Zapotlán del Rey is a town and

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' ...

Jalisco Jalisco, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in western Mexico and is bordered by s ...

in west-central

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 municipality covers an area of 400 km². This town became popular back in the years due to multiple UFO sightings and alleged extraterrestrial beings known as the greys around the highschool and nearby farms to the highschool. Similar stories at nearby cities like Ocotlán, Jalisco. As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 16,274.

Etymology

Zapotlán is derived from the

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 ...

word "Tzapotlán", and it means: "place where

sapotes ''Sapotes'' is a genus of broad-nosed weevils in the beetle family Curculionidae. There are about five described species in ''Sapotes''. Species These five species belong to the genus ''Sapotes'': * ''Sapotes caseyi'' Jones & O?Brien, 2007 * ''S ...

abound".

History

Upon the arrival of the Spanish conquerors, the region was inhabited by

Tecuexe The Tecuexe were an Indigenous peoples of Mexico, who lived in the eastern part of present-day Guadalajara. History It is believed that the Tecuexe derived from the dispersion of Zacateco groups from La Quemada. Like the Zacatecos, the Tecuexe w ...

and

Nahua The Nahuas ( ) are a Uto-Nahuan ethnicity and one of the Indigenous people of Mexico, with Nahua minorities also in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. They comprise the largest Indigenous group in Mexico, as well as ...

tribes and their dialect was Tepecuexe. The date of its foundation is unknown. Its primitive population settled to the northwest of the current population on the hill called "La Coronita" ("The Little Crown"). In 1529,

Nuño de Guzmán Nuño Beltrán de Guzmán (1558) was a Spanish conquistador and colonial administrator in New Spain. He was the governor of the province of Pánuco (province), Pánuco from 1525 to 1533 and of Nueva Galicia from 1529 to 1534, and president of the ...

sent

Pedro Almíndez Chirino Pedro Almíndez Chirino (or ''Pedro Almíndez Chirinos'') was a conquistador born in Úbeda and member of several councils that governed New Spain while Hernán Cortés was traveling to Honduras, in 1525–26. Almíndez was an ally of Gonzalo de ...

to conquer the eastern and northern region. Almíndez arrived in Tzapotlán and because it was King Spain's birthday day, he named it Zapotlán del Rey, a name that lasts to this day. As a sign of his passing through this town, he placed a wooden cross in the place where the atrium of the parish church is located today. In 1537 the encomendero Jorge Simón de Verapaz arrived, who wanted to force a group of native amerindians to go to found Santa Mónica de La Barca in the land of Chicnahuatenco. But they resisted, so Jorge Simón had the idea of setting fire to the Tepeltac neighborhood to force the indigenous people to emigrate. The group that founded La Barca was distinguished by its multi-colored clothing and by playing an instrument called

chirimia Chirimía (sometimes chirisuya in Peru) is a Spanish term for a type of woodwind instrument similar to an oboe. The chirimía is a member of the shawm family of double-reed instruments, introduced to North, Central and South America in the sixtee ...

. After the

Conquest Conquest involves the annexation or control of another entity's territory through war or Coercion (international relations), coercion. Historically, conquests occurred frequently in the international system, and there were limited normative or ...

, this population continued under the authorities of the Spanish

encomenderos The ''encomienda'' () was a Spanish labour system that rewarded conquerors with the labour of conquered non-Christian peoples. In theory, the conquerors provided the labourers with benefits, including military protection and education. In pr ...

with known slavery and mistreatment. On November 11, 1810, the liberator

Miguel Hidalgo Don Miguel Gregorio Antonio Ignacio Hidalgo y Costilla Gallaga Mandarte y Villaseñor (8 May 1753 – 30 July 1811), commonly known as Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla or simply Miguel Hidalgo (), was a Catholic priest, leader of the Mexican Wa ...

passed through this town with his army that came from the victory obtained in the

Monte de las Cruces Monte may refer to: Places Argentina * Argentine Monte, an ecoregion * Monte Desert * Monte Partido, a ''partido'' in Buenos Aires Province Italy * Monte Bregagno * Monte Cassino * Montecorvino (disambiguation) * Montefalcione Portugal * Monte ...

and was heading to

Guadalajara 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 ...

to join with the insurgent José Antonio Torres, who had taken the city. In 1888, Zapotlán de Rey belonged to

Tototlán Tototlán is a town and municipality in Jalisco in central-western Mexico. The municipality covers an area of 336.6 km². Some notable people from Tototlán, Jalisco are Omar Esparza (plays for C.D Guadalajara) and Javier Hernández Gutiérre ...

and in 1890 it was a

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

of that same municipality with the category of

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

. It belonged to the Third

Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative divisions * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and entertainment * Canton (band), an It ...

of La Barca. By decree number 1542, on 9 January 1913, Zapotlán del Rey was elevated to the category of municipality. In recent years it became a popular municipality due to its multiple sightings of alleged

extraterrestrial Extraterrestrial may refer to: Science * Extraterrestrial life, life that occurs outside of Earth and that probably did not originate from Earth Media * ''Extraterrestrial'' (TV program), a program on the National Geographic Channel * '' Extrate ...

beings near Technical High School No. 95 and nearby farms.

Coat of arms

Description

It is a coat of arms with a French shape, diagonally divided from upper right to lower left. In the first canton you can see a landscape where the Hill of La Coronita ("The Little Crown") stands out in the background, as well as a sapote tree under which the following inscription appears: Zapotl = sapote, Tlan = place. In the foreground there is a desk on which there is an open book and an inkwell with a pen. In the second canton it shows the figures of an ear of corn, a wheat spike, a bull, a cow, a tractor running on the furrows of a field. On the golden border appears the legend: "DEMOCRACIA, CULTURA, PROGRESO". By timbre or crest, a double-headed eagle of brown color, that wears a golden crown encrusted with gems. In its claws the bird holds a golden ribbon where the official name of the municipality of ZAPOTLAN DEL REY is read. The shield was designed by engineer Abel Morales Villaseñor and citizen José Martín Solís Godínez.

Meaning

The emblem that represents this municipality contains on its body elements that distinguish and characterize it in the region and in the state. The Hill of La Coronita alludes to the site where the first inhabitants of Zapotlán, who belonged to the Naho Tecuexes, settled. In pre-Hispanic times this town belonged to the Coinan Tlatoanazgo. The sapote tree and the words zapotl (sapote) and tlan (place) are the graphic representation of what the name of the municipality means, since the word Zapotlán translates as "place where sapotes abound", "place of sapotes" or "next to the sapotes". The book and the inkwell with a pen on the desk symbolize education as one of the fundamental values for the inhabitants of this municipality. The agricultural products, the bovine specimens and the tractor cultivating the field represent the agricultural branch as the main economic sector of the municipality. The inscription on the border is the motto that distinguishes the natives of Zapotlán del Rey. The double-headed eagle, the crown and the gold ribbon allude to the Spanish conquest of this place, in 1529, by Pedro Almíndez Chirinos. The day that Chirinos arrived in Tzapotlán was the date of the King of Spain's name day so, in honor of the monarch, he named this place Zapotlán del Rey, a name that lasts to this day. The official colors of the shield are brown, green, and gold.

Geography

Location

Zapotlán del Rey is located in the Southeast area of

, between the geographical coordinates 20°2400 to 20°3400 of north latitude and 102°4530 to 103°0430 of west longitude; at a height of 5085 feet over sea level (1550 meters). The municipality borders to the North with the municipalities of

Zapotlanejo Zapotlanejo is a town and municipality in the Mexican state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, there were 64,806 inhabitants in the municipality. The municipality has a territorial extension of 718.8 km2. Toponymy Zapotlanejo is a h ...

and

; to the East with the municipalities of

and Ocotlán; to the South with the municipalities of Ocotlán and

Poncitlán Poncitlán is a town and municipality, in Jalisco in central-western Mexico. The municipality covers an area of 672.31 km2. As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 43,817. Place Names Poncitlán means "place of cilacayotes", ...

; to the West with the municipalities of

Juanacatlán Juanacatlán () is a town and ''municipio'' (municipality) in the central region of the Mexican state of Jalisco. Origin of name Juanacatlán gets its name from the Nahuatl word "Xonacatlan", which means ''place abundant in onions'' or ''onion p ...

, and

Topography

Its surface is made up of flat areas (53%), rugged areas (27%) and semi-flat areas (20%). Soils. The territory is made up of lands that belong to the

Quaternary period The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS), as well as the current and most recent of the twelve periods of the ...

. The subsoil is formed by acid extrusive rocks, volcanic breccia and tuff in the upper parts; in the hills and ridges of the lowlands there are conglomerates, sandstones and soils of lake formation. In the hills and slopes the composition of the soils is of predominant types Feozem Haplic and Luvic, associated with Vertisol Pelic; in the lower parts there is Ferric Luvisol with Eutric Planosol. Area. The municipality has a land area of 79,296 acres (32,090 hectares), of which 24,036 acres are used for agricultural purposes, 42,630 acres in livestock activities, 7166 acres are for forestry use, 546 acres are for urban land and 4917 acres have other uses. As far as property is concerned, an area of 34,451 acres is private and another of 37,253 acres is ejidal; 7591 acres are communal property.

Hydrography

Its hydrological resources are provided by the

Río Santiago Rio or Río is the Portuguese and Spanish word for "river". The word also exists in Italian, but is largely obsolete and used in a poetical or literary context to mean "stream". Rio, RIO or Río may also refer to: Places United States * Rio, Flo ...

, which comes from the South. In the central region of the municipality is located the La Colonia dam, and to the north, the Rincón de Chila spring. There are also brooks: Agua Caliente, Cañada de Chila, El Sauz, Tepehuaje, Rincón de la Cañada, Agua Fría, Los Sabinos, Ladronera Prieto, and Humarán. There are also several springs: Agua Caliente, Zapotlán, and Cañada, as well as the dams: La Cañada, and Chila.

Climate

The climate is semi-dry, winters and spring dry, and semi-warm. No well-defined winter thermal change. The average annual temperature is 68°F, with a maximum of 82.5°F and a minimum of 54.5°F. It has an average rainfall of 819.1 millimeters. The annual average number of days with frost is 12. The prevailing winds are from the West in the months of January to May, and from the East in the months of June to December.

Flora and fauna

Its vegetation is basically made up of pine, oak, natural pastures, kidneywood, and tepehuaje, without actually forming wooded areas. Deers, rabbits, hares, squirrels, some reptiles, and smaller species, as well as a great variety of birds, inhabit this region.

Economy

Cattle raising. Cattle, horses, goats, and pigs are raised. Besides, there are beehives. Farming. Corn, sorghum, wheat, chickpea, and agave stand out. Commerce. Establishments dedicated to the sale of basic necessities and mixed shops that sell various items predominate. Industry. The main industrial activity is manufacturing. In the municipality, out of town, there is a tequila distiller and bottler called Destiladora de Agave Hacienda Los Huajes. Services. Technical, communal, social, personal, administrative, and maintenance services are provided. Media. There is a newspaper called ''El Informativo de Zapotlán del Rey''.

Education

The municipality of Zapotlán del Rey has facilities which serve to the following levels of

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

: Preschool. Primary. Secondary. Technical Secondary School No. 95 stands out. Preparatory. A preparatory school managed by the

University of Guadalajara The University of Guadalajara () is a public university, public research university located in Guadalajara, Mexico. It was originally established in 1586 and officially founded on 12 February 1791 as the Royal and Pontifical University of Gu ...

Government

The form of government is democratic and depends on Jalisco state government, and federal government. Elections are held every three years, when the municipal president and her/his council are elected.

Municipal presidents

Tourism

Architecture * Former

haciendas A ''hacienda'' ( or ; or ) is an estate (or '' finca''), similar to a Roman ''latifundium'', in Spain and the former Spanish Empire. With origins in Andalusia, ''haciendas'' were variously plantations (perhaps including animals or orchards) ...

. Handicrafts * Elaboration of: textiles, carved wood, tule furniture, ceramics and cabinetmaking. Spas * Parque Agua Caliente (Hot Water Park) – Los Pocitos (The Little Water Wells). * El Tanque de la Cañada – The Tank of the Glen. * Agua Caliente del Tejocote – Hot Water of the Hawthorn Churches * Parish temple of la Santísima Trinidad (The Most Holy Trinity). Parks and reserves * Hot Water Park – Los Pocitos. * Cerro El Salto — Hill The Jump. * Viewpoint at Cerro Grande (Viewpoint at Large Hill). * Los Sabinos de Chila – The Savins of Chila. * Agua Caliente del Tejocote – Hot Water of the Hawthorn.

Feasts

Civil festivals * Anniversary of the foundation, January 15. Religious festivals * The meeting of the Child and the Virgin, October 17. * Party in honor of Our Lady of Help. Last Sunday in October. * Traditional

Burning of Judas The burning of Judas is an Easter-time ritual that originated in European Christians, Christian communities where an effigy of Judas Iscariot is burned. Other related mistreatment of Judas effigies include hanging, flogging, and exploding with fi ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zapotlan del Rey Municipalities of Jalisco