The municipality of Tepechitlán is located in the southwestern portion of the

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

state of

Zacatecas Zacatecas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Zacatecas, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 31 states of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Zacatecas, 58 municipalities and its capital city is Zacatecas City, Zacatec ...

. It is located between 21º33'49" and 21º44'00" latitude north and 103º09'07" and 103º32'01" longitude west with an average altitude of approximately 1700 meters above sea level. The municipality covers an area of 584 square kilometers. To the north, it is bordered by the municipality of

Tlaltenango de Sánchez Román Tlaltenango, Mexican toponym, may mean: * Tlaltenango de Sánchez Román, Zacatecas Zacatecas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Zacatecas, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 31 states of Mexico. It is divided into Municipal ...

, to the south by the municipality of Teúl de González Ortega, to the east by the municipalities of Jalpa and

Apozol Apozol is a city in the state of Zacatecas Zacatecas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Zacatecas, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 31 states of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Zacatecas, 58 municipalities a ...

, to the west by the municipalities of Atolinga and

Florencia de Benito Juárez Florencia may refer to: Places *Florencia de Benito Juárez, a municipality in the state of Zacatecas, Mexico *Florencia, Caquetá, a town and municipality in the Department of Caqueta, Colombia *Florencia, Cauca, a town and municipality in the De ...

as well as 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 ...

History

The name of the municipality of Tepechitlán'' derives from the

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 ...

word "tepezil" which refers to fertility, thus the name means fertile land. Prior to the arrival of the Spanish to the area, the town and its surrounding areas were inhabited by

Amerindians In the Americas, Indigenous peoples comprise the two continents' pre-Columbian inhabitants, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with them in the 15th century, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with the pre-Columbian population of ...

of the

ethnic group. The town's first mention in Spanish documents appears in 1537. The town and its inhabitants were originally put under the trusteeship or "

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 ...

" of Pedro de Bobadilla. The trusteeship was then transferred to his

mestizo ( , ; fem. , literally 'mixed person') is a term primarily used to denote people of mixed European and Indigenous ancestry in the former Spanish Empire. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also refer to people who are culturall ...

son Francisco de Bobadilla and eventually was extinguished, as were many other similar trusteeships in the area due to ongoing uprisings of the local indigenous groups and the

Chichimeca War The Chichimeca War (1550–1600) was a military conflict between the Spanish Empire and the Chichimeca Confederation established in the territories today known as the Central Mexican Plateau, called by the Conquistadores La Gran Chichimeca. ...

. In the early 17th century, the town was under the jurisdiccion of neighboring Tlaltenango and was primarily inhabited by indigenous people, though a few Spanish families had begun to settle in the area with the end of the Chichimeca War. Tepechitlán was officially recognized as a municipality in 1857.

Mateo Correa Magallanes Mateo Correa Magallanes (also known as Mateo Correa, Fr. Correa; July 23, 1866 – February 6, 1927) was a Knight of Columbus, of Council 2140. Correa was born at Tepechitlán, Zacatecas, Mexico. He attended the seminary at Zacatecas on a scho ...

who was canonized by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

was born in Tepechitlán in 1866.

References

Sources

*Enciclopedia de los Municipios de Zacatecas, State of Zacateca

*Insituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informátic

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tepechitlan Populated places in Zacatecas eo:Tepechitlán (komunumo) pt:Tepechitlán