Villa Juárez is a municipality and town located in the central part of the

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

San Luis Potosí San Luis Potosí (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of San Luis Potosí ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de San Luis Potosí), is one of the 32 states which compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 58 municipalities and i ...

. It was founded in 1643 as Santa Gertrudis de Carbonera. In 1928 the name was changed to Villa Juárez to honor Benito Juárez, one of México's most admired presidents.

Geography

Location

Its geographic location is and its altitude is 1100 meters above sea level. The municipality extends throughout 18 small villages including El Granjenal, Palo Seco, and Puerta del Río. Villa Juarez is surrounded by Cerritos to the north, Rio Verde to the east and south, and with

San Nicolás Tolentino San Nicolás Tolentino is a Municipalities of Mexico, municipality and town located in central San Luis Potosí, Mexico. The municipality was founded in 1614, and consists of many small towns and villages. Santa Catarina is the largest town in ...

to the west.

History

It was founded in 1643 as Santa Gertrudis de Carbonera and in 1928, the name was changed to Villa Juárez due to the expansion of population.

Economy

Agriculture made up most of Villa Juárez's economy. Hot peppers (mainly serrano) and corn were the major elements of this economy. Lack of capital to invest in farming has recently declined production. In the 19th and 20th centuries sulfur mining at Guaxcama was also important.

Culture

Villa Juárez's population, like many other Mexican towns and cities, are mostly part of

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

. Its biggest tradition is to host a traveling carnival in honor of its patron saint,

Gertrude the Great Gertrude the Great, OSB (or Saint Gertrude of Helfta; it, Santa Gertrude, german: Gertrud die Große von Helfta, la, Sancta Gertrudis; January 6, 1256 – November 17, 1302) was a German Benedictine nun and mystic. She is recognized as a saint ...

, mostly known as "Santa Gertrudis". It begins about two weeks before the main day, 16 November. This carnival is made up of dozens of booths that sell artifacts, ceramics and artifacts, regional delicacies, food, drinks, games, literature, and small widgets among other things. Rides are also a main attraction of the carnival. A stage is also assembled for shows, regional and national folklore dances, musicians, speeches, and plays. Aside from this festival, Villa Juárez and its surrounding municipalities, often hold events known as "Jaripeos" which involve the riding of bulls without much, if any, protection gear. Many tourists come from all parts of the state of San Luis Potosí and from the United States (such as

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, Illinois, Georgia, California, Wyoming and Nebraska) for this traditional event. These tourists also Vacation in Villa Juarez mainly in the Summer and Winter time. Many of the natives like to go back to Villa Juarez to get married, baptize children etc. around this time as well. Within this municipality there still live indigenous groups of people such as the Pame (Xiu). This municipality has been a victim of mass migration to the U.S. Most of the remaining inhabitants are small children, middle-age females, and senior citizens. Several internationally known musical bands have come from this municipality: Grupo Bryndis, and Agua Azul. People that have migrated to the United States of America from Villa Juárez are so proud of their town, that they have founded various organizations and clubs throughout the States to send help to their town. Some of these clubs include: Fundación Villa Juárez de

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

; Club Social Villa Juárez en

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

, Texas; Club Social Villa Juárez en

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

; and Club Social Villa Juárez en

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

. There are comments that clubs will form in Gonzáles, Texas and in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

. These clubs have made many contributions to Villa Juárez. For example, Fundación Villa Juárez de Houston, Texas took the initiative to construct the Municipal Market (Mercado Municipal).

Municipal Presidents

* *Urbano Mata Zapata (1980-1982) * *Víctor García Almazán (2001-2003) *Juan Izaguirre Ostiguin (2004-2006) *Everardo Izaguirre Gloria (2007-2009) *Jesus Ruiz Castillo (2010-2012) *Ignacio Chavira (2012-2015) *Juan Manuel Sánchez Martinez (2015-2018) *Lisa Avigail (2018-2021)

External links

Villa Juárez, SLP
24 September 2001
Gobierno de Villa Juarez, SLP

Bibliography

*Roque, Alexandro (2004) ''Villa Juárez La bella villa'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Villa Juarez, San Luis Potosi Populated places in San Luis Potosí Populated places established in 1643 1643 establishments in the Spanish Empire