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Aguascalientes (city)

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Aguascalientes City
Aguascalientes
Main square, a landmark of the city, is often called "the exedra"
Main square, a landmark of the city, is often called "the exedra"
Location of Aguascalientes in central-north Mexico
Location of Aguascalientes in central-north Mexico
CountryMexico
StateAguascalientes
Founded22 October 1575
Government
 • MayorGabriel Arellano Espinoza ( PRI)
Area
 • City385 km2 (149 sq mi)
Elevation
1,888 m (6,194 ft)
Population
 (2005)
 • City663,671
 • Metro
701,170
Time zoneUTC-6 (Central Standard Time)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (Central Daylight Time)
Websitehttp://www.muniags.gob.mx

The city of Aguascalientes is the capital of the state of Aguascalientes in western central Mexico. It stands on the banks of the Río Aguascalientes, 1888 meters above sea level, at 21°51′N 102°18′W / 21.850°N 102.300°W / 21.850; -102.300. It is the municipal seat for the municipality of the same name.

The city was founded on 22 October, 1575. It became the capital of the newly formed state of the same name when its territory was split off from the adjacent state of Zacatecas in 1835. When the state separated from Zacatecas, Aguascalientes raced in considerable developement, while the state of Zacatecas remained behind in comparison.

The name originates from the Spanish words, "aguas calientes" meaning "hot waters". When the city was first settled by Juan de Montoro and 12 families, it was given this name for its abundance of hot springs. These thermal features are still in demand in numerous spas and even exploited for domestic use. The city was established as a post offering rest between the city of Zacatecas and Mexico City. It was never intended to be an important city; however, the city became the capital of the state of the same name with a metropolitan zone of over 700,000 inhabitants.

Aguascalientes was born out of four original neighborhoods of indigenous inhabitants: Guadalupe, where most travelers stayed on their way to the capital of Mexico, it has some of the most beautiful cementeries in Mexico; Triana, named after the legendary neighborhood in Seville, this is the most spanish neighborhood in style and constructions, and the oldest in the city, home of Jose Guadalupe Posada museum and magnificent church. La Salud was intented to be a great conventual complex, but it was never completed; only the church, cementery and square remain lined in colonial style stone streets. The San Marcos neighborhood is where the fabled San Marcos Fair has been celebrated for hundreds of years, it has a wonderful neoclassical garden and baroque church.

People from Aguascalientes (both the city and the state) are known by the whimsical Spanish demonym hidrocálidos or "hydrothermal" people. The former name the city received just after being established was: "Villa de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción de las Aguas Calientes" (Village of our Lady of Ascension of the Hot Waters")

In actuallity, tradition and industry identify the city of today. Its preserved colonial historic center testifies its rich architectural skill and cultural vision. In the other hand, the precisely planned perifherial expressways, as well as its first class avenues and lanes, are surrounded with industrial parks that employ thousands of people. The state reports a high index of migrants, especially from other states, seeking to adquire a superior quality of life.

Industry, economy and demographics

File:AgsDSC05667.JPG
"Plaza Bosques Tower"

According the latest census by the National Institute of Statistics, Geography, and Data Processing (INEGI), Aguascalientes City was the 13th largest metropolitan area by population in the country, with over 900,000 people in the year 2000. It is one of the fastest growing cities in Mexico. In fact, the city's urban area has grown so much during the last 10 years, that it has surpassed the boundaries of the neighboring municipality of Jesús María, annexing its municipal administrative head town to the metropolitan area of Aguascalientes, converted now into a suburb. Several private sources have publicized the population in 2005 as one million inhabitants. Technically, as of the 2005 census the city's population was 663,671, whereas the municipality's population was 723,043.

The largest Nissan plant outside Japan is located in the city, and among other models of cars, it manufactures the worldwide production of the Sentra and Versa. Due to this the city has a significant Japanese population.

Texas Instruments has one plant in Aguascalientes, it is dedicated to integrated circuitry (IC) manufacturing. Sensata Technologies, former Texas Instruments Sensors and Controls division, has one plant in the city, making sensors and controls for automobile, HVAC and industrial use. Flextronics is another electronics manufacturer that has a plant located in Aguascalientes City. There are also several companies that work in the robotics industry, the most notable being Fanuc Robotics.

Cultural life

Aguascalientes organizes the largest festival held in Mexico, the San Marcos Fair, which takes place from the middle of April to the beginning of May. The celebration was held originally in the San Marcos church, neighborhood, and its magnificent neoclassical garden; since then, it has greatly expanded to cover a huge area of exposition spaces, bullrings, nightclubs, theaters, performance stages, theme park, hotels, convention centers, and other attractions. It receives almost 7 million visitors every year.

The old part of the city revolves around its downtown and the four primordial neighborhoods from which the city expanded. The most exquisite building here is the baroque Government Palace (Aguascalientes Government Palace), dating from 1664 and built harmoniously in red volcanic stone, it boasts more than a hundred arches of pink quarry. The prominent baroque Cathedral counts as the oldest building in the city begun in 1575. A tall column in the center of the main square dates from colonial times; it held a statue of a Spain's viceroy, which was toppled when the country gained independence; the current sculpture on its summit commemorates this fact.

The extraordinary baroque of Guadalupe Church


Aguascalientes historic downtown is home to several outstanding museums including the Aguascalientes Museum (Museo de Aguascalientes), the city's art museum, housed in a classical-style building done by the beloved self-trained architect Refugio Reyes; the Guadalupe Posada Museum (Museo Guadalupe Posada)is located in the historic nationhood of Triana, exhibits the life and work of José Guadalupe Posada; and the The State's History Museum, which is housed in an elegant Noveau mansion typical of the Porfirian period with its patio and dining room ornate with vegetable motives in a mediterranean style, with a french academism facade, and interior columns and arcade of pink quarry that envision the eclectic style of the porfirian period at its best.

The Camarin of San Diego, interior detail

Other constructions of Refugio Reyes include the Paris Hotel, the Francia Hotel, and his masterpiece, the superb Church of San Antonio, considered to be one of the most beautiful churches in the country. The Church of our Lady of Guadalupe possesses an extraordinaryly exuberant baroque facade designed by Jose de Alcibar, a renowned architect of the period considered to be the most famous artist in Mexico in 1775. The Camarin of the Immaculate in the church of San Diego is considered by historians to be the last baroque building in the world; it transmutes from the baroque to the neoclassical styles; it is the largest of the fewwer than ten of these type of structures built in the whole continent.

Aguascalientes is also home to one of the country's leading provincial theatres. Outstanding examples are the Morelos Theater, historically important for its role during the Mexican Revolution as a convention site; architecturaly, the building is noted for its facade and interior, which houses a small museum. The Teatro Aguascalientes the city's premier Theatre and Opera House, its equipped with the latest technology; it offers world class performances and theatrical representations.

"Morelos Theater"

In addition, in the modern face of the city, the Museo Descubre astonishes as an interactive museum of science and technology aimed at providing with a hands-on learning experience. It also possesses an IMAX screen. The Museum of Contemporary Art is yet another top level museum that showcases extraordinary art.

The gothic structure of "Los Arquitos" cultural center is what it used to be one of the first bathhouses in the city, declared a historic monument in 1990. The Ojocaliente is also an original bathhouse still in use today, and fed with thermal springs. La Estacion Historic Area (The Old Train Station Complex) contains the Old Train Station and Railway Museum historic complex, which at some point in 1884 formed the largest rail hub and warehouses in all Latin America. The complex is adorned with dancing fountains, railway plaza and original locomotives and monuments. In this complex, the first locomotive completely manufactured in Mexico was made for the first time. It symbolizes the progress of the city and its transformation from the rural to a dynamic emergent industrial economy. The rail factories supplied with railways and locomotives to whole of Mexico and Central America. For its historic value, the Train Station, exotically english in architecture; the Alameda avenue; the railway hangars, the factory complexes, and its surrounding housing have been postulated to be placed in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Famous hidrocálidos

Sports

The city is home to the soccer team Necaxa, which plays in the Primera División de México. The team left Mexico City and relocated to Aguascalientes following the 2003 opening of Estadio Victoria, which is now the team's home venue.

Panteras de Aguascalientes is the city's entry in Mexico's National Professional Basketball League. Los Rieleros play baseball in the summertime Mexican Baseball League.

References

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