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 simply 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.

What you actually see

• 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.

Honest expectations

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.