Zacatecas
Downtown
Zacatecas
Coordinates: 22°50′N 102°32′W / 22.833, -102.533
Country	Mexico
State	Zacatecas
Municipality	Zacatecas
Founded	September 8, 1546 (Juan de Tolosa)
Government
- Mayor	Gerardo de J. The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. The Mexican state of Guerrero is divided into 81 municipalities (municipios: Events 70 - Roman forces under Titus sack Jerusalem. 1264 - The Statute of Kalisz Félix Domínguez
Area
- Municipality	443. Area is a Quantity expressing the two- Dimensional size of a defined part of a Surface, typically a region bounded by a closed Curve. 9 km² (171. 4 sq mi)
Elevation	2,500 m (8,202 ft)
Population (2005)
- Total	122,889
- Municipality	132,035
- Demonym	Zacatecano
Time zone	CST (UTC-6)
Postal code	98000
Area code(s)	492
Website: www.zacatecas-capital.gob.mx

Historic Centre of Zacatecas*
UNESCO World Heritage Site
State Party	Mexico
Type	Cultural
Criteria	ii, iv
Reference	676
Region†	Latin America and the Caribbean
Inscription history
Inscription	1993  (17th Session)
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List. † Region as classified by UNESCO.

Zacatecas is a city in Mexico, the capital of the state of Zacatecas. The elevation of a Geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point often the mean sea level. The metre or meter is a unit of Length. It is the basic unit of Length in the Metric system and in the International A foot (plural feet or foot; symbol or abbreviation ft or sometimes &prime – the prime symbol) is a non-SI unit A demonym or gentilic is a word that denotes the members of a People or the inhabitants of a place Mexico uses three different UTC offsets as defined in the federal Law of Time Systems Zone 1 (Central Zone covers most of Mexico and is equivalent to UTC-6 Areas using UTC−6 Single zone countries Belize Costa Rica El Salvador Guatemala A telephone numbering plan is a plan for allocating Telephone number ranges to countries regions areas and exchanges and to non-fixed telephone networks A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex As of 2008 there are a total of 878 World Heritage Sites located in 145 "State Parties" The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex This is a list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in North America, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. Zacatecas is one of the 31 constituent states of Mexico. It is located in the north-central region and it is bounded to the northwest by Durango It was founded 1548, two years after the nearby discovery of silver, and became an officially-recognized city in 1584. Its population as of the 2005 census was 122,889. Zacatecas is also the municipal seat of the municipality of Zacatecas which surrounds the city. Municipalities ( municipios in Spanish) are the second-level administrative division in Mexico (where the first-level administrative division is the The municipality had a population of 132,035 and an area of 444 km² (171. 4 sq mi). The city is the largest in the state, slightly larger than Fresnillo (pop. 110,892), but the municipality of Fresnillo (pop. 196,538) is larger than the municipality of Zacatecas because it includes a much larger land area with more population in its outlying communities.

Name

"Zacatecas" is the Nahuatl name for the indigenous people who inhabited the area before the arrival of the Spanish. Nahuatl ( is a group of related languages and dialects of the Aztecan or Nahuan branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family The name ultimately derives from the Nahuatl word for a type of grass common in the region, zacatl. The region where this grass grew was originally called Zacatlan, and its inhabitants, Zacatecas.

History

Zacatecas was founded in 1546 and built over a rich vein of silver discovered by Juan de Tolosa in the same year. Silver (ˈsɪlvɚ is a Chemical element with the symbol " Ag " (argentum from the Ancient Greek: ἀργήντος - argēntos gen This and other mines in the vicinity attracted a large population, and it soon became one of the chief mining centres of Mexico. Mining is the extraction of valuable Minerals or other geological materials from the earth usually (but not always from an Ore body In 1588 Philip II, King of Spain, gave Zacatecas its own coat of arms. Philip II (Felipe II de España Filipe I ( May 21, 1527 &ndash September 13 1598) was King of Spain from 1556 until 1598 A coat of arms or armorial bearings (often just arms for short in European tradition is a design belonging to a particular person (or group of people The Franciscans built a college in 1616. The term Franciscan is commonly used to refer to members of Catholic

Silver from Zacatecas and from Potosí in Bolivia was coined as pieces of eight and transported around the world by the Spanish treasure fleets and the Manila galleons. Potosí is a city the capital of the department of Potosí in Bolivia. The Republic of Bolivia (República de Bolivia) named after Simón Bolívar, is a Landlocked country in central South America. Beginning in the 16th century the Spanish treasure fleets (or simply West Indies Fleet from Spanish Flota de Indias) transported various metal resources and agricultural The Manila galleons or Manila-Acapulco galleons ( Galeones de Manila-Acapulco) were Spanish trading Ships that sailed once or twice It was this silver that helped pay for the wars of the Spanish Empire. The Spanish Empire (Imperio Español was one of the largest Empires in history and one of the first Global empires In the 15th and 16th centuries

In May 1835, Mexican federalists in Zacatecas rose in revolt against Mexican president Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, who had suspended the Mexican Constitution and established a dictatorship the previous year. Antonio de Padua María Severino López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón ( February 21, 1794 &ndash June 21, 1876) often known as Santa Santa Anna responded by crushing the rebels. He then rewarded his centralist soldiers by allowing them two days of rape and pillage in Zacatecas, during which more than two thousand noncombatants were killed.

In 1914, during the Mexican Revolution, Zacatecas witnessed the bloodiest combat of the Mexican Revolution, in a battle known as the Toma de Zacatecas (Taking of Zacatecas) between the Federal armies of Victoriano Huerta and the Constititutionalist troops of General Francisco Villa. Year 1914 ( MCMXIV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year The Mexican Revolution (Revolución Mexicana was a major armed struggle that started with an uprising led by Francisco I Huerta's Federal Army, also known as the Federales in popular culture was the force headed by Victoriano Huerta during his 1913-1914 reign as president José Victoriano Huerta Márquez ( Colotlán, Jalisco, December 22, 1850, &ndash January 13, 1916 in El Paso See also Constitutionalists in the Mexican revolution The Constitutional Army (also known as the Constitutionalist Army) was the Doroteo Arango Arámbula ( June 5 1878 &ndash July 20 1923) better known as Francisco or " Pancho " Villa Villa's victory led to the end of the Huerta regime. A monument to the battle and General Villa is at the summit of the Cerro de la Bufa overlooking the city.

Mining is now no longer as important a part of the local economy, and in fact the primary mine (the Mina El Edén) has been converted into a tourist attraction, including an underground disco in a large hollowed out cave. An economy is the realized social system of production exchange distribution and consumption of goods and services of a country or other area Not to be confused with Eden Gardens.The Garden of Eden ( Hebrew "pleasure" גַּן עֵדֶן Arabic: جنات عدن, Disco is a Genre of dance-oriented music whose origins are hard to define Indeed, the city of Zacatecas is a popular tourist destination for Mexicans, and many of the local businesses cater to them.

Tourism and culture

It is built in a deep, narrow ravine, 2496 m (8050 ft) above sea level, with narrow, crooked streets (callejones in Spanish) climbing the steep hillsides, and white, flat-roofed houses. The colonial center is a UNESCO World Heritage site and features elaborately decorated buildings, old palaces, residences and mansions; cobblestoned streets, colonial fountains and wrought-iron lanterns. United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization ( UNESCO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations established on November 16 A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex The more modern outer suburbs are a mix of cinderblock shanties and gated communities for the wealthy. South San Jose (cropjpg||thumb|A suburban development in San Jose California. Shanty towns (also called Squatter camps or Favelas are settlements (sometimes illegal or unauthorized of impoverished people who live in improvised In its modern form a gated community is a form of Residential community containing controlled entrances for Pedestrians Bicycles and Automobiles The city is centered on the Plaza de Armas, a small open square bordered by the cathedral and old 18th century mansion that houses the governor's palace. The Plaza de Armas ( Plaza of Arms is the name for the main square in many Latin American cities This article is about the history and organisation of the cathedral Other small plazas and parks (jardines) dot the city, among them the Jardín de la Independencia and the tiny (19 m²) Jardín de Juárez where the municipal palace is installed. Churches abound, and many have recently been converted into art galleries or museums. An art gallery or art museum is a space for the exhibition of art, usually Visual art. A museum is a "permanent institution in the service of society and of its development open to the public which acquires conserves researches communicates and exhibits the

• Cathedral: It is one of the most beautiful examples of churrigueresque arquitecture in Mexico. Churrigueresque refers to a Spanish Baroque style of elaborate sculptural architectural ornament which emerged as a manner of stucco decoration in Spain in the late It is an elaborately carved red-stone (cantera) structure that was built between 1730 and 1760. It is flanked by two towers with an exuberant ornamentation and has a notable facade that was richly sculpted but its once decorated interior was looted during the civil wars of the 19th and 20th centuries. Looting ( Hindi lūṭ akin to Sanskrit luṭhati steals also Latin latro, latronis The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar The twentieth century of the Common Era began on Its cupola was reconstructed in 1836 and imitates that one of the church of Nuestra Señora de Loreto in Mexico City. In Architecture, a cupola or lantern is a radially symmetrical ornamental structure (often dome-shaped or quadrilateral located on top of a larger

• Church of Santo Domingo: Almost in front of the cathedral, on one of the corners of the Plaza de Armas, lies Veyna Alley, leading to the church of Santo Domingo that was built by the Jesuits between 1746 and 1749 and has a beautiful baroque facade. Splendid gold wood-carved altarpieces, all of them churrigueresque, and Francisco Antonio Vallejo paintings (XVIII) that represent scenes of The Passion can be found inside. Churrigueresque refers to a Spanish Baroque style of elaborate sculptural architectural ornament which emerged as a manner of stucco decoration in Spain in the late This article describes the Christian Passion For other meanings see Passion.

• College of La Compañía de Jesus: It shows a richly sculpted facade; the cloister is surrounded by halls whose vaults are decorated with cherubim. A cloister (from Latin claustrum) is a part of Cathedral, Monastic and Abbey architecture

• Church of San Agustin: It has a plateresque facade decorated with a bas-relief. Plateresque refers to the 15th and 16th century Art form in Spain, characterized by an ornate style of architecture A facade or façade (fəˈsɑːd is generally one side of the exterior of a Building, especially the front but also sometimes the sides and rear A bas-relief (baʁəljɛf in French; French for "low relief" derived from the Italian basso rilievo) or low relief is a Sculpture

• Parish of La Virgen del Patrocinio: It lies at the summit of a hill, Cerro de la Bufa. It was built in 1728.

• Del Cubo aqueduct: It runs through the city. An aqueduct is an artificial channel that is constructed to convey water from one location to another It was constructed more than 250 years ago.

Zacatecas is home to the Autonomous University of Zacatecas (UAZ) and a branch of the Tecnológico de Monterrey (ITESM). The Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education ( Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey ITESM) commonly shortened as Monterrey

Overlooking the city from an elevation of 150 m (500 ft) is the Cerro de la Bufa, a rocky outcropping crowned by a chapel and which is a popular spot for hiking and taking in the view of the city below. A chapel is a holy place or area of Worship for Christians, which may be attached to an institution such as a large church, a College, a The word 'hiking' is understood in all English-speaking countries but there are differences in usage The city is also famous for its "Teleférico", an aerial tramway built by an Austrian company in 1978. An aerial tramway is a type of Aerial lift in which a cabin is suspended from a cable and is pulled by another cable The tramway starts at the Cerro del Grillo and "flies" over downtown Zacatecas giving passengers a breathtaking view of the city. The tramway then climbs up to the Cerro de la Bufa where passengers can either visit a museum or enjoy the view of the city.

Tourists particularly visit Zacatecas during the September Feria nacional de Zacatecas and again in the spring during Easter Week. Easter ( Greek: Πάσχα Pascha or Pasxa) is the most important religious feast in the Christian Liturgical year.

Entertainment

Sports

Photo gallery

Tower of the church of Nuestra Señora de Fátima	College of Guadalupe	Sculpted facade of the church of San Agustin	Colonial Tolosa fountain
Historic Centre Street	Del Cubo Aqueduct	Detail on the facade of the parish of La Virgen Del Patrocinio	The city of Zacatecas

References

• Link to tables of population data from Census of 2005 INEGI: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática
• Zacatecas Enciclopedia de los Municipios de México

External links

• Zacatecas Information Hotels, Maps, Weather and Activities (English)
• Presidencia Municipal de Zacatecas Official website
• Zacatecas Wikitravel
• Photos of Zacatecas
• Del Cubo Acueduct Video