San Antonio la Isla

San Antonio la Isla
Municipality
Coordinates: 19°42′26″N 99°47′12″W
Country	Mexico
State	State of Mexico
Municipal Seat	San Antonio la Isla
Town Founded	1603
Municipality Founded	1847
Government
• Municipal President	(2006–2009)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central)
Postal code (of seat)	52280
Website	(in Spanish)

Not to be confused with San Antonio Island.

San Antonio La Isla is a municipality located in the State of Mexico in Mexico. It's municipal seat is the town of San Antonio la Isla. Its name originally was "Techialoyan" or "Tlachialoyan", which in Nahuatl means "place of those who watch". Its glyph is an eye on the apex of a pyramid that floats on water. It is located in the Matlatzinca Valley, south of Toluca, the state capital.

The town

The area was originally inhabited by the Matlatzinca, then by the Otomi before it was conquered by the Aztec Empire under Axayacatl, while there is oral tradition indicated the area once held the name of "place of Otomis", its first written mention in the Codex of Mendoza has the name "Techialoyan". The area was the purview of Calimaya and Tepemajalco, but in 1603 the town of San Antonio Techialoyan was officially recognized by authorities. In the 17th century it was considered to be a semi-independent "Indian republic", according to the Codex of San Antonio Techialoyan, which notes Miguel de Santa María Axayácatl as its governor. Spaniards are not mentioned as part of the population until after 1650.

During the Mexican War of Independence, insurgent leader Father Miguel Hidalgo passed through here on his way to Tianguistenco, recruiting men for his army.

The municipality

For most of its history after the Conquest, San Antonio La Isla was a political and religious dependency of Calimaya. However, after petition, it was granted municipal status by degree in 1847.