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Zihuatanejo (zixʷwataneho) is the fourth-largest city in the state of Guerrero, Mexico. Politically it belongs to the municipality of José Azueta in the western part of Guerrero, on the Pacific Coast, about 240 km (approximately 145 miles) northwest of Acapulco. The modern tourist resort of Ixtapa is 5 km away.

Zihuatanejo is the seat of government for the municipality and the principal community in the region. Ixtapa is a government-planned tourist resort that was begun in the early 1970s and constructed on what was once a coconut plantation and mangrove estuary. Zihuatanejo reported a population of 62,367 in the 2005 Mexican census, whereas the population of Ixtapa was 6,406 persons. The municipality of José Azueta had a population of 104,609 and encompasses an area of 1,921.5 km² (741.89 sq mi) (source: National Institute of Statistics, Geography, and Data Processing, INEGI).

Contents 1 Zihuatanejo 2 Air transportation 3 In popular culture 4 Sister cities 5 See also 6 References 7 External links

The name Zihuatanejo is from the Nahuatl "Cihuatlán", meaning "place of women" because it was a matriarchal society. In pre-Columbian times, a Tarascan leader with a title of Caltzontzin (that means: He who governs countless houses) frequented the area from the modern day Lake Pátzcuaro region. Legend has it that he constructed the rock barrier on Playa Las Gatas (named for the harmless whiskered sharks that used to be found there) to provide a sheltered swimming area and harbor for the women and children, though the town's official historian says this is a myth. Nevertheless, that barrier, whether man-made or natural, continues to protect the beach to this day. With the arrival of the Spanish, the name Cihuatlan was transformed first into Cihuatlán and then into Ciguatanejo. Zihuatanejo’s current name form has only been in use for the past couple of centuries.

The Spanish Conquistadores believed Cihuatlán to be a land to the northwest with beautiful Amazon women, gold, and precious gems, and perhaps another name for the Seven Cities of Cibola.

Zihuatanejo can be reached by sky, bus and highway and has its own airport, Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo International. Flights are available from Mexico City and various places in the United States and Canada.

• In both the movie The Shawshank Redemption and the Stephen King novella it came from, the main character Andy Dufresne dreams about one day being able to own a small hotel on the beach in Zihuatanejo. Red's (Morgan Freeman) famous phrase "Zi...what?" has become popular with the people that have fallen in love with this place.

• Los Gatos, California United States
• Collingwood, Ontario Canada.
• Palm Desert, California United States

• Isla Ixtapa

• Link to tables of population data from Census of 2005 INEGI: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática
• Guerrero Enciclopedia de los Municipios de México

• Municipio de José Azueta -- Official website
• Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo Convention and Visitors Bureau-- Official website
• Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo Tourist Guide-- Official website of tourist organizations

Coordinates: 17°38′N, 101°33′W