Huasteca

The Huasteca, in Spanish La Huasteca, is a geographical and cultural region of eastern Mexico that lies partly along the Gulf of Mexico and takes in parts of Veracruz, Tamaulipas, Hidalgo and San Luis Potosi. Its boundaries are loosely drawn rather than official: the region is roughly defined as the area the Huastec people influenced when their civilization was at its height in the Mesoamerican period, and the exact extent and subdivision remain somewhat disputed. Geographically it is usually described as running from the Sierra Madre Oriental to the Gulf coast, with the Sierra de Tamaulipas to the north and the Cazones River to the south. Today the Huastecs occupy only part of it and Nahua speakers are the most numerous indigenous group, yet residents share cultural traits such as a regional style of music and dance and religious festivals such as Xantolo.