Celaya
| Celaya | ||
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Coordinates: 20 ° 31 ′ N , 100 ° 49 ′ W Celaya on the map of Guanajuato
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| Basic data | ||
| Country | Mexico | |
| State | Guanajuato | |
| Municipio | Celaya | |
| City foundation | October 12, 1570 | |
| Residents | 340,387 (2010) | |
| - in the metropolitan area | 468.469 | |
| City insignia | ||
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| Detailed data | ||
| height | 1750 m | |
| Post Code | 38000 | |
| prefix | 461 | |
| Time zone | UTC −6 | |
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With 340,387 inhabitants (as of 2010) Celaya is the third largest city in the Mexican state of Guanajuato . The municipality surrounding the city is also called Celaya and has (including the city) 468,469 inhabitants. The city, located in a valley basin in the central highlands, is around 1750 meters above sea level.
history
The original settlement was founded in 1570 by Basque immigrants of Spanish origin and was initially given the full name Villa de la Purísima Concepción de Zalaya . The Basque word Zalaya means "flat earth".
During the Mexican War of Independence , on September 28, 1810, Celaya was the first city to be captured by the priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla , who was fighting for the independence of his country from Spain .
A century later, Celaya again played an important role during the Mexican Revolution . On April 6th and 7th and from April 13th to 15th, 1915, there were two decisive battles between Pancho Villa's troops and those of the then Minister of War Álvaro Obregón . Villa was beaten both times and also lost the battles against Obregón in the following months. Between April and July 1915, the armies of the two adversaries faced each other four times, with the two battles at Celaya mostly counted as one. The Battle of Celaya is also considered the largest military conflict in Latin America before the Falklands War in 1982.
economy
Well supplied with water by the nearby Lerma River , the Celaya region became an important center for agricultural products and a growing livestock. In addition to the food industry - and here especially dairy products - the textile industry is of primary importance.
Celaya is home to a number of industries geared towards the agricultural sector. Mainly corn, beans, peanuts and tomatoes are grown. Celaya produces spreads (cajeta) and other dairy products and processes the agricultural products on the spot. There are also furniture manufacturers, machine builders and textile manufacturers. The city is also one of the centers of rail freight transport. The city also benefits economically from the connection to the Aguascalientes-Queretaro motorway, which connects it both with the capital and with northern Mexico. A number of educational institutions have also settled in Celaya.
Soccer
The city already had - at different times - two clubs in the Primera División , the top division in Mexican club football. Between 1958 and 1961 this was the Celaya Fútbol Club and later the Club Atlético Celaya, which was only created in 1994 through a merger . Since Celaya FC disappeared at some point and only reappeared in 2003, when Atlético Celaya had just disappeared from the scene, the line between the two clubs is blurred in such a way that they are often perceived by the public as one and the same club.
Sons and daughters
- Francisco Eduardo Tresguerras (1759–1833), architect and sculptor
- Juan Navarro Ramírez (1912–1970), Bishop of Ciudad Altamirano
- Raúl Velasco (1933–2006), television presenter and producer
- Alberto Cardinal Suárez Inda (* 1939), emeritus Roman Catholic Archbishop of Morelia
- Plácido Rodríguez CMF (* 1940), Former Bishop of Lubbock
- Alberto Coyote (* 1967), former football player
- José Juan Vázquez (* 1988), football player
Web links
- Enciclopedia de los Municipios y Delegaciones de México: Celaya (Spanish)