Guerrero is a city and seat of the municipality of Guerrero, in the north-eastern

Mexican state A Mexican State (), officially the Free and Sovereign State (), is a constituent federative entity of Mexico according to the Constitution of Mexico. Currently there are 31 states, each with its own constitution, government, state governor, a ...

Coahuila Coahuila, formally Coahuila de Zaragoza, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Coahuila de Zaragoza, is one of the 31 states of Mexico. The largest city and State Capital is the city of Saltillo; the second largest is Torreón and the thi ...

. The 2010 census population was reported as 959 inhabitants.

San Juan Bautista missions

In the early 1700s, a series of

Christian mission A Christian mission is an organized effort to carry on evangelism, in the name of the Christian faith. Missions involve sending individuals and groups across boundaries, most commonly geographical boundaries. Sometimes individuals are sent and a ...

s collectively known as the San Juan Bautista missions were founded in and around Guerrero, primarily as a means of converting

indigenous peoples There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

, including the

Ervipiame The Ervipiame were an Indigenous people of what is now northeastern Coahuila and southern Texas. They were a Coahuitecan people, who likely merged into the Tonkawa. Name The Ervipiame were also known as the Chivipane, Cibipane, Hierbipiane, Hu ...

, to Christianity. The first was Mission San Juan Bautista. Originally founded in 1699 at a site 25 miles north of Lampazos in

Nuevo León Nuevo León, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Nuevo León, is a Administrative divisions of Mexico, state in northeastern Mexico. The state borders the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, Zacatecas, and San Luis Potosí, San Luis ...

on the

Sabinas River The Sabinas River is a river in Mexico. It is a tributary of the Rio Salado, which in turn flows into the Rio Grande. See also * List of rivers of Mexico This is a list of rivers of Mexico, listed from north to south. There are 246 rivers on t ...

, it was relocated to Guerrero on January 1, 1700. The second was Mission San Francisco Solano, founded 1700, and the third, Mission San Bernardo, was founded in spring 1702. The ruins of these missions remain as sites of archaeological interest. The mission complex was designated a ''

Pueblos Mágicos The Programa Pueblos Mágicos (; "Magical Towns Programme") is an initiative led by Mexico's Secretariat of Tourism, with support from other federal agencies, to promote a series of towns around the country that offer visitors "cultural richn ...

'' site in 2015. In 1703 a

presidio A presidio (''jail, fortification'') was a fortified base established by the Spanish Empire mainly between the 16th and 18th centuries in areas under their control or influence. The term is derived from the Latin word ''praesidium'' meaning ''pr ...

, or fort, was established at San Juan Bautista.

References

Populated places in Coahuila Populated places established in 1699 1699 establishments in New Spain Pueblos Mágicos {{Coahuila-geo-stub es:Municipio de Guerrero (Coahuila)