Tepic () is the capital and largest city of the western Mexican

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Nayarit Nayarit, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Nayarit, is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in Municipalities of Nayarit, 20 municipalit ...

, as well as the seat of the Tepic Municipality. Located in the central part of the state, it stands at an altitude of above sea level, on the banks of the Río Mololoa and the Río Tepic, approximately north-west of

Guadalajara, Jalisco Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population ...

. Nearby are the volcanoes of San Juan, Las Navajas, and Sangangüey. Tepic is the primary urban center of this rich agricultural region; major crops include sugarcane, tobacco and citrus fruits. The city was founded in 1531 as ''Villa del Espíritu Santo de la Mayor España''.

Population

Indigenous population

Tepic has the second-largest indigenous population in the State of

, 4,375. The most prominent groups among them are the Huichol or Wixárika (3,276), Cora (527) and Purépecha (101).

Religion

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

is the most prominent religion in Tepic with 94.2% of the population. Its Catedral de la Purísima Concepción, dedicated to the

Immaculate Conception The Immaculate Conception is the doctrine that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Mariology, Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Debated by medieval theologians, it was not def ...

, is the

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

episcopal see of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tepic, a

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Catholic Church, a suffragan bishop leads a diocese within an ecclesiastical province other than the principal diocese, the metropolitan archdiocese; the diocese led ...

see in the ecclesiastical province of the Archdiocese of Guadalajara.

Notable people

* Juan Escutia, Boy hero of the

Battle of Chapultepec The Battle of Chapultepec took place between U.S. troops and Mexican forces holding the strategically located Chapultepec Castle on the outskirts of Mexico City on the 13th of September, 1847 during the Mexican–American War. The castle was buil ...

. Born in Tepic, between 1828 and 1832, on the morning of 13 September 1847, he fought to prevent invading U.S. forces from capturing

Chapultepec Castle Chapultepec Castle () is located on top of Chapultepec Hill in Mexico City's Chapultepec park. The name ''Chapultepec'' is the Nahuatl word which means "on the hill of the grasshopper". It is located at the entrance to Chapultepec park, at a he ...

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 ...

. After a brave defense, he is reported to have wrapped himself in the

national flag A national flag is a flag that represents and national symbol, symbolizes a given nation. It is Fly (flag), flown by the government of that nation, but can also be flown by its citizens. A national flag is typically designed with specific meanin ...

and leaped to his death. *

Luis E. Miramontes Luis Ernesto Miramontes Cárdenas (March 16, 1925 – September 13, 2004) was a Mexican chemist known as co-inventor and the first to synthesize an oral contraceptive, progestin norethisterone. Career summary Miramontes was born in Tepic, Nayar ...

, chemist, co-inventor of the first contraceptive pill *

Amado Nervo Amado Nervo (August 27, 1870 – May 24, 1919) also known as Juan Crisóstomo Ruiz de Nervo, was a Mexican poet, journalist and educator. He also acted as Mexican Ambassador to Argentina and Uruguay. His poetry was known for its use of metaphor a ...

, poet and diplomat. * Antonio Rivas Mercado, architect * Emilia Ortiz, contemporary painter, caricaturist and poet, after whom the major downtown ''Centro de Arte Contemporaneo Emilia Ortiz'' has been named. * Gustavo Ayón, NBA basketball player * Francisco Guerrero, Mayor of

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, 1836-1842. * Luis Ernesto Franco, actor *

Joaquín Cosío Joaquín Cosío Osuna (born 6 October 1962) is a Mexicans, Mexican actor and poet. He has been nominated four times for the Academia Mexicana de Artes y Ciencias Cinematográficas, Mexican Academy of Film Ariel Awards, winning the Ariel Award f ...

, actor * Tito Double P, singer-songwriter * Manuel Lozada, caudillo

Sports

Nayarit had small stadiums built for

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

and baseball. Both now demolished, there are plans to construct new, modern, and bigger stadiums; the state has three sport private clubs. There are multiple football fields and places to play "cascaritas" (pick-up games), indoor football courts, a basketball center and gym (with wooden flooring), several volleyball courts, and a bowling alley. In addition to common sports, in the city's main park there is an olympic swimming pool and a squash field. In Tepic,

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

is a popular sport, but the most popular is football (

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

Futsal Futsal is a variant of association football played between two teams of five players each on a court smaller than a football pitch. Its rules are based on the Laws of the Game (association football), Laws of the Game of association football, and i ...

is also commonly played in the city. The city also has a

bullring A bullring is an arena where bullfighting is performed. Bullrings are often associated with the Iberian Peninsula, but they can also be found through Iberian America and in a few Spanish and Portuguese ex-colonies in Africa. Bullrings are ...

, as do most Mexican cities. Tepic has several state teams, one or more for each sport. Both the football and the basketball teams are named "Coras".

Geography

Located in the central part of the state, it stands at an altitude of 915 metres (3,002 ft) above sea level, on the banks of the Río Mololoa and the Río Tepic, approximately 225 kilometres (140 mi) north-west of Guadalajara, Jalisco. Nearby are the extinct Sangangüey volcano and its crater lake.

Climate

Tepic has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''Cwa''), with most rain falling in the wet season from April to November, sometimes in December.

Transport

Tepic is served by Tepic International Airport, with two commercial passenger airlines flying to it.

Twin towns – sister cities

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. **Paramount Picture ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, United States *

Caborca Caborca is the municipal seat of the Caborca Municipality in the List of states of Mexico, Mexican state of Sonora. The city has a population of 67,604, while the municipal population was 89,122 as of 2020. History The Hohokam inhabited the a ...

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into Municipalities of Sonora, 72 ...

, Mexico * Compostela,

, Mexico

References

Sources and external links

Link to tables of population data from Census of 2005
INEGI: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática *
Nayarit
Enciclopedia de los Municipios de México * (Ayuntamiento de Tepic) {{Authority control Capitals of states of Mexico * Municipalities of Nayarit Populated places established in 1531 1531 establishments in New Spain