The city of Puebla was founded on April 16, 1531 as "La Puebla de los Ángeles". It was the first city in central Mexico founded by the Spanish conquistadors that was not built upon the ruins of a conquered Amerindian settlement. Its strategic location, half-way between the port of Veracruz and Mexico City, made it the second most important city during the colonial period. During the seventeenth century, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz lived in the city until her confrontation with the Bishop of Puebla.

The city of Puebla was founded on April 16, 1531 as "La Puebla de los Ángeles". It was the first city in central Mexico founded by the Spanish conquistadors that was not built upon the ruins of a conquered Amerindian settlement. Its strategic location, half-way between the port of Veracruz and Mexico City, made it the second most important city during the colonial period. During the seventeenth century, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz lived in the city until her confrontation with the Bishop of Puebla.

Four decades after Mexico's independence, General Ignacio Zaragoza's army defeated French expeditionary forces near Puebla on May 5, 1862 in the Battle of Puebla. It was after this battle that the name of the city was changed to "Heróica Puebla de Zaragoza".

In the late nineteenth and early twentietn centuries a number of European immigrants came to the city, mainly from Germany, Italy and Spain. Today, the Colonia Humboldt neighborhood shows the influence of the local German population in its architecture, traditions and festivals like the local Oktoberfest, as well as in the town of Chipilo, now absorbed by the metropolitan area of the city, where people speak a dialect of Venetian known as the Chipilo Venetian dialect. The folkloric Mexican women's dress known as China Poblana was created in Puebla.

   Puebla, Mexico - The City of Puebla, well known as "Cultural Patrimony of the Humanity",it's surrounded on its historical center area, by many buildings with lots of testimonies of the past, and one of the constructions that conforms this cultural city is justly a beautiful 100 years old French style building, which includes all the comfort that business men and tourists requires, also our guests will be able to experience the combination among modern services and the history of this beautiful building.

   Puebla, deeply religious and proud of her history, has managed to preserve the treasures created by her architects, artists and craftsmen. Today, the Historic Center is a World Heritage Site where you can visit churches and convents, admire colonial doorways and facades, wander through plazas and patios or visit museums displaying everything from pans to railroad cars including paintings, archaeological objects, and of course, the books in the valuable Palafox Library collection.

   The city also has shops specializing in Talavera pottery and traditional confectionery, and antiques in the Los Sapos district as well as a wide range of restaurants where you can sample the wonderful local cuisine. Other nearby places worth visiting include the Laguna de San Baltasar, an environmental project center, the archaeological zone of Cholula and a zoo where the animals roam freely.

The city also has shops specializing in Talavera pottery and traditional confectionery, and antiques in the Los Sapos district as well as a wide range of restaurants where you can sample the wonderful local cuisine. Other nearby places worth visiting include the Laguna de San Baltasar, an environmental project center, the archaeological zone of Cholula and a zoo where the animals roam freely.

      here were no pre-Hispanic settlements here. Puebla was founded in 1531 by the Spaniards to encourage immigration, concentrate European knowledge, reduce the atrocities against the Indians and establish an enclave on the route between Veracruz and Mexico. Textile and ceramics industries were established there soon afterwards, although the clearest evidence of the town?s success was the increase in the population, which rose from 50 settlers to 70,000 during the last third of the 17th century. This was mirrored by an increase in the number of churches and their influence and before the liberal triumph, the clergy owned half the buildings in the city. During the century of wars, its strategic position made it a hostage of both sides and the city made its mark on history when in 1862, led by Ignacio Zaragoza, the patriots defeated the French invaders. On September 16 1869, President Juárez rode into the city on the first train from Mexico. Volkwagen now has a factory there with 16,000 employees that produce and export 1500 cars daily.  

     Puebla lies 129 km away from Mexico City in a valley reached by crossing the volcanoes to the east, to the north of Tlaxcala and to the south of La Mixteca. It has a mild climate with an average temperature of 16ºC, dropping to a minimum of 6ºC in January. The rainy season lasts from June to October

     Puebla, city (2002 pop. 1,320,000), capital of Puebla state, E central Mexico. Its official name is Heroica Puebla de Zaragoza, in honor of Gen. Ignacio Zaragoza, who defeated the French forces there in 1862. Located in a highland valley, it is an important agricultural, commercial, and manufacturing center, as well as a popular tourist spot. The site of Mexico's first textile-producing factory, Puebla has cotton mills, an automobile factory, onyx quarries, and pottery and food industries. The city is noted for the colored tiles that decorate its buildings and numerous churches, as well as those of nearby Cholula. The cathedral, built between 1552 and 1649, is one of the finest in Mexico; the theater, constructed in 1790, is said to be the oldest on the continent. Founded 1535 as Puebla de Los Angeles, the city was historically a link between the coast and Mexico City. It was taken (1847) by U.S. Gen. Winfield Scott during the Mexican War. French troops captured Puebla in 1863 but were ousted by Porfirio Díaz in 1867. Puebla was the center of a large earthquakes in 1973 and 1999 which have caused intense damage to the city and its surrounding region

   Cuetzalan Mexico - Cuetzalan is a picturesque town located 183 km from the city of Puebla Mexico Cuetzalan is a small, picturesque market town, in the north of the Mexican state of Puebla.  The town is situated on a limestone hillside, beneath which lie many kilometres of cave passage. Collectively described as the Cuetzalan system, it was described in the late 1970's as "One of the finest and most going cave systems in the world".

he area was first visited in the mid 1970's, when American, British and later Belgian cavers began exploration of the many stream sinks around the town.  Between 1976 and 1980, over 35km of cave passage had been explored and surveyed.  However, exploration in the area was abandoned, probably due to the fragmentation of survey data between the various groups.  It was not until 1988 that interest in the area was rekindled when a small team from the British Northern Cave Club and Mexican cavers visited the area.   The potential of the region was confirmed and over the following years numerous British expeditions have visited the area.   The original discoveries of the 1970's have been resurveyed and the original system has been extended considerably.  To date over 100km of cave passage has been explored and surveyed and each expedition returns with more leads for future exploration. Fotos provided by Ramon Felipe Tecolt Gonzalez from Puebla, Mexico

          lthough many of the major cave entrances are close to well worn tracks, other entrances are to be found in the middle of maize fields and coffee planations and care needs to be taken when crossing these in order not to damage crops and upset the locals.   Care also needs to be exercised used when using machetes as what may appear to be general vegetation could in fact be a local resource.  In general, no problems with access have been experienced when visiting the cave entrances, although in certain areas (such as near the village of Tepetzala and the region around Cueva D'Alpazat) access can at times be a sensitive issue.  The best approach when prospecting is to mention that you are searching for 'cuevas', and you will often find yourself on a guided tour of every hole in the locality, usually accompanied by hordes of children or field workers.

lthough many of the major cave entrances are close to well worn tracks, other entrances are to be found in the middle of maize fields and coffee planations and care needs to be taken when crossing these in order not to damage crops and upset the locals.   Care also needs to be exercised used when using machetes as what may appear to be general vegetation could in fact be a local resource.  In general, no problems with access have been experienced when visiting the cave entrances, although in certain areas (such as near the village of Tepetzala and the region around Cueva D'Alpazat) access can at times be a sensitive issue.  The best approach when prospecting is to mention that you are searching for 'cuevas', and you will often find yourself on a guided tour of every hole in the locality, usually accompanied by hordes of children or field workers.