Isla Aguada is a town in the

Carmen municipality Carmen is one of the 13 municipalities in the Mexican state of Campeche. It is situated at the south-west of the state, on and around the Laguna de Términos. The municipal seat and largest settlement is Ciudad del Carmen. As of 2015, the popula ...

, in the state of

Campeche Campeche, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Campeche, is one of the 31 states which, with Mexico City, make up the Administrative divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. Located in southeast Mexico, it is bordered by the sta ...

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 town is located in the tip of the Palmar Peninsula, about 40 km from the seat of the Carmen municipality,

Ciudad del Carmen Ciudad del Carmen or Carmen is a city in the southwest of the Mexican state of Campeche. Ciudad del Carmen is located at on the southwest of Carmen Island, which stands in the Laguna de Términos on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. , Ciudad d ...

, and 90 km from the capital of the state,

. Isla Aguada is surrounded in the south by the Sabancuy River and the

Laguna de Términos Laguna de Términos is the largest tidal lagoon by volume located entirely on the Gulf of Mexico, as well as one of the most biodiverse. Exchanging water with several rivers and lagoons, the Laguna is part of the most important hydrographic rive ...

and in the north by the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

. As of 2010, the population of Isla Aguada consisted of a total of 6,204, of which 3,205 were male and 2,999 female.

History

Isla Aguada was a refuge for pirates after attacking shipments or nearby ports until 1762, when Governor Don Bernardo Sáenz Montero directed a regiment in order to send off the pirates. This mission was successful, as merchandise was recovered and some prisoners were taken. It is popular belief that the first settlers of Isla Aguada, at those times called Puerto Escondido, were the soldiers sent to end piracy. Inhabitants fleeing from the

Caste War of Yucatán The Caste War of Yucatán or ''ba'atabil kichkelem Yúum'' (1847–1915) began with the revolt of Indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous Maya peoples, Maya people of the Yucatán Peninsula against Hispanic populations, called ''Yucatecos''. Th ...

were also one of the first population groups to arrive at Puerto Escondido. During the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century, a lighthouse was built in order to receive the Spanish, French and English ships that arrived to Puerto Escondido, which traded marseille tiles and clay jars full of olives and wine for gum, precious woods and sea turtles. The neoclassical-style lighthouse was built in 1907 and stands high. The lighthouse was also part of a network of seven lighthouses along the states of

Tamaulipas Tamaulipas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas, is a state in Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into 43 municipalities. It is located in nor ...

Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...

, Campeche and

Yucatán Yucatán, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Yucatán, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, constitute the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises 106 separate municipalities, and its capital city is Mérida. ...

. On December 1, 2020, Isla Aguada was added to the "

Pueblos Mágicos The Programa Pueblos Mágicos (; "Magical Towns Programme") is an initiative led by Mexico's Secretariat of Tourism, with support from other federal agencies, to promote a series of towns around the country that offer visitors "cultural richn ...

" national program.

Geography

Isla Aguada is part of the Área de Protección de Flora y Fauna Laguna de Términos. The area near Isla Aguada is specially known for its

common bottlenose dolphin The common bottlenose dolphin or Atlantic bottlenose dolphin (''Tursiops truncatus'') is one of three species of bottlenose dolphin in the genus ''Tursiops''. The common bottlenose dolphin is a very familiar dolphin due to the wide exposure it re ...

s, which can be found in the Laguna de Términos throughout the year and attract tourism to the town. Isla Pájaros (Bird Island) is an islet that receives local and migratory

seabird Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adaptation, adapted to life within the marine ecosystem, marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent ...

s, such as ducks, herons, frigates and seagulls. Isla Pájaros is also home of the

jabiru The jabiru ( or ; ''Jabiru mycteria'') is a large stork found in the Americas from Mexico to Argentina, except west of the Andes. It sometimes wanders into the United States, usually in Texas, but has also been reported in Mississippi, Oklahoma ...

, which is the largest seabird of the Americas.

Culture

Attractions

* The ''Parish of the Fisherman's Lord was'' built in 1977. It stands almost at the shore from the Laguna de Términos and was built to honor the "Señor del Pescador" (Fisherman's Lord). * The ''Underwater Archaeology Museum'' is held in the lighthouse historically used for the arriving ships. In the museum are exposed pieces of shipwrecks, photographies of underwater findings, cannons and navigation instruments. It is also exhibits the history of Isla Aguada, the historical lighthouse network in which the lighthouse belonged and the flora and fauna of the nearby zones.

Festivities

One of the religious festivities of Isla Aguada is the Santa Cruz festivity, in honor of the Fisherman's Lord. From May 3 to 11, popular dances, pyrotechnical and mechanical games, launches decorated with balloons and multicolor papers and songs are made. The last day of the celebrations include a ride in the Laguna de Términos with the Fisherman's Lord's picture in the launches.

Infrastructure

Isla Aguada is connected to Carmen Island by La Unidad Bridge, the second longest bridge in Mexico and fifth longest in Latin America, with a longitude of .{{Cite web, title=En Campeche, inauguran el nuevo puente de La Unidad, url=https://www.milenio.com/estados/en-campeche-inauguran-el-nuevo-puente-de-la-unidad, access-date=2021-06-07, website=www.milenio.com, language=es-MX La Unidad Bridge connects the town of Isla Aguada and Puerto Real. The bridge was first built in 1982, but due to deterioration in its structure a new bridge had to be built. This "Nuevo Puente La Unidad" (New "La Unidad" Bridge) was inaugurated in 2019 by the former

Governor of Campeche The governor of Campeche, officially Constitutional Governor of the Free and Sovereign State of Campeche (), is in charge the Executive branch of the State Government. Term Governors are elected to serve for 6 years and they can not hold the tit ...

Alejandro Moreno Cárdenas Rafael Alejandro Moreno Cárdenas (born 25 April 1975), often known as Alito, is a Mexicans, Mexican politician who has been the President of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) since 2019. He served as Governor of Campeche from 2015 to ...

References

Populated places in Campeche Pueblos Mágicos