León, Guanajuato Totally Explained

Everything about Le N Guanajuato totally explained

| settlement_type = City | motto = LABOR OMNIA VINCIT
El labor todo lo vence
("Work conquers all") |image_skyline = |imagesize = |image_caption = |image_flag = |flag_size = |image_seal = |seal_size = |image_shield = escudo_leon.jpg |shield_size = | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = Mexico | subdivision_type1 = State | subdivision_name1 = Guanajuato | leader_title = Mayor | leader_name = Vicente Guerrero | established_title = Founded | established_date = 20 January 1576 | area_land_km2 = 1219.67 | elevation_m = 1815 |latd= 21.116667 |longd= -101.683333 |population_as_of = 2005 |population_total = 1137465 |population_urban = 1278087 | population_metro = 1584337 | population_density_km2 = | timezone = Central (CST) | utc_offset = -6 | area_code = +52 | blank_name = Telephone exchange | blank_info = 477 | footnotes = Sources:
National Institute of Statistics, Geography and Data Processing }}
The city of León – officially named León de los Aldama – is the fifth most populous city in Mexico and the largest city in the state of Guanajuato; it's also the seat of León municipality. Also known as the The Shoe Capital, it features large factories that not only produce shoes, but also boots, belts, jackets, and other leather accessories, serving both national and international markets.

General Data

Population

In the 2005 census the National Institute of Statistics, Geography and Data Processing (INEGI) reported 1,137,465 people living in the city of León, 1,278,087 in the municipality of León, and 1,584,337 in the metropolitan area, which includes the neighbouring municipality of Silao, Purísima del Rincón and San Francisco del Rincón. The municipality of León, which has an area of 1,219.67 km² (490.92 sq mi), also includes numerous smaller outlying communities, the largest of which are Centro Familiar la Soledad, Medina, and La Ermita.
There is a large Argentinian immigrant community in the city, as well as one formed by descendants of Lebanese immigrants.

Public Transportation system

The city has a new bus rapid transit system called Optibus known also as "La Oruga" (The Caterpillar). This system of transportation began on September 27 2003; León was the first city in Mexico using this class of transportation, moreover this system includes the payment system called Pagobus which began about four years before the beginning of the system Optibus. León is one of the few Mexican cities with a modern municipally operated bus transit system rather than independent pesero style collective buses.

History

León was inhabited in pre-hispanic times by diverse native groups, such as the Toltecs, Chichimecas, Guamares, among others. The archaeological sites of Alfaro and Ibarrilla, close to the city of León, reveal that the oldest settlements of this zone date from Preclassical times.
   The city of León was founded January 20, 1576 with the name Villa de Leon, by the order of the Virrey Don Martín Enríquez de Almaza, for the purpose of creating a defense against the attacks of the Chichimecas. In 1580 it was elevated to the category of Alcaldía Mayor, separating it from Guanajuato and had jurisdiction in the present municipality of León.
   In June of 1830 it was elevated to the rank of city with the official name: León de los Aldama. During the Mexican War of Independence, it suffered in the political, social, and economic areas. Because many people abandoned the mines of Guanajuato because of the war, many workers were re-established themseves in León. Agriculture was the main economic activity to the 18th century, until the craft and the production of footwear began to compete with it.
   The post-revolution years were, for León, ones of prosperity and material progress, as well as of population growth. The economic development resulted in extraordinary agricultural and industrial growth and the wealth of 1923.

Sports

Soccer

The cities main professional soccer team is Club León, which is one of the foremost teams in Mexico, five-time league champion, now playing in the Primera División A. The team's stadium is called Estadio León, also known as Nou Camp, where FIFA World Cup games have taken place (1970 and 1986). World-class stars, such as Diego Maradona, Pelé, Franz Beckenbauer and Michel Platini have played in both official and exhibition games.
   The city had once another two Soccer teams, which also played in the Primera División de México: San Sebastián, which participated in the league in the early 1950s – and was the first team in México to get relegated to the Segunda División – and Unión de Curtidores, that disappeared in the middle 1980s.
   A new franchise with the name of Curtidores appeared in the Primera División A in the mid-1990s, but, after being champion in 1999 and earning the right to play in the Primera División, was sold and moved to Puebla to become Puebla, F.C., but in 2007 a new franchise named Union de Curtidores began playing at Segunda división.
   Nowadays, there are several soccer teams in the city playing in the Tercera División: Atlético ECCA, Juventud Cuerera and Conmudaj, among some others along with the women's league, Super Liga Femenil de Futbol.

Basketball

Since 2004, León has a basketball team, Lechugueros, which plays in the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional (LNBP) . They play in the Domo de la Feria (formerly known as Auditorio Municipal). Before this team, the city had other professional basketball teams: Lechugueros (original franchise), Zapateros, Pony-León and Atléticos. These teams participated in the CIMEBA (Circuito Mexicano de Básquetbol), which was the main basketball league of Mexico in the 1970s and 1980s.

Baseball

León had two baseball teams in the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol: Cachorros de León, in the late 1970s, and Bravos de León, in the late 80's. Bravos, after becoming champions of the league in 1992, and due to financial problems, were sold and moved to Minatitlán, Veracruz. Since then, attempts to bring a new baseball team to the city have failed.

Notable residents

Vicente Fox, President of Mexico from 2000 to 2006 and Governor of Guanajuato, owned a ranch in San Francisco del Rincón
Carlos Medina Plascencia, politician affiliated to the conservative National Action Party and former mayor
Antonio Carbajal, former football goalkeeper that played in five World Cups

Further Information

Get more info on 'Le N Guanajuato'.

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