Ecatepec (Spanish: [ekateˈpek] ), officially Ecatepec de Morelos, is a municipality in the State of Mexico, and is situated in the north part of the Greater Mexico City urban area. The municipal seat is San Cristóbal Ecatepec.
The city of Ecatepec is co-extensive with the municipality, comprising 99% of the total population of 1,645,352.[1] It is Mexico's third most-populous municipality after Tijuana and the 16 boroughs of Mexico City.[1] It is also the most populated suburb of Greater Mexico City.
The name "Ecatepec" is derived from Nahuatl, and means "windy hill" or "hill devoted to Ehecatl (the wind god)." It was also an alternative name for or invocation of the god Quetzalcoatl.[3] "Morelos" is the last name of José María Morelos, a hero of the Mexican War of Independence. Saint Christopher is the city's patron saint, celebrated on July 25.[3]
Ecatepec is served by the Mexico City metro, by the State of Mexico's Mexibús bus rapid transit lines, and by Mexicable aerial cable car lines.
Points of interest include the Sagrado Corazón de Jesús, several colonial era churches, and the Morelos Museum in "Casa de los Virreyes".[3] Mexico's busiest shopping center, Multiplaza Aragón, is also located in Ecatepec.[4]
The municipality is located north of Mexico City.[5]San Cristóbal Ecatepec, the municipal seat, has governing jurisdiction over the following communities: San Pedro Xoloxtoc, Tulpetlac, Chiconautla, Ciudad Azteca and Villa de Aragón. It has an area of 156.2 square kilometres (60.3 sq mi)[6] and borders the municipalities of Tlalnepantla de Baz, Tecámac, Coacalco de Berriozábal, Jaltenco, Acolman, Texcoco, Atenco, Nezahualcóyotl, as well as the Mexico City borough of Gustavo A. Madero.
The human settlements in Ecatepec de Morelos are located in an elongated valley, spreading from the Valley of Mexico to Sierra de Guadalupe.[citation needed]
Most of the local flora and fauna live in the Sierra de Guadalupe, and consists of small mammals like mice, rabbits, gray squirrels and gophers; and birds, such as cenzontles and sparrows. There are no large animals. The flora includes oyamel pines, oaks, ocote pines, century plants, prickly pears, and zacatón (mountain grass).[7]
Remains of earliest human inhabitation of the area have been found on the nearby Cerro de Ecatepec (Hill of Ecatepec). The area was initially settled by successive waves of Otomis; however, because of the later arrival of Toltec-Chichimecas that dominated the rest of the Valley of Mexico, this area eventually assimilated to the rest of the Valley, ending with its domination by the Aztec Empire.[8] Ecatepec was an Aztec altepetl or city-state in the Valley of Mexico.
From 1428 to 1539, Ecatepec was ruled by a tlatoani (pl. tlatoque), or "speaker". The tlatoque of Ecatepec were closely related to the ruling dynasty of Tenochtitlan.[9] Notable tlatoque include:[citation needed]
Diego Huanitzin was made tlatoani of Tenochtitlan by Antonio de Mendoza, viceroy of New Spain.
During the Aztec empire, the Mexicas used the town to control trade routes going north.[3]
Ecatepec was considered a "República de Indios" (Indian Republic) in 1560, allowing the village to maintain a certain amount of autonomy and keeping the succession of tlatoanis or chiefs. However, in the first part of the 17th century, this was changed to a mayorship, with the Spanish administrating, along with the communities of Zumpango and Xalostoc.[8]
National hero José María Morelos y Pavón was executed in Ecatepec in 1815 by the Spanish Army during the Mexican War of Independence. The house in which he was executed is now a museum, Museo Casa de Morelos.
The municipality was officially created on October 13, 1874.[3] On October 1, 1877, San Cristóbal Ecatepec was declared a village and "de Morelos" was added to its name.[8]
Ecatepec experienced expontential population growth from 1970, as a result of rural migration to the Valley of Mexico. The seat was declared a city on December 1, 1980,[3] and by 2010, it had become the most populated municipality in the country. Population growth stagnated since then.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Ecatepec is the newest in the country, erected on June 28, 1995, around the Sagrado Corazón de Jesús Cathedral.[10]
In April 1995, the remains of a mammoth were found in Colonia Ejidos de San Cristóbal, where the ancient lakes of Xaltocan-Ecatepec and Texcoco came together and where the Aztecs build a dam to keep the fresh and salty waters separate. The bones have been tentatively dated to around 10,500 years B.C.[8]
In February 2016, Pope Francis celebrated Mass in the city in front of a crowd of 300,000. The Pope's message was one of encouragement and opposition to the violence and drug trade that permeates the region.[11]
Almost all of the population (99.934%) of the municipality lives in San Cristóbal Ecatepec, the third most populous city in Mexico. There are also three rural localities in the municipality.[1]
Ecatepec is an industrial center. Manufacturing, along with commerce and services, are the main pillars of the economy.[12]
Jumex has its headquarters in the city.[13][14]
Two regional shopping malls, Plaza Las Américas and Multiplaza Aragón (Mexico's busiest as of 2018),[4] both with multiple hypermarket and department store anchors, are located in Ecatepec.
Ecatepec, due to its population density, is one of the municipalities with the highest levels of infrastructure in the State of Mexico.
Ecatepec, due to its location, is a necessary path from Mexico City towards several other states in Mexico, such as Hidalgo. Its principal regional roadways are:
Ecatepec is served by Line B of the Mexico City Metro system, including stations Muzquiz, Ecatepec (a.k.a. Tecnológico), Olímpica, Plaza Aragón, and Ciudad Azteca.[16][17]
Mexibús bus rapid transit serving the State of Mexico serves Ecatepec with: