Acapulco

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Acapulco

Acapulco (Officially: Acapulco de Juárez) is a city

City

A city is an urban area with a high population density and a particular administrative, legal, or historical status.Large industrialized cities generally have advanced systems for sanitation, utilities, land usage, house, and transportation and more....
and major sea port

Port

||-||-|-||-||-||-||-||-||-|}A port is a facility for receiving ships and transferring cargo. They are usually found at the edge of an ocean, sea, river, or lake....
in the state of Guerrero

Guerrero

The State of Guerrero is a state in the southern meridional region of Mexico. With an area of , it occupies about 3.3% of Mexican territory. It borders the Pacific Ocean to the south , Michoac?n to the west , Oaxaca to the east , and Mexico State , Morelos , and Puebla to the north ....
on the Pacific

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Mare Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portugal explorer Ferdinand Magellan....
coast of Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
, southwest from Mexico City

Mexico City

Mexico City is the capital city of Mexico. It is the most important economic, industrial, and cultural center in the country; the most populous city with over 8,836,045 inhabitants in 2008....
. Acapulco is located on a deep, semi-circular

Semicircle

In mathematics , a semicircle is a two-dimensional geometric shape that forms half of a circle. Being half of a circle's 360?, the Arc of a semicircle always measures 180?....
bay

Bay

A bay is an area of water bordered by land on three sides. Bays generally have calm waters than the surrounding sea, due to the surrounding land blocking some ocean surface wave and often reducing winds....
. It is a port of call for shipping

Shipping

Shipping is physical process of transporting product and cargo. Virtually every product ever made, bought, or sold has been affected by shipping....
and cruising lines

Cruise line

A cruise line is a company that operates cruise ships. Cruise lines have a dual character; they are partly in the transportation business, and partly in the leisure entertainment business, a duality that carries down into the ships themselves, which have both a crew headed by the ship's captain, and a hospitality staff headed by the equivale...
running between Panama

Panama

Panama, officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America and, in turn, North America. Situated on an isthmus connecting North and South America, some categorize it as a transcontinental nation....
and San Francisco, California

California

California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
, United States

United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
. As of the 2005 census, the population of the urbanized area

Urban area

An urban area is an area with an increased Population density of human-created structures in comparison to the areas surrounding it. Urban areas may be city, towns or conurbations, but the term is not commonly extended to rural settlements such as villages and hamlet ....
was 616,394, while that of the administrative municipality

Municipalities of Mexico

Municipalities are the second-level administrative division in Mexico . There are 2,438 municipalities in Mexico. The internal political organization and their responsibilities are outlined in the 115th article of the Mexican Constitution and further expanded in the constitutions of the states to which they belong....
was 717,766 people. The municipality, which has an area of , includes numerous small localities outside of the city.

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Geography

The town was built on a narrow strip of low ground, scarcely half a mile (800 m) wide, between the shoreline and the lofty mountains that encircle the bay to the north and east. Access to the town from inland is through the mountains via a tunnel that was constructed in the 1990s. A passage through the mountains, called Abra de San Nicolas, has been constructed, and it allows cooling sea breezes to reach the city.

The climate is tropical

Tropical climate

A tropical climate is a kind of climate typical in the tropics. Wladimir K?ppen's widely-recognized K?ppen climate classification defines it as a non-arid climate in which all twelve months have mean temperatures above ....
, with warm to hot temperatures year-round. Precipitation

Precipitation (meteorology)

File:MeanMonthlyP.gifIn meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of Atmosphere water vapor that is deposited on the earth's surface....
is heavily concentrated in summer, while winter is mostly dry and sunny.

History

Archaic Era

Archeological evidence shows that Acapulco has been inhabited since before 3000 BC. The first vestiges of human presence consist of figures and pottery made of clay, stone, and ceramic. The pieces found in the coastal region of Puerto Marqués are the earliest known ceramics from Mexico, and they could be the oldest in Mesoamerica

Mesoamerica

Mesoamerica or Meso-America is a region and cultural area in the Americas, extending approximately from central Mexico to Honduras and Nicaragua, within which a number of pre-Columbian society flourished before the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the 15th and 16th centuries....
.

Cave paintings from 1200 BC and petroglyph

Petroglyph

Petroglyphs are s created by removing part of a Rock surface by incising, pecking, carving, and abrading. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions of the technique to refer to such images....
s have been discovered on Pie de la Cuesta. They indicate the early presence of fishing settlements, with agriculture and hunting as secondary activities. In a mountainside near Palma Sola, situated in the Veladero National Park

List of national parks of Mexico

Mexico's National Parks are 67 federally recognized national parks that are Mexican Protected Natural Areas administrated by the federal National Commission of Protected Natural Areas ....
, calendaric beads and 18 giant granite stones engraved with anthropomorphic, zoomorphic and geometrical details have been found. They were created between 200 BC and AD 600. During this period, nomadic tribes from the northeast of Mexico entered what is now the state of Guerrero. Evidence of their presence has been found near the city.

Spanish colonial period

The first reference to Acapulco in the history of the Viceroyalty of New Spain was made as early as 1519, by Bernal Díaz del Castillo

Bernal Díaz del Castillo

Bernal D?az del Castillo was a conquistador, who wrote an eyewitness account of the Spanish Conquest of Mexico by the Spaniards under Hern?n Cort?s, himself serving as a rodelero under Cort?s....
in his "Historia Verdadera de la Conquista de Nueva España" (True History of the Conquest of New Spain

The Conquest of New Spain

Historia verdadera de la conquista de la Nueva Espa?a is the first-person narrative of Bernal D?az del Castillo , a 16th-century military adventurer, settler and conquistador who served with the expeditions of Francisco Hern?ndez de C?rdoba , Juan de Grijalva and Hern?n Cort?s in Mexico and Yucat?n Peninsula, and who saw and particip...
). Spanish

Spanish people

Spanish people or Spaniards are a nation or ethnic group native to Spain, in the Iberian Peninsula of southwestern Europe. They are often considered an amalgam of different ethnic groups, rather than an ethnic group by itself....
captain Hernán Cortés

Hernán Cortés

Hern?n Cort?s de Monroy y Pizarro, 1st Marqu?s del Valle de Oaxaca was a Spain conquistador who led an expedition that caused the conquest of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of mainland Mexico under the Crown of Castile, in the early 16th century....
sent several expeditionary groups to the Mexican Pacific coasts in order to find a new commercial route towards Asia. The expedition led by Francisco Chico discovered Acapulco on December 13, 1521, Santa Lucía's

Saint Lucy

Saint Lucy, also known as Saint Lucia or Saint Lukia, was a wealthy young Christian martyrs who is venerated as a saint by both Catholic and Eastern Orthodoxy Christians....
day, after whom he named the new found bay. Later, in 1523, Juan Rodríguez Villafuerte led Zacatula's expedition, arriving first at Zihuatanejo

Zihuatanejo

Zihuatanejo is the fourth-largest city in the Mexican state of Guerrero. Politically it belongs to the municipalities of Mexico of Zihuatanejo de Azueta in the western part of Guerrero, on the Pacific Coast, about 240 km northwest of Acapulco....
, where he built the first shipyard of the New Spain. Then, after producing several caravel

Caravel

This article is about the Caravel boat type. For the carvel type of boat building, see Carvel .A caravel is a small, highly maneuverable, two- or three-mast lateen-rigging ship, created by the Portugal and used also by them and by the Spain for long voyages of exploration from the 15th century....
s and brigantine

Brigantine

In sailing, a brigantine is a vessel with two masts, only the forward of which is square rigged.Originally the brigantine was a small ship carrying both oars and sails....
s, he sailed to Acapulco, where he formally took possession of the port in the name of the Kings of Spain, driving in the sand the cross and the staff with the banner of Castille and Aragón

Crown of Aragon

The Crown of Aragon was a permanent union of multiple titles and states in the hands of the King of Aragon.At the height of its power by the 14th and 15th centuries, the Crown of Aragon was a thalassocracy controlling a large portion of the present-day eastern Spain, Northern Catalonia, as well as some of the major islands and mainland...
.

In 1532, by royal order, Acapulco became a direct dependency of the Spanish Crown, receiving the name of Ciudad de los Reyes (City of the Kings). Later, in 1550, Carlos V

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor

Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I of Spain, of the Spanish realms from 1516 until his abdication in 1556....
, King of Spain and Emperor of Germany and the Indias Occidentales (Western Indies), promoted it to historical city by royal decree.

It soon became a major port for Spanish ships carrying silks and spices gathered from the Asia-Pacific

Asia-Pacific

Asia-Pacific or APAC is the area generally regarded as encompassing littoral East Asia, Southeast Asia and Australasia near the Pacific Ocean, plus the states in the ocean itself ....
area.

For more than 256 years, a trading movement, known as the Manila-Acapulco Galleon

Manila Galleon

The Manila galleons or Manila-Acapulco galleons were Spain trading ships that Sailing once or twice per year across the Pacific Ocean between Manila in the Philippines and Acapulco, New Spain....
, or locally as Nao de China, set sail from Acapulco to the Philippine Islands. Its trade started an annual merchant fair in Acapulco where traders bargained for the galleon's cargo of spices, silks, porcelain, ivory, and lacquerware.

Acapulco's yearly treasure soon attracted pirates from both England

Kingdom of England

The Kingdom of England was, from 927 to 1707, a state in North-West Europe. The Kingdom of England spanned the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and a number of smaller outlying islands?what is today the legal unit of England and Wales....
and the Netherlands

Dutch Empire

The Dutch Empire consisted of the overseas territories controlled by the Netherlands from the 17th to the 20th century. The Dutch followed Portuguese Empire and Spanish Empire in establishing an overseas colonial empire, aided by their skills in shipping and trade and the surge of nationalism accompanying the struggle for independence from S...
, who had sailed from the Caribbean

Caribbean

The Caribbean is a region consisting of the Caribbean Sea, its islands , and the surrounding coasts. The region is located southeast of the Gulf of Mexico and Northern America, east of Central America, and to the north of South America....
sea. In 1579, Francis Drake

Francis Drake

Sir Francis Drake, Vice Admiral , was an England sea captain, privateer, navigation, slaver, and politics of the Elizabethan era. Elizabeth I of England awarded Drake a knighthood in 1581....
attacked the coast of Acapulco, but failed to capture the Spanish Galleons; but in 1587, off the coast of Cabo San Lucas

Cabo San Lucas

Cabo San Lucas is a city at the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula at , in the municipality of Los Cabos in the states of Mexico of Baja California Sur, Mexico....
, Thomas Cavendish

Thomas Cavendish

Sir Thomas Cavendish was known as "the Navigator" because he was the first who deliberately set out to circumnavigate the globe. While members of Ferdinand Magellan's, Garc?a Jofre de Loa?sa's, Francis Drake's, and Mart?n Ignacio de Loyola's expeditions had preceded Cavendish in circumnavigating the globe, it had not been their intent at...
seized the Santa Anna, taking most of the treasure.

After a Dutch fleet invaded Acapulco in 1615, the Spaniards rebuilt their fort, which they christened Fort San Diego in 1617. The fort was destroyed by an earthquake

Earthquake

An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes are recorded with a seismometer, also known as a seismograph....
in 1776 and was rebuilt by 1783. The Mexican War of Independence

Mexican War of Independence

Mexican War of Independence , was an armed conflict between the people of Mexico and Spanish colonial authorities, which started on 16 September 1810....
, between 1810 to 1821, put a permanent stop to the Manila-Acapulco galleon trade.

The Golden era of Acapulco

In 1933 Carlos Barnard started the first section of Hotel El Mirador , with 12 rooms on the cliffs of La Quebrada.

The principal architect and visionary for the development of Acapulco was Miguel Alemán Valdés

Miguel Alemán Valdés

Miguel Alem?n Vald?s served as the President of Mexico of Mexico from 1946 to 1952....
, as president of Mexico from 1946 to 1952. The main avenue that runs along the Acapulco Bay is named after him.

In 1949 Carlos Barnard started the "La Perla" restaurant, adjoining his Hotel El Mirador at La Quebrada.

Teddy Stauffer

Teddy Stauffer

Ernst Heinrich "Teddy" Stauffer was a Switzerland bandleader, musician, actor, nightclub owner, and restaurateur. He was dubbed Germany's "Swing music-king" of the 1930's....
(Mr. Acapulco) was also important. He created the first discotheque, "The Tequila a Go-Go", and the most glamorous hotel at that time (Villa Vera).

Present day Acapulco

In the early 1960s Acapulco had a population of about 50,000.

Acapulco has hosted yachting

Yachting

Yachting or recreational sailing is the specific act of sailing as a sport....
as part of the 1968 Summer Olympics

1968 Summer Olympics

The 1968 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Mexico City in October 1968....
. The city was devastated by Hurricane Pauline

Hurricane Pauline

Hurricane Pauline was one of the strongest and deadliest Pacific hurricanes to make landfall on Mexico. The sixteenth tropical storm, eighth hurricane, and seventh major hurricane of the 1997 Pacific hurricane season, Pauline developed out of a tropical wave on October 5 about 250 miles south-southwest of Huatulco in the state of Oaxac...
in 1997.

Acapulco as a holiday resort

Since the 20th century, Acapulco has been a popular resort for tourists taking long holiday weekends cruises from the United States, the Mexican interior and countries in South America. Eventually, it began competing directly with the Cancún

Cancún

Canc?n is a coastal city in Mexico's easternmost state, Quintana Roo, on the Yucat?n Peninsula. Cancun is located on the Yucatan Channel that separates Mexico from the island of Cuba in the Greater Antilles....
on the East Coast as a super-tourist destination. In the past three decades, air fares have become increasingly affordable as international airlines added flights and infrastructure to support the increasing air travel. The two beach resorts are located on opposite coasts oriented due East and West from the other. The city has had its star-spangled times, leading Sammy Cahn

Sammy Cahn

Sammy Cahn was a 4-time Academy Award-winning United States lyricist, songwriter and musician. He is best known for his romantic lyrics to Tin Pan Alley and Broadway theatre songs, as recorded by Frank Sinatra, Doris Day and many others....
to reference it in his lyrics for "Come Fly With Me

Come Fly with Me (song)

"Come Fly with Me" is a 1957 Popular music song composed by Jimmy Van Heusen, with lyrics by Sammy Cahn."Come Fly with Me" was written for Frank Sinatra, and was the title track of his Come Fly with Me ....
". Modern Acapulco is a featured destination for many Pacific cruise ship packages and international air carriers.

In recent years, within the younger crowd, Acapulco has made up some ground on Cancún as a popular spring break

Spring break

Spring break, also known as March break, Study Week or Reading Week in some parts of Canada, is a week long recess from studying in early spring at universities and schools in the United States, Canada, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, China, and other countries....
destination. This growing popularity may be because Acapulco offers a different unknown experience and a larger, international student crowd than Cancún due to its prominence as an international tourist resort with many available international transatlantic and transpacific flights. Apart from just the beach, Acapulco's best known island Roqueta, is a great attraction which is typically reached by glass-bottomed motor boats (enabling a clear view of the sea bottom). As in Cancún, water sports such as water skiing, para-sailing, scuba diving, deep sea fishing, sailing and snorkeling excursions are available in many price ranges amongst the picturesque coastal waters.

Several real estate, hotels and timeshares had been developed in the Acapulco Diamante (Diamond Acapulco) zone. A very important development has been built by Mayan Resorts the largest vacation club and golf operator in Mexico.

Beginning in the 1990s the government invested more than US$1 billion in an effort to upgrade Acapulco's infrastructure. Sewage systems have been improved and tons of trash have been hauled off the beaches. The water has once again been pronounced safe for swimming, although Mexico uses a lower standard for water quality than Europe.

Transportation

From the U.S., many airline

Airline

File:Fedex-md11-N525FE-051109-21-16.jpgFile:Ryanair.b737-800.aftertakeoff.arp.jpgAn airline provides civil aviation for passengers or freight, generally with a recognized operating certificate or license....
s now fly to Acapulco Airport year-round. While in the city, there are many bus

Bus

A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. A bus can generally seat a maximum of anywhere from 8 to 200 passengers; many more passengers than a minivan....
es and taxi

Taxicab

A taxicab, also taxi or cab, is a type of public transport for a single passenger, or small group of passengers, typically for a non-shared ride....
services one can take to get from place to place, but most of the locals choose to walk to their destinations. However, an important mode of transportation is the government subsidized 'Colectivo' cab system. These cabs cost 10 peso

Mexican peso

The peso is the currency of Mexico. The symbol used for the peso is "dollar sign", basically the same as for the US dollar since the dollar derived its logo from the Spanish-Mexican currency....
s per person to ride, but they are not private. The driver will pick up more passengers as long as seats are available, and will transport them to their destination based on first come first serve rules. The colectivos each travel a designated area of the city, the three main ones being Costera, Colosio, Coloso, or a mixture of the three. Coloso cabs mainly travel to old Acapulco. Colosio cabs travel through most of the tourist area of Acapulco. Costera cabs drive up and down the coast of Acapulco, which is where most of the hotels for visitors are, but also includes some of old Acapulco. Where a driver will take you is partly up to his choice. Some are willing to travel to the other designated areas, especially during slow periods of the day.

The bus system is highly complex, and can be rather confusing to an outsider. As far as transportation goes, it is the cheapest form other than walking in Acapulco. The most expensive buses have air conditioning

Air conditioning

An air conditioner is an appliance, system, or Mechanism designed to extract heat from an area via a refrigeration cycle. In construction, a complete system of heating, Ventilation , and air conditioning is referred to as "HVAC." Its purpose, in a building or an automobile, is to provide comfort during either hot or cold...
, while the cheaper buses do not. For tourists, the Acapulco city government has established a system of yellow buses with Acapulco! painted on the side of them. These buses are not for tourists only, but are certainly the nicest and most uniform of the bus systems. These buses travel the tourist section of Acapulco, driving up and down the coast. There are buses with specific routes and destinations, generally written on their windshield

Windshield

The windshield or windscreen of an aircraft, automobile, bus, motorcycle, or tram is the front window. Modern windshields are generally made of Laminated glass, a type of treated glass, which consists of two curved sheets of glass with a plastic layer laminated between them for safety, and are Polyurethaned into the window frame....
s or shouted out by a barker riding in the front seat. Perhaps the most unusual thing about the privately operated buses is the fact that they are all highly decorated and personalized, with decaling and home made interior designs that range from comic book

Comic book

A comic book is a magazine or book of narrative artwork and dialog and descriptive prose. The style was introduced in 1934. Despite the term, comic books do not necessarily feature humorous subject-matter; in fact, it is often serious and action-oriented....
scenes, to adult theme

Pornography

Pornography or porn is the explicit depiction of sexual subject matter with the sole intention of sexually exciting the viewer. It is to a certain extent similar to erotica, which is the use of sexually arousing imagery....
s, and even to "Hello Kitty

Hello Kitty

, is one of the best-known of many simply drawn fictional characters produced by the Japanese company Sanrio. Designed by Ikuko Shimizu, the first product, a vinyl coin purse, was introduced in Japan in 1974, and in the United States in 1976....
" themes.

Attractions

Since 1934 the La Quebrada Cliff Divers

La Quebrada Cliff Divers

The La Quebrada Cliff Divers are a group of professional high divers, based in Acapulco, Mexico. They perform daily shows for the public, which involve diving 45 metres from the cliffs of La Quebrada, Mexico into the sea below....
have performed their impressive jumps into the shallow water and dangerous tides that form in the bottom part of La Quebrada. The Acapulco cliff divers were featured regularly on the weekend sports program ABC's Wide World of Sports in the United States during the 1970s.

Nightlife

Generally, Acapulco offers a very good nightlife. Its main clubs

Nightclub

A nightclub is a Alcoholic beverage, Dance and entertainment Music venue which does its primary business after dark. People who frequent nightclubs are known as clubbers....
are considered to be the Alebrije (the largest in Latin America

Latin America

Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages ? particularly Spanish language and Portuguese language, and variably French language ? are primarily spoken....
), Palladium, and the Baby´O which many consider as the best nightclub in Acapulco, and El Clássico - coming from the original club located in Mexico City - it is very popular among the elite youth from the capital.

During spring break

Spring break

Travel agency

A travel agency is a Retailing business, that sells travel related product and Service to customers, on behalf of supply chain, such as airlines, car rentals, cruise lines, hotels, Rail transport, Tourism and package holidays that combine several products....
and cater specifically to the needs of the American crowd, which pay in advance through the travel company (the venues cater to everyone, however). Due to this, there are distinct areas in which the American spring breakers are dominant, mainly around the coast where most hotels are located. Most clubs are open bar

Bar (establishment)

A bar is a business that serves drinks, especially alcoholic beverages such as beer, liquor, and mixed drinks, for consumption on the premises....
, while the smaller bar establishments are pay on tab

Bill (payment)

A bill is a document demanding payment for an order previously supplied. Presentation of a bill is common practice on the part of restaurants, credit card companies, public utility, and other service providers....
(these also tend to have DJ or live music

Live Music

Live Music is a reggaeton company owned by DJ Blass...
and dancing). Of the American favored clubs, the top three are Palladium, Mandara, and Privado, all located within a mile of each other.

External links

(Spanish)
INEGI: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática
Enciclopedia de los Municipios de México

Acapulco

Geography

History

Archaic Era

Spanish colonial period

The Golden era of Acapulco

Present day Acapulco

Acapulco as a holiday resort

Transportation

Attractions

Nightlife

See also

External links