San Sebastián del Oeste () is a town and municipality, located on the western part of Jalisco state,

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 ...

, between 20°39’45’’ - 21°02’30’’ N and 104°35’00’’ - 104°51’00’’ W, at a height of 1,480 metres (4,856 ft).

Geography

The municipality of San Sebastián del Oeste borders the state of

Nayarit Nayarit, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Nayarit, is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in Municipalities of Nayarit, 20 municipalit ...

to the north; to the south, the municipality of Mascota; to the east, the municipalities of Guachinango and Mascota; and to the west,

Puerto Vallarta Puerto Vallarta ( or simply Vallarta) is a Mexican resort city near the Bahía de Banderas on the Pacific coast of the Mexico, Mexican state of Jalisco. Puerto Vallarta is the second largest urban agglomeration in the state after the Guadalajara ...

. The city and municipality are served by an airfield.

History

San Sebastián was founded as a mining town in 1605, during the early Spanish colonial

Viceroyalty of 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 ...

period.

Gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

and

lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

were mined in the area. More than 25 mines and a number of foundries were established by 1785. The town was formally established as a city in 1812.

Population

At the start of the 21st century, San Sebastián town had a population of less than 1,000 people. It reached a peak population of around 20,000 people by 1900. The prosperity of the town declined after the revolution of 1910.

Features

San Sebastián del Oeste is a designated Pueblo Mágico, one of the towns maintaining their historical character and promoted by the federal government as tourism destinations. It also receives tourists visiting nearby Puerto Vallarta on the coast to the west. Recent road improvements reduced transit time from Puerto Vallarta to under 2 hours. *The Church of Saint Sebastian, whose original construction was in 1608, was designed in the Colonial Spanish Baroque style. It has notable architectural details, including

Corinthian columns The Corinthian order (, ''Korinthiakós rythmós''; ) is the last developed and most ornate of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order, which was the earliest, ...

and ceiling vault

fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

s. *Many structures in the city and municipality were built of cut stone and/or

adobe Adobe (from arabic: الطوب Attub ; ) is a building material made from earth and organic materials. is Spanish for mudbrick. In some English-speaking regions of Spanish heritage, such as the Southwestern United States, the term is use ...

in the 19th and earlier centuries, and remain unchanged. Some old

hacienda A ''hacienda'' ( or ; or ) is an estate (or '' finca''), similar to a Roman '' latifundium'', in Spain and the former Spanish Empire. With origins in Andalusia, ''haciendas'' were variously plantations (perhaps including animals or orchards ...

s in the municipality have been purchased and restored in recent decades. *The city is on the Tentative List

Fiestas

The town is known for its fiestas for religious holidays: * January 20 — a fiesta in honor of

Saint Sebastian Sebastian (; ) was an early Christianity, Christian saint and martyr. According to traditional belief, he was killed during the Diocletianic Persecution of Christians. He was initially tied to a post or tree and shot with arrows, though this d ...

. * August 15 — a fiesta dedicated to the Virgin of the Asunción. * October 7 — a fiesta for the Virgin of the Rosary. * December 12 — 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 venerated at the small town of Los Reyes, near San Sebastian del Oeste city in the municipality. The Fiesta of Guadalupe occurs throughout Mexico on this date.

Government

Its form of government is democratic and depends on the state and federal government; elections are held every three years, when the municipal president and her/his council are elected. The municipal president is Aurora Ponce Peña, from the Citizens' Movement party, who was elected in the elections on 6 June 2021.

Municipal presidents

Images

File:School in San Sebastián, Jalisco.jpg, School building and schoolyard. File:Coffee shop in San Sebastián town square..jpg, Michelada bar in the center of town. File:Church of San Sebastián tower.jpg, The Baroque bell tower of the Church of San Sebastián. File:Church of San Sebastián interior.jpg, Baroque interior of the Church of San Sebastián. File:San-Sebastian---Foundry-Ruins.jpg, Ruins of a gold and silver reduction

foundry A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...

for the local mines. File:Hacienda Jalisco.jpg, Hacienda Jalisco, in the municipality. File:Grinding stone and ovens at Hacienda Jalisco.jpg, Hacienda Jalisco, a grinding stone and hornos (ovens). File:El Progreso bridge near San Sebastián, Jalisco.jpg, El Progreso Bridge, viewed from the south.

References

External links

Encyclopedia of Mexican Municipalities (Spanish)

*�
San Sebastián del Oeste: "Un Pueblos Mágicos" (Spanish).World Heritage Sites, Tentative list — submission document
{{DEFAULTSORT:San Sebastian, Jalisco Municipalities of Jalisco Mining communities in Mexico Pueblos Mágicos Populated places established in 1605 1605 establishments in New Spain World Heritage Tentative List for Mexico