Valle de Santiago

Valle de Santiago is a municipio (municipality) in the Mexican state of Guanajuato, and also the name of its largest township and cabecera municipal .

Location

90 kilometres south of the city of Guanajuato and in the middle of the volcanic area. The municipality is located in the southern portion of the state in the Bajío region of central Mexico, and has an area of some 815.52 square kilometres (314.87 sq mi).The city of Valle de Santiago lies at an elevation of 1,720 metres (5,643 ft) in the east-central part of the municipality, approximately 90 kilometres (56 mi)

History

The settlement was founded in 1607 in the village known as Camémbaro, which in purépecha means "valley of the artemisias" (a very fragrant plant). The War of Independence the Valle de Santiago had a deep impact in Independence. In the brothers Albino and Francisco Garcia took their native Salamanca as their base of operations, along with the village of Valle de Santiago. Albino Garcia, known as "manco" - the one-armed man - was an intrepid guerrilla fighter, famed for the speed of his surprise attacks. Garcia developed a highly effective line in guerrilla tactics against the royalists. The rebels, riding two abreast, would launch what apparently was a frontal attack, and then suddenly, to the invariable surprise of the enemy, split into two lines, revealing a rope tied to their saddles. Then, at full gallop, they would bear down on the opposing lines, toppling the enemy soldiers. If the first riders did not get the required results, the operation was repeated as many times as necessary, with more ropes, until the Royalist lines were dispersed. Albino was finally captured on June 15, 1812 and imprisoned in Valle de Santiago by Captain Agustin de Iturbide. From there, he was transported to Celaya, where he, along with 150 of his band of guerrillas, was executed by firing squad. Toward the end of the 17th century the Hospital de Tarascos was founded here to care for the natives who were victims of epidemics devastating the population.

Population

As of the 2005 census, the city had a population of 62,121 (the eighth-largest community in the state), while the municipality had a population of 127,945.

References

• http://www.inegi.gob.mx/est/contenidos/espanol/sistemas/conteo2005/localidad/iter/ Link to tables of population data from Census of 2005] INEGI: National Institute of Statistics, Geography and Informatics
• Guanajuato Encyclopedia of the Municipalities of Mexico

External links

• Valle de Santiago Official municipal government website