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Above: El Rosario Chapel

Puebla, Mexico :

The city of Puebla, officially Heroic Puebla de Zaragoza (nicknamed Angelópolis) is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state of Puebla. The city has a population of 1,399,519 (the municipality, 1,485,941). The metropolitan area of the city, however, extends over 10 municipalities of the state of Puebla, such as the city of Cholula and 13 of the state of Tlaxcala, and with a population of 2,109,049 it is fourth most populous metropolitan area in Mexico. Puebla is an important industrial, cultural and educational center of Mexico for the central and south-east regions. It is also one of the oldest colonial cities in the continent.

Puebla is located in the Valley of Puebla, surrounded by volcanoes and snow-capped mountains, slightly over 110 kilometres southeast of Mexico City.

The city of Puebla was founded on April 16, 1531 as "La Puebla de los Ángeles". It was the first city in central Mexico founded by the Spanish conquerors that was not built upon the ruins of a conquered Amerindian settlement. Its strategic location, half-way between the port of Veracruz and Mexico City, made it the second most important city during the colonial period. During the 17th century, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz lived in the city until her confrontation with the Bishop of Puebla

Puebla is located at the Valley of Puebla also known as the Valley of Cuetlaxcoapan, a large valley surrounded on four sides by the mountains and volcanoes of the Trans-Mexican volcanic belt. It is located 40 km. east of the Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl volcanoes, giving the residents a magnificent view of their snow-topped peaks. La Malinche dormant volcano is located to the north of the city, and the Pico de Orizaba to the east. Hydrologically, the city is part of the Atoyac river basin; the river runs through northern, eastern and southern portions of the municipality, and connects to the Lake of Valsequillo, where the Manuel Ávila Camacho dam has been built. Other rivers that cross the area are the Alseseca and San Francisco. The climate is moderated by its high altitude of 2,200m (7,000 ft) above sea-level; night temperatures are cool at all times of the year, often requiring additional clothing. The area experiences a dry season in winter and a rainy season from May-October.

During the first hundred years after the War of Independence, Puebla, the second city of the New Spain, was the first to industrialize. Today, Puebla is still an important industrial city, mainly in the textile sector. Puebla is also home to the Mexican headquarters and the only North American manufacturing site of Volkswagen, which assembles the Jetta and New Beetle models. Other German and French manufacturing companies operate in the city, most of them outsourcers for Volkswagen.

In 2003 Puebla served as the interim headquarters of Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). It has submitted its candidacy to serve as the permanent headquarters if the FTAA is ever ratified.

The historic center of the city still contains much Spanish Colonial architecture and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Many of the old buildings were severely damaged in the 1999 earthquake. In recent years some of the historical buildings have been restored while others are in a state of disrepair.

Of all the colonial buildings, the most impressive are the Puebla Cathedral, built in a mixed neoclassical style; the gold-covered Capilla del Rosario (Rosary Chapel), in the nearby Iglesia de Santo Domingo, is a dramatic example of Mexican baroque, being a chapel inlaid with gold. Other important landmarks are El Barrio del Artista ("The Artist's Neighborhood") where local arts are produced and the Centro y Zócalo (downtown) where the Cathedral of Puebla and the Palacio Municipal are located.

Puebla is also the home of an Automobile Museum, containing a collection of rare and classic vintage cars. This collection also includes the "Popemobile" used by John Paul II on one of his visits to Mexico. The Museo Nacional de los Ferrocarriles Mexicanos (National Museum of Mexican Railroads), located in the old Mexicano station, houses a collection of many unique train specimens, including steam engines, passenger coaches, cabooses and diesel engines. Most notably it has a pair of PA1 diesel engines, the last specimens of their kind, with one of them still in working condition (the DH-19).

Located in the Casa de la Cultura, the Biblioteca Palafoxiana is a baroque-style library containing 42,000 volumes in a carved wood setting, collected by the Spanish bishop Juan de Palafox y Mendoza. The collection was donated to the Colegio de San Juan y San Pedro on September 5, 1646, by Palafox y Mendoza; this donation was formalized by a Royal Decree 1647 and by a Bull in 1648.

Red double-decker buses, known as "turibuses", give tourists an opportunity to enjoy the city's architecture, museums and monuments located at the historical downtown. One of the most famous museums in the city is the Amparo Museum. Another tourist attraction is the Africam Safari zoo, intended to recreate a safari experience.

Also worth visiting is the pyramid of Cholula, a city within the metropolitan area of Puebla. Cholula was one of the most important cities under the Aztec empire, and its pyramid is the largest in the New World, both by in terms of base-size and total volume. The town, with a population of only 200,000 inhabitants, is said to boast a chapel for every day of the year, albeit some of the churches are quite small and even makeshift.

Puebla 's food culture, known as Cocina Poblana, is popular all over Mexico. Puebla is considered the home of Mole poblano, a rich, spicy sauce containing chocolate, cinnamon and nuts, as well as different types of hot peppers. Served with chicken, mole has become the most renowned dish of Puebla's cuisine. Camote, sweet potatoes cooked in a stove and topped with creme are a traditional sweet. Rompope is a liquor based on egg yolk and vanilla, created many years ago by Puebla's nuns. Chiles en nogada is a dish of stuffed chilies with meat, fruit, and topped with walnut sauce and pomegranate seeds; it is prepared mainly in August (during walnut harvest season). The Chalupa, a small tortilla topped with salsa, chopped onion and meat; and widely known in Mexico as a fast food is also from the city. Other traditional sweets include the sweets from Santa Clara (dulces de Santa Clara), crystallized fruits, and milk candies.

(Source: Wikipedia)