Current Time in Nicolás Romero, Mexico

Nicolás Romero lies in the north-western corner of the Mexico City metropolitan area, within the State of Mexico, about forty kilometres from the national capital. The town spreads across rolling terrain at the foot of the wooded Sierra de Monte Alto, at an altitude of well over two thousand metres. Pine and oak forests, deep ravines and several reservoirs surround the built-up area, giving the municipality a cooler and greener character than most of the valley below.

The municipality has a population of around four hundred and thirty thousand, most of whom live in a broad belt of neighbourhoods that have grown together over recent decades. Many residents commute to jobs in Mexico City, Tlalnepantla, Cuautitlán and Atizapán, while local employment comes from textiles, food processing, construction, small manufacturing, commerce and forestry in the highlands.

The area was inhabited by Otomi communities long before the arrival of the Spanish, and the settlement was known for centuries as Azcapotzaltongo and later as Monte Bajo. Its modern importance began in the nineteenth century, when the abundant water of the local rivers attracted some of the earliest large textile mills in Mexico. Factories such as La Colmena, Barrón and San Ildefonso became pioneers of Mexican industry and created a strong tradition of organised labour. In 1898 the municipality was renamed in honour of Nicolás Romero, a liberal general of the war against the French intervention who was executed in 1865 and became a local hero.

Visitors are drawn to the old industrial villages, where the brick chimneys, workers' housing and mill buildings of the nineteenth century still stand and have been recognised as important industrial heritage. The parish church and the main square of the town centre are pleasant places to begin, and the municipal palace displays murals recounting local history. The Presa Guadalupe and Presa Iturbide reservoirs offer boating, fishing and lakeside walks, while the forests above the town are popular for hiking, cycling and weekend picnics. Nearby lie the archaeological zone of Tenayuca and the colonial towns of Tepotzotlán and Villa del Carbón.

Local culture blends Otomi roots, mestizo tradition and a proud working-class identity. Patron saint festivals fill the villages with fireworks, dances and processions, and the markets sell barbacoa, carnitas, pulque, quesadillas and the wool garments and wooden crafts of the sierra. Charreria, the Mexican equestrian sport, has a devoted following.

Buses and shared vans connect the municipality with the Cuautitlán and Tlalnepantla transport hubs and with the Mexico City metro system, and the Circuito Exterior Mexiquense and other motorways serve the region. Several technological institutes and university campuses operate locally, with the vast educational offering of Mexico City within reach.

Nicolás Romero is notable as one of the cradles of Mexican industry and as a green, forested edge of a vast metropolis.