Chapala
Municipality and town
Coat of arms of Chapala
Coat of arms
Municipality location in Jalisco
Municipality location in Jalisco
Chapala is located in Mexico
Chapala
Chapala
Location in Mexico
Coordinates: 20°18′19″N 103°11′5″W / 20.30528°N 103.18472°W / 20.30528; -103.18472
Country Mexico
StateJalisco
Area
 • Total630 km2 (240 sq mi)
 • Town5.43 km2 (2.10 sq mi)
Population
 (2020 census)[1]
 • Total55,196
 • Density88/km2 (230/sq mi)
 • Town
24,352
 • Town density4,500/km2 (12,000/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC-6 (Central (US Central))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (Central (US Central))
Website(in Spanish) Official site

Chapala (Spanish: [tʃaˈpala] ⓘ) is a town and municipality in the central Mexican state of Jalisco, located on the north shore of Lake Chapala, Mexico's largest freshwater lake. According to the 2015 census, its population is 50,738 for the municipality.[2] The municipality includes about 11,000 in the town of Ajijic.

Geography

Chapala is 28 miles (45 km) south-southeast of Guadalajara, on Mexican Federal Highway 44. It is located at 20°20' North, 103°10' West.

Climate

Climate data for Chapala
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 30.0
(86.0)		 32.0
(89.6)		 34.5
(94.1)		 37.0
(98.6)		 39.0
(102.2)		 36.5
(97.7)		 35.0
(95.0)		 36.5
(97.7)		 31.0
(87.8)		 33.5
(92.3)		 30.0
(86.0)		 30.0
(86.0)		 39.0
(102.2)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 22.7
(72.9)		 24.4
(75.9)		 27.0
(80.6)		 28.9
(84.0)		 30.3
(86.5)		 28.5
(83.3)		 26.2
(79.2)		 26.0
(78.8)		 25.7
(78.3)		 25.4
(77.7)		 24.5
(76.1)		 22.8
(73.0)		 26.0
(78.8)
Daily mean °C (°F) 17.0
(62.6)		 18.1
(64.6)		 20.2
(68.4)		 22.0
(71.6)		 23.4
(74.1)		 22.8
(73.0)		 21.2
(70.2)		 21.1
(70.0)		 20.9
(69.6)		 20.3
(68.5)		 19.0
(66.2)		 17.4
(63.3)		 20.3
(68.5)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 11.2
(52.2)		 11.9
(53.4)		 13.4
(56.1)		 15.0
(59.0)		 16.5
(61.7)		 17.1
(62.8)		 16.3
(61.3)		 16.3
(61.3)		 16.1
(61.0)		 15.1
(59.2)		 13.4
(56.1)		 12.0
(53.6)		 14.5
(58.1)
Record low °C (°F) 4.0
(39.2)		 2.0
(35.6)		 7.0
(44.6)		 10.0
(50.0)		 5.0
(41.0)		 11.5
(52.7)		 10.0
(50.0)		 10.0
(50.0)		 9.0
(48.2)		 9.0
(48.2)		 7.5
(45.5)		 2.0
(35.6)		 2.0
(35.6)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 18.5
(0.73)		 4.5
(0.18)		 2.8
(0.11)		 5.5
(0.22)		 18.6
(0.73)		 184.1
(7.25)		 261.1
(10.28)		 205.4
(8.09)		 163.6
(6.44)		 50.2
(1.98)		 12.8
(0.50)		 7.7
(0.30)		 934.8
(36.80)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) 1.9 1.0 0.5 0.9 2.8 14.5 19.8 17.7 13.8 5.5 1.7 1.8 81.9
Source: Servicio Meteorologico Nacional[3]

History

Although there are several theories as to the origin of the city's name, the most likely is that it comes from Chapalac, the name of the last chief of the Nahuatl-speaking indigenous people of the region. Chapala became an official municipality on September 10, 1864, by decree of the Jalisco State Congress.

Culture

Chapala by Brazilian Mexican painter Félix Bernardelli, 1899

During the First World War, in 1915, Norwegian speculators intended to make Chapala a luxury resort town. A railway was to be built, with race segregated carriages. In addition to the railway, the speculators would also provide two motor vessels to navigate the lake with connections to the other small towns at the lake shore. A first class hotel was to be built, as well as an automobile club with attached casino. An extensive dam, 8 kilometers long to provide dry land with plots for luxury dwellings. What the shareholders in the company, "Compania di Fromento di Chapala" received, was only photographs of railway carriages and locomotives. See the book; Gullfeber by Kr.Fr.Brøgger, published in Oslo 1932.

In the late 1940s the American writer Tennessee Williams settled in Chapala for a while to work on a play called The Poker Night, which later became A Streetcar Named Desire. As Williams explains in his essay "The Catastrophe of Success," Chapala offered him an ideal place to work, "a remote place among strangers where there is good swimming."

Since the 1960s, Chapala has been frequented by both Mexican and international tourists. Among the area's cultural attractions is mariachi music, which originated in the state of Jalisco. While many fine mariachi bands have been based in Chapala, the most famous groups are based in larger cities nearby. The most famous mariachi in Mexico is Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán, founded in the late 19th century in the southern Jalisco city of Tecalitlán, but now based in Mexico City. Although mariachi music is believed to have originated in the town of Cocula, the greatest concentration of mariachis can be found in the city of Guadalajara, located about 30 miles north of Chapala; it is considered the city that most epitomizes the external concept of Mexico propagated by the international mass media (characterized by charros, tequila, sombreros, and mariachis). A worldwide mariachi festival is held there each fall, mariachis from throughout the world (including Europe and Asia) regularly participate.

Tourism

Tony Burton describes early tourism in his book “Lake Chapala through the ages: an anthology of travellers' tales.”[4] Chapala, along with its namesake lake, is well established as a weekend getaway destination primarily for inhabitants of the city of Guadalajara. Most of the area's expatriate population (originating primarily from the United States and Canada) reside not in the city proper but in and around Ajijic, a village of approximately 11,000 inhabitants located approximately 5 miles west of Chapala. Many of these residents stay for a long time, and some try to make Chapala like "home."

Government

Municipal presidents

Municipal president Term Political party Notes
Juan Beltrán Alatorre[5] 1983–1985 PRI
J. Antonio Rivera Alcántar 1986–1988 PRI
Alfonso Díaz Sosa 1989–1992 PRI
José Raúl Robles Puga 1992–1995 PAN
José Guadalupe Padilla Castañeda 1995–1997 PRI
Alberto Alcántar Beltrán 1998–2000 PRI
Alejandro de Jesús Aguirre Curiel 2001–2003 PAN
Arturo Gutiérrez Tejeda[6][7] 2004–2006 PAN
Gerardo Degollado González[8][9] 01-01-2007–
31-12-2009		 PRI
J. Jesús Cabrera Jiménez[10] 01-01-2010–
30-09-2012		 PAN
Joaquín Huerta Barrios[11] 01-10-2012–
30-09-2015		 PAN
Javier Degollado González[12] 01/10/2015–
30/09/2018		 PRI
PVEM
Moisés Alejandro Anaya Aguilar[13] 01-10-2018–
05-03-2021		 MC He applied for a temporary leave, to run for reelection, which he didn't get
Isaac Trejo Gracián[14] 05-03-2021–
2021		 MC Acting municipal president
Alejandro de Jesús Aguirre Curiel 01-10-2021–
 PAN

References

  1. ↑ Citypopulation.de Population of Chapala municipality with localities
  2. ↑ "Información por entidad – División municipal". INEGI.org.mx. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  3. ↑ NORMALES CLIMATOLÓGICAS 1971–2000, National Meteorological Service of Mexico. Retrieved August 4, 2012 .
  4. ↑ Burton, Tony (2008). Lake Chapala through the ages: an anthology of travellers' tales. Ladysmith, B.C., Canada: Sombrero Books. p. 213. ISBN 978-0-9735191-2-9.
  5. ↑ "Enciclopedia de los Municipios y Delegaciones de México. Jalisco. Chapala" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 9 December 2018. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  6. ↑ "Instituto Electoral y de Participación Electoral del Estado de Jalisco, IEPC Jalisco. Integración de Ayuntamiento. Chapala" (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  7. ↑ "Consejo Electoral del Estado de Jalisco, CEEJ. Integración de votos correspondientes a cada partido por municipio" (PDF) (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  8. ↑ "Instituto Electoral y de Participación Electoral del Estado de Jalisco, IEPC Jalisco. Resultado de los cómputos municipales. 5 de julio de 2006. Chapala: PRI, vencedor de mayoría relativa, con 7328 votos" (PDF) (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  9. ↑ "IEPC Jalisco. Chapala. Regidores de mayoría relativa. Presidente municipal, Gerardo Degollado González, PRI" (PDF) (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  10. ↑ "Instituto Electoral y de Participación Electoral del Estado de Jalisco, IEPC Jalisco. Proceso electoral 2009. Regidores de mayoría relativa. Ayuntamiento de Chapala. Vencedor, PAN, con 9587 votos: J. Jesús Cabrera Jiménez" (PDF) (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  11. ↑ "Instituto Electoral y de Participación Ciudadana del Estado de Jalisco, IEPC Jalisco. Integración de Ayuntamientos 2012. Anexo V. Chapala" (PDF) (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  12. ↑ "Instituto Electoral y de Participación Ciudadana del Estado de Jaliso, IEPC Jalisco. Proceso electoral 2015. Integración de Ayuntamientos 2015. Anexo V. Chapala" (PDF) (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  13. ↑ "Instituto Electoral y de Participación Ciudadana del Estado de Jalisco, IEPC Jalisco. Integración de Ayuntamientos 2018. Anexo 4. Chapala" (PDF) (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  14. ↑ "Alcalde y tres regidores de Chapala solicitan licencia a sus cargos". La Voz de la Ribera (in Spanish). 6 March 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Chapala.
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