Milpa Alta is one of the 16 delegations of Mexico City. The southeastern tip of this federative entity is located in the foothills of the Ajusco-Chichinauhtzin mountain range that separates the state of Morelos and the Mexican capital. With an area of 228 square kilometers, it is the second of the capital's territorial demarcations and constitutes an important environmental reserve in the center of the country. The origin of the twelve towns that are in the Milpaltense territory goes back to the prehispanic time: during the Late Preclassic period, the Chichimecas imposed themselves on the native population and founded Malacachtépec Momoxco and other towns subject to Xochimilco.
This town was conquered by the Spanish in 1529 and with Christianization its name was changed to La Asunción de Milpa Alta. In the nineteenth century, the peoples of Milpal passed from the domain of Xochimilco to Tlalpan, and from the state of Mexico to the Federal District. During the Mexican Revolution it became an important bastion of the Liberation Army of the South of Emiliano Zapata. In the decade of the seventies the cultivation of nopal was introduced massively, which is the pillar of the delegation's economy. The 80% of the nopal that is consumed in Mexico comes from Milpa Alta, where the maximum distribution center is located and the cactus is industrialized in diverse forms that go from the preparation of sweets to the production of soaps.
In the delegation has also had an important upturn in the cultivation of amaranth, whose cultivation had been very decimated by its prohibition in the colonial era. Milpa Alta has a rich cultural heritage. It has historical buildings such as the temple of Our Lady of the Assumption of Villa Milpa Alta and the Zapatista Barracks, the church of San Pablo Apóstol in San Pablo Oztotepec. In the villages there are many festivities among which the National Mole Fair, the Paper Globe Festival, the Nopal Fair and the celebration of the Day of the Dead stand out. The delegation contains the most important Nahuatl indigenous community in Mexico City. In addition, part of San Antonio Tecómitl is part of the polygon declared World Heritage Site by Unesco as part of the chinampera zone of the Valley of Mexico.
In this delegation, they have the habit of going on a pilgrimage to the sanctuary of the Lord of Chalma that is the state of Mexico. The 12 towns belonging to the delegation come to him, each one organized by a butler who is in charge of making the preparations so that all the people who come to the sanctuary on foot, arrive safely and during the way they make stops to take food that are donated by the same neighbors of the participating towns. This is done by leaving at 3:00 a. M. On January 3 of each year and returning home on January 11 after 12: 00 p. M., in the sanctuary they make the changes of mayordomos who will now be in charge of carrying them. Next year and so continue with this tradition.