Cempoala Archaelogical Site

Zempoala (also known as Cempoala) is a town along the Gulf of Mexico coast in Veracruz (state). It is historically important as an initial contact point between Spanish conquerors and the Totonoc people, the first allies of the Spanish in Mexico, and the eventual key to their conquest of the Aztec empire.

Understand

There are two common spellings: Zempoala most often refers to the town and its surrounding municipality, whereas Cempoala refers to the archaeological zone.

Zempoala was initially settled as a small agrarian community between 100 BC and 100 AD. Around 1000 AD, the Totonoc people moved in, possibly pushed out of their original homelands by Toltec aggressors. As a Totonoc city, Zempoala grew to a population of about 30,000 by 1519, when Cortes arrived. It was the capital city of the Totonoc culture, ruling over an estimated 200,000 more in the rural farming communities.

When Cortes and his men set up camp on the Gulf Coast, Cacique Xicomecoatl sent a welcoming party to the Spanish and invited them to come to the city (since the king was purportedly obese and couldn't make the trek to see him). When he arrived, Cortes was welcomed as a friend to Zempoala and the Spanish soldiers were provided with food and places to rest. Xicomecoatl told Cortes about the Aztec Empire and their dominance over other people in Central Mexico. Zempoala had been defeated by the Aztecs only a few years earlier, and Xicomecoatl chafed at the constant demands to pay tribute to the "triple alliance" in Mexico City. Cortes was intrigued by the story of riches to be found in the Aztec capital. Of course Cortes would be happy to open up a can of whoop ass on Montezuma, if only the Totonocs would show him the way. And so, Xicomecoatl sent 40 captains, 8000 warriors, and 200 porters to lead the Spanish to the halls of Montezuma in Tenochtitlan.

While they were gone, a rival named Panfilo Narvaez was sent from Cuba to take Cortes's gold and order him back to Cuba. When word reached Cortes, he had a squad go back, kill Narvaez and several of his men, whereupon the rest of Narvaez's men surrendered and joined Cortes' force (since they knew where Montezuma had the gold). Unfortunately for the Totonoc, one of Narvaez's men had smallpox and the disease ripped through Zempoala like wildfire, killing almost the entire population.

A later smallpox epidemic between 1575-1577 would wipe out most of the Spanish settlers. Those who survived, moved to Xalapa. The town was abandoned.

Today, Zempoala is a small town of less than 10,000 people. It is in a low-lying coastal plain along the Actopan River, 6 km upstream from the Gulf of Mexico.

Get in

From Veracruz, it's easiest to take a taxi. Zempoala is only 30 minutes away and the fare will not likely be more than M$300.

Get around

Walk if its close, or take a taxi if its not.

See

Cempoala

• 1 Cempoala Archaelogical Zone, Francisco del Paso y Troncoso. 09:00 - 17:00. This small archaeological site is the original Totonoc city of Cempoala. When you enter the main gate, you are in the city's main ceremonial center, one of 10 precincts into which the city was organized. The city was engineered for flood control, with some structures set on mounds and some walls positioned to act as dikes when river levels rose. The city also had underground aquaducts, serving to distribute fresh water through the city. To the left is the Great Pyramid, which will probably disappoint visitors who have been to Teotihuacan or some of the great Maya cities of the Yucatan. It is lower and smaller, but visitors are allowed to climb the pyramid here. On the opposite side of the quadrangle is the Great Temple, which was the city's primary ceremonial center. The site is fairly large and there are dozens of temples that can be explored, including the Temple of Charity, which was originally decorated with a wall of stucco skulls and was dedicated to the god of death. Many mounds were the sites of humble homes, mostly adobe structures with thatched roofs. A small site museum displays some trinkets from the site, but most of the significant pieces are in museums, especially the Museo Nacional de Antropologia in Mexico City. M$85. 

Eat

• 1 Tomy Mariscos, Pedro Hernández Sur 139, Col del Bosque, ☏ +52 296 971 4796. 10:00 - 19:00. Casual seafood restaurant with large portions and reasonable prices. (updated Jun 2023)
• 2 La Malinche, C. Las Margaritas, La Paz, ☏ +52 296 115 9512. 12:00 - 22:00. (updated Jun 2023)

Sleep

There are few lodgings in the town of Zempoala, but 6 km east are the beaches where a large number of hotels and restaurants can be found.

• 1 Hotel Balneario Mi Paraiso, Prolongocion, ☏ +52 228 148 0132. Check-in: 15:00, check-out: 12:00. Comfortable rooms. Good place to relax with some drinks by the pool. M$1100. (updated Jun 2023)

Go next

• Actopan
• Veracruz