Cihuatlán is a coastal municipality in the

Mexican state A Mexican State (), officially the Free and Sovereign State (), is a constituent federative entity of Mexico according to the Constitution of Mexico. Currently there are 31 states, each with its own constitution, government, state governor, a ...

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 ...

. Its main city is also named Cihuatlán.

Etymology

The word Cihuatlán is compounded of two words of

Nahuatl Nahuatl ( ; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahuas, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller popul ...

origin, a language spoken in central

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 ...

since the seventh century AD and the language of the

Aztecs The Aztecs ( ) were a Mesoamerican civilization that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the ...

: ''Zihua'', woman, and ''Tlán'' place; therefore in Cihuatlán means ''place of women''.

History

The town was founded on the Marabasco River, and at the time of the Spanish conquest its population was about 500 women and only 20 men. The first Spanish expedition to the Jalisco coastal zone was led by

Gonzalo de Sandoval Gonzalo de Sandoval (1497 – late 1528) was a Spanish conquistador in New Spain (Mexico)Diaz, B., 1963, The Conquest of New Spain, London: Penguin Books, and briefly co-governor of the colony while Hernán Cortés was away from the capital ...

. By decree of the President of the Republic of Mexico, on December 16, 1825, the harbour

Barra de Navidad Barra de Navidad is a small town located on the western coastline of the Mexican state of Jalisco. It belongs to the municipality of Cihuatlán. The town population was 4,266 according to the 2020 census. Barra de Navidad ("Christmas Sandbar") ...

was rebuilt in order to accommodate local and foreign trade.

Climate

Coat of arms

The Cihuatlán coat of arms is in a French style with cross-sectioning. In the upper left section is the image of a pre-Hispanic woman's head. In the upper right section is a ship sailing on the sea. In the bottom left section is a religious building and in the bottom right section, a view of a fertile valley.

Most important settlements

* Cihuatlán, 15,697 inhabitants (2005) * Melaque, 6,379 inhabitants *

, 3,386 inhabitants * , 2,182 inhabitants * Emiliano Zapata, 1,589 inhabitants

Notable people

* Nestor Enrique Valencia Guerrero, June 9, 1965, grandson to former municipal president of Cihuatlán, Ramon Valencia Torres, Mayor and Councilmember of the City of

Bell, California Bell is an municipal corporation, incorporated city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located near the center of the former San Antonio Township (abolished after 1960), its population was 33,559 at the 2020 United States census ...

, USA. First Mayor in the United States that welcomed immigrant children from Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador, in 2014. Also, his civic actions for the City of Bell changed government transparency laws.

Government

Municipal presidents

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cihuatlan, Jalisco Populated places in Jalisco