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IXEH
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VISITORS ONLINE GUIDE
TO THE
CITY OF PUEBLA, MEXICO
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Web Links
for access to daily news, weather reports, more on tourism and
transportation, plus links to government, newspaper, television,
and university sites.
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General Information. Pronounced PWEH-BLAH.
Located in the Puebla Valley, 129 km (80 miles) southeast of
Mexico City. Altitude: 2,149 m. (7,091 ft.). Population in 2000:
1,346,000. It is the capital of the state of Puebla and one of
Mexico's oldest Spanish cities, founded in 1531. Legend has it
that a band of angels appeared to Bishop Julian Garcés,
one of the founders, pointing out where to situate the new city.
Hence the nickname Angelopolis (City of Angels). Locals
are called poblanos. |
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Puebla is renown for its distinctive colonial architecture, savory
cuisine, Talavera ceramics, onyx crafts, and textile industry.
The indigenous language of the region, Náhuatl, is still
spoken in some rural areas of the Puebla Valley. Mexican troops
defeated French invaders here on May 5, 1862, at the Forts of
Loreto and Guadalupe. The Mexican Revolution began in Puebla
as well, on November 18, 1910, when federal soldiers and police
attacked the home of the Serdán family. In 1987, UNESCO
designated Puebla a World Heritage City. A serious earthquake
on June 15, 1999, damaged many notable buildings, but restoration
efforts began almost immediately. Virtually all the principal
historic sites reopened by the summer of 2001. |
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Among the major archeological sites in the region are: Texcal
Cave near Lake Valsequillo, first occupied by humans around B.C.
7,000; the Tenapa Pyramid in Cholula (circa B.C. 400-A.D. 200),
whose base height of 1,315 ft. ranks it among the largest precolumbian
structures in the Americas; and, in the neighboring state of
Tlaxcala, the polychrome murals at the fortress of Cacaxtla (circa
A.D. 600-1100). Four volcanoes, the highest peaks in Mexico,
are visible from the city: Popocatépetl (17,883 ft.),
Iztaccíhuatl (17,338 ft.), La Malinche (14,632 ft.), and
Citlaltépetl (18,855 ft.), also known as the Pico de Orizaba.
Popocatépetl is an active volcano and periodically spouts
water and ash. |
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Climate, Health Precautions. Sunny
days (70-80o F, or 21.1 -26.6o C) and chilly nights (40-50o F,
or 4.4-10o C) mean you'll need layers of clothing and warm pajamas.
There is almost no precipitation from November through March.
Afternoons are rainy from April through October. Avoid consuming
tap water, ice cubes, and foods sold by street vendors, especially
water-based desserts (gelatins, ice cream, sno-cones, popsicles).
Use bottled water, even for brushing your teeth, and ask for
beverages without ice. Items you'll want to keep handy in your
pocket or purse are Pepto-Bismol tablets, antacid tablets, facial
tissues, and moist towelettes. Public restrooms and rural homes
rarely provide toilet paper or soap. Due to the antiquated sewage
systems, you should discard toilet paper in the nearby waste
can, not the toilet bowl. |
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Shopping Hours, Changing Money. Most
family-owned shops are closed during the traditional lunch hour
(2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m), but are open for business 10:00 a.m.
to 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Many local stores and
branch banks do not accept foreign travelers checks, U.S. dollars,
or credit cards. Change money at the Mexico City International
Airport, which offers the best exchange rates, or visit the central
office of any bank in downtown Puebla (the currency exchange
window), Monday through Friday, before 1:00 p.m. Ask for at least
100 pesos in small bills and coins. Taxis, buses, and smaller
stores often refuse to change anything larger than a 20 peso
bill. |
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Dining and Cuisine. Mole poblano,
a chocolate-chile sauce poured over turkey or chicken, was invented
here. It is Mexico's national dish. Other poblano specialties
include: chiles en nogada, meat-stuffed green peppers
covered with a walnut-pomegranate sauce; sweet-potato candies
called camotes; and tacos arabes, spit-roasted,
seasoned pork served in puffy wheat tortillas, a dish invented
by Middle Eastern immigrants. |
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Historic District. Puebla's Historic
District, El Centro Histórico, consists of about
100 blocks in the middle of the city, but the majority of historic
sites lie within a four-block radius of El Zócalo,
the central square. See the section below on Street
Directions, and also Historic
District Walking Tour.
Street Directions. Click
 to
see Historic District Street Plan. Four major avenues
radiate from the northwest corner of El Zocalo, Puebla's central
square: Avenida Reforma (west); Avenida Maximino Avila Camacho
(east, also known as Juan de Palafox Avenue); Avenida 5 de Mayo
(north); and Avenida 16 de Septiembre (south). Streets running
West or East (Poniente/Oriente) are even-numbered to the north
of the Zócalo and odd-numbered to the south. Streets running
North or South (Norte/Sur) are even-numbered to the east of the
Zócalo and odd-numbered to the west.
Convention Center. Puebla's new Convention
Center (Centro de Convenciones Puebla-William O. Jenkins) is
an impressive combination of historic restoration and new architecture.
It is worth a visit even if you are not attending an event there.
Located on Héroes del 5 de Mayo Boulevard, between Avenida
4 Oriente and Avenida 10 Oriente, it is on the east side of the
Historic District, just a few steps south of a landmark church,
the Templo de San Francisco (Avenida 14 Oriente 1009). For more
information, see the Convention
Center Web site and the description in the Historic
District Walking Tour. |
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Civic Center. El Centro Cívico
5 de Mayo, the Civic Center, is located 15 blocks northeast
of the central square, on a steep hill overlooking city. It is
best reached by bus, rather than on foot. The complex consists
of eight facilities in an extensive public park: Museo de
la No Intervención/Fuerte de Loreto, the No-Intervention
Museum at the Loreto Fort; Museo de Anthropología,
the Anthropology Museum; Fuerte de Guadalupe, the Guadalupe
Fort; Expo Puebla, the State Fairgrounds and Exhibition
Hall; El Planetario, the Planetarium; Museo de Historia
Natural, the Natural History Museum; Plaza de Toros El
Relicario, the Relicario Bullring; and Auditorio de la
Reforma, the Reforma Auditorium. |
 La China Poblana.
The "Puebla China Girl", La China Poblana, is
synonymous with this city, but few poblanos knew her true life
story. Catarina de San Juan (1609-1688), originally named Mirrha,
was born in Delhi, India, and kidnaped at the age of nine by
pirates. The captors sold her to a Portuguese merchant in Manila,
who later shipped her to Miguel de Sosa, a poblano who had commissioned
the merchant to send him "a little Chinese girl." Sosa
and his wife adopted eleven year-old Mirrha in 1620 and baptized
her Catarina. Upon the couple's death, Catarina married Domingo
Suárez, the Chinese servant of the local parish priest.
Seventeenth-century poblanos admired her acts of charity and
copied her picturesque costume. Twentieth-century poblanos modified
the costume to incorporate the colors and insignia of the Mexican
flag. Puebla's monument to La China Poblana, an enormous statue
atop a tiled fountain, is located in the northern end of the
city at the junction of Boulevard Heroes del 5 de Mayo and Avenida
Defensores de La Republica. |
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Getting to Puebla. From Mexico City
International Airport, Estrella Roja buses depart for Puebla
every half hour, with the last bus of the night leaving at 12:20
a.m. The fare was 150 pesos (= about US$ 15) in November 2005.
From Mexico City's TAPO, the eastern bus terminal, fares are
slightly lower and service is available almost 24 hours a day
via Estrella Roja and ADO (Autobuses de Oriente) bus lines. Buses
depart every five minutes from 6:00 a.m. to midnight. Express,
non-stop service with guaranteed seating is available every 15
or 20 minutes. The departure time for your bus is printed on
the ticket, and tickets are non-refundable. Travel time between
Mexico City and Puebla by express bus is 1 hour and 50 minutes.
Buses arrive at Puebla's main terminal, the Central de Autobuses
Puebla (CAPU), in the northwest sector of the city. The Estrella
Roja bus line also makes a stop further south (at 4 Poniente,
near 11 Norte), which is closer to the Historic District. |
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Taxis and Buses in Puebla. At
the CAPU bus terminal and elsewhere in the city, kiosks sell
government-authorized taxi rides at flat rates to specific destinations.
Pay the attendant at the kiosk for your ticket. Pay no money
to the driver except for an appropriate tip (10% of the fare).
A map at the kiosk tells you the fare zone for your destination.
Public buses are plentiful and cheap (four pesos per trip in
November 2005), but you should carry exact change. If you need
to hail a taxi in the street, which is not recommended,
use only marked cabs and negotiate the fare with the driver before
accepting the ride. Always write down the taxi identification
number for your protection.
Tourist Information Centers. The
State of Puebla visitors center is one block south of the Zócalo,
on 5 Oriente between 16 de Septiembre and 2 Sur. The City of
Puebla visitors center is on the north side of the Zócalo
in the Palacio Municipal (City Hall). Both centers provide basic
guide maps at no charge. |
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Graphics Credits
- Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Puebla,
Mexico. © 2000 E.M. Mulhare.
- Baroque angel, Rosary Chapel (1690), Church
of Santo Domingo, Puebla, Mexico. © 2000 E.M. Mulhare.
- Talavera-tile facade (detail, 1743-1767),
Church of San Francisco, Puebla, Mexico. © 2000 E.M. Mulhare.
- Vendor at the entrance of the Church of Santo
Domingo, Puebla, Mexico. © 1989 E.M. Mulhare.
- Colonial-style poblano kitchen. © 2000
E.M. Mulhare.
- China Poblana costumes, historic versus patriotic.
© 2000 E.M. Mulhare.
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Information Sources
American Automobile
Association. 2001. Mexico TravelBook. Heathrow, Florida.
Cordero y Torres, Enrique. 1979. Cultura Turística del
Estado de Puebla. 2nd edition. Puebla, Mexico: Junta de Mejoramiento
Moral, Cívico y Material del Municipio de Puebla.
Fernández G., Luis, ed. 1982. Diccionario Ilustrado y
Enciclopedia Regional del Estado de Puebla. Mexico, D.F.: Fernández
Editores.
de la Lama, Erendira. n.d. Puebla. (pamphlet). Puebla, Mexico:
Alphagraphics.
INEGI, Instituto Nacional de Estadistíca, Geografía
e Informática. 2000. XII Censo General de Población
y Vivienda 2000: Resultados Preliminarios. Aguascalientes, Ags.,
Mexico: INEGI.
Nueva Guia, La. 1997. La Gran Ciudad Colonial de Puebla:
Plano Metropolitano. (map). Puebla, Mexico.
Publimedio. 1997. Una vuelta por Puebla. (pamphlet). Puebla,
Mexico. |
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Visitors since 23-May-2004:
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Copyright ©1998-2006 by E. M. Mulhare, Hamilton, NY 13346 USA. All rights reserved. All
text, graphics and artwork are by the author unless otherwise
noted. Published electronically in ixeh.net Travel Guides
as Visitors Online Guide to the City of Puebla, Mexico.
Original text, 04-Mar-1998. Web site created 03-Feb-2000. This page last modified 05-ene-2006.
This Web site is a service of ixeh.net.
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