Coscomatepec
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◈ Between the mountains and out of the mist, emerges this Magical Town with Totonaca roots.
On Mondays, you will see a parade of long and colorful skirts as the women come together in the town center to exchange their agricultural produce.
The rest of the week, the main square’s palm trees swaying in the breeze frame the cigar makers, people as they walk by, and the admirers of the Christ of the Agony. All this is protected by its sacred guardian: Citlaltépetl (or Pico de Orizaba, Mexico’s highest mountain).
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◆ Visit the workshops where cigars are made.
◆ Learn about the town’s history with the Municipal Palace’s murals.
◆ Wander through the tianguis (market) on Mondays.
Spend a night in the Posada del Emperador, and sleep where Maximilian I of the Habsburgs and the revolutionary Benito Juarez slept before you.
❖ Puente del Virrey
This bridge was built at the beginning of 1800 by the Viceroy Iturrigaray in order to reach the state capital.
It boasts an architectural style of three stone arches, designed by Luis Martín who used the river’s stones in order to build it. In its time, it was a very important construction. Today it is the perfect place to walk through, to enjoy the river and the surrounding vegetation.
❖ Museo Comunitario Tetlalpan
Tetlalpan Community Museum was once the city’s library, and is now a museum which houses around 300 pieces made of different materials such as ceramic, obsidian, and basalt stone, which belong principally to the Totonaca and Otomí cultures.
❖ Monday Tianguis
Since 1943, Mondays in Coscomatepec have been for shopping. The city center’s streets, which surround the Parque Municipal Constitución, are filled with people from various communities in the area, offering what their land produces: beans, herbs, seeds, and chilies.
There are those who also sell livestock. Wandering among the stalls, sniffing the aromas of the fruits and legumes, and witnessing the market’s hustle and bustle is an experience worth having.
❖ Learn About Cigar Production
The Coscomatepec Tourism Office offers tours of the cigar workshops so you can learn about the process of artisanal production, how the tobacco is dried using liquor and vanilla, and how the cigars are rolled by hand. Visit these workshops located within locals’ homes.
❖ Try Tlatonile and Other Typical Flavors
This is a kind of mole of pre-Hispanic origin and Coscomatepec’s most traditional dish. The story goes that this dish was offered by the mother of the groom during a wedding. In Veracruz it’s prepared with chicken or beef, its consistency is thick, and the sauce is made of comapeño chilli, chile ancho, sesame seeds, and epazote.
Take the opportunity during your visit to try barbacoa de borrego (lamb slow-cooked in pits), which you will find in the stalls on the streets bordering the main square. For dessert, try some bread baked in the La Fama bakery. Their specialties are pan de leche (milk bread) and cubiletes (traditional pastries).
❖ Cycle Around the Town’s Outskirts
Coscomatepec is located between two large ravines: the Río Jamapa ravine, towards the north, and the Río Atoyac ravine, towards the south, which gives it a very privileged position for adventure tourism.
Towards the Nicanor Espejo region there is a simple route for mountain biking, and the most experienced can choose the route that leads to the Tetlalpa archeological site.
