Tultepec

Tultepec

Nuesta Señora de Loreto Church

Seal
Tultepec
Coordinates: 19°41′06″N 99°07′41″W / 19.68500°N 99.12806°W / 19.68500; -99.12806Coordinates: 19°41′06″N 99°07′41″W / 19.68500°N 99.12806°W / 19.68500; -99.12806
Country  Mexico
State Mexico State
Municipality Tultepec
Government
  Municipal President Ramón Sergio Luna Cortes (2006–2009)
Elevation 2,250 m (7,380 ft)
Time zone CST (UTC-6)

Tultepec is a city and municipality located in State of Mexico, Mexico. It lies directly north of the Federal District (Distrito Federal) in the northeastern part of the State of Mexico, making it part of the Greater Mexico City urban area. The name comes from Náhuatl meaning 'hill of the tule plant'.[1] The census of 2005 reported a population of 57,586 for the city and 110,145 for the municipality as a whole.[2]

The city

Parade of toritos on the streets of the historic center for the feast of John of God

The area was first settled by the Chichimecas, followed by the Otomis in the seventh century. After the Spanish Conquest, Tultepec was given to the conquistador Alonso Ávila along with the current municipalities of Zumpango, Xaltocán, Huehuetoca, Coyotepec, Teoloyucan and others, as part of the Encomienda de Cuautitlán. The modern town of Tultepec began to take shape around 1610 in the valley next to a small elevation called San Martín. Franciscans came to evangelize the new community, dedicating it to the Nativity of Holy Mary and constructing a temple in 1618. This temple, later a parish, was renovated between 1948 and 1955.[1]

The town and municipality boast of a number of musicians and painters including Hernesto Urbán Rodíguez (1894), Ricardo Vázquez Pineda (1894), Victor Manuel Urbán Silva (1894), Andrés Urbán (1870) and Prudenciano García (1880), as well as modern composers such as Victor Urbán Velasco, Gerardo Urbán Velásco, Francisco Vázquez García, Francisco Romero Linares, and J. Isabel Vázquez Solano. Better-known painters include Miguel Hernández Urbán, Joaquín González Romero, Margarito González Solano, Gregorio González Solano, and Albino Luna Sánchez. It is the home of a folk dance group that has toured the United States and Europe.[1]

Fireworks industry

Castillos at the National Fireworks Festival

In the past, when the town was still rural, the economy was based on products such as pulque, animal feed, salt and tequezquite as well as domestic fowl and other small animals, mostly to be sold in Mexico City.[1]

Nowadays, the pyrotechnics industry is the major industry in Tultepec. Every year, the town throws a weeklong festival with fireworks competitions among various producers.[3]

Many pioneers in pyrotechnics came from Tultepec including Agustín, Miguel and Gregorio Fiesco (1880): José Solano Urbán (1900–1920), who revolutionized firework sets and castles; Felipe Reyes, who worked on the colors red and yellow around 1920; Ángel Guadalupe Flores, who around 1920 invented star fireworks and sparklers as well a several types of rockets; Cirilo Sánchez (1920), who worked on aerostatic balloons; as well as Tomás Romero, Ángel Urbán Rivero, Marcos Romero, and Felipe Fiesco, who innovated such things as the electric target, the spider bomb, and 2-figure wheels between 1930 and 1934.[1]

The city and municipality hosts the annual National Pyrotechnic Festival.

The municipality

As municipal seat, Tultepec has governing jurisdiction over the following communities: Guadalupe, Rancho el Cuquío, Maite (Granja Maite), San Antonio Xahuento, Rancho San Joaquín, Santiago Teyahualco, Rancho la Virgen, Ejido Tultepec, Rancho Nodín, Paraje Trigo Tenco, Ejido de Teyahualco, Hacienda Real de Tultepec, Unidad CTM San Pablo, Barrio de San Martín, Ejido San Pablito (Paraje San Pablito), Colonia las Brisas, La Rinconada, La Saucera, Cajiga (Ejido de Tultepec), El Progreso, Colonia la Aurora and Fraccionamiento Paseos de Tultepec II.[2]

The municipality is bordered by the municipalities of Nextlalpan, Melchor Ocampo, Tultitlán, Coacalco and Cuautitlán. Most of the area is a plain with small hills, the largest of which is called Otzolotepec. Temperatures range between 6 and 28°C, but much of the local ecosystem has been destroyed due to urbanization.[1]

The territory surrounding the town of Tultepec used to be much larger. The current municipality took shape at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th when areas were split off to create the current municipality of Melchor Ocampo. The municipal palace was constructed in 1870. Tultepec municipality currently has an area of 19.02 km² (7.344 sq mi).[1] Another major town in the municipality is Santiago Teyahualco.

Outside the main town, there is still some agricultural activity including the raising of animal feed, beans, corn, wheat and alfalfa, and animals such as cattle and pigs; however, agricultural land is shrinking. There are over 79 manufacturing establishments in the municipality including Asfalto Industria and Nacional Constructora. Communities involved in the manufacture of fireworks also serve as tourist attractions.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Enciclopedia de los Municipios de Mexico Estado de Mexico Tultepec". Retrieved 2008-08-04.
  2. 1 2 "Link to tables of population data from Census of 2005] INEGI: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática". Retrieved 2008-03-28.
  3. "Tultepec Pyrotechnics". Retrieved 2008-08-04.
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