Toluca

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Toluca
[[\|150px]] [[\|250px]]
Official Name	Toluca de Lerdo
Country - State: - Municipality	Mexico Mexico State Municipality of Toluca
Population (2005)	747,512 hab
Altitude	2667 msl
Coordinates - Latitude: - Longitude:	19º 29' 30" N 99º 67' 13" W
Foundation - Foundation:	05/19/1522
Mayor	Juan Rodolfo Sánchez Gómez
Political party	PAN
Time zone:	UTC -6
Demonym	Toluqueño(a)
Postal code	50000-
Area code	722
Website: http://www.toluca.gob.mx/

This article is about a city in Mexico. For the football club, see Club Toluca. For the village in the U.S. state of Illinois see Toluca, Illinois.

Toluca (formally: Toluca de Lerdo) is the state capital of México State in central Mexico, located at 19°29′N 99°67′W. Located 63km west-southwest of Mexico City and only 30 minutes by car from its fast-growing suburb, Santa Fe. Toluca is a very successful industrial center, commercial, and touristic city in Mexico.

1 Toponymy
- 1.1 Meaning of the name
2 History
3 Geographical Information
4 Economy
5 Education
6 Tourism
7 Art and Culture
8 Music and Dancing
9 Sport
10 See also
11 References
12 External links

[edit] Toponymy

[edit] Meaning of the name

The name Toluca is a hispanization of the Náhuatl name for Aztec town that existed on this site, "Tōllohcan," which means "Place of many reeds" (Nahuatl tōl-li "reed" + -yoh "having" + -can "place of"). Its Náhuatl symbol was in use as the municipality symbol until 1979, when its Coat of Arms was created to replace it in official documents. In 1861 from decree of the local legislature, the municipality took the name of Toluca de Lerdo, in memory of Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada.

Toluca

[edit] History

Archeologists indicate that pre-Hispanic establishments at Tōllohcan date vack to the 9th century. Tōllohcan was conquered in the late 15th century by the Aztecs of Tenochtitlan and incorporated into their empire, which fell only a few decades later to the Spanish Empire. Under Spanish rule, the renamed town of Toluca was incorporated as a Spanish settlement by evangelizing friars on March 19, 1522, and became one of the chief Spanish regional towns west of the capital. After Mexican independence, Toluca was governed by Lorenzo de Zavala in 1827 and in 1832. Zavala, who was born in Yucatán, later went on to become the first vice-president of the Republic of Texas.

[edit] Geographical Information

At the census of 2005 the city of Toluca had a population of 467,712 people, and the municipality of Toluca 747,512 people. The city is the eighth largest in the state of México in population, whereas the municipality is the fourth largest. Twelve municipalities make up a metropolitan population of 1,610,786 [1] as of 2005, making it the fifth most populous metropolitan area in Mexico and the largest entirely within the State of México (the Mexico City metropolitan area has a much larger population that also includes that of the Toluca area). The municipality of Toluca, which has an areal extent of 420.14 km² (162.22 sq mi), includes numerous communities other than Toluca de Lerdo, the largest of which are San Pablo Autopan and San José Guadalupe Otzacatipan. The municipality of Metepec, which directly borders the city of Toluca to the east, has a population of 206,005.

The climate is the coolest of any large Mexican city due to its high altitude of 2,680 m (8,790 ft) above sea level. Despite its southerly latitude, on winter nights temperatures can drop well below 0C (32F), while summer maximum temperatures rarely exceed 27C (80F). The climate is prone to extended dry periods but receives rainfall during the summer months.

Toluca

[edit] Economy

The municipality is an important industrial center, with automotive manufacturing from firms like DaimlerChrysler, Nissan, General Motors, BMW, Mitsubishi and many other companies. It is sometimes known as "Mexico's Detroit". The industries established in Toluca produce many different products such as alcoholic beverages, processed foods, textiles, automobiles, electronic products, and pharmacists.

[edit] Education

Since Toluca is the capital of the state of Mexico, there are several diverse and important educational centers such as the state-funded Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, the Dirección General de Educación, and the Servicios Educativos Integrados al Estado. It also is home to major private universities, including campuses of the Tecnológico de Monterrey (ITESM) and the Universidad del Valle de México.

There are currently 574 schools in Toluca with about 8,320 teachers. The illiteracy rate is 7.33%, which is considered high.

[edit] Tourism

Toluca has an international airport named Aeropuerto Internacional Adolfo López Mateos, located 10 kilometers from the city's center.

Some attractive tourist spots include the Zócalo, also known as Plaza de los Mártires, which includes buldings such as the palace of the state government and the building of justice. To the northeast of the Zócalo is the Cosmovitral, which is an arboretum where people can look at a grand variety of different vegetable species. There are many colonial-era churches in the center of Toluca, the most famous being the Church of the Veracruz (True Cross) and the church of Our Lady of Carmen.

Nevado de Toluca

There are several museums in Toluca with art from the famous José María Velasco and Luis Nishizawa. The most famous theatre is the Morelos theatre, which several different types of events ranging from cultural to political. At the outskirts of Toluca is the Centro Cultural Mexiquense where diverse expositions of art can be seen. In this center there are also a couple of museums and a library.

The Nevado de Toluca or Xinantécatl that is 30 kilometers soutwest of the city is a place of much increasing human activity. Activities include mountain biking, climbing, or running at these high altitudes. There have been proposals to turn this mountain into a ski hill because of its accessibility and the low temperatures that exist on the mountain throughout the year, but recent reports on global warming have raised fears that the snow cap on the mountain will disappear completely within a few decades. It is the only volcano in Mexico that has two lagoons and can be reached by automobile.

[edit] Art and Culture

Toluca boasts a high cultural and folkloric diversity which can be appreciated in each one of its traditional festivities such as the typical solemn "silence procession" that takes place every Holy Friday when all the Catholic congregation from Toluca and its surroundings gets together in the center of the city to express its respect and devotion for Jesus Christ sacrifice. The Holy Week and Lent time are celebrated and venerated in a similar way. When it comes to art and culture, Toluca is the second city with the most museums in the country, some of them found in the Mexiquense Cultural Center. Toluca features also a "villa charra" where visitors can admire the purest folklore of the region as well as several art galleries.

[edit] Music and Dancing

Orchestras in their moment were very famous because of their directors. Currently there are two official orchestras: the one from the state and the one from the municipality. The one from the state is the Orquesta Sinfónica del Estado de México. At superior educational institutions there are marching bands, and in some towns there are wind bands.

The dancing instutitions include the Instituto Mexiquense de Cultura, the IMSS, and the DIF. There are also schools of dance such as the Escuela de Bellas Artes and the UAEM.

There is also a Juvenil Marching Band of Toluca called "Águilas de Anahuac." This band was formed about 35 years ago and was the first juvenil marching band in the country.