Tlalnepantla de Baz

Tlalnepantla de Baz is a municipality in the State of Mexico, one of 125 in the state, situated north of Mexico City in the Valley of Mexico. Its main city and administrative center is Tlalnepantla, a name derived from the Náhuatl words *tlalli* (land) and *nepantla* (middle), meaning "middle land." The "Baz" in its name honors Gustavo Baz Prada, a politician and soldier who fought with Emiliano Zapata during the Mexican Revolution and later served as Governor of the State of Mexico and President of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). The municipality has an exclave to the west, separated by Mexico City’s Gustavo A. Madero borough, and together with Atizapán forms the densely populated Region XII of the State of Mexico.

Around the 11th century, the Amaquemecan people, after whom Amecameca is named, migrated here under leader Xolotl in search of better climate and food. Xolotl founded the Tenayuca Oztopolco chiefdom and conducted what is considered the first census in the Americas. The area was already home to Acolhuas, Tepanecas, and Otomis, with whom alliances were formed, but it was later conquered and made a tributary of the Aztec Empire. After the Spanish conquest, Franciscans evangelized the region. Modern Tlalnepantla was founded as a compromise between the towns of Tenayuca and Teocalhueyacan, which disputed where to build a Franciscan monastery. The monastery, Corpus Christi, was built in 1550 at the midpoint between them, giving the city its name. Following independence, Tlalnepantla was part of Mexico City until 1825, when it became a district of the State of Mexico. Industrial development began under Porfirio Díaz, and after being declared a city in 1948, it experienced a population boom in the 1950s. The 2010 census recorded 653,410 residents, accounting for 98.37% of the municipality’s population. On January 16, 1977, a bus driver trying to cross railroad tracks ahead of a train caused one of Mexico’s worst railway disasters, killing 42 people, including the driver.

Tlalnepantla is a large city with a major mall called Mundo E and several hotels. Key roads include Gustavo Baz Avenue, Mario Colin Avenue, Adolfo Lopez Mateos Boulevard, and Presidente Juárez Avenue, as well as the Periférico and the Mexico-Querétaro Freeway—a 15-lane section of Mexican Federal Highway 57, part of the Pan-American Highway. Public transit includes local peseros, the Mexibús system, intercity buses, and the Tren Suburbano at Tlalnepantla and San Rafael stations. The eastern area is served by the Mexicable.

Educational institutions in the city include UNAM’s Facultad de Estudios Superiores Iztacala (FES Iztacala), the Instituto Tecnológico de Tlalnepantla (ITTLA), Centro Universitario Emilio Cardenas (CUDEC), Escuela Bancaria y Comercial (EBC Tlalnepantla), Universidad Latinoamericana (ULA), Sistema Educativo Indoamericano (INDO), Centro Eleia, Universidad Interamericana para el Desarrollo (UNID), Universidad de Cuautitlan Izcalli (UCI), Ateneo de Tlalnepantla, and Universidad ETAC. Private schools include Instituto Thomas Jefferson.

With over 2,700 industries, Tlalnepantla is one of the most industrialized areas in the country, alongside Naucalpan and Monterrey, ranking first in the State of Mexico. Common industries include food processing, bottling, tobacco, textiles, paper, non-metallic minerals, metals, chemicals, petroleum products, machinery, and wood products. Its industrial zone is among the largest in the nation, and the area also hosts more than 15,000 retail businesses, including the Mundo E Mall and several large tianguis.

Notable sites include the church and monastery of Corpus Christi, built by Nahuas and Otomis from pink and gray stone. Its side gate, the Porciúncula, reflects the influence of both groups. The church was elevated to cathedral status in 1963. The colonial-era aqueduct running from Tlalnepantla to Villa de Guadalupe and the Caja del Agua are preserved, as are the Haciendas of Santa Mónica and de Emmedio. The Centro Cultural Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz holds 130 photographs of Tlalnepantla from the late 19th century to 1960, along with other historical objects. Two notable pyramids lie within municipal limits: Tenayuca and Santa Cecilia Acatitlan. Tenayuca’s pyramid is a smaller version of the Aztec Templo Mayor in Tenochtitlan, with dual staircases on the west side leading to two temples—one for Tlaloc and one for Huizilopochtli. Serpent sculptures surround it on three sides, possibly pre-Aztec in origin. A small museum on site displays artifacts, diagrams, and models of the site and its history. The smaller pyramid at Santa Cecilia Acatitlan, just north of Tenayuca, was rebuilt after the original was destroyed, with some of its blocks used to construct the Santa Cecilia church.