Naucalpan, officially Naucalpan de Juárez, is one of 125 Municipalities of Mexico State, and is located just northwest of Mexico City. The municipal seat is the city of Naucalpan de Juárez, which extends into the neighboring municipality of Huixquilucan.

The name Naucalpan comes from Nahuatl and means "place of the four neighborhoods" or "four houses." Juárez was added to the official name in 1874 in honor of Benito Juárez. The history of the area begins with the Tlatilica who settled on the edges of the Hondo River between 1700 and 600 B.C.E., but it was the Mexica who gave it its current name when they dominated it from the 15th century until the Spanish conquest of the Mexica Empire. Naucalpan claims to be the area where Hernán Cortés rested on the "Noche Triste" as they fled Tenochtitlan in 1520, but this is disputed. It is the home of the Virgin of Los Remedios, a small image of the Virgin Mary which is strongly associated with the Conquest and is said to have been left here.

Today, the city of Naucalpan is actually larger than the municipality itself, with part of it extending into neighboring Huixquilucan Municipality, although there are other towns in within the municipality of Naucalpan which are outside the city of Naucalpan. It is a major center of industry in Mexico. It is, however, best known as the location of Ciudad Satélite, a development from the 1960s, the neighboring Lomas Verdes, and the site of the Toreo de Cuatro Caminos bullring, which was demolished in the 2010s to build the Toreo Parque Central mixed-use development. The only unurbanized areas of the municipality are the Los Remedios National Park and a number of ejidos, but the lack of housing has put serious pressure on these areas.

History

The Valley of Mexico, of which Naucalpan is a part, has been inhabited by humans for over 20,000 years. The building was torn down in 2009 to make way for a commercial complex. The municipality consists of 119 neighborhoods in the city proper, 18 small villages, 71 residential developments and two rural housing developments. Because of the growth of its industry, Naucalpan is one of the most important municipalities in the country. Stronger environmental regulations have been enacted and enforced, but this has led to the abandonment of the municipality by larger industries who have relocated to the north and west. Over 200 companies have relocated from here and neighboring municipalities Tlalnepantla and Ecatepec. Industries which have left Naucalpan include metals, cement, glass-works and others that use a large quantity of energy. About twenty percent of manufacturing facilities have closed their doors and six industrial parks are empty. In addition to environmental regulation, other actors behind this rising land and rental prices, economic slowdown and competition from Asia.

Several major roadways pass through the city and municipality, which connect the Mexico City area to parts north and west, as well as other parts of the metropolitan area. The northern section of the Anillo Periférico passes through Ciudad Satélite. There have been plans to add a second level to this roadway, but local residents have been working against it. One of the concerns is that the new roadway will damage the nearby Torres de Satélite. The recently built Viaducto Bicentenario highway, linking Mexico City with western Mexico State passes through Naucalpan and was the first section to begin operations. This section connects the Lomas Verdes section with Cuatro Caminos at the border of Mexico City. The construction of these roadways is projected to make changes in the urban landscape of the city, attracting projects such as office buildings and commercial centers. A number of projects are already in the works. The goal is to build areas here similar to Santa Fe and Interlomas. Naucalpan is strongly dependent on cars and other motorized transportation. Efforts have been made to promote bicycle use such as bike paths and free bicycle loans, but they have not been successful.

One of the best-known areas of Naucalpan is Ciudad Satélite with its signature Torres de Satélite sculpture. Ciudad Satélite was one of a number of large scale projects undertaken by the federal government in the Mexico City area in the 1950s and 1960s, along with the Conjunto Habitacional de Tlaltelolco and the Ciudad Universitaria. From the late 1940s to early 1950s, Mexico City began to grow towards the northern limits of the Federal District, and compelling urbanization into adjoining Mexico State. One of the projects conceived for the suburban zone of Naucalpan was a development called Ciudad Satélite. The project was headed by architect Luis Barragán in 1958 and financially backed the Banco Internacional Hipotecario. The city's design and coordination was supervised by architect Mario Pani. It was designed to be a suburban community with a "green corridor" (highway lined by parks) connecting it to Mexico City proper. Attractive land prices created a boom market soon after the first units were sold in the mid 1960s, and over the next ten years, the green corridor disappeared. The Torres de Satélite have been catalogued by UNESCO as architectural heritage. Most of the bus routes have been relocated for the demolition and reconstruction, and a bus terminal is being considered for the area. The Naucalli Park occupies an area of forty three hectares and is a major natural area filled with trees and other vegetation. It also contains recreational and sporting facilities such as skating rinks, bike paths, playgrounds (naucalli) and the Casa de Cultura Naucalli. The Symphony Band of Naucalpan regularly plays here at its own concert hall. Other educational institutions which have facilities in Naucalpan include the Universidad Nuevo Mundo; Universidad de Norteamérica, the Colegio en Alta Dirreción Empresarial, and the Universidad del Valle de Mexico. The Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México has plans to build a campus here in 2010 as part of its expansion efforts.

On Pafununcio Padilla there are two five-story buildings which are locally called "Los Esqueletos" or The Skeletons. These are two buildings which have been abandoned for thirty five years when their owner died intestate during construction. Since then they have had problems with indigents and vandalism, causing fear in neighbors. By law, the buildings pass on to the owner's sons, but they have never done the paperwork to claim them.

The Virgin of Los Remedios

The patroness of the city and municipality of Naucalpan is the Virgin of Los Remedios. She is a small image of the Virgin Mary, measuring in height. This image is strongly linked with the Spanish Conquest, especially the episode known as the "Noche Triste" or Night of Sorrows. It is said he led his men to an indigenous religious sanctuary to escape the Aztecs, stopping here on their way to Otumba. According to legend, one of Cortés' soldiers, Gonzalo Rodríguez de Villafuerte, was carrying a small image of the Virgin Mary and hid her under one of the maguey plants in order to retrieve and pay homage to her later if he survived. During a later battle in this area, the Spanish reported seeing a young girl throwing dirt into the eyes of the Aztecs to help the Spanish. Another legend states that this image appeared at the Cerro de los Pajaros, where a chapel was built in 1574, which later was expanded in 1628 with a vaulted roof and cupola. Being connected with the Conquest, this image of the Virgin is considered to be "Spanish" and a patroness to them and to the indigenous who adopt Spanish ways. She is considered one of the Virgins who correlate with the four cardinal directions (in her case, the west), along with the Virgins of Tepeyac, of Piedad and de la Bala. Her feast day is celebrated with dances knowns as "Los Apaches," "Los Moros," "Chichimecas" and "Pastorcitas". This and the fact that housing is now starting to encroach the archeological zone has prompted the involvement of INAH and the organization of neighboring communities to protest.

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Education

International schools include:

  • Colegio Alemán Alexander von Humboldt Campus Norte/Campus Nord (formerly Campus Lomas Verdes)
  • Greengates School
  • British American School

Other schools:

  • Irish Institute (Instituto Irlandés)<!--Huixquilucan seems to be a mistake-->
  • Escuela Sierra Nevada San Mateo Campus
  • Colegio Cristóbal Colón
  • Colegio Miraflores
  • Academia Maddox
  • Justo Sierra Plantel San Mateo

Colleges and universities:

  • School of High Studies (FES) Acatlán (Facultad de Estudios Superiores Acatlán) National Autonomous University of Mexico
  • College of Science and Humanities Naucalpan campus (Colegio de Ciencias y Humanidades plantel Naucalpan) National Autonomous University of Mexico

See also

  • Huixquilucan de Degollado
  • Tecamachalco, State of Mexico - a neighborhood of Naucalpan city

References

  • Ayuntamiento de Naucalpan de Juárez Official website
  • www.naucalpan.org Naucalpan City Portal
  • https://web.archive.org/web/20080308220907/http://www.laluzysombra.com/ La luz y sombra local magazine by Guasco Telecom.
  • Vivir Aquí Naucalpan local newspaper
  • El mejor portal de Ciudad Satélite, Restaurantes, Servicios, Compras y más...
  • satelandia.com, restaurantes, bares, antros, gimnasios y más
  • Bizarro Radio, Online Radio Station from Satélite

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