Chiconcuac de Juárez

Chiconcuac (de Juárez)
Chiconcuac (de Juárez)
Town & Municipality
	Seal
	Coordinates: 19°33′30″N 98°53′33″W / 19.55833°N 98.89250°W
Country	Mexico
State	State of Mexico
Municipal Status	1868
Government
• Municipal President	Luciano Castillo Rodríguez (2006-2009)
Elevation (of seat)	2,250 m (7,380 ft)
Population (2005) Municipality
• Municipality	19,656
• Seat	19,045
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (US Central))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (Central)
Postal code (of seat)	56270
Website	http://www.chiconcuac.gob.mx/

Chiconcuac de Juárez, typically referred to simply as Chiconcuac, is a town and municipio (municipality) in the state of Mexico, approximately 10 kilometers north of Texcoco de Mora. The name Chiconcuac derives from the Aztec word Chicome Coatl, “Seven snakes”, which was a date on the Aztec calendar.^[1]

The city

Chiconcuac is principally famous for its large tianguis, or public market, which has 2,400 permanent vendors, and attracts up to 6,000 more semi-permanent and itinerant vendors on weekends. The large food court in the Chiconcuac market is widely famous for preparing barbacoa de borrego (lamb barbecue), and other specialties of Mexican cuisine.

History

The area which is now all one city, was a cluster of settlements of mostly Chichimecas and Tlailotlaques.

The area was conquered by the Spanish in 1597, with land here granted to Hernando Núñez where he established the Hacienda de Santa Cruz de Prado Alegre, better known as the “Arojo”. The area was then evangelized by the Franciscans. Because of its proximity to Mexico City, the city suffered battles during the Mexican War of Independence, the Second French intervention in Mexico and the War of "La Reforma".^[1]

In 1980, mammoth bones were discovered in a neighborhood called Calxiacatl.^[1]