Morelia

History

Human settlements in the Guayangareo Valley in which Morelia is located have been dated back as far as the 7th century. Artifacts found here have shown Teotihuacán culture influence on early cultures in this area. In the 12th century, the Purépecha arrived in the valley. They dominated it politically for the rest of the pre-Hispanic period but did not build any major settlements here. Between the 12th and the 15th centuries, Matlatzincas moved into the area with permission of the Purépechas, who were based around nearby Pátzcuaro Lake. The main Matlatzinca settlement was where Júarez Plaza in the city is today.

The Spanish pushed into the Guayangareo Valley between 1525 and 1526, headed by Gonzalo Gómez. In the 1530s, the area was evangelized by Franciscans such as Juan de San Miguel and Antonio de Lisboa.

What would become the city of Morelia was founded by Viceroy Antonio de Mendoza and a number of encomenderos in 1541, who first named it Nueva Ciudad de Michoacán (New City of Michoacán). The newly founded settlement grew quickly, prompting Vasco de Quiroga to go to Spain and procure for rival settlement Pátzcuaro the title of city and a seal, to prevent the "new city" from becoming the capital of Michoacán. The action also required that the new settlement change its name to Guayangareo. In 1545, Guayangareo gained city status from Charles V with the name of "Valladolid," after the hometown of Antonio de Mendoza. This was part of a power struggle between Antonio de Mendoza and Vasco de Quiroga over the province of Michoacán. During Quiroga's lifetime, he managed to keep political and ecclesiastical power in Pátzcuaro despite the viceroy's and encomenderos' objections. Quiroga died in 1565, however, and by 1580, both political and religious authority (Episcopal see) had been transferred to the city of Valladolid, moving the College of San Nicolás, which Vasco founded and laying the groundwork for establishing a new cathedral for the province.

The 17th century saw growth for Valladolid, with the construction of the cathedral and aqueduct. The cathedral was begun in 1660 (finished in 1744) and the aqueduct in 1657. Both of these structures would later be worked on in the 18th century by Master Architect of Valladolid, Diego Durán. During the 17th century, many of the city's large churches and monasteries were established, such as the monasteries of San Francisco, San Agustin, El Carmen, and La Merced as well as the convents of Las Rosas, Las Monjas and Capuchinas. Churches include La Compañía, San Juan, and La Cruz, but the most important structure built during this time period was the cathedral. The location of this cathedral defined the composition and development of the city from then on.

Geography

Climate

Under the Köppen climate classification, Morelia has a subtropical highland climate (abbreviated Cwb on climate maps), with warm-to-hot days and cool nights year round due to its high elevation. Most precipitation falls during the summer monsoon season from June to September. Average monthly temperatures are between 14 and 22 °C (57 and 72 °F), with maximum temperatures of 38.3 °C (100.9 °F) in the summer of 1998 and the lowest temperature of −5.2 °C (22.6 °F) in January 1985.

Population

The city of Morelia is the most populous city in the state of Michoacán and the third most important in the Bajío Region, just behind León de Los Aldama and Querétaro City.

In the most recent census carried out by Inegi in 2020 the city registered a population of 743,275 inhabitants, an increase of almost 145,000 inhabitants over the previous census carried out in 2010 when it had a population of 597,511.

Notable sites

Almost all of Morelia's notable sites lie in its historic center. This historic center is roughly equivalent to the original layout of the city when it was founded in 1541, and most of this layout has survived intact to the present day. Anticipating growth, this original layout had very wide streets and plazas for the time, with streets systematically arranged to allow for elongation. The streets are systematically laid out, but not rigidly squared, with most having gentle curves designed into them. Most of the grandest structures were completed during the 18th century, including the facade and bell towers of the cathedral, the Colegio Seminario (today the State Government Palace), La Alhóndiga (today part of the Palace of Justice) and numerous private mansions. During the same time period, infrastructure such as the city's aqueduct and various plaza fountains were constructed. The Mexican federal government lists 1,113 buildings built from the 16th to the 20th centuries as having historical value. The buildings encompass the various architectural styles that have been fashionable in Mexico, but nearly all are built of pink Cantera stone, which gives the city a unified appearance. Several measures were taken in the 20th century to preserve this part of the city. In 1956, the city enacted regulations to preserve the historic center's colonial buildings. In 1990, President Carlos Salinas de Gortari issued a decree making the historic center of Morelia a national historic monument. In 1991, the same area was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, which covers 200 of the area's historic buildings.

The heart of the historic center is the cathedral and its surrounding plazas: the Plaza de Armas, also known as the Plaza de los Mártires, the Juárez Plaza and the Melchor Ocampo Plaza. The largest plaza is the Plaza de Armas, which has been remodeled several times since it was designed in the 16th century. It has been renamed several times as well, from "de la Constitución," "de la República" to the current official name of "de los Mártires" but popularly it retains the name of "Plaza de Armas." The alternate name, Plaza de los Mártires (Plaza of the Martyrs) is in honor of people like Mariano Matamoros, Guadalupe el Salto and others who were executed here during the Mexican War of Independence and later in 1830 during political unrest. The plaza is surrounded by portals, and colonial era buildings such as the Banca Promex, the Virrey de Mendoza Hotel, the Juan de Dios Gomez House and the old town hall, also called the Michelena House. Until the late 19th century, a monument to Morelos had been here, but this was removed along with the fountain and replaced by a kiosk that was brought from London and remains to this day. The last remodeling of the plaza occurred in the mid-20th century under the direction of architect and painter Juan O'Gorman. The Melchor Ocampo Plaza was originally named "Plaza de la Paz." In the late 19th century, this plaza was remodeled and a monument to Ocampo sculpted by Primitivo Miranda was placed here. Another statue by Miranda, this one of Jose Maria Morelos y Pavon was placed in the small plaza on the west side of the cathedral and named the Morelos Plaza.

Notable people

Alma Graciela Haro Cabello (born 1927), singer known as Esmeralda

Agustín de Iturbide, Mexican army general and politician, 1st emperor of Mexico

Felipe Calderón, president of Mexico from 2006-2012

Pascual Ortiz Rubio (1877-1963), president of Mexico from 1930-1932

Junior Félix Madrigal (born 1982), Mexican footballer

José Manuel Ponce, Mexican race car driver

Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez, important Mexican insurgent in Mexican independence

José María Morelos, important Mexican insurgent, Key in the Mexican Independence

Festivals

The Festival Internacional de Música de Morelia is an annual event that was begun in 1988 by Bernal Jiménez, who had the dream of making Morelia the "Salzburg of Americas". The festival consists of more than forty concerts with over 500 artists participating. It has become the largest music festival in Morelia, with private and government sponsors, esp. CONACULTA. Concerts include those by chamber orchestras, choirs, ensambles, trios and soloists such as pianist Joanna MacGregor and the Britten Symphony. Each year, a different country is the "special guest," which in 2009 was the United Kingdom. In that year, some of the participants included the London Symphony Orchestra, the Brodsky Quartet, La Britten Symphony Orchestra, the Coro Nova Schola Gregoriana Di Verona of Italy, and violinist Tanya Anisimova from Russia. Participants from Mexico included the National Symphonic Orchestra, the Orquesta Sinfónica de Minería and flautist Horacio Franco.

The Festival Internacional de Cine de Morelia was begun in 2003, and is mostly dedicated to Mexican cinema, showcasing up-and-coming directors and productions. The majority of activities take place in the Cinépolis Morelia Centro, but also includes other theaters, auditoriums and public plazas.

Morelia is the site of the annual Zapata Vive Morelia Festival, which celebrates the life of Emiliano Zapata with cultural and political activities. The purpose of the event is to promote exhibitions by artistic, cultural and social organizations from the state of Michoacán and other parts of the country. Events are spread out over several days and include ones such as concerts, round tables and information sessions. The event encourages those organizations who work with the lower social classes and are politically left to participate.

The Festival de Escala is an annual event dedicated to promoting rock climbing in the municipality at places such as El Paredón de la Noria, just south of the city proper.

A popular festival that features a 3-day Salsa competition in the heart of Morelia is called "SalsaMich". Typically held in March, the festival brings Salsa dancers from all across the country to Morelia to compete for prizes.

Sister cities

Morelia has a sister city relationship with Yakima, Washington, supported since 1999 by the Yakima-Morelia Sister City Association. Cultural exchanges between the cities have included musicians from Morelia who have performed with the Yakima Symphony Orchestra.

Morelia has other sister cities around the world, including: Arequipa in Peru; Caspueñas, Valladolid, and Madrigal de las Altas Torres in Spain; Gettysburg, Kansas City, Fullerton, Monterey Park, Norwalk, and Shreveport in the United States; Matanzas and Havana in Cuba; and Sopó in Colombia.

Education

During the colonial period the city had four major educational institutions, the Colegio Seminario Tridentino, the Colegio de San Nicolás, the Colegio de los Jesuitas and the Colegio de las Rosas.

The state university, the Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, is the oldest university in the Americas, which has its origins in the college founded in 1540 by Vasco de Quiroga in Pátzcuaro, the Colegio de San Nicolás Obispo. This school was founded to train priests and missionaries for work in Michoacán. The school gained a royal seal and patronage in 1543. In 1566, colonial religious authorities took over the school and in 1574, academics here were under the jurisdiction of the Jesuits. With the episcopal seat changed to Valladolid, the school moved also in 1580 and was fused with the already existing Colegio de San Miguel Guayangareo. The school was reformed in the 17th century and its curriculum was redesigned in the 18th to include courses in philosophy, religious law, civil law and other subjects. At the beginning the 19th century, the school became one of New Spain's main centers of learning and academia, producing scholars such as a Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, José Ma. Morelos, José Sixto Verduzco, José María Izazaga and Ignacio López Rayón, most of whom would have a role in the upcoming Mexican War of Independence. The school closed during the war but was reopened in 1847 with the name Primitivo y Nacional Colegio de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, focusing more on secular studies such as chemistry, physics, mathematics, biology, etc. based on the European university model.

After the Mexican Revolution, the school was reorganized and renamed again to the Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo in 1917, which consolidated a number of other schools and disciplines into the new organization.

Nowadays, the Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo is the most important university in the state of Michoacán. It has been rated also as one of the Top 10 best public universities in Mexico. The university has recently expanded to other smaller cities in the state other than Morelia, such as Uruapan, Apatzingán, Ciudad Hidalgo, Lázaro Cárdenas, Coalcoman, Huetamo, Tangancicuaro and Zitacuaro. In 2011, according to the INEGI census, the university had 55,546 regular students.

Other universities in the city include Instituto Tecnológico de Morelia (ITM), Universidad Tecnológica de Morelia (UTM), Instituto Michoacano de Ciencias de la Educación, Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo del Estado de Michoacán (CIDEM), the Morelia Campus of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, Instituto de Estudios Superiores de la Comunicación (IESCAC), Universidad Pedagógica Nacional, Conservatorio de las Rosas, Universidad Vasco de Quiroga, Universidad Latina de America, Universidad La Salle Morelia, Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey- Campus Morelia ITESM, Universidad Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz and many other different private universities.

Sports

Morelia was represented by their soccer team, Monarcas Morelia, in the Liga MX.

Monarcas Morelia was founded in 1950 on a field outside the city where a monument to Lázaro Cárdenas is now located. The team's original name was Club Deportivo Morelia and was owned by Eucuario Gómez. The club's colors are the city's flag colors red and yellow because Morelia is known to be the most Spanish city in Mexico.

The club was nicknamed "Amarillo" (Yellow) during the 1956–57 season, when the club won the right to play in the 1st division in which they played in their first tournament for the Copa México against Club América.

The club descended into the 2nd division again in 1968 and experienced tough times during the early 70s. By the end of the 1973–74 season the team was completely restructured by 32 Morelia Businessmen who acquired the team. After 13 years in the 2nd division, the team finally returned to 1st division play in 1981 and by the mid-1980s was competitive and reaching the Liguilla (playoffs) regularly.

Following many years of playing at Estadio Venustiano Carranza, the completion of Estadio Morelos in 1989 gave the team a new home. In 1996, the team was acquired by TV Azteca and the name Monarcas (Monarchs) Morelia was adopted in 1999 because of the three Spanish Monarchs shown in the flag of Morelia. The team won its first championship during the Invierno 2000 season and by mid-decade, was playing in international competition such as the Copa Libertadores and the Liga de Campeones de la CONCACAF (CONCACAF Champions League). The team's latest success came during the 2010 North American SuperLiga tournament, which Monarcas won over the New England Revolution on September the 1st, 2010, at New England.

The team closed the Apertura 2010 tournament of the Primera División de México (Mexico's 1st division), failing to make the "liguilla".

In 2020 it was announced that the franchise would be moving to the city of Mazatlán, Sinaloa, and would be Renamed Mazatlán F.C. Soon after, the municipal government announced that they would have a new team playing in the Liga de Expansión MX (Mexico's second division) under the name Atlético Morelia

Transportation

Morelia is three or four hours from Mexico City via the Atlacomulco-Maravatío-Morelia highway and is connected by highways to the states of Mexico, Querétaro, Guanajuato and Jalisco. It is connected to the Michoacán coast via highway 200 that passes through Uruapan to the port of Lázaro Cárdenas. General Francisco Mujica International Airport or Morelia International Airport (IATA: MLM, ICAO: MMMM) is an international airport at Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico. The airport handles both domestic and international flights, with connections to Mexico City, Uruapan, Lázaro Cárdenas, Acapulco, Zihuatanejo, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Tijuana and several destinations in the United States. The airport is named after a former governor of the state of Michoacán.

The municipality

As the municipal seat, Morelia is the governing authority of 423 other communities, almost all of which are small communities of between three and 1,000 people, with 89% of the municipality's population of 684,145 people within the city itself. The municipality covers a territory of 1,199.02 square kilometres (462.94 sq mi) and borders the municipalities of Tarímbaro, Chucándiro, Huaniqueo, Charo, Tzitzio, Villa Madero, Acuitzio, Lagunillas, Coeneo, Tzintzuntzan and Quiroga.

Much of the municipality is in the Guayangareo Valley between two rivers: the El Grande and the El Chiquito. Guayangareo means "large hill with a flat side." The municipality's territory is rugged and dominated by peaks such as Punhuato, El Zapote and the Otzumatlán mountain range, with the highest peak being Quinceo with an elevation of 2,787 metres (9,144 ft). The municipality belongs to the Lerma-Santiago river hydraulic region, with the main rivers being the El Grande and the El Chiquito. There are a number of streams including the Zarza and Pitaya. The most important dam here is Cointzio, with other smaller ones being Umécuaro, Laja Caliente and La Mintzita.

Vegetation outside the city varies based on elevation and the type of soil. Mountainous areas are mostly covered in conifers while lower and drier areas have trees such as mesquite. To the south of the city is the Lázaro Cárdenas Forest, which is an ecological reserve. Animal life mostly consists of small mammals, with coyotes being the largest, birds of prey and some reptiles.

The growth of the city of Morelia is having a negative impact on the surrounding forested area. This is particularly problematic in the area north of the city, which belongs to the Lake Cuitzeo basin, and is a main recharge area for the city's aquifer. The forested areas around the city are also important for the city's air quality and as a breeding place for pollinating insects needed for agriculture. UNAM has been documenting the species in these forests with the aim of getting them declared as biological reserves.

One industrial area is the Ciudad Industrial de Morelia, which mostly houses small and medium-sized enterprises. Some of the products manufactured here include cooking oil, flour, cement, plastics, bottling and candies. Tourism is a rising component of the economy, taking advantage of area's colonial heritage, smaller traditional communities, natural areas and archeological zones such as Santa María de Guido in the city, Barranca de los Lobos in Teremendo, Nahuatl Sanctuary and Catrina in Capula. However, it has not been developed sufficiently to be a major contributor. Tourism accounts for the main economic activity in Morelia. Unfortunately, due to Mexico's rising crime in drug trafficking within the cartels, this can provide a grave disincentive in the tourism sector for Morelia.