Los Mochis, Sinaloa
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Los Mochis | |||
Iglesia del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús | |||
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Location of Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico | |||
Coordinates: | |||
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Country | Mexico | ||
State | Sinaloa | ||
Municipality | Ahome | ||
Founded in | 1893 | ||
Founded by | Benjamin F. Johnston | ||
Government | |||
- Mayor | Policarpo Infante Fierro PRI | ||
Elevation | 10 m (33 ft) | ||
Population (2005) | |||
- Total | 451,977 | ||
Time zone | Pacific Time zone (UTC-7) | ||
- Summer (DST) | Pacific Daylight Time (UTC-6) | ||
1 | |||
Website: www.ahome.gob.mx |
Los Mochis is a coastal city in northern Sinaloa, Mexico, located at . It serves as the municipal seat of the municipality of Ahome. As of the 2005 census, the population was 231,977, or almost 60 percent of the municipality's population.
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[edit] Overview
Los Mochis is the western terminus of the Chihuahua-Pacific Railroad, or ChePe, which passes through the scenic Copper Canyon. This railway was originally conceived by Albert K. Owen and approved by President Porfirio Díaz as a trade route linking the cattle markets in Kansas City with the nearest port on the Pacific Ocean, Topolobampo.
Today the Pacífico Norte irrigation region (Sinaloa-Sonora) in which the "Valle del Fuerte" is the largest district and is the principal agricultural area of Mexico, containing over 70% of all irrigated land and producing sugar cane, cotton, rice, flowers, and many types of vegetables. The valley is one of the largest producers of mangoes in Mexico.
Air transport is provided from Federal del Valle del Fuerte International Airport. Nearby Topolobampo is the second largest natural deepwater port in the world, known for its commercial fishing and increasingly important role in shipping.
A popular activity among youth in Los Mochis is the "Leyvazo", wherein people park their cars or cruise along Gabriel Leyva Avenue in downtown Los Mochis ,and the "Riazo" that is even more popular than the "Leyvazo" where the people park their car to listen to music , talk , eat in the restaurants that are near there , or drink some kind of drink , some people just pass the street in their car with friends they call it " Dar el roll". People also gather for a drink or barbecue under "Los Álamos" which are poplar trees that line the highway to Topolobampo Bay. As well as these activities, many residents of the city enjoy visiting the nearby beach of El Maviri. Many people visit this semi-desert island to spend a day at the beach or enjoy the seafood delicacies.
[edit] History
A colony of international renown was begun in the region in the late 19th century by a visionary named Albert K. Owen, a civil engineer from the United States. Built upon the principles of Utopian socialism, it floundered after surviving some 30 years.
The city proper was first settled in 1893 by a businessman named Benjamin Johnston, who came to find his fortune in sugar cane. He built a sugar refinery around which the modern city has developed.
In 2001, construction began on a four-lane highway which will eventually connect the port with the US state of Texas.
[edit] Education
The Universidad Autonoma de Sinaloa,[1] the Instituto Técnologico de Los Mochis[2] and the Universidad de Occidente[3] are the main higher education institutions in the city; these universities are public.
Basic and mid-level education is composed by several public and private institutions. Some of them include elementary, secondary and high school education in one facility, the Colegio Mochis (known as Instituto de Estudios Superiores de Los Mochis at the high school level) and the Centro Escolar del Noroeste are between the best private schools in Los Mochis then the Colegio Sor Juana Ines De La Cruz and the Colegio Monferrant follow them. There are also technical schools with a solid foundation in electrical and mechanical skills like the COBAES, CBTis and the CETis schools.
[edit] Tourist attractions
The botanical garden Parque Sinaloa, the Pérgola, the Valle del Fuerte Regional Museum, the Memorial hill (Cerro de la Memoria), hunting and fishing, the Sagrado Corazón de Jesús church, and the Gabriel Leyva Ave. (where young people hang out Sunday nights).It also has several night clubs,variety of restaurants especially sea food restaurants.
[edit] Sports
Los Mochis is also known for its sports teams and parks to motivate the practice of sports, it has 2 big parks named "Ciudad Deportiva" that have runnig tracks, pools , tennis courts ,baseball fields and a soccer stadium with a capacity of 11,000.The baseball team of Los Mochis is named Cañeros de Los Mochis,the football team are called Dorados de Los Mochis, and its basketball team is called Pioneros.
[edit] Sister cities
- Culiacan,Sinaloa
- Guasave,Sinaloa
[edit] Notable people
- Francisco Labastida, ex-candidate to the 2000 Mexican presidential election.
- Denisse Guerrero, lead singer of the Mexican electropop band Belanova
- Jorge "Travieso" Arce, popular Mexican flyweight boxer and TV celebrity
- Fernando "Cochulito" Montiel, junior bantamweight champion (WBO)
- Teddy Higuera, major league pitcher[4]
- Laura Harring, actress
- Omar Bravo, footballer
- Humberto "Zorrita" Soto, Boxer, World champion.
- Ivan Solano, boxer, world champion.
- Canuto Ibarra Guerrero, Businessman, Politician
- Luis Ayala, relief pitcher for the Washington Nationals
- Juan Castro, former shortstop for the Cincinnati Reds
[edit] References
- ^ Universidad Autonoma de Sinaloa
- ^ Instituto Técnologico de Los Mochis
- ^ Universidad de Occidente
- ^ Teddy Higuera Statistics. baseball-reference.com. Retrieved on 2008-04-17.
[edit] External links
- Gobierno municipal de Ahome
- Dorados de Los Mochis (Football club - in Spanish)