Acapulco, in full Acapulco de Juárez, town and seaport in southern Mexico, in
Guerrero State, on the Pacific Ocean. The city has scheduled air service and
highway connections with the interior of Mexico. Its principal exports are
agricultural: cotton, tropical fruits, sugarcane, coffee, tobacco, and sesame
seed.
Endowed with a fine harbor, which is almost entirely landlocked, and located in
a setting of great natural beauty, Acapulco is sometimes called the Riviera of
Mexico. It has luxury hotels, gambling casinos, and excellent beaches and is
popular for winter vacations and deep-sea fishing. The climate is warm and
pleasant between December and April but hot, humid, and rainy from May to
November. The city was founded in 1550, and from 1565 to 1815 it was Mexico's
major port on the Pacific coast for Spanish trade with East Asia. Population
687,292 (1995).
