Tlatlauquitepec
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◈ Brimming with sacred firs and clean air, this place has all the charm of the sierra towns. The passing clouds hang low or circle round the peak of Cerro Cabezón. Below, the people grow flowers—especially tuberoses. The white flowers are used to create tapestries and offerings for the town’s patron saint, Our Lady of the Assumption.
A delicious silence fills in the gaps between dances and rituals. It’s a place to drink coffee and herbal liqueurs while watching life go by in the main square.
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◆ Checking out paintings by Luis Toral González at the priest house next to the church.
◆ Picking up organic Mazatepec coffee.
◆ Trying yolixpa, the traditional herbal liqueur of the Sierra Poblana.
Climb the belltower at Iglesia del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús for the view of Cerro Cabezón in the distance.
❖ Parroquia de Santa María
de la Asunción y Casa Cural
This church is home to the town’s patron saint. It was a monastery founded by Franciscan monks in 1531. In the 19th century, it took on the aspect it has today.
It has a crenellated atrium. Inside, the eyes are treated to a world of wood: the Mudejar ceiling, the chorus railing that runs throughout the nave, the main altar, and the statue of the Virgin herself—it’s all carved; it all shines, or has something to say.
Next door, adorning the walls of the Casa Cural, or priest house, there are paintings by Luis Toral González, the famous Zacapoaxtla artist who also authored the murals inside the Iglesia del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús.
❖ Ruta de aventura
del Cerro Cabezón
On the hill, you can also visit Capilla de Cristo Rey and a monumental Christ statue. In March, its home to the Festival del Cerro Rojo (Red Hill Festival), which features indigenous dance presentations and a food fair.
This Pueblan town is named after the mountain with an exposed limestone surface. Tlatlauquitepec means “mountain that burns or turns red” in Nahuatl.
It’s a must for spelunkers, as it’s full of caves. Three ziplines (measuring 262, 492, and 656 feet long) let you soar with Tlatlauquitepec in the background. In the foothills of the mountain you can go mountain biking on trails that lead to the swimmable Poza Verde.
Explora is a tourism agency offering tours of Cerro Cabezón hill, Cascada de Puxtla waterfall, and Presa de la Soledad dam. There’s also the Centro Ecoturístico Bosque de Niebla, an ecotourism center where you can go horseback or bike riding. Or, just watch the sea of clouds over the cloud forest at sunrise.
❖ Do Rappel at Presa de la Soledad
Less than 14 miles from Tlatlauquitepec, on the road to Mazatepec, there’s Presa de la Soledad, a dam on the Apulco River. The road is full of ferns and sweetgums. There’s an observation point where you can see Cascada del Tenexate—the waterfall near the entrance.
You can do rappel here or at Puente de la Soledad. There’s also the docks and the option to take a boat ride among herons and hawks and elderberry and bamboo.
❖ Try Yolixpa and Mazatepec Coffee
You can’t go home before trying this Magical Town’s traditional dishes: tlayoyos (stuffed with lupin, avocado leaf, and manzano chili), totole or turkey mole, and chilpozontle—a meat and vegetable dish.
Head to Mercado Municipal, a market where you’ll find sweets including candied figs, jellies, meringues, cookies, and coconut candies. Try yolixpa, the traditional herbal liqueur of the Sierra Poblana.
Head to Café Colonial, where they serve up the traditional smoked meat of Mazatepec. There’s chicken, sausage, loin, and ribs. These dishes are served with peanut, green chili, or chile de árbol salsas. The restaurant also sells organic coffee produced in Mazatepec.
❖ Savor El Jonuco Wines
Be sure to head to El Jonuco before they close at 7 pm. Since 1921, this traditional winery has been making wine and sherry from fruits and herbs like fig, wild cherry, guava, tejocote (Mexican hawthorn), melissa, vanilla, anise, and passionfruit.
It’s a small shop where the pleasant conversations of visitors sipping wine serve as the only ambiance. In the back of the shop, barrels of aging wines sit as time passes by.
❖ Visit Santuario del Señor de Huaxtla
In the neighboring community, you’ll find Santuario del Señor de Huaxtla, the church with the colorful, petatillo (red brick) facade, dedicated to a miraculous Christ figure. It is said to have been carved in the 17th century from wood from a tree that fell into a river.
People from the surrounding areas come here to kneel before the blue, neoclassical altar and ask for protection. On the left side of the church, you’ll find the Virgen del Rayo a representation from Ocotlán depicting the Virgin Mary with the moon at her feet.
