Tlacotalpan is a locality and municipality of the southeast of the state of Veracruz within the limits of the Basin of the Papaloapan, in Mexico, its name means "split land". Located on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, it is known for its fishing tradition and for the two annual jarocha and tenth music festivals it sponsors, especially interesting for forming a cultural and historical link between music Andalusia, Central-West Africa and of the native cultures of Mesoamerica. It is also a fluvial port, surrounded and irrigated by the Papaloapan River, which also has in the municipality the tributary rivers of San Juan and Tesechoacán.
It has an extension of 646.51 km², relative to 0.89% of the total territory of the state and is located 90 km from the port of Veracruz, 110 km from the city of Tuxtepec, 203 km from the city of Xalapa, capital of the state and approximately 500 km from Mexico City. The historic center of Tlacotalpan was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1998.