Jalisco is a state in 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.
Etymology
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").
Geography
The state of Jalisco borders the Pacific Ocean to the west, and the states of Nayarit to the northwest, Zacatecas, and Aguascalientes to the north, Guanajuato to the east, and Colima and Michoacán to the south. It has an area of 79,085 km2 (30,535 sq mi).
Mexico's largest freshwater lake, Lake Chapala, lies within the boundaries of Jalisco.
Government and politics
The Constitution of the State of Jalisco provides that the government of Jalisco, like the government of every other state in Mexico, formally consists of three branches: the executive, the legislative and the judiciary.
Executive power rests with the Governor of Jalisco, who is directly elected through secret ballot to a 6-year term, with no possibility of reelection. Legislative power rests with the Congress of Jalisco which is a unicameral legislature composed of 40 deputies. Judicial power is invested in the Superior Court of Justice of Jalisco.
Municipalities and regions
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Like the rest of Mexico, the state of Jalisco is divided into municipalities (communes), most of which are named after the town that serves as the municipal seat. Unlike English-language municipalities, Mexican municipalities include both a central city or town and surrounding villages, towns and rural land. Each municipio has a municipal president. The largest municipio in Jalisco is Mezquitic.
The municipalities are grouped into the following regions (regiones):[1]
- Altos Norte
- Altos Sur
- Centro
- Ciénega
- Costa Norte
- Costa Sur
- Norte
- Sierra de Amula
- Sierra Occidental
- Sur
- Sureste
- Valles
Demography
The population of Jalisco is around 6,753,114 inhabitants according to the 2005 INEGI census. The 2000 INEGI census indicates that there are about 4,000,000 people in the greater Guadalajara metropolitan area. The overall population growth rate for Jalisco in the 2000-2005 period was 1.8%, and it is estimated that the economically active population is 1,756,501 [2]
The majority of Jalisco's population is of Spanish descent, including many from the Criollo caste. People of Amerindian descent, mostly of Huichol origin, make up about 0.4% of the population. In addition to those of Huichol descent, some Nahua communities exist along the coast as well as in the interior of the state near present day towns of Tenemaxtlán and Atenguillo. The state also contains a large Mestizo population, who are of mixed European and Amerindian descent, centered mostly in and to the east of Guadalajara.
Tequila
Jalisco is the center of the Mexican tequila industry, and the town of Tequila, Jalisco, which gave its name to the famous liquor, is located there. The volcanic soil covering much of the state of Jalisco is particularly well suited for the cultivation of the blue agave plant, which is used as the base for tequila.
Mariachi
There are many hypothesis about where this lively music originated from, but most people agree that Cocula, Jalisco was its birth place. This is contradicted, however, by the fact that most famous Mariachi songs/groups weren't from Jalisco.
Today, Mariachis are seen as a symbol of the Mexican Revolution and as the Mexican pride. Mariachi groups are usually hired for festive occasions, such as birthday parties, quinces (traditional parties for women who are turning 15 years of age), and weddings.
Huichols
The indigeneous people huichols (wirrarita or wixarita in the huichol language), live in the north of Jalisco. It is hard to get to the towns of Huichols, as they are somewhat isolated because of the mountains. They call themselves wixarica, "The People," in their own language. The name Huichol comes from their name in the Nahuatl language.
Their language belongs to the linguistic division of Cora-chol, from the Familie Uto-Aztec. This language is related to the nahuatl language.
See also
References
External links
Coordinates: 20°34′00″N 103°40′35″W / 20.566667, -103.67639
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