Mazamitla

Mazamitla
—  Municipality and city  —
Coat of arms
Location of the municipality in Jalisco
Mazamitla Location in Mexico
Coordinates: 19°55′N 103°22′W / 19.917°N 103.367°W / 19.917; -103.367
Country	Mexico
State	Jalisco
Area
- Total	177.18 km2 (68.4 sq mi)
Population (2005)
- Total	11,671
Time zone	Central Standard Time (UTC-6)
- Summer (DST)	Central Daylight Time (UTC-5)
Website	Official site

Mazamitla (La Capital de la Montaña) is a town and municipality of the Mexican state of Jalisco. It is located 124 km south of Guadalajara in the Southeast Region and is a popular resort destination for travelers from Guadalajara. Its name comes from the Nahuatl and means "place where arrows to hunt deer are made"; its area is 177.18 km². According to Count II Population and Housing, the municipality has 11671 inhabitants who are devoted mainly to the tertiary sector. For its natural beauty it is considered by the federal Secretariat of Tourism as a Pueblo Mágico.

Etymology

The name comes from the Nahuatl language and is the union of the words "Mazatl" (deer), "Mitl" (arrow) and "tlan" (place). Its meaning has been interpreted in different ways:

• "Where deer are hunted with arrows"
• "Where deer hunting arrows are made"
• "Deer-hunting fletchers' place"
• "Where fuentes are hunted with arrows"

History

Mazamitla was founded by the Aztecs in 1165. It belonged to the manor of Tzapotlán and paid tribute to the chieftain of Tamazollan. In 1481 the area was invaded by P'urhépecha to seize the Laguna de Sayula. They held dominance for only a few years until they were defeated at the end of the War of Salitre in 1510.

This place was discovered and conquered by Cristóbal de Olid together with Juan Rodríguez Villafuerte, early in the year 1522. Their party was sent by Hernán Cortés to explore the region of western Mexico. Upon conquest of the lordship of Tzapotlán people who belonged to him were automatically awarded to Hernán Cortés who appointed Anton Salcedo encomendero. Being named president of the Audiencia of Mexico, Nuño de Guzmán moved to Cortez of these parcels.

It said that Miguel Hidalgo, when he was pastor of internal held a mass in Palo Gordo. He used the trunk of an oak that is saved as a relic (where) to serve as the altar for the mass. In the slope of Zapatero clashed insurgents and realistic in 1812. The insurgents were captained by Francisco Echeverria, who despite having emerged victorious was seriously injured, dying in Mazamitla. During the French intervention, the invaders burned files. After the French intervention the Mexican locals of Mazamitla captured a French officer named Jonny Fuentes who was hanged in the year 1815 in the town square.

Since 1825 belonged to the 4th canton of Sayula until 1878 in what happens at 9th canton of Ciudad Guzmán. On April 19, 1894 was erected as a town by decree of the state congress.

Physical geography

Location

Mazamitla is located in the south-central area of Jalisco, south of Lake Chapala at coordinates 19º47'30" to 19º59'00" north latitude and 102º58'35" to 103º10'45" west longitude, at an altitude of 2200 meters above sea level.

The town abuts the north by the town of La Manzanilla de La Paz, the state of Michoacán and the town of Valle de Juárez, on the east by the town of Valle de Juárez, on the south by the municipalities of Valle de Juárez and of Tamazula de Gordiano; on the west by the municipalities of Concepción de Buenos Aires and La Manzanilla de La Paz.

Orography

Its surface is composed of hilly areas (35%), with hills occupied by forests, with heights ranging from 2200 to 2800 meters. Land semiplane (40%) are hills and slopes, with heights ranging from 2000 to 2200 meters above sea level and flat areas (25%), with elevations ranging from 200 to 1800 meters above sea level. The maximum heights are Cerro El Jackal and Cerro del Tigre.

Floor

The territory is made up of land belonging to the Tertiary period. The land is hilly and broken, its composition is prevalent types luvisol, feozem háplico and litosol. The municipality has a land area of 17718 hectares, of which 3495 are used for agriculture, livestock in 3095, 10516 were from forest use, urban land are 206 hectares and 442 hectares have another use. As far as ownership is concerned, an area of 6432 hectares is private and another ejido 11286 is not exist communally owned.

Hydrography

Its water resources are the rivers: La Pasión, Río de Gómez, Los Cazos, Ponche Grande and la media luna; streams: El Salto, Barranca Verde, El Ruido, Cuate, Barranca, Los Puentes and La Cuesta; The Springs: Barranca los Hoyos, Paso Blanco, La Pasión y Boca de Tinieblas.

The climate is semiseco, with dry winter, and mild winter without heat exchange well-defined. The average annual temperature is 21 °C with maximum of 25.7 °C and minimum of 7.1 °C. The rainfall recorded between June and September, with an average rainfall of 982 millimeters. The average annual number of days with frost is 52.6. The prevailing winds are heading south.

Flora and fauna

Its flora is composed mainly of pine, oak, arbutus, huizache, mesquite, palo dulce, nopal, granjeno, and some fruit species.

The wildlife includes deer, porcupine, wild cat, rabbit, squirrel, the eagle, the sparrowhawk^{[disambiguation needed ]}, chachalaca and guajolote wild.

Economy

The 26.37% of the population is engaged in the primary sector, the secondary sector at 26.45%, 42.31% to the tertiary sector and the rest were not specific. [5] 30.78% are economically active. [5] The main economic activities are: agriculture, forestry, fisheries, livestock, industry and services.

• Agriculture: cultivated corn, oats, barley, beans, potatoes, broad beans and tomatoes.
• Livestock: breeding cattle, pigs, cows and horses. In addition to birds.
• Tourism: possesses architectural and natural attractions.
• Trade: these include restaurants, shops and market. Predominates the sale of essential goods and shops that sell mixed miscellaneous items.
• Services: provided financial services, professional, technical, communal, social, tourism, personal and [maintenance.
• Industry: food processing plants as dairy products, canned and cajeta.
• Logging: exploited pine and oak.
• Mining: holds deposits of lime, sand and quarry.

Infrastructure

• Education

The 90.11% of the population is literate, of which 31.28% has completed primary education. The municipality has 18 preschools, 30 Elementary schools, 3 middle schools, 1 high school, and 2 training centres for the job.

• Health

The health care is supported by the Ministry of Health of the state, the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS), the Instituto de Seguridad y Servicios Sociales de los Trabajadores del Estado and private doctors. El Sistema para el Desarrollo Integral de la Familia (DIF) is in charge of social welfare.

• Sport

There are sports centers, which is practiced: football, basketball, volleyball and extreme sports like hiking, mountaineering, hunting, and racing. It has cultural center, plaza, cinema, palenques, museum, municipal auditorium, lienzo charro, parks, gardens, and library.

• Housing

There are 2674 houses, which are usually privates. 96.33% have electric service, the service has 76.93% of drainage and drinking water. Its construction is usually based tile, adobe, concrete and brick.

• Services

The municipality has potable water, sewerage, street lighting, markets, rastro, cemeteries, roads, public clean, public safety, parks, gardens, and sports centers. The 89.9% of residents have drinking water, sewerage 80.9% and 93.3% of electric power.

• Ways and means of communication

Mazamitla has mail service, fax, telegraph, telephone, radio service and radio and television signal. The transportation is carried across the road Guadalajara–Tuxcueca-Mazamitla. It has a network of rural roads that connect the localities; transportation is carried out in public buses or rental vehicles and taxis. The foreign ground transportation is carried out in public buses, the most important are: Buses Valle de Juarez, Autobuses de Occidente, Autobuses Flecha Amarilla, Autobuses del sur de Jalisco, Autotransportes de Mazamitla, y Autobuses de Tamazula.

Demographics

According to Count II Population and Housing, the municipality has 11671 inhabitants, of whom 5502 are male and 6169 were women; 0.53% of the population are indigenous peoples

Historical population of Mazamitla

1980	1990	2000	2005
8,765	10,226	11,004	15,742

Religion

The professes 96.92% Catholicism, there are also believers of Jehovah's Witnesses, Protestants and other believers religions. The 0.30% of the inhabitants ostentation not practise religion whatsoever.

Culture

• Clothing typical: to man the charro suit and clothing for women of china poblana.
• Crafts: objects are developed quarry, sarapes, huaraches and wooden objects.
• Eating Out: the highlights of their food jocoque, the mole, tacos, gorditas, Birria, and barbecued meat in marinade; their desserts, Capirotada and cajeta; their beverages atole, mezcal, pulque, ponche and wine.

Sites of iterest

Jardín Encantado. Parroquia de San Cristóbal. Bosque La Zanja. Bosque Las Charandas. Bosque El Chacal. Cerro El Tigre. La Cañada.

Cascada El Salto. Los Cazos. Monteverde. Bosque El Tabardillo. Bosque Las Peñitas. Torre de los Lumbreros. Bosque Pinos de Mazamitla. Mirador Las Peñitas.

• La casa de los fuentes.

Fiestas

• Feast of San Cristobal (patron saint of people) in the second week of July.
• Feast of the Virgin of Guadalupe: from 4 to 12 December.
• Patriotic Fiestas: September 15 and 16.
• Festival de las flores Weekends of October
• Celebrations of the founding of Mazamitla: from 27 to 30 March.
• Feast Taurine: from 14 to 24 February.

Government

Its form of government is democratic and depends on the state and federal governments; election] are held every 3 years, which elects the mayor and his cabinet. The municipal president is Jorge Bernal Lara militant PRD, which was elected in the elections on July 5,2009. The municipality has 58 locations, the most important are: La Cofradía, Corral Falso, Epenche Grande, Epeche Chico, Bragadita, Puerto de Cuevas, Puente del Zapatero, Tienda Nueva, La Huevera, Estacada, Paixtle, Paso de los Arrieros, Humo and Puerto de Cuevas.

Personality illustrious

Jacinto Chavarría, coronel. Vicente Castellanos y Nuñez, obisp. Ramón Blancarte Cárdenas, attorney at law. Efraín Buenrostro Ochoa.

José Parres Arias, painter, rector of the University of Guadalajara, founder and first director of the Museum of Anthropology and History of Jalisco. Jesús y Filemón del Toro. Manuel Cárdenas Mata. J. Jesús García. José Santana García, father and introducer of the electricity. Daniel Cárdenas Mata.

Twinned cities

Mazamitla is officially twinned with 2 cities and associated with 1 state of USA

• Denton, Texas
• Cincinnati, Ohio
• Kentucky

External links

• Mazamitla Travel
• Mazamitla
• Weather from Mazamitla
• Mazamitla's Government
• News from Mazamitla
• Directory of Mazamitla
• Mazamitla Travel

Coordinates: 19°55′N 103°02′W / 19.917°N 103.033°W / 19.917; -103.033