Queréndaro is one of the 113 municipalities that make up the 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 ...

, Mexico. The word Queréndaro is of Chichimeca origin and means "place of rocks", from the great rock in the municipality known as "La Peña Rajada". It contains a cave with paintings that date from the pre-Hispanic era. It is a township and municipality dedicated to agriculture, fishing, cattle breeding and bread making. The municipality produces corn, wheat,

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 othe ...

, various species of

chili pepper Chili peppers (also chile, chile pepper, chilli pepper, or chilli), from Nahuatl '' chīlli'' (), are varieties of the berry-fruit of plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for ...

, beans, barley,

alfalfa Alfalfa () (''Medicago sativa''), also called lucerne, is a perennial flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae. It is cultivated as an important forage crop in many countries around the world. It is used for grazing, hay, and silage, as w ...

, and

chickpea The chickpea or chick pea (''Cicer arietinum'') is an annual legume of the family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae. Its different types are variously known as gram" or Bengal gram, garbanzo or garbanzo bean, or Egyptian pea. Chickpea seeds are high ...

s, among others. It is recognized regionally for its Feria del Chile (Feast of the Chili Pepper), which is the main celebration of the municipality, celebrating the founding of the town. Queréndaro is composed of other small towns or communities, including Pueblo Viejo and Rio de Parras, the two larger communities also referred to as tenencias. The other communities include El Castillo, Milpillas, San Miguel Las Cuevas, El Rincon de Zetina, San Jose De La Cumbre, La Estancia, San Antonio Tiradores, each having a population from 250 to 1,000 individuals. Other smaller towns like Ojo de Agua Grande, Colonia Eusebio Luna (El Zocalo), El Panteon de las Agujas, El Nopal, Ojo de Agua Chico (Ojo de Agua Chiquito), Jauja, and Dolores have between 10 and 249 inhabitants. Numerous other small towns have fewer than 100 persons. The primary occupations are agriculture, fishing, cattle, pig, horse, and sheep raising.

History

Queréndaro was founded in the time of the Tarascan state. During the colonial era, it was occupied by

Jesuits The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

, who used it to support and maintain their order in the area. The land turned out to be suitable for farming, and, in addition, it was used as a rest area on the road between Morelia and Mexico City. A nearby landholding named Otzumatlán legally became part of Zinapécuaro in 1831, became a municipality in 1921, and nowadays goes by the name Queréndaro.

Location

Queréndaro is located in northern Michoacán at the coordinates 19º48 'north latitude and 100º53' west longitude, at a height of 1,840 meters above sea level. It borders the municipalities of Zinapécuaro to the east, Ciudad Hidalgo to the south, and

Indaparapeo Indaparapeo is a Municipalities of Mexico, municipality in the Mexico, Mexican state of Michoacán, located approximately east of the state capital of Morelia. Geography The municipality of Indaparapeo is located in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Bel ...

and Alvaro Obregón to the west. Its distance to the state capital Morelia is 35 km.

Land area

Queréndaro's surface area is 234.43 km² and represents 0.39 percent of the state's total.

Weather

The climate of Queréndaro is temperate, with a rainy summer. It has an annual rainfall of 1165 millimeters, and temperatures range from 4.9 to 37.0°C.

Main ecosystems

Queréndaro's flora is formed by mixed forest with pine and aile trees, forest of

conifer Conifers are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single ...

s with oyamel tree and pine, and prairies with nopal, cactus, tall grasses, huizache and diverse scrub. Its fauna consists of

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, along wi ...

s, coyote, hare, raccoon, opossum, skunk, hen of mount, mourning dove, duck, white fish, frogs and other species of birds and small fishes native to the lake, mountains rivers, creeks and ponds.

Recreation

Queréndaro has a spa (El Pedregal) named for the abundance of stones where it is located. There are also 2 soccer fields, 5 basketball courts, and a sports complex with an athletics track.

Festivities and celebrations

* March April – Holy Week, with staging of the Passion of Christ * April 10 – Celebration in honor of Jesus, Lord of Love. * May 15 – Celebration in honor of St. Isidore the Farmer. * August – Feast of the Chili Pepper (Second Week). * August 15 – Celebration in honor of the Virgin of the Assumption, who is the patron of the town, with music and fireworks. * September 15 and 16 – Celebration of the national holidays. * November 2 – Day of the Dead * December 12 – Celebration of the Virgin of Guadalupe, with dances, music, popular dances and fireworks.

Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *Información proporcionada por cada uno de los H. Ayuntamientos del Estado de Michoacán, 1996-1998.