Tlacotalpan, Where is Everybody?
Tlacotalpan, Veracruz, is a small city with a population of almost 9,000. During the 24 hours we spent there, we saw probably less than 50. Where were they? Walking the streets was a bit eerie, as the streets of Mexican towns and cities are usually full of people walking, talking, eating, and laughing. Few stores or businesses were open. Granted, the blustery gray day wasn’t the best for outdoor activities; apparently they were experiencing a “norte,” the local name for cold fronts from the north that dominate the weather from October to April. Still, I’ve never known a little cold to hamper socializing and shopping!
UNESCO granted World Heritage Site status to Tlacotalpan in 1998 partly due to to its graceful style of architecture.
Click on any photo in the gallery for a slideshow.
The reason for including colorful arches on the logo is obvious – and if your building doesn’t have arches just paint them on!
A few hardy souls braved the brisk wind!
We strolled the streets and enjoyed the artwork and other intriguing sights, but we never found a hot coffee nor a cold beer!
Street scenes in tile decorated many park benches.
Tlacotalpan is well known for its Feb. 2 festival “Our Lady of Candlemas.” If you are looking for action, I recommend visiting then. But you are welcome anytime!
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Great photos!
Thanks. I certainly didn’t have to worry about someone standing in front of me!
The formatting is a little strange in this post…. looks like some of the photos got lost behind others on my end. In any case, that is eerie! I had a similar experience in Hokkaido during a snow festival. We went to this famous sightseeing location, but I guess because no one could drive due to the ice, no one considered walking up the hill. We had the whole mountainside to ourselves!
That’s funny. A little extra effort gave you a primo experience! Walking those empty streets gives you a weird feeling like maybe something happened that you should know about.
Sorry about the formatting. Sometimes the posts appear a little wacky on my husband’s computer. Who knows why?
nice looking town! even with the MIA population, haha. it reminds me of when I was in Mexico City on New Year’s Day one year and there was no one in the streets. It was very strange feeling, like the Apocalypse happened and I missed it!
Thanks for the comment. If you are ever in that area (maybe on a more active day) Tlacotalpan is definitely worth a visit – we did have a delicious fish dinner!