Huasca de Ocampo () is a town and municipality of the state of Hidalgo in central Mexico. It is located 34 km from Pachuca and 16 km from Real del Monte in the Pachuca Mountains. While the town itself is just within the mountain range, much of the municipal land is located in a valley that opens up to the east of the town. While one of the first haciendas to be established in Mexico is located here, economic development started with mining haciendas built by Pedro Romero de Terreros in the 18th century. By the mid 20th century, none of these haciendas were in existence, having been broken up into communal farm lands (ejido) and some even fully or partially under lakes created by dams. While agriculture remains important economically, the area has been promoted as a tourism destination, especially for weekend visitors from Mexico City, with attractions such as canyons, traditional houses, old hacienda facilities and waterfalls.
Etymology The original name for the area was "Huascazaloya." This come from Nahuatl and has three possible meanings. The first and most probable means "place of happiness and abundance." The second derives from a phrase that means "place of water." The third comes from a phrase that means "place where they make precious cotton shawls (mantas)." The appendage "de Ocampo" was adopted in honor of Melchor Ocampo, who lived briefly here in the mid 19th century.
History First records of the area extend only as far as the early colonial period. The area came under the encomienda of the Diego de Paz family, who were centered in Atotonilco el Grande starting in 1558. Small villages such as San Sebastian and San Bartolomé are mentioned in early records but not the municipal seat of Huasca. In the late 16th century, the area was acknowledged as an "Indian Republic," meaning that the natives here had a certain amount of autonomy from the Spanish. By the 17th century, the encomienda was broken up and the lands around the Indian republic became haciendas.
The town of Huasca became established between the 1760s and 1780s as Pedro Romero de Terreros, the first Count of Regla, developed mining here. The mines he established along with earlier ones in Pachuca and Real del Monte made him the richest man in the world at the time. Romero established four major mining haciendas here, with the largest being San Miguel Regla and Santa Maria Regla. At their height, these haciendas employed thousands of workers, first to build them then to operate them. This would end after this count's death in 1781 due to poor management. By 1810, the production of the mines here, in Pachuca and in Real del Monte fell almost 80%. Lands were rented out and the raising of cattle grew in importance. However, since the renters had no vested interest in maintaining the properties, overgrazing and other ecological damage would ruin this aspect of the economy as well. By the mid 19th century, many of the granaries and other buildings lay in ruins. This prompted mass migration out of the area.
Since that time, agriculture has continued to be the mainstay economically. The large haciendas of the area were broken up, with much of the land becoming ejidos, or lands held in common by rural communities. By the latter part of the 20th century, the main buildings of Santa Maria Regla and San Miguel Regla were converted into luxury hotels and resorts. The San Antonio Hacienda is almost completely underwater due to one of the many dams that have been constructed here in the 20th century to store water and to provide electricity.
No major indigenous communities remain with only 64 people speaking an indigenous language as of the 2005 census.
In addition to agriculture, ecotourism has become a major aspect of the economy. Huasca de Ocampo was the first in Hidalgo state to become part of the federal Pueblos Mágicos (Magical Towns) tourism program, mostly because most of the town's old buildings remain and the pace of life has changed very little here since the first half of the 20th century.
However, the area's popularity tourist destination has led to property disputes between residents and those wishing to purchase or otherwise gain control of land here, especially around the old Santa María Regla hacienda. Government authorities have pressured about twenty families to sell, and there is pressure from banks which hold outstanding loans on other properties. Some have been threatened with eviction but court orders have prevented this so far. Many of the families have lived on these lands for over 200 years. Attempts to take the land had been tried since the 1970s, but have intensified recently.
The town
The town of Huasca de Ocampo is set just inside the northeast edge of the Sierra de Pachuca where the meet the west end of the valley of Tulancingo. The town is surrounded by low forested peaks. Upon exiting the town towards the east, the landscape opens out into the valley. The center of town is narrow filled with houses and other buildings made with white sandstone and topped with pitched roofs covered in red laminate (metal or plastic) or red clay tile. The walls are thick and large chunks of stone can be seen held together with mortar. This is common in the older mining areas of Hidalgo where rain is frequent. (tradition) Some of the structures are decorated with smooth river stones and many of the storefronts and other buildings on the main roads have accents done in rough hewn wood with the bark still attached. The streets of the town are paved with stone and there are few to no streetlights at night.
In the center of the town is the main parish church. Many think the church is dedicated to the Archangel Michael, mostly due to the relief carving above the main portal, but in reality it is dedicated to John the Baptist. This church was founded in the first half of the 16th century by Augustinians from the monastery in Atotonilco el Grande. The relief over the main portal was donated by Pedro de Terreros who was a devotee of the archangel. The side altars inside are made of wood and are assumed to be from the 18th century. One is Baroque in style but is missing columns. It contains a large painting of the Archangel Michael depicted with two Franciscan saints helping souls trapped in Purgatory. The other side altars are more traditionally Baroque in style.
The town is noted for its pottery, made with the local red clay. Most of the pieces are everyday wares such as jars, plates and cups. These are mostly sold at the weekly market or tianguis. The best known artisans in the town are Jesús Chavez Centeno and Luis Escorz who have their shops in the portals north of the main church. Other crafts include hats, caps, molcajetes made with volcanic stone, furniture, wrought iron, objects made from obsidian and rompope. The Casa de Cultura is to the south of the main church which also sells local crafts.
Market day for the town is Monday, when vendors set up stands all along the main street through town, mostly to sell locally needed products. At the market and in the restaurants traditional dishes such as baked trout, cecina, barbacoa, pastes, quesadillas with huitlacoche, pulque bread and fruit wines are available. Specialty dishes such as chinicuiles, escamoles chichas de maguey and dishes made with local wild mushrooms are available in season.
Near the town there is a possible pre-Hispanic site, with evidence of a former pyramid. The town has over fifteen inns and hotels.
The festival of John the Baptist takes place on 24 June of each year. The event is celebrated with masses, charreadas, horse racing, cockfights, sporting events, fireworks, folk dancing and more. Another important annual event is the feast day of the Virgin of Guadalupe. On these occasions, it is possible to see traditional dress such as pants and shirts made of manta (natural cotton cloth) which have been embroidered in bright colors.
The municipality
Although the town of Huasca de Ocampo is governmental authority for the entire municipality, only a small percentage of the municipality's population of 15,201 (2005) lives in the town proper. The rest live in the 80+ other communities, which together form a territory of . The municipality borders the municipalities of Tulancingo, Omitlán de Juárez, Acatlán and Atotonilco. To the north, it borders the state of Veracruz.
The municipality extends from the Sierra de Pachuca mountains, where the town is, to over part of a wide, flat valley with lower altitude and warmer temperatures. This area is filled with small towns and villages, as well as fields and orchards. The higher elevations around these flat lands are forested with holm oak which give them an ashy-green look. The altitude of the municipality varies from between 1,800 and 2,800 masl. The municipality is part of the Reserva de la Biosfera de la Vega de Meztitlán (Vega de Meztitlán Biosphere Reserve). About 70% of the municipality lies on the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt although there are no active volcanoes here.
About 3,300 hectares is forest, almost all of which is in the Sierra de Pachuca Mountains which surround the town. Major elevations include Cerro Grande, Las Navajas, La Piedra de Jacal, El Horcón and La Peña del Aguila. There are numerous small canyons and ravines, jagged mountainsides which extend far below the peaks. One peak which gives an extended view of the municipality and beyond is called Los Pelados.
The municipality is divided between the basins of the Panuco and Moctezuma Rivers. The area is filled with small rivers, streams and arroyos, which almost always run north-south. The largest of the rivers are the Huascazaloya, Iztla, Hueypan and San Jeronimo. These rivers and streams feed 87 natural and dammed bodies of water, which vary in size from a few meters wide a couple of kilometers. The best known dam in the areas is the San Antonio Regla dam. Water from this dam is used primarily for agricultural irrigation. The major fresh water spring is called Ojo de Agua, which is surrounded by large willow and other trees.
The rivers and streams of the area have cut deep narrow ravines and canyons into much of the municipality. The largest of these is the San Sebastian Canyon, which is part of the Metztitlán Canyon system.
The climate is temperate to mildly cold with an average annual temperature of 15C. Winter gets cold enough to need a warm jacket, especially at night.
There various vegetation here. Most tree species such as pine and holm oak are found in the higher elevations. The flat areas are mostly grass and farmland with scattered trees such as willows and laurels. Wildlife is limited to small mammals such as badgers, squirrels, foxes and moles. Other species include birds such as eagles and reptiles such as chameleons.
Economy
Historically, the most important economic activities here have been mining and agriculture. Mining no longer has the importance it once did, but agriculture remains important, employing over 37% of the municipality's population. There are over 3,000 units of production that occupy over 17,000 hectares of land. Over 9,000 of this are dedicated to crops, with about 4,000 as pasture. By far the most important crop is corn, producing over 14,000 tons. Next in importance are animal feed, beans, wheat and alfalfa. Fruit orchards can also be found. Domesticated livestock includes fowl, sheep, goats, pigs turkeys, cows, horses and bees. The most common are sheep, cows and goats.
As of 1993, there were only nine industrial enterprises in the municipality, employing fifteen people. Products include processed foods, drinks and animal feed. Manufacturing, construction and mining employ 28.1% of the population.
Commerce consists of tourism and those devoted to goods and services for the local population. This employs about 35% of the population. This is the portion of the economy which has been promoted by state and local authorities.
Tourism