HIstory
The settlement began in the year 1546 when Spanish conquistadors such as Juan de Tolosa discovered fabulous rich veins of silver and the settlement rapidly became a mining camp. In a few years, it became the second most significant city of New Spain--after the capital--with dozens of mines in operation by 1550, mostly San Bernabé, Albarrada de San Benito, Vetagrande and others. The mining boom brought artisans, clergy, merchants and workforce both in the southern Mexican indigenous populations and African slaves to build a multicultural urban society.
By 1585-88 elevated to city status and awarded a royal coat of arms by Philip II, and awarded the title of Muy Noble y Leal Ciudad de… Silver production reached its peak in the late 16 th and 17 th centuries when it supplied as much as a third of all silver in Spanish America with city coffers funded by the mercury trade that fuelled the mining process.
Golden age number two occurred in the early 18th century. Between about 1719 and the early 1730s mines produced up to 25 percent of the total output in Mexico, when a population of about 40,000 was reached in 1732. Its money paid for baroque architecture continuing to shape its historic centre-churches, palaces, and civic buildings hacked out of the quintessential pink stone.
Late in the 18th century came economic decline as international silver prices went down and issues of resource strain arose, but production returned to modest levels up to the start of independence in 1810. The city was occupied by rebel forces led by Miguel Hidalgo and the independence was declared in the area formally in July 1821. Two years later it was made a formal state of the young Mexican Republic.
The 19th century was characterized by instability: internal Liberal-Conservative struggles, French occupation (1861-63) and regional strongmen. Technological changes, including railways, telegraph and electricity, at last tied the city to the rest of Mexico at the end of the century, leading to emigration to the U.S. and elsewhere.
Even one of the most decisive battles of the Mexican Revolution was fought not too far away in 1914: Francisco Pancho Villa and his men routed the forces of Huerta in what came to be known as the Battle of Toma de Zacatecas earning the city the honorary title “Ciudad Heroica.”.
The conservation of heritage started in the middle part of the 20th century after several decades of relative decay. The famous El Edén Mine was closed in 1960 and reopened, as a mining park, in 1975. Eventually, the historic centre was included in the World Heritage List of UNESCO in 1993 because of the exquisitely preserved colonial design and baroque scenery.
Culture
The cultural calendar of the community relies on yearly events. The Holy Week Cultural Festival encompasses classical music, rock concerts, theatre, children events and international acts held in iconic plazas and most of the shows are free of charge. In late July - August, there is the International Folkloric Festival, which presents the dance collectives from this or that part of the world and local traditions. The National Fair of September at the base of Cerro de la Bufa combines concerts, livestock fairs, crafts, food and bullfighting. Last but not least comes the dramatic religious-theatrical performance Morismas de Bracho, which was celebrated later in August where they stage legendary battles with participants, costumes, horses and pyrotechnical effects. It unites dedication, artisanship and social ties, as thousands take part in it.
Local sound is fundamentally centred on tamborazo, a vigorous wind band comprising trumpet, saxophone, clarinet, cymbals and drum, and headquartered in Jerez and other adjacent regions. One of the most popular of them is the Marcha de Zacatecas, composed by Genaro Codina-which can be considered as the second national anthem (even though there is no official one)-is commonly played to begin a callejoneada or an official performance. In 1947, developed regionally, the folkloric Mexicapan dance captures the regional character with its six catchy melodies, energetic partnering and wild choreography, bold costumes and exaggerated steps.
It is a tradition and these alley-walk parties are a favorite ritual: Tamborazo musicians lead locals and tourists through the textile lanes, bypassing mezcal or heribertas in ceramic jarritos, singing, dancing, and partying less formally under the lanterns. They can happen on any dinner or occasion at all, it is about people more than about location.
Old arts thrive in silver smithing, leatherwork, pottery, textiles, carving of wood, basketwork and sculpture in stones quarried by the quarry. Crafts include charro saddles, textiles such as sarapes and jorongos, blown-glasswork, papier-mache figures and beadwork and desserts or agave drinks as edible craft. This heritage has been fixed in museums, in the Rafael coronel Museum in a 16th-century convent is the largest collection of masks in the world, with thousands of ceremony masks all over Mexico. The international and contemporary art museum in one former Jesuit college in the Pedro Coronel Museum includes works by Picasso, Goya, Dal, Chagall and Kandinsky, as well as a historic library.
Language
Standard national Spanish is most prevalent, having a clear accent, which is characterised by local speakers as sharp and vibrant- sometimes producing y sounds as j in English in showing emphases. This is a countryside-inflected pronunciation, which goes against more neutral accents of central Mexico, and the object of regional humor.
Even though the majority of the indigenous communities in the region have been acculturated quite gradually, there still are some speech forms which have been preserved by the migration of populations. By 2010, there were only an approximate of 5,157 people the age of three years and above who considered themselves as speakers of non-Spanic ancestry languages. The most common indigenous languages are those of the Huichol (c. 1,000), Nahua (c. 500), Tepehuano (nearly 500), and lesser groups with Tlapaneco, Otom, Mazahua, Mixtec, Zapotec and Pur, at least in part, representing indigenous groups who have become transplants since the former states.
The Huichol ancestor language Huichol belongs to a southern Uto-Aztecan speaking community that is polysynthetic and is characterized by the complicated verb. It is still being taught and documented and modern teaching books of grammar and dictionaries exist through the efforts of local universities and cultural institutes.
In the meantime revival works are under progress on the Nahua based variants, particularly on the regional ethnological institute which coordinates the research, scholarships and the publication of the modern reference materials and the first monolingual dictionary of the Huasteca variant.
Generational change is ongoing, whereby the majority of the young individuals are raised in the context of Spanish-dominant publics. Local village fairs, cultural activities and education contribute to transmission of interest and in valuing these ancestral forms, however. Although these original speech customs are hardly witnessed in common discourse, some remnants of them can be detected in ritual art, geographical names, some food terminology, and the culture spirit in the museum display and festival.
Geography
The area is north-central Mexico and covers an area of about 75,300km. This region is one of the larger states in the nation. It borders Durango and Coahuila to the north; San Luis Potosi to the East; Aguascalientes and Jalisco to the south; Nayarit and Durango to the West.
The rugged Occidental range rises above 3,000m, with Sierra El Astillero and Sombrerete being very prominent, and Sierra Fria being also notable. The capital is located at about 2,496m above sea level compared to an average of the state which is about 2,230m.
This rugged topography contains a number of valleys, most importantly the Juchipila and Tlaltenango basins, smaller mesas and low rolling terrain elsewhere. The mining economy has been supported by mineral chains like the Fresnillo and Sombrete ranges which are mineral rich.
It has no big permanent rivers - the waters flow on a seasonal basis. There are two river basins in most of the river systems in Mexico, namely Lerma basin (drains to the Pacific through the rivers such as Juchipila, Jerez, San Pedro, and Tlaltenango) and one that has no discharge to an ocean. This is the source of the Bolaos River which runs into the Lerma-Santiago system and cuts its way through the Sierra Madre Occidental. It has about eighty dams, including Leobardo Reynoso, Miguel Alemán, and El Chique, with a total capacity of almost 595 million m3, as well as a large system of more than 5,800 wells tapping underground aquifers to use in agriculture.
| Country | Mexico |
| State | Zacatecas |
| Capital | Zacatecas |
| Area | 75,284 km2 (29,067 sq mi) |
| Population | 1,622,138 |
FAQs
Q.1: Why is it so historically important?
Established in the 16th century following the discovery of lucrative silver ore, it was the richest mining confederation in New Spain and a very important part of the Mexican Revolution
Q.2: So what are the big festivals?
Festival Cultural is celebrated during the Holy Week and Feria Nacional is held in the month of September at the base of Cerro de la Bufa. The international folklore festival takes place in the first part of August and Morismas de Bracho is held at the end of August.
Q.3: How safe is the city for its visitors?
The ancient centre is relatively safe if usual precautions are taken. Do not walk late at night, take a taxi on an app, carry a minimum amount of money and do not take a street taxi at night. The areas are riskier in rural regions within the state.
Last Updated on: September 24, 2025
