Chilapa de Álvarez

Chilapa de Álvarez
Vendors selling woven goods in the tianguis of Chilapa
Chilapa de Álvarez
Chilapa de Álvarez
Coordinates: 17°35′40″N 99°10′40″W / 17.59444°N 99.17778°W / 17.59444; -99.17778
Country Mexico
StateGuerrero
MunicipalityChilapa de Álvarez
Population
 (2010)
 • Total
120,790

Chilapa de Álvarez, informally known as Chilapa, is a town located in the municipality of Chilapa de Álvarez in the Mexican state of Guerrero. The town is located approximately 54 kilometers east of the state capital Chilpancingo.

Chilapa is noted for its large Saturday tianguis, or Aztec market, and its crafts.[1] Local culinary specialities of Chilapa include pozole, chalupas, pan de chilapa bread, and homemade mezcal. The municipal cathedral has a mechanical figurine of Juan Diego, who appears at a window in the cathedral spire and drops rose petals onto the plaza below.

Every August 15, a festival called Tigrada is held on the streets of Chilapa. It is linked to Mesoamerican mythology and is supposed to call on the Aztec god Tepēyōllōtl to bring rainfall and productive land.

History

Traces of human occupation in the area date to 1200 BC. Chilapa's first official charter was issued by the Aztec government in the 15th century after the area's conquest by Moctezuma I in 1458. Prehispanic Chilapan was a Coixca community and exported foodstuffs, honey and petates to towns on the Pacific coast in exchange for salt and cacao.[2]

The Spanish officially designated the town Chilapa de Santa Maria de Asuncion in 1522; in the late 19th century it was renamed Chilapa de Álvarez in honor of Mexican president Juan Álvarez.

References

  1. ^ "Organizaciones sociales de Chilapa: Replegadas por la violencia". www.trinchera-politicaycultura.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-02-11.
  2. ^ Berdan, Frances (1996). Aztec imperial strategies. Washington, D.C: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection. p. 275. ISBN 9780884022114.
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