City Express Tuxtla Guterrez

TUXTLA GUTIERREZ - CHIAPAN GATEWAY

by mtncorg

Tuxtla Gutierrez gets its name from Tuxtla = tuchtlan in the local Nahuatl language for 'where rabbits abound' and Gutierrez from Joaquin Miguel Gutierrez who in the early 19th century campainged for the inclusion of Chiapas State into Mexico and not Guatemala. When the town was named the State capital in 1892, its fortunes took off. Life centers around the Plaza Civica with the modernistic San Marcos cathedral on the south side, refurbished from its earlier 16th centruy beginnings. the clock tower features saintly images revolving about on the hours ala a giant Black Forest cukoo clock. John Paul II paid a visit here in 1990. West of the Plaza about a dozen blocks, is the Plaza de Solidarida, with a tall monument, Monumento a la Bandera, celebrating the union of Chiapas to Mexico. About six blocks northeast of the Plaza Civica is the Parque Madero with the Museo Regional de Chiapas, the Teatro de la Ciudad and a botanical garde. On the southern outskirts of the central city is a zoo well-known for its collection of indigenous large cats -Chiapas claims the largest concentration fo animal species in North America.