Puebla is renown for its distinctive colonial architecture, savory cuisine, Talavera ceramics, onyx crafts, and textile industry. The indigenous language of the region, Náhuatl, is still spoken in some rural areas of the Puebla Valley. Mexican troops defeated French invaders here on May 5, 1862, at the Forts of Loreto and Guadalupe. The Mexican Revolution began in Puebla as well, on November 18, 1910, when federal soldiers and police attacked the home of the Serdán family. In 1987, UNESCO designated Puebla a World Heritage City. A serious earthquake on June 15, 1999, damaged many notable buildings, but restoration efforts began almost immediately. Virtually all the principal historic sites reopened by the summer of 2001.
Among the major archeological sites in the region are: Texcal Cave near Lake Valsequillo, first occupied by humans around B.C. 7,000; the Tenapa Pyramid in Cholula (circa B.C. 400-A.D. 200), whose base height of 1,315 ft. ranks it among the largest precolumbian structures in the Americas; and, in the neighboring state of Tlaxcala, the polychrome murals at the fortress of Cacaxtla (circa A.D. 600-1100). Four volcanoes, the highest peaks in Mexico, are visible from the city: Popocatépetl (17,883 ft.), Iztaccíhuatl (17,338 ft.), La Malinche (14,632 ft.), and Citlaltépetl (18,855 ft.), also known as the Pico de Orizaba. Popocatépetl is an active volcano and periodically spouts water and ash.
Sunny days (70-80o F, or 21.1 -26.6o C) and chilly nights (40-50o F, or 4.4-10o C) mean you'll need layers of clothing and warm pajamas. There is almost no precipitation from November through March. Afternoons are rainy from April through October. Avoid consuming tap water, ice cubes, and foods sold by street vendors, especially water-based desserts (gelatins, ice cream, sno-cones, popsicles). Use bottled water, even for brushing your teeth, and ask for beverages without ice. Items you'll want to keep handy in your pocket or purse are Pepto-Bismol tablets, antacid tablets, facial tissues, and moist towelettes. Public restrooms and rural homes rarely provide toilet paper or soap. Due to the antiquated sewage systems, you should discard toilet paper in the nearby waste can, not the toilet bowl.
The "Puebla China Girl", La China Poblana, is synonymous with this city, but few poblanos knew her true life story. Catarina de San Juan (1609-1688), originally named Mirrha, was born in Delhi, India, and kidnaped at the age of nine by pirates. The captors sold her to a Portuguese merchant in Manila, who later shipped her to Miguel de Sosa, a poblano who had commissioned the merchant to send him "a little Chinese girl." Sosa and his wife adopted eleven year-old Mirrha in 1620 and baptized her Catarina. Upon the couple's death, Catarina married Domingo Suárez, the Chinese servant of the local parish priest. Seventeenth-century poblanos admired her acts of charity and copied her picturesque costume. Twentieth-century poblanos modified the costume to incorporate the colors and insignia of the Mexican flag. Puebla's monument to La China Poblana, an enormous statue atop a tiled fountain, is located in the northern end of the city at the junction of Boulevard Heroes del 5 de Mayo and Avenida Defensores de La Republica.
The region was populated by Toltecs, Chichimecs and Xicalanca Olmecs. Nahua groups arrived in the area in about the 10th century and by the 15th century, the Mexica dominated virtually all of what is now the state of Puebla. The Spanish conquerors made their influence felt by founding the finest baroque city of all: the gorgeous Puebla de los Angeles, one of the country?s architectural and cultural jewels. However, they also influenced craftwork by creating the famous Talavera ceramics, and food, where the blend of Spanish and Indian influences produced one of the most varied and succulent cuisines in Mexico.
Cholula's great temple pyramid was dedicated to Quetzalcóatl, pale-skinned, bearded god of the wind who was also identified with Venus, the Morning and Evening Star. In the mythology of the peoples of Meso-America it was he who, representing the forces of technology and civilisation, brought them knowledge of the arts, sciences and agriculture.
The pyramid, almost completely buried beneath a layer of soil and vegetation, is the largest such structure in the world. Measuring 425 m (1400 ft) along each side at the base, it once stood over 62 m (200 ft) high and occupied an area of some 17 ha (42 acres). Over a period of about 1500 years it was enlarged on seven occasions by a process of superimposition, until the total interior area amounted to some 3.4 million sq. mi. (4 million sq. yd). Up to now reconstruction has been confined to a section of the west side. Exploratory work so far carried out, involving excavation of almost 9km/5.6mi of passageways, has revealed not only the remains of platforms, living quarters, temple walls and patios but also a curious stairway and interesting frescos. |
