Jun 6, 2010

Catemaco Putos

This is a really boring picture of a possible battle field near Cuilonia in the municipio of Soteapan, about 15 bird miles south of beautiful downtown Catemaco.

A few years before the Spanish invasion, the local Popoluca Indians apparently whopped the invading Aztecs. 

The only historical reference for the event comes from Bernal Diáz, an eyewitness of the Spanish conquest  of the nearby Coatzacoalcos area who writes "que cerca de un pueblo de pocas casas mataron los de aquella provincia a los mexicanos muchas de sus gentes, y por aquella causa llaman hoy en día donde de aquella guerra pasó Cuylonemiquis, que en su lengua quiere decir donde mataron los putos mexicanos.", which loosely translated says that near a village with few houses, the people of the province killed many of the Mexicans and the place is therefore named "Cuylonemiquis" which in their language means "where they killed the male whore Mexicans".

The Danish explorer Frans Blom, was one of the first researchers of the area, and considered that the small village of Cuilonia (now Cuilonia Viejo) matched the description. The area historically has been inhabited by Popoluca Indians, and yesterday I went to visit it, traveling along the "Brecha de Maiz", which is another story.

Incidentally, the group of ranchers that I spoke to at their offices, had no idea what I was talking about.