The Municipality
As municipal seat, the town of Amecameca is the local governing authority for more than 130 other named communities, which over an area of 181.72km2. The municipality borders the municipalities of Tlalmanalco, Atlautla, Ozumba, Ayapango and Juchitepec with the state of Puebla to the east. 181.72km2. About 65% of the municipality’s population lives in the town proper. At the end of the 19th century, about 85% of the population spoke Nahuatl, but today less than 200 speakers remain.
The municipality is situated on the foothills of the Sierra Nevada between the Iztaccíhuatl and Popocatépetl and in the Moctezuma-Panuco River. The Sierra Nevada is the most important geographical feature of the region and forms the eastern border of the municipality. These volcanoes are responsible for the compositions of the soils here as well as the source of most of the municipality’s fresh water. The average altitude in these mountains is 4,000 meters above sea level with the highest elevations at the Iztaccíhuatl and Popocatépetl volcanos. Although near the active volcano, Amecameca is considered to be at a lower risk than other communities in the area because of the shape of Popocatépetl’s cone and the large ravines that are found in this area. The latter offers protection against lava flows and runoff from melting snow. However, the area remains part of the evacuation zone in the event of a major eruption. There is a lookout station on Sacromonte hill which is used by civil defense when the volcano is more active. The area has an eruption warning system of three colors, red, yellow and green which depend of the status of Popocatepetl. Green means that the volcano is quiet, yellow that there is activity and caution is advised and red indicates a current or imminent eruption. When the status turns to yellow, tourism to the area plummets to about half normal.
Fully within the municipality, the most important elevation is the Sacromonte. The main river here is the Alcalican, which forms from the snowmelt of Iztaccihualt. Its name means “in the house of water.”Most of the other streams and springs of the municipality are fed by the Sierra Nevada mountains The climate is considered to be temperate and somewhat wet (cb(w2)) with most rains coming between May and October. Temperatures generally vary between 2C and 24C although temperatures of -8C and 34C are not uncommon.
This area, especially in the rainy season, has an abundance of wild edible plants, especially mushrooms. Undeveloped areas in the lower mountains areas are mostly covered by forests of pine, oak and cypress, with trees reaching over 30 meters in height. However, deforestation is an issue both for the loss of trees and the remaining forests’ ability to resist fires and plagues, with about twenty percent of forested area lost in last decades of the 20th century. Grazing cattle often inhibits reforestation. Higher up, the forests are dominated by fir trees with some pines and cedars. At the highest elevations near the tree line, only one species of pine is found called Pinus hartwagii. Above the tree line are alpine meadows. Small mammals, especially rabbits are common here as a number of reptiles and a variety of birds. The area used to have larger species such as white-tailed deer but these have been hunted to extinction.
Most of the municipality now is dedicated to agriculture and livestock. The main crop is corn along with other grains such as alfalfa, wheat and oats. There are a significant number of orchards here producing walnuts, pears, apples, capulins and other fruit. The municipality is the major producer of walnuts in Mexico. Livestock raised here includes pigs, cattle, sheep and domestic fowl. One important agricultural activity here is the production and conservation of traditional varieties of corn. Like other communities in the area, there are three main varieties of corn planted where as well as a number of minor varieties. These are planted mostly as a trial or because of their special characteristics, not to compete with the three main varieties. In local markets, these farmers are able to sell these local varieties as well as exchange seed to maintain genetic variety.
There is some industry here, which employs about a third of the workforce. The main ones are Los Molinos de la Covadonga, La Harinera Amecameca, Hilos Cadena which produced milled products and thread. In addition there are small workshops which produce saddles, ironwork and machine pieces. Most commerce occurs in the municipal seat, mostly with the sale of staple foods and other basic necessities. Market days are Monday, Wednesday and Sunday when the town is covered in portable stalls in a tradition called the “tianguis.” In addition, there are several hotels and other businesses that cater to tourists. This sector of the economy employ about 45% of the municipality’s population.
Outside of the town proper, there are a number of other tourist attractions in the municipality. There is one registered archeological site in the municipality called the “Piedra del Conejo” (Rabbit Stone) or “Monumental solsticial de Tomacoco” (Solstice monument of Tomacoco ). One of the major attractions is the Panoaya Hacienda. The main hacienda building houses the Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz Museum. Sor Juana come to live at Panoaya in 1651 when she was three years old to live with her mother and grandfather. She learned to read and write and stayed until she was sent to live in Mexico City in 1663. The hacienda lay in ruins for the last century or so until it was rehabilitated in 1999 at a cost of more than 10 million pesos. A building next to this one is the International Museum of Volcanos which exhibits of Mexico two most famous volcanoes and others in the world. The hacienda’s main building now serves as the Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz Museum, run by INAH. Much of the rest of the hacienda land is leased to a recreational park which is best known for its petting zoo which contains tame deer.
Another major attraction is the Bosque de Arboles de Navidad (Christmas Tree Forest), one of the few places in Mexico where one can go and cut his/her own tree. The Bosque plants trees such as the “vikingo mexiquense” and the “vikingo canadiense” coming here has become a tradition for many families in the Mexico City area. It is a business that was conceived forty years ago as a way to help preserve the forest here as well as benefit economically. Visitors come to spend a day in the area and can cut trees only from designated locations. Picnicking is permitted with the requirement that no garbage is left behind. The Christmas tree area covers 120 hectares, and cut trees are left to regrow instead of being killed. The park also hosts food stalls and a Christmas market, selling about 30,000 trees per year and employing 50 permanent and 250 seasonal workers.The money earned from the enterprise helps to preserve more wild areas of the mountains here. This work has earned a Premio Nacional de Ecología (National Ecology Prize). The only problem the forest experiences is that the enterprise is so popular that the roads leading to the area are jammed with traffic.
Lessor known attractions include the Eco Parque San Pedro, the Temazcal Park and the Agua Viva monastery. The Eco Parque San Pedro (San Pedro Ecological Park) is located between the Amecameca and Nexpayantla rivers just outside the municipal seat in the community of San Pedro Nexapa. It stands at 2870 meters above sea level, very close to the Puebla state line and has a cold, wet climate. The park is between the Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl volcanos near the Cortés Pass. The park was created as a way to manage and preserve the natural resources of the area. It is a recreational area for sports such as hiking and also contains the second largest labyrinth of its type in the world created with over 38,000 cedar trees over an extension of 10,000m2. There is also a “zoo” of sculpted plants made to form animals using plants native to the area. The Temazcal Park is a natural area with dirt and stone paths. It contains a varieity of pine trees and medicinal plants and is home to white tailed deer, foxes and other wildlife. Activities available here are hiking, mountain biking, camping and other nature sports. The Agua Viva (Living Water) monastery is a Dominican institution located at the foothills of Iztaccíhuatl. There are still monks here that offer mass. The Cortés Pass is located 30 minutes from the town, which is a space between the two volcanos and from where Cortés had his first view of the Valley of Mexico.
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