Тапачула-де-Кордова-и-Ордоньес: Жемчужина Соконоско

City and municipality in Chiapas, Mexico
the station

Tapachula de Córdova y Ordóñez, simply known as Tapachula, is a city and municipality located in the far southeast of the state of Chiapas, México, near the Guatemalan border and the Pacific Ocean. Economically, it is one of the most important cities in Chiapas; as capital of the agriculturally rich Soconusco region, Tapachula also serves as a key port for trade between México and Central America. The area was originally inhabited by the Mam, as a region under the control of the Mam state of Xelaju, but was first established as a city by the Aztecs in the 13th century. Most of its economic importance has come since the late 19th century, with the establishment of coffee plantations. This practice initiated a steady stream of migration and immigration into the area, which continues to this day, and has left the city with a significant Asian and German cultural presence. There is a large Mayan and Nahua population.

The city of Tapachula is the capital of the Soconusco region of Chiapas, commonly called the “pearl of the Soconusco”. The name “Tapachula” comes from Nahuatl and means “between the waters”, due to the area's frequent flooding. Tapachula is Mexico's main border city with Guatemala in the Pacific coast region, even though it is located some kilometers away from the border itself. The main commercial border crossing is in Ciudad Hidalgo, about 40 km (24 mi) away. Nonetheless, it is the principal port for the shipment of goods and for people traveling between México and the rest of Central America further south, making it economically and socially similar to cities on the US southern border such as Laredo, Texas or San Diego, California. The city has had a strong Chinese presence since around 1900, when a number of people from the country came to México to work for the coffee businesses of the area. Most of the descendants of these first immigrants have since dispersed throughout the Soconusco region, but there is still Asian immigration to Tapachula to this day. Most modern immigrants work in commerce rather than in agriculture or hard labor. The most visible evidence of Asian presence is the significant number of Chinese and other Asian restaurants in the city, especially in the downtown. Tapachula signed a sister city agreement with Dongying, China in 2011. Most of the city's monumental structures in the historic center were built in the first decades of the 20th century, although there are a number of significant large homes near this same area built in the 1960s in Art Deco style such as the La Portaviandas building. The Soconusco Archeological Museum faces Parque Hidalgo. This building houses a number of pieces from the various archeological sites of the region, especially Izapa and several coastal sites. One special piece is a skull covered in gold and incrusted with turquoise. Another is a stele called Number 25, because of the quality of its engravings. As of 2010, the municipality had a total population of 320,451. The municipality had 574 localities, the largest of which (with 2010 populations in parentheses) were: Tapachula (Tapachula de Córdova y Ordóñez) (202,672), Puerto Madero (San Benito) (9,557), Vida Mejor I (6,460), Álvaro Obregón (5,717), Los Cafetales (3,054), Raymundo Enríquez (3,049), Carrillo Puerto (2,676), classified as urban, and Veinte de Noviembre (2,184), El Encanto (1,726), José María Morelos (1,717), Viva México (1,691), Llano de la Lima (1,579), Nuevo Pumpuapa (Cereso) (1,431), Cebadilla 1ra. Sección (1,384), Los Palacios (1,217), Congregación Reforma (1,132), Octavio Paz (1,124), Acaxman (1,099), San Nicolás Lagartero (1,071), Tinajas 1ra. Sección (1,055), Cantón Villaflor (1,046), Pavencul (1,039), and Cebadilla 2da. Sección (1,000), classified as rural. The first people to settle in the area migrated from the south in Central America and most likely are the ancestors of today's Mam people. The Olmecs dominated the area, driving many Mam to migrate back south. The Toltecs arrived next but never completely subjugated the native peoples. However, these conquests resulted in the Mam never developing major civilization. The city of Tapachula was founded as a tribute collection center for the Aztecs in 1486 by a military leader named Tiltototl, sent by Ahuitzotl to conquer the Soconusco. In 1809, shortly before the start of the Mexican War of Independence, Tapachula protested the high rate of taxation to Spanish authorities to no avail. In September 2019, the Seventh day Adventist Church in Chiapas unveiled a monument in a ceremony to commemorate the Bible at Los Cerritos Park. Dozens of local government officials, religious leaders, and church members attended the ceremony. The project and the monument were applauded as a community achievement and a historical moment that marks religious freedom. The intent of the project by the church was to recognize the Bible as the guide to the society and to bring awareness to the public in the reading of the Scriptures. The monument was the eighth memorial built by the Seventh day Adventist Church in Chiapas. Monuments were previously unveiled since 2018 in the following cities: Palenque, Hiuxtla, Malpaso, Pichucalco, Cintalapa, and Usumacinta. Since Tapachula is a major border crossing between Mexico and Guatemala, it contains a substantial population of undocumented migrants from the Northern Triangle of Central America who are fleeing violence or unemployment in their home countries. The presence of this vulnerable population has made Tapachula a hub of human trafficking, both sex trafficking and labor trafficking.

From 2015, the Cafetaleros de Tapachula have represented the city in the Ascenso MX, the second division of Mexican football.

The municipality stretches over a section of the Sierra Madre de Chiapas and west onto the coastal plain to the Pacific with an average altitude of above sea level.

. The municipality is considered to have a medium level of socioeconomic marginalization. As of 2000, there were 61,444 residences, of which over 72% were the property of the residents. The average household size was 4.36 inhabitants. About one quarter of the homes have dirt floors, thirteen percent have wood floors and about sixty two with cement or stone floors. Walls generally consist of cement block with about fourteen percent having wood walls. About sixty percent of the roofs are made with metal/asbestos laminate. About eighteen percent of the working population works in agriculture and livestock. About twenty three percent of these workers are not paid a salary. About sixteen and a half percent work in mining and manufacturing. About 63% of the municipality's workforce is in commerce and services, well above the averages for the region and the state.

Municipal presidentTermPolitical partyNotesArturo Gutiérrez Palacios1915Pedro F. Álvarez1916–1917Isaac Córdova1918Rafael García1919–1920Bernardo Parlange1921José Domingo Pérez1922Rafael Ortega1923Pascual Córdova1924Isabel Nolasco1925Humberto Elorza1926–1927Enrique Rodas1927–1928Enrique Elorza1929Glustein Cruz1930PNR Bibiano Cruz1931–1932PNR Sóstenes Ruiz Córdova1933–1934PNR Juan Maldonado1935–1936PNR Virgilio López Villers1937–1938PNR Efraín Lazos1939–1940PRM Agustín Fuentevilla1941–1942PRM Belisario Villa Constantino1943–1944PRM Romeo Gout1945–1946PRM Luis Guízar Oceguera, Carlos Elorza, Pascual Lozano Montes1947–1948PRI Alfredo de Larbre S.1949–1950PRI Gamaliel Becerra Ochoa1951–1952PRI Rolando Gutiérrez Domínguez1953–1955PRI Herman Tovar Corzo1956–1958PRI Rafael Vilches Morga1959–1961PRI Ezzio del Pino Trujillo1962–1964PRI Jesús Calcáneo Beltrán1965–1967PRI Francisco Ramos Bejarano1968–1970PRI Alfonso Díaz Bullard1971–1973PRI Fernando Acosta Ruiz1974–1976PRI Antonio Melgar Aranda, Roberto Moscoso Domínguez1977–1979PRI Jorge Águeda S., Antonio Cueto, Alfredo Cerdio Sánchez1980–1982PRI Joaquín del Pino Trujillo1983–1985PRI Didier Cruz Fuentevilla1986–1988PRI Jaime Altamirano Ríos, José Antonio Aguilar, José Ruperto de la Cruz1989–1991PRI Norberto Antonio de Gives Córdova1992–1995PRI Luis Aguilar Cueto, Adolfo Zamora Cruz1996–1998PRI Antonio de Jesús Díaz Athié1999–2001PRI Manuel de Jesús Pano Becerra01 01 2002–31 12 2004PRI Ángel Barrios Zea01 01 2005–31 12 2007PAN PRD PT Ezequiel Saúl Orduña Morgan01 01 2008–31 12 2010PRI Emanuel Nivon González01 01 2011–2012PRD PAN Convergence Panal Unity for ChiapasSamuel Alexis Chacón Morález2012–2015PRI Neftalí del Toro Guzmán 2015–2018PRI PVEM Panal Óscar Gurría Penagos01 10 2018 20 02 2020PT Morena PES Coalition "Together We Will Make History". Died in officeRosa Irene Urbina Castañeda01 03 2020–10 03 2021PT Morena PES Coalition "Together We Will Make History". Substitute. She applied for a temporary leaveJosé Alberto de Sancristóbal Morales11 03 2021–10 06 2021PT Morena PES Coalition "Together We Will Make History". Acting municipal presidentRosa Irene Urbina Castañeda11 06 2021–30 09 2021PT Morena PES Coalition "Together We Will Make History". Resumed, to finish the termRosa Irene Urbina Castañeda01 10 2021–Morena