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Durango

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For other uses, see Durango (disambiguation).

Durango

Flag

Location within Mexico

Country

Mexico

Capital

Durango

Municipalities

Government

- Governor

Ismael Hernández Deras (PRI)

- Federal Deputies

PRI: 3
PAN: 1

- Federal Senators

PAN: 2
PRI: 1

Area
Ranked 4th

- Total

123,181 km² (47,560.4 sq mi)

Population (2005)

- Total

1,509,117(Ranked 23th)

HDI (2004)

0.7910 - medium
Ranked 15th

ISO 3166-2

MX-DUR

Postal abbr.

Dgo.

Website: Durango State Government

Durango (pronounced [duˈɾaŋgo]) is one of the constituent states of Mexico. Its population in 2005 census was about 1,509,117 people. It has Mexico's second-lowest population density (after Baja California). The city of Durango is the capital of the state of Durango. The Sierra Madre Occidental is a mountain range located in the western part of the state. This mddountain 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. Mexicans generally refer to Duranguenses (natives of Durango) as an Alacrán de Durango (A scorpion from Durango).^{[citation needed]}

The major occupations in Durango are farming, lumbering and ranching.

Francisco de Ibarra, the first to colonize Durango, settled this part of the vast northern province of Nueva Vizcaya in 1563, when he founded the capital city and named it Durango for his native town Durango, Biscay, Spain. The foundation was just one in his larger program of initiating settlements throughout the province. This was a late colonization for the Spanish, due mostly to heavy resistance by the indigenous population. From first contact to modern times, the indigenous peoples have attempted to gain some autonomy, address grievances, and maintain traditional land ownership.

Spanish colonists became highly attracted to the Durango area for its mining and grazing prospects. In 1823, shortly after the Mexican revolutionary victory over Spain, Durango earned the right to become a separate state.

1 Municipalities
2 Major communities
3 References in Popular Culture
4 Famous Duranguenses
5 External links

Durango is divided into 39 municipalities (municipios). See municipalities of Durango.

Bob Dylan co-wrote a song called "Romance in Durango" with Jacques Levy for his 1976 album, Desire (album).

In Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange, the sports car driven by Alexander deLarge and his droogies is called a "Durango 95" [1] [2].

Punk rock band The Ramones often opened their live act with a song called "Durango 95".

Actor John Candy suffered a fatal heart attack in Durango, while filming his final motion picture Wagons East.

In the book The House of the Scorpion, Mateo Alacran (referred to as "El Patrón"), a drug lord, was born in Durango, as was Celia. The last name he adapted, "Alacran," is a reference to the term Alacran de Durango.