Zongolica

Zongolica lies in the mountains of central Veracruz, southwest of Orizaba. It was a Nonoalca settlement before the Spanish conquest, and in the sixteenth century served as the administrative head of several surrounding communities. Nahuatl-speaking inhabitants maintained a presence in the mountain district throughout the colonial period.

Tobacco cultivation became significant in the wider Sierra de Zongolica during the colonial era. During the Mexican War of Independence, Rafael Argüelles and the priests Mariano de las Fuentes and Juan Moctezuma Cortés assembled a force at Zongolica that occupied Orizaba in May 1812. Tobacco taken there was sold to fund a mint for the movement.