LEóN, GUANAJUATO

'City of León'

escudo_leon.jpg Coat of arms
'Motto:' ''LABOR OMNIA VINCIT'' ''El trabajo todo lo vence'' ("Work defeats everything")
Foundation date	January 20, 1576
Population	1,278,087 (municipality, 2005 census)
Altitude	1,800 meters (5,905 ft)
Latitude	21° 07' North
Longitude	101° 41' West
Extension	1,219.67 km² (470.92 sq mi)
UTC	–6 GMT (Central Time)
Telephone area code	+52 (Country) 477 (City)
Airport Name and Code	Aereopuerto Internacional del Bajío (Del Bajío International Airport) (BJX)
Mayor (alcalde)	Vicente Guerrero (2006- )
'Sources:' INEGI

The city of 'León' – officially named 'León de los Aldama' – is the fifth most populous city in Mexico and the largest city in the state of Guanajuato; it is also the seat of León municipality. Also known as the 'The Shoe Capital', it features large factories that not only produce shoes, but also boots, belts, jackets, and other leather accessories, serving both national and international markets.

Contents

General Data

Population

Public Transportation system

History

Places to visit

Sports

Football (Soccer)

Basketball

Baseball

External links

Government

Universities and institutions

Sports

Others

References

General Data

Population

In the 2005 census the INEGI reported 1,137,465 people living in the city of León, 1,278,087 in the municipality of León, and 1,425,210 in the metropolitan area (which includes the neighbouring municipality of Silao). The municipality of León, which has an areal extent of 1,219.67 km² (490.92 sq mi) also includes numerous smaller outlying communities, the largest of which are Centro Familiar la Soledad, Medina, and La Ermita.
There is a large Argentinian community in the city, as well as one formed by Lebanese descendants.

Public Transportation system

The city has a new bus rapid transit system called ''Optibus'' known also as "La Oruga" (The Caterpillar). This system transportation began on September 27 2003; León was the first city in Mexico using this class of transportation, moreover this system includes the payment system called ''Pagobus'' which began about four years before the beginning of the system ''Optibus''. León is one of the few Mexican cities with a modern municipally operated bus transit system rather than independent pesero style collective buses.

History

León was inhabited in pre-hispanic times by diverse native groups, such as the Toltecs, chichimecas, guamares, among others. The archaeological sites of Alfaro and Ibarrilla, close to the city of León, reveal that the oldest settlements of this zone date from Preclassical times.
The city of León was founded January 20, 1576 with the name Villa de Leon, by the order of the Virrey Don Martín Enríquez de Almaza, for the purpose of creating a defense against the attacks of the chichimecas. In 1580 it was elevated to the category of Alcaldía Mayor, separating it from Guanajuato and had jurisdiction in the present municipality of León.
In June of 1830 it was elevated to the rank of city with the official name: León de los Aldama. During the process of the movement of Independence, it suffered in the political, social, and economic aspect. Because many people abandoned the mines of Guanajuato because of the war, many workers were re-established themseves in León. The agriculture was the main economic activity to the 18th century, until the craft and the production of footwear began to compete with it.
The years of the post-revolution for León were of prosperity and material progress, as well as of population growth. The economic development resulted in the extraordinary agricultural, industrial exposition and wealth of 1923.

Places to visit

1.- Arco de la Calzada

2.- Plaza de los Mártires del 2 de Enero

3.- Plaza de los Fundadores

4.- Fuente de los Leones

5.- Catedral Basílica

6.- Templo Expiatorio

7.- Parque Explora

8.- Parque Metropolitano

9.- Parque Zoológico de León

10.- Centro Poliforum de León

Sports

Football (Soccer)

León has a football team named Club León, one of the foremost teams in Mexico (Five-time Champion of the league), now playing in the Primera División A. The team's stadium is called ''Estadio León'' -also known as ''Nou Camp''-, where FIFA World Cup games have taken place (1970 and 1986). World-class stars, such as Diego Armando Maradona, Pelé, Franz Beckenbauer and Michel Platini have played in both official and exhibition games.
The city had once another two football teams, which also played in the Primera División de México: ''San Sebastián'', which participated in the league in the early 1950s – and was the first team in México to get relegated to the Segunda División – and ''Unión de Curtidores'', that disappeared in the middle 1980s.
A new franchise with the name of ''Curtidores'' appeared in the Primera División A in the mid-1990s, but, after being champion in 1999 and earning the right to play in the Primera División, was sold and moved to Puebla to become Puebla, F.C.
Nowadays, there are several soccer teams in the city playing in the Tercera División: Atlético ECCA, Juventud Cuerera and Conmudaj, among some others.

Basketball

Since 2004, León has a basketball team named ''Lechugueros'' which plays in the LNBP (Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional). They play in the Domo de la Feria (formerly known as Auditorio Municipal). Before this team, the city had other professional basketball teams: ''Lechugueros'' (original franchise), ''Zapateros'', ''Pony-León'' and ''Atléticos''. These teams participated in the CIMEBA (Circuito Mexicano de Básquetbol), which was the main basketball league of Mexico in the 1970s and 1980s.

Baseball

León had two baseball teams in the Liga Mexicana de Béisbol: ''Cachorros de León'', in the late 1970s, and ''Bravos de León'', in the late 80's. ''Bravos'', after becoming champions of the league in 1992, and due to financial problems, were sold and moved to Minatitlán, Veracruz. Since then, attempts to bring a new baseball team to the city have failed.

External links

Government

★ Portal de León Official website

Universities and institutions

★ Universidad Iberoamericana León

★ Online Educational Services of the Universidad Iberoamericana León

★ Leon Technological Institute

★ Leon University

★ Leon Technological University

★ Monterrey Technological and Superior Studies Institute, Leon campus

★ De La Salle Bajio University

★ Valle de Atemajac University, Leon campus

★ Optics Investigation Center

★ Institute of Physics | University of Guanajuato

Sports

★ Lechugueros

Others

★ Leon General Information [1]

★ Guanajuatocapital.com: The best website about Guanajuato city

References

★ Most of the content comes from translating an independent compilation, work of Roberto Ruelas. The following are references listed by him.

★ Andanzas. Biannual Magazine, published by the Human Sciences Department, Universidad Iberoamericana Plantel León. 1994-

★ Enciclopedia de México. Secretaría de Educación Pública. 1987.

★ "León. Trayectoria y Destino". González Leal, Mariano. Gonzalo Andrade Ed. H. Ayuntamiento de León, Guanajuato. 1990.

★ "León... Pueblo Accidentado". Rivera Tafoya, Antonio. 1983.

★ "Recordatorios Públicos y Privados, León". 1864-1908. Esquivel Obregón, Toribio. Consejo para la Cultura de León AC 1992.

★ "Remembranzas Leonesas de mi niñez". Torres Madrazo, Manuel. Imprenta Lumen, León, Gto. 1993

★ "Sitios Arqueológicos del Municipio de León". Ramos de la Vega, Jorge. Ramírez Garayzar, Amalia. #3 Colección Entornos. Universidad Iberoamericana. Plantel León. 1993.

★ Link to tables of population data from Census of 2005 INEGI: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática

★ Guanajuato Enciclopedia de los Municipios de México