Chilpancingo de los Bravo (commonly shortened to Chilpancingo; ;

Nahuatl Nahuatl ( ; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahuas, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller popul ...

: Chilpantzinco ()) is the capital and second-largest city of the Mexican state of

Guerrero Guerrero, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guerrero, is one of the 32 states that compose the administrative divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Guerrero, 85 municipalities. The stat ...

. In 2010 it had a population of 187,251 people. The municipality has an area of in the south-central part of the state, situated in the Sierra Madre del Sur mountains, on the bank of the Huacapa River. The city is on Federal Highway 95, which connects

Acapulco Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , ; ), is a city and Port of Acapulco, major seaport in the Political divisions of Mexico, state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Located on a deep, semicirc ...

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

. It is served by Chilpancingo National Airport, which is one of the five airports in the state.

History

In pre-Columbian times, the area was occupied by the

Olmecs The Olmecs () or Olmec were an early known major Mesoamerican civilization, flourishing in the modern-day Mexican states of Veracruz and Tabasco from roughly 1200 to 400 Before the Common Era, BCE during Mesoamerica's Mesoamerican chronolog ...

, who built an extensive tunnel network through the mountains, and left the cave paintings in the caverns of Juxtlahuaca. The city of Chilpancingo was founded on 1 November 1591 by the Spanish conquistadores, its name meaning "Place of Wasps" in Nahuatl. During the

War of Independence Wars of national liberation, also called wars of independence or wars of liberation, are conflicts fought by nations to gain independence. The term is used in conjunction with wars against foreign powers (or at least those perceived as foreign) ...

, Chilpancingo was crucial to the insurgent cause as its population participated actively and decisively in their favor, and it became a strategic point for military action in the south. Chilpancingo was very important to Mexican history because it was here where the National Congress met under José María Morelos y Pavón in 1813 during the War of Independence. General Nicolás Catalán, husband of the independence war heroine Antonia Nava de Catalán, was made commander of the state of Guerrero on 24 January 1828. The family settled in Chilpancingo, where both Nicolás and Antonia later died. In 1853, Chilpancingo was declared the provisional capital of the state, due to an epidemic that struck the then capital of Tixtla, and regional ecclesiastical organizational changes were made at the same time. In 1870 it was again declared capital by Governor Francisco O. Arce, due to the opposition led by General Jiménez, who was in possession of the official seat of government at Tixtla. It was not until 1871, when the state legislature agreed to a change of venue, that the capital was moved again from Chilpancingo. Congreso de Chilpancingo

During the

Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution () was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from 20 November 1910 to 1 December 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It saw the destruction of the Federal Army, its ...

, Chilpancingo was deeply troubled and had political and administrative importance as a strategic place for the sides in the debate. Battles took place in the vicinity in the 1910s, in which Emiliano Zapata defeated federal forces of

Porfirio Díaz José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori (; ; 15 September 1830 – 2 July 1915) was a General (Mexico), Mexican general and politician who was the dictator of Mexico from 1876 until Mexican Revolution, his overthrow in 1911 seizing power in a Plan ...

, Francisco I. Madero, Victoriano Huerta and Venustiano Carranza. A major defeat of Huerta's southern forces took place here in March-April 1914; the Zapatistas took the town until after the 1917 Constitutional Convention. In 1960, the city entered a severe social crisis with the start of a student popular movement at the Autonomous University of Guerrero, protests which led to a general strike at the institution and later swarmed to various forces and social sectors of the city and the state. The main objective was to diminish the power of the state government and seek autonomy for the college. On 27 April 2009 an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.6 was centered near Chilpancingo. On 6 October 2024, mayor Alejandro Arcos was beheaded just six days after taking office, allegedly by drug cartels. His murder came three days after Francisco Tapia, the city government's secretary, was shot to death.

Geography

Climate

The climate of Chilpacingo is classified as a

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry "winter") and ''As'' (for a dry "summer"). The driest month has less than ...

(" Aw"). There is some moderation due to high elevation, but high temperatures are still in the upper 20s °C (80s °F) for most of the year.

Economy

In 1869, the Autonomous University of Guerrero was established in Chilpancingo; it still plays a considerable role in the local economy. The city is a producer of processed foods and alcoholic beverages, and is a market for maize, sugarcane, bananas, livestock, and lumber produced in the region.

Archaeology

Pezuapan is an archaeological site located in the city of Chilpancingo.Reyna Beatríz SOLÍS CIRIACO, Hervé Victor MONTERROSA DESRUELLES
''Malacological Material from Pezuapan's Archaeological site, Chilpancingo, Guerrero, Mexico''.
2010 It sits on the eastern slope of the Chilpancingo valley. The archaeological vestiges found at the site cover the total area of 4000 m². The dates are from 650 AD to 1150 AD. Other archaeological sites found in this area of Guerrero are: * Teopantecuanitlan * Oxtotitlán * Tehuacalco * Organera-Xochipala * Cuetlajuchitlán

Government

Twin towns – sister cities

* McAllen, United States * Cavite City, Philippines

References

External links

Ayuntamiento de Chilpancingo de los Bravo
Official website {{Authority control Populated places in Guerrero Capitals of states of Mexico Cities in Mexico Sierra Madre del Sur