Salamanca ( Otomi: ''Xidoo'' "Place of

Tepetate Tepetate (Spanish ''tepetate''; Nahuatl ''tepetlatl'') is a Mexican term for a geological horizon, hardened by compaction or cementation, found in Mexican volcanic regions. Tepetates at the surface are problematic for agriculture, because of thei ...

") is a city in the Mexican 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 ...

. Founded January 1, 1603 as 'Villa de Salamanca' by the Viceroy Gaspar de Zuniga and Acevedo, fifth Earl of Monterrey, who was originally from Salamanca (

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

). The town was founded in the lands of Bajio, after cattle ranchers and poor farmers, a few Spaniards, and small groups of Otomi Indians who formerly occupied a village named Xidoo, already lived in the area. In recent years, many refineries have opened, and Salamanca has grown rapidly to become an important site for manufacturing and service industry in the region. Also, the University of Guanajuato has made many scientific contributions to develop agricultural and industrial technologies, giving a boost to the local and regional industries. The city reported a 2020 census population of 273,417. The fourth-largest city in the state (behind León, Irapuato, and

Celaya Celaya (; ) is a city and its surrounding municipality in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico, 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 f ...

), it is also the largest of four places called "Salamanca" in Mexico.

Cuisine

Salamanca's cuisine is very diverse because, thanks to the oil refinery, it is a city that has people from all over the country, from cities such as

Veracruz Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...

Oaxaca Oaxaca ( , also , , from nci, Huāxyacac ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 32 states that compose the Federative Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 570 municipaliti ...

and

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

. Each of these cities has its own variety of food, so one can find enchiladas, wheat gorditas, pambazo,

hamburger A hamburger, or simply burger, is a food consisting of fillings—usually a patty of ground meat, typically beef—placed inside a sliced bun or bread roll. Hamburgers are often served with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, bacon, ...

s, its famous

carnitas Carnitas, literally meaning "little meats", is a dish of Mexican cuisine that originated in the state of Michoacán. Carnitas are made by braising or simmering pork in oil or preferably lard until tender. The process takes three to four hours, a ...

(pulled pork), arrachera, cabrito (goat), birria, barbecue, cecina, and pizza. There are food stands on virtually every street corner. Many types of locally made ice pops &

ice cream Ice cream is a sweetened frozen food typically eaten as a snack or dessert. It may be made from milk or cream and is flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit such as ...

are also popular in the city.

Industry

The

petrochemical industry The petrochemical industry is concerned with the production and trade of petrochemicals. A major part is constituted by the plastics (polymer) industry. It directly interfaces with the petroleum industry, especially the downstream sector. Comp ...

is the primary one in the city, giving rise to numerous companies and bus transport services available for employees. The strategy was to boost the creation and development of the so-called "industrial corridor" of the Bajio. The largest

Pemex Pemex (a portmanteau of Petróleos Mexicanos, which translates to ''Mexican Petroleum'' in English; ) is the Mexican state-owned petroleum company managed and operated by the Mexican government. It was formed in 1938 by nationalization and expr ...

refinery in Mexico is located in Salamanca, and it is the 11th largest crude oil refinery in the world. Also noteworthy is CFE Thermoelectric, a source of significant employment in the municipality. In Feb 2014,

Mazda , commonly referred to as simply Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Fuchū, Hiroshima, Japan. In 2015, Mazda produced 1.5 million vehicles for global sales, the majority of which (nearly one ...

opened its North American plant outside of Salamanca. At full production, the plant is expected to produce up to 240,000 vehicles per year and employ over 4,600 workers. About 30 percent of the vehicles sold in the United States will be sourced from this factory.

Communications

Road links

It is possible to get to Salamanca by

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 ...

, which links the cities of Querétaro, Celaya, Irapuato, Silao and León; as well as

through Mexican Federal Highway 57. Also Mexican Federal Highway 43 links south to Morelia and Lazaro Cardenas.

Air transportation

While the city itself doesn't have an airport, it can be served by the Bajío International Airport (BJX), which serves the entire state of Guanajuato; the airport itself is about 50 kilometers away.

Rail transportation

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 ...

hasn't had any long-distance rail passenger service since 2000 (except for a tourist line in the northwest), however there are plans to build a statewide Interurban Railway linking the same cities currently linked by Highway 45, in addition to the state's capital. However, this project has been stalled for at least 10 years. Article on the Tren Interurbano's status. Retrieved 2008-10-24.

TV/Radio stations

There are four available AM radio stations in the city: XEMAS, XEEMM, XEZH, XESAG, as well as one local TV channel available to local cable subscribers.

Culture

The city has a rich

craft A craft or trade is a pastime or an occupation that requires particular skills and knowledge of skilled work. In a historical sense, particularly the Middle Ages and earlier, the term is usually applied to people occupied in small scale pr ...

industry, especially statues of wax, bronze, and pewter, and is also the location of the headquarters of the Center for the Arts of Guanajuato. The former convent of San Juan de Sahagún and its church (with 12 monumental altarpieces artistically carved with 24 carat gold-plated sheet), and the former parish of St. Bartolomé Apostle are located within the city.

Higher education

Salamanca offers several :
Engineering Division, Irapuato-Salamanca Campus (DICIS)
University of Guanajuato
Technological University of Salamanca (UTS)
* Centro de Estudios Profesionales de Salamanca (CEPSA) * University of Salamanca University of La Salle Bajio * University of Salamanca University of Leon * School of Engineering and Architecture of Bajio ESIABAC

Sports

Salamanca currently had a soccer team named Salamanca FC (known as the Oilers), which was founded in 2004.

Notable residents

* Guillermina Jiménez Chabolla "Flor Silvestre" – singer, actress, and equestrienne who paid tribute to Salamanca in one of her early hits,
Adoro mi tierra
(1950). * Enriqueta Jiménez Chabolla "La Prieta Linda" – singer and actress.

References

Link to tables of population data from Census of 2020
INEGI: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática
Guanajuato
Enciclopedia de los Municipios de México

External links

Presidencia Municipal de Salamanca
Official website {{Authority control Populated places in Guanajuato Municipalities of Guanajuato Populated places established in 1603 1603 establishments in the Spanish Empire