Degollado () is a small town and

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 ...

located 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

Jalisco Jalisco (, , ; Nahuatl: Xalixco), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco ; Nahuatl: Tlahtohcayotl Xalixco), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal ...

, in the cultural region of Ciénega, just south of Los Altos. The municipality encompasses Huascato, Los Ranchitos, La Vibora, Buenos Aires, Las Limas, Altamira, La Chancla and El Corral de Piedra. In Spanish, the word '' degollado'' means "to slit one's throat", "behead", or "decapitate". It is also a last name, and in this case the town was named after Mexican general Santos Degollado. A statue of him is in el Jardin de Niños which was made from coins from the townspeople during the early 1960s.

History

The town dates back to the 19th century to land east of Ayotlán known as Los Encinos. A

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common type ...

was erected and blessed by the priest of Ayotlán Clemente Pérez in 1856, who's patron saint is San Ignacio de Loyola. For this reason, the growing village was given the name of San Ignacio de Morelos in 1857, also commonly referred to as San Ignacio de los Encinos. The town was renamed after general Santos Degollado in 1861. On December 24, 1917, the town was under siege by bandit leader J. Inés García Chávez. Degollado is also one of the places in highlands of Jalisco where the

Cristero War The Cristero War ( es, Guerra Cristera), also known as the Cristero Rebellion or es, La Cristiada, label=none, italics=no , was a widespread struggle in central and western Mexico from 1 August 1926 to 21 June 1929 in response to the implementa ...

took place during the 1920s.

Arts and culture

The holy patroness of Degollado is Our Lady of Guadalupe and is celebrated in the town center on December 12. Degollado is famous for its ''cantera'' ( freestone masonry). One of the best selling products are stone images of the

Virgin of Guadalupe Our Lady of Guadalupe ( es, Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe), also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe ( es, Virgen de Guadalupe), is a Catholic title of Mary, mother of Jesus associated with a series of five Marian apparitions, which are believed t ...

and sculptures, such as fountains, animals, and columns. The town is known for

tequila Tequila (; ) is a distilled beverage made from the blue agave plant, primarily in the area surrounding the city of Tequila northwest of Guadalajara, and in the Jaliscan Highlands ('' Los Altos de Jalisco'') of the central western Mexican s ...

production, with much of the surrounding farmland cultivated for the

blue agave ''Agave tequilana'', commonly called blue agave () or tequila agave, is an agave plant that is an important economic product of Jalisco, Mexico, due to its role as the base ingredient of tequila, a popular distilled beverage. The high production ...

plant. In July 2019, the ''Iowa Organization of Professional Fire Chiefs'' donated US $90,000 (MXN $171,000) worth of firefighting equipment to the Degollado Fire Department.

References

{{Jalisco Municipalities of Jalisco Populated places established in 1848