“The City of Eternal Spring,” Cuernavaca is just south of Mexico City, in the center of “Old Mexico.” Unlike expansive, grand cities like Guadalajara, Cuernavaca offers many more private charms. Many of its colonial homes hide stunning courtyards with year-round blossoming vegetation and sub-tropical gardens behind their high walls, where people spend time in private and quiet splendour. A relatively large city of about 350,000 people, Cuernavaca is hardly a metropolis, but does offer the full range of amenities and comforts.
Capital of Morelos state and, as the capital city also of the Tlahuica Indians, it was known as Cuauhnáhuac "place near trees". The name was changed to Cuernavaca, influenced by the Spanish words cuerno "horn" and vaca "cow" (c. 1521) when it was taken by Hernán Cortés; his palace, now the Morelos State House (decorated with murals by painter Diego Rivera), is located there. Nearby are pre-Columbian ruins. A favourite retreat of the emperor Maximilian, the area is still popular with tourists. The University of Morelos was established there in 1953.
Cuernavaca is located in the northern region of the small state of Morelos about 85 km (53 mi) south of Mexico City and only about a 45 minute drive from the Mexico City limits over an excellent M-95 freeway that climbs to over 10,000' in height and is surrounded by some of the most beautiful and culturally rich regions of the country with archaeological ruins and haciendas, impressive scenery and natural spas. Morelos' terrain and resources are extremely diverse, varying from high, cool, pine-forested mountains to hot, humid sub-tropical areas replete with mineral springs, and then again to dry, desert-like hillsides covered with cacti.
Cuernavaca lies about 700 metres (2,300 ft) lower than Mexico City, and therefore serves as a popular refuge from the cold for inhabitants of Mexico City. The city has a pleasant climate, with an average year-round temperature of 23º C (73º F). It attracts visitors from around the world for many reasons that include also its art and history. Several interesting excursions to nearby attractions are easily managed within a two-hour drive: from North America's oldest and most populous city, Mexico City, to hovering 6,000-metre (20,000 ft) volcanoes topped by Nahuatl ruins like Tepoztlán or Xochicalco— are just some of the possibilities within a short distance from the heart of this old, charming city.
With an altitude of 1,542 meters (5,059 feet) on Mexico's central plateau, Cuernavaca's climate is generally mild with warm, sunny days and cool nights. Its placement, strung along a slope riddled with numerous barrancas (ravines), makes for a marked difference in temperatures between the higher, northern areas of the city, which touch into cool pine forests, and the southern lower and more tropically-climed reaches, where the lushness of sugar cane and bananas abounds.
Economy
While the chief economic activities in modern day Cuernavaca center on manufacturing and services, some agricultural activities of old continue. Cortés introduced sugar cane cultivation to the area, and African slaves were brought in to work in the cane fields, by way of Spain's Caribbean colonies. His sugar hacienda still stands but has been converted to the impressive Hacienda de Cortés. Sugar is still a main agriculture product in addition to corn (maize), beans, and tropical fruits. Floriculture and beekeeping are also important. Manufactures include processed foods, pharmaceuticals, clothing, textiles, and automobiles.
Tourism is also a driving force in Cuernavaca. This is mostly due to its warm weather and many water parks that attract thousands of visitors coming from Mexico City.
Architecture
The city has examples of ancient Aztec and Tlahuica cultures as well as colonial buildings. Emperor Charles V gave Cuernavaca to Hernán Cortés as a fief, and in 1532 the conquistador built the Palacio de Cortés, now the Museo Regional de Historia de Cuauhnahuac (Historical Museum of Cuauhnahuac).
Cuernavaca's downtown cathedral dates from 1552. Murals depict the journey of Mexican Saint Felipe to Japan. At the 11:00 mass on Sundays, a mariachi band accompanies the proceedings.
The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts world centre Our Cabaña opened in 1957.
Education and scientific research
The Universidad Autonóma del Estado de Morelos (UAEM) is the state university located north of Cuernavaca. It has several schools including Chemistry and Pharmaceutics, Mathematics, Biology, Physics, a Law School and a Medicine College.
The National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) has a satellite campus located in Cuernavaca, which is aimed at research and graduate studies. It also has an undergraduate program in genomics.
Cuernavaca is the home of the following research centers: Center for Genomic Sciences (UNAM), the Institute of Biotechnology (UNAM), the Institute of Physical Sciences (UNAM), the Center for research in Energy (UNAM), the Institute of Mathematics (UNAM), the (UAEM), and the Center for Research in Engineering and Applied SciencesNational Institute of Public Health. Cuernavaca has the highest concentration of scientists and researchers in Latin America.
Cuernavaca is renowned for its excellent Spanish language schools and has been hosting visitors from around the world for more than 25 years who want to learn Spanish. Many of these offer cultural activities and programs extending far beyond regular Spanish language courses.
Transportation
The city's bus system is economical and easy to use. Bus destinations from Cuernavaca include very regular services to Mexico City (every 15 minutes) as well as services to Puebla, Tepoztlan, Taxco, Acapulco and other destinations throughout Morelos. Cuernavaca has developed air-transportation service throughout the last few years due to its proximity to Mexico City. General Mariano Matamoros Airport is a national airport in the south-east area of the city and it is considered as an alternate to Mexico City International Airport. Some airlines such as Avolar, and Viva Aerobus are already offering some weekly flights from the country’s largest cities such as Monterrey and Tijuana.
Some notable past residents
• Hernán Cortés (1485-1547), Spanish conquistador.
• Emperor Maximilian (1832-1867), Jardin Borda Cultural Center is located in his former residence in this city, an important city symbol due to its rich history and natural beauty.
• Barbara Hutton (1912-1979), Granddaughter of Frank Woolworth built a luxurious Japanese-style palace on a 30 acre (120,000 m²) estate in Jiutepec, in the outskirts of Cuernavaca in 1959.
• Robert Brady (1928-1986) Iowa native who founded the museum that bears his name in downtown Cuernavaca. He lived and died in a former 16th century meteorological observatory of the Franciscan seminary behind the Casa de la Torre, leaving a fascinating and rich collection of art he had collected over his lifetime. Works by Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, Paul Klee and Francis Toledo are among the 1400 pieces in the collection. This museum was second choice as the location for Mexico's Guggenheim Museum, which is being constructed in Guadalajara, Jalisco and scheduled to be completed in 2011.
• Maurice Ascalon (1913-2003), the Israeli sculptor and industrial designer, spent the last years of his life in Cuernavaca, where he resided with his son, the artist Adir Ascalon.
• Erich Fromm lived in Cuernavaca around 1950.
• Chicago mobster Sam Giancana spent seven years (1967-74) in exile on a lavish estate until the Mexican government (under pressure from the US Justice Department) had him deported to the United States.
• Helen Hayes, noted American actress of stage and film, owned a home in Cuernavaca for many years.
• Ivan Illich founded the Centro Intercultural de Documentación (CIDOC) in Cuernavaca in the early 1960s. This institution served as his base for many years.
• Tamara de Lempicka (May 16, 1898 – March 18, 1980), noted Art Deco painter, spent the last two years of her life in Cuernavaca.
• Jazz figures Charles Mingus (1922-1979) and Gil Evans (1912-1988) both died in Cuernavaca after suffering from Lou Gehrig's disease and peritonitis, respectively.
• Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the exiled Shah of Iran.
• Manuel Puig, an Argentine writer, moved to Cuernavaca in 1989, and died there a year later.
• Charles Samuels, an American writer, moved to Cuernavaca in 1974, and died there in 1982.
• Natasha Gelman, wife of Jacques Gelman, spent her last years in Cuernavaca, making her final wish to create a museum with part of her art collection in Cuernavaca.
• Gloria Lasso, Spanish-born French singer.
• Malcolm Lowry, English writer, moved to Cuernavaca in 1936 and made Quauhnahuac the fictional locale of his novel, Under the Volcano.