When walking through the city we can find obvious indigenous echoes, but others have also disappeared
Over the years, our rulers have taken on the curious habit of changing street names in Saltilloas if they didn’t have more pressing matters on their list of obligations.
This often causes confusion among neighbors, who suddenly no longer know the name of the street where they have lived all their lives. Additionally, changes bring with them the hassle of updating documents, completing paperwork, and adjusting utility bills. Change is quite a headache.
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The saddest thing about this whole matter is that, by changing the names of the streets, traditions are lost and famous people who were supposedly immortalized on the plaques are forgotten. There are truly unfortunate cases, such as names of Nahuatl origin, which not only sounded pretty, but they also had great cultural and historical value, being part of the city’s heritage.
That heritage of our Tlaxcalan ancestors has little by little been disappearing, although, luckily, some of those names have managed to survive the passage of time… and politicians!
Have you ever wondered what those ancient words that still adorn some of our streets mean? Behind every name there is a story, a legacy and a meaning that connects us with the roots of this land. It’s as if every time we walk down those streets we are stepping on a piece of the past!
Government Palace of Coahuila with the new coat of arms made by historian Vito Alessio Robles.
In the past, historians and chroniclers thought that the name Coahuila came from coatl, which means snake or viper, and huilana, which means to fly or move. It was also believed that it could be related to the term huilotl, paloma and tlanque, which led to people thinking for a long time that Coahuila meant a place of vipers or where snakes crawl. What a horrible name, really.
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However, this ancient belief of meaning was denied by Vito Alessio Robles, father of Coahuila historiography. At the right time he clarified that the name Coahuila actually refers to the abundance of trees or a forest.. In 1942, at the initiative of Don Vito Alessio Robles, the then Governor of the State, Benecio López Padilla, presented a bill to adopt an official coat of arms. This project was approved on October 23 of that same year.
This interpretation is reflected in the state coat of arms, which Alessio Robles himself created and proposed. At the bottom of the coat of arms you can read the official name of the state: Coahuila de Zaragoza. Zaragoza was added to the name of Coahuila in honor of General Ignacio Zaragoza, hero of the Battle of Puebla.which took place on May 5, 1862, when the Mexican army defeated the elite French army under the command of Charles Ferdinand Latrille.
At the bottom of the Coahuila shield you can see a river, a walnut tree and a sun rising above the trees. This is the Monclova River, on whose banks a Spanish town called San Francisco de Coahuila was founded and which later took the name of Monclova, which for years was the capital of Coahuila. The Sun means that the Mexican Revolution emerged in our state.
OF A BEAUTIFUL RED WOOD
The word cuauchichil or guachichil comes from Nahuatl and can be broken down into two parts: Cuauhtli or cuahuitl, which means tree or wood, and chichiltic, which means red. Therefore, cuauchichil or guachichil can be understood as head painted red or those with red heads.
This refers to the custom of this indigenous group of painting their heads and bodies with red pigments, which they obtained from minerals such as iron oxide.
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The Guachichiles were one of the largest groups of the Chichimecas, a group of nomadic and semi-nomadic peoples who inhabited northern Mexico, in what is now Zacatecas, San Luis Potosí, Jalisco and Guanajuato and southern Coahuila, during pre-Hispanic times. and colonial. They were known for their resistance to Spanish conquest, particularly during the Chichimeca War.
TREE WITH A STREAM AT THE FOOT
The word comes from Nahuatl, separating it into two parts: Tzápitlotzapa, means sapote or tree and inamé, which means river or spring. The name sounds logical due to the number of springs that existed in the region and fortunately some continue to supply the city with the vital liquid.
Thus, Zapalinamé could be interpreted as a river, channel or spring of the sapote or place of sapotes next to the water. Zapalinamé is named after the eastern mountain range of the Saltillo Valley. This mountain range is significant, both for its natural and cultural value, as it is part of the mountains that surround the city and is key in water collection.
In addition, the Sierra de Zapalinamé is recognized for its environmental conservation efforts and for being a protected natural area. Let’s take care of it, it is one of the few we have as a water source.
Zapalinamé was a peacemaker leader of his tribe, He decided to make peace with the Spanish so as not to continue sacrificing the lives of his clan. This character does deserve a statue in our city. Don’t you believe?
Back in the 1970s and the bridges that joined Colonia Guayulera with Mixcoac Street.
SOMETHING ABOUT THE NOMENCLATURES
Among the streets that still retain the original name is ahuízotl.
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It is one of those surrounding the Sanctuary of Guadalupe. The word comes from Nahuatl and refers to a mythical being in the Mexica worldview. It is composed of: Atl which means water and ahuizotl, which means thorn or thorn. Ahuízotl is interpreted as water thorn.
In Mexica mythology, the ahuízotl was an aquatic creature similar to a dog, with one hand on its tail, it was said to live in lakes and rivers and had the ability to attract and drown people.
HONORING AN EMPEROR
The name was derived from Cuatemotzin and refers to the last Aztec emperor, Cuauhtémoc, who was known for his courage and resistance during the conquest of Tenochtitlán. In a symbolic sense, it refers to the image of the eagle descending from the sky, a symbol of strength and leadership in Mexica culture.
In Mixcoac there is an interesting meaning. Mixtli, cloud and coatl, place of snakes. For this reason it is understood as a place of snakes or a cloud of snakes.
BETTING ON THE YOUNG PEOPLE
Moctezuma He used this name to distinguish himself from his great-grandfather, Moctezuma Ilhuicamina, who was known as “the old man.” The name means: He who gets angry, or lord who gets angry, by “mote”, sir and “zuma”, gets angry. With the Saltillo traffic, from time to time we all have a Moctezuma inside.
In the case of Mixcalco, this also comes from the Nahuatl, “mix”, mesquite and “calli”, house. Mesquite House. This name has a special meaning for the Saltillo valley. The tree served as a food source for the natives of the region.
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Another Nahuatl word is Xicoténcatl, or “bee face.” since it is composed of “xicotl”, which means bumblebee and “tencatl”, which is face.
From Tizoc we know that it means “he who makes sacrifices” and is derived from “tzitzitl”, to make sacrifices and oc, verb finalizer. A street in his name is in the Pueblo Insurgentes neighborhood, which has the zip code 25130.
The word Mazatlán comes from Nahuatl and is composed of “mazatl”, which means deer and “tlán”, a suffix that denotes place or abundance. Therefore, the meaning of Mazatlán is place of deer or land of deer.
Zapalinamé decided not to go to war with the Spanish, so as not to continue losing lives of his tribe.
In the case of Tacubaya, this word is composed of “tlācueye”, which means place where the waters meet and yānque, a suffix that means place of. Therefore, Tacubaya can be interpreted as “place where the waters meet.”. This name probably refers to the geographical location of Tacubaya, a town near the great Tenochtitlan, which used to be an area with abundant water sources, streams and springs in pre-Hispanic times. In the Federico Berrueto Ramon neighborhood there is a street with this name, with the zip code 25096.
OF THE NAMES THAT ARE NO LONGER
Coyoacán was called that for a time, since today it is called Luis Gutiérrez. Its meaning is place of coyotes, from the words “coyotl”, coyote and can, place. Cuitláhuac Street was previously called Baños Street and today Murguía Street. Cuitláhuac means “he who has excrement” or “he who owns the excrement.” This for “cuitla”, excrement and “huac”, possess.
AND THERE ARE MORE LOSSES
You have probably eaten the delicious quesadillas with cuitlacoche, although it is better to forget this meaning when you eat them. The word comes from the Nahuatl “cuitlacoche”, which literally translates as sleeping excrement or resting dirt. The thrasher is appreciated as an edible mushroom, and considered a delicacy in the gastronomy of Mexico.
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The street that today bears the name of Matamoros was known as Guanajuato for a long time. The word Guanajuato comes from Purépecha, not Nahuatl, and its meaning is “place of the frogs.” It is derived from the Purépecha words “quanaxhuato”, place where, and quanax, frog.
The one that now bears the name of Álvaro Obregón, from the north to Victoria Street, was known with the name Netzahualcóyotl. “Coyote who fasts” comes from the Nahuatl, which is fasting or fasting and coyotl, coyote. Xóchitl is perhaps one of the most beautiful words in the Nahuatl language, Xochitl. It means flower, which had its street in Saltillo and which today bears the name of Guillermo Purcell.
OF THE LOST NEIGHBORHOODS
Atotonilco is from Nahuatl, composed of: “Atlque”, which means water and “totoni” which means hot, coque is a suffix that means place. Therefore, Atotonilco translates as place of hot springs or place of hot water.
This neighborhood was located south of Saltillo, on Salazar Street, at Mixcalco Street.
There is also the word Nacozari, this is a word of Opath origin, an indigenous language spoken by the people who inhabited the northern region of Sonora.
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The word nacozari is derived from the terms: Nākosa which means abundance of cactus and rī which means place of.
Nacozari can be interpreted as a place where nopales abound. This name is famous for being associated with the Mexican hero Jesús García, who saved the town from a tragedy in 1907 and in his honor the place was renamed Nacozari de García. This street is located to the south of the city, faces west from Salazar Street and runs west to Obregón. saltillo1900@gmail.com
2024-10-20 01:07:00