Santiago Ixcuintla

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Santiago Ixcuintla is a small city and a municipality in the Mexican state of Nayarit. In 2000 the population of the city and the municipality was 17,950 and 94,979 respectively. The total area of the municipality was 1,831.92 square kilometers, which made up 6.6% of the surface of the state. Santiago is located 67 kilometers northwest of the state capital, Tepic, and is just off Highway 15 (Mexico City-Nogales).

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[edit] Origin of the Name

The Náhuatl word Ixcuintla comes from Náhuatl itzcuintlan, from itzcuintle, which means dog (the common dog of the West at that time) and from tlan, which together mean "place of many dogs". The town of Santiago received the name in honor of the apostle Saint James, who is shown holding a sword, symbolizing the victory of evangelization over the religious cults and beliefs of the Prehispanic peoples.

[edit] Main Population Centers

The most important places are: Santiago Ixcuintla with 18,169 inhabitants in 1995; Villa Hidalgo with 11,175, La Presa with 3,932, Yago with 3,919, Pozo de Ibarra with 3,342 and Villa Juárez with 3,158. These settlements contain 46% of the total population of the municipality, while the remaining 54% is distributed among 137 small settlements.

The population of the municipality was the second largest in the state, after the state capital, Tepic, and made up 10.3% of the state total.

[edit] Characteristics of the Population

51.23% of the population lived in places with fewer than 2,500 inhabitants while 18.90% lived in places with more than 15,000 inhabitants. 33.13% of the population was under 15 years old while 6.68% was over 65 years old. The average age of the population was 23 years old.

[edit] Location

Santiago Ixcuintla is located in the north of the state of Nayarit inside the extreme coordinates of parallel paralelo 21º 37’ to 22º 16’ latitude north and in meridian 104º 53’ to 105º 39’ longitude west. The municipality has boundaries in the north with the municipalities of Tecuala, Rosamorada, Ruiz and Tuxpan; in the south with San Blas; in the east with Tepic and El Nayar; and in the west with the Pacific Ocean. See [1] for a map of the state.

[edit] Orography

In the east of the municipality, which lies in the foothills of the mountain range called Sierra Madre Occidental, there are very steep lands; further west are the semi-flat zones formed by small hills; and near the ocean are the flat zones made up of lagoons, mangrove marshes, estuaries, and agricultural lands.

The municipal seat has an elevation of 40 meters, Yago 30 meters, La Presa 20 meters, and most of the other settlements are located an an elevation of 10 meters.

[edit] Hydrography

The municipality is crossed by the waters of the Lerma-Chapala-Santiago and the San Pedro. The latter flows into the lagoon of Mexcaltitán. Other streams of permanent flow are El Mirador, El Jabalí, Agua Zarca and Cahuipa; to which we can add the seasonal streams of Las Goteras, Capulín and Aguacaliente. In addition, there is the San Rafael reservoir with a storage capacity of 35.6 million cubic meters of water.

[edit] Climate

The climate is hot and dry with the rainy season between June and October and with more intensity in July and August. The hottest months are from May to October. The wind direction is northwest to southwest with moderate winds. The annual rainfall varies from 1,595.1 mm to 1,266.1 mm. It increases as the altitude increases. The average annual temperature is 26.5ºC.

[edit] Main Ecosystems

The diversity of vegetation in the municipality is due to the existence of great extensions of salt water. There is hydrophile vegetation characteristic of tropical climates and mangrove zones. The fauna is typical of coastal jungle regions with lagoons filled with land and aquatic species such as : deer, wild pig, armadillo, rabbit, mice, squirrels, coyotes, hawks, ducks, and a great diversity of birds and marine fauna.

[edit] Natural Resources

The main natural resources are pasture for cattle raising, fishing and the fertile soil, lending itself to intensive agriculture.

[edit] Characteristics of the Land

Land used for agriculture makes up 40% of the surface, of which 18,628 hectares were irrigated, 42,440 seasonal and 14,176 wetlands. 27.8% was used for cattle raising, with 26,678 hectares for intensive raising and 24,425 for extensive raising. The remaining land is used in forest exploitation, fruit growing, mining, tourism and human settlement. Agriculture and fishing are the most important economic activities.

[edit] Socio-demographic Profile

Ethnic Groups

In the 1995 census there were 232 native peoples who spoke a native language, who made up 0.27% of the municipal population. The tribes represented were the Huichol and the Cora with 155 and 36 speakers respectively. The number of idigenous-language speakers was well below the national average of 7.1% or the state average of 4.6%.

Demographic Evolution

The census of 1990 registered 99,106 inhabitants, while in 1995 there were only 95,385, reflecting a growth rate of -0.67%. By 2000 the population was 94,979 inhabitants. The average annual growth rate between 1990 and 2000 was -0.43%, one of eight municipalities in the state to lose population. The population density in 1995 was 52 inhabitants per square kilometer.

Religion

The main religion is Catholic with 91.1% of the population (down from 94.0% in 1995). The rest either are Protestants or declared no religion.

[edit] Education and Health

In 2000 89.0% of the population between the ages of 6 and 14 could read and write. This was better than the national average of 87.3%. In 2000 92.2% of the population between the ages of 6 and 14 were attending school. In 1990 this had been 85.0%. The percentage of the population aged 15 or over with a middle school education and higher 17.0 (in 1990 it was 14,4%). The average number of years of schooling was 6.3 (national average was 7.6).

In the health area the municipal seat had two hospitals of second level (Hospital General de Santiago Ixcuintla and Hospital General de Zona del IMSS) together with 6 external clinics. In the rest of the municipality there were 20 external clinics.

Housing

In 1995 there were 22,059 dwellings in the municipality. By 2000 the number had increased to 23,823. Among the materials used in construction are red brick and block (stucco and cement), but there are others made of adobe, tiles, wood, and palm fronds. The average number of inhabitants per dwelling dropped from 5.6 in 1970 to 4.7 in 1990. Of the total number, 68.70% had piped in water, 73.60% drainage and 98.10% had access to electricity.

In 2000 there were 3.97 occupants per dwelling. 35.66% had one or two rooms. There was an average of 1.26 persons per room.

Quality of Life

  • Number of dwellings in the municipality in 2000: 23,748
  • Percentage of dwellings with other than dirt floors: 88.92
  • Percentage of dwellings with walls made of solid materials: 94.6
  • Percentage of dwellings with an independent bathroom: 88.42
  • Percentage of dwellings with an exclusive kitchen: 85.0
  • Percentage of dwellings using gas for cooking: 88.7
  • Number of dwellings with a television: 21,338
  • Number of dwellings with a fridge: 16,399
  • Number of dwellings with a washing machine: 14,031
  • Number of dwellings with a telephone: 4,449
  • Number of dwellings with an automobile or truck: 4,702
  • Number of dwellings with a computer: 308
  • Percentage of dwelling with no goods: 2.8 (goods include radio, television, videocassette recorder, food blender, fridge, washing machine, hotwater heater, computer, telephone, and automobile or truck)

All statistics are from the 2000 census provided by INEGI

[edit] Economic Activity

The economy is based on agriculture, animal raising, modest processing industries, and services. Santiago is the largest producer of tobacco in Mexico.

The municipality had 54,037.27 hectares dedicated to agriculture (1995). The most important crops were tobacco, beans, green chile, tomato, watermelon, jícama and melon in the autumn-winter cycle, and rice, watermelon, maize, sorghum, mango, banana, coffee and lemon in the spring-summer cycle.

According to the animal inventory of 1997 there were 37,576 cows, 3,634 pigs, 2,151 goats, 2,631 sheep, 4,963 horses, mules, and donkeys, as well as 49,353 poultry and 292 hives for honey.

Due to the coastline, the longest in the state, there is an enormous fishing potential. In 1997 the volume of capture reached 1,973.4 tons equavalent to 17.41% of the state total. La Boca de Camichín and Palmar de Cuautla are the most important fishing centers in the municipality.

Tourism

Tourism has the potential created by a long coastline, lagoons, estuaries, and tropical forest. The tourist infrastructure consisted of ten hotels, of which one was three star, two were two stars, and seven were economic class.

Economically active population by sectors

The EAP made up 31% of the municipal population and was distributed with 60% in agricultural and animal raising, 24% in services, 13% in manufacturing. 3.8% were involved in non-specific activities.

[edit] Cultural and Touristic Attractions

Monuments

In historical monuments the municipality has the church of Señor de la Ascensión built in the nineteenth century, with an altar cross dating from the eighteenth century; the Municipal Palace built in 1890; the Narciso Mendoza primary school dating from 1902.

Museums

In the municipal seat there is a modest museum, next to the Town Hall, where one can see archeological pieces found, mainly, in the region of Sentispac. There is also a museum on the island of Mexcaltitán which the Instituto Nacional de Arqueología y Historia (INAH) has put together (10 a.m.–2 p.m., 4–7 p.m. Tues.–Sun.), with several rooms of artifacts, photos, paintings, and maps describing the cultural regions of pre-Columbian Mexico. The displays climax at the museum’s centerpiece exhibit, which tells the story of the Aztecs’ epic migration to the Valley of Mexico from legendary Aztlán, now believed by experts to be present-day Mexcaltitán.

Celebrations

In the month of May the town celebrates the Spring Fair and “El Señor de la Ascensión”, both lasting together 15 days. The former is one of the most important in the state, with agricultural, industrial, and cattle expositions, cultural events, popular dances, bullfights, and cockfights.

On 28 and 29 of June, on the island of Mexcaltitán (old Aztlán), there is the celebration of the shrimp catch; on these days the inhabitants place the statues of San Pedro and San Pablo in two small boats, and follow them on a water procession. According to the locals, if San Pedro wins the race, the shrimp catch will be plentiful, but if San Pablo wins the catch will be poor. On the next day there is the blessing of the canoes and a mass in the middle of the lagoon.

Beaches

There is a great number of beaches: El Sesteo, Los Corchos, Las Coloradas and Palmar de Cuautla. The incline is gradual and the waters are calm and unpolluted.

The typical tourist activity is carried out in the ramada-restaurants which servie seafood in each beach, usually have a dance floor and offer areas covered by palm fronds (palapas) on the sand.

Mexcaltitán

Mexcaltitán is a small island with a circumference of less than a mile, floating in the swampy lowlands and mangroves off the coast. Some people believe this tiny fishing village was a stop-off for the Mexico (Aztec) people during their seach for a homeland. Some of the houses are built on platforms because the island floods during the rainy season. The economy is based on shrimp in the lagoon.

This is by far the most important tourist site of the municipality and should not be missed.

[edit] External links

Coordinates: 21°49′N 105°13′W

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