TOLUCA

'Toluca' (formally: 'Toluca de Lerdo') is the state capital of State of Mexico in central Mexico, located at and is a rapidly growing urban area, now the fifth largest in Mexico. Located 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.

Contents

Toponymy

Meaning of the name

History

Geographical Information

Economy

Education

Tourism

Art and Culture

Music and Dancing

Sport

Sister cities

See also

References

External links

Toponymy

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.

History

Archeologists indicate that pre-Hispanic establishments at Tōllohcan date back 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.

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 [2] 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 within the state as part of Greater Mexico City. 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 meters (8,790 ft) above sea level. Despite its southerly latitude, on winter nights temperatures can drop well below 0°C (32°F) and even in summer it can cool down to 5°C (41°F) or less , while maximum temperatures rarely exceed 27°C (80°F) on the hottest of days. The climate is prone to extended dry periods particularly in winter, precipitation during winter usually falls as snow in the highlands around Toluca but it also receives rainfall during the summer months, sometimes in the form of hail. Cool, wet conditions are common during the rainy season.

Economy

The municipality is an important industrial center, with automotive manufacturing from firms like DaimlerChrysler, Nissan, General Motors, BMW, Mitsubishi and many other companies like BIMBO (a brand of bread in Mexico), which is a 100% Mexican company. 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.

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.

Tourism

Toluca has an international airport named Aeropuerto Internacional Adolfo López Mateos, located from the city's center.
Some attractive tourist spots include the Zócalo, also known as Plaza de los Mártires, which includes buildings such as the Palace of the State Government and the Justice Palace (Palacio de Justicia). To the northeast of the Zócalo is the Cosmovitral, which is a botanical garden where people can look at a great variety of different species of plants. There are many colonial-era churches in the centre of Toluca, the most famous being the Church of the Santa Veracruz (True Cross) and the Church of Our Lady of Carmen.

There are several museums in Toluca with art from the famous José María Velasco and Luis Nishizawa. The most famous theatre is the Teatro Morelos, where several different types of events take place, ranging from cultural to political. At the outskirts of Toluca is the Centro Cultural Mexiquense where diverse exhibitions of art can be seen. In this centre there are also a couple of museums and a library.
The Nevado de Toluca or Xinantécatl is southwest of the city. It is a place of increasing sport activity. Activities include mountain biking, climbing, or running at 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.

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 "silent procession" that takes place every Holy Friday when the Catholic congregation from Toluca and its surroundings get together in the centre of the city to express their respect and devotion for Jesus Christ's sacrifice. Easter and Lent are celebrated 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 Centro Cultural Mexiquense. Toluca features also a "Villa Charra" where visitors can admire the purest folklore of the region as well as several art galleries.

Music and Dancing

Orchestras based in Toluca have become very famous because of their directors. Currently there are two official orchestras: a State one and a Municipal one. The one from the State is the Orquesta Sinfónica del Estado de México. Higher education intitutions have marching bands, and in some towns there are wind bands.
The dancing instutitions include the Instituto Mexiquense de Cultura, the IMSS, and DIF. There are also schools of dance such as the Escuela de Bellas Artes and the UAEM.
There is also a Youth Marching Band of Toluca called "Eagles of Anahuac." This band was formed about 35 years ago and was the first youth marching band in the country.

Sport

Toluca is also home of a popular Mexican First Division Soccer team, the "Diablos Rojos" (Red Devils) of Toluca.
Famous boxers often use Toluca as a training center. These have included Julio César Chávez and Puerto Rico's Wilfredo Vazquez, among others.
Former WWF Intercontinental Champion Tito Santana was billed as hailing from Toluca throughout most of his career.

Sister cities

Toluca is a part of the Sister Cities International program and maintains cultural and economic exchange programs with:

★ 'Urawa', Japan

★ 'Fort Worth', United States ''(1998)''

See also

★ Toluca Valley

References

★ Link to tables of population data from Census of 2005 INEGI: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática

★ México Enciclopedia de los Municipios de México

External links

★ Ayuntamiento de Toluca Official website

★ Photos

★ VisitMexico.com – Tourist information

★ Information

★ Toluca Pictures

★ Toluca Turist information