What is the city of Cordoba Veracruz like?

Because of its rich history and architectural beauty dating from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the Historic Center of Cordoba Veracruz is one of the places you can not miss. You will find the ideal place to enjoy the rich gastronomy of Cordoba or its incomparable coffee. The following are the main tourist attractions in Cordoba Veracruz.

Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception

The main church of the municipality of Córdoba. Its first temple was built in 1621, and later it was raised, with donations from the founders of the town, in lime and stone; it was finished in 1660. The present building was begun around 1678, and was completed in 1725; it was blessed that same year. In that same century is when the temple already had different and very rich ornaments, and the high choir with bell wheels and two organs is built.

The tower of the church was completed shortly thereafter, then had four bells and five shear bells; the largest of the bells had an estimated weight of 133 arrobas. The characteristics of its architecture place it as neoclassical; a building with a Latin cross basilica plan (intersection of nave and transept), with three naves of equal size and an ambulatory (space surrounding the main altar). Its dome is octagonal and is adorned with tile brought from Puebla; its towers are the highest of the temples of the state of Veracruz. The façade has Ionic, French and Tuscan details, which makes it referred to as eclectic.

It has three hand-forged gates, the main one includes four pairs of columns. It is also distinguished by three stained glass windows with a view toward the choir; besides the main window with two pairs of columns crowned by a neoclassical target. The trellis that surrounds it is of Arab style; and the atrium had, in its moment, nourished vegetation that was removed with time. It is on the exterior of the church where the original bells of the temple are exhibited today.

The sides of the facade are distinguished for having medallions of the Christian religion, which present a bridge and a palm tree over a desert, a symbol of the earthly world with the spiritual world. The interior, considered Doric (one of the oldest types of architecture, inherited from the Greeks), allows appreciation of the baroque style; with ornaments, details elaborated in gold leaf, and paintings of the XVIII century (works of the Tlacotalpeño artist Salvador Ferrando).

The main altar is decorated in bright gold, located in an apse (semicircular shape) that forms the ambulatory. There is the image of the Virgen de la Soledad, the patron saint of the city. The tabernacle of the cathedral is considered one of the most beautiful of Veracruz, made of German silver brought from Belgium, with rococo style in the chapel. The upper part has the inscription "Hic Est Domus Dei Et Porta Coeli" (This is the House of God that takes you to Heaven).

Plaza Mayor (Central Park 21 de Mayo)

The central plazas or public squares are, from the specialist's perspective, the places where a community is built. Their relevance during the 18th century in our country stems from a need for local identity that gave rise to the Mexico that began its construction in the following century.

The city of Cordoba, in the state of Veracruz, has a square that developed according to the growth of its community. Although they refer to it as belonging to a late stage (its foundation obeys a commercial need), the location of Cordoba allowed a more fluid exchange of the natural products of the region.

Inhabited mostly by mestizos, and with a high number of Afro-descendant inhabitants, the plaza became a relevant space with a public fountain in the last quarter of the 18th century (although water supply was never a problem in the region).

Surrounded by the Portal de Zevallos, the Royal House, the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, and the Portal de La Gloria (formerly referred to as Padre Tablas and also known as La Favorita), the Plaza Mayor was the main access to the religious headquarters of the municipality, besides allowing the entrance to the portals where the daily life of the most prosperous citizens of the city took place and the obligatory transit to the municipal offices.

Described with an extension of 50 varas (about 42 meters) on each side, it was the point for the buying and selling of slaves and material goods, including the announcements, as well as being the space where the auctions or public auctions were held. Likewise, they detail, that it was the place where the citizens were summoned when it was necessary to defend the national territory from invading incursions.

The historical reference allows knowing that, in May 1821, when the royalist army gathered to recover the route to the highlands and the city (which at that time was in the hands of the insurgents), the people of Cordoba, together with the inhabitants of neighboring towns, gathered to carry out the defense.

The confrontation took place on May 20, with José Joaquín de Herrera as commander of the local cavalry, who with 300 men of his battalion, reinforced with the citizens and indigenous people of Amatlán, faced the forces that besieged the city until the early morning of the following day.

When the cavalry troops sent by Herrera returned, they were received in triumph by the citizens who had collaborated in the defense, paving the way for the signing of the treaties that bear the city's name. The historical facts contributed to the fact that, in 1880, the city was given the title of Heroic.

The plaza, currently named 21 de Mayo, responds to a European influence; with landscaped areas (the so-called squares), a kiosk in the middle of the passage from the cathedral to the Casa de Cabildo, the statue in homage to Miguel Hidalgo, a bust in honor of Agustín de Iturbide and the obelisk that recalls the defense of 1821 by the citizens.

San Francisco Toxpan Cultural Center

Located in the town of Toxpan (meaning "place of the rabbits"), two kilometers from the city of Cordoba. This construction, which dates back to 1690, was a hacienda that, at the time, was one of the first sugar mills and one of the most important generators of the region's economy in the 17th and 19th centuries.

Both the building and the open spaces overlooking the countryside were conditioned to become an attractive Cultural Center with large multipurpose rooms for special events such as the Sweet Fair, and festivals for children on art and appreciation of nature. Workshops on sculptural ceramics, theater, acrobatics, folkloric dance, drawing, painting, and spinning, among others, are offered.

On the other hand, in its facilities is located the Sugarcane Museum, which offers a general exhibition of the development of the sugarcane industry in the region and the country, and also contains references to the work instruments and machinery (trapiches) used in that sector. It also has a cultural corridor and a special room for the inhabitants to carry out learning and rehearsal activities, such as the Youth and Philharmonic Orchestras of Córdoba.

Festivities and Traditions of Cordoba Veracruz

Cordoba dresses up every May 21, where a commemorative parade commemorates the Battle that took place in 1821, which gave the city the title of heroic. On this day the students participate in a civic-sports parade through the main streets of the city.

On August 24, with a civic act and a series of cultural activities, the signing of the Treaties of Cordoba and its historical relevance at a national level is remembered, because with it the Independence of Mexico was achieved.

On December 8, the feast in honor of the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception, patron saint of the people of Córdoba, is celebrated, and from this, there is a legend that says that the venerated image was carved by angels.

The most emblematic traditions of Cordoba are the Friday of Holy Week with the Procession of Silence, where Catholics walk through the main streets accompanying the Virgin of Dolores in her mourning for the death of her son Jesus.

On November 1 and 2, students place altars and offerings on the arches of the municipal palace for the Day of the Dead. In December, the Christmas parade and the lighting of the pine tree take place. In addition to "La Rama", in times of posadas and "El Viejito" in the last days of the year.

History of Cordoba Veracruz

Founded in 1618 in the Lomas de Huilango, by four representatives of Viceroy Diego Fernandez de Cordoba, to whom it owes its name.

The fact that the black maroons and the Yanga constantly assaulted and attacked whoever they came across on the Veracruz-Mexico road, forced the Spaniards to establish themselves in one of the intermediate sites of the slaves, with the objective of protecting the transit of the royal subjects.

Andrés Núñez de Illescas, Diego Rodríguez, Juan Cristóbal de Miranda and García Arévalo, were the four men from San Antonio Huatusco, who asked the Marquis of Guadalcázar and Diego Fernández de Córdoba, viceroy of the colony, for the foundation of the Villa, so King Felipe III authorized it on November 29, 1617.

The establishment was made in the then known "Lomas de Huilango" by 30 heads of families, hence the historical expression, "La Ciudad de los 30 Caballeros", as it is also known.

The people of Cordoba also participated during the War of Independence in 1821, when they resisted the royalist forces of Colonel Francisco Hevia, in defense of the Plan de Iguala and the Trigarante Army.

On August 24, 1821, Agustín de Iturbide, Chief of the Trigarante Army, and Juan O'Donojú, last viceroy of New Spain, met in Cordoba to sign the Treaties of Cordoba, which recognized the independence of the country and put an end to the war.

In 1642 the first sugar cane hacienda was established, called Guadalupe, founded by Juan García Valeros, mayor of the Villa, although years later the cultivation of coffee and manila mango was introduced, which helped to improve the economic conditions.

In 1830 it was granted the category of the city; and for the year 1880, it was granted the title of heroic, for the important facts in which it participated and that contributed to the Independence of Mexico. Also, due to its relevance, in 1916 it was declared the capital of the state of Veracruz.