The Roman Catholic church of Nuestra Señora de los Remedios overlooks the town of Cholula from atop the Great Pyramid.

View of Nuestra Señora de los Remedios church with Popocatépetl behind it from UDLAP in Cholula.

Cholula is a small city in the state of Puebla, Mexico. The legal, though little used, full name of the city is Cholula de Rivadavia. The city of Cholula is divided into two municipalities, San Andrés Cholula and San Pedro Cholula. Both of them are considered to be part of the conurbation of the city of Puebla. Image File history File links Great Pyramid of Cholula Long view from the south, over the maize fields. ... Image File history File links Great Pyramid of Cholula Long view from the south, over the maize fields. ... View of Nuestra Señora de los Remedios church and Popocatépetl in the background from UDLA File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... View of Nuestra Señora de los Remedios church and Popocatépetl in the background from UDLA File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Popocatépetl (commonly referred to as Popo) is an active volcano and the second highest peak in Mexico after Pico de Orizaba (5,610m). ... Puebla is the name of a city and a state in Mexico. ... A conurbation is an urban area comprising a number of cities or towns which, through population growth and expansion, have physically merged to form one continuous built up area. ... The city of Puebla – known more formally as Heróica Puebla de Zaragoza or less formally as La Angelópolis or Puebla de los Ángeles – is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state of the same name, and the sixth largest city in Mexico just behind Mexico City...

Cholula is located at 19°6′ N 98°31′ W, about 15 km west of the city of Puebla, at an approximate elevation of 2135 meters (about 7000 ft) above sea level. The population of San Pedro Cholula is somewhat less than 100,000 people, and the population of San Andres Cholula, a little less than 50,000. Other Mexican States Capital Puebla, Pue. ... For considerations of sea level change, in particular rise associated with possible global warming, see sea level rise. ...

History

Cholula was an important city of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, dating back to at least the 2nd century BC, with settlement as a village going back at least some thousand years earlier. It was later the second largest city of the Aztec empire. The term Pre-Columbian is used to refer to the cultures of the New World in the era before significant European influence. ... Mesoamerica is the region extending from central Mexico south to the northwestern border of Costa Rica that gave rise to a group of stratified, culturally related agrarian civilizations spanning an approximately 3,000-year period before the European discovery of the New World by Columbus. ... (3rd century BC - 2nd century BC - 1st century BC - other centuries) (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium AD) Events BC 168 Battle of Pydna -- Macedonian phalanx defeated by Romans BC 148 Rome conquers Macedonia BC 146 Rome destroys Carthage in the Third Punic War BC 146 Rome conquers... The Aztecs were a Mesoamerican people of central Mexico in the 14th, 15th and 16th century. ...

Cholula was a major center contemporary with Teotihuacan and seems to have avoided, at least partially, that city's fate of violent destruction at the end of the Mesoamerican Classic period. Cholula thus remained a regional center of importance, enough so that, at the time of the fall of the Aztec empire, Aztec princes were still formally anointed by a Cholulan priest, in a manner reminiscent, and perhaps even analogous, to the way some Mayan princes appear to have come to Teotihuacan in search of some sort of formalization of their rulership. Teotihuacan is the largest Pre-Columbian archeological site in the Americas. ... The Aztecs were a Mesoamerican people of central Mexico in the 14th, 15th and 16th century. ... The word Maya or maya can refer to: The Maya – a Native American people of southern Mexico and northern Central America the modern Maya people the pre-Columbian Maya civilization the Maya language Maya – a concept in Hindu/Vedic philosophy a state of misperception of reality the inherent force of...

The Cholula Massacre of 1519

At the time of the arrival of Hernán Cortés Cholula was part of the Aztec empire and was second only to the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan (modern Mexico City) as the largest city in central Mexico, possibly with a population of up to 100,000 people. In addition to the great temple of Quetzalcoatl and various palaces, the city had 365 temples. Cholula Massacre, engraving scanned from 1885 Cyclopaedia of Univeral History This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. ... Cholula Massacre, engraving scanned from 1885 Cyclopaedia of Univeral History This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. ... Hernán Cortés Hernán Cortés, marqués del Valle de Oaxaca (1485–December 2, 1547) (who was known as Hernando or Fernando Cortés during his lifetime and signed all his letters Fernán Cortés) was the conquistador who conquered Mexico for Spain. ... Plan of Tenochtitlan (Dr Atl) Mexico City statue commemorating the foundation of Tenochtitlan Tenochtitlan (pronounced ) or, alternatively, Mexico-Tenochtitlan, was the capital of the Aztec empire, which was built on an island in Lake Texcoco in what is now central Mexico. ... Mexico City (Spanish: Ciudad de México) is the name of a megacity located in the Valley of Mexico (Valle de México), a large valley in the high plateaus (altiplano) at the center of Mexico, about 2,240 metres (7,349 feet) above sea-level, surrounded on most sides...

In 1519 Cortés, either in a pre-meditated effort to instill fear upon the Aztecs waiting for him at Tenochtitlan or (as he later claimed when under investigation) wishing to make an example when he feared native treachery, conducted an infamous massacre here, killing thousands of unarmed members of the nobility gathered at the central plaza and partially burning down the city. Events March 4 - Hernán Cortés lands in Mexico. ...

A few years later Cortés vowed that the city would be rebuilt with a Christian church to replace each of the old pagan temples; less than 50 new churches were actually built, but the Spanish colonial churches are unusually numerous for a city of its size. Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament writings of his early followers. ...

During the Spanish Colonial period Cholula was overtaken in importance by the nearby city of Puebla. Other Mexican States Capital Puebla, Pue. ...

Great Pyramid of Cholula

Only a fraction of a staircase on one side of the Great Pyramid of Cholula has been restored to its former glory.

See main article: Great Pyramid of Cholula Image File history File links Great Pyramid of Cholula, Puebla, Mexico; exposed detail, staircase. ... Image File history File links Great Pyramid of Cholula, Puebla, Mexico; exposed detail, staircase. ... Categories: Religious buildings | Pyramids ...

Cholula is most famous as the site of the Great Pyramid of Cholula, the largest man-made structure by volume in the world. Categories: Religious buildings | Pyramids ...

Etymology

The original Nahuatl name was cholöllan, chol-öl-tlan, of which two possible etymologies are: Nahuatl is a native language of central Mexico. ...

• [flee]-[öl(mëcatl)]-[place where happens]  meaning something like  "place where the Olmecs fled"
• [chol]-[öl(mëcatl)]-[place where happens]  meaning something like  "place where the Chol-Olmecs are", referring to the Chol branch of the Maya

But Surely nothing to do with Olmecs, probably the right meaning is "Water that falls in the fled place" Chol is Maya ethnic group or northern Chiapas in South-Eastern Mexico. ... The word Maya or maya can refer to: The Maya – a Native American people of southern Mexico and northern Central America the modern Maya people the pre-Columbian Maya civilization the Maya language Maya – a concept in Hindu/Vedic philosophy a state of misperception of reality the inherent force of...

External links

• Universidad de las Américas - Puebla (University in San Andrés Cholula)
• The city of Cholula (Puebla state govt., Spanish)
• The pyramid of Cholula (Puebla state govt., Spanish)
• Cholula photos on TourByMexico.com

Alternative meanings

• Cholula hot sauce is a commercial brand of chilli-based hot sauce, manufactured in Chapala, Jalisco.