San Nicolás is a municipality in the

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

state of Guerrero. It is located southeast of the state capital of Chilpancingo. It is named after its patron saint,

Nicholas of Tolentino Nicholas of Tolentino ( la, S. Nicolaus de Tolentino, (c. 1246September 10, 1305), known as the ''Patron of Holy Souls'', was an Italian saint and mystic. He is particularly invoked as an advocate for the souls in Purgatory, especially during ...

. Its creation from the municipality of

Cuajinicuilapa Cuajinicuilapa is a town in Cuajinicuilapa Municipality in the Costa Chica region of the Mexican state of Guerrero. A low-lying area, it borders the Pacific Ocean and the state of Oaxaca. The municipality has the state's largest population of Af ...

was approved in 2021 and went into force on 21 May 2022.

Geography

The municipality of San Nicolás is located in the Costa Chica region of southeastern Guerrero. It borders the municipality of Cuajinicuilapa in Guerrero to the west, north, and east, the Oaxacan municipality of

Santiago Tapextla Santiago Tapextla is a town and municipality in Oaxaca in south-western Mexico. The municipality covers an area of km². It is located in the Jamiltepec District in the west of the Costa Region The Costa Region or Costa Chica lies on the Pacific ...

to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. The municipality covers an area of . The municipality's Pacific coast serves as a critical nesting area for the

leatherback turtle The leatherback sea turtle (''Dermochelys coriacea''), sometimes called the lute turtle or leathery turtle or simply the luth, is the largest of all living turtles and the heaviest non-crocodilian reptile, reaching lengths of up to and weights ...

and is protected as the

Ramsar site A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O) *** Permanent 8 ha (P) *** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts) **

Playa Tortuguera Tierra Colorada. San Nicolás has a

subhumid temperate climate The subhumid temperate climate also called monsoon temperate climate, is a temperate climate sub-type with monsoon influence, that is a climate with dry winter and wet summer. Although the terms ''subhumid temperate climate'' and ''monsoon tempera ...

with rain in the summer. Average temperatures range between , and average annual precipitation ranges between .

History

The municipality of San Nicolás is located on territory that was once part of the province of Quahuitlán, whose inhabitants spoke Quahteca or Cuahuiteca, which was probably a Mixtec dialect. Quahuitlán which was controlled by Tututepec until around 1497, when the area was conquered by the

Mexica Empire The Aztec Empire or the Triple Alliance ( nci, Ēxcān Tlahtōlōyān, �jéːʃkaːn̥ t͡ɬaʔtoːˈlóːjaːn̥ was an alliance of three Nahua city-states: , , and . These three city-states ruled that area in and around the Valley of Mexico ...

Pedro de Alvarado Pedro de Alvarado (; c. 1485 – 4 July 1541) was a Spanish conquistador and governor of Guatemala.Lovell, Lutz and Swezey 1984, p. 461. He participated in the conquest of Cuba, in Juan de Grijalva's exploration of the coasts of the Yucatá ...

conquered the area for Spain in 1522, and in 1548 the area was made an ''

encomienda The ''encomienda'' () was a Spanish labour system that rewarded conquerors with the labour of conquered non-Christian peoples. The labourers, in theory, were provided with benefits by the conquerors for whom they laboured, including military ...

'' of Tristán de Luna y Arellano. In the late 16th century, Spanish cattle ranchers brought free and enslaved blacks and

mulatto (, ) is a racial classification to refer to people of mixed African and European ancestry. Its use is considered outdated and offensive in several languages, including English and Dutch, whereas in languages such as Spanish and Portuguese is ...

es to the area, from whom most of San Nicolás's present-day inhabitants are descended. In 2004, inhabitants of San Nicolás and nearby communities began an initiative to separate from Cuajinicuilapa and form a new municipality, citing a lack of resources for development in their area. On 31 August 2021 the Guerrero state legislature approved the formation of the municipality of San Nicolás comprising ten localities previously belonging to Cuajinicuilapa. The state constitutional amendment establishing the municipality was passed on 13 January 2022 and went into force on 21 May 2022.

Administration

San Nicolás will hold its first elections as an independent municipality in 2024. The municipal government of San Nicolás will comprise a

municipal president A ''presidente municipal'' (English: "municipal president") is the chief of government of municipios in Mexico. This title was also used in the Philippines under the Spanish and American colonization; it is comparable to a mayor of the town or city ...

, a councillor ( Spanish: ''síndico''), and six trustees (''regidores'').

Demographics and culture

In the 2020 Mexican Census, the localities that now comprise the municipality of San Nicolás recorded a population of 6984 inhabitants. The municipal seat, also named San Nicolás, recorded a population of 3249 inhabitants in the 2020 Census. The next most populous localities are La Pitahaya and

Punta Maldonado Punta Maldonado (also known as El Faro on account of the nearby lighthouse) is a small coastal community in the Mexican state of Guerrero. Previously located in the municipality of Cuajinicuilapa, it became part of the new municipality of Sa ...

, which recorded populations of 1583 and 848 inhabitants respectively in the 2020 Census. Like the neighbouring Cuajinicuilapa, San Nicolás has been identified by cultural authorities, academics, and journalists as a centre of Afro-Mexican culture in Guerrero's Costa Chica. However, residents of San Nicolás self-identify as ''moreno'' (black Indians) and reject labels such as "black", "Afromexican" and "Afromestizo". Since the late 1990s, a significant community of expatriates from San Nicolás has lived in the cities of Winston-Salem, Greensboro and Charlotte in North Carolina.

Economy

The economy of San Nicolás is based on smallholder farming: farmers grow corn for their own consumption, and sesame and fruit (e.g., mango, papaya and watermelon) for sale to regional markets. Seaside communities depend heavily on fishing.

Geography

History

Administration

Demographics and culture

Economy

References

Further reading