Zacatepec de Hidalgo

View of a Zacatepec de Hidalgo street lined with palm trees, with the sugar mill in the distance

Zacatepec de Hidalgo (Zacatepec from nahuatl Zacatl meaning grass and tepetl meaning hill, thus loosely meaning "grassy hill") is a town in the state of Morelos, Mexico. It stands at 18°41′N 99°11′W / 18.683°N 99.183°W / 18.683; -99.183. Bordered by Puente de Ixtla, Tlaltizapan, Tlaquiltenango and Jojutla.

The town serves as the local seat for government, with which it shares the name. The municipality reported 33,331 inhabitants in the 2000 census.

The main industry in the town and its surrounding countryside is that of sugar cane cultivation and processing. The most noticeable feature of the town is the sugar mill located in its centre and during operating hours the air of the settlement is laden with the sickly-sweet smell of sugar.

Students come from surrounding parts of Morelos to study at the public university, the Instituto Tecnológico de Zacatepc, which is located on a site adjacent to the sugar mill.

History

In precolumbian times Zacatepec was under the Tlahuica lordship of Cuauhnahuac (Cuernavaca). After the conquest it fell under the jurisdiction of the Count of Oaxaca. The independence of Mexico put Zacatepec in the State of Mexico, until the creation of the State of Morelos.

Points of interest

Old church in Tetelpa, and the old hacienda, where the Zacatepec market is located now.

Sports

Zacatepec de Hidalgo has a soccer team, named Zacatepec, nicknamed Cañeros (Sugarcane growers). Their colors are white and green. Their uniform color is a white shirt with a big green line in the midsection and white shorts and socks. Their greatest achievements were in the 1950s when Zacatepec won two titles in Primera División de México (Mexico First Division): 1954–1955 season and 1957–1958 season. They were runners-up in the 1952–1953 season when they lost the league championship to Tampico. Zacatepec won the Copa Mexico (Mexico Cup) in the 1958–1959 season.

The head coach of Zacatepec during the 1950s was the Mexican Ignacio Trelles, who later became head coach of the Mexico national team in the 1962 FIFA World Cup in Chile and 1966 FIFA World Cup in England.

The team plays in Tercera División de México (Third Division).

Agustin "Coruco" Diaz stadium is the home venue of Zacatepec. It was founded in November 1954. It was inaugurated by then-president of Mexico Adolfo López Mateos. The stadium is euphemistically called "la selva camera" (the sugarcane jungle), due to Zacatepec's humid weather conditions.

Zacatepec's motto is “Hacer Deporte es Hacer Patria” which means doing sports is to be a patriot.

Honors

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Sister Cities

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