Almoloya del Río
| Almoloya del Río | |
|---|---|
| Town & Municipality | |
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|
 Almoloya del Río
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| Coordinates: 19°09′31″N 99°29′19″W / 19.15861°N 99.48861°WCoordinates: 19°09′31″N 99°29′19″W / 19.15861°N 99.48861°W | |
| Country |
 Mexico
|
| State | State of Mexico |
| Founded | Between 650-850 AD |
| Municipal Status | 1847 |
| Government | |
| • Municipal President | Jacobo Vázquez Castillo (2006–2009) |
| Area | |
| • Municipality | 6.44 km2 (2.49 sq mi) |
| Elevation (of seat) | 2,600 m (8,500 ft) |
| Population (2005) Municipality | |
| • Municipality | 8,939 |
| • Seat | 7,992 |
| Time zone | CST (UTC-6) |
| Postal code (of seat) | 52540 |
| Area code(s) | 713 |
| Website | Official site |
Almolya del Río is a town and municipality located in the State of Mexico 26 km from the state capital of Toluca. It is located 2,600 meters above sea level. The name Almoloya comes from the Nahuatl phrase almoloyán which means place where water flows out. "del Rio" means "of the river" in Spanish and refers to the Lerma River, which originates here.
While the area had been long inhabited by hunter-gatherers, the first sedentary farming communities appeared in this area around 5000 to 1000 BC. Almoloya was founded on the edges of the marshes of Lake Chicnahuapan. In the Pre-Classic period, agriculture intensified and tribal communities began to develop. By the High Classic period, villages with ceremonial centers had developed as well as the cultivation of corn, beans and vegetables on chinampas in Lake Chicnahuapan and the Chicnahuapan River, now known as the Lerma River. The village of Almoloya was founded between 650 and 850 AD by the Otomí and Matlatzinca people. The patron divinity was the Night Jaguar from the Olmec culture and the ceremonial center was called Xiutépetl Xaxalpa.
Mixcoatl conquered Almoloya del Río, along with Toluca, Tenango, Malinalco and Zoquitzinco. This was part of the expansion of the Tepanec empire which included many of the peoples of the Valley of Toluca. Aztec conquest came in 1476 under leader Axayacatl putting the town under the jurisdiction of Tacuba. Later, in 1521, Spaniard Gonzalo de Sandoval took over the town along with the rest of the valley, putting it under the jurisdiction of Toluca. The Franciscans came shortly thereafter to evangelize the native population, very likely building a small, temporary church where the current church stands. In 1528, the town was part of the encomienda of Juan Gutiérrez Altamirano, a cousin of Hernán Cortés, who had a hacienda named Ateneo. He also set up a hacienda just outside the town of Almoloya. In the 16th and 17th centuries the town church, San Miguel Arcangel was built. In the 18th century, the town of Metepec had grown sufficiently that it became a jurisdiction, which Almoloya belonged to. Viceregal authorities mandated that Indians living in scattered small communities in this valley be grouped into four larger communities; one of these communities was Almoloya By 1808, the town itself had grown sufficiently that it had jurisdiction over three other communities: San Mateo Texcalyacac, Santa Cruz Atizapán, Santa María Nativitas and San Pedro Techuchulco. During the Mexican War of Independence, Ignacio Rayón's troops fought royalist troops in the fields between this town and Santiago Tianguistenco.
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Wikipedia