Acatlán de Juárez is a town and

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

, in

Jalisco Jalisco, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in western Mexico and is bordered by s ...

in central-western

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. The municipality covers an area of 154 km². As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 22,540.

History

The first settlers in the region were members of a tribe that was established in Cocula, They were defeated by the Purepecha in 1509. In the year of 1550 the area for the first time attained the first level of a municipality, under the power of the viceroy of the

New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl''), originally the Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain. It was one of several ...

Antonio de Mendoza Antonio de Mendoza (1495 – 21 July 1552) was a Spanish colonial administrator who was the first viceroy of New Spain, serving from 14 November 1535 to 25 November 1550, and the second viceroy of Peru, from 23 September 1551, until his d ...

. During his rule he encountered discontent with people in

Zacoalco de Torres Zacoalco de Torres, formerly Zacoalco (; "place of closed water"), is a town and municipalities of Jalisco, municipality in Jalisco, Mexico. The municipality covers an area of 479.1 km2. It is the primary production region of the ''equipal''-s ...

Ahualulco Ahualulco is a town and municipality in the Mexican state of San Luis Potosí in central Mexico. As of 2010, the municipality had a total population of 4,492. It was the birthplace of composer Julián Carrillo. History Ahualulco was founded in ...

and Ameca. In the first half of the 17th century the Augustinians built a temple dedicated to Santa Ana, known today as the " Parroquia de Santa Ana". In 1825 the area fell under the canton of Sayula. In 1858,

Benito Juárez Benito Pablo Juárez García (; 21 March 1806 – 18 July 1872) was a Mexican politician, military commander, and lawyer who served as the 26th president of Mexico from 1858 until his death in office in 1872. A Zapotec peoples, Zapotec, he w ...

, in his journey through these lands, stayed at the inn in the town of Acatlán de Juárez, owned by Miguel Gomez. During his short stay, he was killed at the hands of the conservatives, and died saving the pastor of the place, Meliton Gutierrez Vargas. On March 22 of 1906, by decree 1158, the name of the earlier village changed its name from Santa Ana Acatlan to Acaltán de Juarez, and acquired the title of a town.

Geography

Acatlán de Juárez is located in the centre of

state between the coordinates 20° 14'30" north latitude and 103° 32'30" west longitude at an altitude of 1,393 metres above sea level. The municipality is bordered on the north by the municipalities of Tala and Tlajomulco de Zuñiga, to the east by the municipalities of Tlajomulco de Zuñiga, Jocotepec and

to the south with the municipalities of Zacoalco de Torres and

Villa Corona Villa Corona is a town and municipalities of Jalisco, municipality, in Jalisco in central-western Mexico. The municipality covers an area of 318.2 km². In 1160, several families left Aztlán, forming two large migrant groups. One group went ...

, and to the west by the municipalities of Villa Corona and Tala. Approximately 57% of the land area is flat, especially in the middle east, west and south of the municipality with its characteristic valleys. The primary agricultural areas at some 39% are located to the north and east, with altitudes of 1,400 and 1,500 m. There are some hilly areas accounting for just 4% of the land area which lies to the south-east and north-west at altitudes that reach the 2.200 m. The municipality belongs to the hydrological basin known as Lerma-Chapala-Santiago. Its water resources are provided by the Acatlán River and the springs El Cajón del Muerto and Charco Verde. In addition, several small streams flow in the rainy season, the Hurtado, Presa Chica and Bordo de San Gerardo. The climate is dry with a dry winter and spring, semi-warm in the winter season. The average annual temperature is 20.5 °C, with an average annual rainfall of 714.7 mm and can reach up to 1.100, with the heaviest rainfall in July and August. Prevailing winds flow in the easterly direction.

Economy

Agriculture is the primary activity in the municipality, with crops such as

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

maize Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...

bean A bean is the seed of some plants in the legume family (Fabaceae) used as a vegetable for human consumption or animal feed. The seeds are often preserved through drying (a ''pulse''), but fresh beans are also sold. Dried beans are traditi ...

peanut The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), goober pea, pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics by small and large ...

sunflower The common sunflower (''Helianthus annuus'') is a species of large annual forb of the daisy family Asteraceae. The common sunflower is harvested for its edible oily seeds, which are often eaten as a snack food. They are also used in the pr ...

and

tomato The tomato (, ), ''Solanum lycopersicum'', is a plant whose fruit is an edible Berry (botany), berry that is eaten as a vegetable. The tomato is a member of the nightshade family that includes tobacco, potato, and chili peppers. It originate ...

. Livestock is also a main economic activity with the rearing of cattle, swine, sheep, goats, horses, rabbits and hives. Sugar and alcohol production are of note. The town has a wide variety of commercial establishments and provides services to tourists.

Government

The form of government is democratic under the

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

and Federal elections, which are held every three years. At the municipal level, the mayor and her/his council are elected. The current municipal president is Jaime Enrique Velasco, from the Citizens' Movement party. He was elected in the election of 6 June 2021. The municipality has 27 villages, the most important ones are: Acatlán de Juárez (town), Bellavista, El Plan, San José de los Pozos, San Pedro Valencia, and Villa de los Niños.

Municipal presidents

Culture

Much of the architecture in the municipality is stone work dating back to the 1850s. The town contains the "Benito Juárez" arts and crafts museum. A religious festival is celebrated on July 26 n honor of

St. Anne According to apocrypha, as well as Christian and Islamic tradition, Saint Anne was the mother of Mary, the wife of Joachim and the maternal grandmother of Jesus. Mary's mother is not named in the Bible's canonical gospels. In writing, Anne's na ...

, the patron saint of the city. It is customary on December 11 each year to also light bonfires at night along the streets, to commemorate the vision of

Our Lady of Guadalupe Our Lady of Guadalupe (), also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe (), is a Catholic title of the Blessed Virgin Mary associated with four Marian apparitions to Juan Diego and one to his uncle, Juan Bernardino reported in December 1531, when t ...

Juan Diego Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin (1474–1548), also known simply as Juan Diego (), was a Nahua peasant and Marian visionary. He is said to have been granted apparitions of Our Lady of Guadalupe on four occasions in December 1531: three at the hill o ...

. Local cuisine includes the Birria goat, Carnitas beef, pork and beans and sweets known as Encalada flour fritters and ponteduro. Guarapo, a fruit cane juice and fruit punch are common beverages.

Notable landmarks

Architecture * Parroquia de Santa Ana * Museo de Artes y Oficios * Chorros de Santa Ana * Mesón de la Providencia * Museo Benito Juárez * Panteón Municipal Parks and reserves * Cerro de la Coronilla * Mirador de Santa Cruz * Cerro de la Lima * Paseo del Río * Presa del Hurtado

Notable people

* Ismael Baeza – writer * Joaquín Baeza Agraz – physician * Miguel Baeza Agraz – writer * Nayar Carrillo – writer *

Isidoro Díaz Isidoro Díaz Mejía (born 14 February 1938) is a Mexican former professional Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. Club career Isidoro Díaz played most of his club career for C.D. Guadalajara, Guadalajara, where he won ...

– international footballer * Jesús Huerta Leal – politician * Carlos Augusto Ortiz – athlete * Bruno Romero – philanthropist * Basilio Rueda Guzmán * Francisco Melitón Vargas – pastor

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Acatlan De Juarez Municipalities of Jalisco Populated places established in 1550 1550 establishments in the Spanish Empire