Ocotlán, Jalisco

Ocotlán
—  Municipality and city  —
Coat of arms
Location of the municipality in Jalisco
Ocotlán Location in Mexico
Coordinates: 20°17′20″N 102°50′20″W / 20.28889°N 102.83889°W / 20.28889; -102.83889
Country	Mexico
State	Jalisco
Area
– Total	247.7 km2 (95.6 sq mi)
Population (2005)
– Total	89,340
Time zone	Central Standard Time (UTC-6)
– Summer (DST)	Central Daylight Time (UTC-5)

Ocotlán is a city and municipality in Jalisco, Mexico. Its industry includes furniture production.

Toponymy

The toponym Ocotlán means: "near the pines" or "place of the ocote (pines)". Ocote is from the Náhuatl ocōtl, Pinus montezumae, a species of pine, .

History

Ocotlán was founded in 1530. Two main cathedrals line the plaza. One is the church named La Purisima ("The Most Pure"), which is one of the oldest buildings in Jalisco. The altar is dipped in gold. The other cathedral, more recent than La Purisima, was built in the late 1800s and dedicated to Nuestro Señor de Misericordia (Our Merciful Lord), which honors a vision of Christ seen after an extremely destructive earthquake.

The current municipal president is Lic. Absalón García Ochoa, from the National Action Party.

Story of Nuestro Señor de la Misericordia

On October 2, 1847, a large and powerful earthquake destroyed most of the city, including the original church. The following day, a Sunday, when the faithful were attending a Mass outside of the destroyed church, a vision of the crucifix was claimed to have been seen.

Geography and demographics

Ocotlán borders Poncitlán and Tototlán and is only fifty minutes east-southeast from the city of Guadalajara. It is located on the northeast end of Lake Chapala, Mexico's largest lake. As of the census of 2005 the city of Ocotlán had a population of 81,165. The municipality of Ocotlán, which has an area of 247.7 km² (95.64 sq mi), had a population of 89,340. The proper gentilic for the people is Ocotlense, as in "they are all Ocotlenses." The altitude of the city is 5020 feet, and the time is -6 hours from UTC.

City Businesses

Some of the principal businesses in Ocotlán are Nestlé, Celanese, Forrajes El Nogal,Maderas primas de occidente, Triplay y Aglomerados, Fábrica de Muebles La Cibeles and many other furniture factories like EMMAN, that is an MDF manufacturer.

Architecture

One of the most important building in the city of Ocotlan is the new Library and Media Center Fernando del Paso, recently opened to the public and operated by the Universidad de Guadalajara. This modern building is inspired by the lineal constructions of the university center, it features an impressive lobby of multiple heights in which the main elements of the visual composition of the space are the books themselves. The building was designed by the young architecture firm LeAP, based in Guadalajara. It has been published and exhibited locally and internationally.

List of famous people from Ocotlán

• Carlos Salcido (Tigres de la UANL footballer)
• Alfredo "Pipis" Carrillo(Tacos Ocotlan)

Eddie "Piolín" Sotelo (US Radio personality)

• Johnny Magallon (Chivas de Guadalajara footballer)
• Ismael Íñiguez (Pumas UNAM footballer)

Sister cities

• Olathe, Kansas, USA
• Greenville, South Carolina, USA
• Oxnard, California, USA

References

• Link to tables of population data from Census of 2005 INEGI: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática
• Jalisco Enciclopedia de los Municipios de México
• elcapitolio.net Internet Portal Society

External links

• Ocotlán Ciudad del Mueble Official website www.ocotlanciudaddelmueble.net
• Ocotlán Sitio de la Comunidad Official website www.ocotlanjalisco.net
• Ocotlán Municipal Government Official website
• Map of Ocotlán and surrounding areas

Coordinates: 20°17′20″N 102°50′20″W / 20.28889°N 102.83889°W / 20.28889; -102.83889