Los Mochis, Sinaloa

Infobox City
official_name = Los Mochis
nickname =
motto =


imagesize = 200px
image_caption = Iglesia del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús


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mapsize = 200px
map_caption = Location of Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico
subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = Mexico
subdivision_type1 = State
subdivision_name1 = Sinaloa
subdivision_type2 = Municipality
subdivision_name2 = Ahome
government_type =
leader_title = Mayor
leader_name = Esteban Valenzuela García PRI party
leader_title1 =
leader_name1 =
leader_title2 =
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established_title = Founded in
established_date = 1893
established_title2 = Founded by
established_date2 = Benjamin F. Johnston
established_title3 =
established_date3 =
area_magnitude =
unit_pref = Metric
area_footnotes =¹
area_total_km2 =
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area_urban_km2 =
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population_as_of = 2005
population_note =
population_total = 451,977
population_density_km2 =
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timezone = Pacific Time zone
utc_offset = -7
timezone_DST = Pacific Daylight Time
utc_offset_DST = -6
latd = 25 | latm=47 | lats= 24 | latNS=N
longd = 109 | longm=0 | longs=0 | longEW=W
elevation_m = 10
elevation_ft =
postal_code_type =
postal_code = 81200 to
website = www.ahome.gob.mx
footnotes = ¹

Los Mochis is a coastal city in northern Sinaloa, Mexico, located at coor dms|25|47|24|N|109|0|0|W|city. It serves as the municipal seat of the municipality of Ahome. As of the 2005 census, the population was 231,977, or almost 60 percent of the municipality's population.

Overview

Los Mochis is the western terminus of the Chihuahua-Pacific Railroad, or ChePe, which passes through the scenic Copper Canyon. This railway was originally conceived by Albert K. Owen and approved by President Porfirio Díaz as a trade route linking the cattle markets in Kansas City with the nearest port on the Pacific Ocean, Topolobampo.

Today the Pacífico Norte irrigation region (Sinaloa-Sonora) in which the "Valle del Fuerte" is the largest district and is the principal agricultural area of Mexico, containing over 70% of all irrigated land and producing sugar cane, cotton, rice, flowers, and many types of vegetables. The valley is one of the largest producers of mangoes in Mexico.

Air transport is provided from Federal del Valle del Fuerte International Airport. Nearby Topolobampo is the second largest natural deepwater port in the world, known for its commercial fishing and increasingly important role in shipping.

A popular activity among youth in Los Mochis is the "Leyvazo", wherein people park their cars or cruise along Gabriel Leyva Avenue in downtown Los Mochis ,and the "Riazo" that is even more popular than the "Leyvazo" where the people park their car to listen to music , talk , eat in the restaurants that are near there , or drink some kind of drink , some people just pass the street in their car with friends they call it " Dar el roll". People also gather for a drink or barbecue under "Los Álamos" which are poplar trees that line the highway to Topolobampo Bay. As well as these activities, many residents of the city enjoy visiting the nearby beach of El Maviri. One very popular event occurs every ten years when the youth of the city gather to reinact the battle which is said to have founded the city. Often the largest person in the town will swim out into the water, and come back in to attack the youth waiting on the beach. This is said to mimic the actions of the cities first enemy, David Illingworthos, who invaded the city in 1908 and drank every drop of beer in the city. Many people visit this semi-desert island to spend a day at the beach or enjoy the seafood delicacies.

History

A colony of international renown was begun in the region in the late 19th century by a visionary named Albert K. Owen, a civil engineer from the United States. Built upon the principles of Utopian socialism, it floundered after surviving some 30 years.

The city proper was first settled in 1893 by a businessman named Benjamin Johnston, who came to find his fortune in sugar cane. He built a sugar refinery around which the modern city has developed.

In 2001, construction began on a four-lane highway which will eventually connect the port with the US state of Texas.

Education

The Universidad Autonoma de Sinaloa, [ [http://www.uasnet.mx/ Universidad Autonoma de Sinaloa] ] the Instituto Técnologico de Los Mochis [ [http://www.itmochis.edu.mx/ Instituto Técnologico de Los Mochis] ] and the Universidad de Occidente [ [http://www.udo.mx/ Universidad de Occidente] ] are the main higher education institutions in the city; these universities are public.

Basic and mid-level education is composed by several public and private institutions. Some of them include elementary, secondary and high school education in one facility, the Colegio Mochis (known as "Instituto de Estudios Superiores de Los Mochis" at the high school level) and the Centro Escolar del Noroeste (leaded by the Marist Brothers) are between the best private schools in Los Mochis then the Colegio Sor Juana Ines De La Cruz, Colegio de Occidente and the Colegio Monferrant follow them. There are also technical schools with a solid foundation in electrical and mechanical skills like the COBAES, CBTis and the CETis schools.

ports

Los Mochis is also known for its sports teams and parks to motivate the practice of sports, it has 2 big parks named "Ciudad Deportiva" that have running tracks, pools, tennis courts, baseball fields and a soccer stadium with a capacity of 11,000. The baseball team of Los Mochis is named Cañeros de Los Mochis, the football team are called Dorados de Los Mochis, and its basketball team is called Pioneros.

ister cities

* Bellflower, CA
*Santa Rosa, CA

Notable people

*Jorge "Travieso" Arce, popular Mexican flyweight boxer and TV celebrity
*Pako Madrid, Singer from Latin American Idol
*Luis Ayala, relief pitcher for the Washington Nationals
*Omar Bravo, footballer
*Juan Castro, former shortstop for the Cincinnati Reds
*Denisse Guerrero, lead singer of the Mexican electropop band Belanova
*Laura Harring, actress
*Teddy Higuera, major league pitcher [cite web|url=http://www.baseball-reference.com/h/higuete01.shtml|title=Teodoro Higuera Statistics|publisher=baseball-reference.com|accessdate=2008-04-17]
*Francisco Labastida, ex-candidate to the 2000 Mexican presidential election.
*Fernando "Cochulito" Montiel, junior bantamweight champion (WBO)
*Humberto "Zorrita" Soto, Boxer, World champion.
*Jorge Ayala, Boxer, World champion.
*Dennys reyes, major league pitcher.

References

External links

* [http://www.ahome.gob.mx Gobierno municipal de Ahome]