Zacatecas

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Zacatecas

Zacatecas is the name of both a state of Mexico and that state's capital city. This article is about the state. For the city, see Zacatecas, Zacatecas.

Zacatecas, 1974

Zacatecas
Location
Statistics
Capital	Zacatecas
Area	73,252 km² Ranked 10th
Population (2005 census)	1,367,692 Ranked 25th
HDI (2004)	0.7563 - medium Ranked 26th
Governor (2004-2010)	Amalia García Medina (PRD)
Federal Deputies	PRD: 5
Federal Senators	PRI: 2 PRD: 1
ISO 3166-2 Postal abbr.	MX-ZAC Zac.

Zacatecas is one of the 31 constituent states of Mexico. It is bounded to the north by Durango and Coahuila, to the east by San Luis Potosí, to the south by Aguascalientes and Jalisco, and to the west by Jalisco and Durango.

The state shares its name with its capital and chief center of population, the city of Zacatecas, Zacatecas.

Geography and climate

Zacatecas is located in the great central plateau of Mexico, with an average elevation of about 7,700 feet. The state is somewhat mountainous, being traversed in the west by lateral ranges of the Sierra Madre Occidental, and by numerous isolated ranges in other parts – Mazapil, Norillos, Guadalupe and others. There are no large rivers, only the small head-streams of the Aguanaval in the north, and of the Guazamota, Bolanos and Juchipila in the west, the last three being tributaries of the Rio Grande de Santiago.

Because Zacatecas experiences mild precipitation, the lack of streams suitable for irrigation is a drawback to agriculture. The climate is dry and generally healthy, being warm in the valleys and temperate in the mountains.

Economy

The agricultural products are cereals, sugar and maguey, the first being dependent on the rainfall, often failing altogether, the second on irrigation in the lower valleys, and the latter doing best in a dry climate on a calcareous soil with water not far beneath the surface. There is also a considerable production of peaches, apricots and grapes, the last being made into wine. A few cattle are raised, and considerable attention is given to the rearing of sheep, goats and swine. A natural product is guayule, a shrub from which rubber is extracted.

The chief industry of Zacatecas, however, is mining for silver, gold, mercury, copper, iron, zinc, lead, bismuth, antimony and salt. Its mineral wealth was discovered soon after the conquest, and some of its mines are among the most famous of Mexico, dating from 1546. One of the most productive of its silver mines, the Alvarado, has records which show a production of nearly $800,000,000 in silver between 1548 and 1867. Thanks to Zacatecas and its mines, Mexico has been the largest producer of silver in the world.

The state is traversed by the Mexican Central and the Mexican National railways. Its manufactures are limited chiefly to the reduction of mineral ores, the extraction of rubber from guayule, the making of sugar, rum, mezcal, pulque, woollen and cotton fabrics, and some minor industries of the capital.

Demographics

The state of Zacatecas has a population of 1,441,734 inhabitants. Compared to 462,190 in 1900. About 85% of the population is mestizo and 15% is white. In the year 2000, Zacatecas had the smallest indigenous population percentage-wise in Mexico: 0.3%. Only the state of Aguascalientes has a smaller number of indigenous people, numbering 3,472; Zacatecas has 4,039 indigenous people. ^* In the last ten years, Zacatecas' population has grown a mere 6%, well below the country's average of 20%. ^*. It is estimated that half of the people from Zacatecas do not reside in the state. The biggest concentration of Zacatecanos in the exterior is in the United States, with a population of approximately 800 thousand.

Municipalities

Zacatecas is subdivided into 58 municipalities (municipios). See: municipalities of Zacatecas.

In addition to the capital at Zacatecas, other principal cities include Sombrerete pop. 10,000 (1900), an important silver-mining town 121 Km (70m.) N.W. of the capital (elev. 8430 ft); Ciudad García, pop. 9500 (1900); Guadalupe, pop. 9000 (1900); Pinos pop. 8000 (1900), a mining town; San Juan de Mezquital pop. 7000 (1900); Tacoaleche, a town with La Ex Hacienda La Casa Grande and Fresnillo pop. 75,1186 estimated. (1990 est.), an important center for the mining of silver

History

Pre-Columbian

At first contact, the Spanish reported that the Zacateco, Caxcan, Guachichil, and Tepehuan were the four primary tribes that inhabited the area of present-day Zacatecas. All these indigenous tribes were part of what the Aztec called Chichimecas. Zacatecas was part of a larger region known as La Gran Chichimeca, which was never conquered by the Mexica (Aztecs).

Foundation

In September 8, 1546, with the discovery of its mines, the present city of Zacatecas was founded. It was originally baptized as "Minas de los Zacatecas" or "Mines of the Zacatecas". It's rich mineral wealth gave the Spanish Crown a great amount of income, which gave the city of Zacatecas the title of "Ciudad de Nuestra Señora de los Zacatecas". Zacatecas was the name given to the local natives around the city. It basically translates to "inhabitants of the land were the shrubs are abundant" in the Nahuatl language

The Revolution of 1910

The Mexican people revolted against Porfirio Díaz's dictatorship and social inequity in 1910. One of the most important battles of the Mexican Revolution was fought in the city of Zacatecas. Where in 1914, Pancho Villa and his Dorados took control of the city. This was the bloodiest and largest battle during the Mexican Revolution and came to be known as La Toma de Zacatecas (The Taking of Zacatecas)

Famous Zacatecanos

Antonio Aguilar, singer, actor
Cynthia Klitbo, actor
Pepe Aguilar, singer
Rebecca de Alba, model
Susana Gonzalez, actor

External links

Zacatecas state government
Towns, cities, and postal codes in Zacatecas (in Spanish)

References

John P. Schmal. The History of Zacatecas. Houston Institute for Culture.2004.^*

States of Mexico | Zacatecas

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