Zacatecas

People have lived in the area for some 10,000 years, and in the 16th century it was the land of the Zacateco, from whom the city takes its name, meaning "people of the grasslands" in Nahuatl. In 1546 Juan de Tolosa brought back rock samples from the Cerro de la Bufa rich in silver and lead, a mining camp grew at the foot of the hill, and in 1548 the first great silver vein was found in the San Bernabé mine. Indigenous workers and enslaved Africans were brought to the mines, and by the end of the 16th century Zacatecas was the second city of New Spain after Mexico City. The El Edén mine opened in 1586, and most of the pink-stone churches and mansions date from the 18th century, when the silver flow was at its peak; the cathedral was begun in 1729 and opened for worship in 1752.

After independence the city became a state capital with its own opera house, teachers' college and courts, and a railway reached Guadalupe in 1880. In June 1914, during the Revolution, Francisco Villa's División del Norte, more than 22,000 strong, attacked from the surrounding hills and took the city from the forces of Victoriano Huerta, opening the way to Mexico City.

The Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas was refounded in 1968 and an international airport opened in 1970. The historic centre became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993. Mining continues around the city, and new houses now reach the edges of creeks and old mine waste heaps.

The 1914 battle is central to local identity: its anniversary on 23 June brings fireworks on La Bufa, and the summit carries a museum and statues of the victorious generals. Religious festivals run through the year, from the Holy Week cultural festival to the feast of the Virgin of Patrocinio, patron of the city, which coincides with the September state fair. The last three days of August are given to the Morismas de Bracho.

The callejoneada is the city's own form of nightlife: a walking party through the alleys behind a band, with dancing, singing and free mezcal or heriberta, a beer-based punch. Many alleys carry the names of legends, such as the Callejón del Indio Triste, the Alley of the Sad Indian.

For its size Zacatecas has an unusual number of museums. The brothers Pedro and Rafael Coronel gave the city their collections, one of art and old convent books, the other of masks, and the abstract painter Manuel Felguérez is honoured with a museum of his own. A chamber music festival has been held every year since 1993, and the international folklore festival fills the first week of August.

The municipality had 149,607 people at the 2020 census; Zacatecas has grown together with neighbouring Guadalupe into a single urban area. Almost the whole population is mestizo.

Commerce and services employ most people, mining remains an important industry, and much of the land of the municipality is given over to livestock. The capital is also the seat of the state government and the Autonomous University of Zacatecas, and tourism is concentrated in the historic centre.

Growth has been hard to manage on the steep terrain: new houses balance on the edges of creeks and over old mine waste heaps, and irregular construction is common in many neighbourhoods. Organised-crime violence affects parts of the state, especially rural roads, and many families in the countryside depend on money sent by relatives in the United States. In the centre, though, daily life follows the familiar rhythm of a Mexican state capital: offices and shops by day, families and students on the Plaza de Armas in the evening.

The dish most closely associated with Zacatecas is asado de boda, wedding roast, a mole-like chilli sauce with a distinct orange flavour, served over various meats, most often chicken, and traditionally made for weddings. Gorditas, thick corn cakes stuffed with stews, are an everyday meal, and enchiladas zacatecanas are filled with pork or cheese and covered in a sauce of poblano, guajillo or ancho chillies.

The González Ortega market, a hall of 1889 beside the cathedral, has restaurants serving these dishes along with pozole verde, a green hominy stew, and pacholes. In the Mercado Arroyo de la Plata, one stall has served birria de chivo, goat stew, for more than 50 years.

The state produces mezcal and wine, both sold in the shops of the centre, and mezcal is part of the callejoneada tradition. Regional sweets are sold in the market arcades, and beans and chillies, the state's main crops, are staples of local cooking.