Veracruz City Facts
Interesting Facts about Veracruz City
1. The name Veracruz was given to this port after Hernán Cortés landed here on April 22, 1519, which was Good Friday (the friday before Easter), also known as Vera Cruz (True Cross).2. Veracruz is the largest metropolitan area in the coast of the Gulf of Mexico.
3. In 1523 Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz was the first mainland city in America to receive a coat of arms.
4. During the pre-Hispanic era, four indigenous cultures inhabited the area of the state of Veracruz: the Huastecos, the Otomies, the Totonacas and the Olmecas.
5. The Totonac "Danza de los Voladores de Papantla" is a ritualistic dance performed by five men atop a 262 feet pole.
6. Veracruz once was the most important port in New Spain and is still the most important in México.
7. The Fort San Juan de Ulúa (1582) is located on an island that used to be a sanctuary dedicated to the pre-Hispanic god Tezcatzilpoca. Is where the Spanish first landed, and was also their last stand during the Independence War. It's also a reminder of the days of piracy and the Inquisition.
8. The port has been four times named "Heroic City".
9. The United States has twice attacked and occupied the port of Veracruz. Once in 1825 during the Intervention War and once in 1914 after a minor incident involving U.S. sailors and Mexican supporters of General Victoriano Huerta.
10. Nine days before Ash Wednesday, Veracruz hosts the Carnaval, a festival similar to Mardi Gras.
11. The Veracruz Aquarium, built in 1994, is the largest and most important in Latin America.
12. The port is known as "The door of Mexico to the World" because during 250 years it was the only port where merchandise from and to Europe could come in and out.
Things to See in Veracruz City
