Actopan (from Nahuatl: Ātocpan 'thick, humid and fertile land') is a Mexican city, head of the municipality of Actopan in the state of Hidalgo. Actopan is widely known for its gastronomy, especially for ximbo and barbacoa, as well as for the Church and ex-convent of San Nicolás de Tolentino.
The city is located north of Mexico City, from which it is 120 km away, and only 37 km from the city of Pachuca de Soto, the capital of the state of Hidalgo. It is located within the geographical region known as Mezquital Valley. According to the results of the 2020 Population and Housing Census of INEGI, the town has a population of 32,276 inhabitants, which represents 52.91% of the municipal population.
The city was a settlement of the Otomi people. In 1117 it was conquered by Chichimeca groups and became a dependency of Acolhuacan in 1120. It was conquered by the Tepanecs of Azcapotzalco at the end of the 14th century. The Mexica conquest took place in 1427 during the reign of Itzcoatl. After the Conquest of Mexico, an encomienda was established in Actopan. According to the Universal Dictionary of History and Geography, the city was founded on July 16, 1546; although the date on which the anniversary of its founding is celebrated corresponds to July 8. In 1575 Actopan was elevated to the category of village.
It was elevated to Alcaldía Mayor in 1568; Actopan was the head and the towns around it were then República de Indios (Republic of Indigenous People). Later it became Subdelegation in the period of the Bourbon Reforms; and it acquired the character of City Hall and head of party, dependent on the district of Tula, on August 6, 1824. On April 26, 1847, by decree of the Congress of the State of Mexico, Actopan was elevated to the category of town.
On October 15, 1861, Actopan was declared a district of the State of Mexico. On June 7, 1862, it became part of the military canton number 3 of the Second Military District of the State of Mexico, created to confront the French intervention in Mexico. At the beginning, Actopan was temporarily the capital of the district, but it was changed to Pachuca. During the Second Mexican Empire, Actopan became part of the department of Tula. In 1869, the decree of establishment of the state of Hidalgo confirmed the character of District head of the new entity.
The Constitution of Hidalgo of 1870 recognized Actopan as the 1st district, category that would be confirmed in the 1st article of the electoral laws of 1880 and 1894. In the 3rd article of the Constitution of Hidalgo of 1 October 1920 it appears in the list as municipal seat, and in it is included as municipal seat of the municipality number 3 of Hidalgo. When commemorating the fourth centennial of the foundation of Actopan, on July 8, 1946, the XXXVIII Legislature of the Congress of the state of Hidalgo, gave it the category of city.
Toponymy
Some sources indicate that the word Actopan comes from the Otomi language, the INAFED in the Encyclopedia of the Municipalities and Delegations of Mexico in its page on Actopan, Hidalgo indicates the etymology of the word comes from Otomi; but in the page of Actopan, Veracruz it indicates that the etymology comes from Nahuatl. Enrique Rivas Paniagua, in the book Lo que el viento nos dejó: hojas del turruño hidalguense, points out that the name of no municipality in Hidalgo has roots in Otomi.
The word Actopan is of Nahuatl origin, derived from atoctli, which means 'thick, humid and/or fertile land', and pan, which means 'in' or 'on', so the translation would be as follows: "on thick, humid and fertile land". Another meaning is that it comes from ac root of the word (atl) that means water, to (' toktok) that means buried and pan that means locative, on, in; so its meaning would be "on buried water".
It has also been pointed out that the name of the locality could be Atocpan, which due to a certain modification of the language suffered a change in its structure; Otocpan, cited in the "Archivo Español de Arte y Arqueología del Obispado de México"; and Atecpan, of Nahuatl origin and meaning "in the pond".
The name of the settlement of the Hñähñu people before the Conquest of Mexico in the Otomi language was: Ma'ñuts'i, Mañutzi, or Mañutshí. An etymological meaning given is that it comes from the possessive ma, which means 'my', un, which means 'road', and itzi, which is diminutive, so it would translate as "my little road". According to the linguists, Ethel Emilia Wallis and Yolanda Lastra, another meaning is that it comes from ñuts'i, which means to light or incense (to perfume with incense) and the possessive ma, so it would translate as "Place of lighting or incensing".
Symbols
Glyph The glyph, (engraved or, by extension, written or painted sign) that represents the city is made up of a corn cane in corn silk and elotes on a clod drawn as a disk, sown inside with dots or coarse grains. This representation is commonly used as the city's escutcheon.
Name The official name is Actopan, although it also receives the denomination of Ciudad del Convento or in a longer way Ciudad del Convento y la Barbacoa. This is due to the importance of the Church and ex-convent of San Nicolás de Tolentino and the typical dish of the city, the barbacoa. On November 14, 1861, being part of the state of Mexico; it was called Actopan de Hidalgo, in honor of Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla. At the end of the 19th century, it fell into disuse so as not to sound cacophonous with the name of the state.
Motto After the puma sightings in 2017, in the north of the municipality, in 2019 the Actopan City Hall registered the brand "Territorio Puma" (Puma Territory), as part of the identity for districts that are habitat of this feline.
History
Pre-Hispanic period
At an unknown date, the Otomi people founded the village. Around the year 644 the Toltecs made their appearance, and this caused the town to be divided into two parts that continued to exist at the time of the Spanish conquest: Tetitlan and Actopan. By the year 1113, the Otomi people, under the command of Xide, arrived in the region. In 1117 the town was conquered by Chichimeca groups, and because of this invasion, it became dependent on Acolhuacan in 1120.
Actopan and Ixcuinquitlapilco were conquered by the Tepanecs of Azcapotzalco at the end of the 14th century. The Mexica conquest took place in 1427 during the reign of Itzcoatl. Almost always mentioned together in chronicles and relations, Actopan and Ixcuinquitlapilco were Otomi communities with Chichimeca-Pame minorities. During this time Ixcuinquitlapilco was the most important town in this region.
Historian Peter Gerhar mentions that Actopan was first visited by the Spaniards before the conquest was consummated, at the end of 1519 or beginning of 1520. By 1521 the indigenous people of the area and other nearby parts, participated in the defense of the territory under the command of the tlatoani Cuauhtémoc against the Spanish conquerors. On August 13, 1521 Tenochtitlan fell to the troops of Hernán Cortés and his allies. Between 1521 and 1524, a certain political-military control was established in almost all the territories subject to the Mexica empire, including Actopan.
Viceroyalty of New Spain
The first encomenderos of Actopan were Hernando Alonso and Juan González Ponce de León. Ixcuinquitlapilco became a corregimiento in 1531, with Actopan depending on it.
Subsequently, the encomienda was assigned to Rodrigo Gómez de Ávila, who in 1538 ceded his rights to his son-in-law, Juan Martínez Guerrero. The latter was succeeded by his son, Agustín Guerrero de Luna. By 1540 the encomienda of Actopan belonged to Juan Guerrero, who had inherited the encomienda from his wife, the daughter of the conquistador Francisco Gómez.
The water supply was one of the main problems of the town, in 1546 the construction of an aqueduct began. Also in 1546 the Church of Actopan was founded; it is said that the Augustinians, upon seeing the topography of Lxcuinquitlapilco, decided to change the head of the town to Actopan. The first record of baptism in the Church of Actopan that is known is dated July 8, 1546, date that coincides with the foundation of the curate. From 1550 to 1560 the Convent of San Nicolás de Tolentino is built; and the work is attributed to Fray Andrés de Mata.
The first attempt to form a congregation of indios (native indigenous people), coinciding with the founding of the convent, was not completely successful, due to the fact that the indios abandoned the towns and returned to their old lands. In 1560, Actopan became a dependency of Pachuca, but it was separated, and became Alcaldía mayor in 1568; Actopan was the head and the towns around it were the República de Indios. The convent was the dividing line between the indigenous republics of Ixcuintlapilco and Actopan, to the southeast was Tenantitlán, a town subject to Ixcuintlapilco, and to the northwest, Actopan. The description of Fray Juan de Medina, in 1571, contained in the "Description of the Archbishopric of Mexico", mentions that in Ixcuintlapilco there were 4000 tributaries, in Tenantitlán 1300 and in Actopan 7000.
It is known that by the 1570s, the convent complex was already completed, with three main buildings: the open chapel, the church and the convent; in addition to the stables, the orchard and a water supply system of great proportions for community use. In 1575 it was granted the category of village. In 1576 the prior of the convent, Fray Melchor de Vargas, printed the first catechism in Otomi. In 1580, Actopan sent 90 indios to work in the mines of Pachuca.
Beginning in 1593, a second effort was made to form congregations of indios; In 1604, Friar Esteban García, in his "Chronicle of the Province of the Most Holy Name of Jesus of Mexico", reported that in Actopan, the lieutenants and bailiffs forced them to leave their former places, burning their houses and plots of land. In 1615 the quota of workers that Actopan sent to work in the mines of Pachuca was established, 22 indios every two weeks. Between the 16th century and the first half of the 17th century, there was a demographic drop in the Indigenous population in Actopan, in 1571 there were 7500 tributaries, while by 1599 these had decreased to 2984. In 1643, there were 1092 tributaries, and in 1688, there were 1509.
After the revolt of 1677 in Ixmiquilpan, where the indios revolted not to work in the mines, a commissioner arrived in Actopan to take away crews, but the indios mutinied and resisted. In 1681 the prosecutor advised that the indios of Actopan should not be forced to work in the mines. Forced labor in the mines was reinstituted in Actopan until 1722. On January 5, 1722, a notification arrives from the mayor of Pachuca to send the workers batches to the mines. On January 7, a delegation arrived from Pachuca to insist on the sending of the batches. On January 9, 1722, the governors began to organize the batches and the indios of the jurisdiction of Actopan revolted to prevent the reinstatement of the mining distribution system. On January 11, the militia arrived from Pachuca, there were no confrontations, but groups of indios remained in the exits of the capital.