Municipality of Jalapa (Tabasco)

For the city, see Jalapa (Tabasco)

Jalapa is a municipality in the Mexican state of Tabasco, located in the Grijalva River region and in the Sierra subregion. Its municipal seat is the city of Jalapa and it has a division also made up of 13 ejidos, 44 rancherías, 4 towns, 1 rural colony and 2 subdivisions.

Its area is 642.91km², which corresponds to 2.6% of the state's total; This places the municipality in eleventh place in territorial extension. It borders to the North with the municipalities of Centro and Macuspana, to the South with the municipality of Tacotalpa, to the East with the municipality of Macuspana and to the West with the municipalities of Teapa and Centro.

Toponymy

Its name comes from the Nahuatl word Xal-apan, which means "Sand River".

History

In 1524, on their trip to Las Hibueras (now Honduras), Hernán Cortés and Bernal Díaz del Castillo, mention in their chronicles that they passed through towns called: Zagoatán or Zagoastempan, Astapa and Jaguacapa, in fact, it is believed to be very It is probable that the population of Zagoatán was located where the city of Jalapa, head of this municipality, is now located.

"...and at night came the Spaniard who had gone up the river to the village of Zagoatan with up to sixty Indians of the natives of him, and told me how he left the road open on that part (...) And I continued along the way that the naturals had opened; and although with work of some ciénegas and a lot of water that rained that day I came to the said population of Zagoatan, to a neighborhood of it, that although the minor, there were more than two hundred houses in it... "

Hernan Cortes "Quinta Carta de Relaciones"

According to the historian Manuel Gil y Sáenz, in the year 1614, by order of the Mayor of Tabasco, the construction of churches, royal houses and royal steps began in various capitals and towns, among which the city of Jalapa appears..

In the year 1677, the Tabasco forces confronted and defeated the English corsairs in Astapa who were on their way to attack the capital of the province, whose headquarters had been moved to Tacotalpa from the Royal Crown.

Around 1700, the town of Jalapa was one of the most important towns in the province and beautification was sought, because it was an obligatory passage for those heading to Tacotalpa de la Real Corona, capital of the state.

In 1833 the "morbid cholera" epidemic broke out in the state of Tabasco; Terribly hitting the state, the municipality of Jalapa does not escape this, and its population is considerably decimated.

In the fight against the French invaders, in 1863, troops under the command of Colonel Lino Merino and the brothers José María and Rosario Bastar Sozaya, took the town of Jalapa.

In 1873, in this municipality, a sugar mill was installed for the first time in the state that had machinery that was powered by steam.

In December 1883, according to the organic law of territorial division of the state, Jalapa was one of the 17 municipalities of the entity.

Featured people

• Alonso Felipe de Andrade: (1667-1717) Military. It was the first tabasqueño to be Mayor of the province of Tabasco, from 1704 to 1708. In May 1704, he commanded the tobacco forces to expel the pirates from the Term Lagoon. In 1717, leading the Tabasqueñas and Veracruz forces, he expelled the pirates from the island of Tris.

• Francisco Javier Santamaría: (1886–1963) Lawyer, teacher, politician and linguist. He was governor of the state during the six-year period 1947 – 1952.

• José Jesús Andrade Blanco: (1886–1963). First municipal president in 1917.

• Torpey Andrade: (1893–1971). Educator. Founder of the Tabasqueña Red Cross.

• Matías Pio Piedra: (1851–1915) Educator and politician.

• Euripides Heredia: (1896–1971) sculptor and writer.

• Jesus Antonio Sibilla Zurita: (1922–1989) Radio journalist, founder of the program "Telerreportaje".

Population

According to the main results of the II Population and Housing Count 2005 of the INEGI, the municipality has 24,564 inhabitants, of which, 50.71% (12,675) are women and 49.29% (11,889) are men.

Geography

Orography

Most of the municipal surface is plain, with an area of small hills to the Northeast, on the borders with the municipalities of Macuspana and Centro.

Hydrography

The main bodies of water are represented by the Tacotalpa rivers, which when passing through the municipality adopt the name of the Sierra River, receiving the Teapa and Puyacatengo rivers as tributaries, another that crosses the municipality is the Puente Grande river..

The Teapa River in the northeast serves as a natural boundary with the municipality of Centro, and the San Cristóbal River, in the northwest, serves as a boundary with the municipality of Macuspana.

It has several streams and three lagoons that cover an approximate area of 450 hectares.

Fauna

The fauna of the municipality is made up of: Howler monkey, spider monkey, tepescuintle, armadillo, pigeon, rabbit, otter, pijije, white heron, pea, toucan, chachalaca, hawk, toloque, nauyaca, garrobo, iguana, crocodile and sauyan that are species that are in danger of extinction. It is also made up of: opossum, skunk, squirrel, grackle, buzzard, which are species that are not endangered or threatened. There is also the zarahuato monkey that is found in much of the State.

Economy

The economy of Jalapa is based largely on livestock activities and micro-scale commerce. The economically active population of Jalapa is mostly employed in the municipal H. City Hall or in part-time or full-time jobs in the state capital, Villahermosa.

Primary sector

Agricultural activity in the municipality is aimed at the production of basic grains and fruit trees.

In 1997 the planted area was 2121 hectares, of that area the corn cultivation was 1598 hectares, a figure that represented 75.34% of the total area and in a small amount rice with 561; sorghum with 90 hectares and fruit trees occupied 110 hectares, which represented 5.15% of the surface.

Livestock farming is another important sector in the local economy, this activity is practiced extensively. According to INEGI data, in 1997 there were 57,002 heads of cattle, 10,439 pigs, 1,854 sheep, 5,702 horses, and 88,670 poultry.

Secondary sector

There are small cheese factories, tanned amashito chili and the famous fruit pastes wrapped in joloche, which are undoubtedly the image of the municipality.

Jalapa is also famous for the eggnog that is made in the municipal seat.

In recent years, a great push has been given to the industrialization of oil palm, with a large number of hectares being planted with this palm and a plant for the industrialization of oil being installed in the municipality.

Tertiary sector

There are grocery stores, a supermarket, clothing stores, furniture stores, footwear stores, spare parts stores, hardware stores, construction materials stores, veterinary clinics, pharmacies. All for local consumption.

Tourism

The municipality has some places of tourist interest. The most important thing is its crafts, among which the famous holoche leaf sweets and eggnog stand out.

During the dry season and during Easter, the most visited places are the "playón in Buena Vista" and the town of Astapa to bathe in the Sierra River.

Architectural monuments

The municipality has the Astapa church in the town of the same name, and the church in the city of Jalapa.

Historical attractions

In the municipal seat there are the statues of Francisco J. Santamaría, on the avenue of the same name; and on the outskirts of the city that of Jesús Sibilla Zurita and Regulo Torpey Andrade; In the town of Astapa there is a bust of Eleuterio Pérez Andrade.

In the town of ASTAPA there is, in the main park of the town, a cannon that belonged to a pirate ship and that remembers the triumph of the jalapanecos over the English corsairs that plagued the region.

Festivals, dances and traditions

Wind music, marimba and drummers.

Parties

• Municipal Fair from 14 to 29 June, where the communities of the municipality attend to expose their products.
• Fiesta de San Sebastián in the village of Jahuacapa on January 20.
• Fiesta de Astapa 5th Friday of Lent.

Crafts

Wooden crafts and clay figures, leather belts, and saddles are made.

Typical Costumes

Women, long floral skirt with a lot of flare, white cotton blouse with collar embroidered with flowers in solid knit; and the men, white blanket pants and shirt, red bandana around their neck, chontal hat, backpack, machete and bush.

Gastronomy

Within the typical gastronomy of Jalapa, the following stand out: Rich variety of tamales, especially chipilín and “maneas”, salted meat and cheeses. Delicious orange sweets, coconut with pineapple and coconut with sweet potato, wrapped in corn husks (joloche) and drinks such as pozol, chocolate cashew soda, powder, pinole, homemade eggnog and eskimos.

Main locations

• Jalapa: Municipal header, the main public buildings of the municipality and state and federal representations are located. The main activities are the provision of services, agriculture and livestock. The approximate population is 4,236 inhabitants, and has a distance approximate to the capital of the state of 45 km.

• Chichonal 1ra. Section: Its main activities are livestock, agriculture and trade. It is important to emphasize that this community has oil wells called "Shishitos" that have detonated an economic spill in contribution to growth in this community.

• San Juan el Alto 2a section: The main activities are livestock and agriculture. Its distance from the municipal capital is 21.5 km, and the approximate population is 1,403 inhabitants.

• Benito González: The main activities are the provision of services, livestock and agriculture. The distance to the municipal capital is 29 km, and its approximate population is 1,300 inhabitants.

• Tequila 1st section: (The Aurora) The main activities are livestock and agriculture. The distance to the municipal capital is 2.5 km, and its approximate population is 1270 inhabitants.

• San Miguel Aoutera: The main activities are livestock and agriculture. The distance to the municipal capital is 10 km, and its approximate population is 1755 inhabitants.

• Achilles Serdan 1st section: (El Barrial) The main activities are the provision of services, livestock and agriculture. The distance to the municipal capital is 18.5 km, and its approximate population is 1350 inhabitants.

• Astapa: Its main activity is livestock. The distance to the municipal capital is 10 km, and its approximate population is 1115 inhabitants.

• Jahuacapa: Its main activity is agriculture and tourism. The distance to the header is 4.7 km, and its approximate population is 786 inhabitants.

• Ejido Mountain: Its main activity is livestock and the distribution of the male banana. The distance to the municipal header is 4 km and its approximate population is 800 inhabitants.