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'Michoacán de Ocampo' (from Nahuatl ''michhuacan'' "place of those who have fish" or "place of the fishermen") or most commonly known by its original name Michoacán, is one of the 32 constituent states of Mexico. It borders the states of Colima and Jalisco to the west, Guanajuato and Querétaro to the north, México to the east, Guerrero to the south-east, and the Pacific Ocean to the south.
Michoacán has an area of . It is the sixteenth largest state in Mexico, taking up 3% of the national territory. In a 2005 census the population was at 3,966,073 people. Its state capital is the city of Morelia (previously known as Valladolid).

Contents

History

Geography

Culture

Demographics

Economy

Tourism

Municipalities

Major communities

Fauna of Michoacán

External links

History

For more than a thousand years, Michoacán has been the home of the P'urhépecha Indians (more popularly known as the Tarascans). The modern state of Michoacán preserves, to some extent, the territorial integrity of the pre-Columbian Kingdom of the Purhépecha. This kingdom was one of the most prosperous and extensive empires in the pre-Hispanic Mesoamerican world. The name Michoacán derives from the Náhuatl terms, ''michin'' (fish), ''hua'' (those who have) and ''can'' (place), which roughly translates into "place of the fisherman."
The Tarascans of Michoacán have always called themselves P'urhépecha. However, early in the Sixteenth Century, when the Spaniards arrived to what is known now as Mexico, they gave the Purhépecha a name from their own language. The name of these Indians, Tarascos, was derived from the native word ''tarascué'', meaning 'brother-in-law'. According to Fray (Friar) Martín Coruña, it was a term the natives used derogatively for the Spaniards, who regularly violated their women. The Spaniards mistakenly took it up to name them and now the Spanish word Tarasco (and its English equivalent, Tarascan) is commonly used today to describe the Indians who are really named P'urhépecha.
The P'urhépecha language is a hybrid Mesoamerican language, the product of a wide-ranging process of linguistic borrowing and fusion. Some prestigious researchers have suggested that it is distantly related to Quecha, one of the main languages in the Andean zone of South America. For this reason, it has been suggested that the P'urhépecha may have arrived in Mexico from Peru and may be distantly related to the Incas. The Tarascan language also has some similarities to that spoken by the Zuni Indians of New Mexico.
By 1324 A.D., they had become the dominant force in western Mexico, with the founding of their first capital city Pátzcuaro, located 7,200 feet (2,200 m) above sea level along the shore of Lake Pátzcuaro (Mexico's highest lake). The name, Pátzcuaro, meaning "Place of Stones," was named for the foundations called "Petatzecua" by Indians who found them at the sites of ruined temples of an earlier civilization. Eventually, however, the Purhépecha transferred their capital to Tzintzuntzan ("Place of the Hummingbirds"), which is about 15 kilometers north of Pátzcuaro, on the northeastern shore of the lake. Tzintzuntzan would remain the Purhépecha capital until the Spaniards arrived in 1522.
'Upcoming Elections'
An election is scheduled to take place in the state of Michoacan on November 11, 2007. Voters will go to the polls to elect a new governor of the state replacing current governor Lazaro Cardenas Batel and 113 municipal presidents. The state of Michoacan is ruled by the PRD or Party of the Democratic Revolution party, its candidate for governor won the 2001 governor's race. Michoacan was governed by the former ruling party of Mexico the Institutional Revolutionary Party since 1929 until it lost the governor's race in 2001. Mexico's ruling party National Action Party.

Geography

Dominated by the mountains of the ''Sierra Madre Occidental'', Michoacán extends from the Pacific Ocean northeastward into the central plateau. The climate and soil variations caused by this topography make Michoacán a diverse agricultural state that produces both temperate and tropical cereals, fruits, and vegetables.
Some of the cities and towns of Michoacán are Erongaricuaro, Cherán,Churintzio, Apatzingán, Huetamo, Zirandaro, San Lucas, Ciudad Hidalgo, Jacona, Jiquilpan, La Piedad, Lázaro Cárdenas, Los Reyes, Paracho, Pátzcuaro, Aquila, El Triunfo, Coalcoman, Agulilla, Puruándiro, Sahuayo, Uruapan, Zacapú, Zamora, and Zitácuaro. A few of the state's pre-Columbian sites include the ruins of Tzintzuntzan, Ihautzio, Venustiano Carranza , and Tingambato.
The area around Angangueo in northeast Michoacán is famous for the beautiful monarch butterflies that spend 6 months in the surrounding forrests of Oyamel.

Culture

Like the majority of southern states in Mexico, Michoacán is known for its rich and varied culture, most notably for its unique pre-columbian and colonial architecture as well as its delicious cuisine and art.
The P'urhépecha were skilled weavers and became known for their feathered mosaics made from hummingbird plumage and precious stones. With time, these gifted people also became skilled craftsmen in metalworking, pottery, and lapidary work. In the Michoacán of this pre-Hispanic period gold, copper, salt, obsidian, cacao, cotton, cinnabar, seashells, fine feathers, wax and honey were the abundant and quickly became highly prized products to the Spaniards.
Modern day, there are many cultural activities in Michoacán, specially in the major cities like Morelia, Patzcuaro, and Ocampo. Morelia, as the capital, has the highest number of museums, art galleries, film theaters and restaurants.

Demographics

Michoacán's population is mainly Mestizo, but has also a large community of indigenous people, descendants of the Tarascans or most correctly the P'urhépechans.

Economy

A state with abundant natural resources, Michoacan is one of Mexico's main producers of agricultural products. Also Mining is a leading industry in the state, with significant production of gold, silver, zinc, and iron.
Other important economical activities in Michoacán include Power and Light Industries, tourism and art gatherings like expositions, ancient and contemporary theatrical shows and film festivals. The Morelia Film Festival will be held from October 5th to 14th in the state capital Morelia.

Tourism

By early Spring or Summer season, people from all over the world go to Michoacán to enjoy its ''sierras'' (mountains and countrysides) full of green which hosts unique animal and floral species, lakes and waterfalls like Salto de Enandio which is 200 feet high. The southern part of the state boarders with the cristal-clear waters of the Pacific Ocean with more than of shoreline. As in most of the beaches in Mexico, surfing is a common activity by tourists and townspeople.
Yearly between about October and April tourism increases as more than a hundred million monarch butterflies migrate from Canada and north of the United States to the mountains in Michoacán, to spend the winter in Oyamel Forests. Since decades, the communities of Angangueo, El Rosario, Zitácuaro, Ocampo, with help from the State government, have created complete sanctuaries to protect this specie.
Other major attraction is visiting the volcano Paricutin, the newest volcano in the world. Born on February 20th 1943, in a large territory between the towns of San Juan Parangaricutiro and Angahuan, it is considered by many as one of the natural wonders of the world of modern times.
There are also several archeology temples and sites were tourists get to see ancient petroglyphs of all different indigenous cultures, some of them still present in many towns in Michoacán.
The capital city is Morelia, often cited as 'the most beautiful city in Mexico', with its fabulous colonial architecture, the stunning 600-year old cathedral and its museums. The Museum of Masks, the Museum of Geology and Mineralogy, the Museum of Contemporary Art Alfredo Zalce and The Museum of Colonial Art are the most visited by tourists.

Municipalities

Main articles: Municipalities of Michoacán

There are 113 Municipalities.

Major communities

★ Apatzingán

★ Ciudad Hidalgo

★ Jacona de Plancarte

★ La Piedad de Cavadas

★ Lázaro Cárdenas

★ Morelia

★ Pátzcuaro

★ Sahuayo de Morelos

★ Uruapan

★ Zacapu

★ Zamora de Hidalgo

★ Zinapécuaro

★ Zitácuaro

★ Venustiano Carranza / San Pedro

Fauna of Michoacán

There are many endangered unique species in Michoacán, including the jaguar, jaguarundi, cougar, onza, ocelot, margay, coyote, and boa constrictor. Other inhabitants of the state are the white-nosed coati, racoon, squirrel, skunk, armadillo, ringtail , white tailed deer, and a kind of wild pig called jabalí.
Reptiles include the spiney tailed iguana, Mexican beaded lizard, a species known as nolpiche is believed to be venomous by the local people but it is not, cnemidophorus,horrible spiny lizard, spiny lizard, Cope's largescale spiny lizard, bunchgrass lizard, rattlesnake, coral snake, ornate box turtle, new world sunbeam snake, trimorphodon and many others.
Some of the birds of the state are chachalaca, roadrunner, dove, caracara, golden eagle, vulture, quail, groove-billed ani locally known as "chicuaro", great horned owl, barn owl, and crow.

External links

★ Michoacán state government (''Adobe Flash'')

★ Surf Michoacán

★ Michoacán, The Soul of Mexico

★ Towns, cities, and postal codes in Michoacán.

★ Municipalities of Michoacán site (''Adobe Flash'')

★ Photo Essay of Dia de los Muertos in Michoacán