Puebla

Mexican State

Area: 33,995sq.km/13,125sq.mi

Population: 4,624,400

The state of Puebla is bounded on the north and east by Veracruz, on the south by Oaxaca and Guerrero, and on the west and north-west by Morelos, the Estado de México, Tlaxcala and Hidalgo. The landscape is characterised by plateaux, mountain ranges with glacial peaks and fertile valleys. Puebla is densely inhabited and is one of Mexico's most important cultural and economic areas. The population includes Criollos (Creoles), descendants of Spaniards, and mestizos, as well as various Indian tribes such as Náhua, Otomí, Totonacs and Mazatecs. Archaeological Sites

Although Puebla possesses numerous archaeological sites, the only ones likely to appeal to the ordinary visitor are Cholula and Yohualichán. Las Bocas and Coxcatlán are still under excavation.

History

Adjoining the cultural centres of the Anáhuac plateau, the area of the present state of Puebla played a significant role in the pre-Columbian period. The earliest evidence of fruit cultivation (pumpkins, avocados, chillies, cotton), estimated as dating from 7000 bc, was found in the Tehuacán Valley. Later ancient Indian people, such as the Olmecs, the Zapotecs, the Mixtecs, the Toltecs, the Totonacs and the Aztecs (Mexica), ruled here from 1200 bc both after and with each other until the arrival of the Spanish. The most important religious and political centre of the Classic and post-Classic periods was without doubt Cholula, which continued to exert strong influence through many centuries until the Conquista.

The Spanish under Hernán Cortés arrived in the area of the present state in 1519 on their way from the Gulf Coast to Tenochtitlán. The conquerors colonised the land very quickly, and Puebla's ensuing history is bound up with that of its capital which bears the same name.

Economy

The state has remained of major importance for its agricultural products such as grain, maize, coffee, sugar-cane and Maguey agaves. The principal minerals worked here are gold, copper, coal and marble. Also of importance is hydro-electric power. Ceramics (mainly tiles), textiles, glass, soap, leatherware and, not least, vehicles are manufactured in the state. Local craft products, tourism and mineral water bottling (Tehuacán) all contibute to the economy.

Sights

The well-known tourist centres and their surroundings, including Puebla, Acatepec, Cholula, Huejotzingo and Teziutlán are worth mentioning.