Guadalajara Day in Mexico

This February 14th marks the anniversary of the founding of Guadalajara. Although there were three previous attempts to found the city, this is the date on which it was settled in the final place.

Before the arrival of the Spaniards, the main indigenous groups of Jalisco were the Coanos, Cocas, Cazcanes and Texcueces, lords of Tonallan (today Tonalá), the most important kingdom in the region.

The conquest of Jalisco began in the south of the state. Cristóbal de Olid entered in 1522 through Mazamitla and Tamazula. In 1524 Hernán Cortés sent his cousin Francisco Cortés to explore the coast and search for precious metals; and later Alonso de Ávalos. In March 1530 Nuño Beltrán de Guzmán - known for his cruelty and bloodthirstiness - accompanied by 500 Spanish soldiers and 15,000 Mexica entered through La Barca towards Tonallan, where he was received by the cihualpilli, - the queen or cacique - Tzapotzintli.

The interest was to dominate the lands of the Caxcan groups, which were on the other side of the Barranca de Huentitán. Nuño de Guzmán defeated the caciques of the region from Michoacán to Zacatecas. He wanted a settlement that would serve to consolidate his conquests and defend himself from the natives, so he founded Guadalajara in Nochistlán -today the state of Zacatecas- in honor of the Spanish city of the same name, from which he was originally from. Soon after, they decided to move it to a place "where there would be more water, better communication routes and less windstorms", considering that the area of Tonalá had these characteristics, they moved there. Two years later in 1535 Guadalajara moved again to Tlacotán, in what today is the municipality of Ixtlahuacán del Río. In that area, the population was constantly attacked by the Indians so the defenses were reinforced. After a very strong seven-day attack, in which Pedro de Alvarado, one of the conquerors of Tenochtitlán, died, it was decided to move the settlement again. The group of Spaniards, Portuguese and Mexica Indians that made up the city crossed the Huentitán ravine looking for a better place. In Tetlán, the settlers who would found the city were registered and settled in the Atemajac Valley, on the banks of a river they named San Juan de Dios. On February 14, 1542, the city was definitively established and the first town council meeting was held in which Miguel de Ibarra was named the first mayor.

The word Guadalajara comes from the Arabic word "Wad-al-hidjara", which means "river that runs between stones".

Guadalajara had been granted the title of city by Charles I of Spain since 1535. A coat of arms was granted by the same king on November 8, 1539. This coat of arms, with some modifications, is the one used today for the entire state of Jalisco.