Cocula, Jalisco

Cocula
Cocula
Municipality and city
	Cocula
	La plaza in central Cocula.
	Flag
	Nicknames: La Cuna del Mariachi; "The Cradle of Mariachi"
	Location in Jalisco
	Cocula
	Coordinates: 20°21′54″N 103°49′19″W / 20.365°N 103.822°W
Country	Mexico
State	Jalisco
Municipality	Cocula
Government
• Municipal president	Miguel Ángel Ibarra Flores; PRI
Elevation	1,350 m (4,429 ft)
Population (2020)
• Total	29,267
• City	16,550
• Demonym	Coculense
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (US Central))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (Central)
Postal code	48500
Area code	377
Website	www.cocula.gob.mx

Cocula (Nahuatl languages: Cocollán "ondulated place") is a city and municipality in the Mexican state of Jalisco. It is located 35 mi (56 km) southwest of Guadalajara, on Mexico Highway 80. It sits at an elevation of 4,460 feet (1,360 m). According to the 2020 census, the population of the municipality was 29,267 with 16,550 inhabitants living in the city. Other important towns in the municipality are Cofradía de la Luz, La Sauceda, and Santa Teresa.

Economy

The Cocula regional economy is primarily agrarian-based, growing not only maize and agave but also sorghum, chickpeas, alfalfa and mangoes, and is one of the nation's top sugar cane producers. It is also known for the raising of (to a lesser degree) pigs, poultry, goats, chickens, and cattle. Cocula City proper is also the head of local commerce, with a wide range of specialized retailers of food, clothing, housewares, farm & garden supply and construction materials; the city is also the primary center for general regional public services such as banks, hospitals, auto repair shops and other civic industries.

History

*La Purísima* is one of the chapels featured for its religious architecture.

Cocula was called originally Cocollán or Cocolán, which has been interpreted to mean "ondulated place." Around the 12th century, some families of the Coca tribe who inhabited the Kingdom of Tonalá were forced to flee the area due to hostility towards them. A group guided by Huehuetztlatzin founded Cocollán in today's Acatlan de Juarez area.^{[citation needed]}

Cocollán was destroyed at the beginning of the 16th century. They tried to establish themselves in the Tlajomulco area a few miles from there but were expelled by the local tribes. They ended up occupying the top of a mountain close to the original Cocollán site where they remained until the arrival of the Spaniards.^{[citation needed]}

By 1520, Cocollán was an independent city under the rule of Chief Citlali (The Star). It had some tributary towns under its control like Acatlan, Villa Corona, Tizapanito, Xilotepetque and Tecolotlán. In 1521, the Spanish army under Alonso the Avalos conquered Cocollán and surrounding towns and incorporated them into the Avalos Province. A few years later, Franciscan friars persuaded the indigenous inhabitants of the city to relocate to a valley nearby, which is its present location. This is believed to have happened in 1532. There are still remains of the old city, which is referred to as Cocula Vieja (Old Cocula).

In 1833, Cocula was declared a city, Cocula is best known as the birthplace of mariachi.

Culture

Cocula is referred to as "La Cuna del Mariachi," or "The Cradle of Mariachi," given that mariachi music originated there in the 19th century. As one enters or exits Cocula, two large arches, featuring two guitars or violins, bear the inscription "Bienvenidos a Cocula, Cuna Mundial del Mariachi." Many well known mariachi groups have come from Cocula and surrounding areas. A famous Mexican Artist named Jorge Negrete sang a song called "Cocula" that talks about this town and how mariachi originated there.

Government

Municipal presidents

Municipal president	Term	Political party	Notes
José Corona Ochoa	1914
José Sánchez N.	1916
Gabriel H. Tortolero	1916–1917
José María Castillo Jiménez	1918–1919
Juan O. Hernándezz	1918–1922
Pablo Preciado	1922
Francisco M. Díaz García	1924
Salvador Molina Rojas	1925
Juan V. Grajeda	1926
Sóstenes Castillo	1927
Gerardo Rodríguez Tapia	1932	PNR
Francisco Pérez Camacho	1934–1935	PNR
Luis Vargas Pulido	1935	PNR
Tomás Ramírez	1936	PNR
Aurelio Aréchiga Rubio	1936	PNR
Pablo Vázquez Barboza	1937	PNR
Celerino Acosta Vargas	1938	PRM
J. Ventura Virgen	1940	PRM
José de Jesús Aréchiga Terán	1941–1942	PRM
Ignacio Arriola Ochoa	1943–1944	PRM
Encarnación Vázquez Nuño	1945	PRM
José Agustín Valdez Vázquez	1946	PRI
José Guadalupe Acosta Bañuelos	1946	PRI
Francisco Ixtláhuac Aréchiga	1947–1948	PRI
Celerino Acosta Vargas	1949	PRI
Enrique Acosta Tortolero	1950–1951	PRI
José Raimundo Ibarra Rodríguez	1953–1954	PRI
Celerino Acosta Vargas	1955	PRI
Guadalupe Ibarra R.	1956–1958	PRI
Miguel Allende Morales	1959–1960	PRI
Juan Ramírez Nuño	1960–1961	PRI
Francisco Vázquez Vázquez	1962	PRI
Manuel Terán Mariscal	1964	PRI
J. Jesús Águila Díaz	1965–1967	PRI
Enrique Silva Plazola	1967	PRI	Acting municipal president
Rafael Montelongo Rangel	01-01-1968–31-12-1970	PRI
J. Luis López Ibarra	01-01-1971–31-12-1973	PRI
Carlos Ramírez Corona	01-01-1974–31-12-1976	PRI
José Ixtláhuac Virgen	01-01-1977–31-12-1979	PRI
Jorge Virgen Serrano	01-01-1980–31-12-1982	PRI
Rafael Vázquez Amador^[3]^[4]	01-01-1983–1985	PRI
Carlos E. Arriola Pérez	01-01-1986–31-12-1988	PRI
J. Luis Ibarra Moreno^[5]	01-01-1989–1992	PRI
J. Luis Facundo Guerrero^[6]	1992–1995	PRI
Arturo Facundo Ramírez^[7]	1995–1997	PRD
Juan Carlos Orozco Flores^[8]	01-01-1998–31-12-2000	PRD
Gustavo Cabral González^[9]	01-01-2001–31-12-2003	PAN
Antonio Vázquez Medina^[10]	01-01-2004–31-12-2006	PAN
Arturo Facundo Guerrero^[11]^[12]	01-01-2007–31-12-2009	PRD PT
Héctor de Jesús Castillo Andrade^[13]	01-01-2010–30-09-2012	PAN
Félix Alberto Ibarra Vázquez^[14]	01-10-2012–30-09-2015	PAN
Francisco Javier Buenrostro Acosta^[15]	01-10-2015–30-09-2018	PRI PVEM
Miguel de Jesús Esparza Partida^[16]	01-10-2018–05-03-2021	PT Morena PES
Miguel Ángel Ibarra Flores	01-10-2021–30-09-2024	PRI