Dolores Hidalgo

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Dolores Hidalgo (in full, Dolores Hidalgo Cuna de la Independencia Nacional) is a city and its surrounding municipality in the north-central part of the Mexican state of Guanajuato. It is located at 21.17° N 100.93° W, at an elevation of about 1900 meters (6200 feet) above sea level. In the census of 2005 the city had a population of 54,843 people, while the municipality had 134,641 inhabitants. The city lies directly in the center of the municipality, which has an areal extent of 1,590 km² (613.9 sq mi) and includes numerous small outlying communities, the largest of which is Río Laja.

Dolores Hidalgo was named a "Pueblo Mágico" in 2002.

[edit] History

Church and the Statue of Hidalgo

The city was a small town known simply as Dolores when Father Miguel Hidalgo uttered his famous cry for the independence of Mexico (the "Grito de Dolores") there in the early morning hours of September 16, 1810 in front of his parish church. After Mexico achieved independence, the town was renamed "Dolores Hidalgo" in his honor.

On September 28, 1810, Hidalgo's forces killed more than 500 Spaniard and Creole loyalist soldiers during the battle for Dolores; 2,000 Indigenous Mexicans died in the fighting.

Today Dolores Hidalgo is known primarily for its ceramics industry, which provides income to well over half the town's population. The inexpensive and mass-produced output of the town is marketed throughout Latin America.

The central square of the town, in front of Fr Hidalgo's historic church, is popular on weekends for the unusual flavors of locally-made ice cream, such as shrimp and tequila, sold by vendors from small barrows.^[1]

Interred in the towns cemetery one will find José Alfredo Jiménez, one of Mexicos most beloved singers, as well as her most prolific songwriter and popular composer.

Tomb of José Alfredo Jiménez.

[edit] References

^ Geri Anderson. DOLORES HIDALGO: MEXICO'S CRADLE OF INDEPENDENCE. finetravel.com. Retrieved on 2007-07-07.

Link to tables of population data from Census of 2005 INEGI: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática
Guanajuato Enciclopedia de los Municipios de México