Pachuca Totally Explained

Pachuca (officially Pachuca de Soto, also known as La Bella Airosa, in English The beautiful windy city) is the capital of the Mexican state of Hidalgo. It is located in the south-central part of the state. Pachuca de Soto is also the name of the municipality of which the city serves as municipal seat. The municipal president is Omar Fayad of the Institutional Revolutionary Party.

Name

The name Pachuca probably comes from the Nahuatl word Pachoaca or Pachoacan, meaning "place of the rulers" or "narrow place"; it may also come from the word Patlachiuhacan, which means "place of silver and gold." The official name of the city is Pachuca de Soto in honor of Deputy Manuel Fernando Soto, who was one of founders of the state.

History

The area has been inhabited by various indigenous groups, most notably the Aztecs, who ruled the region from 1438. In 1528 Spanish conquistadors invaded the area. The first Spaniards to settle in the region were Francisco Téllez and Gonzalo Rodríguez, who built the first modern houses in the area. They named the place "Real de Minas de Pachuca".
During the Mexican Revolution, the city was captured by followers of Francisco Madero on 16 May, 1911. Until 1923, Pachuca was one of the few cities in the state with air mail service to the capital.
Pachuca is reputed to be the cradle of Mexican soccer. Workers from Cornwall, United Kingdom, who came to work Pachuca's silver mines brought the game with them. Many examples of Cornish architecture, vestiges of the Cornish influence, still exist. Pachuca is famous for its pastes, which are pastries filled with meat, potatoes, or fruits, which are vestiges of the Cornish pasty culinary influence.

Demographics

Pachuca had a 2005 census population of 267,751 people. The municipality had an official population of 275,578. Its area is 195.3 km² (75.4 sq mi). The city is located 58 miles (94 kilometers) from Mexico City, to which it's connected by a modern freeway. The city has a moderate climate with annual average temperature of 57 degrees Fahrenheit (14 degrees Celsius), even though freezing temperatures can occur in winter nights. Pachuca has been given the name "la bella airosa" or "the windy beauty" because during most of the year there are strong northeasterly winds that can reach 46 mph (75 km./hr). Pachuca is an important mining center and has an active commercial and cultural life. Numerous industries are based in Pachuca and the surrounding areas, including automobile parts, ovenware, tools and mining equipment.

Tourism

Pachuca isn't much of a tourist city, but there are a few things to see. The Reloj Monumental (Monumental Clock) is the central clock tower, built in 1904 in the city center. The bell which chimes in this clock was made by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry, the same company that made the original Liberty Bell, and London's famous Big Ben.
   A souvenir shop is located in the first floor of the tower, where it's possible to buy tickets to either take a tour of the city aboard a special bus or to experience an underground tour of Pachuca's old mines.
   There is also the Centro Cultural Hidalgo, ("Hidalgo Cultural Center") which is housed in an old monastery and contains museums, a theater, a library, a gallery, the city's Arts School and a garden of remarkable beauty. Pachuca is also home to the Museo Nacional de la Fotografía, the National Museum of Mexican Photography.
   The El Chico National Park can be found very close to Pachuca. It is a forest located high up in the mountains, lying at elevations ranging from 2600 to 3050 meters (8530 to 10000 feet). The park, also known as Raven Forest, has huge rocks to climb, campsites and a little lake to go fishing.
   The twin silver mining settlements of Pachuca and Real del Monte (Mineral del Monte) in the State of Hidalgo are being marketed as 'Mexico's Little Cornwall' by the Mexican Embassy in London in 2007 and represent the first attempt by the Spanish speaking part of the Cornish diaspora to establish formal links with Cornwall. Camborne and Redruth town councils in Cornwall have recently agreed to twinning agreements with Pachuca and Real del Monte. The twinning agreements will be formerly signed during the July 2008 visit of the Cornish Mexican Cultural Society to the State of Hidalgo.

Elevation

Pachuca is one of Mexico's highest and coldest cities, but the city's real elevation remains unclear. Depending on the source, Pachuca's altitude can be anywhere between 2400 and 2800 meters (7875 and 9185 feet respectively). The official elevation is 2426 meters (7960 feet) but no one seems to know when, how and where it was measured. The elevation is enough to give Pachuca a weather that's remarkably cold for a city at this latitude. Pachuca never gets hotter than 29°C (84°F) and temperatures as cold as -7°C (19°F) have been registered in the coldest winter nights. In the winter, powerful gusts of wind coming off the mountains can be cold enough to cause frostbite to exposed skin.

Attractions

Ex-Convento de San Francisco
Museo de Fotografia
Museo de Mineria
Reloj Monumental
Plaza Galerias Pachuca, the city's modern mall
Casa de Artesanías Hidarte (the official handicrafts shop)

Interesting facts

In Mexico, a poker hand worth nothing is often called a "Pachuca".

The album Menos el Oso by the American band Minus the Bear featured a song entitled "Pachuca Sunrise".

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