Our roots in the village of Tepoztlán enable us to offer our participants an insider’s look at one of Mexico’s most beautiful and historically rich pueblos, one that has maintained its pre-Hispanic dignity through an impressive array of traditions and proud resistance to over-development.
photo: Gary Chiappetta
An hour southwest of Mexico City in the foothills of the great volcanoes, Tepoztlán is famous for its intoxicating air, cobbled streets, adobe houses draped in bougainvillea, and unusual fidelity to pre-Columbian traditions. The village is also known for its elaborate processions and fiestas, which become part of our program for the week.
Tepoztlán in the New York Times Travel Section
The people of Tepoztlán are descended from the Tlahuica inhabitants of the fertile valley that leads toward nearby Cuernavaca. To this day, the oral traditions of that culture survive in legends handed down from generation to generation, told now in Spanish, though a few old people can still recite the ancient poems in Náhuatl. Their defeat of a proposed golf complex (the so-called “Golf War”) made international headlines in the mid-1990′s and has inspired communities elsewhere in Mexico.
Tepoztlán is an ideal place to study Spanish. For those wishing to enroll in customized classes, we highly recommend Cemanahuac.
