Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico

🇲🇽 Culiacán, officially Culiacán Rosales, is a city in north-western Mexico, the capital and largest city of both Culiacán Municipality and the state of Sinaloa. The city was founded on 29 September 1531 by the Spanish conquerors Lázaro de Cebreros and Nuño Beltrán de Guzmán under the name "Villa de San Miguel", referring to its patron saint, Michael the Archangel.

Culiacán is the 21st most populous city in Mexico, while its metropolitan area is the 17th most populous metropolitan area in Mexico.

The city is in a valley on the slopes of the Sierra Madre Occidental, at the confluence of the Tamazula and Humaya Rivers, where both join to form the Culiacán River 55 m above sea level.

Prehispanic era In ancient times, there was an indigenous settlement called Huey Colhuacan that dated back to Tecpatl, which corresponds to the year 628 CE. The Aztecs built it during their pilgrimage. Its exact location is unknown, but it is assumed that it was close to the current town of Culiacáncito. The ancient settlers were called Culichis.

Founding The city that we know today as Culiacán was co-founded in 1531 by conquistadors Lázaro de Cebreros and Nuño Beltrán de Guzmán under the name "Villa de San Miguel". Upon their arrival in the 16th century, the Spanish found the existence of farmhouses organized in indigenous nations by the tribe of the Tahues, which brought together a group of people of the same origin and language who had a common tradition.

Other indigenous peoples that inhabited the original territory of Culiacán were the Tebacas, Pacaxes, Sabaibo and Achires.

After their war of conquest, in 1531, de Cebreros and de Guzmán organized the territories acquired into three provinces. One of them was Culiacán, which was delimited to the South by the Elota River and to the North by the Mocorito River, depending on the Kingdom of Nueva Galicia. Organized in this way, the territory lasted until 1786, the year in which the administration system was implemented, with Sonora and Sinaloa forming the province of Arizpe and the older province of Culiacán remaining the same.

Independent Mexico On 6 October 1821, independence was sworn in Culiacán. Culiacán was granted the category of city, on 21 July 1823, when the provinces of Sonora and Sinaloa separated by decree from Congress. In 1824, by the Constitutive Act of the Mexican Federation, Sinaloa and Sonora met again, forming the state of the West. On 13 October 1830, the provinces of Sonora and Sinaloa were definitively separated by decree, with the city of Culiacán designated capital of the state of Sinaloa. In 1861, during the conservative government of the French Intervention, prefectures were installed and the Municipalities Law was decreed that divided the Districts into City Councils. The Badiraguato District was suppressed and became part of the Culiacán District as a municipality.

From 1859 to 1873, the capital of Sinaloa was moved from Culiacán to Mazatlán. In the Restored Republic, Governor Eustaquio Buelna confronted the merchants of the port. He returned to Culiacán and the Local Congress gave it the status of capital of the state.

Porfirian and revolutionary times In 1878, Culiacán had three City Halls, whose headwaters were Culiacán, Quilá and Badiraguato. It remained that way until 1880, when Badiraguato returned to being a district with the limits that previously corresponded to it.

The year 1912 was when municipalities were established by law as a new form of internal government, but it was not until 1915 that this law came into force and political directories were suppressed, causing the districts to become free municipalities.

Culiacán was established as a municipality by decree on 8 April 1915. Within its original limits was the current Municipality of Navolato, which was segregated from Culiacán on 27 August 1982, depriving the city of 2,285 square km (882 sq mi) of valley agriculture.

Sometime later, the State Congress approved the extension of the name of the capital city, giving it its current official name of Culiacán de Rosales. "Rosales" honors the great Mexican military man Antonio Rosales, who fought in the second French Intervention and the Reform War, along with serving as the governor of Sinaloa.

After World War II Beginning in the late 1950s, Culiacán became the birthplace of an incipient underground economy based on illicit drugs exported to the United States. The completion of the Pan-American Highway and the regional airport in the 1960s accelerated the expansion of workable distribution infrastructure for the enterprising few families that would later come to dominate the international drug cartels along Mexico's Pacific Northwest. The Sinaloa Cartel made Culiacán its primary base.

On 17 October 2019, after an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to arrest one of the cartel leaders, widespread gunfights broke out across the city, leading to multiple deaths, in what has been called the "Battle of Culiacán". One of Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán's relatives, Ovidio Guzmán, was arrested by police, but were forced to release him.

Syndications For its internal regime, the municipality is subdivided into 17 receiverships, which in turn are divided into police stations, the 17 receiverships of the municipality are: El Salado, Higueras de Abuya, Baila, Aguaruto, Emiliano Zapata, Adolfo López Mateos (El Tamarindo), Jesús María, Las Tapias, Quilá, Sanalona, San Lorenzo, Tacuichamona, Tepuche, Imala, Costa Rica, Culiacáncito and Eldorado.

Paramunicipals • Culiacán Zoo • JAPAC • Municipal Institute of Sports and Physical Culture (IMDEC) • EME Park (87) • Municipal Institute of Culiacán Women (IMMUJERES) • MIA Institute (MIA Museum & MIA Auditorium) • Culiacán Municipal Institute of Culture (IMCC) • Housing Institute • DIF Culiacán • The Chronicle of Culiacán • Municipal Institute of Youth (IMJU) • Municipal Commission of Populated Centers of Culiacán (COMUN) • IMPLAN • COMPAVI.

Geography

Geography: Location Culiacán is located in the central region of the State of Sinaloa, forming part of the Northwest of Mexico.

The city is located 1,240 km (770 mi) from Mexico City. From Culiacán to Tepic is only 502 km; to Durango, 536 km; to Hermosillo, 688 km; to Guadalajara, 708 km; to Monterrey, 1,118 km; to Chihuahua, 1,159 km; to Tijuana, 1,552 km; and to Matamoros, 1,434 km.

Relief and hydrography The relief of the municipality is well defined by a mountainous part and the coastal plain. The mountainous part corresponds to the physiographic region of the highlands, part of the Pacific slope of the Sierra Madre Occidental mountain range with elevations of 300 to 2,100 meters above sea level. The coastal plain lies to the West and is crossed by four regional rivers: the Humaya, Tamazula, Culiacán and San Lorenzo. The Humaya has its origin in the State of Durango, entering Sinaloa through Badiraguato; its waters are controlled by the Licenciado Adolfo López Mateos dam. The Tamazula River arises in the Sierra Madre Occidental near the Topia Valley; its waters are controlled by the Sanalona dam. The Humaya and Tamazula Rivers unite in front of the city of Culiacán to form the Culiacán River, which empties into the Gulf of California. The San Lorenzo is borne from the Sierra Madre Occidental within the State of Durango, enters Sinaloa through Cosalá and empties into the Gulf of California.

Economy Culiacán's economy is mainly agricultural and commerce, being a trade centre for produce, meat, and fish. Among other industries, Culiacán represents 32 percent of the state economy.

Coppel, Casa Ley, Homex and other companies of national importance are headquartered in Culiacán.

Media Newspapers El Debate and El Noroeste are published in Culiacán.

Universities • Centro de Estudios Universitarios Superiores (CEUS) • Escuela Libre de Derecho de Sinaloa • Instituto Tecnológico de Culiacán • Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM) – Campus Sinaloa • Instituto Tecnológico Superior de Sinaloa – Campus Culiacán • Universidad Asia-Pacifico • Universidad Autónoma de Durango-Campus Culiacán • Universidad Autónoma de Sinaloa • Universidad Casa Blanca • Universidad Católica de Culiacán • Universidad Golfo de México – Campus Culiacán • Universidad México Internacional • Universidad de Occidente – Campus Culiacán • Universidad de San Miguel (USM) • Universidad TecMilenio – Campus Culiacán • Universidad Tecnológica de Sinaloa • Universidad Valle del Bravo – Campus Culiacán • Universidad de Veracruz – Campus Culiacán • Universidad Tecnológica de Culiacán • Instituto Chapultepec.

Transport The Terminal de Autobuses de Culiacán or Central de Autobuses Culiacán Millenium is a bus terminal located west of the city of Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico. The station is built in front of the Country Club. This plant replaced the old plant that was to the south, in front of Blvd. Gabriel Leyva Solano.

Transport: Urban At present, Culiacán has just over 68 urban transport routes, which serve about one million users. The Culiacán urban transport is operated by RedPlus.

Transport: Rail The city has a train station, operated by Ferromex, and it is used only to transport freight. It is connected to south with Mazatlán and north with Guaymas.

Bus station Culiacán uses the Central Internacional de Autobuses "Millennium" ("Millennium" International Buses Station) to travel across all Mexico (north, central, and south) and to the United States (Arizona and California). This replaced the old bus terminal in the southern city.

Roads and expressways Though several high-speed roads have been built, most of the city's streets are rather narrow and traffic jams are common at rush hours.

Transport: Air Culiacán is served by Federal de Bachigualato International Airport (IATA: CUL, ICAO: MMCL), the most important domestic gateway in the state of Sinaloa, and the second in international operations after Mazatlán International Airport. It is located south of downtown; it is also the 10th Mexican Air Force base.

Tourist Industry • Imala's hot springs are about a 30-minute ride from the city and close to several dams and reservoirs, where one can fish largemouth bass all year round. • Altata beach, located 30 minutes from Culiacán, has had extensive development over the last few years. It has a "sister" beach called Isla Cortés or Nuevo Altata, where this project of travel destination, has begun with some restaurants and private areas. • Culiacán Cathedral, a 19th-century church, began construction in the 1830s. • Plazuela Alvaro Obregón was the place for social gatherings in the 1800s. • La Lomita or Templo de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe is the tallest church in Culiacán, situated on a hill with a view of the entire city. • The Centro Cultural Genaro Estrada, known by the locals as "Difocur", encompasses a theater, movie theater, a café, and a group of museums specialising in local culture. DIFOCUR is also the home of the Orquesta Sinfonica Sinaloa de las Artes. The OSSLA performs a 42-week season (September to June) of symphony, pops, opera, ballet, and chamber music, and features musicians from more than 15 countries, including Mexico, the United States, England, Scotland, Canada, Romania, Argentina, and others. Working under the auspices of the government of Sinaloa, the OSSLA also performs many outreach and educational programs around the state of Sinaloa, as well as throughout Mexico. • The Regional History Museum in the "Parque Constitución", a large art museum downtown and a number of small art galleries, is owned by several of the local universities. • The Botanical Garden and Centro de Ciencias de Sinaloa, a science museum, holds the fifth-largest meteorite on earth. • A baseball stadium, the Estadio Angel Flores, is the home of Los Tomateros de Culiacán; a bigger football arena, called Estadio Banorte (formerly Estadio Carlos González), is the home of Los Dorados de Sinaloa, a Mexican football team. Several university stadiums are also available. • In downtown, the best-preserved old street is the called Rosales, between Rosales Square and the cathedral.

Sport The city is home to three professional league sport teams: baseball with the Tomateros de Culiacán from the Liga Mexicana del Pacífico, two championships in Caribbean series in 1996 and 2002; and football with Dorados de Sinaloa, who play at the Estadio Banorte (Estadio Carlos González) and basketball with the Caballeros de Culiacán from the CIBACOPA. Duck, dove, and goose hunting season goes from early November through March. Culiacán also holds a yearly international marathon.