Ixtlahuacán del Rio is a town and municipality in the center of the

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 ...

Jalisco Jalisco, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in western Mexico and is bordered by s ...

, a little less than from state capital

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population ...

. It stands at above sea level; the climate is semi-arid, with a mild winter and an average annual temperature of .

Pre-Hispanic antecedents of Ixtlahuacán del Río

''Ixtlahuacán'' is a word of

Nahuatl Nahuatl ( ; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahuas, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller popul ...

origin; the name means "flat place". It was founded by the

Toltecs The Toltec culture () was a Pre-Columbian era, pre-Columbian Mesoamerican culture that ruled a state centered in Tula (Mesoamerican site), Tula, Hidalgo (state), Hidalgo, Mexico, during the Epiclassic and the early Post-Classic period of Mesoam ...

in approximately AD 610; it is hard to be certain of the exact date of founding, because none of the groups who inhabited the region — Tecuexes,

Tepehuanes Tepehuanes is a municipality in the Mexican state of Durango. It is located in the North West of Durango at 25°12'"-26°25'"N 105°23'"-106°40'"W, at an elevation of about 1,830 meters (6000 feet). The municipal seat is at Santa Catari ...

, Coanes, Cazcanos, and

Zacatecos The Zacatecos (or Zacatecas) are an indigenous group, one of the peoples called Chichimecas by the Aztecs. They lived in most of what is now the state of Zacatecas and the northeastern part of Durango. They have many direct descendants, but most o ...

— had a written language in this period.

Toponymy

Ixtlahuacán is a word of Nahuatl origin, it is the union of the words '' "Ixtláhuatl" '' (plains) and '' "Can" '' (place); therefore, it means: '' "Place of Plains" ''.

History

It was founded by the

at the beginning of the 7th century when they passed through the region. Possibly he was first in Tlacotán where tribes settled Totonacas,

, and Coanes, the founders being the Tepehuanes, who stood out for their belligerence. The conquerors that approached Tlacotán were continually harassed by the aborigines of Ixtlahuacán. The conquest was carried out by

Nuño de Guzmán Nuño Beltrán de Guzmán (1558) was a Spanish conquistador and colonial administrator in New Spain. He was the governor of the province of Pánuco (province), Pánuco from 1525 to 1533 and of Nueva Galicia from 1529 to 1534, and president of the ...

who arrived in Tlacotán in 1529. It seemed a strategic place to defend and dominate the entire Atemajac Valley. Fines of 1531 gave the name of

Nueva Galicia Nuevo Reino de Galicia (New Kingdom of Galicia; ) or simply Nueva Galicia (''New Galicia'', ''Nova Galicia''), known in Nahuatl as Chimalhuacán (‘the land of shield bearers’), was an autonomous kingdom of the Viceroyalty of New Spain. It w ...

to everything conquered by Nuño de Guzmán, who was appointed governor, founding

Nochistlán Nochistlán () (Nahuatl: Nocheztlan, "land of cochineal") is a city in the Mexican state of Zacatecas. Nuño Beltrán de Guzmán, on December 3, 1531, hired Cristóbal de Oñate to establish a village in Nochistlán; the village would be named ...

; after not having followed, ordering his transfer to Tlacotán in May 1533, giving him the name of Guadalajara; the foundation was not carried out until 1535 and in 1539 royal ID was received granting the coat of arms to the town (Tlacotán), being seat of Guadalajara from 1535 to 1540. In 1825 it had a town hall and from that date until 1910 it belonged to the 1st canton of Guadalajara; in 1838, it had a category of town and in 1878 it is already mentioned as a municipality. They had the police stations of Tepac, Tlacotán and the Congregation of San Antonio. On February 28, 1894, the Tepac police station was abolished and the Congregation of San Antonio was erected as a police station; and in March 1912, the Tlacotán police station moved to Trejos, and in 1922 the police station was restored.

Geography

Location

Ixtlahuacán del Río is almost in the center of the state, its extreme coordinates are 20º 42'40 "to 21º 05 '23" north latitude and 103º 63' 09 "to 103º 22 '35" west longitude; at an approximate height of . The municipality borders the state of

Zacatecas Zacatecas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Zacatecas, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 31 states of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Zacatecas, 58 municipalities and its capital city is Zacatecas City, Zacatec ...

to the north; to the east with the municipality of Cuquío; to the south with the municipalities of Zapotlanejo and Guadalajara; to the west with the municipalities of Zapopan and San Cristóbal de la Barranca.

Topography

In general, its surface is semi-flat (40%) and flat (35%), there are rugged areas (25%), with heights up to 1,900

masl The Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) is a professional indoor soccer league in North America. The MASL features teams playing coast-to-coast in the United States and Mexico. The league is the highest level of arena soccer in North America. The le ...

, highlighting the Monte Grande and the Higuera hill.

Soil

The territory is made up of land belonging to

tertiary period The Tertiary ( ) is an obsolete Period (geology), geologic period spanning 66 million to 2.6 or 1.8 million years ago. The period began with the extinction of the non-bird, avian dinosaurs in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, at t ...

. The soil consists mostly of

igneous rocks Igneous rock ( ), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main Rock (geology)#Classification, rock types, the others being sedimentary rock, sedimentary and metamorphic rock, metamorphic. Igneous rocks are formed through the cooling and solidifi ...

acidic extrusive with some moles of

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

rhyolite Rhyolite ( ) is the most silica-rich of volcanic rocks. It is generally glassy or fine-grained (aphanitic) in texture (geology), texture, but may be porphyritic, containing larger mineral crystals (phenocrysts) in an otherwise fine-grained matri ...

and volcanic gap with

tuff Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock co ...

; in the highest parts the predominant types are: haplic feozem, pelvic vertisol, chernozem and lithosol. The municipality has a territorial area of 56,494

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. ...

s, of which 14,200 are used for agricultural purposes, 23,270 in livestock, 12,900 are for forest use, 390 are urban land and 5,734 hectares have another use. As far as property is concerned, an area of 45,045 hectares is private and another of 11,449 is ejidal; no property

Hydrography

Its hydrological resources are provided by the rivers and streams that make up the Juchipila-Santiago-Río Verde Grande Belén sub-basin of the Lerma-Chapala-Santiago Hydrological region. The main rivers are:

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

, Achichilco, Cuquío, Verde and Juchipila; the streams: El Tigre, Carrizalillo, Los Cuartos, Saucitos, Tecomastes, Agua Colorada and San Pablo; the dams: San Antonio and Los Sauces.

Climate

The climate is semi-dry, with dry spring and winter, and semi-warm, with mild winter. The average annual temperature is , with a maximum of and a minimum of . The rainfall regime is recorded between the months of June, July, and August, with an average rainfall of 855.2 millimeters. The prevailing winds are heading north.

Flora and fauna

The flora is composed of

cedar Cedar may refer to: Trees and plants *''Cedrus'', common English name cedar, an Old-World genus of coniferous trees in the plant family Pinaceae * Cedar (plant), a list of trees and plants known as cedar Places United States * Cedar, Arizona ...

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...

oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

and ocote. The fauna is made up of

deer A deer (: deer) or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family Cervidae (informally the deer family). Cervidae is divided into subfamilies Cervinae (which includes, among others, muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, and fallow deer) ...

hawk Hawks are birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are very widely distributed and are found on all continents, except Antarctica. The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks, and others. This ...

wildcat The wildcat is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species: the European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') and the African wildcat (''F. lybica''). The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, while th ...

coyote The coyote (''Canis latrans''), also known as the American jackal, prairie wolf, or brush wolf, is a species of canis, canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the Wolf, gray wolf, and slightly smaller than the c ...

skunk Skunks are mammals in the family Mephitidae. They are known for their ability to spray a liquid with a strong, unpleasant scent from their anal glands. Different species of skunk vary in appearance from black-and-white to brown, cream or gi ...

armadillo Armadillos () are New World placental mammals in the order (biology), order Cingulata. They form part of the superorder Xenarthra, along with the anteaters and sloths. 21 extant species of armadillo have been described, some of which are dis ...

, the tlacuache (zarigueya) and a great variety of birds.

Economy

39.82% of the inhabitants are dedicated to

primary sector The primary sector of the economy includes any industry involved in the extraction and production of raw materials, such as farming, logging, fishing, forestry and mining. The primary sector tends to make up a larger portion of the economy in d ...

, 23.41% to

secondary sector In macroeconomics, the secondary sector of the economy is an economic sector in the three-sector theory that describes the role of manufacturing. It encompasses industries that produce a finished, usable product or are involved in constructi ...

, 34.80% to

tertiary sector The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the ...

and the rest is not specified. 38.18% are economically active. The main economic activities are:

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

livestock Livestock are the Domestication, domesticated animals that are raised in an Agriculture, agricultural setting to provide labour and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, Egg as food, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The t ...

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...

and

industry Industry may refer to: Economics * Industry (economics), a generally categorized branch of economic activity * Industry (manufacturing), a specific branch of economic activity, typically in factories with machinery * The wider industrial sector ...

. * '' 'Agriculture' '':

maize Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...

, chía,

beans A bean is the seed of some plants in the legume family (Fabaceae) used as a vegetable for human consumption or animal feed. The seeds are often preserved through drying (a ''pulse''), but fresh beans are also sold. Dried beans are tradition ...

sorghum ''Sorghum bicolor'', commonly called sorghum () and also known as great millet, broomcorn, guinea corn, durra, imphee, jowar, or milo, is a species in the Poaceae, grass genus ''Sorghum (genus), Sorghum'' cultivated for its grain. The grain i ...

and

pumpkin A pumpkin is a cultivar, cultivated winter squash in the genus ''Cucurbita''. The term is most commonly applied to round, orange-colored squash varieties, but does not possess a scientific definition. It may be used in reference to many dif ...

are grown. * '' 'Livestock' '': cattle are raised

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...

pigs The pig (''Sus domesticus''), also called swine (: swine) or hog, is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is named the domestic pig when distinguishing it from other members of the genus '' Sus''. Some authorities cons ...

sheep Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to d ...

equine Equinae is a subfamily of the family Equidae, known from the Hemingfordian stage of the Early Miocene (16 million years ago) onwards. They originated in North America, before dispersing to every continent except Australia and Antarctica. They are ...

and

goats The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a species of goat-antelope that is mostly kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the famil ...

. In addition to birds and hive s. * '' 'Industry' '': highlights the manufacturing industry. * '' 'Tourism' '': it has natural and historical attractions. * '' 'Commerce' '': it has

restaurant A restaurant is an establishment that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and Delivery (commerce), food delivery services. Restaurants ...

s and small shops. The sale of essential products and mixed stores that sell various items predominate. * '' 'Services' '': financial, professional, technical, communal, social, personal and maintenance services are provided. * '' 'Forest exploitation' '': the pine is exploited. * '' 'Mining' '': there are deposits of

quarry A quarry is a type of open-pit mining, open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock (geology), rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some juri ...

Infrastructure

Education

87.61% of the population is

alphabeta "A-Ba-Ni-Bi" (; bet-language language game for the word ''aní'', meaning "I" in Hebrew) is a song recorded by Israeli group Izhar Cohen and the Alphabeta, with music composed by Nurit Hirsh and Hebrew lyrics written by Ehud Manor. It in t ...

, of which 30.99% has finished

primary education Primary education is the first stage of Education, formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary education. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or first schools and middle s ...

. The municipality has 32

preschool A preschool (sometimes spelled as pre school or pre-school), also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, play school, is an school, educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they ...

, 61

, 13 secondary s, three baccalaureate and an extension of the Higher Technological Institute of Tala.INEGI
Statistical Yearbook of the State of Jalisco. 2000 Edition

Health

Health care is attended by the State Department of Health, the

Mexican Social Security Institute The Mexican Institute of Social Security (, IMSS) is a Federal government of the United Mexican States, governmental organization that assists public health, pensions and social security in Mexico operating under the Secretariat of Health (Mexic ...

and private doctors. The System for the Integral Development of the Family (DIF) is responsible for social welfare.

Sport

It has sports centers, where it is practiced: football, basketball, athletics and volleyball. It also has cultural centers, plaza, parks, gardens and library.

Living place

It has 4,286 homes, which are generally private. 96.48% have electricity service, 48.34% have drainage and drinking water service.INEGI
II population and housing count, 2005 Its construction is generally based on

brick A brick is a type of construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a unit primarily composed of clay. But is now also used informally to denote building un ...

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bound together with a fluid cement that cures to a solid over time. It is the second-most-used substance (after water), the most–widely used building material, and the most-manufactur ...

and partition.

Services

The municipality has potable water, telephone and internet services, sewerage, street lighting, markets, trail, cemeteries, roads, public toilets, public safety, parks, gardens and sports centers. 69.2% of the inhabitants have drinking water; 74.2% of sewerage and 95.9% of electrical energy.

Media and communication channels

It has mail, fax, telegraph, telephone and radiotelephony service. Transportation takes place through the Guadalajara-Saltillo highway, junction Ixtlahuacán del Río. It has a network of rural roads that connect the towns; Transportation is carried out by public buses or rental vehicles and individuals. Currently the municipal government has a small fleet of trucks that can provide services for free, these trucks have been donated by the State Government of

Religion

98.53% profess the

Catholic religion The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, there are also believers of

Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a Christian denomination that is an outgrowth of the Bible Student movement founded by Charles Taze Russell in the nineteenth century. The denomination is nontrinitarian, millenarian, and restorationist. Russell co-fou ...

Seventh-day Adventists The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabba ...

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

s and believers of other religions. 0.24% of the inhabitants showed not to practice any religion.INEGI
XII General Census of Population and Housing, 2000.

Culture

* '' 'Gastronomy' '': the

tamales A tamale, in Spanish , is a traditional Mesoamerican dish made of ''masa'', a dough made from nixtamalized corn, which is steamed in a corn husk or banana leaves. The wrapping can either be discarded prior to eating or used as a plate. Tam ...

, the

birria Birria () is a regional variation of barbacoa from western Mexico, mainly made with goat, beef or lamb. The meat is marinated in an adobo made of vinegar, dried chiles, garlic, and herbs and spices (including cumin, bay leaves, and thyme) bef ...

chicken or turkey, the

mole Mole (or Molé) may refer to: Animals * Mole (animal) or "true mole" * Golden mole, southern African mammals * Marsupial mole Marsupial moles, the Notoryctidae family, are two species of highly specialized marsupial mammals that are found i ...

; and of its drinks stand out

tequila Tequila (; ) is a liquor, distilled beverage made from the blue agave plant, primarily in the area surrounding the city of Tequila, Jalisco, Tequila northwest of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Guadalajara, and in the Jaliscan Highlands (''Los Altos (Jal ...

and

mezcal Mezcal (, ), sometimes spelled mescal, is a liquor, distilled alcoholic beverage made from any type of agave. Agaves or magueys are endemic to the Americas and found globally as ornamental plants. The ''Agave'' genus is a member of the Agavoid ...

. * '' 'Typical costumes' '': the

charro ''Charro'', in Mexico, is historically the horseman from the countryside, the Ranchero, who lived and worked in the haciendas and performed all his tasks on horseback, working mainly as vaqueros and caporales, among other jobs. He was ren ...

suit. * '' 'Crafts' '': wooden furniture, embroidery, textiles and saddles are made.

Sites of interest

Parties

* Party to San Pascual Baílon: from May 15 to 17. * Party to the

Virgin of Guadalupe Our Lady of Guadalupe (), also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe (), is a Catholic Church, Catholic Titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, title of the Blessed Virgin Mary associated with four Marian apparitions to Juan Diego and one to his uncle, J ...

: from December 1 to 12. *

Palenque Palenque (; Yucatec Maya: ), also anciently known in the Itza Language as Lakamha ("big water" or "big waters"), was a Maya city-state in southern Mexico that perished in the 8th century. The Palenque ruins date from ca. 226 BC to ca. 799 AD ...

: September 9–16. * National holidays: September 15 and 16. * Festivities of June (San Antonio) June 5 to 13. * Party January 1 (San Antonio). * Patron Festivities from May 7 to 15 (Palos Altos).

Government

Its form of government is democratic and depends on

state government A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonom ...

and federal; Elections are held every three years, when the municipal president and her/his council are elected. The municipal president is Pedro Haro Ocampo, a member of MC, who was re-elected during the elections held on 6 June 2021. The municipality has 179 locations, the most important being: Ixtlahuacán del Río (municipal seat), San Antonio de los Vázquez, Trejos, Tlacotán, Palos Altos, San Nicolás and Mascuala.

Municipal presidents

Notable people

* Javier Haro Tello,

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

, municipal president, and local deputy. * Miguel de la Mora,

. *

Francisco Rodríguez Gómez Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name ''Franciscus''. Meaning of the name Francisco In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed "Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Commu ...

governor of Jalisco The following is a list of governors of the Mexican state of Jalisco from 1821. The current Constitution indicates a term of six years in length, which cannot be renewed under any circumstances. It also stipulates the qualifications for becoming ...

. * Filiberto Ruvalcaba Sánchez, union leader and

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

. * Manuel Yáñez Rodríguez, craftsman. * Miguel M. de la Mora, bishop. * Benjamín Castillo Plascencia, bishop emeritus of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Celaya The Roman Catholic Diocese of Celaya () (erected 13 October 1973) is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of León. It was a suffragan of the Archdiocese of San Luis Potosí until 25 November 2006. Bishops Ordinaries * Victorino Alvarez Tena ...

. * J. Refugio Mercado Diaz, bishop.

References

External links

Jalisco Tourism
* http://ixtlahuacan.es.tl/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Ixtlahuacan del Rio Municipalities of Jalisco