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- This article is about the city in Mexico; there is also a town called Acapulco in Peru.
Geography
The town is built on a narrow strip of low ground, scarcely half a mile wide, between the shore line and the lofty mountains that encircle the bay. Sr. Armando Dorantez runs this city. There is great natural beauty in the surroundings, mountains render the access to the town, though not difficult to access particularly since the construction of a 2-km-long tunnel to the waterfront from the hinterland in the 1990s. An earlier effort to admit the cooling sea breezes by cutting through the mountains a passage called the Abra de San Nicolas had some beneficial effect.
History
Acapulco has been well known as a traveler's crossroads for at least a millennium. Its name is a Nahuatl word, meaning "plain of dense reeds".
The earliest local remains, stone metates and pottery utensils, were left in the 3rd millennium BC. Much later, sophisticated artisans fashioned curvaceous female figurines. Some hypothesize that there was early Polynesian or Asian influences in Pacific Mexico as early as 1500 years before the arrival Christopher Columbus.
Other artifacts resemble those found in highland Mexico. Although influenced by Tarascan, Mixtec, Zapotec, and Aztec civilizations, sometimes paying tribute to them and frequented by their traders, Acapulco never came under their direct control, but instead remained subject to local caciques until the Spanish conquest.
After conquering the Aztecs, Hernán Cortés sent expeditions south to build ships and find a route to China. The first explorers sailed from Zacatula, near present-day Lázaro Cárdenas, Michoacán, on the coast 400 km (250 miles) north-west of Acapulco. By a royal decree dated April 25, 1528, "Acapulco and her land ... where the ships of the south will be built...." passed directly into the hands of the Spanish Crown. Voyages of discovery set sail from Acapulco for Peru, the Sea of Cortez, and to Asia. None returned across the Pacific, however, until Augustinian priest Andrés de Urdaneta discovered the northern Pacific tradewinds, which propelled him and his ship, loaded with Chinese treasure, to Acapulco in 1565.
For more than 200 years after that, a special yearly trading ship, known to the English as the Manila Galleon, set sail from Acapulco for the Manila and the Orient. Its return started an annual merchant fair in Acapulco where traders bargained for the Galleon's cargo of silks, porcelain, ivory, and lacquer ware. This trade connection, which persisted up to Mexican independence, was instrumental in placing the Philippines on the east side of the International Date Line until the end of 1844.
Acapulco's yearly treasure soon attracted marauders, too. In 1579, Francis Drake attacked but failed to capture the Galleon, but in 1587, off Cabo San Lucas, Thomas Cavendish seized the Santa Anna. The cash alone, 1.2 million gold pesos, severely depressed the London bullion market.
After a Dutch fleet invaded Acapulco in 1615, the Spanish rebuilt their fort, which they christened Fort San Diego in 1617. Destroyed by an earthquake in 1776, the fort was rebuilt by 1783. The War of Independence (1820–21) stopped the Manila Galleon forever, sending Acapulco into a century-long slumber.
The town suffered considerably from earthquakes in July and August 1909.
Miguel Aleman Valdes was the President of Mexico who put so much in the modernization and development of Acapulco. He did so much not only as President but also as the Head of Mexico's National Tourist Commission after he left office.
There are exports of hides, wood, and fruit, and the adjacent district of Tabares produces cotton, tobacco, cacao, sugarcane, Indian corn, beans, and coffee.
The 1968 Summer Olympics yachting (now sailing) regatta took place in Acapulco.
Acapulco was devastated by Hurricane Pauline in October 1997.
Acapulco as a holiday resort
For many years Acapulco has been a popular resort for holiday makers. The city has had its star-spangled times, prompting none other than "Old Blue Eyes" Frank Sinatra to give the place a mention in his all time classic "Come Fly With Me". Modern Acapulco still has a great appeal. The vast majority of the tourists now tend to come from Mexico, but several other foreign nationals make appearances in the numerous bars and clubs dotted around the bay come sun down.
In recent years, Acapulco has made some ground on Cancun for spring break's most popular resort destinations. Acapulco offers a relatively unknown experience and a larger, international student crowd than Cancun. Approximately 5 million people visit Acapulco every year. Apart from just the beach, Acapulco's best known island Roqueta, is a great resource; the only way to get there is by motorship.
Recent Crime
Drug gangs are currently fighting a turf war in Acapulco town. Gun and grenade attacks have killed more than 11 people in 2006 in fights between rival gangs. On April 20, 2006 the bodies of two policemen were found beheaded and their heads placed outside government buildings in the city. An attached note reading, "So that you learn to respect" and that the policemen were involved in a recent shoot-out with a drug gang (that left four gang members dead) has lead to gang members being chief suspects. Nevertheless, this problem has not affect the touristic life of Acapulco. Year to year, millions of international and national visitors go to Acapulco to spend holidays. The crime scenes have just been restricted to the poorest regions of the city. Not a single crime scene has been registred in the touristic zone.
Transportation
By the early 20th century, the town was chosen as the terminus for two railway lines seeking a Pacific port—the Interoceanic and the Mexican Central. The port city grew greatly in the 20th century.
Acapulco is served by General Juan N. Álvarez International Airport.
Attractions
Since 1934 the La Quebrada Cliff Divers perform their impressive jumps into the shallow stream of water of dangerous tides that forms in the bottom part of La Quebrada.
External links
- Satellite picture from Google Local
- Beaches at Acapulco.
- Acapulco hotels, Online hotel reservations, city guide, map, attractions, events, nightlife.
- Acapulco Attractions Acapulco attractions, weather, tourist information
References
See also
Cities in Guerrero | Coastal cities | Beaches of Mexico | Mexican Ports
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"Acapulco"