Celaya (; ) is a city and its surrounding

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality ...

in the state of

Guanajuato Guanajuato (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guanajuato ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Guanajuato), is one of the 32 states that make up the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 46 municipalities and its capital city i ...

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

, located in the southeast quadrant of the state. It is the third most populous city in the state, with a 2005 census population of 310,413. The municipality for which the city serves as municipal seat, had a population of 415,869. The city is located in the geographic center of the municipality, which has an areal extent of 553.18 km² (213.58 sq mi) and includes many smaller outlying communities, the largest of which are San Miguel Octopan, Rincón de Tamayo and San Juan de la Vega. There are many smaller towns around Celaya including Rincón de Tamayo,

Tarimoro Tarimoro is the municipal seat of the municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional la ...

, Villagrán, La Moncada, Panales Jamaica (Cañones), Panales Galera, La Calera, La Estancia, La Noria, Los Fierros, El Acebuche, Cacalote, and Charco Largo. It is also not far away from Cortazar,

Salamanca Salamanca () is a city in western Spain and is the capital of the Province of Salamanca in the autonomous community of Castile and León. The city lies on several rolling hills by the Tormes River. Its Old City was declared a UNESCO World Her ...

, Salvatierra, Apaseo el Grande,

Querétaro City Santiago de Querétaro (; Otomi: Dähnini Maxei), known simply as Querétaro City ( es, Ciudad de Querétaro), is the capital and largest city of the state of Querétaro, located in central Mexico. It is part of the macroregion of Bajío. It is n ...

and among others. The city was founded in 1570 as ''Villa de la Purisíma Concepción de Zalaya''. The word Zalaya is of

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous c ...

origin and means "Flat Land".

History

Celaya was a frontier region between the Purépecha and the Chichimecas. General

Álvaro Obregón Álvaro Obregón Salido (; 17 February 1880 – 17 July 1928) better known as Álvaro Obregón was a Sonoran-born general in the Mexican Revolution. A pragmatic centrist, natural soldier, and able politician, he became the 46th President of Me ...

defeated

Pancho Villa Francisco "Pancho" Villa (, Orozco rebelled in March 1912, both for Madero's continuing failure to enact land reform and because he felt insufficiently rewarded for his role in bringing the new president to power. At the request of Madero's c ...

in the Battle of Celaya in 1915, as referred by Martínez Celaya was also the Guanajuato state capital for a short period. An explosion in a gunpowder and fireworks warehouse in September, 1999, killed over 60 people and injured over 300 people. On 23 May 2022, eleven people were murdered in a

massacre A massacre is the killing of a large number of people or animals, especially those who are not involved in any fighting or have no way of defending themselves. A massacre is generally considered to be morally unacceptable, especially when per ...

linked to the Mexican drug war.

Climate

Celaya has a

semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi- ...

(Köppen climate classification BSh).

Education

*Centro Pedagogico de Celaya *Colegio Arturo Rosenblueth *Colegio Marista * Colegio Nuevo Continente Bajío Celaya Campus • Complejo Educativo Ignacio Allende *Colegio Mexico *Escuela Bilingue Guilford *Instituto Andersen *Instituto Bilingue Oxford *Instituto Británico de Celaya (BIC) *Instituto Educativo Rosa G. de Carmona *Instituto Kipling *Instituto Sir Winston Churchill *Instituto Tecnologico de Celaya *Instituto Tecnologico de Roque *Instituto Universitario del Centro de México (UCEM) *Tecnologico de Monterrey *Universidad de Celaya * Universidad de Guanajuato *Universidad de Itesba *Universidad Lasallista Benavente *Universidad Latina de Mexico *Westminster Royal College

Attractions

Ball of Water

The Ball of Water reservoir has been a city icon since 1908; it continues to supply water to portions of downtown. The tank was manufactured in Germany and assembled on site, and is unique in being assembled using rivets rather than welds. It is believed to be the only one of its kind with a spherical shape (it is rumored that there was another similar water ball in Stuttgart,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

that was destroyed during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

). Traditionally, locals tell visitors that it is filled with cajeta, taking them to visit the "Bola del Agua" on Sundays, the traditional day for visiting the Independencia Lane. A plaque at the base of the water tower features the legend (in Spanish): The work was carried out under the command of German Enrique Schöndube, although it is known that payment for the construction took ten years due to the start of the Mexican Revolution, so it was paid once the new government established. During the Mexican Revolution, Villa's officers thought the hydraulic tower had such a large amount of water that destroying it would drown the population of Celaya. One of Villa's generals ordered his artillery to destroy it. Captain Gustavo Duron, in charge of a 75mm battery, followed the orders but shot around the tower, avoiding it and protecting the monument, as mentioned by local historian Herminio Martínez. The construction resulted in the neglect of the people handing out water at home from the mayor's office called water carriers. Commercial advertising on its surface was allowed for several years to cover the costs of the reservoir, ending on September 8, 1980 when, in celebration of upcoming 410th Anniversary of the Foundation of Celaya, the mayor in charge decreed that the Ball of Water would be a symbol that would represent the city, and the placement of advertisements was banned.

Cuisine

Celaya is also known for the artisanal production of cajeta, a type of milk candy.

Transportation

The Celaya Airport had (as of January 22, 2007) commercial flights to

Santiago de Querétaro Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...

and connections from there to other destinations; these services were dropped in 2008. Celaya lies along the El Paso Spur of the

Pan-American Highway The Pan-American Highway (french: (Auto)route panaméricaine/transaméricaine; pt, Rodovia/Auto-estrada Pan-americana; es, Autopista/Carretera/Ruta Panamericana) is a network of roads stretching across the Americas and measuring about in ...

which is known locally as

Mexican Federal Highway 45 Federal Highway 45 (''La Carretera Federal 45'') (Fed. 45) is the free (libre) part of the federal highways corridors (los corredores carreteros federales), and connects Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua through the Chihuahuan Desert to Panales, ...

People

Marta Sahagún de Fox Marta may refer to: People * Marta (given name), a feminine given name * Märta, a feminine given name * Marta (surname) :István Márta composer * Marta (footballer) (born 1986), Brazilian professional footballer Places * Marta (river), an ...

(b. April 10, 1953), former Mexican First Lady and wife of President Vicente Fox, lived in Celaya and unsuccessfully ran for mayor * Miguel Martínez (b. September 29, 1921), Musician, composer and songwriter. Considered the father of the modern mariachi trumpet. * Francisco Eduardo Tresguerras (b. October 13, 1759, d. August 3, 1833), Architect and painter. Designed the El Carmen church in Celaya. *

Joshua Ilika Brenner Joshua Brenner Ilika was born (September 14, 1976 in Celaya, Guanajuato) is a Mexican butterfly and freestyle swimmer, who began swimming at the age of three. He participated in the 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics. See also *List of Mexican reco ...

(b. September 14, 1976) Olympic swimmer *

Liliana Ibáñez Liliana Ibáñez López (born 30 January 1991 in Celaya, Guanajuato) is a Mexican competition swimmer.London2012.com
At the

(b. January 30, 1991) Olympic swimmer * Raúl Velasco (b. April 24, 1933, d. November 26, 2006) Entertainer and TV Producer. Was the host of the TV program ''Siempre en Domingo''. * Octavio Ocampo (b. February 28, 1943) Painter known for his "metamorphosis" style. * Mauricio Ochmann (b. November 16, 1977), Actor. *

Ever Guzmán Ever may refer to: * Ever (artist), creator of street art, from Buenos Aires, Argentina * Ever, Kentucky * -ever, an English suffix added to interrogative words in forms like ''wherever'' * KT Tech EVER, a South Korean mobile phone manufacturer o ...

(b. March 15, 1988), footballer. * José Juan Vázquez (b. 14 March 1988), Mexican footballer, who currently plays in Club Leon. * David Roberto Bárcena Ríos (26 December 1941 – 22 February 2017) was a Mexican equestrian who competed at five Olympic Games, winning a bronze medial in the Team Event at his fifth Olympics * Lalo Duron (b. September 6, 1963). Author of "Alive & Well!", "¿Jubilarme? Ni de chiste", writer, and creator of "Creado en México", and "Emprende" movements in Mexico.

Sister cities

* Carrboro,

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia a ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

Chapel Hill Chapel Hill or Chapelhill may refer to: Places Antarctica *Chapel Hill (Antarctica) Australia * Chapel Hill, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane * Chapel Hill, South Australia, in the Mount Barker council area Canada *Chapel Hill, Ottawa, a neighbo ...

* Guernica, Spain * Oaxaca, Mexico *

Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Mexico Tuxtla may refer to: ;Cities and towns *Tuxtla Gutiérrez, capital of the Mexican state of Chiapas *San Andrés Tuxtla, Veracruz *Santiago Tuxtla, Veracruz *Tuxtla Chico, Chiapas ;Other *Los Tuxtlas, region of Veracruz *Sierra de los Tuxtlas, moun ...

References

Sources

Link to tables of population data from Census of 2005
INEGI: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática
Guanajuato
Enciclopedia de los Municipios de México

External links

*
A casi 100 años de la Bola de Agua (''Near the century of "Ball of Water"'')

PODCelaya.com
Business Virtual Directory
Diócesis de Celaya

Domingo Negro Explosion
{{Authority control Municipalities of Guanajuato Otomi settlements Populated places established in 1570 Populated places in Guanajuato