Guachochi is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

in the south-western portion of the

Mexican state A Mexican State (), officially the Free and Sovereign State (), is a constituent federative entity of Mexico according to the Constitution of Mexico. Currently there are 31 states, each with its own constitution, government, state governor, a ...

of Chihuahua. The city of Guachochi serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality of the same name. As of 2010, the city of Guachochi had a population of 14,513, up from 12,385 in 2005.

Municipality

Guachochi is one of the 67

municipalities of Chihuahua Chihuahua is a state in Northwest Mexico that is divided into 67 municipalities. According to the 2020 Mexican census, Chihuahua is the 12th most populous state with inhabitants and the largest by land area spanning . Municipalities in Chihuah ...

, in northern

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. The municipal seat lies at Guachochi. The municipality covers an area of 4,340.35 km². It was created by the State Congress on 31 December 1962, with its excision from the municipality of Batopilas. As of 2010, the municipality had a total population of 49,689, up from 45,881 as of 2005. As of 2010, the city of Guachochi had a population of 14,513. Other than the city of Guachochi, the municipality had 1,508 localities, the largest of which (with 2010 populations in parentheses) was: Samachique (1,241), classified as rural. The municipality has 1,134 localities. The largest are:

History

The settlement was founded by

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

missionaries in the mid-18th century. In 1952 Guachochi, then only a small village, was chosen as the location of one of the first two Indigenous Centres of the

National Institute of Indigenous Peoples The National Institute of Indigenous Peoples (, INPI, Tzotzil language, Tzotzil: ''Instituto Ta Sjunul Jlumaltik Sventa Batsi Jnaklometik,'' Qʼeqchiʼ language, Q'eqchi': ''Molam Tk’anjelaq Chi Rixeb’ Laj Ralch’och’'', Ixil language, Ixil ...

(INI). It is the seat of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Tarahumara The Roman Catholic Diocese of Tarahumara () is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Chihuahua. It was erected as a mission sui juris in 1950 and was elevated, first to a vicariate apostolic An apostolic vicariate is a territorial jurisd ...

. The area around Guachochi is rich in history, and old Jesuit missions are kept in several communities. Guachochi was established in the middle of the 18th century as part of a mission, whose name was Guachochi. The original mission buildings no longer exist. Tónachi, Yoquivo, the temple of Our Lady of Loreto of Yoquivo, and the temple of Our Lady of Pilar de Norogachi, in Norogachi are places where old Jesuit buildings are still conserved.

Media

Guachochi is home to

XETAR-AM XETAR-AM (''La Voz de la Sierra Tarahumara'' – "The Voice of the Sierra Madre Occidental, Sierra Tarahumara") is an Indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous community radio radio station, station that broadcasts in Spanish (language), Spanish, ...

, a government-run community radio station that broadcasts to the local area in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

Rarámuri The Rarámuri or Tarahumara are a group of Indigenous people of the Americas living in the state of Chihuahua in Mexico. They are renowned for their form of prayer that involves running for extended periods of time. Originally inhabitants o ...

and Tepehuano.

References

{{Reflist Populated places in Chihuahua (state) Municipalities of Chihuahua (state)