Zihuatlan

Zihuatlan, or Cihuatlán, stood beside the Marabasco River near the Pacific coast. Its Nahuatl name means “place of women,” and the settlement was dependent on the lordship of Cuzalapa. In a report to the Spanish king, Hernán Cortés repeated a tale describing Cihuatlán as a land of women rich in pearls and gold. Such accounts mingled the geography of the coast with the hopes and legends of the conquerors.