La Orduña is located in the Coatepec municipality (Coatepec meaning “the serpent’s mound” in náhuatl). It’s located in the middle of the state of Veracruz, 300 kilometers east of Mexico city and 100 kilometers west of the Veracruz harbor.
La Orduña is a small rural-urban community. Its members work the land and have commercial activities. Coffee and sugar cane plantations surround the town and now get processed in the vicinity. People are warm and hospitable; they still keep many traditions like the day of the dead and other local festivities.
Coatepec is known for its coffee production. It is often referred as Mexico’s coffee capital. The climate is sub-tropical, mild-humid with an average 19.2º C temperature. This is a rainy region due to its year long high humidity. In this climate and altitude the mountain forest houses a very large variety of fauna and flora.
The tourist bureau, in 2006, proclaimed Coatepec as a Pueblo Mágico (magic town), due to its cultural heritage and historic importance. At Coatepec’s down-town we find the main park, Parque Hidalgo, and at its sides the San Jerónimo church and the municipal government’s palace. The park’s strollers often enjoy looking at the shops surrounding the park and sometimes stop for a cup of coffee or a meal at a restaurant. The traditional ice-cream at the park’s kiosk however, is not to be missed. They have a variety of tropical and exotic flavors. Every Sunday afternoon, in the government’s municipal palace they hold “cultural Sundays”, with traditional danzón for everyone. At the Coatepec’s Casa de la Cultura, besides art and folk shows, they organize on Saturdays a bio-regional market, Mercado Bioregional Coatl, offering organic and ecological regional goods.
Ten kilometers from Coatepec lays Xalapa, capital of the state of Veracruz, one of the country’s most culture-oriented cities. Among its highlights we find the Juárez park and the anthropology museum, second in size and importance in the country after Mexico City’s anthropology museum.
Other regional attractions include Xico and Jalcomulco, at 10 and 25 kilometers away respectively. In these beautiful places one can enjoy the region’s lushness, the Texolo water-fall and La Antigua’s river, one of Latin America’s best rafting and kayaking waterways.
Find more regional information at:
www.coatepec.gob.mx
www.xalapa.gob.mx
www.xalapa.net
www.diezpesitos.com
www.caftanrojo.org