Zacatecas Hotels
Hotels in the city or region of Zacatecas are often required for tourists who require short term accommodation in the city and region. Some may want to see the culture, entertainment, sports, tourist attractions, society and architecture of the area. Some may want a hotel in the region that has good views and good parking and entertainment facilities. Many tourists may want a large or small hotel. Many want a hotel that has a good reputation. Some may want a hotel in the city or near the city.
Zacatecas is a city in Mexico, the capital of the state of Zacatecas. It was founded 1548, two years after the nearby discovery of silver, and became an officially-recognized city in 1584.
Zacatecas was founded in 1546 and built over a rich vein of silver discovered by Juan de Tolosa in the same year. This and other mines in the vicinity attracted a large population, and it soon became one of the chief mining centres of Mexico. In 1588 Philip II, King of Spain, gave Zacatecas its own coat of arms. The Franciscans built a college in 1616.
Silver from Zacatecas and from Potosí in Bolivia was coined as pieces of eight and transported around the world by the Spanish treasure fleets and the Manila galleons. It was this silver that helped pay for the wars of the Spanish Empire.
In May 1835, Mexican federalists in Zacatecas rose in revolt against Mexican president Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, who had suspended the Mexican Constitution and established a dictatorship the previous year. Santa Anna responded by crushing the rebels. He then rewarded his centralist soldiers by allowing them two days of rape and pillage in Zacatecas, during which more than two thousand noncombatants were killed.
In 1914, during the Mexican Revolution, Zacatecas witnessed the bloodiest combat of the Mexican Revolution, in a battle known as the Toma de Zacatecas (Taking of Zacatecas) between the Federal armies of Victoriano Huerta and the Constititutionalist troops of General Francisco Villa. Villa's victory led to the end of the Huerta regime. A monument to the battle and General Villa is at the summit of the Cerro de la Bufa overlooking the city.
Mining is now no longer as important a part of the local economy, and in fact the primary mine (the Mina El Edén) has been converted into a tourist attraction, including an underground disco in a large hollowed out cave. Indeed, the city of Zacatecas is a popular tourist destination for Mexicans, and many of the local businesses cater to them.
It is built in a deep, narrow ravine, 2496 m above sea level, with narrow, crooked streets (callejones in Spanish) climbing the steep hillsides, and white, flat roofed houses. The colonial center is a UNESCO World Heritage site and features elaborately decorated buildings, old palaces, residences and mansions; cobblestoned streets, colonial fountains and wrought-iron lanterns. The more modern outer suburbs are a mix of cinderblock shanties and gated communities for the wealthy. The city is centered on the Plaza de Armas, a small open square bordered by the cathedral and old 18th century mansion that houses the governor's palace. Other small plazas and parks (jardines) dot the city, among them the Jardín de la Independencia and the tiny Jardín de Juárez where the municipal palace is installed. Churches abound, and many have recently been converted into art galleries or museums.
Cathedral: It is one of the most beautiful examples of churrigueresque architecture in Mexico. It is an elaborately carved red-stone (cantera) structure that was built between 1730 and 1760. It is flanked by two towers with an exuberant ornamentation and has a notable facade that was richly sculpted but its once decorated interior was looted during the civil wars of the 19th and 20th centuries. Its cupola was reconstructed in 1836 and imitates that one of the church of Nuestra Señora de Loreto in Mexico City.
Church of Santo Domingo: Almost in front of the cathedral, on one of the corners of the Plaza de Armas, lies Veyna Alley, leading to the church of Santo Domingo that was built by the Jesuits between 1746 and 1749 and has a beautiful baroque facade. Splendid gold wood-carved altarpieces, all of them churrigueresque, and Francisco Antonio Vallejo paintings (XVIII) that represent scenes of The Passion can be found inside.
College of La Compañía de Jesus: It shows a richly sculpted facade; the cloister is surrounded by halls whose vaults are decorated with cherubim.
Church of San Agustin: It has a plateresque facade decorated with a bas-relief.
Parish of La Virgen del Patrocinio: It lies at the summit of a hill, Cerro de la Bufa. It was built in 1728.
Del Cubo aqueduct: It runs through the city. It was constructed more than 250 years ago.
Zacatecas is home to the Autonomous University of Zacatecas (UAZ) and a branch of the Tecnológico de Monterrey (ITESM).
Overlooking the city from an elevation of 150 m is the Cerro de la Bufa, a rocky outcropping crowned by a chapel and which is a popular spot for hiking and taking in the view of the city below. The city is also famous for its "Teleférico", an aerial tramway built by an Swiss company in 1978. The tramway starts at the Cerro del Grillo and "flies" over downtown Zacatecas giving passengers a breathtaking view of the city. The tramway then climbs up to the Cerro de la Bufa where passengers can either visit a museum or enjoy the view of the city.
Tourists particularly visit Zacatecas during the September Feria nacional de Zacatecas and again in the spring during Easter Week.
Sports sides in the region include ; Barreteros, Club Deportivo Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas
Zacatecas is one of the constituent states of Mexico. It is located in the north-central region and it is bounded to the northwest by Durango, to the north by Coahuila ,to the east by San Luis Potosí, to the south by Aguascalientes and Guanajuato and to the southwest by Jalisco and Nayarit. The state is best known for its rich deposits of silver ore, its colonial architecture and its importance during the revolution. The state is also known as one of the safest states in the country. Zacatecas has 58 municipalities and the main economic activities are mining, agriculture and tourism. The state shares its name with its capital and chief center of population, the city of Zacatecas, Zacatecas.
"Zacatecas" is the Nahuatl-derived name for one of the indigenous peoples who inhabited the region before the arrival of the Spanish. The name ultimately derives from the Nahuatl word for a type of grass common in the region, zacatl. The region where this grass grew was originally called Zacatlan, and its inhabitants, Zacateca, pluralized in Mexican Spanish to Zacatecas.
Besides the Zacatecas, the Caxcan, Guachichil, and Tepehuan were also reported by the Spanish to be inhabiting the region which comprises the modern state of Zacatecas.
On September 8, 1546, with the discovery of its mines, the present city of Zacatecas was founded. It was originally baptized "Minas de los Zacatecas" or "Mines of the Zacatecas". Its rich mineral wealth gave the Spanish Crown a great amount of income (the silver mines in Zacatecas and Potosi, Bolivia, were the Spanish crown's largest sources of income during colonialism), which gave the city of Zacatecas the title of Ciudad de Nuestra Señora de los Zacatecas.
Zacatecas is located in the great central plateau of Mexico, with an average elevation of about 7,700 feet. The state is somewhat mountainous, being traversed in the west by lateral ranges of the Sierra Madre Occidental, and by numerous isolated ranges in other parts – Mazapil, Norillos, Guadalupe and others. There are no large rivers, only the small head-streams of the Aguanaval in the north, and of the Guazamota, Bolaños and Juchipila in the west, the last three being tributaries of the Rio Grande de Santiago. The climate is dry and mostly falls in the semi-arid steppe type, although moisture from the Pacific does influence the state in Summer, particularly western sections.
Tourist destinations
The state has touristic cities like: Zacatecas, and Sombrerete. Near Sombrerete is a small town called La Noria, it is small but on July 27 they have a big festival celebrating the saint "San Pantaleon". There are other places like Jerez, and places like Sierra de Organos, Sierra de Cardos, and Altavista.
Zacatecas: The colonial center of this city is a UNESCO World Heritage site and
features elaborately decorated buildings, cobblestoned streets, and wrought-iron
lanterns.
Sombrerete: Colonial city established in 1555 as a village, actually
is a small city, is the fifth most important in the state, and considered the
second most beautiful city in the state. The city features old and beautiful churches
built in the New Spain Era, with decorated, old buildings. The municipality has
touristic forests, and Sierra de Organos, world famous for filming of western
movies.
Jerez de Garcia Salinas: A city near the capital city of Zacatecas
(Zacatecas City), has colonial buildings and the Santuario and Parroquial Churches,
made known internationally by Lopez Velarde, a writer born in that city. It also
has beautiful colonial buildings some of which are now lighted at night.
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