Álamo, Veracruz

Before European contact, it was occupied by the Huastec people and later by the Aztecs.

Around 800-1300 AD, before the Aztec invasion, the territory was occupied by the Totonac and Huastec cultures. Altars from that period, called cues are found along the banks of the Pantepec River.

In 1683, the Dutch pirates Laurens de Graaf (know locally as "Lorencillo") and Nicholas van Hoorn ravaged the region during their capture and looting of the port city of Veracruz.[4]

The region was awarded the title of "Heroico Temapache de Gutiérrez Zamora" by Decree No. 45 of 10 October 1878.[1] The city itself grew from a small peasant village through rural migrants and cyclical workers.[5]

In the Mexican Revolution, the region was controlled by General Manuel Peláez who had organized a small force.[6]

In 1912, Penn-Mex Fuel Oil began drilling the Álamo Well no. 1 which attracted many workers.[1] Álamo was established as a town in 1926 and was elevated to municipal status in 1927 through the efforts of Guillermo Velez, who became the first constitutional mayor.[1]

In December 1973, the town of Álamo was elevated to the status of city.

The city's coat of arms depicts a corn cob held by two hands, over the background of an orange, symbolizing the agricultural activities of the region. Over the top is the President José López Portillo vehicular bridge, which is located at the entrance to the city and represents progress. In the top left, there is a factory, symbolizing the juice industry, and at the top right is a head of cattle representing livestock industry. The bottom of the shield is decorated by two branches of tobacco leaves, and below them the full name of the municipality: Temapache Álamo, Veracruz

Winter in Álamo.

Álamo is located in the north of Veracruz, at an elevation of 40 meters above sea level. It is located about 380-km north of the state capital, Xalapa. Its climate is hot and extreme, the average annual temperature is 24 °C and annual precipitation is 1.391 m.

Throughout the city there are about 10,000 speakers of indigenous languages, primarily Nahuatl. The main religions are Catholicism and Protestantism.

In the Population Census of 2000, there were 22,011 households, with an average of 4.6 occupants per dwelling.

Álamo has 149 preschools, 179 elementary and 47 secondary schools. It has 15 institutions of high learning.

The main agricultural products in the city are maize, beans, citrus, watermelon, papaya and pipián.

Livestock are also an important agricultural commodity. In the municipality there are 431,131 head of cattle, 7,155 pigs, 7,200 of sheep, and 5,675 horses.

There are a number of beautiful churches in the area, including the Church of Santiago Apostle, dating from the 16th century, and the Church of Pasture the Plain of Our Lady of Carmen. It also has tourist attractions such as the Hacienda de la Noria, Salto Waterfalls, 5 Towns, The Bridge of the Congregation of Limonar, and beaches along the banks of the River Pantepec.

Regional dish is the zacahuil a type of tamal (tamale is not the right word), made of dough, chili, pork or chicken wrapped in a bed of banana leaf and cooked in clay oven.

The "huasteco dish" is made of sausage, corned beef, ham, bacon and fried plantains with beans and salsa verde.

"Acamaya Soup", "huatape", "enchiladas de baile" and "barbecue beef" exemplify the rich cuisine of the municipality.

Temapache Church.

The town council is composed of a municipal chairman, who is a trustee, and ten aldermen.

• Página oficial del Municipio (in Spanish)
• In Mexico, amateur find of ancient 'goddess' stirs calls for more research (by David Alire Garcia, Reuters, January 29, 2021)