Chihuahua, Chihuahua
Encyclopedia
The city of Chihuahua (tʃiˈwawa) is the state capital of the Mexican state of Chihuahua. It has a population of about 825,327. The predominant activity is industry, including domestic heavy, light industries, consumer goods production, and to a smaller extent maquiladora
Maquiladora
A maquiladora or maquila is a concept often referred to as an operation that involves manufacturing in a country that is not the client's and as such has an interesting duty or tariff treatment...

s.

History

It has been said that the name derives from the Tarahumara
Tarahumara
The Rarámuri or Tarahumara are a Native American people of northwestern Mexico who are renowned for their long-distance running ability...

 language, meaning "between two waters", other accepted definitions are "place of the holed-rock" or "dry and sandy place". The name itself is older than the Spanish conquest of Mexico
Spanish conquest of Mexico
The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire was one of the most important campaigns in the Spanish colonization of the Americas. The invasion began in February 1519 and was acclaimed victorious on August 13, 1521, by a coalition army of Spanish conquistadors and Tlaxcalan warriors led by Hernán Cortés...

. The city was founded on October 12, 1709, by Blas Cano de los Rios and Antonio Deza y Ulloa, a Spanish explorer, as El Real de Minas de San Francisco el Cuéllar. The town was erected a Villa in 1718 with the name of San Felipe el Real de Chihuahua, and the name was shortened in 1823. The location was chosen because it is the intersection of the rivers Chuviscar and Sacramento. It is also the midpoint between the Río Bravo del Norte (Rio Grande)
Rio Grande
The Rio Grande is a river that flows from southwestern Colorado in the United States to the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way it forms part of the Mexico – United States border. Its length varies as its course changes...

 and the then-important mining city of Hidalgo del Parral.

Just as in other parts of Northern Mexico, Roman Catholic missionaries were an important influence during the colonial era, and the city became a meeting point for missionaries heading to and from the 'sierra', the mountainous region in western Chihuahua State where the native Tarahumara still live.
During the War of Independence
Mexican War of Independence
The Mexican War of Independence was an armed conflict between the people of Mexico and the Spanish colonial authorities which started on 16 September 1810. The movement, which became known as the Mexican War of Independence, was led by Mexican-born Spaniards, Mestizos and Amerindians who sought...

, the city saw little action. However, it was in Chihuahua where Miguel Hidalgo
Miguel Hidalgo
Miguel Gregorio Antonio Ignacio Hidalgo y Costilla y Gallaga Mandarte Villaseñor , more commonly known as Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla or simply Miguel Hidalgo, was a Mexican priest and a leader of the Mexican War of Independence.In 1810 Hidalgo led a group of peasants in a revolt against the dominant...

, considered the Father of the Country, was held prisoner in the Federal Palace of Chihuahua and executed in 1811 at the nearby Government Palace
Government Palace of Chihuahua
The Government Palace of Chihuahua is a 19th century building in the city of Chihuahua, Mexico. Located in the heart of the city, it is of special interest since it houses the executive offices of the governor of the state of Chihuahua and, until 2004, the state legislature met here...

 by the Spaniards.

During the Mexican-American War, Chihuahua fell to U.S. forces in 1847, after the Mexican Army
Mexican Army
The Mexican Army is the combined land and air branch and largest of the Mexican Military services; it also is known as the National Defense Army. It is famous for having been the first army to adopt and use an automatic rifle, , in 1899, and the first to issue automatic weapons as standard issue...

 was defeated at the Battle of the Sacramento
Battle of the Sacramento
The Battle of the Sacramento River took place on February 28, 1847 during the Mexican–American War. About twenty-five miles north of Chihuahua, Mexico at the river Sacramento, American forces numbering less than 1,000 men defeated a superior Mexican army which led to the occupation of...

, 15 miles north of the city.
During the French invasion, President Benito Juárez made the city the seat of his government-in-exile from 1864 to 1867. During the presidency of Porfirio Díaz
Porfirio Díaz
José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori was a Mexican-American War volunteer and French intervention hero, an accomplished general and the President of Mexico continuously from 1876 to 1911, with the exception of a brief term in 1876 when he left Juan N...

 the city experienced explosive growth and became one of the most important cities in Mexico. The city became the seat for important banks and wealthy families.

The city was more involved during the Mexican Revolution
Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution was a major armed struggle that started in 1910, with an uprising led by Francisco I. Madero against longtime autocrat Porfirio Díaz. The Revolution was characterized by several socialist, liberal, anarchist, populist, and agrarianist movements. Over time the Revolution...

 (1910–1917), for it became at times the operations base for the División del Norte
Division del Norte
The División del Norte was an armed faction formed by Madero and initially led by General Jose Gonzales Salas following the call to arms from Francisco Madero at the outbreak of the Mexican Revolution in 1910. After Salas committed suicide following his defeat at the hands of Pascual Orozco at the...

, the army led by Pancho Villa
Pancho Villa
José Doroteo Arango Arámbula – better known by his pseudonym Francisco Villa or its hypocorism Pancho Villa – was one of the most prominent Mexican Revolutionary generals....

. Many sites and memories remain of the Revolutionary era; the most important of these is the Historical Museum of the Mexican Revolution
Historical Museum of the Mexican Revolution
The Historical Museum of the Mexican Revolution in the Mexican city of Chihuahua, Chih., is housed in the former estate of General Francisco Villa and his widow, Sra. María Luz Corral de Villa...

 at Villa's former estate house near downtown Chihuahua. La Quinta Luz was turned into a museum by his widow, Sra. María Luz Corral de Villa, and is now managed by the federal government.

During the 20th century, the city grew in population and learned to take advantage of its proximity with the U.S. border. Until the establishment of foreign manufacturing plants in the 1970s, the city was largely a trade post for cattle and agricultural products. During the 1990s the city grew dramatically economically, becoming the third wealthiest municipality (per capita) in the republic, after Benito Juárez
Benito Juárez, D.F.
Benito Juárez is one of the 16 delegaciones into which Mexico's Federal District is divided. It is a largely residential area, located to the south of historic center of Mexico City, although there are pressures for areas to convert to commercial use. It was named after Benito Juárez, president in...

 borough of the Federal District (Mexico City), and San Pedro Garza García
San Pedro Garza García
San Pedro Garza García is a city-municipality of the Mexican state of Nuevo León and is part of Monterrey's Metropolitan Area, based on the suburban North American model...

 in Nuevo León
Nuevo León
Nuevo León It is located in Northeastern Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Tamaulipas to the north and east, San Luis Potosí to the south, and Coahuila to the west. To the north, Nuevo León has a 15 kilometer stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border adjacent to the U.S...

.
In 2002, Mayor Jorge Barousse Moreno from the Institutional Revolutionary Party
Institutional Revolutionary Party
The Institutional Revolutionary Party is a Mexican political party that held power in the country—under a succession of names—for more than 70 years. The PRI is a member of the Socialist International, as is the rival Party of the Democratic Revolution , making Mexico one of the few...

 (PRI) died and was succeeded by Alejandro Cano Ricaud. During Cano's administration, the city experienced dramatic growth in the security sector when the Police Department was certified by the ISO and surveillance aircraft bought.

Between 2002 and 2005, the city experimented with the introduction of certain new commercial innovations, like the first large mall in the city, Plaza del Sol, and the rise of the commercial Zone of the Sun, all along the Périferico de la Juventud, one of the main thoroughfares in the city.

In 2004 Juan Blanco Zaldivar, of the National Action Party
National Action Party (Mexico)
The National Action Party , is one of the three main political parties in Mexico. The party's political platform is generally considered Centre-Right in the Mexican political spectrum. Since 2000, the President of Mexico has been a member of this party; both houses have PAN pluralities, but the...

 (PAN), won the election for mayor (municipal president) of the city for the term 2004-2007. Since 2005, the International Festivals of Chihuahua have been celebrated by both the state and city governments during the months of September/October with art shows, plays, stage presentations and concerts by such bands as America
America (band)
America is an English-American folk rock band that originally included members Gerry Beckley, Dewey Bunnell and Dan Peek. The three members were barely out of their teens when they became a musical sensation during 1972, scoring #1 hits and winning a Grammy for best new musical artist...

, Foreigner
Foreigner (band)
Foreigner is a British-American rock band, originally formed in 1976 by veteran English musicians Mick Jones and ex-King Crimson member Ian McDonald along with American vocalist Lou Gramm...

, Creedence and Los Lobos
Los Lobos
Los Lobos are a multiple Grammy Award–winning American Chicano rock band from East Los Angeles, California. Their music is influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country, folk, R&B, blues, brown-eyed soul, and traditional Spanish and Mexican music such as cumbia, boleros and norteños.-History:The...

 being held at venues throughout the city.

Elections for mayor for the term 2007-2010 were held at the beginning of July 2007; Carlos Borruel Baquera of the PAN defeated former mayor Alejandro Cano Ricaud (PRI) by less than one-quarter of a percentage point of almost 200,000 votes cast. The turnout of registered voters, at about 41%, was the lowest in years.

In January, 2010, Mayor Carlos Borruel submitted his resignation in order to campaign for election to the office of Governor of Chihuahua
Governor of Chihuahua
According to the Political Constitution of the Free and Sovereign State of Chihuahua, Executive Power in that Mexican state resides with a single individual, the Constitutional Governor of the Free and Sovereign State of Chihuahua, who is chosen for a period of six years and cannot for any reason...

. His deputy, Lic. Alvaro Guillermo Madero Muñoz, assumed the office of mayor for the balance of his term. On July 4, 2010,
Marco Quezada of the PRI
Institutional Revolutionary Party
The Institutional Revolutionary Party is a Mexican political party that held power in the country—under a succession of names—for more than 70 years. The PRI is a member of the Socialist International, as is the rival Party of the Democratic Revolution , making Mexico one of the few...

 won election for a 3-year term as mayor.

Demographics

According to the census of 2005, there were 748,551 people living in the city of Chihuahua, calculations tend to establish that in 2007 there were almost 800,000 people living in Chihuahua, including a substantial population from the U.S.

The literacy rate in the city is among the highest in the country at 98%; 35% of the population is aged 14 or below, 60% between 15-65 and 5% over 65. The growth rate is 2.4%. The life expectancy for males is 72 years and for women is 79 years.

Colonias

The City of Chihuahua is subdivided into Colonias (neighborhoods). The primary function of the colonias range in function between residential, commercial, industrial, and educational.

In recent years, gated residential zones called "fraccionamientos", along with colonias, have been erected. The fraccionamientos function in the same way as residential developments in the U.S. The growing construction industry is creating many new fraccionamientos in order to try to solve the overwhelming demand for new homes in the city, extending them at an ever-increasing rate every year.

Climate

Chihuahua lies on the western side of the Chihuahuan Desert
Chihuahuan Desert
The Chihuahuan Desert is a desert, and an ecoregion designation, that straddles the U.S.-Mexico border in the central and northern portions of the Mexican Plateau, bordered on the west by the extensive Sierra Madre Occidental range, and overlaying northern portions of the east range, the Sierra...

 ecoregion and as such has a semiarid climate (476.7 mm of precipitation annually) but is not as hot as most of the lower elevated portions of the desert to the east owing to an altitude of almost 1500 m ASL (the average temperature is 17.8 °C). The National Weather Service of Mexico (Servicio Meteorologico Nacional) reported that the warmest temperature ever recorded in the city was 42 °C on June 21, 1981 and the coldest was -18 °C on February 3, 2011. July 1973 is the record wettest month, with 242.5 mm. For a single day the record rainfall is 81 mm on September 25, 1978. Snowfall is somewhat uncommon, normally with 2 snowfalls a year, although the surrounding area may receive three or four snowfalls.

Economy

Chihuahua is the twelfth largest city in Mexico, and one of the most industrialized. Manufacturing is very important and there are nine major industrial parks and 79 maquila manufacturing plants, which employ about 45,000 people. The city serves as an alternative destination for maquiladora
Maquiladora
A maquiladora or maquila is a concept often referred to as an operation that involves manufacturing in a country that is not the client's and as such has an interesting duty or tariff treatment...

 operators who require quick access to the border but wish to avoid both the higher costs and higher turnover rates of employment of the immediate border area. Of all interior (non-border) locations in Mexico, Chihuahua has the largest maquiladora presence in Mexico. Some of the larger companies include Ford Motor Co., Sumitomo Electrical, Honeywell, Hallmark, and LG Electronics.

The entire state of Chihuahua is a thriving economic center. Chihuahua's annual Gross State Product (GSP) is about $6.2 billion. There are more than 350 established manufacturing and assembly plants in the state; manufacturing accounts for a third of the total GSP, while trade and other services amount to 53.5%. Agricultural production makes up only 6% of the total GSP. Chihuahua has the largest amount of forested land in all of Mexico. Forty-four percent of Chihuahua's workers are employed in commerce and services, while a little over a third of the workforce is employed in mining and industry. In mining, the State is the leading producer of non-ferrous minerals and zinc, and is second nationwide in extracting silver. The state is the leading producer of apples and nuts and second in pine and oak trees nationwide. The state is also the nation's leader in raising cattle and sheep.

Geography

Chihuahua is best described as shaped as a gigantic letter L, with plains to the north and hills on both sides, as well as the south; it is crossed east-and-west by Teofilo Borunda Avenue, which follows the natural flow of the Chuviscar River. Borunda is crossed in the west by the Periferico de la Juventud, a major limited-access highway running north-and-south. The main entrance to the city from the north (from the direction of Ciudad Juárez) is Tecnològico Avenue, part of the Pan-American Highway
Pan-American Highway
The Pan-American Highway is a network of roads measuring about in total length. Except for an rainforest break, called the Darién Gap, the road links the mainland nations of the Americas in a connected highway system. According to Guinness World Records, the Pan-American Highway is the world's...

.

The geography of the city is dominated by three hills that appear in the Coat of Arms: Cerro Grande, Cerro Coronel and Santa Rosa, the last of which is fully covered by the city. The Cerro Grande has a monumental cross that is lighted each Christmas.

To the east and northeast, is the Sierra Nombre de Dios, across the Sacramento River from the city. Contained therin, off of H. Colegio Militar Ave, are the Nombre de Dios Caverns, a beautiful natural display of minerals and underground formations. To the far east and south is the airport and the highway to the town of Aldama.

Transportation

Chihuahua is served by Roberto Fierro Villalobos International Airport (IATA Airport Code
IATA airport code
An IATA airport code, also known an IATA location identifier, IATA station code or simply a location identifier, is a three-letter code designating many airports around the world, defined by the International Air Transport Association...

: CUU). It is the starting point for the Chihuahua–Pacific Railroad, and is also served by Ferromex
Ferromex
Ferromex is a private rail consortium that operates the largest railroad in Mexico.-Description:...

, a private Mexican railroad. There is a large central depot for intercity buses in the south side of the city. For transportation within the Chihuahua metropolitan area, a network of buses exists. The system of avenues and main streets in the city is being constantly revamped, with the construction of new roads and bridges to handle the ever-increasing traffic.

Contemporary life

The city's most important feature is its collection of industrial zones, in which foreign companies have manufacturing facilities, called maquiladora
Maquiladora
A maquiladora or maquila is a concept often referred to as an operation that involves manufacturing in a country that is not the client's and as such has an interesting duty or tariff treatment...

s, which employ thousands of people. This light industry also requires professionals, both for manufacturing and for management; this training is provided by universities such as the Universidád Autónoma de Chihuahua, the Instituto Tecnológico de Chihuahua and Instituto Tecnológico de Chihuahua II. A number of private universities also exist, to include the Chihuahua campus of ITESM.

The city's commercial sector has also been boosted by the growth of the middle-class. The wages paid by industries to management and high-level technical employees provide a cash flow unlike that of most Mexican cities.

The nightlife is lively, especially in the city centre, where some of the large, pre-revolutionary estate houses have been turned into nightclubs and dance halls, many featuring the best of Chihuahua's live bands.

Most U.S. franchise restaurants and fast-food establishments will be found in Chihuahua, mostly on the Periferico de la Juventud, north of downtown on Universidad Avenue, or on Libertad Street Pedestrian Way in the city centre, and are patronised by the city's youth and young professionals.

Crime

The city had a serious problem with property crime, especially theft and graffiti by tagger
Tagger
Tagger may refer to:* a method for doing part-of-speech tagging, or grammatical tagging, for example Brill tagger* Tag editor, software that supports editing metadata of multimedia file formats* A position in Australian rules football...

s. This situation has exploded in recent years. Also, drug-related murders, including murders of law-enforcement officers by narco-traffickers led by Joaquín Guzmán Loera ("el Chapo", or "Shorty"), (38 in 2007 according to a March 2008 issue of the newspaper Diario de Chihuahua) have been on the rise. The Federal Police and the Army have moved into the city to conduct anti-drug operations; it seems that their activity may have a positive effect; the indices of property crime and murder have fallenhttp://www.oem.com.mx/elheraldodechihuahua/notas/n2298658.htm since 2010, with the result that Chihuahua is safer now than in years past.

Sports

The city is home of the Dorados de Chihuahua
Dorados de Chihuahua (LNBP)
The Dorados de Chihuahua was a Mexican professional basketball team based in Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Mexico playing in the Northern Division of the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional . Their home arena was the Gymnasio Rodrigo M. Quevedo.-External links:**...

 of the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional
Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional
The Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional is the top professional basketball league in Mexico. The league was founded in 2000 with 11 teams, expanding to 24 as of 2008...

, or National Professional Basketball League of Mexico. The city formerly had a baseball franchise in the Mexican League (AAA), also known as the Dorados
Dorados de Chihuahua
Dorados de Chihuahua were a baseball team from the city of Chihuahua. Recently Tuneros de San Luis moved to Chihuahua and took the Dorados namesake, which also brought the LMB Mexican Baseball League to Chihuahua for the first time since 1982. The Dorados played their home games at Estadio...

.

On May 15 & 16, 2010 the city also hosted the 24th IAAF World Race Walking Cup. $122,500 in prize money was awarded in the team and individual competitions to the world's fastest walkers at distances ranging from 20 kilometers to 50 kilometres (31.1 mi), plus a 10 kilometer race for juniors, aged 16 to 19 years of age.

Landmarks

Even though Chihuahua suffered a massive destruction of colonial buildings during the 1970s in order to widen the main streets and avenues in the downtown, it stills preserves some valuable monuments from the 19th and 20th centuries. Some of the more interesting sites in the city are listed below:
  • Temple of San Francisco
    San Francisco Temple
    The Templo de San Francisco [English: Church of St Francis] is one of the main Catholic churches in the city of Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Mexico. It is now recognized as one of the most valuable buildings in the city as one of the few still-existing colonial monuments in the city centre...

    -The original burial place of Fr Miguel Hidalgo
  • Federal Palace of Chihuahua, now a museum, and the jail cell of Fr Hidalgo
  • Museo Casa Juarez
    Museo Casa Juárez
    The Museo de la Lealtad Republicana , also known as the Museo Casa Juarez, is 19th-century building in the city centre of Chihuahua, Chih., Mexico...

    , also called The Museum of the Republican Loyalty, is the house where President Juarez lived during his time at Chihuahua City.
  • Central Park "El Palomar"-Once one of the worst slums in the city, now the largest city park.
  • Mansion Creel
  • Mansion Terrazas
  • Mansion 'Quinta Carolina' (Former summer estate of Don Luis Terrazas; see Creel-Terrazas Family
    Creel-Terrazas family
    The Creel-Terrazas family is a powerful and wealthy family based in the Mexican state of Chihuahua.- Events: During the rule of President Porfirio Díaz and the Mexican Revolution, this family was part of the científico faction. The científicos were conservative civilian technocrats and...

    .)-Now in semi-ruined condition, in process of restoration.
  • Torre Legislativa de Chihuahua (Legislative tower of Chihuahua-state legislators office building) -Fronts on the Plaza de Armas
    Plaza de Armas
    The Plaza de Armas is the name for the main square in many Latin American cities. In Mexico this space is known as El Zócalo, and in Central America as Parque Central...

  • The Government Palace
    Government Palace of Chihuahua
    The Government Palace of Chihuahua is a 19th century building in the city of Chihuahua, Mexico. Located in the heart of the city, it is of special interest since it houses the executive offices of the governor of the state of Chihuahua and, until 2004, the state legislature met here...

     (The State House)
  • City Hall
    City Hall of Chihuahua
    The City Hall of Chihuahua is an early 20th century building in the city of Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Mexico. Located in front of the Plaza de Armas and the Cathedral, the City Hall houses the executive power of Chihuahua, the office of the mayor of Chihuahua, and the City Council whose salon is of...

  • Dancing Fountains north of the Federal Palace
  • Mansion 'Quinta Gameros' (City Museum for the Decorative Arts)
  • Church of Santa Rita (1731). St Rita of Cascia is the patroness of the city.
  • Ave. Zarco Residential Area (Some of the most impressive pre-revolutionary residences in the city are situated along this street)
  • Colonial Aqueduct-lengths still exist of this monument which was built to transport water from mountain springs to the villa.

Tourism

The city of Chihuahua offers many places of interest for the tourist, especially the history buff (see Museums of Chihuahua
Museums of Chihuahua
The Mexican city of Chihuahua was founded in 1709 and has a rich history which is reflected in the museums that are found there, which range in subject matter from prehistoric times to the modern day....

), including the baroque Metropolitan Cathedral
Cathedral of Chihuahua
The Metropolitan Cathedral Church of the Holy Cross, Our Lady of Regla, and St Francis of Assisi is the main ecclesiastical building of the Catholic Church in Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Mexico. It is considered perhaps the finest example of colonial architecture in northern Mexico and dates from 1725....

, seat of the Archdiocese (and the resting place of St Peter of Jesus Maldonado, a Cristero martyr of the 1930s), dating from the 18th century, the Government Palace from the early 19th century, and the City Hall
City Hall of Chihuahua
The City Hall of Chihuahua is an early 20th century building in the city of Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Mexico. Located in front of the Plaza de Armas and the Cathedral, the City Hall houses the executive power of Chihuahua, the office of the mayor of Chihuahua, and the City Council whose salon is of...

 from the turn of the 20th century, on the Plaza de Armas
Plaza de Armas
The Plaza de Armas is the name for the main square in many Latin American cities. In Mexico this space is known as El Zócalo, and in Central America as Parque Central...

 across from the Cathedral.

During the French invasion and the Second Empire, which ended with the execution of the Habsburg
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...

 Emperor Maximilian
Maximilian I of Mexico
Maximilian I was the only monarch of the Second Mexican Empire.After a distinguished career in the Austrian Navy, he was proclaimed Emperor of Mexico on April 10, 1864, with the backing of Napoleon III of France and a group of Mexican monarchists who sought to revive the Mexican monarchy...

 in 1867, the constitutional president, Benito Juárez García
Benito Juárez
Benito Juárez born Benito Pablo Juárez García, was a Mexican lawyer and politician of Zapotec origin from Oaxaca who served five terms as president of Mexico: 1858–1861 as interim, 1861–1865, 1865–1867, 1867–1871 and 1871–1872...

 traveled the country, searching for support wherever he could. He found it in 1864 when he settled his cabinet and government-in-exile here in the city at the address now known as Ave. Juárez 321, and incidentally, making Chihuahua the only city, aside from Mexico City, to be the capital of the Republic. The Museo Casa Juarez
Museo Casa Juárez
The Museo de la Lealtad Republicana , also known as the Museo Casa Juarez, is 19th-century building in the city centre of Chihuahua, Chih., Mexico...

, now known as The Museum of Republican Loyalty, has been faithfully restored to the appearance it had when President Juárez lived here from 1864 through 1866.

The city offers the service of the touristic "Trolley el Tarahumara" which is a special bus that goes around to all the main museums and monuments in the City Centre(starting its route at the Plaza de Armas), including parks like the Central Park "El Palomar", a large park that has a collection of sculptures, including one depicting three doves (palomas, hence the park's name) and a monumental flagpole, flying one of the largest flags in the Republic, as well as a statue of one of Chihuahua's favourite sons, the late actor Anthony Quinn
Anthony Quinn
Antonio Rodolfo Quinn-Oaxaca , more commonly known as Anthony Quinn, was a Mexican American actor, as well as a painter and writer...

, in his famous role as 'Zorba the Greek
Zorba the Greek
Zorba the Greek is a 1964 film based on the novel Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis. The film was directed by Cypriot Michael Cacoyannis and the title character was played by Anthony Quinn...

', as well as many others. The city is renowned for its classical and modern sculpture, as seen on any main boulevard or avenue. Included are works by Espino, Baltazar, Ponzanelli and Sebastian, the latter being a native of Chihuahua.
Particularly noteworthy are the murals in the Government Palace
Government Palace of Chihuahua
The Government Palace of Chihuahua is a 19th century building in the city of Chihuahua, Mexico. Located in the heart of the city, it is of special interest since it houses the executive offices of the governor of the state of Chihuahua and, until 2004, the state legislature met here...

 and the Paraninfo, or University Auditorium (in the Literary and Scientific Institute building) both depicting the history of the State of Chihuahua, and both fronting
upon the Plaza Hidalgo in the city centre, and catter-cornered from the Plaza Mayor (listed below). Also of note is the Quinta Gameros, one of the largest estate houses in pre-revolutionary Chihuahua City, now the state museum for the decorative arts, and the former Federal Palace of Chihuahua on Venustiano Carranza
Venustiano Carranza
Venustiano Carranza de la Garza, was one of the leaders of the Mexican Revolution. He ultimately became President of Mexico following the overthrow of the dictatorial Huerta regime in the summer of 1914 and during his administration the current constitution of Mexico was drafted...

 Street, north of the Government Palace, which is now a museum and contains the cell in which Miguel Hidalgo
Miguel Hidalgo
Miguel Gregorio Antonio Ignacio Hidalgo y Costilla y Gallaga Mandarte Villaseñor , more commonly known as Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla or simply Miguel Hidalgo, was a Mexican priest and a leader of the Mexican War of Independence.In 1810 Hidalgo led a group of peasants in a revolt against the dominant...

 spent his final days, and is a national shrine.

The Mammoth Museum, at Gomez Morin (also Calle 27a) and Ave. Juarez, is the city
natural history museum and contains 13 halls detailing prehistoric life from the dinosaur
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...

s through the reign of the mammal
Mammal
Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...

s, or the Cenozoic
Cenozoic
The Cenozoic era is the current and most recent of the three Phanerozoic geological eras and covers the period from 65.5 mya to the present. The era began in the wake of the Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous that saw the demise of the last non-avian dinosaurs and...

 Era. It also has exhibits of prehistoric art. The Semilla Museo Centro de Ciencia y Tecnología, or Seed Centre Museum of Science and Technology, on Teofilo Borunda and Lisboa in the City Centre, is a creative learning centre and interactive science museum for children.

The Feria (Fair
Fair
A fair or fayre is a gathering of people to display or trade produce or other goods, to parade or display animals and often to enjoy associated carnival or funfair entertainment. It is normally of the essence of a fair that it is temporary; some last only an afternoon while others may ten weeks. ...

) of Santa Rita, known throughout the Republic, is held during the last two weeks of May and features internationally known recording artists in concert. The fair has been held annually for decades. In addition, the University Symphony
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...

 performs at the Paraninfo weekly during the summer months, and features international guest artists in classical
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...

 and pops
Pops
-People:* Louis Armstrong, has the nickname "Pops"* Pops Fernandez , Maria Cielito Lukban Fernandez, a Filipina singer* Pops Foster , a jazz musician* Father Emmett Johns, * Pops Staples , a Gospel and R&B musician...

 concerts.

The Dorados de Chihuahua
Dorados de Chihuahua
Dorados de Chihuahua were a baseball team from the city of Chihuahua. Recently Tuneros de San Luis moved to Chihuahua and took the Dorados namesake, which also brought the LMB Mexican Baseball League to Chihuahua for the first time since 1982. The Dorados played their home games at Estadio...

, the local baseball team in the Mexican League(AAA), which was sold and moved in the off-season after the 2010 season, played in a new stadium
Estadio Chihuahua
Estadio Chihuahua is a stadium in Chihuahua, Mexico. It is primarily used for baseball, and is the home field of the Dorados de Chihuahua baseball team of the Mexican League. It holds 14,500 people and opened in 2005.-External links:*...

 in the southside of the city during the summer months. The Plaza de Toros, or bull fighting ring, 'La Esperanza' is located on Teofilo Borunda on the north side of the river, and features Corridas (Bullfights) during the summer and fall.

The Plaza Mayor is an important square in the city centre that displays fountains, green spaces and a collection of monuments depicting local heroes. The main monument in the Plaza Mayor is the "Ángel de el Libertad" that was built in 2003 representing the freedom of all Mexicans, especially Chihuahua's people. It was inaugurated during the Independence Day festivities on September 15 of that same year. The angel has a sword with a laser
Laser
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation...

 light at the tip, and is capable of rotating 360° over its axis.

Notable natives and residents

  • Felipe Ángeles Ramírez
    Felipe Ángeles
    Felipe Ángeles Ramirez was a Mexican military officer, noteworthy for his participation in the Mexican Revolution of 1910 to 1920.-Early life:...

    , General officer under Pancho Villa
    Pancho Villa
    José Doroteo Arango Arámbula – better known by his pseudonym Francisco Villa or its hypocorism Pancho Villa – was one of the most prominent Mexican Revolutionary generals....

     during revolution
  • Miguel Aceves Mejía
    Miguel Aceves Mejía
    Miguel Aceves Mejía was a Mexican actor, composer, and singer.Miguel Aceves Mejía, or "the King of the falsetto" as he was popularly known, was born in Ciudad Juárez in the state of Chihuahua...

    , famous ranchera singer
  • Elsa Aguirre
    Elsa Aguirre
    Elsa Irma Aguirre Juárez is a Mexican actress of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. She is considered as one of the belle divas of the Cinema of Mexico. The actress Alma Rosa Aguirre is her sister.-Early life:...

    , famed actress
  • Aracely Arámbula
    Aracely Arámbula
    Aracely Arámbula Jacques is a Mexican actress, model and singer.- Biography :Arámbula was born March 6, 1975 in the city of Chihuahua in northern Mexico. She was noticed for the first time in 1993 when she was chosen for the "Rostro del Heraldo de México". Arámbula also writes songs and plays guitar...

    , singer and actress
  • Omar Chaparro
    Omar Chaparro
    -Biography:Omar was born in Chihuahua and he knew Brenda, and began his career in 1996 in Chihuahua, Mexico, in the radio program “Los visitantes” with his friend Perico Padilla and there is where he created many of his famous characters like La Licenciada, Chole Ramos and La Yuyis Montanegra...

    , comedian
  • Sharis Cid
    Sharis Cid
    Sharis Cid is a Mexican actress who has participated in several telenovelas, like DKDA, Salud, Dinero y Amor and La Intrusa. She was also a singer in Roll and DKDA....

    , actress
  • Enrique Creel
    Enrique Creel
    Enrique Clay Creel Cuilty, sometimes known as Henry Clay Creel was a Mexican businessman and politician member of the powerful Creel-Terrazas family of Chihuahua...

    , Porfirian
    Porfirio Díaz
    José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori was a Mexican-American War volunteer and French intervention hero, an accomplished general and the President of Mexico continuously from 1876 to 1911, with the exception of a brief term in 1876 when he left Juan N...

     Minister of Foreign Relations, governor
    Governor of Chihuahua
    According to the Political Constitution of the Free and Sovereign State of Chihuahua, Executive Power in that Mexican state resides with a single individual, the Constitutional Governor of the Free and Sovereign State of Chihuahua, who is chosen for a period of six years and cannot for any reason...

     and Ambassador to the U.S.
  • Cristina Eustace
    Cristina Eustace
    Cristina Eustace is a Mexican singer better known for being the winner of the fifth season of Objetivo Fama, a Puerto Rican television singing talent contest in the form of a reality show, broadcast by Telefutura in USA and by Univision Puerto Rico.-Early years:Cristina Rascón was born in...

    , singer
  • Genaro David Góngora
    Genaro David Góngora
    Genaro David Góngora Pimentel is a Mexican jurist who was a member of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation from 1995 to 2009 and served as its President from 1999 to 2003....

    , distinguished jurist, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Mexico
  • Abraham González
    Abraham González
    Abraham González Casavantes was the provisional and constitutional governor of the Mexican state of Chihuahua during the early period of the Mexican Revolution...

    , Constitutional Governor of Chihuahua
    Governor of Chihuahua
    According to the Political Constitution of the Free and Sovereign State of Chihuahua, Executive Power in that Mexican state resides with a single individual, the Constitutional Governor of the Free and Sovereign State of Chihuahua, who is chosen for a period of six years and cannot for any reason...

     and political mentor of Pancho Villa
  • Martín Luis Guzmán
    Martín Luis Guzmán
    Martín Luis Guzmán Franco was a Mexican novelist and journalist.-Life:Guzmán was born in Chihuahua, Chihuahua. Along with Mariano Azuela, he is considered a pioneer of the revolutionary novel, a genre inspired by the experiences of the Mexican Revolution of 1910...

    , celebrated novelist
  • Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, considered the Father of the Nation
    Father of the Nation
    Father of the Nation is an honorific title given to a man considered the driving force behind the establishment of their country, state or nation...

     as well as the 'Father of Mexican Independence', held here by the Spanish during the last months of his life and executed in 1811
  • Benito Juárez
    Benito Juárez
    Benito Juárez born Benito Pablo Juárez García, was a Mexican lawyer and politician of Zapotec origin from Oaxaca who served five terms as president of Mexico: 1858–1861 as interim, 1861–1865, 1865–1867, 1867–1871 and 1871–1872...

    , President of the Republic, during the French invasion, 1864 through 1866
  • Allisson Lozz, actress and singer
  • Ever Magallanes
    Ever Magallanes
    Everardo "Ever" Magallanes Espinoza is a former major league baseball player and all-star minor league player...

    , former major league baseball player and minor league manager
  • Mario Mendoza
    Mario Mendoza
    Mario Mendoza Aizpuru is a former Major League Baseball infielder. Mendoza, a lifetime 0.215 hitter, is best known as the threshold for batting aptitude, with the "Mendoza Line", meaning a batting average of .200....

    , former major league baseball infielder
  • Eduardo Nájera
    Eduardo Nájera
    Eduardo Alonso Nájera Pérez is a Mexican professional basketball player in the NBA, currently playing for the Charlotte Bobcats.-Personal information:...

    , forward for the Charlotte Bobcats
    Charlotte Bobcats
    The Charlotte Bobcats is a professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They play in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association. The Bobcats were established in 2004 as an expansion team, two seasons after Charlotte's previous NBA...

     of the NBA
    National Basketball Association
    The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...

  • Aarón Piña Mora
    Aarón Piña Mora
    Aarón Piña Mora was a Mexican painter and muralist.He was born in Metztitlan in the state of Hidalgo, and moved with his family, at an early age, to Mexico City. From 1930 to 1933 he attended the School of Drawing and Sculpture of the Plastic Arts at the Public Education Secretariat...

    , renowned muralist and painter
  • Anthony Quinn
    Anthony Quinn
    Antonio Rodolfo Quinn-Oaxaca , more commonly known as Anthony Quinn, was a Mexican American actor, as well as a painter and writer...

    , Oscar-winning actor
  • Nicolás Rodríguez Carrasco
    Nicolás Rodríguez Carrasco
    Nicolás Rodríguez Carrasco was a Mexican general and fascist.During the Mexican Revolution Rodríguez fought alongside Pancho Villa. He managed to become brigadier general but deserted in 1918. After the revolution he moved to the right and joined several racist, antisemitic and antisinist...

    , general, fascist and revolutionary
  • Sebastián
    Sebastián (sculptor)
    Sebastián is an artist based in Mexico, and is considered the country's foremost living sculptor. His smaller scale work includes jewelry, sacristies, garden sculptures, and painting...

    , celebrated sculptor
  • Klinton Spilsbury
    Klinton Spilsbury
    Klinton Spilsbury is an American actor, born in Chihuahua, Mexico. His lone known acting credit is the film The Legend of the Lone Ranger , in which he played the title role....

    , actor, starred as the titular masked Texas
    Texas
    Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

     cowboy in The Legend of the Lone Ranger
    The Legend of the Lone Ranger
    The Legend of the Lone Ranger is a 1981 British-American western film directed by William A. Fraker and starring Klinton Spilsbury, Michael Horse and Christopher Lloyd....

  • Adrián Terrazas-González, member of the musical group, Mars Volta
  • Luis Terrazas
    Luis Terrazas
    Luis Terrazas, born José Luis Gonzaga Jesús Daniel Terrazas Fuentes , was a Mexican politician, businessman, rancher and soldier. He was a pivotal figure in the history of the state of Chihuahua from the middle of the 19th century through the outbreak of the Mexican Revolution...

    , leader of the Cientificos, governor
    Governor of Chihuahua
    According to the Political Constitution of the Free and Sovereign State of Chihuahua, Executive Power in that Mexican state resides with a single individual, the Constitutional Governor of the Free and Sovereign State of Chihuahua, who is chosen for a period of six years and cannot for any reason...

     and one of the richest men in Mexico
  • Pancho Villa
    Pancho Villa
    José Doroteo Arango Arámbula – better known by his pseudonym Francisco Villa or its hypocorism Pancho Villa – was one of the most prominent Mexican Revolutionary generals....

    , revolutionary leader, sometime bandit and Governor of Chihuahua
    Governor of Chihuahua
    According to the Political Constitution of the Free and Sovereign State of Chihuahua, Executive Power in that Mexican state resides with a single individual, the Constitutional Governor of the Free and Sovereign State of Chihuahua, who is chosen for a period of six years and cannot for any reason...


Sister cities

Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque is the largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat of Bernalillo County and is situated in the central part of the state, straddling the Rio Grande. The city population was 545,852 as of the 2010 Census and ranks as the 32nd-largest city in the U.S. As...

, USA Pueblo, Colorado
Pueblo, Colorado
Pueblo is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Pueblo County, Colorado, United States. The population was 106,595 in 2010 census, making it the 246th most populous city in the United States....

, USA

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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