The name of Huatulco comes from the word "Cuauhtolco", which means "place
were the wooden rig is adored". Such was the name that the Aztecs gave
to this place when they conquered the region, and according to the legend,
years before the Spanish conquer a white and bearded man came to this place
and put a wooden cross in the beach inviting the Zapotecs to adore it.
The name of this mysterious man was Quetzalcoatl. (Back
to Top)
Most vacationers are lured to Mexico by the country's glittering collection
of beach resorts. With 6,000 miles of coastline encompassing four distinct
bodies of water, Mexico has an unmatched array of sunny, seaside destinations.
There is truly something for everyone when it comes to Mexican beach resorts.
Terrain varies from desert to tropical jungle. Waters range from turquoise
bays to deep green and blue oceans. Amenities vary from rustic, thatched
seaside huts to some of the world's finest resorts. (Back
to Top)
With the conclusion of the roads Puerto Escondido-Salina Cruz and the one from Oaxaca to Pochutla in 1983, FONATUR began to work the tourist development of Bahias de Huatulco. At that time the bay of Santa Cruz was the main human settlement of the place, and their inhabitants were dedicated to agriculture and fishing.
This development is located in the southern coast of the state of Oaxaca
with a total surface of 19,000 Hs , along which they are nine beautiful
bays called, from north to south: San Agustin, Chachacual, Cacaluta, Organo,
Maguey, Santa Cruz, Chahue, Tangolunda, and Conejos. All together they
form a paradise of beaches (Arrocito, Jicaral and Riscalillo among others),
rivers, mountains, and valleys. The weather in the region overall is hot,
with an annual average of 28 C. Huatulco has a modern hotel tourist infrastructure,
totaling near 2,000 room nights as of this date, classified between four
and five stars. It has all services needed for the traveler who seeks for
rest, comfort, and security. In addition it counts with a good quantity
of restaurants for all tastes and budgets, with a great deal of international,
national, and regional cuisine. (Back to Top)
Huatulco could have been the American key of the authentic Indies. When the Spanish arrived to this place that had been a crossroad in the route that united the kingdoms of the Zapotecs of Zaashila with Tehuantepec, the conqueror Cortes first thought that Huatulco was a good base to search for the treasures of the dreamed Peru, and when he forgot this idea, he thought that Huatulco could be the best port of the New Spain to reach the orient. Between 1526 and 1560, Huatulco lived out of this dream. The commercial boom of the cacao and the commercial traffic among Peru and the capital through the route of Miahuatlan, Oaxaca and Tehuacan converted Huatulco in a prosperous and growing place, were new settlers, merchants, artisans, and ship builders would meet.
On 1560, Huatulco lost the ships of progress in benefit of the docks of nearby Acapulco, definitive base of the Spanish ships which would connect for centuries the New Spain and orient lands. Huatulco then became a forgotten place by almost everyone, except for pirates. On 1579, Sir Francis Drake destroyed what was left of the port, and on 1587 the incursion of the pirate Thomas Cavendish was no less negative, although many people today remembers him for his contribution to the legend of the cross of Huatulco. Cavendish ordered that the wooden cross that raised above Huatulco's port be destroyed. Axes broke apart, saws lost their teeth, several cables broke, and not even fire got the cross to be tumbled. The prodigy was soon to be considered a miracle. Where had that cross come from? Indians told the cross had been brought by a white bearded man, dressed with robe, that had come from the sea, with the cross, centuries before the arrival of the Spanish. As a fact, the Aztecs had called the place "Cuauhtolco", which means "place were the wooden rig is adored'.
The cross of Huatulco resisted also the loss of dozens of pieces that
became relics in churches of all over the country. But meanwhile the fame
of its cross was growing, Huatulco lost, definitively, any option for progress.
On 1848, Benito Juarez requested the resources to open a road that would
communicate Oaxaca with Huatulco, but more than a century would have to
pass by until Huatulco became full again of merchants, artisans, ship owners,
and other people from far away lands. On 1984, the federal government initiated
the development for the creation of the tourist complex Bahias de Huatulco,
that with the support of FONATUR would transform in few years what, due
to its lack of economic development was and is a virgin paradise. (Back
to Top)
Bays of Huatulco are located in the lap of the South Sierra Madre, southwest
of Mexico and at 15 grade latitude. It is an extension of approximately
35 kilometers long and 7 kilometers wide, limited to the north by the Acapulco-Salina
Cruz road, by the south by the Pacific Ocean, and east of the Copalita
river and west by Coyula. (Back to Top)
Weather in Bahias de Huatulco is hot, with an annual average temperature of 28-C. (Minimum 14C and Maximum 38C to the end of spring and during summer). Rains appear especially on summer (97% of all annual precipitation). They are torrential and of short duration. They reach their highest point on September, when cyclonic influence is received which increases rain.
During winter drought season arrives. It is very marked since it only
receives 3% of annual precipitation during the months of November to April.
The total annual precipitation is of 935.7 mm and the relative humidity
averages 37%. Huatulco has an average 156 clear days every year and a little
more than 40 days with strong rains. (Back to Top)
Due to the fact that Huatulco is in the lap of the South Sierra Madre, its topography is very rough, with mountains and valleys. The region is irrigated by the Coyula, San Agustin, and Copalita rivers. Huatulco is composed of two clearly defines areas by its geographical characteristics: the lower zone were plain terrain are predominant, well defined river basins, mountain zones and agricultural zones; and the zone were the bays and unlimited beaches are, narrow valleys, and big mountain areas.
Vegetation in Bahias de Huatulco is characteristic of the sub-humid
tropical zones: low caducifolia jungle, middle sub-caducifolia jungle,
lower thorny jungle, gallery forests, and beach mangles. The fauna is typical
of the neo-tropical zone, with absence of big mammals and depredators.
Huatulco has very rich marine fauna: oysters, lobster, shrimp, red snapper,
turtle, octopus, clam, and snail. (Back to Top)
There are three very well marked tourist seasons: winter, Holy Week,
and summer. Winter season starts on December 20th and brings basically
American and Canadian tourist; this season ends on March. The other seasons,
Holy Week (April) and summer (July and August) are almost 100% Mexican.
American public comes from different parts of the country: Chicago, Los
Angeles, Minneapolis, Detroit, Dallas, San Antonio, Houston, and New York.
Mexican public comes mainly from Mexico City and from Monterrey, Guadalajara,
Guanajuato, and Puebla. (Back to Top)
Oaxaca State is located in the southeast portion of Mexico. It is bounded in the north by Veracruz and Puebla, in the east by Chiapas, in the west by Guerrero and in the south by the Pacific Ocean.
The name of Oaxaca comes from the Nahuatl word Huayacac. Its roots are
Huaxin (kind of acacia) and Yacalt (peak, edge, top), top of the acacias.
King Carlos V of Spain elevated Oaxaca to the rank of "City" in 1532. Currently,
it has 244,727 inhabitants and 3,224,270 people are living all over the
state.
Its territorial extension of 59,125 miles (95,364 KM) comprises the
4.85% of the entire country. It has more than 3 million of inhabitants.
It is 1,550 meters over the sea level with a yearly average temperature
of 29,3°C (maximum) and 12,5°C (minimum).
The weather varies a lot because of the irregular surface of the soil. It is hot and dry in the coastal area near the Pacific; humid and hot in the Pacific Coast; and it varies in the Sierra Madre, being mild in the rest of the State and cold in areas with an altitude higher than 2,000 meters above sea level.
Oaxaca de Juárez City, capital of the State, is located in the center of the central district of the State, among the north parallel of latitude 15°42' and 18°22' and the east longitude 3°42' and 16°14' in the Mexican meridian.
In general, Oaxaca has a mild weather during the year:
- Spring: 25°C.
- Summer: 22°C.
- Autumn: 22°C.
- Winter: 16°C. (Back to Top)
The pleasant subtropical climate and the tranquillity of the remote surroundings are what attract most of the travelers to the Oaxaca Valley. Ten thousand years ago, the first nomadic families chose to settle in Mitla for those same reasons and take shelter under large overhangs and in shallow caves.
The nomads collected food from the wild in baskets and nets, and then roasted it on an open wood fire. From time to time, families would gather on the banks of the Mitla River and hold a feast to celebrate the harvest with lots of eating, drinking and dancing.
Higher up at the foot of the valleys, agricultural terraces were discovered where corn and beans were cultivated. This sets the gradual change of life from nomadic to sedentary. Groups of families established here and built houses and made pottery. These were the first agricultural communities in Oaxaca and were located in Abasolo, Tomaltepec, in the Mogote.
These families, although few in number, fostered the Oaxaca valley paradise. Enormous trees, 30 meters high, wild herbs and orchids in a wide range of diversity once thrived here. Waters flowed in clear streams from the forested mountain cliffs. The wildlife of the forest was rich and varied.
Zapotecs established their own knowledge about nature by observing the seasons, the annual rainfall and temperature changes. Their calendar was mainly based upon the sun, but the wind, thunder and rain also constituted important elements for their observation.
With the aim to express their knowledge about the Universe and eager
to have power, Zapotecs built pyramid platforms at specific places in the
natural surroundings. The most ancient of these pyramid cloisters can be
found in a small town outside of Oaxaca called El Mogote, which means The
Hump. From this pyramid the visitors can see the mountains where, later
on, Monte Albán City was built. (Back to Top)
Industry: petroleum, food processing, mining, textiles, motor vehicles, and chemicals. Export crops: coffee, cotton, fruits, vegetables. Food crops: corn, wheat, rice, beans. PCI: $3,750.
A 3,115-kilometer (1,936-mile) common border, commerce, and tourism link the world's largest Spanish-speaking country to the world's largest economic power. Mexico sends half its oil exports, drawn from reserves ranked eighth worldwide, to its northern neighbor. The U.S. returns manufactured goods and foodstuffs. Agriculture, limited by rugged topography and uneven rainfall, remains an important employer, although price controls have reduced farm earnings and wage controls have lowered the standard of living. The nation's system of communal farms, or ejidos, was reformed in 1992 to promote private investment and large-scale agriculture. Farmers grow 20 percent of U.S. winter vegetables.
The nation is blessed with abundant minerals- notably silver, copper, sulfur, lead, and zinc-advanced technology, and a huge workforce. It profits from a thriving maquiladora industry along the border. Products are assembled by inexpensive labor at mostly U.S.-owned plants, then exported back to the U.S. and elsewhere.
Tax reform, privatization of state-run industries, more open trade policies, drastic austerity measures, and restructuring the hundred-billion-dollar foreign debt began to improve competitiveness and boost exports in the early 1990s. To create new jobs and further spur the economy, a free-trade agreement with Canada and the U.S. was implemented in 1994. In spite of the promise of future economic gains, overspending and reckless lending practices helped precipitate a Mexican banking and credit crisis in 1995.
With more than 15 million people, many living in barrio slums, Greater Mexico City is one of the world's largest metropolitan areas. Tough environmental restrictions have been enacted to cope with increasingly dangerous levels of air and water pollution. In 1985 the city was hard hit by an earthquake that left 9,000 dead and 95,000 homeless.
Mexico's declining birthrate promises some relief from the crushing pressure of its population, expected to exceed a hundred million by the year 2000. One-third of all Mexicans are younger than 15. The flood of illegal immigrants-and drugs-across the border taxes relations with the U.S. During the 1980s Mexicans seeking work made more than 20 million illegal border crossings.
Tourism, along with petroleum revenues, is a leading earner of foreign
exchange. About 90 percent of the more than six million visitors come from
the U.S. and Canada. On the Yucatán Peninsula and elsewhere, restoration
of ancient temple-pyramids and city complexes brings to light the sophistication
of the Maya and Aztec civilizations. (Back to Top)
| MEXICO - GENERAL DATA
UNITED MEXICAN STATES AREA:
1,958,201 sq km (756,066 sq mi).
|