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

Mexican state The states of Mexico are first-level administrative territorial entities of the country of Mexico, which is officially named United Mexican States. There are 32 federal entities in Mexico (31 states and the capital, Mexico City, as a separate en ...

Jalisco Jalisco (, , ; Nahuatl: Xalixco), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco ; Nahuatl: Tlahtohcayotl Xalixco), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal ...

, a little less than from state capital

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Mexico, while the Guadalaj ...

. 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 Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have small ...

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

Toltecs The Toltec culture () was a pre-Columbian Mesoamerican culture that ruled a state centered in Tula, Hidalgo, Mexico, during the Epiclassic and the early Post-Classic period of Mesoamerican chronology, reaching prominence from 950 to 1150 CE ...

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 Municipality 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 Sa ...

, Coanes, Cazcanos, and

Zacatecos The Zacatecos (or Zacatecas) is the name of 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 descendan ...

— 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 (c. 14901558) was a Spanish conquistador and colonial administrator in New Spain. He was the governor of the province of Pánuco from 1525 to 1533 and of Nueva Galicia from 1529 to 1534, and president of the first Ro ...

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'', gl, Reino de Nova Galicia) or simply Nueva Galicia (''New Galicia'', ''Nova Galicia'') was an autonomous kingdom of the Viceroyalty of New Spain. It was named after Galicia in Spain. Nueva ...

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

Nochistlán Nochistlán () 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 Guadalajara to honor Guzmán for having bee ...

; 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.

Physical 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 , image_map = Zacatecas in Mexico (location map scheme).svg , map_caption = State of Zacatecas within Mexico , coordinates = , coor_pinpoint = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type ...

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, highlighting the Monte Grande and the Higuera hill.

Soil

The territory is made up of land belonging to

tertiary period Tertiary ( ) is a widely used but obsolete term for the geologic period from 66 million to 2.6 million years ago. The period began with the demise of the non-avian dinosaurs in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, at the start ...

. The soil consists mostly of

igneous rocks Igneous rock (derived from the Latin word ''ignis'' meaning fire), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic. Igneous rock is formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or ...

acidic extrusive with some moles of

basalt Basalt (; ) is an 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 surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90 ...

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

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 ...

; 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), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre i ...

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 as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...

, 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 (biology), family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanic ...

, oak, oak and

ocote Ocote is a common name for various species of pine trees in the genus ''Pinus'' that occur in the Spanish speaking Americas—Latin America. They include: *''Pinus apulcensis'' *''Pinus ayacahuite'' *'' Pinus cooperi'' *'' Pinus devoniana'' *''P ...

. The fauna is made up of

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the re ...

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

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'') is a species of canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecological nich ...

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 gin ...

armadillo Armadillos (meaning "little armored ones" in Spanish) are New World placental mammals in the order Cingulata. The Chlamyphoridae and Dasypodidae are the only surviving families in the order, which is part of the superorder Xenarthra, alo ...

, 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 ...

, 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 construc ...

, 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 second ...

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

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people ...

livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to ani ...

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

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'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American English, North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous ...

, chía,

beans A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes thr ...

sorghum ''Sorghum'' () is a genus of about 25 species of flowering plants in the grass family (Poaceae). Some of these species are grown as cereals for human consumption and some in pastures for animals. One species is grown for grain, while many other ...

and

pumpkin A pumpkin is a vernacular term for mature winter squash of species and varieties in the genus ''Cucurbita'' that has culinary and cultural significance but no agreed upon botanical or scientific meaning. The term ''pumpkin'' is sometimes use ...

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

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ...

pigs The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus '' Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus ...

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals 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 domesticate ...

equine Equinae is a subfamily of the family Equidae, which have lived worldwide (except Indonesia and Australia) from the Hemingfordian stage of the Early Miocene (16 million years ago) onwards. They are thought to be a monophyletic grouping.B. J. Ma ...

and

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

. In addition to birds and

hive A hive may refer to a beehive, an enclosed structure in which some honey bee species live and raise their young. Hive or hives may also refer to: Arts * ''Hive'' (game), an abstract-strategy board game published in 2001 * "Hive" (song), a 201 ...

s. * '' 'Industry' '': highlights the manufacturing industry. * '' 'Tourism' '': it has natural and historical attractions. * '' 'Commerce' '': it has

restaurant A restaurant is a business 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 food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...

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 mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their envir ...

Infrastructure

* '' 'Education' '' 87.61% of the population is

alphabeta Alphabeta were a group of Israeli singers who won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1978 with Izhar Cohen. The singers were Reuven Erez, Lisa Gold-Rubin, Nehama Shutan, Esther Tzuberi, and Itzhak Okev. The winning song was '' A-Ba-Ni-Bi''. Israe ...

, of which 30.99% has finished

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

. The municipality has 32

preschool A preschool, also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, or play school or creche, is an educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they begin compulsory education at primary sch ...

, 61

, 13

secondary Secondary may refer to: Science and nature * Secondary emission, of particles ** Secondary electrons, electrons generated as ionization products * The secondary winding, or the electrical or electronic circuit connected to the secondary winding i ...

s, three

baccalaureate Baccalaureate may refer to: * ''Baccalauréat'', a French national academic qualification * Bachelor's degree, or baccalaureate, an undergraduate academic degree * English Baccalaureate, a performance measure to assess secondary schools in England ...

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 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 block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wid ...

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 largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, there are also believers of

Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved in ...

, Seventh-day Adventists,

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

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 tamal, is a traditional Mesoamerican dish made of masa, a dough made from nixtamalized corn, which is steamed in a corn husk or banana leaf. The wrapping can either be discarded prior to eating or used as a plate. Tamale ...

, the

birria Birria () \ ˈbir-ē-ˌä \is a Mexican dish from the state of Jalisco. The dish is a meat stew or soup traditionally made from goat meat, but occasionally made from beef, lamb, mutton or chicken. The meat is marinated in an adobo made of vi ...

chicken or turkey, the mole; and of its drinks stand out

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

and

mezcal Mezcal (, ), sometimes spelled mescal, is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from any type of agave. The word ''mezcal'' comes from Nahuatl , which means "oven-cooked agave", from and .What is MezcalElmezcal.org Traditionally the word " ...

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

charro Charro has several meanings, but it generally refers to Mexican horse riders, who maintain traditional dress, such as some form of sombrero, which in Mexican Spanish are called ''sombrero de charro'' (a charro's hat). The charros could also ...

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 ( es, Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe), also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe ( es, Virgen de Guadalupe), is a Catholic title of Mary, mother of Jesus associated with a series of five Marian apparitions, which are believed t ...

: from December 1 to 12. *

Palenque Palenque (; Yucatec Maya: ), also anciently known in the Itza Language as Lakamhaʼ ("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 (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

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

. * Francisco Rodríguez Gómez, governor of Jalisco. * Filiberto Ruvalcaba Sánchez, union leader and

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

. * 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 ( la, Dioecesis Celayensis) (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 Ordinarie ...

. * J. Refugio Mercado Diaz, bishop.

References

External links

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