M

1
México

• Cuántos estados hay en México?

2
Pues, cuento 31 la cápital
3
México

• Mexico has 31 states and one Federal District,
  Mexico City, where the seat of the Federal
  Government and approximately one fifth of the
  population can be found. Mexico is considered a
  Federal Republic, with each state from Baja in
  the North to Oaxaca in the South having a
  separate state government answerable to the
  national government. Mexico covers a wide variety
  of terrain, from desert like plains to
  mountainous rain forest, and the varied states
  encompass a wide range of ethnic and social
  groups

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México

• The states of Mexico are divided into
  municipalities, which are governed by mayors.
  Mexican states also have legislatures,
  constitutions, and governors, and function in
  some sense as independent entities able to enact
  and enforce their own laws. This model of
  government is familiar to American citizens, who
  are acquainted with a system of decentralized
  states as well as a Federal seat of government.

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México

• Mexico has several major active political
  parties, including the Institutional
  Revolutionary Party, National Action Party, Party
  of the Democratic Revolution, Green Ecological
  Party, and Labor Party. The Institutional
  Revolutionary Party controlled Mexico for 71
  years until 2000, when Vicente Fox of the
  National Action Party was elected President for a
  non-renewable term of six years.

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México

• In the late part of the 20th century, Mexico
  underwent many governmental reforms, including a
  restriction of the powers of the President, which
  had traditionally been the most powerful branch
  of government. Mexico has also instituted laws
  and procedures to fight corruption at all levels
  of the government, as well as to promote a
  healthy and sustainable economy. Most of the laws
  have been put in place at the Federal level,
  governing all the states, while some Mexican
  states have enacted more radical legislature
  aimed at putting a stop to corruption in
  government and economic exploitation by the West.

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México

• Covering almost 2 million square kilometers,5
  Mexico is the fifth-largest country in the
  Americas by total area and the 14th largest in
  the world. With an estimated population of 109
  million,6 it is the 11th most populous country
  and the most populous Spanish-speaking country in
  the world.

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México

• After winning independence from Spain, it was
  decided that the new country would be named after
  its capital city, whose original name of
  foundation was México-Tenochtitlan, in reference
  to the Mexica tribe, the main group of people of
  what came to be known as the Aztec civilization.
  The origin of the name of the Mexica is obscure
  and subject to diverse interpretations. Some10
  argue that it derives from the Nahuatl Mexitl or
  Mexitli, a secret name for the god of war and
  patron of the Aztecs, Huitzilopochtli, in which
  case Mexico means "Place where Mexitli lives".

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México

• Another hypothesis is that the word Mexiko
  derives from the metztli ("moon"), xictli
  ("navel", "center" or "son"), and the suffix -co
  (place), in which case it means "Place at the
  center of the moon" or "Place at the center of
  the Lake Moon", in reference to Lake Texcoco. The
  system of interconnected lakes, of which Texcoco
  was at the center, had the form of a rabbit, the
  same image that the Aztecs saw in the moon.
  Tenochtitlan was located at the center (or navel)
  of the lake (or rabbit/moon).11 Still another
  hypothesis suggests that it is derived from
  Mectli, the goddess of maguey.11

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México

• Aguascalientes

"Hot waters". When the city was first founded in
1575, it was given this name for the abundance of
hot springs in the region, which still are
exploited for numerous spas and for domestic use.
The state is located about 300 miles (483 km)
from Mexico City. It covers 5,471 square
kilometers (2,112.4 sq mi) and has a little more
than one million inhabitants. The state is not
heavily populated. However, most of its
inhabitants live in the densely populated
metropolitan area of its capital city.The state
as it is now was created on October 27, 1875 when
it was separated from Zacatecas. It bears the
name Aguascalientes taken from its largest city
and capital also called Aguascalientes.
                     Flag             Coat of arms
11
México

• Baja California

"Lower California". The Spanish colony of
California was divided into twoupper and
lowerin 1804. The Mexican territory of Upper
California, or Alta California Baja California is
the northernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming
a state in 1953, the area was known as the North
Territory of Baja California. It has an area of
71,576 km² (27,636 sq mi), or 3.57 of the land
mass of Mexico and comprises the northern half of
the Baja California peninsula, north of the 28th
parallel. The state is bordered on the west by
the Pacific Ocean, on the east by Sonora, the
U.S. State of Arizona, and the Gulf of California
(also known as the Sea of Cortez), and on the
south by Baja California Sur. Its northern limit
is the U.S. state of California.
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México

• Baja California Sur

"Southern Baja California". Baja California Sur
is one of the 31 states of Mexico. Before
becoming a state in 1974, the area was known as
the South Territory of Baja California. It has an
area of 73,475 km² (28,369 sq mi), or 3.57 of
the land mass of Mexico and comprises the
southern half of the Baja California peninsula,
south of the 28th parallel. It is bordered to the
north by the state of Baja California, to the
west by the Pacific Ocean, and to the east by the
Gulf of California, also known as the "Sea of
Cortés".
13
México

• Campeche

The state takes its name from the city of
Campeche, which was founded in 1540 by Spanish
Conquistadores as San Francisco de Campeche atop
the preexisting Maya city of Canpech or Kimpech.
The State of Campeche is a state in the
south-east region of the Mexican Republic. It is
bordered by the Mexican states of Yucatán to the
north east, Quintana Roo to the east, and Tabasco
to the south west. To the south it is bordered by
the Petén department of Guatemala and to the west
by the Gulf of Mexico. The area of Campeche is
56,798 square kilometers (21,929.8 sq mi), and
the population was only 754,730 inhabitants at
the 2005 census. This makes Campeche one of the
states with the lowest population densities in
Mexico (fifth behind Baja California Sur,
Durango, Sonora, and Chihuahua).
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México

• Chihuahua

The state takes its name from its capital city,
Chihuahua. This name is thought to derive from
the Nahuatl Xicuahua, or "dry, sandy place".
Chihuahua is a state in northern Mexico with a
mainland area of 244,938 square kilometers
(94,571.1 sq mi), slightly bigger than the United
Kingdom. It is surrounded by the Mexican states
of Sonora, Sinaloa, Durango and Coahuila and the
U.S. states of Texas and New Mexico. Chihuahua is
the largest state in Mexico by area, and
therefore has the nickname, "El Estado Grande."
Although Chihuahua is primarily identified with
its namesake, the Chihuahuan Desert, it has more
forests than any other Mexican state. On the
slope of the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains
(around the regions of Casas Grandes, Cuauhtémoc
and Parral), there are vast prairies of short
yellow grass, the source of the bulk of the
state's agricultural production.
15
México

• Chiapas

Chiapas is the southernmost state of Mexico,
located towards the southeast of the country.
Chiapas is bordered by the states of Tabasco to
the north, Veracruz to the northwest, and Oaxaca
to the west. To the east Chiapas borders
Guatemala, and to the south the Pacific Ocean. In
general Chiapas has a humid, tropical climate. In
the north, in the area bordering Tabasco, near
Teapa, rainfall can average more than 3,000 mm
(120 in) per year . In the past, natural
vegetation at this region was lowland, tall
perennial rainforest, but this vegetation has
been destroyed almost completely to give way to
agriculture and ranching. Rainfall decreases
moving towards the Pacific Ocean, but it is still
abundant enough to allow the farming of bananas
and many other tropical crops near Tapachula.
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México

• Coahuila

Coahuila (formal name Coahuila de Zaragoza) is
one of Mexico's 31 component states. It is
located in the north of the country. Coahuila's
population is comprised mainly of people of
European ancestry, making up 74 per cent of the
population. The second-largest ethnic group is
the Mestizo (European-Amerindian) who are 20 per
cent of the population, and the smallest ethnic
group is the Amerindian, comprising 1 per cent of
Coahuila's population. The rest of the population
is composed of American, Canadian, and Japanese
communities. The capital of Coahuila and its
largest city is Saltillo.
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México

• Colima

Colima is a state in western Mexico. It shares
its name with its capital and main city,
Colima. Colima is a small state, sharing a border
with the Mexican states of Jalisco to the north
and east, and Michoacán to the south. To the west
Colima borders the Pacific Ocean. In addition to
the capital city of Colima, the state's main
cities include Manzanillo and Tecomán.
18
México

• Durango

The state is named after its capital city,
Durango, which was named after the city of
Durango, Biscay in the Basque Country, northern
Spain. During colonial times it was part of the
Spanish realm of Nueva Vizcaya, "New Biscay", a
province of New Spain. The city of Durango is the
state's capital. Most of the state is heavily
mountainous and a good part forested, the Sierra
Madre Occidental occupies the western and central
part of the state. This mountain range contains a
good supply of minerals, including the silver
that encouraged Spanish occupation of the
territory after it was discovered. These mines
extend north into Chihuahua and south into the
state of Zacatecas. Vast desert basins in the
Laguna District are irrigated by the Nazas River.
Major crops grown in the area include cotton,
wheat, corn, alfalfa, beans, sorghum and other
vegetables. Durango is famous for its scorpions.
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México

• Guanajuato

Guanajuato is a state in the central highlands of
Mexico. It shares its name with its capital city,
Guanajuato. Guanajuato means "place of frogs" in
the local indigenous language. The local Tarascan
Indians believed that the frog represented the
god of wisdom. A rock formation outside of
Guanajuato, looks like frogs. "Las Ranas" is the
way to reference anyone from this state as frogs
are their state animal. Guanajuato is the home
state of former Mexican president Vicente Fox
Quesada, and famous Mexican artist Diego Rivera
and singer-song writer Jose Alfredo Jimenez.
After central Mexico and the Gulf of Mexico
coast, Guanajuato was one of the first areas of
Mexico colonized by the Spanish, in the 1520s,
for its rich silver deposits. Guanajuato's
colonial architecture is very well preserved
along with over 35 old churches in its capital
alone, and is very European in nature.
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México

• Guanajuato

Froghill".verification needed The state is
named after its capital city, Guanajuato.
Guanajuato is a state in the central highlands of
Mexico. It shares its name with its capital city,
Guanajuato. Guanajuato means "place of frogs" in
the local indigenous language. The local Tarascan
Indians believed that the frog represented the
god of wisdom. A rock formation outside of
Guanajuato, looks like frogs. "Las Ranas" is the
way to reference anyone from this state as frogs
are their state animal. Guanajuato is the home
state of former Mexican president Vicente Fox
Quesada, and famous Mexican artist Diego Rivera
and writer Jose Alfredo Jimenez
21
México

• Guerrero

"Warrior". Named after Vicente Guerrero, a hero
of the Mexican War of Independence and an early
president of Mexico. The surname Guerrero,
meaning "warrior" in Spanish, is derived from
guerra "war", a Germanic loanword related to the
English word war. The state capital is
Chilpancingo de los Bravo. Besides Chilpancingo,
its principal cities are Acapulco, Petatlan,
Taxco, Iguala, and Zihuatanejo. Guerrero is an
important tourist destination. There are three
main areas of tourism, known as the Triángulo del
Sol (triangle of the sun). The first is Acapulco.
The second is Taxco, a colonial town noted for
its silverware. The third is Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo.
Ixtapa is a destination created by the federal
government during the slow economy of the 1980s
to increase tourism.
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México

• Hidalgo

Named after Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, considered
the initiator of the Mexican War of Independence
in 1810. Hidalgo (pronounced i'ðal?o) is a
state in central Mexico, bordered on the north by
San Luis Potosí, on the east by Veracruz and
Puebla, on the south by Tlaxcala and Mexico
State, on the northwest by Querétaro. In 2005
census the state had a population of some
2,345,514 people. The state is named after
Mexican independence leader Miguel Hidalgo y
Costilla. with an area of 20,502 square
kilometers (7,915.9 sq mi). The state capital is
Pachuca. Also in the state of Hidalgo is the town
and ancient Toltec ruins of Tula.
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México

• Jalisco

"Place with sand on the ground" Jalisco is a
state of Mexico. The capital of Jalisco is the
city of Guadalajara. In the 2005 census, Jalisco
had a population of 6,752,113 people. Jalisco is
known for being the birthplace of mariachi music
and tequila. The state's name, meaning "sandy
plain," derives from the Nahuatl words xalli
(meaning "sand" or "gravel") and ixtli (meaning
"face," or, by extension, "plain").
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México

• México

The state is named after Mexico City, itself
named after the Aztec capital Mexico
Tenochtitlan. Mexico State or State of Mexico
(often abbreviated to "Edomex," from Estado de
México in Spanish) is a state in the center of
the nation of Mexico. The state's capital is the
city of Toluca. The Pre-Columbian ruins of the
city of Teotihuacan are located in the State of
México. Mexico State is bounded to the north by
Hidalgo and Querétaro, to the east by Tlaxcala
and Puebla, to the south by Morelos and Guerrero,
and to the west by Michoacán. It surrounds to the
east, north and west of the Mexican Federal
District.
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México

• Michoacán

"Place of possessors of fish". Michoacán formally
Michoacán de Ocampo (from Nahuatl Michhuacan
"place of the fishermen"), is one of the 32
constituent states of Mexico. It borders the
states of Colima and Jalisco to the west,
Guanajuato and Querétaro to the north, México to
the east, Guerrero to the south-east, and the
Pacific Ocean to the south. Michoacán has an area
of 59,864 km² (23,113.6 sq mi). It is the
sixteenth largest state in Mexico, taking up 3
of the national territory. In a 2005 census the
population was at 3,966,073 people. Its state
capital is the city of Morelia (previously known
as Valladolid), located between 2 main cities in
Mexico, Mexico City and Guadalajara.
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México

• Morelos

Named after José María Morelos, one of the
leaders of Mexico's struggle against Spain during
the War of Independence. Morelos is one of the
constituent states of Mexico. Morelos has an area
of about 4,941 square kilometers (1,907.7 sq mi),
making it the second-smallest of the country's
states. Morelos is bordered by Mexico State to
the north and west, Puebla to the east, and
Guerrero to the south. In 2007 census the
population was 1,612,899 people. The capital of
Morelos is the city of Cuernavaca. Morelos also
contains the cities of Cuautla, Jiutepec, and
Temixco, and the pre-Columbian ruins of
Xochicalco.
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México

• Nayarit

"Place of Nayar", referring to a 16th-century
Cora chief. Nayarit is one of Mexicos 31 states
and is located on the central west coast,
bordering the Pacific Ocean. Nayarit is
surrounded by the states of Sinaloa to the
northwest, Durango to the north, Zacatecas to the
northeast and Jalisco to the south with the
Pacific Ocean bordering it to the west. Also in
Nayarit are the cities and towns of Acaponeta,
San Blas, Santiago Ixcuintla, Matanchen, Tecuala,
Zacualpan, Chacala and Tuxpan, as well as the
island settlement of Mexcaltitán. Also belonging
to the state are the Islas Marias, Islas Tres
Marietas and Isla Isabel, all in the Pacific
Ocean. Its capital is Tepic, which is located
inland and south on the Tepic River. Nearby is
the Sanganguey volcano and the crater lake.
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México

• Nuevo León

"New Leon". Named after the Kingdom of Leon, one
of the historical realms that formed Spain. Nuevo
León (Spanish for "New León", after the former
kingdom in Spain) is a state located in
northeastern Mexico. It borders the states of
Tamaulipas to the north and east, Zacatecas and
San Luis Potosí to the south, and Coahuila to the
west. To the north, Nuevo León accounts for a 15
kilometer (9 mi) stretch of the U.S.-Mexico
border adjacent to the U.S. state of Texas. The
capital of Nuevo León is Monterrey, the third
largest city in Mexico with over three million
residents. Monterrey is a modern and affluent
city, and Nuevo León has been completely
industrialized. The state, as the rest of
Northern Mexico, has benefited from
globalization.
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México

• Oaxaca

The state is named after the city of Oaxaca.
Oaxaca, in Spanish phonemically, named for its
largest city, is one of the 31 states of Mexico,
located in the southern part of the country, west
of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. Oaxaca borders the
states of Guerrero to the west, Puebla to the
northwest, Veracruz to the north, Chiapas to the
east, and the Pacific Ocean in the south. Oaxaca,
the historic home of the Zapotec and Mixtec
peoples, contains more speakers of indigenous
languages than any other Mexican state.
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México

• Puebla

"People". The state is named after its capital
city, Puebla. The Mexican state of Puebla is
located in the center east of the country, to the
east of Mexico City. The state of Puebla borders
the states of Veracruz to the east, Hidalgo,
Mexico State, Tlaxcala, and Morelos to the west,
and Guerrero and Oaxaca to the south. The state's
largest cities are Puebla and Tehuacan, it has
217 municipalities. The state of Puebla takes its
name from the capital city, which was originally
La Puebla de los Angeles (Town of the Angels).
The formal name is Heróica Puebla de Zaragoza
(Heroic Puebla of Zaragoza), after Ignacio
Zaragoza who defeated the Imperial French army at
the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, which is
commemorated as Cinco de Mayo.
31
México

• Querétaro

Querétaro (former formal name Querétaro Arteaga)
is a state in central Mexico. Its capital is the
city of Santiago de Querétaro, although in
general parlance the name "Querétaro" is used for
both the city and the state. The name is thought
to come from a phrase in the Otomi language
meaning "the great ball game", or from a phrase
in the P'urhépecha language translated as "place
of stones". It should be noted that the area of
La Cañada, east of Santiago de Querétaro,
features a large gorge that resembles the two
opposite walls that were used in the Native
American ball game. Querétaro is bordered to the
north by the state of San Luis Potosí, to the
west by Guanajuato, to the east by Hidalgo, to
the southeast by Mexico State, and to the
southwest by Michoacán. The capital city of
Santiago de Querétaro is located some
257 kilometres (160 miles) to the northwest of
Mexico City. It is known for its Colonial Era
architecture.
32
México

• Quintana Roo

Named after Andrés Quintana Roo, a hero from the
War of Independence. Quintana Roo is a state of
Mexico, on the eastern part of the Yucatán
Peninsula. It borders the States of Yucatán and
Campeche to the north and west, the Caribbean Sea
to the east, and the nation of Belize to the
south. The capital of Quintana Roo is the city of
Chetumal. Quintana Roo also contains the resort
city of Cancún, the islands of Cozumel and Isla
Mujeres, the towns of Bacalar, Felipe Carrillo
Puerto, Playa del Carmen, Puerto Juárez, Akumal,
Xcalak, and Puerto Morelos, as well as the
ancient Maya ruins of Chacchoben, Chakanbakán,
Chamax, Coba, Dzibanché, El Meco, Ichpaatán,
Kohunlich, Muyil, Oxtankah, Tancah, Tulum, Tupak,
Xel-Há, and Xcaret. The Sian Ka'an national park
is also in Quintana Roo.
33
México

• San Luis Potosí

Named after its capital city, San Luis Potosí.
The Mexican state of San Luis Potosí has an area
of 24,266 square miles (62,849 km²). It is in the
north-central part of the Mexican republic,
bordered by the states of Jalisco, Guanajuato,
Querétaro, Hidalgo, Veracruz, Tamaulipas, Nuevo
León, Coahuila, and Zacatecas. The native peoples
of the state include the Huastecs and Pame
people. In addition to the state capital San Luis
Potosí, the state's largest cities include Ciudad
Valles, Matehuala, and Rioverde. The state is at
the center of an international ecological
scandal, facing the illegal operation of Minera
San Xavier, a subsidiary of Metallica Resources
at the town of its foundation, Cerro de San
Pedro, just 20 kilometers away from the capital
of the state , with a known poisonous technique
banned in first world countries, open pit mining
leaching by cyanide.
34
México

• Sinaloa

Origin of name is disputed. May mean "round
pitahaya" or "cut corn. Culturally, it is known
for a style of music known as banda, and corrido
is also popular. It is bordered by the states of
Sonora to the north, Chihuahua to the northeast,
Durango to the east, and Nayarit to the south. To
the west of Sinaloa lies the Pacific Ocean and
the Gulf of California, also known as the Sea of
Cortez. The coast of Sinaloa is beautiful with
clear blue oceans and a breathtaking sunset.
Sinaloa is known for there colorful shells and
even sand dollars.
35
México

• Sonora

In the place of the corn. Sonora is one of the
31 federal states of Mexico and is located in the
northwest of the country. Its name comes from the
fact that when the first Spaniards arrived,
indigenous people were not able to pronounce the
word 'señora' to refer to the virgin. Thus, they
said 'sonora.' Sonora's shores are washed by the
Sea of Cortez in the Gulf of California, which is
connected to the Pacific Ocean further south.
Sonora is thus linked to the so-called "Pacific
Rim," which offers ample opportunities for
economic development as well as many challenges
and opportunities for sustainable use of its
natural resources.
36
México

• Tabasco

"Flooded earth. It is bordered by the states of
Veracruz to the west, Chiapas to the south, and
Campeche to the north-east. To the east Tabasco
borders with the Petén department of Guatemala,
and to the north with the Gulf of Mexico. Tabasco
is in the northern half of the Isthmus of
Tehuantepec. The state capital is Villahermosa.
In Tabasco and Veracruz, unlike the rest of
Mexico, the accent is considered Caribbean
Spanish, partly due to the heavy Cuban influence.
Tourist attractions include, along with many
others, the Olmec ruins of La Venta, and the
Mayan ruins of Comalcalco.
37
México

• Tamaulipas

"Place with high mountains. Tamaulipas borders
on the states of Veracruz to the south, San Luis
Potosí to the southwest, and Nuevo León to the
west. To the east Tamaulipas fronts the Gulf of
Mexico to the north Tamaulipas stands on the
U.S.-Mexico border, adjacent to the U.S. state of
Texas. According to the 2006 census, Tamaulipas
had a population of some 3,024,238 people. The
capital of Tamaulipas is Ciudad Victoria. The
name of the state is derived from Tamaholipa, a
Huastec term in which the tam- prefix signifies
"place where." As yet, there is no scholarly
agreement on the meaning of holipa, but "high
hills" is a common interpretation. (However, a
native population of Tamaulipas, now extinct, was
referred to as the "Olives" during the early
colonial period, which is a likely Spanish
transformation on holipa.)
38
México

• Tlaxcala

"Place of Tortillas". The state is named after
the capital of Tlaxcala, which is named after the
pre-Columbian city-state of Tlaxcallan. Tlaxcala
is bordered to the west by Mexico State, to the
northwest by Hidalgo, and to the north, east, and
south by Puebla. The state consists of 60
municipalities. Tlaxcala was an independent
nation in pre-Columbian times, never conquered by
the Aztecs. The assistance of the Tlaxcalans was
of instrumental importance to Cortés in his
conquest of Mexico in the early 16th century.
39
México

• Veracruz

"True Cross". The state is named after the port
of Veracruz. This name was given to the first
Spanish city in New Spain by Hernán Cortés in
1519, in the form La Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz,
"The Rich Village of the True Cross". Veracruz,
formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave is one
of the 31 states that constitute Mexico. In April
1518, Juan de Grijalva disembarked on an islet
near the shore that was called San Juan de Ulúa.
On April 22, 1519 Hernan Cortez disembarked on
Chalchihuecan beach, where he decided to found a
village and form the first colonial settlement in
Mexico. That day was Good Friday, the day of Holy
Week known as the day of La Vera Cruz (True
Cross) hence he chose the name of La Villa Rica
de la Vera Cruz.
40
México

• Yucatán

The (probably apocryphal) story goes that when
the Spaniards first waded ashore on the Yucatán
Peninsula, they asked the members of the local
population, who were watching, "What is this
place?" The local indígenas, not understanding
Spanish, asked "What did you say?"
(Yuca-hatlanás?). The Spanish assumed that anyone
would understand their language, and took it to
be the name. Another legend has it that when
Spaniards asked a local native "Where are we?",
the native answered "Yuc Atan", meaning "I'm not
from here", which Spaniards assumed as the name
of the place.
41
México

• Zacatecas

"People from the Place of Grass". The state is
named after its capital city, Zacatecas. The city
was originally called Villa de Nuestra Señora de
los Zacatecas, "House of Our Lady of the
Zacatecs". It is located in the north-central
region and it is bounded to the northwest by
Durango, to the north by Coahuila and Nuevo León,
to the east by San Luis Potosí, to the south by
Aguascalientes and Guanajuato and to the
southwest by Jalisco and Nayarit. The state is
best known for its rich deposits of silver, its
colonial architecture and its importance during
the revolution. The state is also known as one of
the safest states in the country. Zacatecas has
58 municipalities and the main economic
activities are mining, agriculture and tourism.
The state shares its name with its capital and
chief center of population, the city of
Zacatecas, Zacatecas.
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El fin