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Guanajuato

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Guanajuato is the name of a state in Mexico and that state's capital city. This article is about the state. For the city, see Guanajuato, Guanajuato.

Guanajuato

Flag

Coat of arms

Location within Mexico

Country

Mexico

Capital

Colonized

1520s

Government

- Governor

Juan Manuel Oliva Ramirez (PAN)

- Federal Deputies

PAN: 14

- Federal Senators

Humberto Andrade Quezada (PAN)
Luis Alberto Villarreal García (PAN)
Francisco Arroyo Vieyra (PRI)

Area
Ranked 22nd

- Total

30,491 km² (11,772.6 sq mi)

Population (2005)

- Total

4,893,812 (Ranked 6th)

HDI (2004)

0.7662 - medium
Ranked 22nd

ISO 3166-2

MX-GUA

Postal abbr.

Gto.

Website: Guanajuato

Guanajuato is a state in the central highlands of Mexico. It shares its name with its capital city, Guanajuato, 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.

Today, Guanajuato's mines are still among the richest-producing silver mines in the world (historically one of the largest). The state also produces tin, gold, copper, lead, mercury, and opals. Guanajuato also leads the nation in shoe production and various farm products such as lettuce and potatoes. The state's main export products are motor vehicles and autoparts, footwear, leather goods, chemicals, electric machinery and materials, fruits and vegetables.

In addition to the state capital city of Guanajuato, the state includes the cities of San Luis de la Paz, Acámbaro, Celaya, León, Salamanca, Irapuato, San Miguel de Allende, Salvatierra—the first city of Guanajuato, Cortazar, Tarimoro, and Dolores Hidalgo, the cradle of Mexican independence.

The first battle in Mexico's war for independence resulted in a march from Dolores Hidalgo upon the capital of the state and the subsequent burning of the granary which held all the Iberian-born Spaniards (approximately 500 men, women and children), by peasants of pure Amerindian or mixed (Mestizo) descent who had been put to work in very harsh conditions.

Guanajuato, Guanajuato

The state of Guanajuato accounts for more than its proportional share of economic migrations of workers to the United States and Canada. Among the areas favored by migrants from this part of Mexico are the U.S. cities of Dallas, Texas, Corpus Christi, Texas, Evanston, Illinois, and Los Angeles, California.

1 Geography
2 Government and politics
- 2.1 Municipalities
3 Major Cities
4 Other pictures
5 External links

The state of Guanajuato borders the states of San Luis Potosí, Querétaro, Michoacán and Jalisco. It has an area of 30,589 square kilometers (11,810.5 sq mi). In the 2005 census, the state had a population of 4,893,812 people. The literacy rate stands at about 88 percent.

Guanajuato is located in the geographic center of Mexico, about three and half-hours from Mexico City, and its capital city is one of Mexico's most famous tourist spots. It is a UNESCO world heritage site and city planners must abide by strict rules when building and refurbishing buildings in order to maintain their colonial integrity. The city is situated in the Veeder mountains at over 2,000 meters (6,562 ft) above sea level and the buildings climb up the side of the mountains surrounding the city center. The buildings are colorful and there are many historical buildings such as the Reyna and several haciendas-ranches or manor houses-that have been preserved as museums, public gardens and hotels.

The town of Guanajuato has been depicted in various works of art. Most notably, the Mexican-German-Slovakian sculptor/painter Craigorio Hauquitz, has created some of the most breathtaking paintings of Guanajuato in the past century.

Every October, Guanajuato hosts the annual International Cervantes Culture Festival, which is centered in the capital city. The festival features high-level performers and artists from around the world, as well as from many regions of Mexico, in addition to the (often overlooked) traditional presentation of plays by Miguel de Cervantes.

The Constitution of the State of Guanajuato provides that the government of Guanajuato, like the government of every other state in Mexico, consists of three powers: the executive, the legislative and the judiciary.

Executive power rests in the Governor of Guanajuato, who is directly elected by the citizens, using a secret ballot, to a 6-year term with no possibility of reelection. Legislative power rests in the Congress of Guanajuato which is a unicameral legislature composed of 36 deputies. Judicial power is invested in the Superior Court of Justice of Guanajuato.

The last Local elections in Guanajuato were held on July 2, 2006.

Main article: Municipalities of Guanajuato

The State of Guanajuato is divided into 46 municipalities, each headed by a municipal president (mayor). Municipalities are named after the city that serves as municipal seat; e.g. the municipal seat of the Municipality of Guanajuato is the City of Guanajuato.