Durango

Geography

General information

The area of Durango is 123,451.2 km2 or 12.3 million ha; this accounts for about 6.3% of the entire territory of Mexico. It is the fourth largest state, lying at the extreme northwest of the Central Mexican Plateau, where it meets the Sierra Madre Occidental—the highest peaks in the state. The state has an average elevation of 1,775 meters above sea level, with a mean elevation of 1,750 m in the Valleys region and 2,450 m in the Sierra region. The city of Durango is on the foothills of the Sierra Madre Occidental, with an elevation of 1,857 m.

Durango is landlocked, bordered by Chihuahua, Coahuila, Zacatecas, Nayarit and Sinaloa. It is divided into 39 municipalities, based on the 1917 Constitution of Mexico, and several additional divisions have been made since.

The Sierra Madre Occidental blocks moisture from the Pacific Ocean, impacting the local climate of the state. Las Quebradas region, located over the mountain chain and on the northwest of the state, has a humid subtropical climate. Excepting the highest elevations, the rest of the state has semi-arid and temperate climates. It is hot and dry in the East, with some temperate areas existing at higher elevations.

Most of the state is mountainous and heavily forested, with the Sierra Madre Occidental covering around two-thirds of the state. Like much of northern Mexico, the state has worked to reforest the degraded forests of the Sierra Madre Occidental and Sierra Madre Oriental. Reforesting efforts have focused on replanting native tree species, versus those used for wood production. However, the tree density in many areas is still too low, especially on the eastern slopes of the Sierra Madre Occidental where tree poaching and clearing for agricultural activities is problematic.

Many rivers begin in Durango, but lead into other Mexican states. Some of these rivers empty into the Pacific, or into the lake area of La Comarca, while one, the Florida, flows into the Gulf of Mexico.

Ecological regions

Ecologically, the state is divided into four regions: La Quebrada, the Sierra, the Valleys and the Semi-desert.

The Semi-desert (sometimes called the Bolsón de Mapimí) is located in the northeast of the state and includes the municipalities of Hidalgo, Mapimí (including the Silent Zone, Tlahualilo, San Pedro del Gallo, San Luis del Cordero, Nazas, Lerdo, Gómez Palacio, Cuencamé, Santa Clara, General Simón Bolívar and San Juan de Guadalupe. Most of the terrain here is flat and its climate is dry. Temperatures are cold in the winter and hot in the summer. These municipalities are classified as either part of the Chihuahua Desert or in the transition zone. The area is relatively flat with some mountain ranges and a slight incline towards the interior of the country. The area was at one time under the sea, but today the vegetation consists of scrub, nopal cactus, maguey plants, barrel cactus and other arid zone plants. It is defined by two rivers: the Nazas and the Aguanaval. The region has two reservoirs: the Lázaro Cárdenas (Palmito) and the Francisco Zarco (Tórtolas), located between the Cuencamé and Lerdo municipalities. Animals that can be found here include coyotes, gavilanes (sparrowhawks), various snakes, owls, chameleons, tarantulas and scorpions. Most of the economically important natural resources come from mining, including deposits of gold, silver, iron and mercury. There are also large deposits of marble.

The La Laguna is short for La Comarca de la Laguna (the region of the lake) or Comarca Lagunera (region of lakes), an arid and semi-arid region that covers a significant portion of northeastern Durango and southeastern Coahuila. The area was created by sediments from torrential river flows deposited over large valleys. These river flows also created lagoons which served to recharge underground aquifers or remain as intermittent surface waters. Originally, the rivers supported habitat for native grasses, rush and ditch reed which provided habitat for various water birds and fish.

The area is home to Durango's only caverns. The Rosario Caves (grutas) are located near Ciudad Lerdo, as well as the Mapimí Biosphere, noted for various plants and the desert tortoise. It is a highly protected area centering on where the states of Chihuahua, Coahuila and Durango meet.

The Valleys are located in the center of the state and include the municipalities of Nombre de Dios, Durango, Nuevo Ideal, Canatlán, Guadalupe Victoria, Pánuco de Coronado, Poanas, Súchil, Vicente Guerrero, Ocampo, San Bernardo, Indé, Coneto de Comonfort, El Oro, Rodeo, San Juan del Río and Peñón Blanco. The region consists principally of river valleys and plains located among small mountain ranges. The main peaks in this area include the San Jacinto in the Silla Mountains and Peñon Blanco, which many schoolchildren in the area take trips to. Other major geographical formations in the Valleys Region include cliffs called Las Catedrales, along with those called Malpaís and La Breña, which were formed by lava flows over 250,000 hectares. The area is also home to the Cerro de Mercado which is important for its large deposit of iron.

Economy

As a rural state, traditional agriculture is still the main economic activity for most of the population, despite only ten percent of the land being suitable for crops, and only fifteen percent being suitable for pasture. The main crops include corn, beans, chilli peppers, apples, alfalfa, and sorghum. Fruits such as apples and pears are grown in Canatlán, Nuevo Ideal and Guatimapé; nuts in Nazas and San Juan del Rio; and membrillo, apricots and peaches in Nombre de Dios. Most agriculture is concentrated in the Valleys region, in particular, the municipalities of Guadalupe Victoria and Poanas. This is also the area with the highest profit agriculture. It is supported by its three main rivers: the Florida, the Alto Nazas, and the Tunal-Mezquital, which have been dammed primarily for agricultural purposes. Pastures in this area support large herds of cattle, much of which are exported to the United States. Sheep and goats are also raised here.

Despite its dry climate, another important agricultural area has been the La Laguna region. Cotton was the main commodity crop of the La Laguna from the late 19th century to the 1970s. While some cotton and other crops such as alfalfa, wheat, grapes, sorghum and corn are grown, it is limited to areas along the Nazas and Aguanaval rivers that provide irrigation. Most of the agricultural land is in the municipalities of Gómez Palacios, Lerdo and Tlahualilo, part of the Lagunera region. Tlahualilo is also known for the production of watermelon and other melons. The rest of the land is too dry. Livestock is another important activity raising sheep, goats, cattle and chickens.

In 1936, Mexican president Lázaro Cárdenas expropriated 225 profitable haciendas in the La Laguna region to create agricultural collectives called "ejidos." However, this effort failed to significantly improve life for poor farmers in the region, often due to a lack of knowledge and technology, especially in the redistribution of water. The failure of this effort exacerbated the effects of droughts leading to crises in the 1950s and 1960s, only overcome with massive federal investment in hydraulic infrastructure, public works and industrialization. However, the effects of these works still have negative consequences for the La Laguna region.

In the Sierra and Quebrada regions, most agriculture is subsistence for auto-consumption. Important crops include corn, beans, potatoes and oats. The Sierra is an important dairy producer, with its cheese notable in the state. In Las Quebradas, rivers are an important source of fish, especially trout and catfish.

Media

Newspapers of Durango include: Contacto Hoy, Diario de Durango, El Siglo de Durango, El Sol de Durango, and Victoria de Durango.

Demographics

Culture

Durango is a rural state. It is sparsely populated. The three main cities contain almost 65% of the total population (Durango – 35%, Gomez Palacio 20.1% and Lerdo 8.6%). The remaining 35% of the population is scattered among 37 small urban centers and 5,757 villages of less than 2,500 inhabitants. Ninety-one percent of these have less than 250 residents. The state is associated with elements of the wild frontier: banditry, Revolutionary battles, mining and drug traffic. It claims to be the birthplace of Francisco Villa.

For its history, Durango has been both a frontier and central Mexican entity, especially the city. During the colonial period, Durango eventually became one of the main cities of New Spain in part because it was both part of the center and periphery of the territory. One distinction the city has from other colonial cities is that it was not founded on or near a former indigenous population center. The indigenous here were (and are) distinct from those in the center and south culturally.

True to its dangerous reputation, the best-known animal of the state is the scorpion. The sting was possibly fatal in the past but the availability of antidote today makes this very rare. One reason why the creatures are so abundant is that the Sierra Madre Occidental make for perfect breeding grounds. Most scorpions range in size from one to twelve centimeters but a 17-centimeter one was found in 1963. Images of the animal appear drawn or etched into a variety of objects, but since the 1980s, the city of Durango has promoted souvenirs which have real dead scorpions encased in plastic. The arachnids are also cooked and served as a delicacy in markets such as Gomez in the capital. However, they were not traditionally eaten. Durango's soccer team is called the Scorpions.

The state likes to promote itself as the "Tierra del Cine" (Land of the Movies) due to its history of the making of Hollywood western. Today, some film and TV is still shot here.

Indigenous peoples

Although a number of the state's indigenous ethnicities disappeared with the coming of the Spanish, there are still a significant amount residing in the state, most still speaking Uto-Azteca languages. The four main ethnicities are Tepehuans (North and South), Huichols, Tarahumaras and Mexicaneros. The Mexicaneros speak Nahuatl. The Coras and Huichols speak languages named after their groups and are fairly closely related to Nahuatl. The Tepehuano and Tarahumara languages are of the Pima branch. Language preservation varies from communities in which the language dominates to those in which only vestiges remain.

The Southern Tepehuans are the largest indigenous group in Durango. The name comes from Nahuatl and means "masters of the hills" or possibly "conquerors in battle." The Tepehuans call themselves o'dam, which means "those who inhabit." Indigenous resistance to Spanish colonization was particularly fierce there in the north. Eventually, Spanish might forced many to flee into the rugged mountains, where most of the indigenous communities still reside. It was this process that led to the northern and southern branches of the Tepehuan communities. Main Southern Tepehuan communities include Santa María de Ocotán, San Francisco, Teneraca, Taxicarinaga, San Bernardino de Milpillas and Lajas.

The Tepehuan religion is a syncretism of indigenous and Catholic beliefs. The most important type of ceremony is the mitote or xibtal, which centers on dance around a bonfire accompanied by one-stringed instruments. They are most common at the beginning and end of the agricultural cycle. For patron saint days, cattle are usually sacrificed for feasting, accompanied by the dance of the Matachines and violin music.

The second-largest indigenous group in Durango is the Huichol. Their communities are found on the edges of the state that border with Nayarit and Jalisco, where the Huichol are more numerous. The Huichol here identify with those in the other states, there is no separation.

The Mexicaneros are the remnants of the indigenous brought by the Spanish from central Mexico to colonize the region. Today, only a small number survive in the communities of San Agustín de Buenaventura and San Pedro Jícaras in the municipality of Mezquital. This is a mixed ethnic zone and they live near groups of Tepehuanos and Huichols who have traditionally been their enemies. Their presence as a community was practically unknown until the academic work of Honrad T. Preuss in the late 19th century. More recent studies of the people have been carried out by Neyra Patricia Alvarado.

Handcrafts

The craft items of the state are very similar to those of Zacatecas and Chihuahua. Most of the items made are utilitarian and ceremonial. They are less known compared to those of the middle and south of the country. Many craft items are still important to local cultures and identities.

The most widespread and developed handcraft in the state is pottery, found in just about all of the territory. All of the indigenous groups produce pottery, almost all for utilitarian and ceremonial purposes. There is more modern and varied pottery and ceramics in southern Durango, especially in and around the state capital in the municipalities of Durango, Poanas and Villa Unión. Common products include flower pots, jars, pots and cazuelas (large cooking vessels). The most decorative pottery is found in and around the city proper, with techniques such as pastillaje (laying small rolls or balls of clay over a pot before firing to make a raised design) and sgraffito, especially in the newer generations of pottery. Pottery production is still done by hand, often using crude wheels and local deposits of clay. The clays vary by region including the kaolin found in Peñón Blanco and Cuencamé. Those found in the Guadiana Valley produce cream tones. Green, red and white clays are found all over the state depending on the other minerals found in the soil of the area.

There are a number of notable artisans who produced glazed pieces, including José Trinidad (Trino) Núñez and Rafael del Campo. Other important artisans include Margarito Palacios, Santos Vega and Catarino González. In Gómez Palacios and Ciudad Lerdo, there are some workshops doing high-fire work.

The next most-widely done work is basketry and other items made with stiff fibers. These include baskets proper, carrying nets or bags, petites, sombreros, furniture and decorative items made from ixtle, wicker, mesquite roots, reeds, pine needles, pine strips and cactus ribs.

Textile work is produced all over the state, using cotton, ixtle, lechugilla and wool usually to make clothing. Cloth made with both backstrap and pedal looms are found frequently, but the most-commonly made items are knitted. Embroidery is also widespread.

Indigenous crafts include embroidered clothing, household utensils, farm tools and ceremonial objects. The Huichols are noted for the making of sombreros, carrying bags, and items adorned with beads. They also make some items with wood and clay. Huichol handcrafts are distinguished by the use of symbols from their cosmology and include pottery, embroidery, yarn paintings and beadwork. The Tepehuans make bows and arrows, sombreros, traditional clothing and baskets. The Tarahumara make bows and stone-tipped arrows, ceramics, flutes and drums. The Mexicaneros and Southern Tepehuanos are noted for the making of morrales (carrying bags) with geometric designs. The Tarahumara and Northern Tepehuanes are noted for baskets made with pine strips, as well as those made from palm fronds and cane.

Other aspects of the culture

Juárez University sponsors the School of Painting, Sculpture and Handcrafts which teaches both fine and folk art. Handcraft instruction includes textiles, ceramics and glasswork. The glasswork includes delicate flower vases, glassware and multicolored decorative wall hangings.

Much of the state's cuisine is based on corn, although wheat products such as flour tortillas and various breads are readily found. Beef is important but pork dishes are also common. As much of Durango has a colder climate, especially in the higher elevations, soups are popular as a main as well as a first course. While relatively isolated from central Mexico, there is strong influence here from that region.

One of the best known dishes, caldillo duranguense, is essentially a hearty beef soup with roasted green chili peppers. Gorditas are a particularly popular and important food historically, as they were a mainstay for field hands who found the pockets of corn or wheat convenient for carrying and eating meats and sauce outside of the home. Although found in other parts of Mexico, tacos de tripe (intestines) are particularly popular here. Asado rojo de puerco, known as asado de boda in other parts of north-central Mexico is popular. Tamales are popular but they are smaller and have more meat than those made further south. Moles are popular as well. There is barbacoa, but the meat used is as often beef as it is the mutton used farther south. Popular northern dishes include machaca as well as burritos, influence from neighboring Chihuahua. During Lent population (most Catholics) tend to lean toward vegetarian dishes with or without cheese, as fish is not common in the diet of this landlocked state. Local specialties include pinole, which is best known in Santiago Papasquiaro.

The raising of cattle in various parts leads to the making of a variety of cheeses. Some, like manchego and asadero, are available in other parts of the north, but local varieties such as queso ranchero are also consumed. Concentrated sweet paste made from quince is often called cajeta (used for a milk product in other parts of Mexico) as well as the more common name of ate. Other traditional sweets are similar to those found in central Mexico.

The most important secular celebration of the state is the Durango State Fair (Feria de Durango) which has occurred each year since 1948. The first fair queen was crowned in 1950. The most important annual events in the Semi-desert region are the municipal fairs of Gómez Palacio, Mapimí and Santa Ana in Nazas. In the Valleys region the most important annual events are the Apple Festival in Canatlán and the Nut Festival in San Juan del Rio. Important religious observances include those in La Sauceda in Canatlán, El Nayar, La Sierra de Gampon in Guadalupe Victoria and El Tizonazo in Indé. In the Sierra region, most towns observe the feast days of their patron saint with plays based on Biblical stories. Celebrations related to Christmas and the New Year are also important.

History

Conquest and colonial period

Durango sits on a corridor that linked central Mexico with the northwest. Before the arrival of the Spanish, the area had attracted migration into it by Huichols, Coras, Tepehuanos and Tarahumaras. These were sedentary people whose spread was checked by hostility from nomadic tribes. The eastern edge of the state was dominated by Chichimecas (particularly the Zacatecos and Caxcanes) and various tribes of the Laguna region, which were distinguished by their informal social structure and nudity.

Durango was the center of a colonial entity called Nuevo Vizcaya or sometimes México del Norte (Northern Mexico). It included all or part of what are now Durango, Chihuahua, Sinaloa, Sonora and Arizona. The diocese also included all or part of New Mexico, Colorado, Coahuila, Texas, Zacatecas, California and Baja California.

The first Spaniard in this area was José de Angulo who arrived to the Sierra de Topia in 1532. The next expedition into the area occurred in 1552 under Ginés Vázques de Mercado, arriving to where the city of Durango is now, naming the area the Guadiana Valley after an area in Spain with a similar environment. The Cerro de Mercado is named after him, and the city is named after Durango in Spain. Other explorers such as Nuño de Guzmán, Alvar Cabeza de Vaca and Juan de Tapia realized expeditions but were not successful in establishing a permanent presence. However, the expedition of Cabeza de Vaca gave rise to the myth of the cities of gold and silver called Cibola and Quivira. The other expeditions would give rise to claims to the area by Jalisco and Michoacán.

The Spanish left the area alone for a time but the discovery of silver and other metals in Zacatecas in 1546 renewed interest in the area. Francisco de Ibarra was sent northwest from Zacatecas by his uncle Diego de Ibarra and the viceroy. Ibarra worked to conquer and hold the territory from 1554 to 1567. After being named conqueror and governor in 1562, Ibarra settle in San Juan (del Río) and constructed a fort. From here he directed the discovery and exploitation of various mines in the state. He divided the new territory into six provinces: Guadiana, Copala, Maloya, Chiametla, Sinaloa and Santa Barbara, naming a head of government for each. Holding the land proved difficult, with Ibarra needing to reconquer areas especially in the outer periphery of Nuevo Vizcaya both because of indigenous attacks as well as the rugged terrain. Much of the territory would not be subdued until late in the 18th century.

19th century

During Mexico's War of Independence, Nuevo Vizcaya began to break up. The first divisions were the creation of the states of Chihuahua and Durango, with Santiago Baca Ortiz as the first governor of the state of Durango along with the separation of the Sinaloa province, which included Sonora and Arizona. The state of Coahuila was separated shortly thereafter. With the 1824 Constitution the states of Durango and Chihuahua were created. Mining was depressed at the time, and the governor negotiated with the English to explore deposits of iron on the Cerro de Mercado. The English constructed installations such as those in Piedras Azules (La Ferrería) to process iron ore. These required large quantities of charcoal, which led to mass deforestation in the area. This eventually made the plant unviable.

Public education was first established in the state in 1824. The first secular institute of higher education in the state was the Colegio Civil y la Academia de Juisprudencia founded in 1833.

The northeast of the state had problems industrializing mostly due to incursions by Apaches into Durango which began in 1832 and later Comanches. Attacks by Comanches remain a major problem until the 1850s, forcing haciendas and textile mills to build walls around them. Counter-attacks on the Comanches diminished their raids, but they did not stop completely until the 1880s.

The rise of the state's second economic and political center, the cities of Gómez Palacio and Lerdo began in the 19th century, when cotton began to be planted along the Nazcas River. This cotton production became important, with sales of the raw material to Mexico City and to European textile mills, especially in England. Large-scale production began in the mid-century, dominating the local economy by the 1870s. Textile production also began here, although shortly after this industry would shift to Torreon. Other textile mills were established in areas such as Tunal, Santiago Papasquiaro, Poanas and Peñon Blanco, but the lack of coal meant that power had to be provided by nearby rivers, which was not efficient enough. This and attacks during the Mexican Revolution brought the demise of the textile industry in the state. Many mills and cotton haciendas eventually wound up in the hands of American investors.

The civil war between liberals and conservatives had the state controlled by liberal forces in 1858, then by conservative ones from 1864 to 1866.

20th century to the present

While the state received high amounts of investment leading to economic development in the late 19th and very early 20th centuries, the benefits were mostly to foreign enterprises, often given permission to operate on indigenous lands and other rural communities. By 1910, North Americans own just about the entire southwest Sierra Madre Occidental region of the state or 65% of the land of the entire state. These areas have the highest concentrations of mining and timber resources.

Durango was one of the areas active during the Mexican Revolution. The first uprising in the state occurred on November 19, 1910 in Gómez Palacio. Various revolutionary leaders were from here and/or used the state as a base of operations including Francisco Villa, Calixto Contreras, Severingo Cenceros, J. Agustín Castro and Oreste Pereyra, especially in the La Lagunera region. The Division del Norte had a base in the Hacienda de la Loma to unite forces in Durango and Chihuahua.

The economic effects on the state were profound. There was a mass exodus of foreigners and a loss of production in both haciendas and factories. On June 18, 1913, insurgents took the city of Durango, burning businesses here. The war led to economic depression that lasted for decades. After the war, there was a process of land redistribution that lasted several decades, but it did not affect the largest land holdings on the most productive of lands. After the Revolution, large land holdings were broken up into ejidos under governor Enrique R. Calderón, particularly in the Comarca Lagunera de Durango. During the same time the municipalities of Mapimí and Goméz Palacio were split off from the municipality of Tlahualilo.

Despite Durango's support during the Revolution, the new government had trouble controlling the state as late as the 1930s as it resisted federal modernization efforts. The questions of land reform and education were central to Durango's discontent during this time period. Between 1926 and 1936, militias were formed to participate in the Cristero War and other uprisings such as the Escobar Military Revolt in 1929. One major point of contention was the government's efforts to take the church out of secular life, especially education, which threatened centuries-old ways of life, especially for many farmers and villagers. These rebellions were strongest in the center and south of the state, including the capital of Victoria de Durango. Rebel activity in parts of Mezquital were such that secular teachers were withdrawn for a time.