Villa del Carbón is a municipality located in the northern part of Mexico State, just northwest of Mexico City. While the town and municipal seat of Villa del Carbón is the largest in the municipality, it is not the oldest. The municipality contains a number of villages of Otomí and Nahua origins, in which much of the indigenous culture still survives. The municipality's territory was defined in 1714 when a region known as Chiapan, split into what is now Chapa de Mota and Villa del Carbón. At that time, however, the community which is now a municipal seat did not have an official name; it was known first only by the name of its church Nuestra Señora de la Peña de Francia, and later by being a major supplier of charcoal. This would lead to the name of Villanueva del Carbón de Nuestra Señora Santa María de la Peña de Francia, which eventually shortened to Villa del Carbón. The major portions of the municipality's glyph, which serves as it coat-of-arms, does not reflect the town of Villa del Carbón but rather two of its oldest communities: Taxhimay and San Lorenzo Pueblo Nuevo.
The municipality covers an area of 356.14 km2 and has a total population of 39,587 (2005 census). Of this total, 8,029 live in the municipal seat of Villa del Carbón and the rest live among the other 57 communities which rely on the seat for government purposes. The municipality border the municipalities of Jilotepec, Jiquipilco, Tepotzotlán, Nicolas Romero, Chapa de Mota and Morelos in Mexico State, with Tepejí del Río, Hidalgo State bordering it to the north. The municipality is divided into three "barrios" or districts named Pendo, Centro, and Taxhihué. Today, the municipality's economy is based primarily on tourism, as it has a number of streams, rivers and dams suitable for water sports, trout-fishing and camping facilities. It is also the home of a nationally recognized charreada(a type of rodeo) venue, that hosts major events.
The municipal seat
The town of Villa del Carbón lies near the center of the municipality at an altitude of 2,600 meters above sea level and has a population of 8,029 (2005 census). Most of the houses and other buildings in this town have white facades with pitched roofs covered in Spanish-style clay tile. The roads in the center of town are of cobblestone.
The main church of the town is called the Temple of Nuestra Señora de la Peña de Francia. It was constructed between 1700 and 1740 and is the origin of this particular community in the municipality. The church was originally constructed to house an image of the Virgin Mary called "La Virgen de la Peña de Francia," which is one of only two brought to Mexico from Spain. The other is in Salamanca, Guanajuato. Those living around the church were not part of a named town, they were only known as "those who make charcoal." People looking to locate this community were directed to the church of the community that made charcoal (and is the origin of the town's name). This Virgin is black, like charcoal, and over time, many miracles became attributed to her. For this reason, this image was hidden by the local people for many years in fear that the authorities would take it from them. Today, however, she is plainly on display at the main altar. The church itself is a typical one for the early 18th century and reminiscent of Romantic style. In 1904, Crispín Montiel painted the cupola of the church with Biblical personages. The large trees on the church property date back to the founding of the municipality. To the side of the church is the Luisa Isabel Campos de Jiménez Cantú Municipal Park, which contains an open-air Greek-style theatre, surrounded by pine trees.
Across from the church is the main town plaza called Plaza Hidalgo, which was built and named in 1906 in preparation for the upcoming centennial of Mexico's Independence. The kiosk in the center was the site of the town's fountain, which used to provide potable water for the community. The kiosk contains the tourist information center for the municipality. The plaza was remodeled during town renovation work in the 1960s and 1970s, which is when the current palms and giant eucalyptus trees were planted.
Aside from the church, the plaza is surrounded by the old and new municipal palaces, a number of residential structures with shops on the ground floors. The old municipal building site is now the Casa de Cultura Dr. Jorge Jiménez Cantú. The original municipal palace was built at the end of the 17th century and was of Neoclassical architecture. By 1926, the old building had deteriorated enough to warrant demolition. A new, two-story building was constructed and inaugurated in 1931. This center contains the municipality library, an auditorium and a continuing education center.
Due to its traditional architecture and surrounding scenery, the town was included as one of the Pueblos con Encanto (Towns with Charm) program of the State of Mexico. The town has been actively seeking to take advantage of it, advertising itself as such and participating in the Pueblos con Encanto Bicentenario (Bicentennial Towns with Charm) program in preparation for Mexico Bicentennial of Independence in 2010. In September 2015, the town was also included to the Pueblos Mágicos (Magical Towns) national program.
Other communities in the municipality
While the town of Villa del Carbon is the largest community in the municipality, it is not the oldest. The oldest communities in the municipality are Cachihuapan, Taxhimay, Temanacoya y Zacapexco. Zacapexco is located to the West of the municipal seat and is old enough to be mentioned in the Huamantla Codex which was written in the 16th or 17th century as one of the Otomí groups to have left the cave in Chiapan to settle on the Zacatepexco Hill. The name Zacatepexco is from Nahuatl meaning "where there is a staw bed." Another ancient community is the village of Taxhimay, located North of the municipal seat. Its name come from Otomí and means "pasture of white sheep," as it is one of the few areas in the municipality with significant pasture land.
To the north of this community is the Taxhimay Hacienda, which was owned by a major textile family from Tepeji del Río. In 1931, the Taxhimay Dam was built near here, which completely inundated the small village of San Luis de las Peras. This hacienda provided the space to the villages resettlement.
The oldest communities of this municipality are of Otomí or Nahua ethnicity. The Otomí arrived to this area first and their most representative villages are Taxhimay, Piequexhimó and San Lorenzo Pueblo Nuevo. The later Nahua villages are represented by Cachihuapan, San Luis Anáhuac, Temanacoya and Xajay. Both sets of communities retain many of their cultural roots. There is a story that when the communities of San Luis Taxhimay (Otomí) and San Luis Anáhuac (Nahua) were being "refounded" as Spanish colonial villages, there was a dispute between them as to who should become the custodian of which of two saint images: one of Saint Louis, King of France and one of Our Lord of Lament. The story states that the dispute was finally settled by a coin toss, with the first image going to San Luis Anáhuac and the latter to San Luis Taxhimay.
Geography
The municipality of Villa del Carbón is located in the north of Mexico State, northwest of Mexico City. Much of the territory consists of rugged hills and mountains, with the high point being Cerro de la Bufa, at 3,600 meters above sea level. These hills and mountains join with the Sierra de Tepotzotlán to the east. These mountains here are known at the Sierra de Monte Alto. These mountains are covered in conifer forests and account for 58% of the municipality. Semi-arid rolling hills cover 34% and only about 9% is flat land, generally found in small isolated patches.
Climate The high altitude of between 2,300 and 3,600 meters gives the municipality a temperate climate, with freezing temperatures not uncommon in the winter. The highlands have a wet climate, while the lower hills can be semi-arid. Significant winds are present in much of the municipality.
Hydrography The relatively abundant rains at the high elevations give rise to a large number of small fresh-water springs, which create small streams that eventually join into the municipality's four rivers: the San Jeronimo, Las Animas, Los Sabios and El Oro. There is one other "river" called the "Río Seco" (Dry River) which flows only during the rainy season. Most of the bodies of water here have been created by the El Llano, Taxhimay, Benito Juárez and Molinitos Dams, with only one natural lake called Santa Catarina.
History Early human settlement in the Villa del Carbón area is demonstrated by cave paintings at a rock shelter located near the San Jeronimo River. The first known ethnicity to settle here are the Otomí, who called this area "Nñonthe" (top of the hill) Evidence of their early occupation is found in the way of primitive ceramic and human and animal figurines. These Otomí would be joined by other nomadic groups, who eventually synthesized their language and mythology. As they did so, this area became known as the Otomí region of Chiapan, which rough correlates with the modern-day municipalities of Villa del Carbón and Chapa de Mota. This region, along with neighboring Xillotepec (today Jilotepec) had significant influence in the early Mesoamerican world, as it was located where commercial traffic between Tula and Teotihuacan passed. This would lead to a number of fortifications and other structures. Remains of these can be found today such as the fortifications at Cañada and Taxhimay, the ceremonial mound at El Mogote and a highly deteriorated and overgrown set of buildings known as Iglesias Viejas (Old Churches). The oldest currently existing communities are still Otomí in character. This is because unlike their early neighbors, the Mazahuas and the Matlatzincas, the Otomí favored areas with rugged terrain, so they dominated this area until about the 12th century. Later, Nahua people would come and settle in the area. By the 15th century, however, the Aztecs (a Nahua people) would dominate this area, making the Otomí a tributary people.
This would end with the Spanish Conquest of the Aztec Empire in the early 16th century. In the late 16th century, a number of Spanish families began renting lands from local chiefs here on which to raise cattle and sheep. These ranches would lead to more Spanish immigration to the area, who intermarried with the local population. During most of the colonial period, until 1714, the Chiapan area remained intact as an entity. In 1714, the area was split in what are now roughly the municipalities of Chapa de Mota and Villa del Carbón. At that time, however, the community which is now the municipal seat was only known by through its church as the "Congregation of Santa María de la Peña de Francia." Later in the colonial period the community also became known as a major supplier of charcoal to surrounding communities such as San Pedro Atzcapotzaltongo, Magú, Cañada de Cisneros and even Mexico City. This activity gave it the moniker of "Villa Nueva del Carbón de nuestra Señora Santa María de la Peña de Francia" (New Village of Charcoal of Our Lady of Holy Mary of the Hill of France. It also gave rise to a number of legends. In order to identify the community, one would be directed to the Villa Nueva, en donde hacen carbon" (the New Village, where they make charcoal), which eventually led to the place being marked on maps simply as "El Carbón" and verbally, the phrase became contracted to Villa del Carbón.