Michoacán

Michoacán, formally Michoacán de Ocampo (Spanish pronunciation: [mitʃoaˈkan de oˈkampo] (About this soundlisten)), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Michoacán de Ocampo (Spanish: Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into 113 municipalities and its capital city is Morelia (formerly called Valladolid). The city was named after José María Morelos, a native of the city and one of the main heroes of the Mexican War of Independence.

Michoacán is located in Western Mexico, and has a stretch of coastline on the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. It is bordered by the states of Colima and Jalisco to the west and northwest, Guanajuato to the north, Querétaro to the northeast, the State of México to the east, and Guerrero to the southeast.

The name Michoacán is from Nahuatl: Michhuahcān [mit͡ʃˈwaʔkaːn] from michhuah [ˈmit͡ʃwaʔ] (“possessor of fish”) and -cān [kaːn] (place of) and means “place of the fishermen” referring to those who fish on Lake Pátzcuaro.[9] In pre-Hispanic times, the area was the home of the Purépecha Empire, which rivaled the Aztec Empire at the time of Spanish encounter. After the Spanish conquest, the empire became a separate province which became smaller over the colonial period. The state and its residents played a major role in the Mexican War of Independence. Today, the state is still home to a sizable population of Purépecha people as well as minor populations of Otomi and Nahua. The economy is based on agriculture, ranching, fishing, mining, and the arts. The major tourism draw for the state is the Lake Pátzcuaro–Tzintzuntzan–Quiroga area, which was the center of the Purépecha Empire; as well as the location of the Tzintzuntzan yácata pyramids.[10] The national and state parks which include the winter grounds of the monarch butterflies (Mariposas Monarca) are located here. Michoacán is known for its Spanish colonial towns. In 1991, Morelia was declared an UNESCO World Heritage Site for its well-preserved colonial buildings, pink stone cathedral, historic center, and aqueduct.[11] Michoacán has eight Pueblos Mágicos; such as the towns of Tlalpujahua and Santa Clara del Cobre.[12] Day of the Dead celebrations in Michoacán are often considered to be the most elaborate and well-known in all of Mexico.[13] The famous Paricutín volcano is located near the city of Uruapan. The state is known as “the soul of Mexico”.[14]