Purépero de Echaíz is a town in the northwest of the state of

Michoacán Michoacán, formally Michoacán de Ocampo, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Michoacán de Ocampo, is one of the 31 states which, together with Mexico City, compose the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The stat ...

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 ...

and head of the municipality of Purépero. Purépero is located in the middle of the Tarascan Plateau. Purépero is 113 km from the state capital of

Morelia Morelia (; from 1545 to 1828 known as Valladolid; Otomi language, Otomi: ) is a city and municipal seat of the municipalities of Mexico, municipality of Morelia in the north-central part of the state of Michoacán in central Mexico. It is both th ...

and is bordered to the north by Tlazazalca, to the east by

Zacapu Zacapu (''Place of Stones''), is a city and surrounding municipality in the Nahuatzen mountains of Michoacán, Mexico. It is located at . The municipality has an area of . Geographic features in Zacapu include the Cerro del Tecolote mountain ra ...

, to the south by Chilchota, and to the west by

Tangancícuaro Tangancícuaro is a Municipalities of Michoacán, municipality in the Mexico, Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Michoacán. The municipal seat is the City of Tangancícuaro de Arista. Geography Tangancícuaro is at an altitude of 1,700 ...

Toponym

The name Purépero is of

Tarascan Tarascan or Tarasca is an exonym and the popular name for the Purépecha culture. It may refer to: * the Tarascan State, a Mesoamerican empire until the Spanish conquest in the 1500s, located in (present-day) west-central Mexico * the Purépecha p ...

origin and has several proposed meanings. The first proposed meaning is "place of commoners". Another possible meaning is derived from the phrase "those who are visiting". Finally, "place of the indigenous people" has also been suggested as a possibility.

Geography

Climate

Under the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

, Purépero de Echaíz has a

Subtropical highland climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring c ...

classified as Cwb.

Demographics

In 2010, the total population of Purépero de Echáiz was 15,306. The total population consisted of 7,423 men and 7,883 women. Educational attainment varied by level, with 7,352 of the population older than five having a primary education. Of the population older than eighteen, 692 individuals had a professional level education and 49 individuals had a postgraduate level education. Graduation statistics from 2009 showed 285 graduates from preschool, 272 graduates from primary school, and 159 graduates from high school. In 2010, the overall literacy rate of the population aged 15 to 24 was 98.7% with the literacy rate of men within this age group being 98.1% and the literacy rate of women within this age group being 99.3%.

Culture

Festivals

The most important festival in Purépero is in honor of

John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

, the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...

of the town, and is held from June 20 to June 25. The celebrations of this festival on June 24 include dances performed by various occupational groups including bakers, horse trainers, blacksmiths, and reboceros. ''Pureperenses'' living within Mexico and settled abroad often return to celebrate this occasion. Other

feast days The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does n ...

are celebrated in Purépero de Echáiz as well. The festival of Saint Isidore is celebrated in Purépero on May 15 with a parade of wagons. On November 22, the festival of

Saint Cecilia Saint Cecilia (), also spelled Cecelia, was a Roman Christian virgin martyr, who is venerated in Catholic, Eastern Orthodox Church, Orthodox, Anglican Communion, Anglican, and some Lutheran churches, such as the Church of Sweden. She became the ...

is celebrated with a parade and performances by the local

mariachi Mariachi (, , ) is a genre of regional Mexican music dating back to at least the 18th century, evolving over time in the countryside of various regions of western Mexico. The usual mariachi group today consists of as many as eight violins, two ...

group Ordaz and the Cendejas. The feast of the

Virgin of Guadalupe Our Lady of Guadalupe (), also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe (), is a Catholic Church, Catholic Titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, title of the Blessed Virgin Mary associated with four Marian apparitions to Juan Diego and one to his uncle, J ...

is celebrated on December 12. The people of Purépero also celebrate civic holidays and observances such as the Fiestas Patrias.http://purepero.com/mx/?page_id=213

References

{{Authority control Municipalities of Michoacán 1530s establishments in Mexico