Originally the territory of the nomadicChichimeca peoples, the city was founded on October 22, 1575, bySpanish families relocating fromLagos de Moreno under the name ofVilla de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción de las Aguas Calientes (Village of OurLady of the Assumption of the Hot Waters), in reference to the chosen patron saint and the manythermal springs found close to the village, which still remain to this day. It would serve as an outpost in theSilver Route, while politically, it was part of the kingdom ofNueva Galicia.[3] In 1835, PresidentAntonio López de Santa Anna made Aguascalientes the capital of a new territory in retaliation to the state ofZacatecas, eventually becoming capital of a new state in 1857.[4] During thePorfiriato era, Aguascalientes was chosen to host the main workshops of theMexican Central Railway company; bringing an industrial and cultural explosion. The city hosted theRevolutionary Convention of 1914, an important meeting of war generals during theMexican Revolution.
Formed on a tradition of farming, mining and railroad and textile industry; contemporary Aguascalientes has attracted foreign investment of automobile and electronics companies due to its peaceful business climate, strategic location and existing infrastructure.[5][6] The city is home to twoNissan automobile manufacturing plants[7][8] and ashared facility by Nissan and Mercedes,[9] which has given the city a significant Japanese immigrant community.[10][11] Other companies with operations in the city include Jatco, Coca-Cola, Flextronics, Texas Instruments, Donaldson and Calsonic Kansei. The city of Aguascalientes is also known for theSan Marcos Fair, the largest fair celebrated in Mexico and one of the largest in North America.
The city of Aguascalientes was founded on October 22, 1575, by Juan de Montoro, his family and accompanying families. The village was originally conceived as a minor garrison and rest stop between the cities ofZacatecas andLagos de Moreno, with the end goal of protectingsilver in its route toMexico City from theChichimeca.[12] Although the founders did not envision it becoming a major city, it would eventually become the capital of a newly formed state when the territory separated from the adjacent state of Zacatecas in 1835.
The historical center of Aguascalientes was born out of four distinct neighborhoods. The oldest of these is theBarrio del Encino, which is technically older than Aguascalientes proper. Founded in 1565 by the Andalusian Hernán González Berrocal, the neighborhood was originally namedTriana after theneighborhood in Seville, Spain. TheBarrio del Encino is home to the Baroque-styleTemplo del Señor del Encino, a Catholic church built between 1773 and 1796.[13] TheCristo Negro del Encino ('Black Christ of the live oak'), is a widely venerated religious icon symbolic of this neighborhood.[citation needed] The colonial square and theJosé Guadalupe Posada Museum, adjacent to the church, are one of the main attractions in the city.
The second neighborhood is theBarrio de San Marcos, which has its roots in the early 17th century as an indigenous settlement on the outskirts of the then-village of Aguascalientes.[citation needed] Between 1628 and 1688, some communal land was allocated to the community, but the indigenous people still worked on Spanish-owned farms and produced goods to sell in Aguascalientes. Meanwhile, they organized the construction of a simple hospital and a chapel. This original chapel was replaced by the currentTemplo de San Marcos completed on December 15, 1763; this church is the spiritual headquarters of theFeria Nacional de San Marcos.[citation needed]
The third neighborhood is theBarrio de Guadalupe, which began its development as a string of shops and trading posts alongside the road leading from Aguascalientes toJalpa and Zacatecas during the latter half of the 18th century.[citation needed] The neighborhood's iconicTemplo de Guadalupe was built between 1767 and 1789; it is recognized for itsSpanish Baroque façade and its dome lined withTalavera tiles. Especially after the founding of theFundición Central Mexicana ('Mexican Central Foundry'), the neighborhood developed quickly; by the early 20th century its roadside inns had mostly been converted into homes and its boundaries had blurred with those of theBarrio de San Marcos.[citation needed]
The final neighborhood is theBarrio de la Salud, which has its roots in a small chapel and a cemetery developed towards the end of the 18th century to deal with a number of disease epidemics that had struck the area. Gravediggers established homes near the cemetery, and others took advantage of the open land to establish orchards. Though the orchards began to disappear during the early 20th century, clues as to the neighborhood's roots still remain. First of all, the fact that property lines generally followed irrigation ditches can still be seen in the neighborhood's haphazard street grids today. Second, the neighborhood's working-class character is visible in its primarily single-story homes featuring simple façades.[14]
A fifth neighborhood, theBarrio de la Estación, named after the town's central train station, is often grouped in with the city's original neighborhoods.[15] However, this neighborhood is considerably more modern, with much of its development dating from the final decades of the 19th century or later.[16] Therefore, despite its important role in the history of Aguascalientes, it is not strictly accurate to consider theBarrio de la Estación one of the city's original historical neighborhoods.
The name originates from the Spanish wordsaguas calientes, meaning 'hot waters', although a more accurate translation is 'hot springs', part of the original name ofVilla de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción de las Aguas Calientes (Village of our Lady of Assumption of the Hot Springs). When the city was first settled by Juan de Montoro and twelve families, it was given this name for its abundance ofhot springs. These thermal features are still in demand in the city's numerous spas and even exploited for domestic use. People from Aguascalientes (both the city and the state) are known by the whimsicaldemonymhidrocálidos or "hydrothermal" people.
As of 2010, the city of Aguascalientes proper had a population of 797,010. The two other municipalities considered parts of the Aguascalientes metropolitan area are Jesús María and San Francisco de los Romo; they had populations of 99,590 and 35,769, respectively. As such, the Aguascalientes metropolitan area had a total population of 932,369.[27]
Aguascalientes is home to two largeNissan manufacturing plants, including the most important outside of Japan. Among other models of cars, they manufacture theSentra and theVersa. The Aguascalientes plants are responsible for the majority of Mexico's overall annual production of 850,000 Nissan automobiles.[28] Due to their presence, the city has a significant Japanese population.[citation needed]
Texas Instruments has one plant in Aguascalientes, which is dedicated to integrated circuitry (IC) manufacturing.Sensata Technologies has one plant in the city, making sensors and controls for automotive, HVAC and industrial use.Flextronics is another electronics manufacturer that has a plant located in Aguascalientes City.[citation needed]
The municipality is developing a system of interconnected green bicycle routes, greenways, the aim being to facilitate fast, safe, and pleasant bicycle transport from one end of the city to the other.[29]
Aguascalientes has a large network of roads connecting different municipalities of the city together and to other cities. Most of the city grew as aplanned city, having been pioneers inurban development regulation since 1936. The city is planned around three concentric highway loops.[citation needed] The third beltway loop is expected to be fully operational in 2022. The first and second loop have overpasses and underpasses at major intersections to avoid traffic from stopping.[citation needed]
Government Palace: a forest of columns, carved arches and imperial stairs.San Marcos Fair corridor.
Aguascalientes houses the largest festival held in Mexico, theSan Marcos Fair, which takes place from the middle of April to the beginning of May. The celebration was held originally in the San Marcos church, neighborhood, and its magnificent neoclassical garden; since then, it has greatly expanded to cover a huge area of exposition spaces, bullrings, nightclubs, theaters, performance stages, theme parks, hotels, convention centers, and other attractions. It attracts almost 7 million visitors to Aguascalientes every year.[citation needed]
The old part of the city revolves around downtown and the four original neighborhoods from which the city expanded. The most notable building here is the Baroque Government Palace, dating from 1664 and constructed out of red volcanic stone; it is known for its one hundred arches. The prominent Baroque Cathedral, begun in 1575, is the oldest building in the city. The tall column in the center of the main square dates from colonial times; it held a statue of a Spain's viceroy, which was toppled when the country gained independence; the current sculpture on its summit commemorates Mexican independence.
The city of Aguascalientes is made up of four traditional neighborhoods, all of which grew up around the central Plaza de la Patria; Guadalupe, San Marcos, El Encino and La Estación.
Guadalupe neighborhood, a traditional producer of pottery, centers around its local church.[citation needed] Located in the heart of Guadalupe, this religious sanctuary, the second most important in the city and dating back to the late 18th century[citation needed], has a Baroque façade and a large dome covered in traditionaltalavera tiles. Inside it has many flower and angel motifs.
The next is San Marcos, founded in 1604 and once home to natives of Tlaxcala state who fled persecution. Today, the area hosts the traditional San Marcos Fair in springtime. There is San Marcos Gardens, a green spot where paths and trees are abundant. The gardens are traditionally frequented by poets, artists and lovers. Directly in front of the gardens is the Baroque San Marcos Temple, its tiled dome glinting in the sun.
The neighborhood of La Estación takes its name from the old railway station, inaugurated in 1911 and one of Aguascalientes' architectural and historical treasures.[citation needed]
Aguascalientes historic downtown is home to several museums including theAguascalientes Museum (Museo de Aguascalientes), the city's art museum, housed in a Classical-style building designed by the self-trained architectRefugio Reyes; theGuadalupe Posada Museum (Museo Guadalupe Posada), located in the historic nationhood of Triana, exhibits the life and work ofJosé Guadalupe Posada; and the State History Museum, which is housed in an elegantArt Nouveau mansion typical of the Porfirian period with and ornate patio and dining room with vegetable motifs in a Mediterranean style, with a French Academism façade, and interior columns and an arcade of pink stone characteristic of Porfirian Eclecticism.[citation needed]
Other designs byRefugio Reyes include the Paris Hotel, the Francia Hotel, and his masterpiece, the Church of San Antonio. The Church of our Lady of Guadalupe possesses an extraordinarily exuberant Baroque facade designed byJosé de Alcíbar, a renowned architect of the period considered to be one of the most famous artists in Mexico in the 1770s.[citation needed] The Camarin of the Immaculate in the church of San Diego is considered by historians to be the last Baroque building in the world; it links the Baroque and Neoclassical styles; it is the largest of the fewer than ten of these types of structures built in the whole continent.[citation needed]
Aguascalientes is also home to some of the country's leading provincial theaters. Examples are the Morelos Theater, historically important for its role during theMexican Revolution as a convention site; architecturally, the building is notable for its facade and interior, which houses a small museum. TheTeatro Aguascalientes is the city's premier theatre and opera house.
In addition, in the modern section of the city, theMuseo Descubre astonishes as an interactive museum of science and technology. It also features an IMAX screen. TheMuseum of Contemporary Art is the city's art museum.
The gothic structure of the Los Arquitos cultural center used to be one of the first bathhouses in the city, declared a historic monument in 1990. The Ojocaliente is also an original bathhouse still in use today, and fed with thermal springs.La Estacion Historic Area (The Old Train Station Complex) contains theOld Train Station and Railway Museum historic complex, which at some point in 1884 formed the largest rail hub and warehouses in all Latin America. The complex is adorned with dancing fountains, a railway plaza and original locomotives and monuments. It was in this complex that the first locomotive completely manufactured in Mexico was made. It symbolizes the progress of the city and its transformation from the rural to an emergent industrial economy. The rail factories supplied with railways and locomotives to whole of Mexico and Central America. The Train Station is also historic due to its unusual (for Mexico) English architectural style. The Alameda avenue, the railway hangars, the factory complexes, and its surrounding housing have been proposed to be placed in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
The club was founded in 1994, whenSalvador López Monroy, a restaurant business owner from Los Angeles,[31] bought a second division franchise which he relocated toAguascalientes where there was no professional football club.[32]
The club played its last tournament in 2000–2001 when the Governor ofAguascalientes bought first division clubNecaxa, with its national following, and relocated it from Mexico City. Gallos de Aguascalientes was then sold toChivas, which changed its name toF.C. Tapatio de Guadalajara, affiliated to Chivas.[32]
The city is home to the soccer teamClub Necaxa, which plays in Mexican first division. The club leftMexico City and relocated to Aguascalientes following the 2003 opening ofEstadio Victoria, which is now the club's home venue and one of the best stadiums in the country.
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