Valle de Bravo () is one of 125 municipalities in the State of Mexico, Mexico. The largest town and municipal seat is the town of Valle de Bravo. It is located on the shore of Lake Avándaro, approximately 156 km (97 miles) southwest of Mexico City and west of Toluca on highways 15, 134 or 1. It takes about two hours to drive from Mexico City to Valle de Bravo, making it a popular weekend getaway for the capital's affluent upper class.

The town has several names during its history including San Francisco del Valle de Temascaltepec, Temascaltepec de indios, Villa del Valle, and San Francisco del Valle. The original names including Temascaltepec caused confusion with the nearby "Real de Minas de Temascaltepec", now Temascaltepec, so the county was known as "El Valle" (The Valley). The honorific "de Bravo" was added later to recognize Nicolás Bravo who fought at the Castle of Chapultepec during the Mexican–American War. Its Coat of arms includes the image of a temazcal in reference to its original name.

In 1971, Valle de Bravo was known as typical city (ciudad típica) and magical town (pueblo mágico) in 2005. The town and the surrounding area are well known in Mexico as a tourist destination, mainly due to its relative proximity to Mexico City and for having hosted the world-famous Circuito Avandaro auto racing event and Festival de rock y Ruedas, a massive rock music festival.

Toponymy

The original name of Valle the Bravo was Valle de Temascaltepec, from the náhuatl temazcalli "steam bath", and tepetl "hill", the full meaning of which is "Hill of steam baths".

The town

History

thumb|left|House of Joaquín Arcadio Pagaza

The first to arrive in the area were the Matlatzinca, who settled mostly in the present-day communities of Santa Maria Ahuacatlán, La Peña and Otumba. Between 1474 and 1479, the Aztec tlatoani Axayacatl conquered the region, establishing what would be the last addition to the Aztec Empire. After the destruction of Tenochtitlan by The Spanish and their native allies, campaigns to subdue the area were carried out by Andrés de Tapia and Gonzalo de Sandoval, followed by evangelization by the Dominicans and the Augustinians. Around 1530, the Franciscan friar Gregorio Jiménez de la Cuenca founded the town as a congregation called "El Pino". Between 1607 and 1615, a Franciscan convent was established here, giving the town that grew up around it its original name of San Franciscano del Valle de Temascaltepec. As of 2005 it had a population of 22,166.

The dam is actually a series of dams named Valle, Tilostoc, Colorines, Ixtapantongo and the newest at Santo Tomás de los Plátanos. With the creation of the lake came the development of exclusive resort facilities such as hotels, golf clubs, country cabins, sailing clubs and a myriad of restaurants.

Economy

thumb|Municipal docks and lake

The town's principal economic activities center around tourism. It is a very popular location for weekend visits, especially from residents of Mexico City and Toluca. Holidays such as New Year's Eve and Semana Santa bring large numbers of visitors to the town leading to strong recommendations to arrange lodging well in advance. Other yearly events include the Festival Vallesano (March) where people participate in sporting, horseback-riding, art exhibitions and food-tasting events as well as cultural and musical performances. However, the largest annual celebration is the cultural festival known as the Festival de las Almas (Festival of the Souls) which has occurred each of the last five years in late September or early October. The 2007 festival brought in 4.5 million pesos to the area with 8 days of festivities, 151 programmed events centered on film, dance, art exhibitions, music, literature, workshops and theater, as well as Day of the Dead altars. It has spread to include events in Apaxco, Cuautitlán Izcalli, Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl, Temascalcingo, Texcoco and Toluca. This event featured "Alan" State Dance Troupe from Ossetia Alania, Russia as well as artists from thirteen other countries. Roughly 160,000–170,000 people attended the event.

Tourist attractions

thumb|Main plaza and San Francisco de Asis Church

The Temple of Santa María Ahuacatlán was originally a chapel when it was started in 1864 but has been converted into a church which is still under construction. The main altar contains a Black Christ which is still worshipped.

Valle de Bravo was named a "Pueblo Mágico" in 2005.

The municipality

thumb|View of the lake and some of the surrounding mountains

As municipal seat, the town of Valle de Bravo has governing jurisdiction over the following communities: San Mateo Acatitlán, El Aguacate, Los Álamos, Calderones, La Candelaria, El Castellano, El Cerrillo (San José el Cerrillo), La Compañía (Cerro Colorado), Cerro Gordo, Colorines, Loma Bonita, La Compañía (Tres Espigas), Cuadrilla de Dolores, Rancho Espinos, El Fresno (El Fresno la Compañía), Godínez Tehuastepec, La Laguna, Loma de Chihuahua, Loma de Rodríguez, El Manzano, Mesa de Jaimes, Mesa de Dolores (Mesa de Dolores 2a. Secc.), Los Pelillos, Peña Blanca, Los Pozos (Pinar de Osorios), Santa María Pipioltepec (Pipioltepec), San José Potrerillos (Potrerillos), Rincón de Estradas, San Antonio, San Gabriel Ixtla, San Gaspar, San Juan Atezcapan, San Nicolás Tolentino, San Ramón, San Simón el Alto, Santa Magdalena Tiloxtoc, Santa Rosa, Santa Teresa Tiloxtoc, Los Saucos, Tenantongo, La Volanta, Casas Viejas, Mesa Rica (La Finca), Mesa de Palomas, Atesquelites (Tres Quelites), La Boquilla (Cerro el Cualtenco la Boquilla), El Durazno, La Mecedora, Escalerillas, Tehuastepec (San José Tehuastepec), Tierra Grande (La Loma), El Arco, Barrio de Guadalupe, Las Joyas, Mata Redonda (Paso Hondo), Mesa de Dolores 1a. Secc. (Mesa del Rayo), La Palma, Piedra del Molino, Rancho Avándaro Country Club, El Aguacate (El Aserradero), Agua Fría, La Huerta San Agustín, Tres Puentes, Colonia Rincón Villa del Valle, Colonia Valle Escondido, Monte Alto, Las Ahujas, El Trompillo, Gallinas Blancas, Barranca Fresca, Santo Tomás el Pedregal, Los Tizates, as well as about 40 unnamed settlements. The total 2005 population of the municipality was 52,902.

thumb|Velo de Novia waterfall

Just south of the town of Valle de Bravo is a small village called Avandaro, which hosted the "Rock y Ruedas" festival in September 1971. Just outside it is the Velo de la Novia (Bride's Veil) waterfall, where the San Juan creek drops 35 meters in the middle of relatively untouched forest. The area has been converted into a natural park.

The municipality has indigenous communities with Nahuas, Matlatzinca and Purépecha and their languages can be heard. Most of the people living there are Catholic, but there are also Protestant and evangelical Christians.

See also

  • Feast of Saint Francis

References

  • Valle de Bravo
  • Valle de Bravo Information Center
  • Photos Of Valle de Bravo