General information.   Located in the Valley of Puebla, 129 km (80 miles) to the Southeast of the Mexico City. Altitude: 2.149 meters (7.091 feet). Population in 2000: 1,346,000 inhabitants. It is the State Capital of Puebla and one of the oldest cities founded by the Spanish in Mexico, it dates from 1531. According to the legend, angels descended from the sky and indicated to the Bishop Julian Garcés where the city had to be built.. For such reason, it is also known by the name of Angelópolis (Puebla of the Angels). The inhabitants are called poblanos..  Puebla is famous for its distinguishing colonial architecture, its culinary art, the talavera ceramics, the onyx crafts, and the textile industry. Náhuatl, the indigenous language of the region, is still spoken in some rural areas of the Valley of Puebla. Mexican troops defeated the French invaders here on the 5th of May,1862, in the Forts of Loreto and Guadalupe. The Mexican Revolution began in Puebla, on the 18th of November, 1910, when federal soldiers, together with the police, attacked the house of the Serdán Brothers. In 1987 the City of Puebla was declared "Mankind Heritage" by the United Nations Education, Sciences, and Culture Organization (UNESCO). The 15th of June, 1999, an earthquake damaged many remarkable buildings, but the restoration efforts began almost immediately. Most of the affected historical sites were re-opened before the summer of 2001. The archaeological sites of greater importance in the region include: the Cave of the Texcal, near the Lake of Valsequillo, which was used for human settlements around 7.000 b.C.; the Pyramid of Tepanapa in Cholula (400 a.C. to 200 d.C.), which base measures 350 meters on each side (1.315 feet) qualifies as one of the largest pre-Columbian structures in the Americas; and, in the neighboring state of Tlaxcala are the mural paintings of the Cacaxtla Fort, (d.C. 600-1100). Four volcanos, the highest summits in Mexico, are seen from the city: Popocatépetl, 5.452 mtrs. (17.883 feet); Iztaccíhuatl, 5286 mtrs. (17.338 feet); The Malinche, 4.461 mtrs. (14.632 feet); and Citlaltépetl, 5.700 mtrs. (18.855 feet), also known as Orizaba Peak. Popocatépetl is an active volcano, which means that eruptions of water and ash happen with regularity.

Tourist information Centers: The Tourism Office of the State of Puebla has an information center on Calle 5 Este, between Avenida 16 de Septiembre and Calle 2 Sur , a block South from the Zocalo. Puebla City has a similar center on the first floor of the Palacio Municipal, Portal Hidalgo n.14, on the North side of the Zocalo. Both centres offer free basic tourist maps to the visitor.

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