Cholula

[chaw-loo-lah]

Cholula or Cholula de Rivadabia, city (1990 pop. 53,673), Puebla state, E central Mexico. The site of the famous Teocali de Cholula, a pre-Columbian pyramid of great antiquity, the city was an old Toltec center and, when the Spanish came, was an Aztec sacred city devoted to the worship of Quetzalcoatl. Suspecting native insurrection, Hernán Cortés destroyed the city in 1519; from 5,000 to 10,000 people were killed in the massacre of Cholula. Cortés then vowed to build a church for each of the 400 Aztec shrines; 70 were in fact built, one atop the pyramid. The picturesque city remains a place of pilgrimage and attracts many tourists.

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Cholula

Cholula is a city in the Mexican state of Puebla. The official, though little used, full name of the city is Cholula de Rivadavia. The city of Cholula is divided into two municipalities, San Andrés Cholula and San Pedro Cholula, which are considered to be part of the conurbation of the city of Puebla.

Cholula is located about 15 km west of the city of Puebla, at an approximate elevation of 2135 meters (about 7000 ft) above sea level. The population of Cholula de Rivadavia as of the 2005 census was 82,964 people, and the population of San Andrés Cholula was 35,206. The municipality of San Pedro Cholula has an area of 51.03 km² (19.7 sq mi) and a population of 113,436, and the municipality of San Andrés Cholula has an area of 61 km² (23.55 sq mi) and a population of 80,118. Most of the residents of the municipality of San Andrés Cholula who do not live in the city of San Andrés Cholula reside in the city of Tlaxcalancingo, which, at a population of 38,541, is actually more populous than the municipal seat.

History

Cholula, or in Nahuatl Cholōllān, was an important city of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, dating back to at least the 2nd century BC, with settlement as a village going back at least some thousand years earlier.

Cholula was a major center contemporary with Teotihuacan and seems to have avoided, at least partially, that city's fate of violent destruction at the end of the Mesoamerican Classic period. Cholula thus remained a regional center of importance, enough so that, at the time of the fall of the Aztec empire, Aztec princes were still formally anointed by a Cholulan priest in a manner reminiscent, and perhaps even analogous, to the way some Mayan princes appear to have come to Teotihuacan in search of some sort of formalization of their rulership.

At the time of the arrival of Hernán Cortés Cholula was second only to the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan (modern Mexico City) as the largest city in central Mexico, possibly with a population of up to 100,000 people. In addition to the great temple of Quetzalcoatl and various palaces, the city had 365 temples.

During the Spanish Colonial period, however, Cholula was overtaken in importance by the nearby city of Puebla.

Great Pyramid of Cholula

Cholula is most famous as the site of the Great Pyramid of Cholula, the largest man-made pyramid and monument by volume in the world.

Etymology

The original Nahuatl name was Cholōllān. Probably composed of the two roots "choloa" "to flee" or its nominalized form "chololiztli" "flight" and the locative suffix -tlān meaning "place of" - making the names meaning something close to "place of flight".

It is possible that this meaning has to do with the original inhabitants of the city having been forced to leave by the expanding Nahuas. Some historians have posited that Cholula was originally inhabited by the Oto-Manguean Chorotega people who were driven from central Mexico with the incursions of the Nahuas.

Modern Cholula

As part of the Puebla urban area, Cholula is famed locally for its lively night life. Its town centre and zócalo area are filled with a wide range of bars and restaurants that are popular with young people from local areas and especially from the nearby Universidad de las Américas (University of the Americas, or UDLA for short). The city is also the namesake for Cholula hot sauce.

References

Link to tables of population data from Census of 2005 INEGI: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática
Puebla Enciclopedia de los Municipios de México