Aporo, Michoacán
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Aporo is one of 113
municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
in 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 municipal seat is the town of Aporo. Most of the municipality is forested and considered to be part of
Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve The Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve ( es, Reserva de Biosfera de la Mariposa Monarca) is a World Heritage Site containing most of the over-wintering sites of the eastern population of the monarch butterfly. The reserve is located in the Tra ...
, where millions of
monarch butterflies The monarch butterfly or simply monarch (''Danaus plexippus'') is a milkweed butterfly (subfamily Danainae) in the family Nymphalidae. Other common names, depending on region, include milkweed, common tiger, wanderer, and black-veined brown. It ...
arrive to stay five months each winter. The town and municipality have mostly
adobe Adobe ( ; ) is a building material made from earth and organic materials. is Spanish for ''mudbrick''. In some English-speaking regions of Spanish heritage, such as the Southwestern United States, the term is used to refer to any kind of e ...
structures with tile roofs and the main architectural site is the San Lucas Evangelista Church, which was built in the 20th century.


The town

The town of Aporo is a small rural community of less than 3,000 people, accounting for about seventy percent of the municipal population. (inegi) It is located in the mountains at an altitude of 2,280 meters above sea level at the eastern edge of the state. The center of the town is the parish church of San Lucas Evangelista, which honors
Saint Luke Luke the Evangelist (Latin: '' Lucas''; grc, Λουκᾶς, '' Loukâs''; he, לוקאס, ''Lūqās''; arc, /ܠܘܩܐ לוקא, ''Lūqā’; Ge'ez: ሉቃስ'') is one of the Four Evangelists—the four traditionally ascribed authors of t ...
. This church is the most important architectural structure in both the town and municipality. The building of the church was the work of Eleuterio Raya Zavala, who was the parish priest of the area for thirty six years in the early and mid-20th century. He also had the Chapel of San Francisco built as well. This church hosts the annual feast day of the patron saint, Luke, with music, dance, amusement rides, fireworks mounted on structures called "castillos" (castles) and "toritos" (little bulls) which brings visitors from surrounding communities. During this and other festival typical dishes of the area include
corundas Corunda is a Mexican type of tamale, but wrapped in a long corn or reed plant leaf, and folded, making a triangular shape or spherical shape. They are typically steamed until golden and eaten with sour cream (Mexican crema)and red salsa. Unlike t ...
,
mole Mole (or Molé) may refer to: Animals * Mole (animal) or "true mole", mammals in the family Talpidae, found in Eurasia and North America * Golden moles, southern African mammals in the family Chrysochloridae, similar to but unrelated to Talpida ...
,
barbacoa Barbacoa () is a form of cooking meat that originated in the Caribbean with the Taíno people, who called it by the Arawak word ''barbaca'', from which the term "barbacoa" derives, and ultimately, the word 'barbecue". In contemporary Mexico, it ...
and "guenches" which is a larva found on strawberry trees.


The municipality

Aporo is by far the largest community in the municipality, with about sixty nine percent of the total population of 2,705 (2005). Other communities include Rincón de Soto (263), Arroyo Seco (145), Ojo de Agua (89) and Juan Perez (126). The town is the local government of an area of over 55km2. The municipality is bordered by the municipalities of Senguio, Angangueo, Ocampo, Tuxpan and Irimbo. Its geography includes the Sierra de Anguangeo and other peaks such as Don Felix, Chino, Colorado, Prieto and Seco. The entire area is part of the
Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt The Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt ( es, Eje Volcánico Transversal), also known as the Transvolcanic Belt and locally as the (''Snowy Mountain Range''), is an active volcanic belt that covers central-southern Mexico. Several of its highest peaks h ...
. The two principal rivers are the Zarco and the El Grande, supplemented by a number of fresh water springs such as the San Luis and the Ojo de Agua de Martinillos. It has a cold climate with rains in the summer, with average temperatures ranging from 7.8C to 23.4C. Ecosystems are primarily forests of conifers such as
oyamel ''Abies religiosa'', the oyamel fir or sacred fir, (known as in Spanish) is a fir native to the mountains of central and southern Mexico (Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, Sierra Madre del Sur) and western Guatemala. It grows at high altitudes of in ...
, pine and
juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' () of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arcti ...
with some
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 * ...
. Wildlife includes
cacomixtle The cacomistle (; ''Bassariscus sumichrasti'') is a nocturnal, arboreal and omnivorous member of the carnivoran family Procyonidae. Its preferred habitats are wet, tropical, evergreen woodlands and mountain forests, though seasonally it will ...
, rabbits,
weasel Weasels are mammals of the genus ''Mustela'' of the family Mustelidae. The genus ''Mustela'' includes the least weasels, polecats, stoats, ferrets and European mink. Members of this genus are small, active predators, with long and slender bo ...
s,
coyote The coyote (''Canis latrans'') is a species of canis, 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 ecologica ...
s and various birds. The major economic activity of the municipally is forestry, especially the cutting of pines for wood, along with the processing of these trees/furniture making, accounting for 45% of the local economy. One other craft is the making of wooden staffs and canes which are sold in various parts of the country. In second place is the cultivation of beans, corn and wheat. In third is the raising of cattle, horses, pigs, sheep and domestic fowl. Commerce is limited to local needs. Most of the municipality is considered to be part of Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, where millions of monarch butterflies arrive to stay five months each winter. It participates in the annual Festival Cultural de la Mariposa Monarca each year. The municipality also has sites such as La Peña Redonda, which has archeological remains and a dam area called La Presa del Ejido. However, tourism is not part of the municipality’s economy. The municipality only has education from pre school to middle school within its borders. Middle school classes are given through distance education. Schools in the municipality include Escuela Telesecundario Estv16 723 (middle school), General Franicisco Villa (primary), Heroinas de la Independencia (middle school), Ignacio Lopez Rayon (primary), Ignacio Zaragoza (primary), Jardin de Niños (preschool), Jose Maria Morelos y Pavon (primary), Modulo I (kindergarten), Robert Owen (preschool) and Valentin Gomez Farias (primary). All are public institutions. The municipality has a growth rate of one percent. Its population has grown from 2,613 inhabitants in 1995 to 2,705 in 2005. Most residents are Catholic with some belonging to Evangelical churches. In 2005, INEGI counted only seven people in the municipality as speaking an indigenous language, all men. The languages were Otomi and Tzetal. The area is very rural with 558 housing units (2005), mostly adobe houses with tile roofs, with some of cinderblock. Basic services such as potable water, electricity and garbage collection is available to between 70 and 90 percent of residents. It contains one sports facility with a soccer field, baseball field and two basketball courts. The municipality is located near the major highway between
Toluca Toluca , officially Toluca de Lerdo , is the States of Mexico, state capital of the State of Mexico as well as the seat of the Municipality of Toluca. With a population of 910,608 as of the 2020 census, Toluca is the fifth most populous city in M ...
and
Morelia Morelia (; from 1545 to 1828 known as Valladolid) is a city and municipal seat of the municipality of Morelia in the north-central part of the state of Michoacán in central Mexico. The city is in the Guayangareo Valley and is the capital and larg ...
. It is also connected to Ciudad Hidalgo and
Maravatío Maravatío is a municipality in the Mexican state of Michoacán, representing 1.17% of its land area, or 691.55 km2. Etymology The modern word Maravatío comes from the Purépecha word Marhabatio, meaning a precious place or thing. Hist ...
on State Highway 122. Another road links it with
Angangueo Angangueo () is a municipality located in far eastern Michoacán state in central Mexico noted for its history of mining and its location in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve. The municipal seat is the Mineral de Angangueo. It is located in ...
. It is served by second class inter-city busses.


History

The name comes from the
Chichimeca Chichimeca () is the name that the Nahua peoples of Mexico generically applied to nomadic and semi-nomadic peoples who were established in present-day Bajio region of Mexico. Chichimeca carried the meaning as the Roman term "barbarian" that des ...
word ''hapu'' or ''hapur'' which means ''place of ashes''. The municipality has its own coat of arms, divided into five parts, one of which is in the center. These panels include images of Saint Luke, the patron saint, corn, mining and
maguey Maguey may refer to various American plants: * Genus ''Agave'', especially ** Species ''Agave americana'', the century plant ** Species '' Agave salmiana'' * Genus ''Furcraea'', a source of natural fiber * Maguey flowers, an edible flower Other use ...
. The last three refer to the area’s basic economic staples from the pre Hispanic period to the present. At the bottom the words “Lugar de Cenizas” which is the translation of the Chichimeca name in Spanish. The municipal seat traces its origins to the pre Hispanic period. It was originally inhabited by the
Otomi The Otomi (; es, Otomí ) are an indigenous people of Mexico inhabiting the central Mexican Plateau (Altiplano) region. The Otomi are an indigenous people of Mexico who inhabit a discontinuous territory in central Mexico. They are linguisticall ...
, but it was then conquered by the
Purépecha Empire The Purépecha Empire, also known by the term Iréchikwa, was a polity in pre-Columbian Mexico. Its territory roughly covered the geographic area of the present-day Mexican state of Michoacán, as well as parts of Guanajuato, Guerrero, and Jalisc ...
. Soon after the
Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, also known as the Conquest of Mexico or the Spanish-Aztec War (1519–21), was one of the primary events in the Spanish colonization of the Americas. There are multiple 16th-century narratives of the eve ...
, the Spanish soon took over Purépecha lands. Aporo then became part of 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 ...
headed by González de Salazar called Taximaroa. The Spanish settlement was officially founded in 1540 by decree of the Spanish king with the name of San Lucas Aporo. This recognition was for the help of the local Otomi in the Conquest. The Spanish founders are named as two friars, Francisco Motolina and Lino Montes y Zuiza. Evangelization efforts in the area were headed by Martín de la Coruña. The first train passed through the municipality in 1890. It was struck by a
smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...
epidemic in 1911. After
Independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...
, Aporo was part of the municipality of Irimbo. However, administrative and religious conflicts eventually caused the creation of a new municipality in 1921 encompassing the Chupio Valley. The first municipal president was C. Celestino Velazquez. Three years later, the seat lost its status and the area became part of the Senguio municipality. Its final status as an independent municipality was set by state decree in 1927, with its current boundaries. Since then, Aporo has had over sixty municipal presidents.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aporo, Michoacan Municipalities of Michoacán