Calimaya is a town and municipality located just south of Toluca, the capital of the State of Mexico in central Mexico. The settlement was probably established around 800 BCE, when the city of Teotenango was in existence. It remained an important town through the colonial period, part of the vast lands held by a family which came to be known as the Counts of Calimaya. The town is home to one of the oldest examples of an open chapel in the State of Mexico. Today, the municipality is still mostly agricultural but there has been a rapid construction of housing divisions, changing parts of it from rural to suburban.
The town
The town of Calimaya is located south of the city of Toluca in the Valley of Toluca. It is divided into five neighborhoods: Los Angeles, El Calvario, San Martin, Gualupita and San Juan. The town centers on a square called the Plaza de Kiosko which is flanked by the municipal palace, a set of arches that contains businesses and the Casa de Cultura. This “culture house” contains old documents and archeological pieces, as well as the municipal library, which was opened in 1986.
The plaza area is bordered on the east by Juárez Street. Directly across this street is the clock tower and the former Franciscan monastery and current parish church. The clock tower was built in 1910, as part of preparations for the Centennial of Mexico's Independence.
The parish of San Pedro y San Pablo is part of a former Franciscan monastery complex mostly constructed between 1529 and 1594. It is one of the most complete former monasteries to survive from the 16th century in the Valley of Toluca. The complex consists of a main church, an open chapel, a baptistery, a chapel called the Capillas de la Tercera Orden and an atrium with some remaining chapels. The main church contains an altarpiece from the 16th century with an image called “El Señor del Cuerito” (The Lord of the Leather), which is an image painted on leather, which was considered very miraculous a long time ago. It also contains a painting called La Madre María de la Luz by Miguel Cabrera.
The open chapel and baptistery area is the oldest surviving part of the complex. The chapel is believed to have been built in 1529 by the Franciscans that came to evangelize the area and one of the first of its kind in New Spain. One unusual characteristic of the chapel is that the four arches are asymmetrical. It has been listed as a historic monument by INAH as it combines European and indigenous elements. The baptistery contains the originally 16th-century font. Despite its importance historically, the open chapel is the least visited monument in the State of Mexico. The main reason is that it is not as well known as contemporaries such as the monastery in Acolman.
The municipal market was opened in 1998.
The municipality
The municipality of Calimaya consists of the seat and twenty-nine other communities. Outside of the seat, the main communities are: Concepción Coatipac, San Bartolito Tlaltelolco, San Andrés Ocotlán, San Diego de la Huerta, San Lorenzo Cuauhtenco, San Marcos de la Cruz, Santa María Nativitas and Zaragoza de Guadalupe. The municipality is part of the metropolitan area of Toluca, located south of the city. It borders the municipalities of Toluca, Metepec, Mexicalzingo, Chapultepec, Tianguistenco, San Antonio la Isla, Tenango del Valle and Santa María Rayón.
From 2008 to 2011, population and housing have increased significantly. The population rose from 38,770 in 2005 to 47,033 in 2010. The number of housing units have increased from 7,464 in 2005 to 10,589 in 2010. This increase is mostly due to the construction of housing developments in the municipality from 2008 to 2011. In this period, developers have added 11,373 units to the 7,151 that existed before. The new developments are changing the municipality from rural to suburban, and the municipality cannot keep up with services. From 2000 to 2010, the population has grown from 35,166 to 47,033 a 33% increase.
There are no major indigenous communities in the municipality with only 108 people speaking any kind indigenous language, mostly Mazahua and Otomi.
There are 41 schools in the municipality from preschool to high school level. There are thirteen preschools, seventeen primary schools, eight middle schools, two distance learning middle schools (telesecundaria), and one high school/preparatory school. There are also two job training centers and a day care center.