Tancítaro is a city and municipality in the western part of the Mexican state of Michoacán, in southwestern Mexico. Its municipal seat is the City of Tancítaro.

Municipality of Tancítaro in Michoacán
Pico de Tancítaro, the highest point in Michoacán state
Topography of the Municipality of Tancítaro

The area has been called "the avocado capital of the world."[1][2] An Avocado Festival is held annually.[3]

Geography

edit

The municipality has an area of 717.65 square kilometres (1.21% of the surface of the state).[4]

It is bordered to the north by the municipalities of Peribán and Uruapan, to the east by Nuevo Parangaricutiro, to southeast by Parácuaro, to the south by Apatzingán, and to the southwest by Buenavista.

A volcanic peak, Pico de Tancítaro or Volcán Tancítaro, is located in the municipality. At 3,845 metres (12,615 ft) in elevation, it is the highest point in Michoacán state.

The municipality had a population of 26,089 inhabitants according to the 2005 census.[5]

Criminal activities

edit

Due to an increase in criminal activity in the area, the 60 man Municipal Police Force was disbanded in December 2009. Soon after the people of Michoacán began taking up arms against the drug traffickers and against organized crime. They called themselves "auto defensas".[6]

Mayor Gustavo Santoro and an aide were found dead September 27, 2010. It is believed they had been murdered by stoning.[7]

The avocado growers association funded patrols by the Tancitaro Public Security Force (CUSEPT), and by summer of 2017, violence had subsided.[8][9]

World record for guacamole

edit

The Junta Local de Sanidad Vegetal de Tancítaro set a world record for the largest serving of guacamole on 6 April 2018. It weighed 3,788 kg (8,351.11 lb).[3]

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ Flannery, Nathaniel Parish (2017-05-18). "Mexico's avocado army: how one city stood up to the drug cartels". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-02-08.
  2. ^ "Tancítaro, "avocado capital of the world" has become an independent city-state: NYT". The Yucatan Times. 2018-01-10. Retrieved 2020-02-08.
  3. ^ a b "Largest serving of guacamole". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 2020-02-08.
  4. ^ Michoacán Archived 2011-05-17 at the Wayback Machine Enciclopedia de los Municipios de México. Retrieved on October 9, 2007
  5. ^ "2005 Census". INEGI: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática. Archived from the original on 2013-04-06. Retrieved 2007-10-09.
  6. ^ "Despiden a policías municipales en Tancítaro, Michoacán | Milenio.com". Archived from the original on 2010-01-10. Retrieved 2010-01-10.
  7. ^ "Humanitarian - Thomson Reuters Foundation News". News.trust.org. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  8. ^ Flannery, Nathaniel Parish (2017-05-18). "Mexico's avocado army: how one city stood up to the drug cartels". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-02-08.
  9. ^ Watson, Katy (2017-11-28). "The avocado police protecting Mexico's green gold". BBC News. Retrieved 2020-02-08.

19°20′16″N 102°21′45″W / 19.33778°N 102.36250°W / 19.33778; -102.36250