GUANAJUATO
According to Programingplease, Guanajuato is the name of a state in the central highlands of Mexico, as well as the name of the state capital, Guanajuato. Guanajuato shares borders with the states of San Luis Potosi, Queretaro, Michoacan and Jalisco. It has an area of 30,589 km². In 2003, its estimated population was 4,855,000.
Guanajuato is best known for its Festival Cervantino, an art festival that brings together participants from around the world, but is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The old town can be dated back to the 16th century, and one can see here many of Mexico’s important religious and artistic sites.
In addition to the capital are the major cities of Celaya, Leon, Salamanca, Irapuato, San Miguel de Allende and Dolores Hidalgo where Miguel Hidalgo gave a speech calling for the independence of Mexico (see Grito de Dolores ).
TIMELINE:
1520s – Guanajuato was one of the first areas of Mexico to be colonized by the Spaniards because of its rich silver deposits. Today, Guanajuato’s mines are still among the world’s best producing silver mines. The state also produces tin, gold, copper, lead, mercury and opals.
1554 – Guanajuato is founded as a village in 1554 and in 1741 gained city status. The city is known for a wealth of architecture from the Spanish colonial era. In the Pantheon catacombs in the western part of the city, is a famous burial site which is remarkable because of the natural mummies that form on the site.
1810 – Grito de Dolores is Miguel Hidalgo’s call for 80,000 people to make Mexico independent. The speech was held on September 16 in the city of Dolores, near Guanajuato. It was not an independence speech, but a speech about Mexico’s need to protect itself against those who had usurped power in the country and against Fernando VII’s enemies. Thus, Hidalgo started the great uprising in 1810, which started Mexico’s war of independence. His battle cry was “ Long live the Virgin of Guadalupe and death over the Spaniards! ”
1811 – On January 17, Miguel Hidalgo and his nearly 90,000-strong army (peasants) are defeated by 6,000 Spanish soldiers at the Battle of Calderón Bridge. Those who failed to escape were taken prisoner and taken to the Chihuahua, where they were put on trial. Hidalgo was shot on July 30.
1821 – After Mexico gains independence, the name is changed to “Dolores Hidalgo” in honor of Miguel Hidalgo.
1932 – Calderón Bridge is declared a Mexican National Monument.
1988 – Guanajuato is declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
AGUASCALIENTES
Aguascalientes (“hot water”) is a state in Mexico with an area of 5,197 km², located in the middle of the country with 944,000 residents. The capital is also called Aguascalientes. The city got its name from the Spanish words “aguas calientes” which means “hot waters”, due to the hot springs that were everywhere in the area. The springs are used in spas and even in private homes. The residents of Aguascalientes (both the city and the state) are called in Spanish hidrocálidos or “hydrothermal” peoples. The state was formed in 1835 by secession from the state of Zacatecas.
The state is 480 km from Mexico City.
TIMELINE:
1572 – Aguascalientes is founded on October 22.
1835 – Aguascalientes becomes the capital of the newly formed state of the same name, when its territory is separated from the neighboring state of Zacatecas.
BAJA CALIFORNIA
Baja California is located on the California Peninsula and is a state in western Mexico at the northern end of the peninsula, often with the addition of Norte to avoid confusion with the Mexican name for the peninsula, which is also Baja California. To the north, the state borders the United States, to the west by the Pacific Ocean, to the east by Sonora and the Cortez Sea, and to the south by Baja California Sur.
Tijuana is a city in northwestern Mexico, the capital of the state of Baja California, and is located on the border with the US state of California.
TIMELINE:
1690s-1700s – The Spaniards settle in California.
1804 – The Spanish colony of California is divided into Alta (“high”) and Baja (“low”) California, where the Franciscan missions in the north meet the Dominican missions in the south.
1850 – After Alta California is annexed by the United States as the state of California, Baja California is further divided into a northern and a southern territory.
1889 – Tijuana is founded and is today one of Mexico’s fastest growing cities.
1952 – Northern Territory of Baja California becomes Mexico’s 29th state, Baja California.
1974 – Baja California Southern Territory becomes the 31st state of Baja California Sur.