Carácuaro is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in the

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

state of

Michoacán Michoacán, formally Michoacán de Ocampo (; Purépecha: ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Michoacán de Ocampo ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of ...

, located south of the state capital of

Morelia Morelia (; from 1545 to 1828 known as Valladolid) is a city and municipal seat of the municipality of Morelia in the north-central part of the state of Michoacán in central Mexico. The city is in the Guayangareo Valley and is the capital and larg ...

Geography

The municipality of Carácuaro is located in the

Tierra Caliente ''Tierra caliente'' is an informal term used in Latin America to refer to places with a distinctly tropical climate. These are usually regions from sea level from 0–3,000 feet.Zech, W. and Hintermaier-Erhard, G. (2002); Böden der Welt – Ein Bi ...

region of Michoacán at an altitude between . It borders the municipalities of

Nocupétaro Nocupétaro is a Municipalities of Mexico, municipality in the Mexico, Mexican state of Michoacán, located approximately south of the state capital of Morelia. Geography The municipality of Nocupétaro is located in the Tierra Caliente (Mexico), ...

to the west, Madero to the north,

Tiquicheo Tiquicheo de Nicolás Romero is a municipality located in the Mexican state of Michoacán. The municipality has an area of 1,429.65 square kilometres (4.89% of the surface of the state) and is bordered to the north by the municipality of Tzitzio, ...

to the east,

Huetamo Huetamo is a municipality in the southeastern corner of the Mexican state of Michoacán, in a region known as "Tierra Caliente" (meaning hot land). Of indigenous Purepecha Indian origin, the word "Huetamo" means "four chiefs" or "four came". The mu ...

to the south and

Turicato Turicato is a municipality (''municipio'') in the state of Michoacán, Mexico. Turicato comes from the word "turicata" that refers to a parasite that lives mainly in areas where there is cattle. The municipality represents 2.62% of total land in ...

to the southwest. The municipality covers an area of and comprises 1.6% of the state's area. Carácuaro is located in the southern foothills of the

Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt The Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt ( es, Eje Volcánico Transversal), also known as the Transvolcanic Belt and locally as the (''Snowy Mountain Range''), is an active volcanic belt that covers central-southern Mexico. Several of its highest peaks h ...

, in the Balsas River basin. Tropical forests of

parota ''Enterolobium cyclocarpum'', commonly known as guanacaste, caro caro, monkey-ear tree, or elephant-ear tree, is a species of flowering tree in the pea family, Fabaceae, that is native to tropical regions of the Americas, from central Mexico ...

and tepeguaje cover 66% of the municipality. Carácuaro's climate is tropical with rain in the summer. Average temperatures in the municipality range between , and average annual precipitation ranges between .

History

Prior to the arrival of the Spanish, Carácuaro was a small Chichimeca village. The place name derives from the Chichimeca word ''carakua'', "place of the slope" or "place on the slope." The Spanish founded a mission in Carácuaro in 1581. Originally a meat production centre for the towns of the

Bajío El Bajío (the ''lowland'') is a cultural and geographical region within the central Mexican plateau which roughly spans from north-west of the Mexico City metropolitan area to the main silver mines in the northern-central part of the country. Thi ...

, it eventually became a centre of tropical fruit and sugarcane cultivation.

José María Morelos José María Teclo Morelos Pérez y Pavón () (30 September 1765 – 22 December 1815) was a Mexican Catholic priest, statesman and military leader who led the Mexican War of Independence movement, assuming its leadership after the execution of ...

served as the parish priest from 1799 until 1810, when he joined the rebels in the

Mexican War of Independence The Mexican War of Independence ( es, Guerra de Independencia de México, links=no, 16 September 1810 – 27 September 1821) was an armed conflict and political process resulting in Mexico's independence from Spain. It was not a single, co ...

. Carácuaro's significance declined after the war, despite it becoming a municipality on 1 February 1856. After the

Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution ( es, Revolución Mexicana) was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from approximately 1910 to 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It resulted in the destruction ...

, emigration to central Mexico and the United States became common.

Administration

The municipal government comprises a president, a councillor (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

: ''síndico''), and seven trustees (''regidores''), four elected by

relative majority A plurality vote (in American English) or relative majority (in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth) describes the circumstance when a party, candidate, or proposition polls more votes than any other but does not receive more than half of all vote ...

and three by

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...

. The current president of the municipality is Walter Gómez Gutiérrez.

Demographics

In the 2010 Mexican Census, the municipality of Carácuaro recorded a population of 9212 inhabitants living in 2238 households. The 2015 Intercensal Survey estimated a population of 9485 inhabitants in Carácuaro. There are 176 localities in the municipality, of which only the municipal seat, known as Carácuaro de Morelos, is classified as urban. It recorded a population of 3653 inhabitants in the 2010 Census.

Economy

The main economic activities in Carácuaro are farming and livestock production. The main crops grown are corn and sesame, while beef cattle and pigs are the main livestock raised.

Culture

The ''Señor de Carácuaro'' or the Black Christ of Carácuaro is a large dark-coloured statue of Christ in the church of Saint Augustine. Many miracles have been attributed to it and it is the destination of a popular pilgrimage route from

Tacámbaro Tacámbaro is a municipality located in the central region of the Mexican state of Michoacán. Its largest city and municipal seat is Heroica Tacámbaro de Codallos. The city is located at . In the 2020 census, the city's population was 81,105. ...

that takes place in the week around

Ash Wednesday Ash Wednesday is a holy day of prayer and fasting in many Western Christian denominations. It is preceded by Shrove Tuesday and falls on the first day of Lent (the six weeks of penitence before Easter). It is observed by Catholics in the Rom ...

. The house where José María Morelos lived has been preserved as a library.