Zacatlán (; Nahuatl: ) is a city and municipal seat of Zacatlán Municipality located in the Sierra Norte de Puebla region of Puebla in central Mexico. The area is known for its production of apples, other fruit, cider and fruit wines, which are promoted through the annual Feria de la Manzana and Festival de la Sidra. It is also home to the Relojes Centenario company, the first clock factory in Latin America and the builder of the city's double sided flower clock in the main square. The historic center of the city is filled with traditional houses with red tile roofs and Zacatlan was designated a “Pueblo Mágico” in 2011. Outside of the city proper, there is a significant indigenous population, the Piedras Encimadas Valley with its rock formations and various waterfalls and ravines.
The city
The city of Zacatlán is located at an altitude of 2000 meters above sea level in the Sierra Norte de Puebla region of the state, 130 kilometers from the state capital. Its main economic activities relate to agriculture and commerce. The city is next to the Ajajalpan River, a tributary of the Necaxa and whose waters eventually flow into the Gulf of Mexico via the Tecolutla. It is surrounded by hundreds of thousands of apple and other fruit trees, which fill the air with their scent during blossom season. The historic center of the town is marked by large houses and other buildings, some over a hundred years old, with pitched roofs covered in red clay tile, as well as stone paved streets. This and other features of the area and the surrounding area made the city the 39th Pueblo Mágico in Mexico.
The city centers on its main square, which like many others in Mexico has a kiosk which hosts live music on Sundays. However, it most famous feature is its flower clock, made by the workshops of León Olvera, founder of the Centenario Clock company. This clock has two faces, each of which is five meters in diameters. It is unique in that it is the only double faced flower clock whose hands are moved by a single mechanism.
On one side of the plaza is the municipal palace or government building. This structure dates to 1876 and has a Neoclassical facade, with seventeen arches that contain the names of the communities that contributed to the building's construction.
On the opposite side is the former Franciscan monastery founded in 1567, which was the center of evangelization efforts for the area. It is the oldest such construction in the state of Puebla and the church is the only one in Latin America which has been in continuous use since its founding. In the courtyard of the monastery, there is a fountain called the Fuente de las Sirenas (Fountain of the Mermaids). After years of abandonment, the complex underwent extensive restoration in the 2000s. This work discovered colonial era murals on the interior walls. This mural work contains images of deer, bees and jaguars, houses with thatched roofs and daily scenes with Spanish and indigenous people.
The San Pedro parish church is located near the monastery, just off the main square. It is a basilica type church in Renaissance style with its main portal dating from 1564. The facade has a sculpture of Saint James the Greater flanked by angels which wear Totonaca style loincloths and boots. Its main doors are made of wood and the Virgin of Guadalupe chapel displays gold leaf work and a number of oil paintings, which were done by local artists. In the cupola, there are portraits of the Four Evangelists.
