# San Gerónimo Tlamaco

San Gerónimo Tlamaco is a locality in Mexico belonging to the municipality of Atitalaquia in the state of Hidalgo.

## Toponymy

It comes from náhuatl 'Tlemaco', which is broken down into Tlemaitl (tletl fire and maitl hand or arm) “arm of fire” or thurible, and the locative suffix -co place: «Place of the incense burner». San Gerónimo is in honor of Jerome of Stridon, the patron saint of the town.

## History

Tlamaco was founded by the Aztecs on their pilgrimage to Tenochtitlan at the end of the 12th century. The Boturini Codex establishes that after abandoning Atitalaquia, Tlamaco was founded in the year 7-Rabbit (1173) and they remained in the place for 5 years. Later they left for Atotonilco in the year 11-Conejo. The Aubin Codex refers to the founding of Tlamaco with the following:
   Auh niman iconmiquanique in Tlemaco in mexica. Inipan acatli ipan macuilxiuhtique in Tlemaco in mexica.
   And the Mexicans went to Tlemaco. The Mexicans remained in Tlemaco for five years.
In contrast to what is reported in the Boturini Codex, the Aubin Codex records the founding of Tlamaco in the year 8-Caña (1174), however both sources coincide in the time of permanence of the Mexicans. Aztecs in Tlamaco, their origin from Atitalaquia and their subsequent departure to Atotonilco.
During the territorial expansion of the Triple Alliance, Moctezuma Ilhuicamina conquered the region of Teotlalpan, north of the Mexica Empire. With this, Tlamaco became a tributary of Tenochtitlan until the arrival of the Spanish.
After the conquest of Mexico, Tlamaco became a Spanish encomienda, as recorded in the Painting of the governor, mayors and aldermen of Mexico of 1556; However, the assignment of the encomienda by Hernán Cortés dates back to 1530 with the early conquest of the territories of Atitalaquia. Years later, the viceroy Martín Enríquez de Almansa ordered that the indigenous people join their houses to form towns.
The Franciscan order was in charge of carrying out the work of evangelization in Tlamaco, consisting of teaching the indigenous people the Spanish language, Catholic doctrine and new forms of cultivation. In the 1570s, the friars were in charge of leading the inhabitants of Tlamaco in the construction of a chapel in honor of San Jerónimo using the area's pink quarry as raw material. The chapel is barrel-vaulted and originally had a cypress on the altar. The façade contains elements of the Plateresque style and its engravings are an example of tequitqui. Additionally, it has an open chapel in the shape of arcades.

## Geography

The locality corresponds to the geographical coordinates 20° 2' 4.565" of latitude north and 99° 13' 44.807" of longitude west, with an altitude of 2124 m a.s.l. It is located at a distance of approximately 5.51 kilometers southwest of the municipal seat, Atitalaquia.
As for physiography it is located within the province of the Neovolcanic Axis within the subprovince of Plains and Sierras of Querétaro and Hidalgo; Its terrain is plain and hill. As far as hydrology is concerned, it is located in the Panuco region, within the Moctezuma River basin, in the sub-basin of the Salado River. It has a temperate semi-dry climate.

## Demography

In 2020, it registered a population of 3,885 people, which corresponds to 12.32% of the municipal population. Of which 1906 are men and 1979 are women. It has 1022 inhabited private homes.

## Economy

The town has a low degree of marginalization and a very low degree of social backwardness.