La Yesca
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La Yesca is a municipality and the municipal seat of the same in the Mexican state of Nayarit. The population of the municipality was 12,940 (2000) with a total area of 2,218.5 km². The population of the town and municipal seat was 537 inhabitants in 2000.
The name is derived from a species of porous and soft wood called "yesca". This wood is found in the region and catches fire when carved with flint.
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[edit] Geography
Location
La Yesca is located at the following extreme geographical coordinates: 22° 00’ to 21° 10’ north latitude and 103° 43’ to 104° 33’ west longitude. It is located in the southern part of the Sierra Madre Occidental. It is bounded in the north with the municipality of El Nayar and the state of Jalisco; in the south with this same state and with the municipalities of Ixtlán del Río and Jala; in the east with Jalisco, and in the west with the municipalities of Jala, Santa María del Oro and El Nayar. See map at [1]
Population centers
The municipality of La Yesca has the following places: the municipal seat with 356 inhabitants in 1995, Puente de Camotlán with 2,049, Huajimic with 1,061, Guadalupe Ocotán with 814, El Roble with 480 and Apozolco with 452. The inhabitants who reside in these places represent 36% of the municipal population, with the rest living in small settlements spread throughout the mountains.
The land and water
Mountainous zones comprise 95% of the area, semi-flat 5%. The first area is formed by Sierra de Álica, Sierra de Pajaritos and Sierra de Pinavete, while the second is located in Puente de Comotlán, San Antonio, Huajimic, La Manga, El Pinal, El Trapiche, Amatlán de Jora, Las Jaras and Hacienda Mansas Aguas. The main elevations are Sierra el Pinabete at 1,420 mts, la Sierra Pajaritos with an elevation of 2,500 mts. and la Sierra de Álica with an elevation of 2,200 mts.
The rivers are: Santiago, Bolaños, Camotlán, Huaynamota and Jora Viejo. Streams with a permanent flow are: Las Canoas, Los Trigos, Tapango, La Iguanilla, El Injerto, El Trapiche and El Giro. There are also two small lakes located in Apozolco and Huajimic- Comotlán.
Climate
Temperate and rainy in the high zones and tropical in the middle and low zones. The hot months are from March to July. The rain from July to October can often be accompanied by strong winds and hail. The average annual rainfall is 1,500 millimeters, but it is not uncommon to have prolonged drought. The average annual temperature is 25 °C.
Main ecosystems
More than 50% of the territory is forest with species of oak and pine, 20% is thick jungle of tropical woods like copal, tepehuaje, guásima, brasil and tepame. In wild fauna we can point out deer, jaguar, small rodents, eagles, and many different reptiles.
Natural resources
La Yesca has vast forest and mineral resources, as well as pastures for extensive cattle raising.
Use of the soil
The soil is generally rocky, eroded and with few lands for agriculture. The land with potential for forestry and cattle raising makes up 98.3% of the area, while the agricultural land is 1.7%.
[edit] Socio-demographic profile
Ethnic Groups
The census of 1995 registered 4,350 indigenous inhabitants, which made up 35.92% of the population. La Yesca had the second largest indigenous population in the state after El Nayar.
Demographic Evolution
In 1990 the census counted 10,758 habitantes, while in 1995 this had increased to 14,349 inhabitants, 49.81% of which were female. During this period there was an annual growth rate of 5.2%, much higher than the state average for the same period. Nevertheless, the population behaviour has fluctuated, since in 1960 the number of inhabitants reached the figure of 10,544, 214 more than in 1990. In the period between 1970 and 1980, the population went from 9,022 to 11,142 inhabitants. The population density was 7 inhabitants per square kilometer, one of the lowest in the state.
Religion
The main religion is Catholic, which is professed by 94.5% of the population. The practice is often unorthodox since in the ceremonies there is a mixture of the veneration of the images of the Catholic faith with the gods of nature venerated by the ancestors of the indigenous inhabitants.
[edit] Social and communications infrastructure
Education
The educational infrastructure is composed of 93 schools: 20 preschool, 66 primary, 6 lower secondary, and one upper secondary (bachillerato). There are also 3 preschools for the indigenous community and 5 primary schools. There are 8 public libraries. The literacy rate is 79.9%.
Health
The health infrastructure is made up of 1 clinic operated by DIF and 12 medical units, 8 of which belong to the IMSS - SOLIDARIDAD program and 4, to the Health Services of the state of Nayarit.
Supply
The mountainous terrain, the dispersed population, and the lack of road infrastructure make supplying the population very difficult, so there are government run community stores in the small settlements of the municipality.
Sport
There are 44 sports facilities where the main sports practiced are soccer, basketballs, volleyball, and baseball.
Housing
La Yesca had 2,577 dwellings (1995) with an average of 6 inhabitants per dwelling. 84% of the houses belonged to their occupants and 16% were rented or lent.
Most of the dwellings were only one room built of adobe and tiles. 69% had dirt floors, 63% had piped water, 55.7% had electricity, and 35% had drainage.
Possession of household goods
- Number of dwellings (2000): 2,537
- Percentage of dwellings with a radio: 74
- Percentage of dwellings with a television: 46
- Percentage of dwellings with a videocassette: 12
- Percentage of dwellings with a food blender (liquifier): 28
- Percentage of dwellings with a refrigerator: 14
- Percentage of dwellings with a washing machine: 18
- Percentage of dwellings with a telephone: .02 (49 total)
- Percentage of dwellings with a water heater: 11
- Percentage of dwellings with an automobile or pickup truck: 18
- Percentage of dwellings with a computer: .0019 (5 computers)
Means of communication
There are rural telephones, rural radiotelephone, post office, radio signals, and civil band earth receiving stations.
The road system is precarious and is made up of 123.6 gravelled kilometers. The main means of transport is by plane, with small planes that provide service by way of 19 runways located in Apozolco, Cortapico, Puente de Camotlán, Huajimic, La Yesca, La Manga, Guadalupe Ocotán, Amatlán de Jora, El Pinal, El Pinavete, El Trapiche and others.
The distance from La Yesca to Guadalajara by road is 120 kilometers. Leaving Guadalajara one takes the Autopista to Nogales, as far as Magdalena, Jalisco, from Magdalena to Hostotipaquillo on the national highway to Nogales and from Hostotipaquillo to La Yesca by dirt road open all year. This route takes about 5 hours of which 3:45 hours are on dirt road. [2]
[edit] Economic activity
Agriculture
The agriculture is 100% seasonal. The planted area is 33.47 km², which makes up 0.9% of the state total, and only 1.51% of the municipal total area. Of the planted area 94% is used for corn. There are also 62.75 km² of pasture and some fruit trees like the peach.
Animal raising
Cattle raising is the main activity of the municipality and there were , 85,874 head in 1995, which made up 13% of the state total. There are small numbers of swine and sheep.
Manufacturing
Manufacturing, for the most part, is based on handicrafts, with the indigenous population makeing cloth, dresses and jewelry. There are also some small tortilla factories and some lumbermills.
Mining
There is mining--mainly by panhandlers--for gold, silver, zinc, lead, and copper in the zone of Pinavete and in the mines of Zapotlán and Buenavista.
There is at least one active mine for gold and silver located on a 6 km² concession. The project includes two previous producing mines and a modern milling facility capable of milling 200 tonnes per day of feed. Approximately 200,000 tonnes of tailings are available to process immediately, with the tailings containing good grades of both gold and silver. See [3]
Forestry
La Yesca is the main processor of pine wood in the state. It produced 41% of the state total in 1995.
Economically active population
The EAP represented 23% of the municipal population 12 years and older. It is concentrated in the primary secory with 70%, secondary sector with 12% and tertiary sector with 13%. 5% were in non-specified activities.
[edit] Cultural and tourist activities
Historical Monuments
The municipal seat has the neogothic church of Santa María de Guadalupe, which dates from the eighteenth century.
Festivals, Dances, and Traditions
On 6 August locals celebrate Señor de la Misericordia with processions, dances, and fireworks, mixing Catholic beliefs with indigenous beliefs.
On 12 January, in Guadalupe Ocotán, locals celebrate the change of the wands “Cambio de varas”, which symbolize the change of power between the traditional authorities of the ethnic groups. The Virgin of Guadalupe is also celebrated in the settlement of Puente de Camotlán, and San José is celebrated in Huajimic.
Music
The music of violin, flute and drums, is still heard in the indigenous communities and in the municipal festivals.
Touristic Sites
The mountainous terrain makes the municipality an ideal site for camping, trekking, and mountain climbing, as well as observation of the flora and fauna in the unspoiled forests. The indigenous culture and traditions is another attraction.
[edit] Government
La Yesca was founded by Jesuits in 1716 and became a municipality in 1918, while the town of La Yesca became municipal seat in 1923.
The municipal government (cabildo) is made up of the mayor (Presidente Municipal), legal advisor (Síndico) and seven councilmembers (Regidores)one being Herasmo Castaneda at the time of writing. Five of the latter are elected by a simple majority and two by proportional representation. Each one has a substitute (suplente).
The Municipal President at the time of writing was Ivideliza Reyes Hernandez, elected for the period 2005-08.
