Tecolutla 5.97

Tecolutla is a town and municipality located on the Tecolutla River on the eastern coast of the state of Veracruz in Mexico. It has the closest beaches to Mexico City, and much of its economy is based on tourism, as it is only a four- or five-hour drive from the capital. It is the northern end of a tourist corridor along the Gulf of Mexico called the “Emerald Coast,” which extends down to the city of Veracruz.Tecolutla’s biggest attraction is its natural settings of wetlands with estuaries, canals and mangroves associated with the river. The town is known for the “Tecolutla Monster,”—probably a dead whale—that was washed ashore in 1969. Its remains are kept at the Marine Museum. The name Tecolutla means “place of the tecolotes or owls.”TourismThe most important and growing economic activity in the zone is tourism. Tecolutla has the closest beaches to Mexico City. The town has about 15 km of beaches which face directly onto the Gulf of Mexico. (The municipality has a total of 40 km.) These beaches generally have gentle waves and warm water, except during storms called "nortes.” These are strong cold fronts that come down from the north along Mexico’s Atlantic coast between December and February and can cause sudden drops in temperature and winds. This fickle weather keeps Tecolutla and many other Gulf coast communities from becoming major resort areas like Cancun.