San Sebastián del Oeste () is a town and municipality, located on the western part of Jalisco state, Mexico, between 20°39' 45" - 21°02' 30" N and 104°35' 00" - 104°51' 00" W, at a height of 1,480 metres (4,856 ft).
Geography The municipality of San Sebastián del Oeste borders the state of Nayarit to the north; to the south, the municipality of Mascota; to the east, the municipalities of Guachinango and Mascota; and to the west, Puerto Vallarta.
The city and municipality are served by an airfield.
History San Sebastián was founded as a mining town in 1605, during the early Spanish colonial Viceroyalty of New Spain period. Gold, silver and lead were mined in the area. More than 25 mines and a number of foundries were established by 1785.
The town was formally established as a city in 1812.
Population At the start of the 21st century, San Sebastián town had a population of less than 1,000 people.
It reached a peak population of around 20,000 people by 1900. The prosperity of the town declined after the revolution of 1910.
Features
San Sebastián del Oeste is a designated Pueblo Mágico, one of the towns maintaining their historical character and promoted by the federal government as tourism destinations. It also receives tourists visiting nearby Puerto Vallarta on the coast to the west. Recent road improvements reduced transit time from Puerto Vallarta to under 2 hours. The Church of Saint Sebastian, whose original construction was in 1608, was designed in the Colonial Spanish Baroque style. It has notable architectural details, including Corinthian columns and ceiling vault frescos. Many structures in the city and municipality were built of cut stone and/or adobe in the 19th and earlier centuries, and remain unchanged. Some old haciendas in the municipality have been purchased and restored in recent decades. The city is on the Tentative List
Fiestas The town is known for its fiestas for religious holidays: January 20 — a fiesta in honor of Saint Sebastian. August 15 — a fiesta dedicated to the Virgin of the Asunción. October 7 — a fiesta for the Virgin of the Rosary. December 12 — the Virgin of Guadalupe is venerated at the small town of Los Reyes, near San Sebastian del Oeste city in the municipality. The Fiesta of Guadalupe occurs throughout Mexico on this date.
Government Its form of government is democratic and depends on the state and federal government; elections are held every three years, when the municipal president and her/his council are elected. The municipal president is Aurora Ponce Peña, from the Citizens' Movement party, who was elected in the elections on 6 June 2021.
Municipal presidents Municipal presidentTermPolitical partyNotesIgnacio Aguirre 1867 Francisco Landeros1868–1869Pablo Encarnación1872Herculano Robles1873Manuel Gil1873Pablo Encarnación1874Alberto Peña1876–1877Pablo Encarnación1879–1880Concepción Encarnación1882Manuel Gil1883Alberto Peña1884Calixto Sánchez1885Francisco Sánchez1886Concepción Encarnación1887Calixto Sánchez1888B. Bernal1889Francisco Sánchez1890Ricardo Ramos1891–1892Calixto Sánchez1892Francisco Sánchez1893Calixto Sánchez1894Aureliano Sánchez1895J. Francisco López1896Calixto Sánchez1897Alberto García1898Francisco López1899Manuel Gil1900Calixto Sánchez1901Isidro Robles1902Calixto Sánchez1903–1904Aureliano Sánchez1905Abraham González1906Aureliano Sánchez1909Calixto Sánchez1908Aureliano Sánchez1909José Robles1910Samuel Sánchez1911Efrén Aguirre1912–1913Agustín Encarnación1914Alfonso Ducreux1915–1916Antonio Siordia1917Isidro Robles1918Federico Bermúdez1919Ramón Villanueva1920Samuel Sánchez1920Antonio Peña1920Ramón VIllanueva1920Agustín Encarnación1921Amado Sánchez1921Samuel Sánchez N.1922Pedro Trujillo1922José Robles1923Ramón Villanueva1923Agustín Encarnación1923Ignacio Zaragoza1923–1924Pedro Trujillo1924Ignacio Zaragoza1925J. Guadalupe Arredondo1926Agustín Encarnación1926Antonio Esparza1926Antonio Siordia1926Samuel Sánchez N.1927Adrián Sánchez N.1927Feliciano Guerrero1928Alfonso Ducreux1929PNR Pastor Siordia Morales1930PNR Adolfo Ducreux 1930PNR Miguel Bernal Siordia1931PNR Ruperto Guerrero1932PNR Adrián Sánchez Noriega1933PNR Heliodoro Aguirre García1934PNR José Luis Bermúdez E.1935PNR Manuel Gil E.1936PNR Juan Manuel Bernal1936PNR Juan Quintero1937PNR José María Trujillo1938–1939PRM Julián Dueñas Lepe1940PRM José Medina Vázquez1941PRM José María Trujillo B.1942PRM Julián Dueñas Lepe1943–1944PRM Heliodoro Aguirre García1945–1946PRM Feliciano Guerrero López1947–1948PRI Heliodoro Aguirre García1949–1952PRI Leopoldo López Orendáin1953PRI Gonzalo Montes Villalvazo1954PRI Feliciano Guerrero López1954PRI Guillermo Gómez García1954–1955PRI Francisco Vázquez V.1955PRI Guillermo Gómez García1955PRI Juventino Bernal L.1956PRI Luis González Siordia1957PRI Francisco Sánchez Islas1958PRI Alfredo Sánchez Sandoval1959–1961PRI José María Trujillo Bernal1962–1964PRI Arnulfo Ponce Peña1965–1967PRI Ma. del Consuelo Trujillo González01-01-1968–31-12-1970PRI Gabriel Arredondo López01-01-1971–31-12-1973PRI Francisco Aguirre Gómez01-01-1974–31-12-1976PRI José Manuel López Bernal01-01-1977–31-12–1979PRI J. Jesús Hernández Pulido01-01-1980–31-12-1982PRI Bertha Aguirre Sánchez01-01-1983–31-12-1985PRI Heliodoro Gil Gil01-01-1986–31-12-1988PRI Jesús Martínez Ibarra1989–1992PRI Fernando Cervantes Gómez1992–1995PRI Ignacio Gudiño Salazar1995–1997PRI Juan Yáñez Morales01-01-1998–31-12-2000PRI Vicente Aguirre Rosas01-01-2001–31-12-2003PRI Miguel Cibrián Bernal01-01-2004–31-12-2006PRI Efrén Álvarez López01-01-2007–31-12-2009PRD PT Convergence "Coalition for the Good of All"Juan Yáñez Morales01-01-2010–30-09-2012PRI Panal Coalition "Alliance for Jalisco"Yesenia Pulido Ávalos01-10-2012–30-09-2015PRI PVEM Coalition "Compromise for Jalisco"Jesús Damián Vázquez Barajas01-10-2015–30-09-2018MC Luis Alberto Arredondo López01-10-2018–30-09-2021PVEM María Aurora Ponce Peña01-10-2021–MC
Images
See also Fray Nicolás de Jesús María
References
External links Encyclopedia of Mexican Municipalities (Spanish) Blog - San Sebastián del Oeste —San Sebastián del Oeste: "Un Pueblos Mágicos" (Spanish). World Heritage Sites, Tentative list — submission document