Texcoco de Mora is a city located in the State of Mexico, 25 km northeast of Mexico City. Texcoco de Mora is the municipal seat of the municipality of Texcoco. In the pre-Hispanic era, this was a major Aztec city on the shores of Lake Texcoco. After the Conquest, the city was initially the second most important after Mexico City, but its importance faded over time, becoming more rural in character. Over the colonial and post-independence periods, most of Lake Texcoco was drained and the city is no longer on the shore and much of the municipality is on lakebed. Numerous Aztec archeological finds have been discovered here, including the 125 tonne stone statue of Tlaloc, which was found near San Miguel Coatlinchán and now resides at the Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City.
Much of Texcoco's recent history involves the clash of the populace with local, state and federal authorities. The most serious of these is the continued attempts to develop an airport here, which despite the saturation of the current Mexico City airport, is opposed by local residents. The city and municipality is home to a number of archeological sites, such as the palace of Nezahualcoyotl, Texcotzingo (Baths of Nezahualcoyotl) and Huexotla. Other important sites include the Cathedral, the Juanino Monastery, and Chapingo Autonomous University. The most important annual festival is the Feria Internacional del Caballo (International Fair of the Horse), which showcases the area's mostly agricultural economic base.
The official name of the municipality is Texcoco and the official name of the city is Texcoco de Mora, in honor of Dr. José María Luis Mora. However, both are commonly called Texcoco. The name has been spelled a number of other ways over the city's history including Tetzcuco, Tezcoco and Tezcuco. The name is derived from Nahuatl and most likely means “among the jarilla (Larrea) which grow in crags”. However, there are a number of glyph representations for the place that have appeared the Codex Azcatitlán, the Codex Cruz, the Quinantzin Map and other early colonial documents and this translation cannot be verified 100%.
