San Pedro Atocpan facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
San Pedro Atocpan
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Community
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 San Pedro Atocpan
Location in Mexican Federal District
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| Country |  Mexico |
| Elevation
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2,440 m (8,010 ft) |
| Population
(2005)
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| • Total | 8,997 |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (CST) |
| Postal code (of seat) |
12200
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| Area code(s) | 55 |
San Pedro Atocpan is a special community located in Milpa Alta, a part of Mexico City. It's famous for making a traditional Mexican sauce called mole. Most people in San Pedro Atocpan work with mole, and they make almost all the mole eaten in Mexico City!
Even though it's part of Mexico City, Milpa Alta is very rural. It's the second largest area in the city, but only a small number of people live there. In 2005, about 8,997 people lived in San Pedro Atocpan. The name "Atocpan" comes from the Nahuatl language, and it means "on fertile soil." The community is found in the northwest of Milpa Alta, on the road between Mexico City and Oaxtepec, Morelos. It sits about 2,500 meters (over 8,200 feet) above sea level. The land is hilly, nestled between the Cuauhtzin Volcano and Teutli Mountain. In 2011, San Pedro Atocpan was named a "Barrio Mágico" (Magic Neighborhood) by the city.
Contents
Making Mole: A Special Tradition
San Pedro Atocpan is best known for its delicious mole. Mole is a traditional sauce with many different flavors. It started as an ancient sauce called "chilmulli" in Nahuatl, which means "chili pepper sauce." Later, during the time of Spanish rule, new ingredients like nuts, peanuts, sesame seeds, and spices such as cinnamon were added. The flavors have changed over time, but the thick texture of the sauce has stayed the same.
About 92% of the people in San Pedro Atocpan earn their living by making and selling mole. The mole here isn't made in big factories. Instead, it's made in small, family-owned businesses. Families create moles with different tastes, smells, colors, and textures. Their special mole is called "mole almendrado" (almond mole). This type of mole was invented here. It's made with 26 to 28 ingredients, always starting with three types of chili peppers: mulato, pasilla, and ancho. The recipes are kept secret! Many families work together to buy the ingredients they need, like chili peppers from Zacatecas. This helps them avoid extra costs from middlemen. Each family has its own unique mole recipes. For example, the Guadalupe Rios family adds apple to their mole, which they believe helps with digestion.
Seventy years ago, San Pedro Atocpan was a typical farming village, growing corn and beans. Only four neighborhoods made mole for town parties back then. These were Panchimalco, Ocotitla, Nuztla, and Tula. The women who made mole were often important figures in their communities. In the 1940s, one family decided to travel all the way to Mexico City to sell their mole at the La Merced Market. They only brought two kilos because they had to grind the ingredients by hand.
Things changed when the main road was paved and electricity arrived in 1947. It became much easier to make and transport mole to the city. What was once a sauce made for families became a product for the whole town. Today, San Pedro Atocpan produces 60% of all the mole made in Mexico. They also make 89% of the mole eaten in Mexico City. This adds up to about 28,000 to 30,000 tons of mole each year!
Places to Visit in San Pedro Atocpan
The community has two main churches: the Parish of San Pedro Apostol and the Church of Señor de la Misericordias. The Parish of San Pedro Apostol is an old Franciscan church. It was opened on August 28, 1680, and was declared a national monument in 1933. The town celebrates its patron saint, Saint Peter, every year on June 29.
The other church, Señor de las Misericordias (Lord of Mercies), is a newer building. It honors a special image of Christ that is respected throughout Milpa Alta. This church holds a festival for this image every May. People from other parts of the city and nearby states like Morelos and Mexico State come to celebrate.
National Mole Festival: A Delicious Event
The National Festival of Mole is held in San Pedro Atocpan every October. It started in 1977 to help promote the town's famous product. The first festival was in the Yenhuitlalpan neighborhood, not in the main town. Only four restaurants took part. It was first held in May, at the same time as the Señor de las Misericordias festival. However, some people didn't like mixing a religious festival with a commercial event. So, the mole festival was moved to October, where it has been ever since.
This yearly festival offers crafts, food, traditional Mexican music, carnival rides, and other fun fair attractions. More than 2,600 people work hard to organize the event. They prepare about 400,000 plates of different mole dishes. You can find pork chops and rabbit in adobo, chicken and turkey in mole almendrado (almond mole), and mole verde (green mole). But the most popular dishes are enchiladas made with various traditional moles.
See also
In Spanish: San Pedro Atocpan para niños
