2016-05-30 Mon

Jalisco is considered to be the cultural capital of Mexico and is rightly termed as Jalisco es México which translates to Jalisco is Mexico. The state is known for tequila, mariachi, rodeos, Mexican Hat Dance and many other traditions. It is also one of Mexico’s most developed states.

When it comes to the ecosystem, Jalisco is very diverse with tropical evergreen forests, temperate forests, grasslands, tropical deciduous forests, and arid scrublands. The climate here is also different with 29 temperature zones. There are three peculiar types of rivers in this state namely, Lerma/Santiago River; southern rivers; and rivers that flow directly into the ocean. There are many active volcanoes in the area as well, the most notable one being, Tequila Volcano.

The state has eight conserved areas, 4 federal marine-turtle sanctuaries and a lot of protected rainforests, oak, fir, pine woodlands etc. 52% of Mexico’s bird species, 40% of Mexican mammals and 18% of Mexican reptiles live in Jalisco.

10,000 to 12,000 years ago, nomadic people lived in the area. After Hernán Cortés conquered Tenochtitlan in 1521, Spanish people settled in Jalisco. Even after border disputes the state became prosperous in the 1600s and 1700s due to trade. In 1810 the Spanish rule was overthrown when Pancho Villa marched into the city and demanded that its wealthy citizens give him a “loan.” This request was honoured and Pancho Villa distributed it to the poor.

Women here wear wide-skirt dresses with colourful ribbons. The cuisine of Mexico is defined by recipes like quesadillas, gorditas, and enchiladas which were invented here. Puerto Vallarta is a popular tourist destination known for its white-sand beaches and tropical flora.

A special 10 pesos .9999 fine silver coin was released in 2006 silver to commemorate Jalisco. The reverse depicts the famous social welfare organization, Cabanas Hospice which was built in the early 1800s. The obverse features the Mexican national shield. Mintage was limited to 6,000 only.

Jalisco was known for famous Army of the North pesos and several other significant coins. Researchers say that on January 18th, 1915, Pancho Villa left Jalisco and handed over his responsibilities to General José Delgado. Villa minted 1-, 2-, and 5-centavo coins to charge Delgado. General Delgado presented one of each of several new pattern pieces of the 10 centavos and the 1 peso coined. These designs were rejected by Pancho Villa though.