Jocotitlán

Jocotitlán
Town & Municipality
Overlooking the church and municipality of Jocotitlán
Jocotitlán
Coordinates: 19°42′26″N 99°47′12″W / 19.70722°N 99.78667°W / 19.70722; -99.78667Coordinates: 19°42′26″N 99°47′12″W / 19.70722°N 99.78667°W / 19.70722; -99.78667
Country	Mexico
State	State of Mexico
Founded	1540
Municipal Status	1820
Government
• Municipal President	C. José Jesús Cedillo Gonzalez
Elevation (of seat)	2,650 m (8,690 ft)
Population (2005) Municipality
• Municipality	55,403
• Seat	7,457
Time zone	CST (UTC-6)
Postal code (of seat)	50700
Area code(s)	712
Website	(Spanish) [1]

Jocotitlán is a town and municipality located in the northwestern part of the State of Mexico on the central highlands of the country of Mexico. The town is located at the foot of the Jocotitlán or Xocotépetl volcano, while most of the rest of the municipality is in the Ixtlahuaca Valley. The area has culturally been Mazahua since the pre-Hispanic period, with this indigenous group’s traditions strongest in a number of smaller communities in the municipality. Jocotitlán is also home to the Pasteje Industrial Park, which was established in the 1960s, and began the industrialization of the economy. Today, about half of the municipality is employed in industry.

The town of Jocotitlán is located at the foot of the Jocotitlán or Xocotepetl volcano in the northwest part of the State of Mexico, near the cities of Atlacomulco and Ixtlahuaca. It looks over a relatively flat area which is the Ixtlahuaca Valley. The center of this town has cobblestone streets and houses with red tile roofs. The social center of the community is the main plaza, with the parish church on the east side. The main plaza has two levels. The upper level contains a kiosk and a number of trees. Next to the plaza and the church, there is an enclosed rink for futbol rápido (fast soccer).

The parish church is named the Jesús Nazareno (Jesus the Nazarene) Church. The church was established in the 1575, and since then, it has had three phases of construction. The atrium cross is from the original 16th century construction, which was built by the Franciscans. The current building was begun in the 1860s, built in black sandstone with brick accents in Neoclassical style. However, the bell towers were not completed until 1983, over a century later. The interior has a single nave, and contains a monolithic baptismal font which is probably from the 16th century. On the south side of the church, there is a large chapel decorated in white and gold in Neoclassical style called the Santísimo.