Xocchel Municipality (, in the Yucatec Maya Language: “counting jays”) is a municipality in the Mexican state of Yucatán containing 53.65 km2 of land and located roughly 45 km southeast of the city of Mérida.
History During pre-Hispanic times, the area was part of the chieftainship of Ah Kin Chel. After the conquest the area became part of the encomienda system. In 1753, two women were the encomenderas for Xocchel, Catalina Guerrero y Ulbarri and María Enríquez de Novoa, responsible for 207 indigenous people.
Yucatán declared its independence from the Spanish Crown in 1821. On 30 November 1840 a partition was made assigning Xocchel to the Izamal Municipality. In 1988, it was made its own municipality.División territorial del Estado de Yucatán de 1810 a 1995, pp 123-124
Governance The municipal president is elected for a three year term. The town council has four councilpersons, who serve as Secretary and councilors of public service, nomenclature, cemeteries, and parks.
Communities The head of the municipality is Xocchel, Yucatán. The other populated areas are Much, El Paraíso, Santa Cruz, X-lelbé, and Yaxquil. The significant populations are shown below:
Community Population Entire Municipality (2010) 3,236Xocchel 2905 in 2005
Local festivals Every year from 24 to 29 June, the feast of San Juan Bautista, patron saint of the village, is held.
Tourist attraction Church of San Juan Bautista
References