Cuernavaca

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Area
Cuernavaca
Image:Cuernavaca Palacio Cortes.JPG
Image:Locatie Cuernavaca.png Location in Mexico
Mexican State	Morelos
Mayor 2006-2009	Jesús Giles Sánchez
- City	192,092 km² (74,167.135 sq mi)
Elevation	1.510 m (4.95 ft)
Population
- City (2005)	341,702
- Metro	980,000
Website: http://www.cuernavaca.gob.mx/

Cuernavaca is the capital city of the state of Morelos in Mexico.

The city's name comes from Cuauhnáhuac, meaning "at the edge of the forest" in the Nahuatl language. It is the municipal seat of the municipality of Cuernavaca.

Cuernavaca is located about 85 km. (50 miles) south of Mexico City on the M-95 freeway. It is known as "the city of eternal spring" because of its consistent 27 °C year-round weather. Cuernavaca is truly in the heart of Mexico, and is surrounded by some of the most beautiful and culturally rich regions of the country.

1 Tourism
2 In literature
3 Famous people
4 Quoted in Movies and Television
5 External links

[edit] Tourism

Image:Mexico cuernavaca zocalo.JPG

Cuernavaca has always been a popular vacation destination for people from the Mexico City valley, from the Aztec kings, to the Spaniards and now the rich and famous. The opportunity for interesting side trips are many, all being within only a couple of hours drive, at most, from the capital. Many sights, from populous Mexico City to 18,000 feet volcanoes are a short distance from the heart of the city.

Cuernavaca is a favorite spot of people the world over for its historical interest, its striking scenery, its colorful life, and its delightful climate. The terrain is hilly and the streets are narrow and quaint. A wide variety of activities is available with all of the normal services of a modern city. The city bus system is economical and easy to use. This condition has added historical value to the city. The city has examples of ancient Aztec and Tlahuica cultures and of colonial buildings such as the Palacio de Cortés. Cuernavaca has historical sites from the Revolution, workshops of important artists, and more. Unfortunately, however, a rapidly-increasing propulation in the last couple of decades and a hugely-increased volume of traffic on the city's streets have brought problems of severe congestion and air contamination to large parts of the municipality.

The city has a number of language schools and has, for more than 25 years, been hosting visitors from around the world for the learning of the Spanish language.

Bus destinations from Cuernavaca include very regular services to Mexico City (1.5 hours) as well as services to Toluca, Puebla, Tepoztlan, Taxco, Acapulco and destinations throughout Morelos.

Cuernavaca is no longer served by rail services.

[edit] In literature

Albeit somewhat disguised, Cuernavaca (or Quauhnahuac) is the setting for Malcolm Lowry's harrowing novel of alcohol-induced self-destruction, Under the Volcano.

[edit] Famous people

The Argentine writer Manuel Puig moved to Cuernavaca in 1989 and died there in 1990. Erich Fromm had also lived here around 1950. The Israeli sculptor and industrial designer Maurice Ascalon (1913-2003) spent the last years of his life in Cuernavaca, where he resided with his son, the artist Adir Ascalon. Both Emperor Maximilian and the exiled Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, had homes in Cuernavaca. Dwight Morrow, former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico and father-in-law to Charles Lindbergh, had a weekend home in Cuernavaca.
Warren Zevon (1947-2003), the Chicago-born rock artist, made cryptic allusion to the city of Cuernavaca in the song Veracruz, included on his 1978 breakout release, Excitable Boy.
Notable jazz figures Charles Mingus (1922-1979) and Gil Evans (1912-1988) both died in Cuernavaca after suffering from Lou Gehrig's disease and periontitis, respectively.

[edit] Quoted in Movies and Television

In Men In Black when the INS agent asks the driver of a van that transports illegal aliens from Mexico "Where are you coming from?" the driver answers "I was fishing in Cuernavaca."
In the Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode Helpless (3x12), exactly 5 minutes into the episode, Buffy is talking to Giles in the library. "I'm way off my game. My game's left the country. It's in Cuernavaca."