Pachuca

Pachuca (Spanish pronunciation: [paˈtʃuka] ; Mezquital Otomi: Nju̱nthe), formally known as Pachuca de Soto, is the capital and largest city of the east-central Mexican state of Hidalgo, located in the south-central part of the state. Pachuca de Soto is also the name of the municipality for which the city serves as municipal seat. Pachuca is located about 90 kilometres (56 mi) north of Mexico City via Mexican Federal Highway 85.There is no agreed upon consensus regarding the origins of the word pachuca. It has been loosely traced to pachoa ('strait', 'opening'), pachoacan ('place of government', 'place of silver and gold') and patlachuican ('place of factories', 'place of tears').The official name of Pachuca is Pachuca de Soto in honor of congressman Manuel Fernando Soto, who is credited with the founding of Hidalgo state. Its nickname of La Bella Airosa ("the airy, beautiful") comes from the strong winds that blow through the canyons to the north of the city. In the indigenous Otomi language, Pachuca is known as Nju̱nthe. The area had been long-inhabited; apart from some green obsidian, the mining that Pachuca is most famous for began in the mid-16th century, during Spanish colonial rule.
Pachuca remained a major mining center until the mid-20th century, with the city's fortunes fluctuating with the health of the mining sector. In the mid-20th century, a major downturn in mining pushed the city to shift focus from mining to industry, resulting in the revamping of the Universidad Autónoma de Hidalgo. Today, mining forms only a fraction of the municipality's economy. One cultural aspect that makes Pachuca unique is the influence of the Cornish miners who immigrated in the 19th century from Great Britain, as many of their descendants remain in Pachuca, and nearby Real del Monte. Furthermore, the Cornish populace helped to shape two local traditions that define the city—fútbol and a dish called "pastes."