page_title: Zihuatanejo
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Zihuatanejo / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Glyph of Zihuatanejo (place of women)
context_page_description: Zihuatanejo, or Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, is the fourth-largest city in the Mexican state of Guerrero. Politically the city belongs to the municipality of Zihuatanejo de Azueta in the western part of Guerrero, but both are commonly referred to as Zihuatanejo. It is on the Pacific Coast, about 240 km northwest of Acapulco, and belongs to a section of the Mexican Pacific Coast known as the Costa Grande. This town has been developed as a tourist attraction along with the modern tourist resort of Ixtapa, 5 km away. However, Zihuatanejo has kept its traditional town feel. The town is located on a well-protected bay which is popular with private boat owners during the winter months.
  There are two possible origins for the name Zihuatanejo. One origin might be from the Purépecha language meaning "water of the yellow mountain"; another possible origin might be from Nahuatl meaning "place of women." Cihuacan, or "place of women", refers to the western paradise of the Nahuatl universe, the home of the "goddess women". According to tradition, these women arose in the afternoon to lead the sun at dusk to the realm of the dead, Mictlan, to give a dim light to the dead.
caption: Aztec glyph for the area
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