Querétaro (city)

Santiago de Querétaro (; Otomi: Dähnini Maxei), most commonly known as Querétaro, is the capital and largest city of the state of Querétaro, located in central Mexico. It is part of the macroregion of Bajío. It is northwest of Mexico City, southeast of San Miguel de Allende and south of San Luis Potosí. It is also the seat of the municipality of Querétaro, divided into seven boroughs. In 1996, the historic center of Querétaro was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

The city is a strong business and economic center and a vigorous service center that is experiencing an ongoing social and economic revitalization. All this has resulted in high levels of migration from other parts of Mexico.

Querétaro has seen outstanding industrial and economic development since the mid-1990s. The Querétaro metropolitan area has a per capita GDP of US$20,000, second highest among Mexico's metropolitan areas after Monterrey. The city is the fastest-growing in the country, basing its economy on IT and data centers, logistics services, aircraft manufacturing and maintenance, call centers, the automotive and machinery industries, and the production of chemicals and food products. The region of Querétaro has a rapidly growing vineyards agriculture and hosts the famous wine producer from Spain Freixenet. Wine production in the state of Querétaro is now the second largest in Mexico after that of the Baja California region.

Major international corporations in the aerospace, electronics, automotive, chemical, food, and financial areas have their national headquarters in Querétaro.

Etymology

In the Otomi language, it is referred to as "Maxei" or "Ndamaxei", which means ball game and the grand ball game respectively. In the Mendocino Codex the town is called Tlaschco or Tlaxco, from the Nahuatl word for ball game. However, Querétaro most likely comes from k'eri ireta rho, meaning place of the great people, especially since during Aztec times about 15,000 people lived here. Querétaro has an Aztec glyph to represent it as it was a tributary province. In 1655, it received a coat of arms from the Spanish Crown. In Pre-Columbian terminology, Querétaro literally means "the island of the blue salamanders". Nevertheless, other scholars suggest that it can mean "place of the reptiles" or "place of the giant rocks".

History

left|thumb|Statue of [[Otomi trader Conín de Xilotepeque, also known as Hernando de Tapia, founder of the city together with Juan Sánchez de Alanís in 1531.]]

thumb|left|Statue of a traditional dancer in downtown.

Pre-Foundation

The area was settled around AD 200 by Mesoamerican groups moving north, and archeological sites here show Teotihuacan influences. From the Classic Period, there were two population centers in this area called Toluquilla and Las Ranas. The mountain now known as El Cerrito was a ceremonial center, but was later abandoned for unknown reasons. A stone cross imitating the one the Spanish supposedly saw was erected on the hill, which later was accompanied by a church and monastery. However, the initial attempts to establish the city of Querétaro were repelled by the locals, forcing Bocanegra south and establishing the cities of Huimilpan and Acámbaro.

Bocanegra continued negotiating with the lord of Xilotepeque, Conín. The lord's cooperation was gained, for which he was eventually credited for bringing an end to the Spanish-Chichime/Otomi conflict and was made the Spanish governor of the area. However, most of Querétaro's early colonial history was marked by skirmishes between the remaining Chichimeca insurgency and the Spanish authorities, with one of the first being over the establishment of encomiendas.

Literary circles called tertulias were a popular pastime for the upper Creole classes, as they also served as a relatively safe place to discuss politics. One such occurred regularly at the house of José María Sánchez, with the name of the Asociación de Apatistas, which became a group dedicated to independence and winning supporters to the cause. Members included licenciados Lorenzo de la Parra, Juan Nepomuceno Mier y Altamirano, Manuel Ramírez de Arellano y Mario Lazo de la Vega José María Sánchez, Fray José Lozano, Antonio Tellez, don Emeterio y Epigmenio González, José Ignacio de Villaseñor Cervantes y Aldama, Dr. Manuel Marciano Iturriaga, Pedro Antonio de Septién Montero y Austri, Luis Mendoza, Juan José García Rebollo, Francisco Lojero, Ignacio Gutiérrez, Mariano Hidalgo, Mariano Lozada, José María Buenrostro, Manuel Delgado, Francisco Araujo, Felipe Coria, Francisco Lanzagorta, Ignacio Villaseñor and José María Sotelo. The group was visited on occasion by Ignacio Allende, Juan Aldama, Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez, Miguel Domínguez and Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla. This associación was important for the early organisation of those seeking independence for Mexico. This constitution still remains the law of the land.

Geography

Santiago de Querétaro is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state of Querétaro. It is located in central Mexico. It is part of the macroregion of Bajío. It is 213 kilometers (132 mi) northwest of Mexico City, 63 kilometers (39 mi) southeast of San Miguel de Allende and 200 kilometers (120 mi) south of San Luis Potosí.

The municipality has a territory of and borders three municipalities in Querétaro and one in Guanajuato. Most of the precipitation falls from June to August. Freezing temperatures are possible in the winter.

|source 2 = Colegio de Postgraduados

|date=January 2011

Flora and fauna

thumb|The area surrounding Querétaro is full of fields, steppes and hills.In most areas, various species of cacti can be seen such as the organ pipe and nopals, as well as the yucca. Trees adapted to dry climates include mesquite, willows and cypress, near streams and rivers. Animal life mostly consists of small mammals, deer, predatory birds and reptiles. In some areas, monarch butterflies can be seen as well. Nature reserves in the municipality include the Peña Colorado, Tángano, Parque Ecologicao Joya-La Barreta and the El Cimatario National Park.

Economy

thumb|Glassworking made Querétaro an economic center in the 1700s, and glass crafting is still a trade mark of the city today.

Economic growth has been outstanding during the last decade. Today, Querétaro is a middle class city in terms of PPP GDP, with $20,000, The municipality of Querétaro was ranked 23rd in Mexico on the United Nations Index of Human Development. Querétaro debuted in 13th place in the 2006 rankings of the "Best Cities to do Business in Latin America" in América Economía, a leading economic magazine. In the 2007 rankings, it is considered the second best place in Mexico to do business, In its 2007 survey entitled "Cities of the Future", FDI magazine ranked Querétaro as having the third highest cost effectiveness of all North American cities between 500,000 and two million people. In the overall classification of large cities, Querétaro was ranked sixth.

Especially changes like the deconcentration of the economic activities (industry and service) and the emergence of a housing market lead to significant growth in cities like Querétaro.

Major corporations headquartered in Querétaro include Bombardier Aerospace (an airplane manufacturing facility in Mexico), Kellogg's, Samsung Electronics, Daewoo, and Colgate-Palmolive. Harman International Industries, General Electric, Michelin, Tetra Pak, Siemens Mexico, New Holland, Faurecia, ABC Group, Autoliv, TRW Automotive, Tremec, Valeo, Funai, Procter & Gamble, Nestlé, Pilgrim's Pride, Santander Bank's call center for Latin America, Mabe Mexico, Irizar, Scania, Hitachi, Kostal, Aernnova, Dana, Dow Chemical, Bose, Alpha Hilex, Saint-Gobain, Flex-N-Gate, ThyssenKrupp, and TCS.

Festival of Santiago de Querétaro

thumb|The Neptune fountain, a symbol of the city

The Festival of Santiago de Querétaro is an annual arts and cultural event that takes place in the city for eight days during Holy Week. It is sponsored by the city of Querétaro along with CONACULTA and the Secretary of Tourism for the state of Querétaro. Each year the event has a theme, which was being "Arte in Todos los Sentidos" (Art in All Senses) in 2009. The events are held in various locations, such as the City Museum, the Guerrero Garden, the Zenea Garden and the Rosalio Solano Theatre as well as the various plazas around the city center. The festival is held during Holy Week holiday to attract Mexican and international visitors to the city. The event starts with an inaugural parade through the streets of the historic center, starting from Corregidora Street to Constituyentes, Angela Peralta, Juárez, Madera, and Guerrero streets. The parade ends at the site where public officials open the event. With a total population of 1,594,212 in 2020, it is the 8th largest metro area in Mexico, as well as the 128th largest in the largest metropolitan areas in the Americas.

The metropolitan area of Querétaro has seen a high population growth since the second half of the 1990s, making it the second fastest-growing in the country, just behind Cancún.

Querétaro is among the top five most competitive metropolitan areas in Mexico.

In January 2008, the government of the border municipality of Apaseo el Alto in the state of Guanajuato announced the construction of an urbanization for 120,000 inhabitants, which will be part of the metropolitan area of Santiago de Querétaro.

{| class="wikitable sortable"

! Municipality

! State

! Type

! Area (km<sup>2</sup>)

! 2020 census

! 2010 census

! Change

|align="left"|Querétaro

|align="left"|Core

|align="center"|682.7

|align="left"|Corregidora

|align="left"|Querétaro

|align="left"|Core

|align="center"|234.9

|align="left"|El Marqués

|align="left"|Querétaro

|align="left"|Core

|align="center"|747.6

|align="left"|Huimilpan

|align="left"|Querétaro

|align="left"|Peripheral

|align="center"|388.1

|align="left"|Apaseo el Alto

|align="left"|Guanajuato

|align="left"|Peripheral

|align="center"|373.9

|align="left"|Total

|align="left"|

|align="center"|2,427.3

Transportation

alt=|thumb|Querétaro's main Bus Terminal and surrounding highways.

Roads

Querétaro is the crossroads of Mexico. Federal Highway 57, which runs from Mexico City to Piedras Negras, Coahuila, crosses Querétaro. Federal Highway 45 leaves Querétaro westbound, towards Guanajuato. The part of Federal Highway 57 that crosses the city is called Blvd. Bernardo Quintana, and this is the main road of the city, stretching from its southernmost part near City Hall, to the new industrial areas northwest of downtown. Federal Highway 45 crosses the city, south of downtown. Cinco de Febrero Ave joins them in a north–south route. The three of them form a sort of ring road around downtown. The railway line that connects Mexico City with western Mexico bisects the city.

The Libramiento Sur-Poniente is a new ring road under construction, though parts of it already exist. When completed, it will join Bernardo Quintana on its southeastern part, go around the city in its southwestern and western parts, and reach the northern suburb of Santa Rosa Jauregui. Currently, there is work in progress that aims to extend Bernardo Quintana on its northwestern end to this ring road.

Another freeway, named after missionary Junípero Serra who founded the Missions of the Sierra Gorda, creates another ring road. It goes from northeast Querétaro around the old airport, reaches the northern suburb of Juriquilla and goes southwards down to the Libramiento Sur-Poniente.

Public transport

Querétaro's public transportation consists of private owned bus companies that pick up and drop off over a specific route. These cover 123 authorized routes all neighborhoods of the city. There are also conventional taxis. The city also has a large inter-city bus terminal.

Air

Querétaro International Airport began operations in 2004, replacing the old Ing. Fernando Espinoza Gutiérrez International Airport in the city. The airport handles passengers and freight of both transport and private airplanes, and in recent years became of the fastest growing airports in Mexico in terms of passengers. Plans to convert the old airport into an international one began in 1999, after studies indicated the need for such. Construction of infrastructure began in 2002.

Education and research

The city and its surroundings are home to some of the most important universities in Mexico. The most prestigious universities in Mexico, the National Autonomous University of Mexico, the Universidad Anáhuac and the ITESM (Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey), have set campuses at the outskirts where significant research is carried out. UNAM is a public institution and the Universidad Anáhuac and the ITESM-Querétaro are private.

The Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro (founded in 1625 as the College of St. Ignatius of Loyola. It is the largest and most important university in the state. It ranked fifth in the Times Higher Education magazine's "Top universities in Mexico 2024")
Instituto Tecnológico de Querétaro
Universidad del Valle de México
Universidad Anáhuac
Universidad Contemporánea
Universidad TecMilenio, Campus Querétaro
Universidad del Golfo de México, Campus Querétaro
Universidad Politecnica de Querétaro
Universidad Cuauhtémoc
Universidad Univer-Aliat
Escuela Bancaria y Comercial
Universidad Corregidora de Querétaro
Universidad Veracruzana
Universidad del Valle de Atemajac
Universidad Marista
Escuela Normal del Estado
Centro de Estudios Universitarios Londres
Universidad Liceo
Universidad Tecnológica de Querétaro
Universidad Nacional Aeronáutica en Querétaro
Instituto Gastronómico y de Estudios Superiores
Centro de Estudios en Ciencias de la Comunicación
Centro de Formación de Recursos de Enfermería de Querétaro
Instituto Tecnológico de la Construcción
Centro de Estudios Odontológicos
Centro Universitario Andamaxei
Centro de Estudios Superiores del Bajio
Universidad Interamericana del Norte
Colegio Universitario De Humanidades
Universidad Metropolitana Latina
Centro de Estudios de Posgrado en Salud Mental
Universidad CNCI
Colegio Universitario de Formación Empresarial, Querétaro
Universidad Internacional de Querétaro
Centro de Investigación en Ciencia Applicada y Tecnología avanzada (part of the IPN)
CUDH

The city is also home to more than seven research centers. Among the most important are CIATEQ, CIDESI and CIDETEQ. There are also several private research centers.<gallery>

File:ITESM Campus Queretaro.jpg|ITESM (Tec de Monterrey), Querétaro campus.

File:UNAM campus Juriquilla 2.jpg|UNAM, Juriquilla campus

File:Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, campus Juriquilla.jpg|Autonomous University of Querétaro (UAQ).

</gallery>

Sports

thumb|Interior of the [[Estadio Corregidora.]]

thumb|Josefa Auditorium

The city has one of the most modern stadiums in Mexico, the Estadio Corregidora, built for the FIFA World Cup held in 1986. Querétaro F.C. of the Liga MX plays there.

One of the most popular sports in the city is bullfighting. There are two bullrings, Santa María, and Juriquilla. Santa María was inaugurated on December 22, 1963, and it has a capacity for 13,000 spectators. Juriquilla is much smaller but considered the most beautiful bullring in the country.

Another popular sport is American Football which is played in different institutions (UAQ [Gatos Salvajes], ITQ [Zorros] & ITESM [Borregos Salvajes]), Querétaro has two college football teams, the Zorros of ITQ (ONEFA) and Borregos Salvajes ITESM campus Querétaro (CONADEIP).

Golf is also quite popular, with numerous courses including: Juriquilla, Campestre, Balvanera, and El Campanario. San Gil and Tequisquiapan are located near the city itself.

There are two wrestling or Lucha Libre Arenas in the city, the Arena Querétaro that has matches from the Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre, the Desastre Total Ultraviolento, and the Auditorio Arteaga a multipurpose venue that hosts Libertadores de Querétaro basketball and AAA fights.

The Auditorio Arteaga also serves as Basketball stadium for the city team Libertadores and for traditional wrestling, volleyball and other sports. This venue has a capacity of 3000 people seated.

The Auditorio Josefa Ortiz is the largest multipurpose venue in the city, it serve for tennis matches (Davis Cup), Tae Kwon Do, Table Tennis, and other sports, it has a capacity of 6000 seated in stadium formation.

Other sport facilities in the city include:

Parque Querétaro 2000: Olympic pool, Tae Kwon Doo arena, gymnasium, Football field, Baseball field, Volleyball, Running Path, among other.
Parque Alfalfares: Basketball courses, Tennis courses, Semi Olympic Pool, Football field (Association and American), Baseball and Volleyball
Estadio Municipal: Football stadium with capacity for 1000 people seated.
Unidad Deportiva UAQ: state university sports unit, open to the public.
Unidad Deportiva IMSS: health care system sports unit, for special events and open to the public and workers of IMSS

The municipality

As municipal seat, the city of Querétaro is the governing authority for 132 communities in the municipality, divided into seven delegations. In 2008, National Geographic Traveler listed Querétaro as one of the top 15 historic destinations of the world.

Notable sites

The most prominent feature of the city is the enormous aqueduct of Querétaro, consisting of seventy-four arches, each twenty meters wide with a total extension of 1,280 meters and an average height of 23 meters.

Most of the rest of Querétaro's notable sites are located in the historic center, which is pedestrian-friendly and filled with colonial architecture. The local government maintains this area well, with cleaning crews to keep the streets clean and regulating vendors so that they do not block streets and sidewalks. In the evening, the area fills with people strolling the plazas and walkways and frequenting the area's restaurants, cafes and food stands. The Plaza de la Constitución and Jardin Zenea plaza (named after liberal governor Benito Zenea) were part of the atrium of the church and monastery. This area is crowded every night and all day on Sunday, when the municipal band plays dance music from the 1940s to the 1960s. The outside is flanked by scroll-shaped flying buttresses, which only serve as decoration and are unique to Querétaro. The Church of Santa Clara maintains its religious function. Inside are six Baroque altarpieces and a choir loft, all of which are covered in gold leaf. On the altarpieces sculptures and paintings of saints appear, as well as the faces of angels among the thickly textured ornamentation covering the altarpieces.

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Tuxtla, Chiapas, Mexico

Gallery

File:Andador 5 de mayo.jpg|A street in the historic district of Querétaro

File:Acueducto de Querétaro - Santiago de Querétaro, México.jpg|Aqueduct.

File:Catedral de Querétaro.jpg|Cathedral of Querétaro.

File:Casa de la corregidora.jpg|Casa de la Corregidora.

File:Templo de San Agustín en Querétaro, México.JPG|San Francisco church.

File:Templo de la Congregación de Guadalupe - Santiago de Querétaro, México - I.jpg|Historic center.

File:Panteón de los Queretanos Ilustres - Santiago de Querétaro, México.jpg|Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez Mausoleum.

File:Santa Rosa de Viterbo,Queretaro.jpg|Santa Rosa de Viterbo.

</gallery>

Notable Natives

Diego Pacheco (born 1995) - footballer
Francisco León de la Barra - president of Mexico from May 25, 1911 to November 26,1911
Manuel Gómez Pedraza – president of Mexico from December 24, 1832 to March 31, 1833

References

External links

Official Municipio de Querétaro website —