierta
A capilla abierta or “open chapel” is considered to be one of the most distinct Mexican construction forms. Mostly built in the 16th century during the early colonial period, the construction was basically an apse or open presbytery, containing an altar, which opened onto a large atrium or plaza...
and a large atrium, with much of the building material obtained from the nearby yacata pyramids that the Spanish destroyed. The Church of San Francisco is the first built and still conserves the arch that separates the presbytery
Presbytery (architecture)
The presbytery is the name for an area in a church building which is reserved for the clergy.In the oldest church it is separated by short walls, by small columns and pilasters in the Renaissance ones; it can also be raised, being reachable by a few steps, usually with railings....
from the nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
, which was the original portal of the 16th century. Next to this portal is a small open chapel from the same time period. There is a plaque on this open chapel that states that it stands on the site of the first Mass to be celebrated in Michoacán. Inside this the Church of La Soledad is the “Santo Entierro,” which is a wax figure of Christ displayed in a glass coffin. It is believed that the arms and legs of this statue are growing. One end of the coffin has an extension added for the feet, with the toes reaching the glass end. Inside the coffin are U.S. and Mexican currency.
The cloister area was built mostly in the 17th century, with the walls painted in murals from different eras, as well as a wood relief carving that represents piety. Next to this cloister is a second, larger open chapel with a presbytery and a transversal gallery. The complex’s atrium is a large, park-like setting and is named the Atrium of the Olive Trees. This is due to the large gnarly trees that were planted here by Vasco de Quiroga, and supposedly have never borne fruit.
In the 2000s, this complex has been undergoing extensive renovation, which is being sponsored by the State Secretary of Tourism, INAH. and the Adopte una Obra de Arte (Adopt a Work of Art) project, which is a private organization that pairs donors with restoration projects. The town area around the ex monastery has been declared a protected area by INAH to mandate orderly urban expansion and to protects the monastery complex. One of the regulations is that no buildings near the complex can be higher than the monastery’s walls.
Part of the restoration project includes the founding of a workshop or school to teach young unemployed people the skills involved in restoration projects, with students working on the monastery project and others. The project also is in the process of founding a cultural center for the community to be located in monastery complex once restoration work is completed. Enough of the restoration work has been completed so that events connected with the Festival Internacional de Música de Morelia and the Academia Mexicana de la Lengua have been held here. Courses to train tour guides for the municipality have also been offered, as well as classes in English and P’urhépecha and a photography exposition.
Festivals
The major festival for this municipality is the Festival of the Señor del Rescate. From the 16th to the 19th century, the patron saint of Tzintzuntzan was Francis of AssisiFrancis of Assisi
Saint Francis of Assisi was an Italian Catholic friar and preacher. He founded the men's Franciscan Order, the women’s Order of St. Clare, and the lay Third Order of Saint Francis. St...
. In the late 1800s, the town was severely affected by a measles
Measles
Measles, also known as rubeola or morbilli, is an infection of the respiratory system caused by a virus, specifically a paramyxovirus of the genus Morbillivirus. Morbilliviruses, like other paramyxoviruses, are enveloped, single-stranded, negative-sense RNA viruses...
epidemic. A sacristan
Sacristan
A sacristan is an officer who is charged with the care of the sacristy, the church, and their contents.In ancient times many duties of the sacristan were performed by the doorkeepers , later by the treasurers and mansionarii...
found an old painting of Jesus hidden away in storage and asked for permission to make a vow to it. The vow was that if prayers to this image stopped the epidemic, the sacristan would sponsor a party in gratitude. The party indeed took place and has been repeated annually ever since. This is despite the loss of the original painting due to fire in 1944. The current painting on display is a copy, which believers say is taking on the burnished tones of the original. The festival is called a movable feast and is celebrated during the time period of Carnival
Carnival
Carnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...
, just before Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday, in the calendar of Western Christianity, is the first day of Lent and occurs 46 days before Easter. It is a moveable fast, falling on a different date each year because it is dependent on the date of Easter...
. While Carnival is celebrated in this part of Michoacán, the festival of Señor del Rescate is more important, bringing indigenous peoples from all over Michoacán, as well as attracting pilgrims from other parts of Mexico and even from parts of the United States.
The Danza del Señor del Rescate represents a fight between good and evil. It features a number of characters including queens, angels and demons. Traditionally, girls wear beige, yellow or white dresses with a cape and crown, imitating the Christ painting. The devils represent evil and the angels form a barrier the demons cannot pass. During the dance, the demons jump out at the crowds to try to scare them. During the fiesta, bells ring to scare evil spirits and many pilgrims, some on their knees, enter the Church of San Francisco to give thanks, ask for a miracle or be blessed with a crown placed on their heads, which represents Christ’s blessings and redemption.
Like the rest of Mexico, Day of the Dead
Day of the Dead
Day of the Dead is a Mexican holiday celebrated throughout Mexico and around the world in many cultures. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. It is particularly celebrated in Mexico, where it attains the quality...
commemorations are important here, and like the rest of the Lake Pátzcuaro area, the celebration is more often called Night of the Dead. In this municipality, homage to the dead in cemeteries begins the night of 1 November and continues to the morning of the 2nd with a candlelight vigil. These dates coincide with the pre-Hispanic harvest festival. Cultural festivities for this event include a parade with floats related to the Night of the Dead commemorations that take place along the edges of Lake Pátzcuaro, as well as handcrafts and cooking competitions, which features atole
Atole
Atole is a traditional masa-based Mexican and Central American hot drink. Chocolate atole is known as champurrado or atole...
. The name of this these celebrations is the Semana Artístico-Cultural de Noche de Muertos (Artistic-Cultural Week of the Night of the Dead).
Although the P’urhépecha new year is celebrated at the beginning of February, at the end of December, Tzintzuntzan holds the Festival Cultural de Fin de Año (Cultural Festival of the End of the Year) at the adjacent archeological site. The event is sponsored by the municipality, the state secretary of tourism and other organizations. The event hosts traditional dancers and “pireris” (a type of traditional P’urépecha singer). The goal of the festival is to allow P’urhépecha groups from around Lake Pátzcuaro a chance to demonstrate their culture. Some of the featured dances include the “Danza de los Tumbies,” “Danza de los Moros” and the “Pescador Navegante.” In the evening, the P’urépecha ball game (uáruhua) with the ball on fire also takes place.
Municipality
As municipal seat, the town of Tzintzuntzan is the governing authority for thirty five other named communities, including Ihuatzio, which has more population. Most of the municipality’s population of 12,259 live outside of the town limits (73%). In 2005, the census counted 1,743 people who spoke an indigenous language, mostly P’urhépecha and Ixcateco. The municipality has a territory of 165.15km2 and borders the municipalities of Quiroga, Morelia, LagunillasLagunillas, Michoacán
Lagunillas is a town in the Mexican state of Michoacán. It serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality of Lagunillas-History:...
, Huiramba, Pátzcuaro and Erongarícuaro
Erongarícuaro
Erongarícuaro, which means "Place of waiting" in the Purepecha language, is a town in the Mexican state of Michoacán. It is located about an hour and a half drive to Morelia or Uruapan and just 20 minutes from the famous colonial town of Pátzcuaro...
.
The municipality is in 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...
, in the Pátzcuaro Basin with peaks such as Lagarto, Tariácuri and Patambicho. Its main fresh water supply is Lake Pátzcuaro. The climate is temperate with a rainy season in the summer. Most of the area is covered in forests of pine, oak and cedar trees. Animal life mostly consists of small mammals such as coyotes, squirrels, armadillos and rabbits.
Most of the municipality’s land is suited only for forestry activities. Land which is suitable for agriculture grows corn, wheat and beans principally. Livestock such as cattle, pigs and fowl are also raised here. Some manufacturing enterprises, such as those that process food, wood and non-metallic minerals are located here. Tourism is an important earner for the municipality, especially for the lake islands of Pacanda, Yunuén as well as the municipal seat itself with its archeological ruins. Most of the population is employed in commerce, selling pottery, textiles, embroidered items, baskets and religious figures.
The community of Ihuatzio is located just south of the town of Tzintzuntzan and was one of the other major cities of the Tarascan empire. It was probably founded around 900 C.E. It is now a small community with an archeological site, of which only the area called the “Plaza de Armas” has been excavated. Like Tzintzuntzan, this site also contains yácatas. The small community of Santa Cruz in the municipality of Tzintzuntzan is noted for its embroidery
Embroidery
Embroidery is the art or handicraft of decorating fabric or other materials with needle and thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as metal strips, pearls, beads, quills, and sequins....
, especially on tablecloths. Figures such as animals, humans, saints as well as entire landscapes can be found in embroidery here. An experimental artificial wetland has been constructed in the community of Cucuchucho on the shores of Lake Pátzcuaro. This experimental constructed wetland
Constructed wetland
A constructed wetland or wetpark is an artificial wetland, marsh or swamp created as a new or restored habitat for native and migratory wildlife, for anthropogenic discharge such as wastewater, stormwater runoff, or sewage treatment, for land reclamation after mining, refineries, or other...
is located in the town of Cucuchucho, in the municipality of Tzintzuntzan, state of Michoacan, Mexico, on the shores of Lake Pátzcuaro. The wetland systems contains various water treatment processes such as solid removal and storage tanks, solids wetland, clarifier wetland, maturation lagoon, aquaculture lagoon and others. The wetland project is designed to treat wastewater before it returns to Lake Pátzcuaro and processes the discharge of a population of 700 people.