San Marcos, Guerrero

San Marcos is the name of a town and a municipality in the Mexican state of Guerrero.

The town

The town currently has about 12 000 inhabitants and serves as the seat of the municipality of the same name (municipio de San Marcos) one of 76 municipalities that are comprised by the state of Guerrero.

Culturally and ethnically, the town and the municipality belong to what is known in Mexico as the Costa Chica (small coast) of Guerrero and Oaxaca. This is a 125 km long region along the Pacific coast; it begins south of Acapulco and ends near the town of Puerto Ángel in the neighbouring state of Oaxaca.

Geographically, the town is located approximately 59 km south of Acapulco. It is located 18 km inland and along Federal Highway 200 which is better known in Mexico as the Acapulco-Pinotepa national highway. It is only about one hour’s drive from Acapulco and takes about 3 hours (157 km) from Pinotepa Nacional.

The municipality

The municipality of San Marcos covers an area of 960.7 km² and is home to approximately 50 000 inhabitants. Ethnically, the population is mainly indigenous with a considerable mixing with African and to a lesser extent, European settlers. It comprises 138 villages and towns, examples of which include El Cortes, Las Vigas, El Cerro, Vista Hermosa, Tecomate de Pesqueria, Monte Alto, Santo Domingo, Las Ramaditas and others.

History

Officially, the town and municipality were established on 28 September 1885 and were named in honour of Saint Mark, a Catholic saint considered the patron saint of the region. However, the town already existed, firstly under the name of Xolutla and later La Estancia.