Neighborhoods of Tepoztlán: Introduction
Tepoztlán, Morelos, Mexico. This is a quiet street in the Ixcatapec, a pueblo of the municipality.
This article is the introduction to a series of monthly articles exploring the varied neighborhoods of Tepoztlán. It is a theme prompted by folk's suggestions.
Tepoztlán is one of the federal government supported "magic cities." It is an hour drive south of Mexico City in the state of Morelos. Its uniquely-shaped mountains give it a mystical flavor noticeable as you enter from the highway. Tourists love hiking to the ancient pyramid, and enjoy shopping from the booths lining narrow cobblestone streets.
The total municipal population of about 50,000 people consists of locals descending from an indigenous tribe (Tepoztécos), Mexicans from Mexico City and other parts of the country, and expats or immigrants. There are many tourists and digital nomads. All of the other residents besides the Tepoztécos are called Tepoztízos.
The Tepoztécos fiercely protect the town, keeping out large corporations in favor of small, family-run businesses. I find this very refreshing! If one wants to go to Wal Mart, Home Depot, Starbucks, or the like, they can take a direct bus to Cuernavaca, only a half-hour away.
The Neighborhoods
The municipality of Tepoztlán is divided into barrios, colonias, pueblos, and subsections of these three. There is no distinction between a barrio and colonia. I learned about these divisions from a taxi driver who was kind enough to explain them to me. Subsections are distinct geographical areas within the other sections, but have no central church or governance of their own.
I went to the town offices to get a map of the subdivisions, asking for one showing the boundaries between them. I'd like to know where one barrio ends and another begins. They told me that they've had several request for a map like that, and are working on it. Here is the one they had on the wall:
To get a better idea of the municipality of Tepoztlán, compare the above map with this one below, showing only the pueblos, leaving out the barrios and colonias:
This map is from a book about Tepoztlán that is a classic. It is an anthropological study written by Oscar Lewis and first published in 1951: Tepoztlán: Village in Mexico (Case Studies in Cultural Anthropology) or Life in a Mexican Village: Tepoztlán Restudied, 1971; 4th printing of 1951 original, U. Of IL Press, Urbana. Although this book presents rigorous academic research, with its methods fully explained, it appeals to lay people because of the vast number of black and white photos, diagrams, and descriptions of daily life. Even though it is outdated, it still holds a special charm for me. If you see it, you'll understand why. Here is the Amazon link.
What characterizes a neighborhood in Tepoztlán? Most people are Catholic in a traditional way with some added shamanistic elements. The place where community gather most are the churches. Other elements include stores, parks, markets, and murals.
Here is a sampling of some of the churches:
The main church, in Centro, the Exconvento.
San Miguel Church
Santa Cruz Church
Santisima Church
One of the shamanistic characteristics of the syncretic religion has to do with animals. Each neighborhood has its own token animal. For example, Barrio Santo Domingo's animal is the toad. This is seen in some altars, and in the ceramic statues holding street drinking water taps. It also appears in parades with someone in a frog costume.
I hope you've enjoyed our brief introduction to Tepoztlán's neighborhoods and will keep track of them in upcoming monthly editions of this blog. Please let me know if you've enjoyed this one.
