In 1897, thirty five initial colonists led by Enomoto Takeaki arrived to work on coffee farms, making Mexico the first Latin American country to receive Japanese immigrants.

As most of the migrants were men, marriage with local women and conversion to Roman Catholicism was common.

[4] Nikkei have become Municipal President, the first being Juvencio Nishizama Cruz in 1954 and the latest being José Martín Nomura Hernandez in 2005.

In May 1997, Prince Akishino, Ambassador Teresuke Terada and members of the Japanese Navy visited the town to mark the hundred year anniversary of the arrival of the first colonists.

[2] Other than the town of Acacoyagua, the municipality had 152 localities, the largest of which (with 2010 populations in parentheses) was: Hidalgo (1,209), classified as rural.