Puebla, Puebla

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Puebla is the name of both a state in Mexico and that state's capital city. This article is about the city. For the state, see: state of Puebla.

Puebla de Zaragoza

North of the city towards la Malinche

Coat of arms

Nickname: "Angelópolis, City of the Angels"

Location of Puebla in central Mexico

Coordinates: 19°03′N 98°12′W

Founded

1531

Government

- Mayor

Enrique Doger (PRI)

Area

- City

546 km² (211 sq mi)

Elevation

2,175 m (7,136 ft)

Population (2005)

- City

1,485,941

- Density

5,741/km² (14,869.1/sq mi)

- Metro

2,109,000

Time zone

Central Time zone (UTC-6)

- Summer (DST)

Central Daylight Time (UTC-5)

Website: http://www.puebladezaragoza.gob.mx

**Historic Centre of Puebla**¹
**UNESCO World Heritage Site**

State Party	Mexico
Type	Cultural
Criteria	ii, iv
Identification	#416
Region²	Latin America and the Caribbean
Inscription History
Formal Inscription:	1987 11th WH Committee Session
WH link:	http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/416
1 Name as officially inscribed on the WH List 2 As classified officially by UNESCO

The city of Puebla – officially the heroic city of Puebla de Zaragoza, and nicknamed Puebla de los Ángeles or La Angelópolis – is the capital and largest city of the state of the same name with a population of 1,485,941. The metropolitan area of the city, however, extends over 10 municipalities of the state of Puebla and 13 of the state of Tlaxcala, and with a population of 2.1 million it is fourth most populated metropolitan area in Mexico and one of the largest in North America. Puebla is an important industrial, cultural and educational center of Mexico for the central and south-east regions. It is also one of the oldest colonial cities in the continent.

Puebla is located in the Valley of Puebla, surrounded by volcanoes and snow-capped mountains, slightly over 110 kilometres south-east of Mexico City.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Economy
4 Landmarks
5 Culture
6 Coat of arms
7 External links

[edit] History

The city of Puebla was founded on April 16, 1531 as "La Puebla de los Ángeles". It was the first city in central Mexico founded by the Spanish conquerors that was not built upon the ruins of a conquered Amerindian settlement. Its strategic location, half-way between the port of Veracruz and Mexico City, made it the second most important city during the colonial period. During the 17th century, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz lived in the city until her confrontation with the Bishop of Puebla.

Four decades after Mexico's independence, General Ignacio Zaragoza's army defeated French expeditionary forces near Puebla on May 5, 1862 in the Battle of Puebla. It was after this battle that the name of the city was changed to "Heróica Puebla de Zaragoza".

In the late nineteenth and early twentietn centuries a number of European immigrants came to the city, mainly from Germany, Italy and Spain. Today, the Colonia Humboldt neighborhood shows the influence of the local German population in its architecture, traditions and festivals like the local Oktoberfest, as well as in the town of Chipilo, now absorbed by the metropolitan area of the city, where people speak a dialect of Venetian known as the Chipilo Venetian dialect. The folkloric Mexican women's dress known as China Poblana was created in Puebla. As well, the "Talavera Poblana" is a fine earthenware of colonial origin still made in the city. It's a unique motif to Puebla in general; dineware, plant pots, churches and even streets may be lined with tiles of Talavera.

[edit] Geography

Satellite image of the Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl volcanoes and the city at the lower left corner

Puebla is located at the Valley of Puebla also known as the Valley of Cuetlaxcoapan, a large valley surrounded on four sides by the mountains and volcanoes of the Trans-Mexican volcanic belt. It is located 40 km. east of the Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl volcanoes, giving the residents a magnificent view of their snow-topped peaks. La Malinche dormant volcano is located to the north of the city, and the Pico de Orizaba to the east. Hydrologically, the city is part of the Atoyac river basin; the river runs through northern, eastern and southern portions of the municipality, and connects to the Lake of Valsequillo, where the Manuel Ávila Camacho dam has been built. Other rivers that cross the area are the Alseseca and San Francisco.

[edit] Economy

During the first hundred years after the War of Independence, Puebla, being the second city of the New Spain, was the first to industrialize. Today, Puebla is still an important industrial city, mainly in the textile sector. Puebla is also home to the Mexican headquarters and the only North American manufacturing site of Volkswagen, the only site that manufactures the Jetta and New Beetle models. Other German and French manufacturing companies operate in the city, most of them outsourcers for Volkswagen.

In 2003 Puebla has served as the interim headquarters of Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). It has submitted its candidacy to serve as the permanent headquarters if the FTAA is ever ratified.

[edit] Landmarks

Old German House in Puebla

Monument at Ave. Juárez

The historic center of the city still contains much Spanish Colonial architecture and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Many of the old buildings were severely damaged in the 1999 earthquake. In recent years some of the historical buildings have been restored while others, however, are in a state of disrepair.

Of all the colonial buildings, the most impressive are without any doubt the Puebla Cathedral, which was built in a mixed neoclassical style; the gold-covered Rosario Chapel, in the nearby Iglesia de Santo Domingo is a dramatic example of Mexican baroque being a chapel inlaid with gold. Other important landmarks are El Barrio del Artista ("The Artist's Neighborhood") where local arts are produced and the Centro y Zócalo (downtown) where the Cathedral of Puebla and the Palacio Municipal are located.

Puebla is also the home an Automobile Museum, containing a collection of rare and classic, vintage cars. This collection also includes the "Popemobile" used by John Paul II on one of his visits to Mexico. The Museo Nacional de los Ferrocarriles Mexicanos (National Museum of Mexican Railroads) located in the old Mexicano station, houses a collection of many unique specimens, including steam engines, passenger coaches, cabooses and diesel engines. Most notably it has a pair of PA1 diesel engines, the last specimens of their kind, with one of them still in working condition (the DH-19).

Located in the Casa de la Cultura, the Biblioteca Palafoxiana is a baroque-style library containing forty-two thousand volumes in a carved wood setting, collected by the Spanish bishop Juan de Palafox y Mendoza. The collection was donated to the Colegio de San Juan y San Pedro on September 5, 1646, by Palafox y Mendoza. This donation was formalized by a Royal Decree 1647 and by a Bull in 1648.

Red double-decker buses, known as "turibuses", give tourists an opportunity to enjoy the city's architecture, museums and monuments located at the historical downtown. One of the most famous museums in the city is the Amparo Museum. Another tourist attraction is the Africam Safari zoo, intended to recreate a safari experience.

Also, worth visiting is the pyramid of Cholula, a city within the metropolitan area of Puebla. Cholula was one of the most important cities under the Aztec empire, and its pyramid is the largest in the New World. The town, with a population of only 200,000 inhabitants, is said to boast a church for every day of the year, albeit some churches are quite small and even makeshift.

[edit] Culture

[edit] Education

JVTowers

UDLA's main Library

Cuauhtémoc Soccer Stadium

With more than 20 universities, Puebla is second only to Mexico City in the number of universities within its borders. Many of the top universities in the country are located in its metropolitan area, including the state university, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (BUAP)and the Universidad de las Américas, Puebla (UDLA) . Both UDLA and ITESM are usually ranked among the highest in the country and both belong to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) in the United States. (In 2007, SACS issued warnings and placed UDLA on probation pending investigation.) Other important academic institutions in Puebla include the Universidad Iberoamericana (UIA), Puebla Campus ,Tecnológico de Monterrey (ITESM) Puebla Campus, Universidad Anáhuac Puebla Campus and the Universidad Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla (UPAEP), a private university founded three decades ago by a group of seceding students and professors from the BUAP.

[edit] Sports

Puebla has two professional soccer teams, "Puebla FC" and "Lobos BUAP", both in the lower divisions of the league. The biggest soccer stadium in the city, "Cuauhtémoc", with a capacity of 49,914, was built in 1968 as a second soccer field for the 1968 Olympic Games. Matches for the 1970 and 1986 FIFA World Cups were also played in Cuauhtémoc Stadium. Puebla FC is currently the champion of the "Primera A" division (Mexico's second division).

Puebla has two professional baseball teams, the "Pericos" and "Tigres". Puebla, through the conurbated area of Cholula, has one college American football team, the "Aztecas" of the Universidad de las Américas. The Aztecas have won the championship three times since the creation of the Mexican College Football Organization (ONEFA). They played this year's final match on november the 18th against the ITESM Campus Monterrey Borregos in a very exciting game. The game was played at the Aztecas' "Templo del Dolor" (Pain Temple) with the final score favouring the visiting team 43 to 34 for the locals.

[edit] Cuisine

Puebla's food culture, known as Cocina Poblana, is popular all over Mexico. Puebla is considered the home of mole, a rich, spicy sauce containing chocolate, cinnamon and nuts, as well as different types of hot peppers. Served with chicken, mole has become the most renowned dish of Puebla's cuisine. Camote, sweet potatoes cooked in a stove and topped with creme are a traditional sweet. Rompope is a liquor based on egg yolk and vanilla, created many years ago by Puebla's nuns. Chiles en nogada is a dish of stuffed chillies with meat, fruit, and topped with walnut sauce and pomegranate seeds; it is prepared mainly on August (during walnut harvest season). The Chalupa, a small tortilla topped with salsa, chopped onion and meat; and widely known in Mexico as a fast food is also from the city. Other traditional sweets include the sweets from Santa Clara (dulces de Santa Clara), crystallized fruits, and milk candies.

[edit] Coat of arms

The coat of arms has a round-heart form with five golden towers in its center, and a river below. Two angels are located over the towers, one to the left and one to the right. The letters KV make reference to Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. Inscribed around the coat of arms is Psalms 90:2 in Latin: Angelis suis Deus mandavit de te ut custodiant te in omnibus viis tuis ("May God send His angels to keep you in all your ways."). The coat of arms makes reference to the legend of the foundation of the city. According to legend, angels descended, sketched the city and placed the heavy bells in the towers of the cathedral.