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City Population
515,374 City Center (1990 estimate, Source: United Nations Population
Division, 1995
CLIMATE AND
WEATHER
Acapulco's weather is hot and sunny all year round with temperatures
ranging between 72 and 91 degrees Fahrenheit (22 and 33 degrees
Celsius). July and August are the warmest months and the rainy season
runs from June to October.
HISTORY
Founded: 25 April 1528
Despite its modern facade, Acapulco has been well known as a traveler's
crossroads for at least a millennium. Its name comes from Nahuatl
(Aztec) words that mean "plane of dense reeds". Acapulco has been
inhabited since 3000 B.C. Archaeological excavations at La Sabana, in
the hills outside Acapulco, have uncovered Nahua artifacts dating back
some 2,000 years. The Nahua was the tribe that preceded the Aztecs.
COMMERCE AND
ECONOMY
The port became a leading trading center for Spanish ships returning
from the Orient. In 1579, King Philip II declared it the official port
for trade between Asia and the Americas. Shiploads of slaves and luxury
goods like silks, porcelain, jade, ivory, incense and spices were
brought to the port. Traders and merchants from all over New Spain, a
vast territory that included modern-day Mexico and parts of the American
Southwest, gathered to buy goods. For the duration of the fair, the city
was transformed. Its population tripled and local businesses boomed. It
wasn't until the 1920s that Acapulco began to be viewed as a vacation
destination. During his presidency (1946-1952), Aleman transformed the
city. Roads were paved; water was piped in; electricity was installed;
and the city was groomed as an upscale tourist destination.
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