Opichén Municipality (
Yucatec Maya
Yucatec Maya ( ; referred to by its speakers as or ) is a Mayan languages, Mayan language spoken in the Yucatán Peninsula, including part of northern Belize. There is also a significant diasporic community of Yucatec Maya speakers in San Fra ...
: "inside the cave or the well") is a
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 the
Mexican 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 ...
of
Yucatán
Yucatán, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Yucatán, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, constitute the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises 106 separate municipalities, and its capital city is Mérida.
...
containing (268.25 km
2) of land and is located roughly south of the city of
Mérida.
History
There is no accurate data on when the town was founded, but it was a settlement before the
conquest
Conquest involves the annexation or control of another entity's territory through war or Coercion (international relations), coercion. Historically, conquests occurred frequently in the international system, and there were limited normative or ...
and was located in the chieftainship of Tutul Xiu. After colonization, the area became part of the
encomienda
The ''encomienda'' () was a Spanish Labour (human activity), labour system that rewarded Conquistador, conquerors with the labour of conquered non-Christian peoples. In theory, the conquerors provided the labourers with benefits, including mil ...
system with various encomenderos, such as in Iñigo de Sugasti in 1607; Pedro de Santo Domingo Campos and Diego Hidalgo Bravo in 1639; Juan Esteban de Aguilar, Cristóbal Matías Hidalgo Bravo, and Juan Esteban Tello de Aguilar in 1652; and Ana de Vaneda Villegas in 1705.
Yucatán declared its independence from the Spanish Crown in 1821 and in 1825 the area was assigned to the Camino Real
under the
Maxcanú Municipality. In 1988 the area was confirmed as its own municipality.
Governance
The municipal president is elected for a three-year term. The town council has four councilpersons, who serve as Secretary and councilors of public cleanliness, parks and gardens, public monuments.
The Municipal Council administers the business of the municipality. It is responsible for budgeting and expenditures and producing all required reports for all branches of the municipal administration. Annually it determines educational standards for schools.
The Police Commissioners ensure public order and safety. They are tasked with enforcing regulations, distributing materials and administering rulings of general compliance issued by the council.
Communities
The head of the municipality is
Opichén, Yucatán. The municipality has 12 other populated places
including Calcehtók, Cok, Kaukiriche, Mena, Ojina, San Antonio, San Esteban, Santa Rita, Santa Rosa, Siuch, and Rancho Xikim. The significant populations are shown below:
Local festivals
Every year from 23 to 27 February is a celebration for the pueblo; from 8 to 12 June is the festival to honor of St. Barnabas; and at the end of August the town holds the feast of San Bartolo.
Tourist attractions
* Church of San Bartolomé, built in the eighteenth century
* Chapel of the Mejorada, built in the eighteenth century
* Hacienda Calcehtoc
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Opichen
Municipalities of Yucatán