Celaya (; ) is a city and its surrounding

municipality 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 ...

in the state of

Guanajuato Guanajuato (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guanajuato ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Guanajuato), is one of the 32 states that make up the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 46 municipalities and its capital city i ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

, located in the southeast quadrant of the state. It is the third most populous city in the state, with a 2005 census population of 310,413. The municipality for which the city serves as municipal seat, had a population of 415,869. The city is located in the geographic center of the municipality, which has an areal extent of 553.18 km² (213.58 sq mi) and includes many smaller outlying communities, the largest of which are San Miguel Octopan,

Rincón de Tamayo Rincón de Tamayo is a community in the municipality of Celaya, Guanajuato in Mexico. It maintains a relevance with regard to other communities in the municipality of Celaya. Singer Joan Sebastian José Manuel Figueroa Figueroa (April 8, 1951 � ...

and

San Juan de la Vega San Juan de la Vega is a town in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico. The town has been inhabited since at least the 16th Century. It has grown considerably in the past few years, and currently has two Catholic churches. During the weekends, there is ...

. There are many smaller towns around Celaya including Rincón de Tamayo, Tarimoro, Villagrán, La Moncada,

Panales Jamaica Panales Jamaica (Also known as Cañones) is a small town in the Tarimoro Municipality of Guanajuato, Mexico. It lies between the cities of Celaya and Salvatierra. It is in El Bajío, a valley region of central Mexico. It has mainly an agricultura ...

(Cañones), Panales Galera, La Calera, La Estancia, La Noria, Los Fierros, El Acebuche, Cacalote, and Charco Largo. It is also not far away from Cortazar,

Salamanca Salamanca () is a city in western Spain and is the capital of the Province of Salamanca in the autonomous community of Castile and León. The city lies on several rolling hills by the Tormes River. Its Old City was declared a UNESCO World Herit ...

, Salvatierra,

Apaseo el Grande Apaseo el Grande is a city and municipality located in Guanajuato, Mexico. The municipality covers 415.26 square kilometres (160 sq mi). It is bordered on the north by Comonfort and San Miguel de Allende, on the east by Querétaro, on ...

Querétaro City Santiago de Querétaro (; Otomi: Dähnini Maxei), known simply as Querétaro City ( es, Ciudad de Querétaro), is the capital and largest city of the state of Querétaro, located in central Mexico. It is part of the macroregion of Bajío. It is ...

and among others. The city was founded in 1570 as ''Villa de la Purisíma Concepción de Zalaya''. The word Zalaya is of Basque origin and means "Flat Land".

History

Celaya was a frontier region between the

Purépecha The Purépecha (endonym pua, P'urhepecha ) are a group of indigenous people centered in the northwestern region of Michoacán, Mexico, mainly in the area of the cities of Cherán and Pátzcuaro. They are also known by the pejorative " Tarascan ...

and the

Chichimecas 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 ...

. General

Álvaro Obregón Álvaro Obregón Salido (; 17 February 1880 – 17 July 1928) better known as Álvaro Obregón was a Sonoran-born general in the Mexican Revolution. A pragmatic centrist, natural soldier, and able politician, he became the 46th President of Me ...

defeated

Pancho Villa Francisco "Pancho" Villa (, Orozco rebelled in March 1912, both for Madero's continuing failure to enact land reform and because he felt insufficiently rewarded for his role in bringing the new president to power. At the request of Madero's c ...

in the Battle of Celaya in 1915, as referred by Martínez Celaya was also the Guanajuato state capital for a short period. An explosion in a gunpowder and fireworks warehouse in September, 1999, killed over 60 people and injured over 300 people. On 23 May 2022, eleven people were murdered in a

massacre A massacre is the killing of a large number of people or animals, especially those who are not involved in any fighting or have no way of defending themselves. A massacre is generally considered to be morally unacceptable, especially when per ...

linked to the Mexican drug war.

Climate

Celaya has a

semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi ...

(Köppen climate classification BSh).

Education

*Centro Pedagogico de Celaya *Colegio Arturo Rosenblueth *Colegio Marista * Colegio Nuevo Continente Bajío Celaya Campus • Complejo Educativo Ignacio Allende *Colegio Mexico *Escuela Bilingue Guilford *Instituto Andersen *Instituto Bilingue Oxford *Instituto Británico de Celaya (BIC) *Instituto Educativo Rosa G. de Carmona *Instituto Kipling *Instituto Sir Winston Churchill *Instituto Tecnologico de Celaya *Instituto Tecnologico de Roque *Instituto Universitario del Centro de México (UCEM) *Tecnologico de Monterrey *Universidad de Celaya * Universidad de Guanajuato *Universidad de Itesba *Universidad Lasallista Benavente *Universidad Latina de Mexico *Westminster Royal College

Attractions

Ball of Water

The Ball of Water reservoir has been a city icon since 1908; it continues to supply water to portions of downtown. The tank was manufactured in Germany and assembled on site, and is unique in being assembled using rivets rather than welds. It is believed to be the only one of its kind with a spherical shape (it is rumored that there was another similar water ball in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the Sw ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

that was destroyed during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

). Traditionally, locals tell visitors that it is filled with cajeta, taking them to visit the "Bola del Agua" on Sundays, the traditional day for visiting the Independencia Lane. A plaque at the base of the water tower features the legend (in Spanish): The work was carried out under the command of German Enrique Schöndube, although it is known that payment for the construction took ten years due to the start of the

Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution ( es, Revolución Mexicana) was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from approximately 1910 to 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It resulted in the destruction ...

, so it was paid once the new government established. During the Mexican Revolution, Villa's officers thought the hydraulic tower had such a large amount of water that destroying it would drown the population of Celaya. One of Villa's generals ordered his artillery to destroy it. Captain Gustavo Duron, in charge of a 75mm battery, followed the orders but shot around the tower, avoiding it and protecting the monument, as mentioned by local historian Herminio Martínez. The construction resulted in the neglect of the people handing out water at home from the mayor's office called water carriers. Commercial advertising on its surface was allowed for several years to cover the costs of the reservoir, ending on September 8, 1980 when, in celebration of upcoming 410th Anniversary of the Foundation of Celaya, the mayor in charge decreed that the Ball of Water would be a symbol that would represent the city, and the placement of advertisements was banned.

Cuisine

Celaya is also known for the artisanal production of cajeta, a type of milk candy.

Transportation

The Celaya Airport had (as of January 22, 2007) commercial flights to

Santiago de Querétaro 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, who ...

and connections from there to other destinations; these services were dropped in 2008. Celaya lies along the El Paso Spur of the

Pan-American Highway The Pan-American Highway (french: (Auto)route panaméricaine/transaméricaine; pt, Rodovia/Auto-estrada Pan-americana; es, Autopista/Carretera/Ruta Panamericana) is a network of roads stretching across the Americas and measuring about in to ...

which is known locally as

Mexican Federal Highway 45 Federal Highway 45 (''La Carretera Federal 45'') (Fed. 45) is the free (libre) part of the federal highways corridors (los corredores carreteros federales), and connects Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua through the Chihuahuan Desert to Panales, H ...

People

* Marta Sahagún de Fox (b. April 10, 1953), former Mexican First Lady and wife of President Vicente Fox, lived in Celaya and unsuccessfully ran for mayor * Miguel Martínez (b. September 29, 1921), Musician, composer and songwriter. Considered the father of the modern mariachi trumpet. *

Francisco Eduardo Tresguerras Francisco Eduardo Tresguerras (October 13, 1759, Celaya, Guanajuato – August 3, 1833, Celaya) was a prominent Mexican architect and a painter. He was active during the colonial period and early independence. Biography Believing he had a reli ...

(b. October 13, 1759, d. August 3, 1833), Architect and painter. Designed the El Carmen church in Celaya. * Joshua Ilika Brenner (b. September 14, 1976) Olympic swimmer * Liliana Ibáñez (b. January 30, 1991) Olympic swimmer *

Raúl Velasco Raúl Velasco Ramírez (April 24, 1933 – November 26, 2006) was a Mexican host/ producer of the TV show ''Siempre en Domingo'' (''Always on Sunday'') which is his hallmark contribution to the Latin American world and eventually to other parts ...

(b. April 24, 1933, d. November 26, 2006) Entertainer and TV Producer. Was the host of the TV program ''Siempre en Domingo''. *

Octavio Ocampo Octavio Ocampo (born 28 February 1943 in Celaya, Guanajuato, Mexico) is a Mexican surrealist painter. He grew up in a family of designers, and studied art from early childhood. At art school, Ocampo constructed papier mache figures for floats, alta ...

(b. February 28, 1943) Painter known for his "metamorphosis" style. *

Mauricio Ochmann Mauricio Ochmann (born November 16, 1977) is an American-born, Mexican actor best known for his roles in telenovelas, such as ''Amarte Asi'', where he starred as Ignacio "Nacho" Reyes. He also appeared in Kevin Costner's film ''Message in a Bottl ...

(b. November 16, 1977), Actor. * Ever Guzmán (b. March 15, 1988), footballer. * José Juan Vázquez (b. 14 March 1988), Mexican footballer, who currently plays in Club Leon. * David Roberto Bárcena Ríos (26 December 1941 – 22 February 2017) was a Mexican equestrian who competed at five Olympic Games, winning a bronze medial in the Team Event at his fifth Olympics * Lalo Duron (b. September 6, 1963). Author of "Alive & Well!", "¿Jubilarme? Ni de chiste", writer, and creator of "Creado en México", and "Emprende" movements in Mexico.

Sister cities

* Carrboro,

North Carolina North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

Chapel Hill Chapel Hill or Chapelhill may refer to: Places Antarctica * Chapel Hill (Antarctica) Australia *Chapel Hill, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane *Chapel Hill, South Australia, in the Mount Barker council area Canada *Chapel Hill, Ottawa, a neighbou ...

* Guernica, Spain * Oaxaca, Mexico * Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Mexico

References

Sources

Link to tables of population data from Census of 2005
INEGI: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática
Guanajuato
Enciclopedia de los Municipios de México

External links

*
A casi 100 años de la Bola de Agua (''Near the century of "Ball of Water"'')

PODCelaya.com
Business Virtual Directory
Diócesis de Celaya

Domingo Negro Explosion
{{Authority control Municipalities of Guanajuato Otomi settlements Populated places established in 1570 Populated places in Guanajuato