Jalostotitlán (, ) is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

and municipality located in the northeast corner of the state of

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 ...

, Mexico, in a region known as Los Altos. The municipality shares its border on the north with the municipality of

Teocaltiche Teocaltiche ( "place near the temple") is a town and municipality in the central-western Mexican state of Jalisco. It is located in the northeastern highlands region of Jalisco, commonly referred to in Spanish as "Los Altos de Jalisco". The grassh ...

, the east with the municipality of

San Juan de los Lagos San Juan de los Lagos (English language, English: John the Baptist, Saint John of the Lakes) is a city and municipalities of Mexico, municipality located in the northeast corner of the state of Jalisco, Mexico, in a region known as Los Altos (Jali ...

, to the south with the municipality of San Miguel el Alto, to the southwest with the municipality of

Valle de Guadalupe The Valle de Guadalupe (Guadalupe Valley) is an agricultural region in the Ensenada Municipality, Baja California, Mexico that produces an estimated 70 percent of Mexican wine. In recent years, it has become a popular tourist destination for wi ...

, and to the west with the municipality of Cañadas de Obregón. The town is located in a midsection of the country, with semi-desert, arid lands to the north and more fertile lands to the south. Winters are relatively cold and summers are hot and rainy. The municipality also includes the towns of San Nicolás de las Flores, Teocaltitán de Guadalupe, San Gaspar de los Reyes and Mitic. In the center of town are the churches that originate from the 16th century, when the town was first founded. Jalostotitlan it's also known for its religious tourism to Santa Ana de Guadalupe, for being the birthplace of the saint Toribio Romo.

Etymology

The name "Jalostotitlán" is a Spanish rendering of the

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 ...

toponym ''Xālōztōtitlān'', a

locative In grammar, the locative case ( ; abbreviated ) is a grammatical case which indicates a location. In languages using it, the locative case may perform a function which in English would be expressed with such prepositions as "in", "on", "at", and " ...

which can be loosely translated as "place of sandy caves", or more accurately, "in the place of caves of sand" (from '' xālli'' "sand" and '' ōztōtl'' "cave"), referring to caves with sandy deposits from which sand was extracted.

History

In 1164, the residents of the area (mostly from the

Tecuexe The Tecuexe were an Indigenous peoples of Mexico, who lived in the eastern part of present-day Guadalajara. History It is believed that the Tecuexe derived from the dispersion of Zacateco groups from La Quemada. Like the Zacatecos, the Tecuexe w ...

and

Caxcan The Caxcan are an ethnic group who are Indigenous to western and north-central Mexico, particularly the regions corresponding to modern-day Zacatecas, southern Durango, Jalisco, Colima, Aguascalientes, Nayarit. The Caxcan language is most often ...

tribes) resisted

Aztec The Aztecs ( ) were a Mesoamerican civilization that flourished in central Mexico in the Post-Classic stage, post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central ...

advances, who had just settled in nearby

for a period of 40 years before moving on to

Tenochtitlán , also known as Mexico-Tenochtitlan, was a large Mexican in what is now the historic center of Mexico City. The exact date of the founding of the city is unclear, but the date 13 March 1325 was chosen in 1925 to celebrate the 600th annivers ...

. The Spaniards first arrived in the area during the conquest of Tonalá under Captain Pedro Almíndez Chirino with the 350 Spaniards and 500

Purépecha The Purépecha ( ) are a group of Indigenous people centered in the northwestern region of Michoacán, Mexico, mainly in the area of the cities of Cherán and Pátzcuaro. They are also known by the derogatory term " Tarascan", an exonym, app ...

and Tlaxcaltecs under his control. After a series of rebellions, the area was placed under the Spanish crown in 1541. The town of Jalostotitlán was founded by Fray Miguel de Bologna in 1544. After the Mexican War of Independence, Jalostotitlán gained the status of a town in 1838. The municipality of Jalostotitlán was created on 21 May 1872. Jalostotitlan is the location of sites associated with canonized Mexican Catholic priests Toribio Romo Gonzalez and Pedro Esqueda Ramírez, who were murdered by federal troops during the

Cristero War The Cristero War (), also known as the Cristero Rebellion or , was a widespread struggle in central and western Mexico from 3 August 1926 to 21 June 1929 in response to the implementation of secularism, secularist and anti-clericalism, anticler ...

or La Cristiada Jalostotitlán was elevated to city status on 1 September 1970 and made the seat of the municipality. Jalostotitlán is the birthplace of famed General

José María González de Hermosillo José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced very differently in each of the two languages: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , ...

, who fought in the

Mexican War of Independence The Mexican War of Independence (, 16 September 1810 – 27 September 1821) was an armed conflict and political process resulting in Mexico's independence from the Spanish Empire. It was not a single, coherent event, but local and regional ...

. The city of

Hermosillo Hermosillo (), formerly called Pitic (as in ''Santísima Trinidad del Pitic'' and ''Presidio del Pitic''), is a city in the center of the northwestern Mexican state of Sonora. It is the municipal seat of the Hermosillo municipality, the state's ...

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into Municipalities of Sonora, 72 ...

is named in his honor. It is also the birthplace of famed poet Alfredo R. Plascencia Jáuregui.

Population

The municipality of Jalostotitlán has a population of 32,678 according to the 2000 census, with a population of 24,890 in the municipal seat. Similar to the rest of the Los Altos region, Jalostotitlán did not retain a large indigenous population. Only two-tenths of one percent of inhabitants speak an indigenous language according to the census. Most of the residents can trace their ancestry to Spain and France

Economy

The main activities in the municipality are agriculture, cattle-farming and the services industry. In the past 15 years Jalostotitlán has become a relevant manufacturing center, producing shoes, leather goods and dairy products. One of the main sources of income for the families of the town, are the "remesas" or remittances of relatives that live abroad (mainly in the United States).

Culture

Annual fiestas in Jalostotitlan

There are two fiestas that are celebrated in Jalostotitlán once a year. The "Carnaval" that is held early to mid-February and the other in August (August 1–15) is the "Fiestas De La Virgen De La Asuncion" or "La Quincena", a religious festival. During the Carnaval, there are many activities and events throughout the week. Carnaval has concerts, also known as "palenques". Bullfighting, cockfighting and parades are part of the activities. "Terrazas" or outdoor bars are found in the plaza accompanied with live bandas and mariachi music. The Fiestas in August include mariachi music, Caxcan native dances, allegoric and big-rig truck parades and at night a "Castillo" or tower with fireworks every night. People from United States (mostly from California and other western states) go there to visit families during these festivals. Fiestas de la Vigen de la Asuncion en agosto

Fiestas de la Vigen de la Asuncion en agosto

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jalostotitlan Municipalities of Jalisco