Jiquipilco 3.16

Jiquipilco is a town and municipality located in State of Mexico in Mexico. It is north of the Valley of Toluca, part of the region consisting of the southern and western slopes of Cerro La Catedral, which has a concentration of speakers of the Otomi language. It is about 40 km from Toluca, the state capital. The name is a corruption of Nahuatl “Xiquipilli”, meaning “the place of saddlebags”. Jiquipilco is situated on the transversal volcanic axis that crosses Mexico in an area surrounded by lakes and volcanoes. This portion is called "Anahuac”.The town of San Juan JiquipilcoThe town had a population of 1,880 as of the 2005 INEGI census. It lies at an elevation of 2,657 meters above sea level.HistoryJiquipilco came under Otomí rule ca. 1274 and developed into a locally powerful town. The Franciscans arrived in 1552 to evangelize the area and gave the already existing village the name of Juan de las Huertas for its abundance of fruit trees (huerta being Spanish for "orchard"), but its current name is San Juan Jiquipilco. The village was officially proclaimed by the Spanish on March 6, 1593.Notable sitesIn addition to the town chapel, other attractions are the sanctuary of Santa Cruz Tepexpán, which dates from the 16th and 18th centuries, and the chapel of San Felipe Santiago, constructed around the end of the 16th century. A number of colonial era buildings have been preserved such as the ex–haciendas of Mañí, Nixiní, Santa Isabel, Boximo, some of whose structures are in ruins.