San Juan de Los Cerritos, commonly known as Cerritos, is a Town located in the central part of

San Luis Potosí San Luis Potosí (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of San Luis Potosí ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de San Luis Potosí), is one of the 32 states which compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 58 municipalities and i ...

, a state of

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. It was founded in 1826 by the state's

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

. It is within the mid-zone of the state called La Zona Media. Within its municipality, which is the center of, it holds about 51 other small towns. According to the 2010 census, the municipality has 21,394 people; having experienced tremendous growth. Much of its recent growth can be credited to the construction of the

cement A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel ( aggregate) together. Cement mix ...

factory, Cemento Moctezuma, An industry that was dominated by Casa Gloria During the decades of the 1960s and 1970s. Nowadays Cerritos is expanding its population and more housing is being built near the outskirts of the town due to the influx of new residents.

Location

Cerritos is located in the "Middle Zone" (Zona Media) of the state. It is bordered on the north by Guadalcázar, in the south by Villa Juárez, on the west by Villa Hidalgo, and on the southwest by Armadillo de Los Infante and San Nicolás Tolentino. Its area spans about 935 square kilometers. Its geographic location is north 22'15 and west 100'01 and is 1135 meters above sea level. The city is surrounded by mountains of varying heights, and it itself is located on a low-lying mountain. It is generally cool all year long because of this. Cerritos is approximately an hour and a half (90 minutes) from the State's capital and largest city of San Luis otosi with a population of about a million.

History

Martin de Turrubiartes founded the town of Cerritos, San Luis Potosi in about 1640. Cerritos was then part of Guadalcázar. It was finally established by state decree in 1826. It was granted a train station which connected the state capital,

, and

Tampico Tampico is a city and port in the southeastern part of the state of Tamaulipas, Mexico. It is located on the north bank of the Pánuco River, about inland from the Gulf of Mexico, and directly north of the state of Veracruz. Tampico is the fifth ...

, a port in the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...

. 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 ...

brought much destruction and famine in the early 1900s. During these years Cerritos was under the Cedillista campaign. Small skirmishes and battles, looting, and the absence of men who left to fight were at the core of the problems for the town. Life in Cerritos did not return to normal until 1918. Cerritos is now a growing city of San Luis Potosí

Economy

Agriculture and Cement Production are the major contributors to its economic activity. Corn, sorghum, beans, and pepper are the main crops. Cerritos was considered the main corn producer of the state, however, due to the diversification of crops, it has since lost that title. Livestock (cattle) and lumber (mesquite) are also widely produced from its various forest areas for exportation. A major state bus company, Autobuses Cerritenses, is headquartered in Cerritos.

Culture

Cerritos hosts an annual "Feria," or

traveling carnival A traveling carnival (US English), usually simply called a carnival, or travelling funfair (UK English), is an amusement show that may be made up of amusement rides, food vendors, merchandise vendors, games of chance and skill, thrill acts, ...

in honor of the patron saint, San Juan Bautista for about a week and a half until the main celebration on June 24. This festivity consists of booths that sell artifacts, ceramics,

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and por ...

, regional delicacies, food, drinks, games, literature, and small widgets among other things.

Rides Amusement rides, sometimes called carnival rides, are mechanical devices or structures that move people especially kids to create fun and enjoyment. Rides are often perceived by many as being scary or more dangerous than they actually are. This ...

are also a main attraction of the carnival. A stage is also constructed for shows, regional and national folklore dances, musicians, speeches, and plays. Many tourists come from all parts of the state of San Luis Potosí and from the United States for this traditional event, though most tourists are returning residents and their families who now live in the United States.

Notable residents

Latin Grammy Award The Latin Grammy Awards are an award by The Latin Recording Academy to recognize outstanding achievement in the Latin music industry. The Latin Grammy honors works recorded in Spanish or Portuguese from anywhere around the world that has been r ...

winning band

Grupo Bryndis Grupo Bryndis is a Mexican Grupera band from Cerritos, San Luis Potosí, - though founded in Santa Paula, California in 1983 by Mauro Posadas, the band is a Latin Grammy Award winner. The band performs in the balada tecnocumbia Tecnocumbia is ...

"El Grupo Que Le Canta Al Amor".

Bibliography

* Mauro Posadas Gallardo (2010) Leader, songwriter, guitarist of the

winning band

. * Villegas Galván, José Alfredo (2006) ''Cerritos en mi recuerdo'' * Lopez Guerrero, Gerardo; Guerrero Herrera, Mariana (2015) "La Cocina Popular de Cerritos"

References

External links

Cerritos, SLP
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cerritos, San Luis Potosi Populated places in San Luis Potosí