Orizaba
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City and 150km/93mi from Veracruz, the town is both an important centre of communications and one of Mexico's major industrial centres. Despite this it has been able to maintain its colonial character to some extent. Its fertile surroundings and moderate climate have helped the steady development of agriculture and industry within the town. There are coffee and fruit plantations nearby, as well as marble quarries and power stations; the Moctezuma cement works, cotton spinning and weaving mills have become established in the town.

History

This once unimportant Indian settlement was conquered by the Aztecs in the mid-15th c. and turned into a military base called Ahuaializapán (Náhuatl: "pleasant waters"). The Spanish occupied this strategic point in the 16th c. Emperor Maximilian and his wife Charlotte enjoyed staying here in their hacienda "Jalapilla" on the outskirts of the town. In 1973 an earthquake destroyed part of the old town, including the bullring.