Tlacotalpan

Tlacotalpan was a busy river port in the nineteenth century, shipping goods down the Papaloapan to the Gulf, and when the trade moved elsewhere the town stopped changing. What survives is a grid of unusually wide streets, laid out that way for carts, lined with low houses whose fronts are all columned porches painted in colours that would be absurd anywhere else: turquoise beside magenta beside lime beside ochre. UNESCO listed it in 1998 for that combination of Spanish and Caribbean building traditions preserved whole. It is the heartland of son jarocho, the music behind the song known worldwide as La Bamba, and the Candelaria festival at the start of February fills the streets.

History

The name comes from the Nahuatl for land between the waters, after the island in the Papaloapan where the first settlement stood, later joined to the mainland. The area was first home to the Totonacs, displaced by the Toltecs in the 12th century, and the Aztecs pushed in from 1461, Axayacatl conquering it in 1475. Pedro de Alvarado sailed up the Papaloapan in 1518, Cortés sent Gonzalo de Sandoval here in search of gold in 1521, and Cortés set up the first sugar cane mill in Mexico in the municipality in 1532; the town was founded in 1550, when fishermen settled on land granted to Gaspar Rivakeneyra. From Spanish times it was an important port, one of the few inland river ports in Latin America, until the Ferrocarril del Istmo railway drew its trade away in the early 20th century, and in 1998 it became a World Heritage Site for its history as a river port, its architecture and its traditions of poetry, music and dance (Wikipedia, Tlacotalpan).

The main sights

• The painted porches - low houses with columned fronts in vivid colours.
• The Papaloapan riverfront - boats, sunsets and the malecón.
• Son jarocho - the harp and jarana music the region is known for.
• The Candelaria festival - early February, with music and a river procession.

When to go

November to April is drier; the Gulf lowlands are hot and humid, and this river town floods in bad years. The Candelaria festival at the start of February is the biggest event and the town is packed. Otherwise it is very quiet, which is much of its appeal.

What to expect

There is little to do here beyond walking, looking and eating, and visitors wanting sights will run out in half a day. Heat and humidity are heavy outside winter. Serious flooding has hit the town more than once and repairs are ongoing. Transport connections are limited without a car.

Nearby

Veracruz city is ninety minutes; Catemaco and Los Tuxtlas are an hour and a half south-east.

Key facts