I was inspired by some of the other posts to write a story about the city I currently live in: Puebla. Puebla is the state capital of … Puebla - one of the 32 federal states that make up Mexico (2022).
Historic Puebla
Founded in 1531 - a decade after the fall of the Aztec empire - in an area between Cholula and Tlaxcala that was previously used for flower wars. During colonial times Puebla was called ‘Puebla de los Ángeles’ because of the way it was conceived - the Bishop of Tlaxcala had a vision where San Miguel led a group of angles down and pointed out the location where he wanted a city to be build - a puebla for Spaniards in Mexico.
San Miguel is still the patron saint of Puebla, and statues and images of him and other angles are common.
The historic center of Puebla has a neat grid layout with a Zocalo (townsquare) in the middle - on one side of the Zocalo is the Town Hall, and on other the Cathedral; this is a common layout for Mexican cities.
North east of ‘centro historico’ is a hill with two forts on it - Loreto and Guadalupe. Originally both these forts were churches, but from the beginning they were also used for shelter in times of trouble, and during the independence war (1810-1821) curtain walls and platforms for cannons were added.
In 1846-1848 - during the Mexico vs US War - General Winfield Scott set up his head quarter in Loreto. Santa Ana attacked towards the end of the War, but was rebuffed.
Again in 1862 (May 5th, Cinco de Mayo) the forts were attacked - this time by French troops. Mexico won that battle, but lost the war. Uniforms, weapons and other items from the battle can be seen in the fort museums - interestingly some of the french uniforms don’t look European, and this is because many of the soldiers were colonial troops raised in Africa.
May 5th is a public holiday in Puebla - but not in the rest of Mexico. Celebrations include a military parade - mix of soldiers in historic uniforms as well as modern units and their vehicles and equipment.
Today Puebla is formally known as Heróica Puebla de Zaragoza - the name honers Ignacio Zaragoza, the Texas born General who led the defence of the city on May 5th, 1862. The reason both US and France attacked Puebla was basically the same - it is a stop on the road from Veracruz (main east coast port) to Mexico City.
Puebla Today
Modern day Puebla is much larger than the original city - the metropolitan area has a population of about 3 million and includes Cholula
Cholula and Puebla centro are only 11km apart - zocalo to zocalo. A train line connects the two - the only one in Puebla, as the city does not yet have a metro like Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey do. The train is free, but is mostely used by tourists - it is very slow.
About 12 km south of Puebla - part of the metropolian area - is a town called Chipilo. Chipilo was settled by immigrants from Italy in 1882 - and to this day they still speak a dialect of Italien (Venetian) in Chipilo and make a living from making cheese and other Italien food products.
Churches
Puebla and Morelia have a reputation for being the most Catholic cities in Mexico - this is probably not true anymore, but Puebla does have a large number of churches and monastries. Supposedly one church for each day of the year. Some of the main ones:
Catedral de Puebla - allready mentioned above. Boasts the highest clock towers in Spanish Latin America (70m).
Templo de Santo Domingo - Church build by the Dominican order
Iglesia de San Agustín- by the Order of Saint Augustine
Santuario de Nustra Señora de la Merced
Templo de La Compañía - Jesuit church where Catarina de San Juan - the original China Poblana - is buried.
Iglesia de la Santa Muerte - A recent phenomenon - ‘churches’ dedicated to worship of the ‘Angle of Death’. There are several of these in Puebla.
Many of the monasteries are museums today - e.g. Ex Convento de Santa Rosa - Mole Poblano was invented here.
Quirky Shops
Puebla has some quirky shops that you don’t see much elsewhere anymore - one being Cerería / Candle shops. There are many of these.
Or Sombrerería - where you can buy a hat off the rack or have one made just for you (e.g. Texas style or Charro style).
Or Talavera shops -Talavera is a type of handmade ceramics which originates in Spain, Puebla has a long tradition of producing Talavera - it comes in many forms - mugs, plates etc for use inside inside a home, but also many houses are decorated on the outside with Talavera tiles, e.g. Casa de los Muñecos.
Food associated with Puebla
- Pozole - traditional soup - the recepie dates back to pre-conquest times and originally included human flesh - today chicken and pork is used instead. Pozole is not unique to Puebla, but the city does have many Pozolerías.
- Cemitas - a torta variant associated with Puebla. Cemitas are a staple and cemita stands are common through out the city.
- Chile en Nogada - a dessert made with Chile Poblano.
- Mole Poblano - Puebla has a longstanding bitter feud with Oaxaca about who invented mole.
Volcanos
Puebla is near 3 volcanos which provide a beautiful backdrop - all can be clearly seen from the city.
- Popocatépetl - or Popo - a snow capped stratovolcano that looks a lot like Mt Fuji in Japan.
- Iztaccihuatl (Izta)
- La Malinche
Popo and Izta derive their names from an Aztec “Romeo and Juliet” myth - La Malinche from the woman who helped Hernán Cortés conquer Mexico.
A 4th volcano - perhaps the worlds smallest - is inside the city limits: El Cuexcomate
Museums
There are many - some were mentioned above. A few more that I have enjoyed:
- Casa de los Hermanos Serdán This is the house where the Mexican revolution broke out - the Serdán family supported Francisco Madero’s uprising against 7-term president Porfirio Díaz. On November 18th 1910 federal police on the roof of Iglesia de Santa Clara opposite opened fire on the Serdán house - bullet holes can still be seen in the facade.
- Biblioteca Palafoxiana Oldest public library in the Americas - founded 1646. Most books are in latin.
- Museo Internacional del Barroco A modern museum dedicated to the style that was popular around the time Puebla was founded.
- Pasaje Histórico 5 de Mayo A tunnel leading from the city up to the fort area.
- Museo Amparo Pre-Columbian art
- Paseo de Gigantes - Park with model buildings from Mexico and around the world
- Cholula Pyramid - worlds largest - larger than the Great Pyramid of Giza. The pyramid is partly buried in volcanic ash from Popo and has a catholic church at the summit.
- Av 6 Poniente - ‘calle de dulces’. Candy shops - and confusingly many of them have the same name - originally Nuns from the nearby monasteries sold candy in this street. The nuns are gone, but the shops carry on the tradition.
Parades and Carnivals
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- 5 de Mayo - military parade.
- Semana Santo - Easter - figures from the cathedral are taken out and paraded through the streets.
- Día de la Revolution - November 20th
- Carnival of the Huehues - A carnival that takes place in the old indigenous neighbourhoods - El Alto, Analco, La Luz, Los Remedios, … People dress up in mock European costumes and wear European face masks.
- Día de Independencía - September 16 - commemoration and reenactment of Miguel Hidalgo’s “Grito de Dolores” in 1810 which sparked the war of independence.