Jiménez, Coahuila

Jiménez a town and the name of its surrounding municipality in the Mexican state of Coahuila,at 100° 40´29" W longitude and 29° 4´11" N latitude and an altitude of 250 meters above sea level. It is located on the confluence of the Río San Diego and the Rio Grande (locally known as the Río Bravo) bordering with the U.S. state of Texas.

The town was founded in 1859. under the name of "Resurrección" by captain Manuel Leal, and tejano expatriate families from San Antonio, Texas.

History

In June 1675 the area was first visited by Lt. Fernando del Bosque, on a reconnaissance expedition up the Rio Grande from the city of Nuestra Sra. de Guadalupe (Monclova). He was accompanied by the Franciscan Friars Juan Larios and Dionisio de San Buenaventura. The troop camped on the edge of the San Diego river, which the Indians called the "Nueces", very near the site of the actual town of Jiménez today. They met with two local Indian chiefs, Bacora and Pinanaca whose tribe, numbering 150 people, were on a buffalo hunting expedition. Del Bosque named the camp "Santa Clara de las Nueces".

The area was again visited in 1729 by captain, José de Barroterán, who suggested a site on the San Diego river for a possible Presidio, but no attempt was made at foundation.

In December of 1735, Governor Blas de la Garza Falcón and Joseph de Eca y Múzquiz selected an area on the banks of the San Diego river for a fort, and actually began cutting logs for its construction, but had to stop operations when they were ordered back to San Juan Bautista. In 1737, permission was given to captain Miguel de la Garza Falcón, son of the governor who had died the previous year, to begin the construction of the presidio on the San Diego, arriving in October of that year with 50 soldiers and officers as well as 16 families for the new presidio which was named "Sacramento". The place turned out to be a poor choice as the land was difficult to irrigate, and after a brief two years it was moved to Santa Rosa, now Melchor Muzquiz, Coahuila.

In 1773, a second attempt at another location on the San Diego river was attempted, this time the location was a small spring, tributary to the San Diego named "Aguaverde". The Presidio was completed and occupied by troops by late April of 1773. This presidio and garrison lasted at this site for eight years, during which time it saw plenty of action against Indian attacks. In 1781 the garrison was relocated to San Fernando de Austria (now Zaragoza, Coah.), where the company still kept the name of Aguaverde, but the presidio was abandoned. It was not occupied again until the late 1840s and early 1850s, where the garrison of San Vicente was transplanted into the old Presidio.

In December of 1859, a group headed by captain Manuel Leal founded villa La Resurreccion, with families from the surrounding towns of Piedras Negras, Guerrero, Nava, Gigedo, as well as a group of families from San Antonio, Texas. The town was founded on lands previously occupied by the Colonia de Agua Verde.

In February of 1861 the village was attacked by a large force of Lipan Apaches. Some casualties were reported, among them was an old veteran of the Texas Independence and Texas Ranger, Damacio Galván. The Lipans carried off some 500 head of cattle, as well as some children from the town. This fierce attack discouraged many of the settlers and the town's population diminished drastically, many of the families from San Antonio returned back to Texas.

During the mid to late 1860s, more settlers arrived from neighboring towns, and the town prospered. In 1875 the villa was renamed "Jiménez" in honor of Mariano Jiménez, a leader during Mexico's Independence movement.

On September 26, 1906 the first armed rebellion against the dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz, precursor to the Mexican Revolution began in Jiménez, it was led by Juan José Arredondo and Calixto Guerra, members of the Partido Liberal Mexicano of Ricardo Flores Magon. The movement was short lived as Federal troop reenforcements from Piedras Negras, surprised and dispersed the revolutionaries the next day at Hacienda Victoria.

On June 24, 1908 another rebellion was attempted this time at Las Vacas (Cd. Acuña), by Benjamín Canales and Calixto Guerra. After a day-long battle and heavy losses on both sides, the federal garrison prevailed and the revolutionaries were forced to retreat across the border into Texas.

Geography

Jiménez is located at and an altitude of above sea level.

Demography

In the 2005 census the municipality had a population of 9,768 people.

Climate

The climate of the region is semi-arid and Hot. During the hot summer the temperatures averages (mean) between 79°F (26°C) and 88°F (31°C).

Highest precipitation months are May, June and September, October with an average monthly downfall in the range of 300 to 400 mm.

Natural resources

The regions main resources are agriculture and livestock.

Education

The municipality of Jiménez has a total of 33 primary schools, and 5 secondary schools.

Tourism

• The Plaza Francisco I. Madero
• Monument to Ricardo Flores Magón and the Revolutionaries of Sept. 26, 1906
• The Old Cemetery
• The San Diego River
• Hacienda Victoria

List of Presidentes Municipales

• Silverio Campos (1937 - 1938) PNR
• Epifanio Martínez (1939 - 1940) PRM
• Alejandro Siller (1941 - 1942) PRM
• Dionisio Pérez Faz (1943 - 1945) PRM
• Pedro Bravo Zertuche (1946 - 1948) PRI
• José V. Sánchez (1949 - 1951) PRI
• Cruz Olivo Rico (1952 - 1954) PRI
• Justo Guerra G. (1955 - 1957) PRI
• José Sánchez Arreola (1958 - 1960) PRI
• Anselmo Balderas Abundis (1961 - 1963) PRI
• Emilio Ramírez Escobedo (1964 - 1966) PRI
• Ignacio Rivero Ríos (1967 - 1969) PRI
• J. Cruz Olivo Rico (1970 - 1972) PRI
• Apolonio Martínez Rodríguez (1973 - 1975) PRI
• Ma. del Consuelo Villarreal Pérez de G. (1976 - 1978) PRI
• Miguel Lozano Arizpe (1979 - 1981) PRI
• Adolfo Narváez Faz (1982 - 1984) PRI
• Ludivina Hernández de Treviño (1985 - 1987) PRI
• Evelio Celedón Banda (1988 - 1990) PRI
• Pedro Bravo Berlanga (1991 - 1993) PRI
• Faustino Infante Regalado (1994 - 1996) PRI
• Juan Antonio Balderas Balboa (1997 - 1999) PRI
• Federico Ordoñez Coronado (2000 - 2002) PRI
• Agapito Balderas Elizondo (2003 - 2005) PRI
• Francisco Trujillo Reyes (2006 - 2008) COAL.

Mario Robles Molina (presidente interino actual)

Notable people from Jiménez

• Calixto Guerra - Jiménez Revolutionary of 1906 and Las Vacas in 1908
• Vicente Arreola Herrera (1875-1935) - Mining Engineer, industrialist

References