Xalisco () is a city and its surrounding municipality of the same name in the Mexican state of Nayarit. The city had a population of 21,899 in the 2005 census while the municipality has an area of 290.6 km2 (112.2 sq mi) and a population of 42,893.Link to tables of population data from Census of 2005 INEGI: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática The municipality lies adjacent to the south side of Tepic, the state capital, and is part of the Tepic metropolitan area.Enciclopedia de los Municipios de México (Spanish) Geography Formerly known as Jalisco, this municipality is located 6.4 km. southwest of Tepic. In the north it bounds the municipality of Tepic, in the south the municipality of Compostela; in the east the municipality of Santiago Ixcuintla and in the west the municipality of San Blas.Map of Nayarit The total area is 290.60 square kilometers, which makes it the smallest of the 20 municipalities that make up the state.
Over half of the municipal territory is mountainous with one peak, Cerro Alto, reaching 2,240 meters. There are several small rivers and streams of short length.
In the upper elevations there are still conifers and oaks, but over-forestry and long years of wood gathering for cooking have seriously depleted the natural cover. There are still deer, badgers, armadillos, and javelinas in more remote locations. Economy Due to the proximity to Tepic the economy is less agriculturally based than many municipalities in the state. Among the most important crops were: rice, corn, avocados, lemons, oranges, bananas, coffee, cherries, and sugarcane. Tourism and festivals In the town there are the ruins of a colonial hacienda and a museum with pre-Columbian artifacts. The most important festival is that of Asunción de la Virgen María, celebrated on 15 August, at the beginning of the corn harvest. It is also known as the “La Feria del Elote”, or Corn Fair.
Opium and black tar heroin The area produces opium poppies which are tapped for gum which is processed into black tar heroin and smuggled into the United States. Several hundred immigrants from Xalisco, part of a larger number still involved in retail heroin distribution, are incarcerated in the United States.
Toponymy The origin of the name Xalisco comes from the Nahuatl Xalixko: "xal-li" (sand), "ix-telotl" (eye) and ko (place); Place of the sandy eye.
Sister cities Xalisco has one sister city, as designated by Sister Cities International:
Taos, New Mexico, U.S.
Government Municipal presidents Municipal president Term Political party NotesAmbrosio Robles1917Arcadio García Munguía1918Santos Rentería1920Ambrosio Robles1921J. Jesús G. Inda1922Higinio Pérez1924Margarito Romero1925–1927Luis López R.1927–1929Antonio Magaña Audelo1930PNR Hilario Casanova1931PNR Santos Rentería1932PNR Nemesio Coronado1933PNR Cándido López Ordaz1934PNR Genaro Pérez1935PNR Sebastián Robles1936PNR Juan Casillas1937–1939PNR Ramón Gutiérrez Páez1939–1941PRM Porfirio Flores R.1941–1943PRM Ramón Gutiérrez Páez1943–1945PRM Leandro Ocampo C.1945PRM Bonifacio Inda1946–1949PRI Leandro Ocampo C.1949–1951PRI J. Trinidad Ramírez1951PRI Acting municipal presidentRamón Gutiérrez1952–1955PRI Juan Nepomuceno Guillén1955–1958PRI Catarino Bautista Gutiérrez1958–1961PRI Santiago Ocampo Castillo1961–1963PRI Juan Francisco Lerma Martínez1964–1969PRI Antonio Gutiérrez Montaño1970–1973PRI Rafael Montes Isiorda1973–1976PRI José de Jesús Pérez Casillas1976–1979PRI Pedro Rico Dueñas1979–1981PRI J. Trinidad Hernández A.1981–1984PRI Ramón Peraza Camarena1984–1985PRI Raúl Guillén Íñiguez1985–1987PRI Eutimio Isiordia Mojica1987–1990PRI J. Jesús García Nolasco1990–1993PRI Rafael Rivera Monroy1993–1996PRI Armando García Jiménez 17-09-1996–16-09-1999PRI Óscar Sánchez Almada17-09-1999–16-09-2002PAN PRD PT PRS Alliance for ChangeIsabel Isiordia Aquino17-09-2002–16-09-2005PRI Juan Fernando Carrillo Noyola17-09-2005–16-09-2008PRI Gilberto López Ruelas17-09-2008–16-09-2011PRI Panal Heriberto Castañeda Ulloa17-09-2011–16-09-2014PAN José Luis Lerma Mercado17-09-2014–16-09-2017PAN Nadia Alejandra Ramírez López17-09-2017–16-09-2021PAN PRD PT PRS Coalition "Together for You"Heriberto Castañeda Ulloa17-09-2021–16-09-2024PT PVEM Panal Morena Anabel Margarita Guerrero Benítez17-09-2024–Morena PVEM PT Fuerza por México
References
Sources L.A. Times: Xalisco heroin trade part 1 L.A. Times: Xalisco heroin trade part 2 L.A. Times: Xalisco heroin trade part 3 Quinones, S. (2015). Dreamland: The True Tale of America's Opiate Epidemic. New York, NY: Bloomsbury Press.
External links Ayuntamiento de Xalisco Official website