Ocotlán is a city and municipality

Municipalities of Mexico

Municipalities are the second-level administrative division in Mexico . There are 2,438 municipalities in Mexico, making the average municipality population 45,616...

 in Jalisco

Jalisco

Jalisco officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in Western Mexico and divided in 125 municipalities and its capital city is Guadalajara.It is one of the more important states...

, Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

. Its industry includes furniture production.

Toponymy

The toponym Ocotlán means: "near the pines" or "place of the ocote (pines)". Ocote is from the Náhuatl

Nahuatl

Nahuatl is thought to mean "a good, clear sound" This language name has several spellings, among them náhuatl , Naoatl, Nauatl, Nahuatl, Nawatl. In a back formation from the name of the language, the ethnic group of Nahuatl speakers are called Nahua...

 ocōtl, Pinus montezumae

Pinus montezumae

Pinus montezumae, known as the Montezuma Pine, is a species of conifer in the Pinaceae family.It is native to Mexico and Central America, where it is known as Ocote. The tree grows about 35 m high and 80 cm in diameter; occasionally it may reach a height of 40 m and diameter of...

, a species of pine, .

History

Ocotlán was founded in 1530. Two main cathedrals line the plaza. One is the church named La Purisima ("The Most Pure"), which is one of the oldest buildings in Jalisco. The altar is dipped in gold. The other cathedral, more recent than La Purisima, was built in the late 1800s and dedicated to Nuestro Señor de Misericordia (Our Merciful Lord), which honors a vision of Christ seen after an extremely destructive earthquake.

The current municipal president is Lic. Absalón García Ochoa, from 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...

.

Story of Nuestro Señor de la Misericordia

On October 2, 1847, a large and powerful earthquake destroyed most of the city, including the original church. The following day, a Sunday, when the faithful were attending a Mass outside of the destroyed church, a vision of the crucifix was claimed to have been seen.

Geography and demographics

Ocotlán borders Poncitlán

Poncitlán

Poncitlán is a town and municipality, in Jalisco in central-western Mexico. The municipality covers an area of 672.31 km².As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 43,817.-Place Names:...

 and Tototlán

Tototlán

Tototlán is a town and municipality in Jalisco in central-western Mexico. The municipality covers an area of 292.85 km². Notable people from Tototlán, Jalisco: Omar Esparza , Javier Hernandez Gutierrez .As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 19,710....

 and is only fifty minutes east-southeast from the city of Guadalajara

Guadalajara, Jalisco

Guadalajara is the capital of the Mexican state of Jalisco, and the seat of the municipality of Guadalajara. The city is located in the central region of Jalisco in the western-pacific area of Mexico. With a population of 1,564,514 it is Mexico's second most populous municipality...

. It is located on the northeast end of Lake Chapala

Lake Chapala

Lake Chapala is Mexico's largest freshwater lake. It lies in the municipalities of Chapala, Jocotepec , Poncitlán, and Jamay, in Jalisco, and in Venustiano Carranza and Cojumatlán de Régules, in Michoacán.- Geographic Features :...

, Mexico's largest lake. As of the census of 2005 the city of Ocotlán had a population of 81,165. The municipality of Ocotlán, which has an area of 247.7 km² (95.64 sq mi), had a population of 89,340. The proper gentilic

Demonym

A demonym , also referred to as a gentilic, is a name for a resident of a locality. A demonym is usually – though not always – derived from the name of the locality; thus, the demonym for the people of England is English, and the demonym for the people of Italy is Italian, yet, in english, the one...

 for the people is Ocotlense, as in "they are all Ocotlenses." The altitude of the city is 5020 feet, and the time is -6 hours from UTC.

City Businesses

Some of the principal businesses in Ocotlán are Nestlé

Nestlé

Nestlé S.A. is the world's largest food and nutrition company. Founded and headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland, Nestlé originated in a 1905 merger of the Anglo-Swiss Milk Company, established in 1867 by brothers George Page and Charles Page, and Farine Lactée Henri Nestlé, founded in 1866 by Henri...

, Celanese, Forrajes El Nogal,Maderas primas de occidente, Triplay y Aglomerados, Fábrica de Muebles La Cibeles and many other furniture factories like EMMAN, that is an MDF manufacturer.

Architecture

One of the most important building in the city of Ocotlan is the new Library and Media Center Fernando del Paso, recently opened to the public and operated by the Universidad de Guadalajara. This modern building is inspired by the lineal constructions of the university center, it features an impressive lobby of multiple heights in which the main elements of the visual composition of the space are the books themselves. The building was designed by the young architecture firm LeAP, based in Guadalajara. It has been published and exhibited locally and internationally.

List of famous people from Ocotlán

• Carlos Salcido
  Carlos Salcido
  Carlos Arnoldo Salcido Flores is a Mexican international football defender who currently plays for Mexican Primera División club UANL on loan from Fulham...
  
   (Tigres de la UANL footballer)
• Alfredo "Pipis" Carrillo(Tacos Ocotlan)

Eddie "Piolín" Sotelo (US Radio personality)

• Johnny Magallon (Chivas de Guadalajara footballer)
• Ismael Íñiguez
  Ismael Íñiguez
  Ismael Íñiguez González is a Mexican football player who plays for Club Tijuana on loan from Pumas UNAM....
  
   (Pumas UNAM footballer)

Sister cities

• Olathe, Kansas, USA
  Olathe, Kansas
  Olathe is a city in and the county seat of Johnson County, Kansas, United States. Located in northeastern Kansas, it is also the fifth most populous city in the state, with a population of 125,872 at the 2010 census. As a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri, Olathe is the fourth-largest city in the...
  
  
• Greenville, South Carolina, USA
  Greenville, South Carolina
  -Law and government:The city of Greenville adopted the Council-Manager form of municipal government in 1976.-History:The area was part of the Cherokee Nation's protected grounds after the Treaty of 1763, which ended the French and Indian War. No White man was allowed to enter, though some families...
  
  
• Oxnard, California, USA
  Oxnard, California
  Oxnard is the 113th largest city in the United States, 19th largest city in California and largest city in Ventura County, California, by way of population. It is located at the western edge of the fertile Oxnard Plain, and is an important agricultural center, with its distinction as the...
  
  

External links

• Ocotlán Ciudad del Mueble Official website www.ocotlanciudaddelmueble.net
• Ocotlán Sitio de la Comunidad Official website www.ocotlanjalisco.net
• Ocotlán Municipal Government Official website
• Map of Ocotlán and surrounding areas