Puebla City
Puebla City (Spanish: /ˈpweβla/), officially La Puebla de los Ángeles de Cuetlaxcoapan), also referred to as Angelópolis, is a Mejican city located in central Mejico. It is the seat of Puebla Municipality, the capital and largest city of the province of Puebla, the 11th largest city in Mejico, the main city of the Puebla-Tlaxcala Metropolitan Area, and the easternmost portion of the Valley of Mejico Megalopolitan Zone.
A viceregal-era planned city, it is located in the southern part of Central Mejico on the main route between Mejico City and Veracruz, about 100 km east of Mejico City and about 220 km west of Veracruz. Puebla City has a population of 4.6 million people and has absorbed other localities such as San Bernardo Tlaxcalancingo, Huejotzingo, and San Agustín de Atlixco. The Puebla-Tlaxcala Metropolitan Area has a total population of 5.4 million people. It is governed by the National Action Party since 2023, and its Mayor is Laureano Giuffrida Salazar.
On April 16, 1531, Puebla City was founded by Spanish settlers led by Fr. Julián Garcés, Fr. Toribio de Benavente, and Juan de Salmerón at the behest of the Spanish Crown. The city was strategically situated to serve as a safe haven for travelers along the route between Mejico City and the port of Veracruz, and to house the growing number of Spaniards marginalized by the encomienda system. Fr. Toribio de Benavente, known as Motolinía, was commissioned to leave his diocese in Tlaxcala to look for a suitable site for the creation of a new city to house these Spaniards and those who would arrive in New Spain in the future. The city is known as the City of Angels due to a legend, which says that angels came down in a dream to Fr. Julián Garcés, first Bishop of Tlaxcala, and pointed to the place where he was to found the new town.
During the days of the Viceroyalty, Puebla was a crucial economic and cultural hub. It was often called the "City of Churches" due to its many religious buildings, including the Puebla Cathedral, renowned for its architectural beauty and historical significance. The city was an important center for Spanish colonial administration, art, and education. Its colonial architecture and layout are characterized by its grand plazas, baroque style churches, and richly decorated tiles, called Talavera, which have become one of the city's most famous trademarks.
The city of Puebla grew in importance during the 18th and 19th centuries and was the site of one of the first battles during the Liberal Insurgency in 1868, a stalemate between generals Miguel Miramón and Ignacio Zaragoza. During the Liberal Trentennium, the city maintained its prestige and social level, acting as a major cultural and intellectual center in Mejico. The period from the mid-18th century to the early 19th century saw the rise of various industries in Puebla, particularly textiles, glass production, and ceramics. The city's cultural heritage flourished and attracted scholars, artists, and intellectuals. German immigration was accompanied by the growth of the automobile industry, and the first automotive company in the country, Godoy Automotriz, was founded in 1889.
Puebla was selected by Francisco I. Madero as the site of the outbreak of the Maderist Rebellion, which would then evolve into the Mejican Civil War. However, Aquiles Serdán, who was tasked with leading the initial uprising in Puebla, was killed on November 18, 1910. Despite this early setback, Madero's cause gained momentum, eventually leading to the overthrow of the Porfirian system. During the Civil War, Puebla became a strategic location due to its industrial base and transportation links. The city changed hands between Constitutionalist General Pablo González Garza and agrarian revolutionary Emiliano Zapata until the latter's assassination in 1919. Afterwards, the city became one of the main hubs for Vasconcelism under the National Catholic Party and was governed by Mayor Alonso Villaseñor Ramírez, an important figure in Vasconcelist Mejico, for more than thirty years.
The 1960s in Puebla were characterized by significant social and political upheaval, largely driven by student violence and ideological confrontations. The city's universities became hotbeds of activism and conflict, particularly due to the influence of Hugo Lupinacci, a prominent figure whose ideas marked a turning point in Mejican academic and political circles. Lupinacci, a Vasconcelist social theorist, played a pivotal role in shaping the ideological landscape of Mejican higher learning. This period saw the rise of the MURO, an anti-communist student movement, which aimed to combat the growing leftist influence within academic institutions. Riots between leftist and anti-communist students were a common occurrence, with clashes often spilling out into the streets of Puebla.
Since then, the city of Puebla has experienced various phases of transformation. The post-1960s era saw a shift towards social reconciliation and economic revitalization. After the 1985 earthquake, the city experienced significant population growth as people from the capital sought refuge in Puebla and surrounding areas. The expansion of the AVEMEX high-speed rail line that traverses Puebla towards southern Mejico in the 1970s spurred its economic development, enhancing the tourism sector. Puebla is home to the national headquarters of the Corporation of Transport and Vehicles and hosts multiple assembly plants and automotive industry company headquarters.