Ojinaga (Manuel Ojinaga) is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an o ...

and seat of the municipality of Ojinaga, in the northern

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

Chihuahua Chihuahua may refer to: Places * Chihuahua (state), a Mexican state **Chihuahua (dog), a breed of dog named after the state **Chihuahua cheese, a type of cheese originating in the state **Chihuahua City, the capital city of the state **Chihuahua Mu ...

. As of 2015, the town had a total population of 28,040. It is a rural border town on the U.S.-Mexico border, with the city of

Presidio A presidio ( en, jail, fortification) was a fortified base established by the Spanish Empire around between 16th and 18th centuries in areas in condition of their control or influence. The presidios of Spanish Philippines in particular, were cen ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, directly opposite, on the U.S. side of the border. Ojinaga is situated where the

Río Conchos The Río Conchos (Conchos River) is a large river in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. It joins the Río Bravo del Norte (known in the United States as the Rio Grande) at the town of Ojinaga, Chihuahua. Description The Rio Conchos is the main riv ...

drains into the

Río Grande The Rio Grande ( and ), known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte or simply the Río Bravo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The length of the Rio G ...

(known as the Rio Bravo in Mexico), an area called La Junta de los Rios. Presidio and Ojinaga are connected by the Presidio-Ojinaga International Bridge and the

Presidio–Ojinaga International Rail Bridge The Presidio–Ojinaga International Rail Bridge (also known as the Presidio Rail Bridge or the ''Puente Ferro Carril Ojinaga'') is an international bridge that crosses the Rio Grande (Río Bravo) between the cities of Presidio, Texas, and Ojinaga, ...

History

Ojinaga was founded around AD 1200 by the

Pueblo In the Southwestern United States, Pueblo (capitalized) refers to the Native tribes of Puebloans having fixed-location communities with permanent buildings which also are called pueblos (lowercased). The Spanish explorers of northern New Spain ...

Native Americans, who were later assimilated by Uto-Aztecan speakers. Ojinaga was first visited by Spanish explorers (led by

Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca (; 1488/90/92"Cabeza de Vaca, Alvar Núñez (1492?-1559?)." American Eras. Vol. 1: Early American Civilizations and Exploration to 1600. Detroit: Gale, 1997. 50-51. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 10 Decembe ...

) in 1535. (See La Junta Indians) During 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 ...

, Ojinaga was the scene of the

Battle of Ojinaga The Battle of Ojinaga, also known as the Taking of Ojinaga, was one of the battles of the Mexican Revolution and was fought on January 11, 1914. The conflict put an end to the last stronghold of the Federal Army in Northern Mexico. After the re ...

, between

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 ...

's revolutionaries and government troops. The U.S. writer

Ambrose Bierce Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce (June 24, 1842 – ) was an American short story writer, journalist, poet, and American Civil War veteran. His book ''The Devil's Dictionary'' was named as one of "The 100 Greatest Masterpieces of American Literature" by t ...

may have died there, although that is uncertain.

Culture

Ojinaga still retains its rural culture and environment, with relatively little pollution and few urban problems. Some of the most famous norteño-sax artists are from Ojinaga, such as

Polo Urías Polo Urías is a Regional Mexican singer from Ojinaga, Chihuahua, Mexico. He specializes in the Norteño-Sax genre. He came to prominence when he performed with his brothers’ band, Los Jilgueros del Arroyo. He then left the group to become the pr ...

, Adolfo Urías,

Los Diamantes de Ojinaga LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to: Science and technology * Length of stay, the duration of a single episode of hospitalisation * Level of service, a measure used by traffic engineers * Level of significance, a measure of statistical significan ...

Los Rieleros del Norte Los Rieleros Del Norte ("The Railers of the North") are a Mexican three-time Grammy-nominated Regional Mexican band from Ojinaga, Chihuahua, Mexico. They are based in El Paso, Texas. They specialize in the Norteño-Sax genre. History They formed ...

Conjunto Primavera Conjunto Primavera is a Mexican Norteño-Sax band from Ojinaga, Chihuahua. In the 1990s and 2000s they were one of the most popular acts in Regional Mexican music. History Conjunto Primavera was formed on the first day of spring in 1978 by the ...

, Los Jilgueros del Arroyo, and Los Norteños de Ojinaga.

Location

Because of its location on the Río Grande border between

and the U.S. state of

, Ojinaga is often a station for narcotic smuggling and illegal immigration. The creation of the "

La Entrada al Pacífico La Entrada al Pacífico is a trade corridor designated as "Trade Corridor 56" by the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act. The corridor is an international project between Mexico and the United States as a route from the Pacific Ocean po ...

" or "The Entrance to the Pacific", has made Ojinaga and

Presidio, Texas Presidio is a city in Presidio County, Texas, United States. It is situated on the Rio Grande (''Río Bravo del Norte'') River, on the opposite side of the U.S.–Mexico border from Ojinaga, Chihuahua. The name originates from Spanish and means " ...

, into a proposed inland trade corridor between the two countries. The route extends into Odessa-Midland, Texas. Several changes have also had to be made to the

port of entry In general, a port of entry (POE) is a place where one may lawfully enter a country. It typically has border security staff and facilities to check passports and visas and to inspect luggage to assure that contraband is not imported. Internat ...

, to accommodate the growing amount of

traffic Traffic comprises pedestrians, vehicles, ridden or herded animals, trains, and other conveyances that use public ways (roads) for travel and transportation. Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffic ...

crossing the

border Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders ca ...

. Truck lanes for heavy vehicles have also been added.

Economy

Ojinaga serves as a support center and market community for the surrounding area. Though it is on the border Ojinaga has drawn little benefit in the form of

maquiladoras A (), or (), is a word that refers to factories that are largely duty free and tariff-free. These factories take raw materials and assemble, manufacture, or process them and export the finished product. These factories and systems are present t ...

. Selkirk has a plant which makes chimney, venting and air distribution products. Solitaire Homes has established a factory for producing prefabricated homes. There are about used for agriculture the largest area is in cattle pasture, the main crops are soy, cotton, corn, wheat, onions, peanuts, canteloupes and vegetables. There are mineral deposits which consist of lead, silver, coal, zinc, manganese, marble and uranium which are found here.

Popular References

Ojinaga is featured in the novel Streets of Laredo by

Larry McMurtry Larry Jeff McMurtry (June 3, 1936March 25, 2021) was an American novelist, essayist, bookseller and screenwriter whose work was predominantly set in either the Old West or contemporary Texas.

as the hometown of Maria, the midwife of Ojinaga and mother of Joey Garza.

References