Villa Juárez is a municipality and town located in the central part of the

Mexican state A Mexican State (), officially the Free and Sovereign State (), is a constituent federative entity of Mexico according to the Constitution of Mexico. Currently there are 31 states, each with its own constitution, government, state governor, a ...

San Luis Potosí San Luis Potosí, officially the Free and Sovereign State of San Luis Potosí, is one of the 32 states which compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 59 municipalities and is named after its capital city, San Luis Potosí. It ...

. It was founded in 1643 as Santa Gertrudis de Carbonera. In 1928 the name was changed to Villa Juárez to honor

Benito Juárez Benito Pablo Juárez García (; 21 March 1806 – 18 July 1872) was a Mexican politician, military commander, and lawyer who served as the 26th president of Mexico from 1858 until his death in office in 1872. A Zapotec peoples, Zapotec, he w ...

, one of México's most admired presidents.

Geography

Location

Its geographic location is and its altitude is 1100 meters above sea level. The municipality extends throughout 18 small villages including El Granjenal, Palo Seco, and Puerta del Río. Villa Juarez is surrounded by Cerritos to the north, Rio Verde to the east and south, and with

San Nicolás Tolentino San Nicolás Tolentino is a municipality and town located in the Mexican state of San Luis Potosí, Mexico. The municipality was founded in 1614, and consists of many small towns and villages. Santa Catarina is the largest town in the municipal ...

to the west.

History

Ex Hacienda Ojo de Leon was the founding site of Carbonera / Villa Juarez in 1592, property previously owned by Heriberto Ruiz Meza, and currently owned by Roberto Ruiz Gloria. Villa Juárez was founded in 1643 as Santa Gertrudis de Carbonera and in 1928, the name was changed to Villa Juárez due to the expansion of population.

Economy

Agriculture made up most of Villa Juárez's economy. Hot peppers (mainly serrano) and corn were the major elements of this economy. Lack of capital to invest in farming has recently declined production. In the 19th and 20th centuries sulfur mining at Guaxcama was also important.

Culture

Villa Juárez's population, like many other Mexican towns and cities, are mostly part of

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. Its biggest tradition is to host a traveling carnival in honor of its patron saint,

Gertrude the Great Gertrude the Great or Gertrude of Helfta (January 6, 1256 – November 17, 1302) was a German Benedictine nun and mystic who was a member of the Monastery of Helfta. While herself a Benedictine, she had strong ties to the Cistercian Order; her ...

, mostly known as "Santa Gertrudis". It begins about two weeks before the main day, 16 November. This carnival is made up of dozens of booths that sell artifacts, ceramics and artifacts, regional delicacies, food, drinks, games, literature, and small widgets among other things.

Rides Rides may refer to: * Amusement rides * Bridle paths, or rides, tracks through woodland for horse riders Music * ''Rides'' (album), by British band Reef * The Rides, an American band Television * ''Rides'' (American TV series), an automotive ...

are also a main attraction of the carnival. A stage is also assembled for shows, regional and national folklore dances, musicians, speeches, and plays. Aside from this festival, Villa Juárez and its surrounding municipalities, often hold events known as "Jaripeos" which involve the riding of bulls without much, if any, protection gear. Many tourists come from all parts of the state of San Luis Potosí and from the United States (such as

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, Illinois, Georgia, California, Wyoming and Nebraska) for this traditional event. These tourists also Vacation in Villa Juarez mainly in the Summer and Winter time. Many of the natives like to go back to Villa Juarez to get married, baptize children etc. around this time as well. Within this municipality there still live indigenous groups of people such as the Pame (Xiu). This municipality has been a victim of mass migration to the U.S. Most of the remaining inhabitants are small children, middle-age females, and senior citizens. Several internationally known musical bands have come from this municipality:

Grupo Bryndis Grupo Bryndis is a Mexican grupero band from Cerritos, San Luis Potosí, - though founded in Santa Paula, California, in 1983 by Mauro Posadas, the band is a Latin Grammy Award winner. The band has performed ballads, cumbias, rancheras, and ...

, and Agua Azul. People that have migrated to the United States of America from Villa Juárez are so proud of their town, that they have founded various organizations and clubs throughout the States to send help to their town. Some of these clubs include: Fundación Villa Juárez de

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

; Club Social Villa Juárez en

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, Texas; Club Social Villa Juárez en

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

; and Club Social Villa Juárez en

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

. There are comments that clubs will form in Gonzáles, Texas and in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. These clubs have made many contributions to Villa Juárez. For example, Fundación Villa Juárez de Houston, Texas took the initiative to construct the Municipal Market (Mercado Municipal).

Municipal Presidents

*Heriberto Ruiz Meza *Urbano Mata Zapata (1980-1982) * *Víctor García Almazán (2001-2003) *Juan Izaguirre Ostiguin (2004-2006) *Everardo Izaguirre Gloria (2007-2009) *Jesus Ruiz Castillo (2010-2012) *Ignacio Chavira (2012-2015) *Juan Manuel Sánchez Martinez (2015-2018) *Lisa Avigail (2018-2021)

External links

Villa Juárez, SLP
24 September 2001
Gobierno de Villa Juarez, SLP

Bibliography

*Roque, Alexandro (2004) ''Villa Juárez La bella villa'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Villa Juarez, San Luis Potosi Populated places in San Luis Potosí Populated places established in 1643 1643 establishments in the Spanish Empire