Fundation
In June 1519, the Totonacs helped Cortés and the Spaniards in the founding of La Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz (The Rich Town of the True Cross) some distance from the site of the present-day port of Veracruz. Veracruz thus became the first city founded by the Spaniards on the North American continent. Even today, Veracruz remains as one of the most important commercial and industrial centers of Mexico.
In the subsequent events, culminating in the taking of the city of Tenochtitlán and the downfall of the Aztec Empire in 1521, the Totonac took an active part in the campaign as allies of the Spaniards and their traditional allies, the Tlaxcalan Indians. In addition to giving ready allegiance to Spaniards, they embraced the Roman Catholic faith of the Europeans. As early as 1523, the Franciscans first started working among the Totonac people of the highlands. The Augustinians arrived a decade later to proselytize the Totonacs along the border region of Hidalgo, Puebla, and Veracruz.
Transportation and communication were difficult… Also, Totonacapan largely lacked the mineral resources so attractive to the Spaniards. Thus, until relatively recent years, much of Totonacapan has remained intact and isolated, and many forms of native Totonac culture have survived." Today, the Totonacs of Puebla and Veracruz, numbering about 100,000, are industrious farmers. Their chief crop is sugar cane, from which they manufacture sugar in their own mills. Dancing and festivals are important elements of their culture. Although some of their festivals retain elements of their ancient sacrificial rites, most of the Totonacs are Roman Catholic today.
The Huasteco Indians. The Huasteco Indians, who speak a form of the Mayan language, presently occupy 55 municipios in the modern-day states of Veracruz, San Luis Potosí and Hidalgo, as well as smaller sections of Tamaulipas and Querétaro. It is believed that they were isolated from the rest of the Maya and evolved separately and may have arrived in the area as early as 200 A.D. Under Aztec rule, the Huastecos occupied two Aztec provinces, Atlan and Toch
