Mexico: All about Hidalgo Trivia Quiz

Answer: El Chico National Park

El Chico National Park has been designated as a forest reserve since 1898 under the orders of President Porfirio Díaz. The area was originally protected in response to the indiscriminate logging occurring to maintain the local silver industry. In 1922 it was designated a national park, which was formalised by decree in 1982.

El Chico National Park is located in the Pachuca Mountains, and is known for its impressive landscape composed of volcanic rock formations. At around 10,140 feet (3,090 m) the highest rock formation of the park is Las Ventanas ("the Windows"), which is a popular and challenging feat for rock climbers.

Because of its high elevation, El Chico National Park has a cool, sub-humid climate throughout the entire year. The park features a large number of wild mushrooms, numbering at around 450 species.

Answer: Mural

Officially named "El Macro Mural Barrio de Palmitas," the mural is a community art project where all the houses situated on the hillside were painted bright colours to create an overall mural spanning across 209 houses. The project included around 450 families (about 1,800 people) and successfully generated local jobs and decreased youth violence. The mural spans over around 215,000 square feet (20,000 square m), and features over 100 colours.

Pachuca is one of the highest cities of Mexico, sitting at approximately 7,980 feet (2,430 m) above sea level.

Answer: Pyramid of Quetzalcoatl

Also known as the "Temple of the Morning Star" or "Pyramid B," the Pyramid of Quetzalcoatl at Tula was dedicated to the deity Quetzalcóatl in "Morning Star", or "Lord of the Dawn" form, Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli. Tula was the capital city of the Toltec Empire, the dominant empire of Central Mexico before the Aztecs took its place.

The pyramid is notable for its four, 13-feet (4 m) high basalt warrior statues, which were intricately etched with details such as feathered headdresses and pectoral plates shaped like butterflies. These warrior statues were not intended for public display, and were once the columns of the temple which sat atop the pyramid.

The city of Tula fell in the mid-12th century, and the Pyramid of Quetzalcoatl did not survive this wholly intact. Although the pyramid was looted and the wooden parts a victim of fire, the pyramid was built of mainly sustainable, fire-resistant, stone materials, with the main structure consisting of basalt, like the warrior statues on top of it. The exact cause of Tula's fall has been lost to history, but it was likely at the hands of the nomadic tribes from the north, such as the Chichimec people.

Centuries later when Tula had been long abandoned as a city, the Aztecs would arrive in the area. They held the Toltecs in high regard, proclaiming them as a "perfect," romanticized society whom the Aztecs claimed to have descended from.

Answer: El Santo

Officially named Tulancingo de Bravo to honour Nicolás Bravo, a Mexican Independence leader, Tulancingo is situated in the southeast of Hidalgo. It is nicknamed the "City of Satellites" due to its involvement in the production and installation of large satellite dishes to televise the 1968 Olympic Games.

El Santo was born in 1917 in Tulancingo as Rodolfo Guzmán Huerta and was the fifth of seven children. His wrestling career took place over five decades between 1934 and 1982. In Hidalgo, El Santo is not just revered as a local celebrity, but as a legend on par with a superhero. His death in 1982 caused shock throughout Mexico and resulted in one of the largest funerals held in Mexican history.

Answer: Basaltic Prisms of Santa María Regla

Located near the town of Huasca de Ocampo, the Basaltic Prisms of Santa María Regla are a formation of geometric basalt columns, against a canyon wall where two waterfalls thrive. They were formed during the Pleistocene epoch around 2.5 million years ago by a natural process named columnar jointing, where slow flowing volcanic lava cools and contracts. The columns rise to between around 100-165 feet (30-50 m).

The Basaltic Prisms of Santa María Regla feature two main waterfalls which originate from the nearby San Antonio Dam.

Answer: Actopan

Actopan is located in Hidalgo's Mezquital Valley, and saw the construction of the Ex-Convent of San Nicolás de Tolentino between 1550-1570. It features many defensive capabilities and towers high, making it a fortress as well as an Augustinian convent.

Although it was never meant for battle, the friars had it built on such a large scale to psychologically overpower the pyramids that once dominated the landscape before the Spanish arrived in the area. The murals in the open chapel feature shocking depictions of hell paired with pagan customs, which the friars included to deter people from other competing religions.

Answer: Huejutla de Reyes

"Huejutla" comes from the Nahuatl language, translating to "place of abundant willows," and "de Reyes" honours Mexican cobbler, Antonio Reyes Cabrera, who died defending Huejutla from the French in 1866.

While the majority of Mexico has Day of the Dead celebrations, Huejutla de Reyes has its own distinct interpretation of the festivities called "Xantolo." The city features a diverse range of native indigenous language speakers, with Huasteca Nahuatl being the dominant indigenous language.

Answer: Cerro La Peñuela

Standing at around 11,000 feet (3,400 m) tall, Cerro La Peñuela is situated in a dramatic mountainous landscape, which is a result of a long volcanic history and tectonics. Cerro La Peñuela consists of volcanic rock such as acid tuff (30%), basalt, andesite and rhyolite.

The mountain is located near the town of Almoloya in the southeast of the state.

Answer: Puebla

San Luis Potosí lies north of Hidalgo, Veracruz lies northeast, Tlaxcala and the State of Mexico lie south of Hidalgo and Querétaro lies to the west.

Answer: Tecolote Pyramid

Cerro del Xihuingo (also known as El Xihuingo Volcano) sits above the Xihuingo archaeological site, with the Tecolote Pyramid lying at the base of the volcano. The volcano gets its name from the Nahuatl language with "Xictli" translating approximately to "the place where the year is calculated." It was named this because ancient priests would use the mountain to record the movement of stars and calibrate the Mesoamerican calendar.

In contrast to many other pyramids, the Tecolote Pyramid has not lost its colour due to weathering. The red hue remains as the ancient stucco consists of red volcanic tezontle mud. The hills surrounding the pyramid feature cave paintings and over 1,000 ancient petroglyphs.

Answer: San Antonio Regla

Established between 1760-1762 by Pedro Romero de Terreros, the Count of Regla, the San Antonio Regla was located in the municipality of Huasca de Ocampo, Hidalgo. The former silver mining estate lies under around 40 feet (12 m) of water, where only a single brick chimney remains visible above the water. This chimney features a plaque dating from 1881.

The flooding created the San Antonio Dam. The reservoir functioned as an important hydroelectric power plant to power silver mines in Pachuca.

Answer: Diana

Sculpted by Juan Fernando Olaguíbel (1896-1976) in 1942, the Diana the Huntress statue portrays Diana, the Roman goddess of the hunt. The model for the sculpture was Helvia Martínez Verdayes aged 16. She was concerned that she could lose her office job if she were discovered to be the model, with Mexico being much more conservative in the 1940s. She kept this secret for 50 years until 1992 when she revealed her identity in her memoir.

The statue was unveiled in 1942. It caused offense due to its nudity and a bronze loincloth was welded onto it. After the statue was damaged during an attempt at removing the loincloth in 1968 (an action which Olaguíbel had petitioned), the sculptor made a replica of the statue for the 1968 Olympic games. The original was sold to the mayor of Mexico City at the time, Alfonso Corona del Rosal, who gifted it to Ixmiquilpan, his home town, in 1970.

Answer: Miners

Located in Mineral del Monte, the Museo de Medicina Laboral was constructed in 1907 and was originally built to treat silver miners, with hospital staff specialising in silicosis, industrial injuries and fractures. The hospital as custom built to treat miners injured by falling rocks, underground explosions, etc. The hospital received its first x-ray machine in 1930, a luxury at the time for a rural mountain town.

The hospital closed in 1982 and was turned into a museum. Because of the number of mining fatalities the building saw in its 75 year medical history, it is a popular spot with those who believe in paranormal activity.

Answer: Estadio Hidalgo

Also known as "El Huracán" (The Hurricane), Estadio Hidalgo was constructed in 1993. It was the main filming location for the Netflix comedy series, "Club de Cuervos." The stadium has a capacity of just under 30,000. The stadium originally was open air but acquired a roof in 2004.

Before 1993, CF Pachuca played at a much smaller stadium: the Estadio Revolución Mexicana, which could only hold around 3,500 spectators.

Answer: Football

The Salón de la Fama del Fútbol Internacional, also known as the International Football Hall of Fame in Pachuca, stands at around 125 feet (38 m) and is widely regarded as the largest football replica in the world.

The building was not originally intended to be a sports museum. The venue was repurchased by Grupo Pachuca and was inaugurated in 2011 by Felipe Calderón, the President of Mexico at the time, and Joseph Blatter, the President of FIFA at the time.