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city in Guanajuato, Mexico
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León (Spanish pronunciation: [leˈon] ⓘ), officially León de Los Aldama, is the most populous city and municipal seat of the municipality of León in the Mexican state of Guanajuato. In the 2020 census, INEGI reported 1,579,803 people living in the city of León and 1,721,215 in the municipality, making it the fourth-most populous city and third-most populous municipality in Mexico. The metropolitan area of León recorded a population of 2,140,094 in the 2020 state census, making it the seventh most populous metropolitan area in Mexico. León is part of the macroregion of the Bajío within the Mexican Plateau, located roughly in the center of the country.
León has a large leather industry, making shoes, boots, belts, jackets, and other leather accessories for national and international markets. The leather industry earned its inhabitants the nickname of "green belly" (panzaverde in Spanish) because of the green tainting in the workers' bodies resulting from treating leather. Its hotel and service industry make it an important commercial center with numerous options for entertainment, gastronomy, leisure activities, arts, and recreation. It is also considered one of the most environmentally friendly cities in Mexico and has a high number of cyclists, in part because of integrating a network of bike lanes into the SIT system. In March 2012, it received an award as "City Water Champion", mainly due to great progress in the areas of sanitation, wastewater reuse, and energy cogeneration from biogas.
In the León area there are ten distinct archeological zones, dating from the pre-classic Mesoamerican period. Most of these are identified with the Chupícuaro culture. By the Classic period, the area was under Teotihuacan and Toltec influence. In the 13th century, the Chichimecas, mostly of the Guamare and Guachichil subgroups, overran the area, migrating from an area of what is now San Luis Potosí. They remained through the Colonial period.
In 1530, Nuño Beltrán de Guzmán arrived with allied Purépecha Indians to the area, naming it Nuestra Señora. Homesteads were granted by the governor of Nueva Galicia Francisco Vásquez de Coronado to Spaniards Rodrigo de Vázquez and Juan de Jasso. Farming and cattle-raising were introduced here around 1546 by the Spaniards, but these settlers were under constant threat by the Chichimecas, who recognized the Spanish as invaders. These settlers requested assistance from the viceregal authorities in Mexico City.
As a response, viceroy Martín Enríquez de Almanza ordered the founding of a city here, with the name of León in 1575. To carry out the order, Juan Bautista de Orozco founded the village of León on 20 January 1576, creating its first town council and laying out its initial streets. In 1580, it attained the rank of "alcadía mayor" meaning it has governing authority of much of the land and smaller towns surrounding it from the Sierra de Comanja to the Lerma River. For example, two other towns founded in the area were San Miguel and Coecillo. In San Miguel, the Spaniards settled the Otomi peoples and in Coecillo were settled the Purépechas, Mexicas and the Chichimecas that did not oppose Spanish rule. As the population of the area grew, a number of municipalities would eventually break off, such as San Francisco del Rincón, Purísima del Rincón (Purísima Concepción), Cd. Manuel Doblado (San Pedro Piedra Gorda), Huanímaro, Abasolo, Cuerámaro and Pénjamo.
In 1582, the first hospital of San Cosme y San Damián was established by Father Espino. The Jesuits arrived to León in 1731, founding the "Compañía Vieja" which is now the site of the Temple of the Immaculate. They also constructed the Temple of the New Company, which would become the cathedral, however they never finished it as they were expelled from Mexico in 1767. On 2 July 1732 arrived an image of Our Most Holy Mother of Light. She would later be declared the patron saint of the city, in 1849.
The population of the area suffered epidemics in 1643, droughts in 1630 and 1712–1714, famines in 1714 and 1786, and flooding in 1637, 1749, 1762, and 1803.
Independence forces under José Rafael de Iriarte arrived to the town on 4 October 1810. However, two months later royalist forces under Felix Calleja retook the locality, with insurrectionist sympathizers facing reprisals. About 2,000 insurgents on horses attacked the town but were repulsed by Count Pérez Gálvez. Royalist forces were attacked here in 1817 by Francisco Javier Mina without success. The town remained in royalist hands until the end of the Mexican War of Independence, when Agustín de Iturbide arrived. The town did not celebrate its first Grito de Dolores to mark independence until 1825. In 1827 it became one of the four "departments" of the newly created state of Guanajuato, and in 1830, it gained city status. In 1840, Father Ignacio Aguado founded the College of San Francisco de Sales and the College of La Madre Santísima was founded in 1844.
During La Reforma war, the city changed hands various times between Liberal and Conservative forces between 1858 and 1860. The most notable battle of that war here was when General José Iniesta attacked the town on 18 February 1859. In that same year, León even separated for a time from the rest of the state of Guanajuato.
In 1862, the bishopric of León was founded, separating the city of León and nine other municipalities such as Irapuato, Guanajuato and Dolores Hidalgo from the bishopric of Michoacán. Bishop Diez de Sollano opened the Conciliar Seminary in 1864. This bishop consecrated the Basilica Cathedral in 1866, even though it was not completed, giving the image of the Virgin of the Light a permanent home.
From 1863 to 1866, the French occupied León during the French Intervention, with Emperor Maximillian visiting the city in 1864. His arrival was much celebrated here, with fireworks and a hot air balloon exhibition put on by the Alemán brothers. However, when Liberal forces finally had permanent control over the town, two incidents occurred. On 30 September 1867, Coronel Cecilio Delgado Estrada ordered his men to shoot over the heads of people who prayed in the streets, causing some to be wounded. Another incident of this type occurred in 1877. The second was more permanent. The Liberals decommissioned the convent and college of Saints Peter and Paul, converting it into offices for city government. It remains such to this day.
On 2 January 1946, a mob gathered in the plaza in front of the municipal palace to protest elections seen as illegitimate. These protesters were fired upon, killing many. This plaza has been named the "Plaza of the Martyrs" in their honor.
Leon generally has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen: Cwa) with summer rainfall (according to Köppen climate classification, Cwa) that closely borders on a semi-arid climate. The average annual temperature is 19.9 °C (67.8 °F), the warmest month is May with a maximum average of 31.7 °C (89.1 °F), and the coolest month is January with a minimum average temperature of 7.7 °C (45.9 °F). Outside the city microclimate island, the ranges tend to be higher, with maximum averages reaching 2 °C higher than in the city, and minimum averages lowered by 3 °C or more. In the villages located in between the northern mountains the climate changes; it is considered subtropical highland climate (Cwb according to Köppen climate classification), the average annual temperature is around 16 °C (61 °F).
Leon averages 681 mm (26.8 in) of precipitation annually, which mainly occurs during the summer and early autumn (from late May through October) generally with thunderstorms in the evening. There is usually a discrepancy about whether Leon's valley is either sub-humid or semi-arid. Depending on the methodology, it can be considered as being either one or the other. With Köppen's methodology, there needs to be more than 678 millimetres (27 in) of annual precipitation for Leon to be considered as humid subtropical; according to several weather stations it may have both (humid subtropical and semiarid) terminologies applied to it. The years considered in the study may also be a determinant factor (more frequently used for international purposes is a 30-year data compilation). Years of average rainfall are rare; the usual pattern is bi-modal, with some large string of dry years usually related to La Niña phenomenon (slightly higher than 300 millimetres (12 in)) followed by other years (around 5) related to El Niño that make up the average (with higher than 39 inches or 990 millimetres). Snowfall is extremely rare. The latest snowfall recorded in Leon was in 1997, although there have been other years of registered slushy snow since 1997.
About 70 percent of all shoes made in Mexico come from León and the surrounding area. In addition to the Leather crafting, there are also industrial chemical, plastic, polymer, transportation, and container companies. The presence of the automotive industry includes a General Motors plant in the nearby municipality of Silao. In the financial sector, León is home to the national headquarters of Banco del Bajío, owned by Salvador Oñate, and to the regional headquarters of Banamex, and HSBC, among other banks.
A newly built facility within GTO Inland Port's premises speeds up the logistics process. Clearing customs in a border city or seaport is no longer a requirement for the companies located in GTO Inland Port. They now use this newly made facility.
A rail container yard is now offering inter-modal services for rail transportation. The facility is operated by the largest rail company in Mexico and has one of the longest rail spurs in the country.
In the Poliforum there are trade fairs throughout the year. The principal two are Sapica (Shoe Fair), and ANPIC (suppliers of the shoe industry).
León has several regional shopping malls:
The main church is called the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of the Light and is the seat of the Archdiocese of Leon. Construction of the church was begun in 1746 by the Jesuits and is a combination of Baroque and Neo Classic architectural styles. Construction was halted only eight months after it began when the Jesuit order was expelled from Mexico by the Spanish Crown. The Obregon family, however, took over its construction, continuing into the 19th century. The Archdiocese of Leon was created in 1864, with its first bishop, José María de Jesús Diez de Sollano y Dávalos helping to get the towers and cupola completed as he chose the church as the seat. It was finally completed and consecrated on 16 March 1866. Pope Benedict XVI officiated a mass here in 2012.
Its full name is the Santuario Expiatorio del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús (Expiatory Sanctuary of the Sacred Heart of Jesus). Construction of this shrine was begun in 1920 by Bernardo Chavez with the support of Bishop Emeterio Valverde y Téllez. It is neo-Gothic in design, based on the old European medieval cathedrals but much of the outside wallspace is without decoration. Its work was halted by the Cristero Wars. Since then construction has continued off and on and it is considered 90% complete. An important source of income for the shrine's construction is the sale of crypts. This practice was begun in 1924. A chapel dedicated to the Virgin of Lourdes was begun in 1935 and later a chapel dedicated to the Virgin of Guadalupe, which is separate from the main building, built between 1935 and 1939. A shrine with stained glass windows includes local allegories.
The current Municipal Palace is of the Ionic order and occupies part of the site of the old "Colegio Grande del Seminario de los Padres Paulinos" (Grand Seminary College for Pauline Priests) who had to abandon the city in 1860.
Text from the Wikipedia article “León, Guanajuato”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.