Degollado Los Altos
Municipality and town
Official seal of Degollado Los Altos
Seal
Nickname: 
La Puerta de Los Altos de Jalisco
Location within the state of Jalisco
Location within the state of Jalisco
Jalisco's location within Mexico
Jalisco's location within Mexico
Coordinates: 20°28′00″N 102°09′00″W / 20.466667°N 102.15°W / 20.466667; -102.15
Country Mexico
StateJalisco
MunicipalityDegollado
Founded1848 (Toribio de Bolaños)
Government
 • MayorAntonio Medina
Area
 • Total426.7 km2 (164.7 sq mi)
 • Town5.27 km2 (2.03 sq mi)
Population
 (2020 census)[1]
 • Total21,226
 • Density50/km2 (130/sq mi)
 • Town
11,612
 • Town density2,200/km2 (5,700/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC-6 (Central (US Central))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (Central)
Postal code
47980
Area code(52) 345
Websitewww.degollado.gob.mx[1]

Degollado (Spanish: [deɣoˈʝaðo]) is a small town and municipality located in the Mexican state of Jalisco, in the cultural region of Ciénega, just south of Los Altos. The municipality encompasses Huascato, Los Ranchitos, La Vibora, Buenos Aires, Las Limas, Altamira, La Chancla and El Corral de Piedra.

In Spanish, the word degollado means "to slit one's throat", "behead", or "decapitate". It is also a last name, and in this case the town was named after Mexican general Santos Degollado.[2] A statue of him is in el Jardin de Niños which was made from coins from the townspeople during the early 1960s.

History

The town dates back to the 19th century to land east of Ayotlán known as Los Encinos. A chapel was erected and blessed by the priest of Ayotlán Clemente Pérez in 1856, whose patron saint is San Ignacio de Loyola.

For this reason, the growing village was given the name of San Ignacio de Morelos in 1857, also commonly referred to as San Ignacio de los Encinos. The town was renamed after general Santos Degollado in 1861.

On December 24, 1917, the town was under siege by bandit leader J. Inés García Chávez.[3] Degollado is also one of the places in highlands of Jalisco where the Cristero War took place during the 1920s.

Arts and culture

The holy patroness of Degollado is Our Lady of Guadalupe and is celebrated in the town center on December 12.

Degollado is famous for its cantera (freestone masonry). One of the best selling products are stone images of the Virgin of Guadalupe and sculptures, such as fountains, animals, and columns.

The town is known for tequila production, with much of the surrounding farmland cultivated for the blue agave plant.

In July 2019, the Iowa Organization of Professional Fire Chiefs donated US $90,000 (MXN $171,000) worth of firefighting equipment to the Degollado Fire Department.[4]

References

  1. ^ Citypopulation.de Population of Degollado municipality with localities
  2. ^ "Enciclopedia de los Municipios de México - ESTADO DE JALISCO - DEGOLLADO" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2007-03-28. Retrieved 2011-05-25.
  3. ^ "Dellogado - Descripción" (in Spanish). Municipio Dellogado. Archived from the original on 2002-11-09. Retrieved 2008-02-25.
  4. ^ Merideth Edwards; Tricia Escobedo (July 26, 2019). "$90,000 worth of firefighting gear was almost thrown away in Iowa. Now it's saving lives in Mexico". CNN. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
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