By Isla Quinn
Arches. Color. A wide brown river at the end of every street. That is the picture the sources paint of Tlacotalpan, a town in Veracruz on the Papaloapan River, and they agree on more of it than most sources agree on anything.
Where it sits
Wikipedia places Tlacotalpan about 90 kilometers from the port of Veracruz, in the Sotavento region, at an elevation of 10 meters. It says the town was established in 1550 on what was originally an island in the river, and that it became a city on 9 May 1865. UNESCO says the Spanish settled it “around 1550.” The 2020 population in the Wikipedia article is 7,287, and the article names fishing and tourism as the main support of the local economy.
The grid
UNESCO describes an original grid of 153 blocks, split into a larger “Spanish” quarter to the west and a smaller “native” quarter to the east, with a public sector between them. A Latin American geography web page adds that seven wide streets run parallel to the river, linked by narrow lanes, and that the commercial and administrative center sits where the two quarters meet. Our reading: the plan tells you the town was designed to face the water.
Arcades and color
UNESCO says the streets are lined with arcades of arched porticos, carried on pillars from plain beams to fluted columns, with brightly colored exteriors, curved terra cotta tiles and interior courtyards. The geography page lists deep reds, bright yellows, blues and greens. The sources differ on height. Wikipedia says houses are one and two stories, while UNESCO and the geography page say single-story or mostly single-story. We show both.
Wikipedia dates some facades to the eighteenth century and names three buildings with dates: the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Candlemas, begun in 1770; the municipal palace, 1849; and the Nezahuacoyotl Theater, 1891, which it calls French in style.
Why UNESCO listed it
The Historic Monuments Zone of Tlacotalpan was inscribed in 1998, UNESCO says, with a 75-hectare core and a 320-hectare buffer zone. Criterion (ii) cites a “fusion of Spanish and Caribbean traditions of exceptional importance and quality.” Criterion (iv) says the town has “preserved its original urban fabric to an exceptional degree.” UNESCO adds that flooding remains a concern and that flood management must continue.
A river town that railroads passed by
The geography page says the town was a key trade point from the colonial period through the nineteenth century, moving goods and people between the coast and the interior, and that the railroad in the twentieth century reduced its importance as a port. It says this left the town relatively untouched by modern industrialization. We offer that as the page’s explanation, not a settled one.
Music on the plaza
Wikipedia lists Agustín Lara, a songwriter and poet who lived much of his life in the town, among its notable people, and says two cultural buildings carry his name. Its article on son jarocho, the folk music of Veracruz, says the pandero (a hand frame drum) is especially associated with the Tlacotalpan style. That article names the jarana, a small guitar-like instrument, the requinto, the harp, and the quijada, a percussion instrument made from a donkey or horse jawbone. It also describes the tarima, a wooden platform that dancers tap with their heels.
Dates in order
- About 1550: Spanish settlement, according to UNESCO; 1550, according to Wikipedia.
- 1770: the Candlemas sanctuary is begun, according to Wikipedia.
- 1849: the municipal palace, according to Wikipedia.
- 1865: city status, 9 May, according to Wikipedia.
- 1891: the Nezahuacoyotl Theater, according to Wikipedia.
- 1998: UNESCO inscription, according to UNESCO.
Side by side
Wikipedia and a Mexican travel-guide page both describe an annual winter fiesta in the town that gathers players of Veracruz music.
What kind of sources these are
UNESCO’s World Heritage List entry (an international heritage body); Wikipedia (open encyclopedia, two articles); a Latin American geography web page (educational site); and a Mexican travel-guide page (tourism content).
What we left out
We left out the livestock and land-use percentages, the bull-running that the festival searches turn up, the list of painters and politicians, and any opening hours or transport. We found no source on makers in the town, so we name none.
Quick answers
- When did UNESCO list Tlacotalpan? According to UNESCO, the Historic Monuments Zone of Tlacotalpan was inscribed in 1998, with a 75-hectare core and a 320-hectare buffer zone.
- Why is Tlacotalpan a World Heritage site? UNESCO cites a fusion of Spanish and Caribbean traditions and an original urban fabric preserved “to an exceptional degree.”
- How is the town laid out? UNESCO describes a grid of 153 blocks: a larger Spanish quarter in the west, a smaller native quarter in the east, and a public sector between.
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