In the colonial era, Huánuco (“place of the beautiful wood”) first served as the major port for the lucrative Pacific Coast trade between New Spain and Peru for about 20 years. Later, Acapulco was used instead, and Huatulco fell prey to pirate attacks and looting by such figures as Francis Drake in 1579 and Thomas Cavendish in 1587.
Mexican citizens have long known about the Bahias de Huánuco (“wa tul ko”). As international visitors converged on Acapulco Bay, Mexican vacationers slipped away to Huatulco and relaxed on a secluded beach far from the crowds of the “developed” resorts. There are nine distinct bays - collectively the “Bays of Huatulco”. Each has its own charm.
As part of the Mexican’s government’s long term resort development project, both coasts were carefully examined for potential. As Acapilco had grown over the years, families from Distrito Federal had been quietly sneaking off to the remote and undeveloped shore of Oaxaca’s Golfo de Tehuntapec. Along a 22 mile stretch of pristine coastline, nine wide bays and several charming fishing villages were becoming known for their beauty and fresh seafood. The villages around the coves and inlets may look like 16th century Spanish colonial settlements, but most of the traditional style developments are no more than a few decades old. Spaniards did not typically build on the coasts anyway, choosing instead the cooler (and more defensible) interior highlands. Fonatur, the official Mexican tourist agency, planned the resort area hoping to attract visitors while maintaining a keen eye on preserving the region’s delicate ecological balances. Much of the area is protected habitat and strict building codes are in place. Most of the Oaxaca coast is protected. In Fact, just about 80% of Huatulco’s Sierra Madre mountain lowlands, or nearly 42,000 acres have been set aside as a nature preserve. Happily, the steel-and-glass highrises that line Acapulco Bay are absent, and there are more than 30 perfect beaches, many with natural boulders and protective shallow coral reefs. Huatulco is heralded a the Western Hemishpere’s “first eco-tourism resort”.
La Cruceta At the time of the Spanish conquest in 1522, the Lord of Totutepec controlled the region. It is thought that the tribe descended from Chichimecs and a spoke a Nahuatl dialect. Their simple life was based on fishing and agriculture. Cotton, corn, beans, squash, chili peppers, chia, and sweet potatoes all thrived in this climate, and salt was mined from seawater. There was also gold. Yzpapalotl, the local religion, involved sacrificial offerings of birds, animals, and human blood and hearts. Enemies killed in battle were often eaten, adding to the strength of the victors. Unfortunately, the circumstances only supplied advancing Spaniards with an excuse to massacre people.
The Huatulco inhabitants were members of the coastal Tututepec tribe. The original Nahuatl name for the place was cuauhtolco (place of the beautiful wood”) - shades of inflection in the language added an element of adoration for the wood as well as recognition of its beauty. This is not surprising since forest was a relatively rare commodity on the arid Pacific Mexican coast. According to an oddly hybrid Nahuatl-Spanish legend the great civilizing god Quetzalcoatl presented the tribal residents of the bay region and port of Santa Cruz with a wooden cross. The community was administrative center for the sophisticated Zapotec culture.
After Hernan Cortes had defeated the Aztec nation, from his base near the present day Caribbean port of Veracruz, he marched across the mountains to the Pacific Ocean. He selected Huatulco as a safe harbor from which to support the lucrative Pacific Coast trade. Cortes claimed the coastal area, set up fortifications, and began exporting locally grown farm goods. Unfortunately, the export traffic attracted frequent pirate raids. There are no monuments to Cortes in Mexico today, though he is honored as a hero in Spain - of course, history and “historical fact” is dependent upon the author.
After the pirates left, the port reverted to a fishing village and remained so until the government-sponsored redevelopment project began in 1983. At that time, the planned resort was begun.
The “new” resort town of La Crucecita (adjoining Santa Cruz de Huatulco) is not really new at all. The tiny fishing village slept on the Tehuantepec shore for centuries, and as the rest of the world raced forward in a whirlwind, relaxed tradition governed the villages of Huatulco. In the 1990’s everything changed. The secret resort was targeted by Fornatur, the Mexican development corporation, and building began. To their credit, the designers kept the look and feel of a seaside Mexican village and even though La Crucecita is the center of the attractive modern resort area. Change is always in the air as modern shopping complexes, resorts, and restaurants go up in response to increasing popularity. Visitors are confused when people refer to the community as “Santa Cruz”, but the names “Santa Cruz” and “La Crucecita” are used interchangeably. The zocalo is the main plaza adjacent to the marina, and although developers have tried very hard to make the town look “authentic”, you really never escape the feeling of being in a tourist resort. Nevertheless, there is something to suit anyone’s taste and hedonistic desire.
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Huatulco - Background
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Appreciate this info because Huatulco is a port stop on a cruise we're seriously considering for 2010! 
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