Tuxtla Gutiérrez

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Lore & Background

The Zoques made the first pre-Hispanic settlement at the site. They named the valley area name Coyatoc, which means 'land or house of rabbits'. The Aztecs intruded into the area between 1486 and 1505 and named it Tuchtlan, which means the same thing in their language. After the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, and the subjugation of the local Chiapan people in 1528, the Dominicans constructed a monastery in nearby Tecpatán. There is no official founding date for Tuxtla, but it is known that the Dominican monks gathered dispersed Zoques into communities organized around churches in the 16th century. A church dedicated to San Marcos (Saint Mark) was founded by the Dominicans for one of these communities in 1560. The existence of the town of San Marcos Tuxtla was first recorded in 1748, and by 1768 it became the seat of a mayoralty in Chiapas. The village was officially recognized as a villa by King of Spain in 1813 with a population of about 5,000, three quarters of whom were Zoques. In 1821, the authorities of the villa proclaimed independence from both Spain and the regional colonial government of Guatemala, along with other areas in what would become Chiapas. However, this declaration was not accepted by either Guatemala or Mexico. Tuxtla, along with the state of Chiapas, became part of Mexico by popular vote on September 14, 1824. Tuxtla was officially renamed as Tuxtla Gutiérrez on May 31, 1848 by governor Fernando Nicolás Maldonado to honor Joaquín Miguel Gutiérrez, a former governor of Chiapas that promoted the state's annexation to Mexico. It replaced San Cristóbal de las Casas as the capital of Chiapas on August 11, 1892.

Reader's Guide

Tuxtla Gutiérrez is the largest and most developed city in the state of Chiapas, and has an accelerated population growth rate. It is clean and mainly business oriented. The city has wide busy avenues, filled with cars, taxis, and buses. Shopping ranges from modern commercial plazas and malls to popular markets and open air tianguis. In 2011, the city was the first in Mexico to be certified as a 'safe city' by the federal government and the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm due to its very low crime rate, crime prevention programs and other factors. According to the Financial Times and FDi magazine, Tuxtla is one of a number of cities worldwide considered to be 'cities of the future.' The city is centered on a large square called the Plaza Cívica, surrounded by government buildings. On one side is the Catedral de San Marcos, founded in the second half of the 16th century as a Dominican parish. Its best known feature is the forty eight bells that ring out each hour, accompanied by a 'parade' of statues of the Apostles that appear on the bell tower. The city has notable parks including Madero Park, which is cut by a street called Paseo de los Hombres Ilustres, and Parque Jardín de la Marimba, established in 1993, where marimba bands play. On the edge of the city is the El Zapotal Ecological Reserve, home of the Zoológico Miguel Alvarez del Toro Zoo, founded in 1942 and considered one of the best zoos of its kind in Latin America. During the 1990s, as many as 10,000 Zapatista sympathizers protested in the city in 1998 to push federal officials to honor the 1994 San Andrés Accords. In 1998, PRD politician, EZLN activist and leader of the Asamblea Estatal Democrática del Pueblo Chiapaneco Rubicel Ruiz Gamboa was assassinated in the city.

Did You Know?

• The city has around 800 adobe houses, many times more than any officially declared historic site in Chiapas.
• The Catedral de San Marcos has 48 bells that ring out each hour, accompanied by a 'parade' of statues of the Apostles on the bell tower.
• Tuxtla was the first city in Mexico to be certified as a 'safe city' by the federal government and the Karolinska Institute in 2011.
• The Zoológico Miguel Alvarez del Toro, founded in 1942, is considered one of the best zoos of its kind in Latin America.
• In 1998, as many as 10,000 Zapatista sympathizers protested in the city to push for honoring the 1994 San Andrés Accords.