page_title: Teotihuacán Municipality
section_title: The town
hierarchical_section_title: Teotihuacán Municipality / The town
caption_attribution_description: English: Balloons over the Teotihucan site during spring equinox 2010
context_page_description: Teotihuacán is a town and municipality located in the State of Mexico. It is in the northeast of the Valley of Mexico, 45 km northeast of Mexico City and 119 km from the state capital of Toluca. Teotihuacan takes its name from the ancient city and World Heritage site that is located next to the municipal seat. "Teotihuacan" is from Nahuatl and means "place of the gods." In Nahua mythology the sun and the moon were created here. The seal of the municipality features the Pyramid of the Sun from the archeological site, which represents the four cardinal directions. The building is tied to a character that represents water which is linked to an arm that is joined to the head of an indigenous person who is seated and speaking. This person represents a god. Much of the history of the area has been tied to the ancient city, most recently involves controversy connected with commerce and development around the site.
context_section_description: The town has been named a Pueblo con Encanto (Town with Charm) by the government of the State of Mexico, as well as a Pueblo con Encanto del Bicentenario (of the Bicentennial). It was chosen as representative of the history of the State of Mexico due to the archeological site and the historic buildings that are in the town proper.
  The origin of the modern town is marked by the former monastery of San Juan Evangelista, which was founded in 1548. The main entrance from the atrium contains decorated arches. The portal is of quarried stone which has been sculpted with ornamentation. The rest of the facade contains niches with statues of saints as well as Solomonic columns. The church bell tower includes an old bell gable topped by merlons is the form of cactus typical of the region.  To the right of the main church is the open chapel which is fronted by six arches supported by Doric columns and contains a baptismal font.  Inside the church is a finally sculpted wooden pulpit. Much of the old cloister area remains as well.
  Monday is market day and the town hosts one of the most traditional “tianguis” in the Valley of Mexico, where hundreds of stalls are set up between the archeological site and the old monastery. Most of the merchandise is foodstuffs and prepared dishes. The tianguis is known for its fruits and vegetables, as well as a number of craft items. Here and at the permanent municipal market, one can try local dishes such as barbacoa, mixiote, quail and many preparations with nopal, which grows abundantly. The municipal market dates from the early 20th century. In 2005, when the market decided to install a new drainage system, INAH was called into do archeological work, as it is within the site's perimeter and no archeological surveys had been undertaken here before.  The exploration discovered the vestiges of a home altar dating from about 450 CE and three graves with the remains of six individuals. The altar is 25 cm tall with the remains of posts which probably held up a roof. The graves contained the remains of four infants, one youth and one adult, which archeologist think are related.
  In the La Concepción neighborhood, there is the Temple of Nuestra Señora de la Purificacíon. The main entrance was made with quarried stone in Baroque style. The facade is divided into three bodies: the first stands out due to portal arch highly decorated with flowers in relief. The second body contains the choir window flanked by columns which are also sculpted with vegetable motifs. The tower contains Solomonic columns and columns with Corinthian capitals. The cornices has vegetative decoration.
  The Jardin de las Cactáceas or Cactus Garden covers four hectares and exhibits a wide variety of plants found in the deserts and arid grasslands of Mexico. Some of the plants include maguey, various palms, barrel cactus and other cacti. It is located next to the archeological site.
  The town has two main traditional festivals: the feast day of John the Baptist (the patron of the town) in late June and the feast of Christ the Redeemer in July, which runs concurrently with the Obsidian Fair. During the festival of Christ the Redeemer, which lasts eight days, one can see a number of traditional dances such as the Aztecs, Santiagueros and Sembradores. There are also amusement rides, fireworks and sporting events.
  In the 2000s, two other annual events have been added the Festival Aerostatico Teotihuacan and the Festival Musica para los Dioses. The Festival Aerostatico Teotihuacan (Teotihuacan Hot-Air Balloon Festival) has been held each year since 2005. The event attracts about 15,000 people each year with an average of twenty balloons participating. Other events include paragliding and skydiving exhibitions, ultragliders, a farming and livestock show, and a gastronomy and crafts fair. The 2010 event was dedicated to the Bicentennial of Mexico's Independence and featured a dirigible 44 meters long and the return of John Ninomiya, a man who is able to fly attached to a bunch of balloons. The event takes place at the “Globopuerto Volare, located
caption: Balloons over the Teotihuacan site suring the Festival Aerostatico Teotihuacan
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