Mexico's oldest port and the birthplace of son jarocho — where Cortés landed in 1519 to begin the conquest of an empire and every April the Semana Santa celebrations dissolve into the wildest Carnaval in Mexico, the Gran Café de La Parroquia has served lechero (poured-tableside coffee and hot milk) from the same Malecón location since 1808, the San Juan de Ulúa fortress witnessed 400 years of colonial history as fort, prison, and palace, and the Afro-Mexican huapango and son jarocho dance traditions of the Gulf Coast were born in the streets of Veracruz
Veracruz (600,000 city; metro 800,000) is the oldest continuously inhabited European city in mainland North America — Hernán Cortés established Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz on Good Friday (Viernes Santo) in April 1519, making it the first Spanish municipal government in the Americas and the launch point for the conquest of the Aztec Empire. The city's port position on the Gulf of Mexico made it Mexico's most strategically important city for 400 years: all silver from the mines of Zacatecas and Guanajuato left through Veracruz; all viceroys, conquistadors, missionaries, and trade goods arrived t…
Veracruz is the point of entry for the entire Spanish colonial project in Mexico: on April 22, 1519 (Good Friday, Viernes Santo), Hernán Cortés landed here with 600 soldiers, named the settlement Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz ('Rich Town of the True Cross'), and within two years had conquered the Aztec Empire — a military campaign historians regard as one of the most consequential events in world history. The port was the mandatory entry and exit point for all colonial trade under the Spanish fleet system (flotas) for 300 years; the San Juan de Ulúa fortress (built 1535–1707) protected it and la…