Cuetzalan: Cooperation, variety and nature

There is a story that the Totonac people tell in which four dancers—of those known as flying men—and their captain were on the mast, up on high. Suddenly, they took them to heaven, along with their strings and artifacts. The days passed until they returned flying like birds, but they couldn't perch on this pole as it had already been removed. It is believed that during the holidays this cannot be removed immediately, in case this happens again.

In Cuetzalan you can feel like a bird and dancer at the same time: it is between clouds and humid landscapes, you can hear the wind blowing with other sounds. Its name comes from the words cuezali, meaning "colorful bird" and the preposition tlán, meaning "place," It can be defined as the "place where colored birds abound", according to what the lexicographer Rémi Siméon documented in the Dictionary of the Nahuatl or Mexican Language. It's common to hear bird conversations while you stay silent.

It is also common to hear people speak in Nahuatl and in Spanish in this town of the Northern mountain range of Puebla, among its irregular streets and in different walkways.

In its Sunday market, of pre-Hispanic origin, barter and the arrival of food from nearby communities is still in effect, it is fundamental to know a deeper and more varied Puebla, which is sometimes unknown in the cities of the state.

An example initiative based in Cuetzalan is the Tosepan Titataniske cooperative that distinguishes itself by the self-management of Nahuatl women and men.

The Indigenous Cooperative Movement of the Northern mountain range of Puebla began in 1977 and was formalized in 1980 with the constitution of this community, which is an example of perseverance and pride. "Tosepan Titataniske" means "united we will overcome" in Nahuatl.

In addition to being an independent tourism proposal, they are also able to gather, process and market products such as coffee, pepper and honey, with which they generate income on a regular basis.

They incurred financial services in order to have their own capital and have believed in ecotourism managed by their community.

The archaeological zone near Cuetzalan is Yohualichan, "The house of the night", its importance lies in the fact that it was the first Totonac settlement that experienced its heyday and development around 600 AD until the site was abandoned to emigrate to what today It is known as El Tajín, according to information from the National Institute of Anthropology and History.

In this destination lives the inheritance, but above all the wealth of the present, which lies in the social organization and respect for the environment.

In this destination lives the inheritance, but above all the wealth of the present, which lies in the social organization and respect for the environment.