Totonacapan refers to the historical extension where the Totonac people of Mexico dominated, as well as to a region in the modern states of Veracruz and Puebla. The historical territory was much larger than the currently named region, extending from the Cazones River in the north to the Papaloapan River in the south and then west from the Gulf of Mexico into what is now the Sierra Norte de Puebla region and into parts of Hidalgo. When the Spanish arrived, the Totonac ethnicity dominated this large region, although they themselves were dominated by the Aztec Empire. For this reason, they allied with Hernán Cortés against Tenochtitlán. However, over the colonial period, the Totonac population and territory shrank, especially after 1750 when mestizos began infiltrating Totonacapan, taking political and economic power. This continued into the 19th and 20th centuries, prompting the division of most of historical Totonacpan between the states of Puebla and Veracruz. Today, the term refers only to a region in the north of Veracruz where Totonac culture is still important. This region is home to the El Tajín and Cempoala archeological sites as well as Papantla, which is noted for its performance of the Danza de los Voladores.
- ⭐ Core Definition: Totonacapan
- Totonacapan in the context of Papantla
- Totonacapan in the context of Tecolutla River
Totonacapan in the context of Papantla
Papantla (Spanish: [paˈpantla] ) is a city and municipality located in the north of the Mexican state of Veracruz, in the Sierra Papanteca range and on the Gulf of Mexico. The city was founded in the 13th century by the Totonacs and has dominated the Totonacapan region of the state since then. The region is famed for vanilla, which occurs naturally in this region, the Danza de los Voladores and the El Tajín archeological site, which was named a World Heritage Site. Papantla still has strong communities of Totonacs who maintain the culture and language. The city contains a number of large scale murals and sculptures done by native artist Teodoro Cano García, which honor the Totonac culture. The name Papantla is from Nahuatl and most often interpreted to mean "place of the papanes" (a species of crow). This meaning is reflected in the municipality's coat of arms.
View the full Wikipedia page for PapantlaTotonacapan in the context of Tecolutla River
The Tecolutla River is a river in the state of Veracruz in Mexico, and the main drainage of the historical and cultural region of Totonacapan. It is principally fed by four rivers that rise in the Sierra Norte de Puebla: from north to south, they are the Necaxa, the Lajajalpan (or Laxaxalpan), the Tecuantepec and the Apulco. These rivers converge in the municipality of Espinal, Veracruz, and from here the Tecolutla flows about 100 kilometres (62 mi) east through the coastal plain and the municipalities of Papantla and Gutiérrez Zamora to its mouth at the town of Tecolutla on the Gulf of Mexico, On its south bank the Tecolutla receives the Joloapan River near Paso del Correo, and the Chichicatzapan River via the Ostiones estuary near its mouth.
The furthest source of the Tecolutla is the Arroyo Zapata, located 20 kilometres (12 mi) north of Huamantla, Tlaxcala at an elevation of 3,500 metres (11,500 ft). This arroyo flows into the Coyuca River, which in turn drains into the Apulco. The total length of the river measured from this source is 375 kilometres (233 mi). The watershed drained by the Tecolutla covers an area of 7,903 square kilometres (3,051 sq mi) and has a mean natural surface runoff of 6,098 hm (2.153×10 cu ft) per year.
View the full Wikipedia page for Tecolutla River