The Riveting History of Acapulco: This Is How It Was Discovered

The word Acapulco according to the Dictionary of Aztecisms comes from acatl - reed or cane, pol or pul - augmentative, and co - in the place. That is to say in the place of the big reeds or big canes. Other authors support the version that Acapulco has its origin in acatl - reed, poloa - to destroy or raze, and co: in the place, which together is: in the place where the reeds were destroyed or razed. This opinion is corroborated by the hieroglyphic of Acapulco, which appears in the same dictionary, where two hands are observed destroying or splitting reeds into two parts.

Historians say that the coastal region was inhabited by various human groups and traces of their presence date back to very early times. This is demonstrated by the archaeological remains found in Puerto Marqués. This evidence is characterized by abundant shell debris associated with rudimentary stone artifacts and the absence of ceramics.

Archaeological evidence of the Acapulco region

The Renaissance archaeological project found a greater number of archaeological remains in the site known as La Sabana; this and for the Classic period, becomes the political-religious center of the Acapulco region, but there is also another that could have competed for the political control of the region, that of Coyuca de Benítez.

The community of La Sabana developed monumental architecture, highlighting extensive platforms with an altar in the center. Other elements that reflect the religious aspect are the use of smooth stelae and the use of granite blocks to engrave their conception of the surrounding world and religious beliefs. Remains of constructions for residential use were also found on the slopes of the hill.

In the rest of the sites near the estuary and the Puerto Marqués lagoon, Zanja and El Conchero, shell debris was recorded, the latter with a large amount.

Other archaeological evidence characteristics of the Acapulco region are petroglyphs. This type of evidence is dated, according to experts, from the end of the Late Formative and Classic periods. A large number have been detected inside the so-called amphitheater of Acapulco. As was the discovery, made by Charles and Ellen Brush in Puerto Marqués in the seventies, of several pieces of rudimentary pottery, which they call Pox Pottery, with an estimated age of 4,500 to 5,000 years in the Protoneolithic period.

Palma Sola is another site with an abundance of petroglyphs distributed over six hectares; their shapes, symbolism, and figures are very heterogeneous. In Caleta and El Coloso there are also petroglyphs, but in smaller quantities and they are the most deteriorated.

The ethnic groups of Acapulco

Some documentary sources from the XVI century indicate that the ethnic groups of Acapulco were concentrated in the mountainous part of the Pacific slope and were mostly made up of Tepoztecos and Yopes, although there were some Náhuas. It is also mentioned that in addition to their native language, Nahuatl was also spoken in these communities.

The agricultural systems used were: burning, irrigation, and humidity and they cultivated corn, beans, squash, chili, quelites, cotton, and cacao. These groups were organized in small semi-independent lordships, governed by principal lords where military chiefs and priests had a special position. In the religious aspect, they settled the construction of specific places for the cult of deities; the religious services were in charge of priests.

Among the Yopes, Xipe was worshipped. On the other hand, the Tepoztecos had Andut as their god and worshipped nature. As for their physical appearance and adornment, the Yopes practiced cranial deformation and used the color red as body adornment, especially around the eyes. Both the Yopes and the Tepoztecos used to walk naked, although in the case of the Yopes it is said that when they married they covered their genitals.

The life of these groups was interrupted by the arrival of the Spaniards, which marked a great cultural, social, ideological, linguistic, and political change.

When the Spaniards arrived, the present state of Guerrero was in the region dominated by the province of Zacatula, as it was called in pre-Cortesian times. It belonged to the empire of Mexico, as Manuel Orozco y Berra points out in his Ethnographic Chart of Mexico. By order of Hernán Cortés, Juan Rodríguez de Villafuerte conquered Zacatula in 1523 and together with Francisco Álvarez Chico populated it, giving it the name of Villa de la Concepción.

When exploring the Pacific coast, the Spaniards found in the bay of Acapulco the security of their activities as ship owners and navigators. According to Orozco y Berra, the conquistador Hernán Cortés had two brigantines built in Zacatula in 1523. These were burned before being launched. On June 30, 1532, Diego Hurtado de Mendoza left Acapulco to explore the southern sea. This date is considered the birth of the port of Acapulco.

Different versions of the discovery of Acapulco

There are different versions of the discovery of Acapulco, such as the fact that on December 13, 1521, Francisco Alvarez Chico discovered the place and baptized it Santa Lucia Bay. It is also said that Juan Rodríguez de Villafuerte, after founding the Villa de la Concepción, was given Acapulco as a reward.

Cortes sends a letter to King Charles V on April 20, 1532, mentioning that he is building two ships in Tehuantepec and another two in Acapulco. On June 30, 1532, the two ships San Marcos and San Miguel, under the command of Captain Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, leave the port of Acapulco to explore the coasts of Sinaloa.

During their voyage, they discovered the Islas Marías and the islet of San Juanito. From that date on, the port was the starting point for many explorations that provided the Spaniards with greater knowledge of the western coast, the Moluccas, and the Philippines.

Miguel López Legazpi, in his eagerness to expand his navigation routes, set sail on November 21, 1564, from Barra de Navidad, Jalisco, and conquered the Philippine Islands. On his return from the voyage, he died and was left in command by Friar Andrés de Urdaneta, who had to deviate a little from the normal route to find favorable winds, not knowing that he had discovered a fast and safe route that took him safe and sound to the coasts of California on September 26, 1565, and from there he returned to Acapulco on October 8, 1565.

Thus, thanks to the navigation charts drawn up by Urdaneta, the commercial route between Acapulco and the Philippines was established and used for more than 250 years. It was then that Acapulco became a fundamental port for intercontinental trade, which led the king to grant it the title of the city on November 7, 1779.

Given the increase and boom in commercial activity, and to avoid smuggling caused by the excessive taxes imposed on Chinese merchandise, the first customs office in New Spain was established in 1646.

The Fort San Diego in Acapulco

Despite Acapulco's intense commercial activity, it was not until 1615 that the first fort was built for its defense. It was named Fort San Diego and was completed in 1617. However, because it was poorly designed, it had to undergo modifications in 1634. In 1776 it was destroyed by an earthquake, being extremely damaged, so it was necessary to rebuild it. Construction of the second Fort began on March 1, 1778, and was completed on July 7, 1784.

When in 1785 the Spanish Crown founded the Royal Company of the Philippines, which was assigned the trade between the Orient and Spain, the commercial activity of the port of Acapulco decreased considerably since little by little the Acapulco-Manila maritime route was no longer used. The last Nao departed in 1815, marking the closing of the route. As a result, Acapulco was plunged into poverty, together with the political instability generated by the independence movement at the beginning of the 19th century.

On April 10, 1813, José María Morelos advanced his positions to Acapulco, and on the 12th he undertook a general assault on two of the small forts. During the night, the Fort of Hospital, defended by 100 men and four cannons under the orders of the Spaniard Pedro Ruvido, fell into the hands of Morelos' forces and the entire city was in the hands of the insurgents. Shortly after, the Fort of El Padrastro was also captured. All that remained was for Morelos to take the Fort of San Diego.

Children, women, and soldiers took refuge inside it, and to put an end to the resistance, the generalissimo attacked it on August 17, 1813. When they were besieged, Captain Vélez raised the white flag and offered to surrender, pardoning the honorary garrison. Morelos granted the request and raised the blue and white flag of the insurgents over the Fort of San Diego in August 1813.

It was then dismantled, and Morelos retreated to Pie de la Cuesta. From here he gave the order to lieutenant colonel Montes de Oca to set fire to the city. Morelos withdrew to Tecpan and Zacatula, and left Hermenegildo Galeana guarding the city with 200 men from El Veladero, he had to face the retaliation of the royalists on May 6, 1814; he was mortally wounded near Coyuca and his head was exhibited in front of the town's temple.

Insurgents and Vicente Guerrero in Acapulco

When he was president of the Republic, Vicente Guerrero was forced to flee the capital and take refuge in the mountains of Guerrero by a barracks promoted by Vice President Andres Bustamante, who later assumed the presidency on August 30, 1830. Guerrero and Juan Álvarez took up arms fighting against a group of troops commanded by Armijo. On January 2, 1831, Guerrero and Álvarez were defeated by government forces near Chilpancingo.

In December 1830, Facio, President Bustamante's minister of war, sent for Francisco Picaluga, to whom he offered $50,000.00 for the capture of General Vicente Guerrero. Later, in Acapulco, Picaluga invited General Guerrero to lunch on the subergantín El Colombo. Once onboard, the general was captured, bound hand and foot, and taken to Huatulco and from there to Oaxaca. He was tried and sentenced by a court-martial to death on February 11 and shot in Cuilapa on February 14, 1831.

At the beginning of 1854, the economic, political, and social situation in the country was unsustainable, misery was everywhere. The presidency of the Republic was occupied by Don Antonio López de Santa Anna with a tyrannical and dishonest government.

On March 1, 1854, Colonel Florencio Villarreal, commander of the Costa Chica, launched the Plan de Ayutla in a town near Acapulco. On the 11th of the same month, the plan was ratified in Acapulco, with some orders. Ignacio Comonfort was named chief of arms, and Juan Álvarez was general in chief of the Liberty Restoration Army. Opponents of Santa Anna emerged.

Faced with this insurrection, Santa Anna went out to fight the rebels, taking 7,000 men with him. After many futile efforts to seize Acapulco, he decided to retreat to the capital, but he only succeeded after many efforts and having experienced great losses.

During his return to the capital of the republic, he was constantly harassed by the rebels under the orders of General Tomás Moreno. Upon his arrival, his supporters gave him the news that the U.S. Senate had ratified the Gadsden Treaty for the sale of a portion of the national territory for the payment of 10 million dollars.

With the discovery of gold in California in 1848, Acapulco boomed. Land communications between New York and San Francisco, California, were extremely long and arduous. It was necessary to resort to maritime communications by way of the Isthmus of Panama, and even via the Strait of Magellan, establishing very intense traffic of ships that sometimes called at the port of Acapulco, which led to a revival of commercial activity. It intensified even more during the American Civil War and remained important for several decades.

The French Intervention in Acapulco

During the French Intervention, on January 10, 1863, a French flotilla bombarded the city of Acapulco for eight hours, causing enormous damage, since a large part of the city was destroyed. In the following two days, the fire was resumed, directing the attack on the fortifications. It was not until the afternoon of the 12th that the invading flotilla withdrew. While the bombardment lasted, the Mexican troops withdrew to the nearby heights; upon seeing the foreign troops leave, they returned to the plaza on January 13. Two years later, Acapulco suffered another occupation by the interventionist forces commanded by General Montenegro.

In the time of the Porfiriato, when the anti-reelectionist movement, Acapulco was attacked by a large number of revolutionaries commanded by Colonel Silvestre Mariscal, taking place in May 1910 hard-fought battles, which culminated on the 10th of that month. At that time, Colonel Emiliano Gallardo was in command of the federal garrison.

When almost the entire state of Guerrero supported the revolution, the gunboat "Guerrero", under instructions from the government of Venustiano Carranza, fired from the Bocana to the Fortress of San Diego, firing thirty shots at the old castle, which did not cause any damage. The latter returned fire with ten well-directed cannon shots; enough for the gunboat to retreat.

The construction of the Mexico-Acapulco highway

By 1920, the reconstruction of the country after the revolution began, it was necessary to repair what had been destroyed, among which the economy had to be reactivated. During the government of Álvaro Obregón, he ordered the construction of the Mexico-Acapulco highway, considering it of utmost importance to boost the country's commercial activity. It was completed in 1927, and General Plutarco Elías Calles inaugurated the work.

Getting to Acapulco was quite an adventure, the entire trip was a dirt road. The first transportation line that came from Mexico City to the port was Estrella de Oro. There were only three runs a day, one by a car that lasted 11 hours and two more by bus that lasted 14 hours. In 1934 the asphalting of the road began. In 1940 it continued to Chilpancingo and in 1941 to Acapulco.

Adding to the highway came commercial aviation, and Aeronaves de Mexico performed the inaugural service between Mexico and Acapulco on September 13, 1934, with a time of one hour and fifty-five minutes and a ticket cost of 30 pesos.

The opening of these roads marked the end of the monopolization of fishing and commerce by a few Spanish families and gave way to the distribution of land, the founding of ejidos, the development of cooperative fishing, and small independent commerce. It also demonstrated that it possessed other virtues that were potentially more profitable than its traditional economic activity. Indeed, the unique beauty of the bay and its surroundings significantly attracted not only more visitors but also investors of all kinds related to tourism.

Acapulco becomes a world paradise

By the end of the 1940s, Acapulco had already become a world paradise. Its current splendor has its roots fundamentally in the impulse that it received during the government of President Miguel Alemán Valdés, who implemented a diversified tourist infrastructure and a great diffusion at the national and international levels. During his administration, the Costera Miguel Alemán avenue was built and quickly became populated with hotels, restaurants, nightclubs, stores, etcetera.

During the fifties, the Caletilla Bullring was built, becoming an attraction, for its traditional caravan of jeeps that drove the bullfighters from the hotel Las Brisas to the bullring. The Basque pelota game, Jai Alai, was also built, which had a bar, restaurant, and betting room. At that time, due to the limitations of the Pie de la Cuesta airport to satisfy the flight demands of tourists, it was necessary to move it to the land known as Plan de los Amates located southeast of Acapulco.

Consequently, the construction of the Scenic Highway began to connect downtown Acapulco with the new air terminal, which became operational in 1951. This road borders Acapulco and Puerto Marques. Subsequently, it proved to be insufficient, so the construction of a new and modern airport located a few meters away from the previous one was initiated. Thus, on June 1, 1961, the Juan N. Alvarez International Airport was inaugurated.

In the seventies, the city of Acapulco, convinced of its tourist offer, won the venue from Sydney, Australia for the celebration of the World Congress of the American Society of Travel Agencies. With this great event, the Cultural and Convention Center was born, inaugurated in 1973 by President Luis Echeverría Álvarez. The design was the work of architect Pedro Moctezuma.

Another traditional event that promotes Mexico and Acapulco around the world is the Tianguis Turístico, which was initiated by Miguel Guajardo and has been held since 1976.

Acapulco beginnings as a tourist resort

Since its beginnings as a tourist center, Acapulco has been concerned with providing good service. To this end, entrepreneurs have joined together in organizations. Thus the National Chamber of Commerce of Acapulco was born on July 31, 1924. This organization contributed to the creation of the Acapulco Port Day, designated on April 15, 1936. In 1942 the Acapulco Hotel Association was born and in 1990 the Acapulco Association of Hotels and Tourist Companies, both sharing the same objective, to offer the best attention and service to the tourist.

Acapulco has undergone a clear evolution in the last decades, which has led to the creation of three tourist zones: traditional Acapulco, Acapulco Dorado, and Acapulco Diamante; of the latter, its lands begin on the Carretera Escénica and end in the vicinity of Barra Vieja. It is a highly modern tourist complex with first-class hotels, prestigious condominiums, private villas, and luxury residences.

The recreational and sporting activities that today are practiced and enjoyed throughout Acapulco were initiated by enterprising people like Bruno Batani, who in 1945, aboard his Chris-Craft boat, took tourists fishing in the bay. This marked the beginning of yacht tours. In 1950 Evencio Iturburo Romero did the same, but in addition, the yacht tour included drinks and music for dancing.

In 1949, the diving show in La Quebrada was born, which brought international fame to Mexico and Acapulco. In the same year, Homobono Batani joined the Ski Club on a piece of land near Manzanillo Beach. Later, he was the first to introduce windsurfing. In diving, Apolonio Castillo was a pioneer in promoting the teaching of this sport and was the first sportsman from Acapulco to bring triumphs to the port in international swimming competitions.

Legends of the history of Acapulco

The history of Acapulco is also rich in legends that speak of famous pirates that assaulted the galleons coming from Manila; among them is the famous corsair, Sir Francis Drake. The constant assaults forced people to bury their riches, so there is also talk of treasures on the island of La Roqueta; on the coast of (Icacos; on the hill of El Vigía, and in the vicinity of the Fort of San Diego. Also, of the existence of a fort whose entrance was guarded by a dog that spits fire when it barked; of caves that communicate with La Quebrada.

Another legend tells that in the XVIII century a slave with oriental features arrived called Mirra was sold to the merchant Miguel Sosa who took her to Puebla, where she caused an admiration and was called "China Poblana". She was baptized with the name of Catarina de San Juan and converted to Catholicism, she helped the poor. She died in 1688 at the age of eighty-two. Her charitable work was enough for her remains to be deposited in the temple of the Company in the city of Puebla de los Angeles. It is said that this personage did not come from China, but India, because of his language and clothing.

Another traditional legend is that of the Jopi indigenous people: Acatl and Quiahuitl; they loved each other, but their parents were opposed because of rivalries between the two families. His depression was so great, because of the love he had been denied, that he went to the shore of the bay of Acapulco and there his body began to fall apart until it formed a muddy puddle from which "reeds" sprouted. Meanwhile, Quiahuitl was transformed into an immense ship that floated through the air to the bay, when she did not find her beloved she began to cry, her tears watered the reeds and thus they were united forever.

Sources: National Institute of Statistics, Geography, and Informatics (INEGI) and Ministry of Tourism of the Government of Mexico (SECTUR)