title: Miriam Toews

text: Toews has said that "Irma Voth" was inspired in part by her experience in playing a lead role in "Silent Light", the 2007 film written and directed by Mexican filmmaker Carlos Reygadas. Reygadas invited Toews to do a screen test for the role of Esther, a conservative Mennonite wife, after reading her third novel, "A Complicated Kindness", and seeing her author photo on the back flap of the book. The film was shot in Plautdietsch, a language neither the director nor Toews fully understood. Toews worked with her mother, a native speaker of Plautdietsch, to deliver her lines phonetically. The film won a number of international awards, including the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. Toews was nominated for best actress at Mexico's Ariel Awards for her performance, one of nine nominations for the film.


title: Miriam Toews

text: Filmed in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua, the film depicts the same Mennonite community that features in Toews' novel. ""Irma Voth" and "Silent Light" provide interesting counterpoint views of a culture as seen through the eyes of an outsider. Of course, Reygadas and the fictional filmmaker in "Irma Voth" portray a society within its insular context, a culture out of time and place, while Toews and Irma Voth have learned to coexist in both worlds."


title: Miriam Toews

text: "All My Puny Sorrows" (2014) recounts the tumultuous relationship of the Von Riesen sisters, Elfrieda and Yolandi, the only children of an intellectual, free-spirited family from a conservative Mennonite community. Yolandi, the novel's narrator, has always lived in her sister's shadow. Whereas Elfrieda is a gifted, beautiful, happily married, and much celebrated concert pianist, Yolandi feels like a failure, with a floundering writing career and teenage children from separate fathers. Yet it is Elfrieda who suffers from acute depression and a desire to die, much like her father before her, who killed himself by stepping in front of a train. When Elfrieda makes a second suicide attempt on the eve of an international concert tour, Yolandi makes it her mission to save her sister, even as Elf begs her to accompany her to a Swiss clinic and enable her death. Yolandi writes: "She wanted to die and I wanted her to live and we were enemies who loved each other."


title: Miriam Toews

text: Toews has said that the novel draws heavily on events leading up to the 2010 suicide of her only sibling Marjorie.


title: Miriam Toews

text: "All My Puny Sorrows" received starred reviews in "Library Journal", "Kirkus Reviews", and "Publishers Weekly" and was a Reference and Users Services Association Notable Book. It also appeared on a number of year-end best-book lists, including "The Globe and Mail", "The Boston Globe", "The Washington Post", "The New Republic", and "The Daily Telegraph". The novel won the 2014 Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize. The jury described it as "a haunting novel of tremendous feeling, beautifully written and profoundly humane... Miriam Toews, a dazzling literary alchemist who manages to summon all the joyous and heart-breaking humanity of her characters, has produced a work of astonishing depth. Reading it is an unforgettable experience." The novel was also awarded Italy's 2015 Sinbad Prize for Foreign Fiction.


title: Miriam Toews

text: "All My Puny Sorrows" was shortlisted for the 2014 Scotiabank Giller Prize, the 2015 Folio Prize for Literature, and the 2015 Wellcome Book Prize. It was longlisted for the 2015 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction and the 2016 International Dublin Literary Award.


title: Miriam Toews

text: The novel's French translation, "Pauvres petits chagrins", was selected for the 2019 edition of Quebec's "Le Combat des livres", where it was defended by writer Deni Ellis Béchard.


title: Miriam Toews

text: In a note at the start of "Women Talking" (2018), Toews describes the novel as "a reaction through fiction" to the true-life events that took place between 2005 and 2009 on the Manitoba Colony, a remote Mennonite community in Bolivia. Girls and women would regularly wake up in the mornings to discover they had been sexually violated. The attacks were dismissed as "wild female imagination", or else attributed to ghosts or demons. Eventually it was discovered that a group of colony men had been spraying an animal anesthetic into neighboring houses at night, rendering everyone unconscious, and raping the women (infants, elderly, and relatives included). The colony elders, deciding that the case was too difficult to handle themselves, called local police to take the perpetrators into custody.


title: Miriam Toews

text: Toews' novel centers on eight women of varying ages who, in the aftermath of such traumatic events, must determine what to do next. As they see it, they have three options: do nothing; stay and fight; or leave. The stakes are high, and they must come to a decision quickly. The colony men, who are away to post bail for the rapists, will soon be returning. Over the course of two days, in the privacy of a hayloft, the women have a series of fierce, philosophical debates. They discuss how they will heal, protect their children, educate their sons, keep their faith, and forgive. The colony's bishop, Peters, has told them that if they refuse to forgive their offenders, they will be denied entry into heaven.


title: Miriam Toews

text: The novel is presented as the minutes of the women's meetings, which are taken by August Epp, the colony schoolteacher (and the novel's narrator) who has returned to the community after being excommunicated. Unlike the women, he has experience of the outside world, and is able to read and write and speak English (the women speak only Plautdietsch, an unwritten dialect of East Low German). He performs his role of minute taker at the request of Ona Friesen, the object of his unrequited love and his childhood friend, who is of the eight women in the hayloft. As time runs short for the women, and they begin to put their action plan into motion, August's story is also revealed.


title: Miriam Toews

text: The novel was a shortlisted finalist for the Governor General's Award for English-language fiction at the 2018 Governor General's Awards, and for the 2019 Trillium Book Award.


title: Miriam Toews

text: A film adaptation of the book, directed by Sarah Polley and starring Frances McDormand, was released in late 2022.


title: Miriam Toews

text: Toews' eighth novel, "Fight Night", focuses on a multigenerational family of women living in Toronto: the feisty, tomboyish 9-year-old Swiv, her heavily pregnant mother (nicknamed Mooshie), and her spirited and extraordinarily lively grandmother Elvira. Recently expelled from school, Swiv helps her grandmother with bathing and chores, accompanies her around the city, and eventually travels with her to Fresno, California to meet members of their extended family. In exchange, Swiv learns about what it means to survive through the ups and downs of life, and of her grandmother's story of despair, betrayal, and stolen agency and joy. The novel's structure takes the form of a letter Swiv writes to her absent father about life in the close-knit (yet often dysfunctional) household. As Swiv records her thoughts and observations, "Fight Night" unspools the pain, laughter, and unconditional love in the three women's stories, as they speak to what it takes to fight – painfully, joyously, and ferociously – and survive in life.


title: Miriam Toews

text: Toews' father, Melvin C. Toews, suffered from bipolar disorder much of his life. He was an active and well-respected elementary school teacher who lobbied to establish Steinbach's first public library. After his death by suicide, the Steinbach Library Board opened the Melvin C. Toews Reading Garden on the grounds of the library he worked to create. Toews' older sister and only sibling, Marjorie, died by suicide in 2010, almost 12 years to the day after their father.


title: Miriam Toews

text: Toews' partner is Erik Rutherford, a screenwriter noted for the 2021 film "Charlotte". Her daughter Georgia Toews and son Owen Toews are both writers. Georgia's debut novel "Hey, Good Luck Out There" was published in 2022, while Owen's "Stolen City: Racial Capitalism and the Making of Winnipeg" was published in 2019.


title: Miracle at St. Anna

text: Miracle at St. Anna is a 2008 AmericanItalian epic war film directed by Spike Lee and written by James McBride, based on McBride's 2003 novel of the same name. The film stars Derek Luke, Michael Ealy, Laz Alonso, Omar Benson Miller, Pierfrancesco Favino and Valentina Cervi, with John Turturro, Joseph Gordon Levitt, John Leguizamo, D.B. Sweeney and Kerry Washington in supporting roles. Set primarily in Italy during the Nazi German invasion and occupation of Italy during World War II, the film tells the story of four Buffalo Soldiers of the 92nd Infantry Division who seek refuge in a small Tuscan village, where they form a bond with the residents. The story is presented as a flashback, as one survivor, Hector Negron (Alonso), reflects upon his experiences in a frame story set in 1980s New York. Several real-life events that occurred during the war, such as the Sant'Anna di Stazzema massacre, are re-enacted, placing "Miracle at St. Anna" within the genre of historical fiction.


title: Miracle at St. Anna

text: Lee first learned of the novel in 2004 and approached McBride with the idea of a film adaptation. In Europe, the film's development attracted the attention of Italian film producers Roberto Cicutto and Luigi Musini, who helped finance the $45 million production. A majority of the film was shot in Italy, on several locations affected by World War II. Other filming locations included New York, Louisiana and The Bahamas. Frequent Lee collaborator Terence Blanchard composed the score, and the visual effects were created by Industrial Light & Magic.


title: Miracle at St. Anna

text: "Miracle at St. Anna" premiered at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival before it was released on September 26, 2008. It was met with mostly negative reviews from critics and drew controversy in Italy over historical inaccuracies. During its theatrical run, "Miracle at St. Anna" was a box office bomb, grossing only $9.3 million worldwide.


title: Miracle at St. Anna

text: In 1983, Hector Negron, an aged, Afro-Puerto Rican World War II veteran, works as a post office clerk in New York City. After recognizing a customer, Negron shoots and kills the man with a German Luger pistol. Several hours later, rookie reporter Tim Boyle and Detective Tony Ricci are at the crime scene seeking information. At Negron's apartment, Boyle, Ricci and other officers discover a finely carved statue head, the head of the "Primavera", a long missing segment from the Ponte Santa Trinita. Also found is a Purple Heart and a photograph revealing that Negron was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and Silver Star.


title: Miracle at St. Anna

text: Negron, in a flashback, tells of his war experiences as a young corporal of the segregated 92nd Infantry Division in Italy, late 1944 during the Gothic line phase of the Italian campaign. A disastrous attack ensues on German positions across the Serchio River. An officer, Captain Nokes, calls down artillery on the 92nd's own position, refusing to believe their reports of how far they have advanced. Many American soldiers are killed, leaving Negron stranded on the wrong side of the river with three men: Staff Sergeant Aubrey Stamps, Sergeant Bishop Cummings, and Private Sam Train. Sam carries the Head of the "Primavera" that he found in Florence, which he believes to carry magical powers. He and Bishop rescue an Italian boy named Angelo from a collapsing building. While traveling through the mountains of Tuscany, the soldiers enter a small village where they form a bond with the residents. Sam grows especially fond of Angelo, becoming the boy's father figure. One of the villagers, Renata, soon becomes entangled in a love triangle with Stamps and Bishop, which creates conflict.


title: Miracle at St. Anna

text: After Negron gets his damaged backpack radio working, the soldiers contact headquarters and are told to capture an enemy soldier. A local Italian Partisan group arrives with a young German deserter, Hans Brundt, as their prisoner. Earlier, residents of the nearby village of Sant'Anna di Stazzema were killed by German forces following a betrayal by an Italian partisan, named Rodolfo, who knows that Brundt can identify him as the traitor. After concealing the fact that German forces are approaching the village in a counterattack, Rodolfo kills Brundt and the Partisan leader before escaping. It is Rodolfo whom Negron will kill 39 years later. Captain Nokes arrives in the village to interrogate Brundt and finds him dead. The Americans prepare to leave the village ahead of a German counterattack, but Sam refuses to leave Angelo behind. After promising to court-martial all four soldiers, Nokes and his contingent drive out of town, but are killed in the opening German offensive.


title: Miracle at St. Anna

text: The remaining Americans and Italian Partisans hold their ground, killing many Germans. Bishop and Negron hold off the Germans while Stamps tries to get the villagers to safety, but they are too heavily outnumbered. Sam, Stamps and Bishop are killed in the attack. While attempting to retreat, Negron is shot in the back, but is saved by his backpack radio. After Angelo gives him the Primavera's Head, Negron gives the boy his rosary and tells him to leave. Angelo is led away by the spirit of his brother Arturo, who had been killed during the massacre at St. Anna. Negron is spared by a German officer who hands him his own Luger pistol and tells Negron to defend himself. More Americans arrive and secure the village before evacuating Negron.


title: Miracle at St. Anna

text: In 1984, Negron is the defendant in a court proceeding, facing a life sentence for his killing of Rodolfo. He is defended at his bail hearing by a powerful attorney acting on behalf of an unknown wealthy man. Hector is brought to the Bahamas and is reunited with the Head of the "Primavera", accompanied by its new owner who takes out a rosary and reveals himself as an adult Angelo. They both hold Hector's rosary and burst into tears of remembrance.


title: Miracle at St. Anna

text: Other cast members include John Leguizamo, in a cameo appearance, as Enrico; D. B. Sweeney as Colonel Jack Driscoll, an advocate for the Buffalo Soldiers; Robert John Burke as General Ned Almond, a high-ranking officer who opposes the 92nd Division; Omari Hardwick as Platoon Commander Huggs; Omero Antonutti as Ludovico Salducci, Renata's Fascist father; Sergio Albelli as Rodolfo Berelli, a Partisan of questionable loyalties; Lydia Biondi as Natalina, a village healer; Michael K. Williams as Tucker a scared soldier; Walton Goggins as Captain Nokes; Christian Berkel as Captain Eichholz; Jan Pohl as Corporal Hans Brundt, the German deserter; and Alexandra Maria Lara as Mildred Gillars, nicknamed Axis Sally, an American broadcaster employed by the Germans as a propagandist.


title: Miracle at St. Anna

text: The novel "Miracle at St. Anna" was written by James McBride originating from his late uncle's experiences as a World War II soldier. Upon writing the novel, McBride conducted his own research and learned of the 92nd Infantry Division, which consisted of 15,000 African-American soldiers, who served in Italy during World War II from August 1944 to November 1945. McBride interviewed several remaining members of the 92nd Division. "I studied Italian at The New School in New York City," he explained. "I moved to Italy with my family for six months. I interviewed dozens of Italians—Partisans and Fascists. I interviewed dozens of African-American soldiers who fought in the war, most who have since passed away. I must have read at least 20 books. I went to the Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. I studied the whole business of what the 92nd did in Italy during the war, to try to get an idea of what really transpired." The 92nd Division served as the basis for McBride's novel, which was published in 2003.


title: Miracle at St. Anna

text: Spike Lee first learned of the novel in 2004 and contacted McBride about making a film adaptation. He felt that McBride was the perfect person to write the screenplay, believing that his novel would serve as a guide. Commenting on the difficult process of adapting his book into a screenplay, McBride stated, “As a novelist, you tend to think internally. You can guide what the character says and you can explore what he or she is thinking. Movies don't have time to explain. You have to get right to the muscle.”


title: Miracle at St. Anna

text: The film adaptation of "Miracle at St. Anna" attracted the attention of Italian producers Roberto Cicutto and Luigi Musini, the co-founders of On My Own Produzioni Cinematografiche. Cicutto explained that they knew that Lee was "not just coming to Italy to make a film as an American director, but to make a film that belongs to his culture and to our history." The film's budget was an estimated $45 million. Under their Own My Own production banner, Cicutto and Musini contributed $8.74 million. Lee's reputation as an acclaimed filmmaker in Europe, where he served as a jury member of the 2004 Venice Film Festival, also helped the filmmakers obtain two-thirds of the budget from Italy's RAI Cinema and France's TF1 ($30 million). Touchstone Pictures provided the remainder ($6.26 million), and later released the film in North America.


title: Miracle at St. Anna

text: Lee described "Miracle at St. Anna" as an "ensemble piece" and aimed for authenticity in his depiction of American and German soldiers battling in Italy. In casting Italian actors, he held a casting call in Rome. The Italian actors, all born in Rome, were coached to sound as though they were from Tuscany. The actors portraying soldiers underwent a two-week boot camp, supervised by senior military advisor Billy Budd, a 15-year Royal Marine veteran who had served in the Falklands War.


title: Miracle at St. Anna

text: Principal photography for "Miracle at St. Anna" lasted nine weeks, beginning in October 2007 and concluding in December of that year; filming took place in Italy, New York, Louisiana and The Bahamas. The film was the first by Lee to be shot in Europe, and the director insisted on shooting on locations where the story is set. Filming began in Tuscany, where the Tuscan regional government gave Lee permission to film where the actual events took place. According to producer Luigi Musini, "Miracle at St. Anna" was shot along the Gothic Line, which was the major line of defense in the final stages of World War II: "The location is highly representative of what the war was in Italy, what our resistance was. True dramatic episodes took place there.” The first ten days of filming took place on the Serchio River, covering the battle sequence that opens the film. A scene that recreates the Sant'Anna di Stazzema massacre was shot where the atrocity took place; the massacre—in which over 500 villagers were murdered by German occupation forces—is re-enacted in the film. Filming then took place in Rome for one month; in New York for four days; in White Castle, Louisiana for two days; and in The Bahamas for two days.


title: Miracle at St. Anna

text: Matthew Libatique served as cinematographer, having previously collaborated with Lee on the films "She Hate Me" (2004) and "Inside Man" (2006). Libatique relied on the use of natural light, which proved challenging for scenes shot indoors. The final battle sequence in the film was especially difficult as the film relied on the use of practical effects and difficult weather conditions. Libatique's solution was to collaborate with Lee, military advisor Billy Budd, and first assistant director Mike Ellis in creating storyboards to choreograph the scenes. Production designer Tonino Zera was tasked with filling outdoor locations with greenery, rebuilding exteriors and constructing the interior of an Italian barn. Costume designer Carlo Poggiolo consulted with a former Buffalo Soldier of the 92nd Division, prior to designing the American soldiers' outfits. He also provided contemporary and historical wardrobe pieces. Ernest Dickerson served as the film's second unit director, cinematographer, and camera operator. The visual effects were created by George Lucas' Industrial Light & Magic (ILM). After Lee approached him, Lucas allowed ILM's team of artists to work on the visual effects for the film.


title: Miracle at St. Anna

text: Terence Blanchard composed the film score, marking his twelfth collaboration with Lee. For the score, he attempted to make a distinction between American and German soldiers. "That was first done through the use of percussion, using a higher-pitched, tighter sound for Germans, and a fuller-field drum sound for Americans," he explained. "I also drew a distinction by using French horns for American forces, and a Wagner tuben for German forces." Scoring the film required the use of a 90-piece orchestra, which was larger than in any of Lee's previous films. Blanchard also relied on the use of instruments from the 1940s era, including a mandolin, accordion, slide guitar and rope drum. The film's soundtrack, titled "Miracle at St. Anna: Original Soundtrack", was released in CD and digital downloading formats by Hollywood Records on September 23, 2008.


title: Miracle at St. Anna

text: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures released "Miracle at St. Anna" under Touchstone Pictures. The film's world premiere was at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2008. The film later premiered in France at the 34th Deauville American Film Festival on September 10, 2008. "Miracle at St. Anna" premiered in New York City at the Ziegfeld Theatre on September 22, 2008. Disney released the film in the United States and Canada on September 26, 2008. The film was released in Italy on October 3, 2008; in Romania on April 10, 2009; in Bolivia and Brazil on April 30, 2009; in the United Arab Emirates on May 28, 2009; and in Lebanon on September 10, 2009.


title: Miracle at St. Anna

text: "Miracle at St. Anna" grossed $7,658,999 in North America and $1,404,716 from markets elsewhere—a worldwide total of $9,323,833 against a $45 million budget.


title: Miracle at St. Anna

text: On its opening day in North America, the film debuted at ninth place, grossing $967,329 from 1,185 theaters. The end of the opening weekend saw the film take a total of $3,477,996—for an average of $2,935 per theater—finishing as the number eight grossing film of the weekend. Steve Mason of "Hollywood.com" believed that "Miracle at St. Anna"'s negative reviews and moviegoers' declining interest in war films contributed to the film's poor box office performance. On its second weekend, the film saw a 50.1% decrease in revenue, moving down to fourteenth place and earning an additional $1,736,302—an average of $1,465 per theatre. "Miracle at St. Anna" was pulled out of theatres on November 25, 2008 after 61 days (8.7 weeks) of domestic release.


title: Miracle at St. Anna

text: Following its release in North America, "Miracle at St. Anna" continued to perform poorly in international markets. Its highest gross was in Italy, where it grossed $1,363,754 during its theatrical run. Also contributing to the film's $1.4 million gross in international markets was Bolivia ($9,821), Brazil ($9,821), Lebanon ($3,184), Romania ($1,465), and the United Arab Emirates ($26,492).


title: Miracle at St. Anna

text: "Miracle at St. Anna" was released on DVD and Blu-ray formats by Touchstone Home Entertainment on February 10, 2009. The DVD is available in separate anamorphic widescreen and Blu-ray editions, each with Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 tracks. Upon its release on DVD, "Miracle at St. Anna" debuted in eighth place, selling 142,782 units in its first week. In North America, the film has grossed $10.1 million from DVD sales.


title: Miracle at St. Anna

text: The film has received mostly negative reviews from critics. On the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 33% based on 120 reviewer and a weighted average of 5.2/10. The website's consensus states ""Miracle at St. Anna" is a well-intentioned but overlong, disjointed affair that hits few of the right notes." Metacritic, another review aggregator, assigned the film a normalized score of 37% based on 31 reviews from mainstream critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".


title: Miracle at St. Anna

text: Todd McCarthy of "Variety" called the film "a clunky, poorly constructed drama designed to spotlight the little-remarked role of black American soldiers in World War II." James Rocchi, writing for "Cinematical", gave the film a mixed review: "When "Miracle at St. Anna" falters, it's in the moments that seem like they could have been crafted by any other film maker; when "Miracle at St. Anna" succeeds, it's in the moments that could only have been crafted by Lee." Ann Hornaday of "The Washington Post" wrote that the film was "overwrought, overproduced, overbusy and overlong" and that ""Miracle at St. Anna" finally suffers from the worst filmmaking sin of all: the failure of trust, in the story and the audience." Claudia Puig of "USA Today" wrote that the film "aspires to be epic, but mostly it's just unfocused, sprawling and badly in need of editing" and that "[i]t tries hard to be inspiring, but it has jarring tonal shifts, stereotyped characters and a lack of narrative perspective." Peter Travers of "Rolling Stone" described the film as "too long, lazily constructed, and crammed with too many characters and subplots for any director to develop fully outside of an HBO miniseries."


title: Miracle at St. Anna

text: Despite a mostly negative reception, "Miracle at St. Anna" received some praise. Eric D. Snider, writing for "Film.com" praised the film, writing, "This is beyond the scope of anything Lee has done before, and he rises to the challenge remarkably well, with battle scenes nearly as visceral and jolting as those in "Saving Private Ryan" and a multi-layered story involving the U.S. Army, the Nazis, and the Italian resistance movement." Snider criticized the film's frame story, which he described as "unnecessary and definitely corny." James Verniere of the "Boston Herald" awarded the film an "A" grade, calling it a "masterpiece" and a "classic American WWII movie that both acknowledges the rousing tradition of such war epics as "The Longest Day" (1962) and "The Big Red One" (1980) and adds something new: paying tribute to the World War II African-American soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. Roger Ebert, writing for the "Chicago Sun-Times", criticized the editing but praised the film overall, describing it as "epic" with "one of the best battle scenes I can remember, on par with "Saving Private Ryan"..."Miracle at St. Anna" contains richness, anger, history, sentiment, fantasy, reality, violence and life. Maybe too much. Better than too little."


title: Miracle at St. Anna

text: Protests were scheduled for the film's Italian premiere in Viareggio, Italy, by unspecified organizations. The protesters objected to the plotline of a Partisan collaborating with the Nazis. This runs directly counter to the accepted historical version of events, ruled by an Italian military court in 2005, that the Sant'Anna di Stazzema massacre was entirely premeditated by the Germans with no reason except the aim to frighten the population. Giovanni Cipollini, deputy head of the National Association of the Italian Partisans, said the film was a "false reconstruction" and a "travesty of history". However, Lee, unrepentant, stated "I am not apologizing." He told Italians there was "a lot about your history you have yet to come to grips with. This film is our interpretation, and I stand behind it." McBride, the novel's author, stated: "As a black American, I understand what it's like for someone to tell your history... unfortunately, the history of World War Two here in Italy is ours as well, and this was the best I could do... it is, after all, a work of fiction.”


title: Miracle at St. Anna

text: In light of the film's controversy, Lee was awarded honorary citizenship by the mayor of Stazzema, Michele Silicani, who defended the film, stating, "It's true that the film depicts a partisan who betrayed civilians. But above it is the tale of those partisans who fought to the death to defend civilians."


title: Miracle at St. Anna

text: Following the theatrical release of "Miracle at St. Anna", Spike Lee and the Italian production company On My Own Produzioni Cinematografiche brought a lawsuit against TF1, alleging that the company failed in its contractual agreement with On My Own to distribute the film in international markets, excluding the United States, Canada and Italy. In its defense, TF1 refused to distribute "Miracle at St. Anna", claiming that Lee had made a different film than the one promised, and refused to pay On My Own the €11 million advance needed to distribute the film internationally.


title: Miracle at St. Anna

text: On June 21, 2011, a Paris court ruled in Lee and On My Own's favor, believing that TF1 failed to honor the contract, which proved "disastrous" for the film. TF1 was fined €32 million (US$46 million). TF1 was ordered to pay On My Own €20 million in damages, plus a further €1 million for moral prejudice; Lee was awarded €1 million, while screenwriter James McBride received €200,000; TF1 was also ordered to pay €13 million to BNP Paribas to cover the advance it had failed to pay.


title: Miracle at St. Anna

text: In November 2016, trustees of below-the-line Hollywood unions filed a lawsuit against Lee and two of his production companies claiming Lee had failed to pay $45,000 in pension and other health contributions for the crew.


title: Jean Gabin

text: Jean Gabin (; 17 May 190415 November 1976) was a French actor and singer. Considered a key figure in French cinema, he starred in several classic films including "Pépé le Moko" (1937), "La grande illusion" (1937), "Le Quai des brumes" (1938), "La bête humaine" (1938), "Le jour se lève" (1939), and "Le plaisir" (1952). During his career he had twice won both the Silver Bear for Best Actor from the Berlin International Film Festival and the Volpi Cup for Best Actor from the Venice Film Festival respectively. Gabin was made a member of the Légion d'honneur in recognition of the important role he played in French cinema.


title: Jean Gabin

text: Gabin was born Jean-Alexis Moncorgé in Paris, the son of Madeleine Petit and Ferdinand Moncorgé, a cafe owner and cabaret entertainer whose stage name was Gabin, which is a first name in French. He grew up in the village of Mériel in the Seine-et-Oise (now Val-d'Oise) département, about 22 mi (35 km) north of Paris. He attended the Lycée Janson de Sailly. Gabin left school early, and worked as a laborer until the age of 19 when he entered show business with a bit part in a Folies Bergères production. He continued performing in a variety of minor roles before going into the military.


title: Jean Gabin

text: After completing his military service in the Fusiliers marins, he returned to the entertainment business, working under the stage name of Jean Gabin at whatever was offered in the Parisian music halls and operettas, imitating the singing style of Maurice Chevalier, which was the rage at the time. He was part of a troupe that toured South America, and upon returning to France found work at the Moulin Rouge. His performances started getting noticed, and better stage roles came along that led to parts in two silent films in 1928.


title: Jean Gabin

text: Two years later Gabin made the transition to sound films in a 1930 Pathé Frères production, "Chacun sa chance". Playing secondary roles, he made more than a dozen films over the next four years, including films directed by Maurice and Jacques Tourneur. But he only gained real recognition for his performance in "Maria Chapdelaine", a 1934 production directed by Julien Duvivier. He was then cast as a romantic hero in the 1936 war drama "La Bandera"; this second Duvivier-directed film established him as a major star. The next year he teamed up with Duvivier again in the highly successful "Pépé le Moko". Its popularity brought Gabin international recognition. That same year he starred in Jean Renoir's "La Grande Illusion", an antiwar film that ran at a New York City theatre for an unprecedented six months. This was followed by another of Renoir's major works, "La Bête Humaine" ("The Human Beast"), a film noir tragedy based on the novel by Émile Zola and starring Gabin and Simone Simon, as well as "Le Quai Des Brumes" ("Port of Shadows"), one of director Marcel Carné's classics of poetic realism. His rugged charisma could be compared with Humphrey Bogart and James Cagney. But he was the king of ‘cinematic cool’ even before the rise of those Hollywood stars.


title: Jean Gabin

text: In the late 1930s Gabin was flooded with offers from Hollywood, but turned them all down until the outbreak of World War II. After the German occupation of France in 1940, he joined Renoir and Duvivier in the United States. During his time in Hollywood, Gabin began a romance with actress Marlene Dietrich that lasted until 1948.


title: Jean Gabin

text: His films in America—"Moontide" (1942) and "The Impostor" (1944), the latter with Duvivier—were not successful.


title: Jean Gabin

text: Undaunted, Gabin joined General Charles de Gaulle's Free French Forces and earned the Médaille militaire and a Croix de Guerre for his wartime valor fighting with the Allies in North Africa. Following D-Day, Gabin served with the 2nd armored division that liberated Paris.


title: Jean Gabin

text: In 1945 Carné chose Gabin to star in the film "Gates of the Night" with Dietrich as his co-star. She disliked the screenplay and feared her German accent would not go over well with postwar French audiences. When she withdrew from the project, Gabin followed suit, leading to a falling out with Carné. He found a French producer and director willing to cast him and Dietrich together, but the film, "Martin Roumagnac", was not a success and their personal relationship soon ended. In 1948 Gabin starred in René Clément's poetic realist film "The Walls of Malapaga" (), which won an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Picture but garnered little recognition for Gabin. In 1949 he starred in his only role in legitimate theatre in Henri Bernstein's "La Soif". It ran in Paris for six months, with Gabin critically praised as "a first-rate stage actor." Despite this recognition, his subsequent films did not do well at the French box office, and the next five years brought repeated failures.


title: Jean Gabin

text: Gabin's career seemed headed for oblivion until the 1954 film "Touchez pas au grisbi" ("Don't Touch the Loot"), directed by Jacques Becker, earned him critical acclaim. The film was very profitable internationally. He then worked once again with Renoir in "French Cancan", with María Félix and Françoise Arnoul. Gabin played Georges Simenon's detective Jules Maigret in three films in 1958, 1959 and 1963. Over the next 20 years, he made almost 50 more films, most of them very successful commercially and critically, including many for Gafer Films, his production partnership with fellow actor Fernandel. His co-stars included such leading figures of postwar cinema as Brigitte Bardot ("En cas de malheur"), Alain Delon ("Le Clan des Siciliens", "Mélodie en sous-sol" and "Deux hommes dans la ville"), Jean-Paul Belmondo ("Un singe en hiver") and Louis de Funès ("Le Tatoué").


title: Jean Gabin

text: Gabin died of leukemia at the American Hospital of Paris, in the Parisian suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine. His body was cremated, and—with full military honours—his ashes were scattered at sea from a military ship.


title: Morelos

text: Morelos (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Morelos (), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 36 municipalities and its capital city is Cuernavaca.


title: Morelos

text: Morelos is a landlocked state located in South Central Mexico. It is bordered by Mexico City to the north, and by the states of México to the northeast and northwest, Puebla to the east and Guerrero to the southwest.


title: Morelos

text: Morelos is the second-smallest state in the nation, just after Tlaxcala. It was part of a very large province, the State of Mexico, until 1869 when Benito Juárez decreed that its territory would be separated and named in honor of José María Morelos y Pavón, who defended the city of Cuautla from royalist forces during the Mexican War of Independence. Most of the state enjoys a warm climate year-round, which is good for the raising of sugar cane and other crops. Morelos has attracted visitors from the Valley of Mexico since Aztec times.


title: Morelos

text: The state is also known for the Chinelos, a type of costumed dancer that appears at festivals, especially Carnival, which is celebrated in a number of communities in the state. It is also home to the Monasteries on the slopes of Popocatépetl, a designated World Heritage Site.


title: Morelos

text: Historian Ward Barrett considers that the "region now known as Morelos has a physical unity sufficient to define and set it in strong contrast to other regions of Mexico." Much of this definition comes from its geography, which is a basin into which abundant water flows. The arrival of the Spanish shifted agriculture from subsistence maize production and cotton cultivation to sugar cane and the refining of such into sugar in nearby mills. This system would remain more or less intact until the Mexican Revolution.


title: Morelos

text: Evidence of the first human inhabitants in what is now Morelos dates back to 6000 BCE and shows these people as nomadic hunters and gatherers in the areas of Yautepec and "Chimalacatlan". Other early finds include clay jars and figures in the Gualupita neighborhood of Cuernavaca and three mounds in Santa María Ahuacatitlán, which are probably the remains of houses.


title: Morelos

text: Francisco Plancarte y Navarrete, Cuernavaca's second bishop (1898–1911), wrote "Tamoanchan—El Estado de Morelos y El Principio de la Civilizacion en Mexico" in 1911. In it, he proposes that the first agriculturally based settlements in Mexico appeared around 1500 BCE in a place called "Tamoanchan" which he associates with Morelos. He writes, "1st - That being in the region of Tamoanchan... they fixed the ritual calendar ... 2nd - That Tamoanchan was not very far from Teotihuacan; 3rd - That to go from Tamoanchan to Teotihuacan they passed through Xumiltepec; 4th - That Tepuztecal (sic) and his companions discovered pulque in the Tamoanchan region. But as all these facts happened in... the State of Morelos ... and accordingly that Tamoanchan is not a mythological and fantastic country... but true..."


title: Morelos

text: The earliest identified culture is the Olmec, which was dominant from 200 BCE to about 500 CE. Evidence of this culture is found in reliefs such as those in the Cantera Mountain in Chalcatzingo and clay figures.


title: Morelos

text: After the Olmec period, the area was invaded by several waves of migration from the Valley of Mexico in the north. The settlement of Mazatepec was founded in 603 CE by the Toltecs. A second wave of Toltecs established the city-state of Xochicalco (the City of Flowers). Their influence is evident in Teotihuacan at the temple of Quetzalcoatl, but there are also signs of Mayan, Mixtec and Zapotec influences. The last wave of Toltecs arrived in the 12th century. There are two groups from this wave. The first to arrive were the Xochimilcas, who settled in places such as Tetela, Hueyapan, Tepoztlán, and "Xumiltepec". Shortly afterwards the Tlahuicas arrived and settled in and around Cuauhnáhuac (Cuernavaca) by 1250. There is evidence that indicates the "Tlauhuicas" probably would have been expelled from Morelos by the Xochimilcas if they had not been protected by Xólotl, lord of Acolhua, who granted territory to "Tochintecutli", the first lord of "Cuauhnáhuac" (Cuernavaca). The Tlahuicas are believed to be an offshoot of the Toltec-Chichimec group of Nahuatl-speaking peoples who have occupied the area since the seventh century.


title: Morelos

text: The Tlahuica eventually became the dominant ethnic group in Morelos. They were organized into about fifty small city-states, each with a hereditary ruler (tlatoani). Each Tlahuica city-state consisted of a central town, with its temple, plaza, palace, and the surrounding countryside and villages. The largest of these were "Cuauhnáhuac" and "Huaxtepec" (Oaxtepec). These people had advanced knowledge of astronomy and a highly developed agricultural system. They were especially known for growing cotton, which was planted wherever the land could be irrigated. Tlahuica women spun and wove cloth, which became an important item for exchange and for paying tribute.


title: Morelos

text: The Mexica or Aztec began to arrive as early as 1398, but efforts to dominate this area began in the 1420s. In the 1420s and 1430s, "Cuauhnáhuac" and "Xiutepec" (Jiutepec) were conquered by Itzcoatl. In the middle of the 15th century, other city-states in Morelos made war on Aztec-held Cuauhnahuac and the Aztecs used this as an excuse to conquer areas such as Yautepec, Tetlama and other locations, eventually dominating the entire state. The inclusion of the area into the Aztec Empire was sealed with marriage of Aztec emperor Huitzilihuitl to Miahuaxochitl, daughter of the lord of Cuauhnáhuac. This union produced a son who would become Aztec emperor Moctezuma Ilhuicamina. These conquered areas were allowed to keep their local political structures so long as a tribute, which mostly consisted of cotton items, was paid. The territory was divided into two tributary provinces, one centered on Cuauhnáhuac and the other centered on Huaxtepec. Each of these territories had a population of over 50,000 by the 16th century.


title: Morelos

text: Moctezuma Ilhuicamina succeeded Izcóatl, and tradition has it that he established a botanical garden in Huaxtepec (Oaxtepec). Moctezuma's favorite swimming area is thought to have been a pond called "Poza Azul", now part of a resort run by Six Flags Hurricane Harbor.


title: Morelos

text: The Mexica built a number of fortifications in the area, notably in the hills called "El Sombrerito" and "Tlatoani" near Tlayacapan. The pyramid of Tepozteco in Tepoztlán may have been designed as a fort and lookout post. During this time, the Tlauhuica built the double-pyramid known as Teopanzolco in Cuernavaca.


title: Morelos

text: Population estimates for the beginning of the 16th century are: Cuauhnáhuac, 50,000; Huaxtepec, 50,000; Yautepec, 30,000; Tepoztlán, 20,000; Totolapan, 20,000; and 12,000 each for Tlayacapan, Tetela, Yecapixtla, and Ocuituco.


title: Morelos

text: The Spanish under Hernán Cortés arrived in central Mexico in 1519. After Cortés's defeat in Tenochtitlan (La Noche Triste) and retreat into Tlaxacala in 1520, he sent expeditions to Morelos. One of the first Mexicas to accept Spanish authority was in Ocuituco. Gonzalo de Sandoval then set out with 8,000 men for Huaxtepec (Oaxtepec). After a two-day fight, Sandoval returned to Texcoco to inform Cortes of his victory. Cortes returned with 20,000 men and defeated Tlayacapan on April 8. Cortes then went to Huaxtepec, spent a night in the beautiful gardens, and moved on to Yautepec. The Spanish burned the town, and Tepoztlan surrendered. Cortes continued his march on Xiutepec (Jiutepec) and on April 13 faced the city of Cuauhnahuac (Cuernavaca). The bridges across the Ravine of Annanalco had been destroyed, but both Cortes and Bernal Diaz del Castillo relate how they were able to cross the ravine upriver via a fallen tree. The "cacique" of Cuauhnahuac surrendered quickly, and Cortes burned and sacked the city, and the women were raped. After spending the night in nearby Acapantzingo, Cortes moved on to "Coajomulco" before marching on Xochimilco. Cortes returned to Cuernavaca after the fall of Tenochtitlan, where he established a hacienda and constructed the Palace of Cortés five years later.


title: Morelos

text: Only two years after the fall of Tenochtitlan (Mexico City), in the year 1523, the first church was built in "Tlatenango", and over the next 50 years 500 religious constructions were built in the state.


title: Morelos

text: In 1529, Cortés was named the Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca, which gave him control over of territory in Morelos with Cuernavaca as the seat of authority over about eighty communities, eight haciendas, and two sugar cane plantations. These lands stayed in the Cortés family until 1809 when the government confiscated all of the lands of the Marquis. There are house-to-house censuses from the mid-1530s from communities around Cuernavaca that are the earliest extant local-level documentation in Nahuatl, likely due to a dispute between Cortés and the crown about the number of tributaries of the Marquesado del Valle de Oaxaca. These Indigenous censuses make it possible to establish an early colonial-era base-line for household structure, land holding, tribute obligations, and rates of baptism and Church marriage.


title: Morelos

text: The conditions on the sugar plantations of Morelos made Father Miguel Hidalgo's call to take up arms well received by the indigenous and mestizo populations of the state. The first rebellions broke out in 1811, with some early successes. An early insurgent leader in the state was Francisco Ayala. Insurgents from the state managed to push as far as Chalco in what is now Mexico State when royalist forces pushed them back in 1812. After Hidalgo was executed (July 30, 1811), José María Morelos y Pavon took over the insurgent effort, joined by Mariano Matamoros of Jantetelco.


title: Morelos

text: By 1812, insurgents had control of the city of Cuautla, and royalist forces began to put it under siege. Morelos and his men held out for 58 days when reinforcement arrived, breaking the Siege of Cuautla. This was one of the early vital wins for the insurgent movement. Morelos would eventually be captured by royalists and executed in 1815, but the memory of this battle would lead to the future state being named after him.


title: Morelos

text: In the post-war period, the sugar industry of Morelos made this region one of the richest parts of the Mexican Republic. Much of this sugar made its way to European markets. As a result, the city of Cuernavaca, serving as an important trade center for exports, became a well-established outpost along the Camino Real (Royal Road) to Acapulco. But the sugar cane estates were worlds unto themselves: great luxury for the (often absentee) owners and misery, debt, and poverty for the workers.


title: Morelos

text: After winning independence, what is now the state of Morelos was the district of Cuernavaca as part of the very large State of Mexico, created in 1824. The entity would change status between state and department depending on whether liberal or conservative factions were in charge. Under the Constitution of 1857, the State of Mexico and all other states would keep their federal status permanently.


title: Morelos

text: Cuernavaca gained the title of city in 1834. During the Mexican–American War, this city was taken by the Americans under General Cadwalader.


title: Morelos

text: The next conflict was the uprising against President Antonio López de Santa Anna under the Plan of Ayutla in 1854. Armed rebellion broke out in Cuautla, and Santa Anna responded by burning entire villages. However, the rebellion dislodged Santa Anna, naming Juan Álvarez as president. Alvarez moved the Mexican capital to Cuernavaca. A new constitutional convention was called and when the 1857 Constitution was proclaimed, Alvarez retired and the capital moved back to Mexico City.


title: Morelos

text: The new constitution did not stop fighting among conservative and liberal factions in Mexico, which escalated again into the Reform War from 1858 to 1861. While Cuautla was a liberal bastion, Cuernavaca was a stronghold for the conservatives; roamed by bandits who burned and destroyed the haciendas of Pantitlán and Xochimancas, terrorizing villagers. Ignacio Manuel Altamirano wrote a novel, set in Yautepec, about the war and the bandits, called "El Zarco: Episodios de la Vida Mexicana en 1861–63". The war ended on January 11, 1861, when Benito Juárez took control of Mexico City.


title: Morelos

text: The division between the liberal and conservative parts of the state remained through the French Intervention in Mexico. When the French Army invaded Mexico, Francisco Leyva raised an army in Morelos to fight in the Battle of Puebla of May 5, 1862. Despite the heroic efforts on that day, the French eventually managed to gain control of the country and install Maximilian of Habsburg as emperor in 1864. Maximilian chose the "Jardin Borda" in Cuernavaca as his summer residence, and he built "La Casa del Olindo" in Acapantzingo, Cuernavaca supposedly for Margarita Leguizmo Sedano, his mistress known as "La India Bonita." The French emperor improved the roads from Mexico City to Cuernavaca; telegraph service between the two began in 1866. However, resistance to French rule was well underway. On January 1, 1867, Republican troops under the leadership of "Francisco Leyva, Ignacio Figueroa", and "Ignacio Manuel Altamirano" began an eight-day siege of Cuernavaca. France, under Napoleon III, withdrew its troops soon after that, and Maximilian was defeated by Republican forces and executed.


title: Morelos

text: After the French were expelled by forces under Benito Juárez, there were efforts to divide the State of Mexico. This resulted in the approval of the state of Morelos on September 21, 1868, by the federal Congress, followed by the official admittance of Morelos as the country's 27th state on April 17, 1869. The territory of the state was the Third Military District of the State of Mexico as defined by the Juárez government; the name "Morelos" and the capital "Cuernavaca" were selected by the state's first legislature. The first state constitution was finalized in 1870, and Francisco Leyva Arciniegas became the first Constitutional Governor of Morelos. There were boundary disputes between the new state with Mexico State and the Federal District, but these were resolved by the 1890s.


title: Morelos

text: A telegraph line from Mexico City to Cuernavaca had been laid between 1867 and 1869; in 1870 it was extended to Iguala, Chilpancingo, and Tixla. Another line, between Cuernavaca and Cuautla, was laid in 1875. Attempts were made to improve education, but limited funds made that virtually impossible. Other infrastructure projects in the late 19th century included the Toluca-Cuernavaca highway, and a rail line between Mexico City and Cuautla. 200 people died when a train plunged into the San Antonio River at the "Puente de Escontzin" (Escontzin Bridge) near Cuautla in what became known as the Morelos railway accident on June 23, 1881. Rail lines would continue to be built into the 20th century, connecting the state further with Mexico City and the Pacific Ocean. On May 11, 1874, the capital was moved to Cuautla; it was returned to Cuernavaca on January 1, 1876.


title: Morelos

text: During the long presidency of Porfirio Diaz (1877–1911), the economy of Morelos continued to be dominated by the large sugar plantations. The sugar cane estates were modernized and began to use steam-driven mills and centrifugal extractors. These changes created a great new demand for the water and land resources needed to grow sugar cane. As a result, the haciendas expanded steadily, but only at the expense of the peasants, who were unfairly deprived of their land by the hacienda owners. Between 1884 and 1905, eighteen towns in Morelos disappeared as lands were taken by the haciendas.


title: Morelos

text: The Roman Catholic Diocese of Cuernavaca was established in 1894 with Fortino Hipólito Vera as the first bishop (1894–1898). He was followed by Francisco Plancarte y Navarrete (1898–1911).


title: Morelos

text: This situation made the state ripe for the Mexican Revolution and the base for one of the best-known revolutionaries from this period, Emiliano Zapata, who was born in Anenecuilco, Ciudad Ayala. Some of the first outbreaks of violence took place in Cuernavaca under Genovevo de la O from Santa María Ahuacatitlán in 1910. Zapata's victory in the bloody Battle of Cuautla (May 11–19, 1911) brought about Porfirio Diaz's abdication, but also led to the press labeling Zapata "the Attila of the South". But then, Government forces led by Victoriano Huerta attacked towns and cities in the state, trying to take it back. Shortly afterwards, on August 17, revolutionaries sacked Jojutla.


title: Morelos

text: Zapata felt betrayed by Francisco Madero, and following Madero's election as president on November 6, 1911, Zapata and his followers called for agrarian reform in the Plan de Ayala. Contrary to popular belief, the state's motto, "Tierra y Libertad" (Land and Liberty) did not originate with Zapata or the Plan de Ayala; it was first used by Ricardo Flores Magón in the magazine "Regeneración" on October 1, 1910.


title: Morelos

text: With the outbreak of Revolution, a new bishop, Manuel Fulcheri y Pietrasanta was chosen to head the Roman Catholic diocese (May 6, 1912 - April 21, 1922)


title: Morelos

text: Madero was assassinated; Victoriano Huerta took over the government, but he was soon put on the run. In May 1914, Zapata, with a force of 3,600 men, took control of the southern Jojutla district. By this time, Cuernavaca was the only important town in Morelos that the Federal forces held onto. It took 72 days to take Cuernavaca, after which he marched on Milpa Alta (Mexico City).


title: Morelos

text: Huerta was defeated, and 1915 was fairly peaceful in Morelos. However, by December 1915, Zapata was forced to fight a new enemy—Venustiano Carranza. Carranza embarked upon an offensive that retook significant parts of the state of Morelos. By the spring of 1916, Zapata was forced to abandon several of his strongholds. The biggest loss came on May 2, 1916, when Zapata lost Cuernavaca to enemy forces, which now numbered some 30,000 troops. As Zapata continued to lose ground, his forces were forced to return to the guerilla warfare that they had waged a few years earlier. They retook Cuernavaca in January, 1916, but he generally lost ground to the "Constitutionalists". The Zapatistas imposed a heavy tax on haciendas; when the owners refused to pay, the rebels burned the cane fields such as those of Chinameca, Tenango, Treinta, Atilhuayan, Santa Iñes, and San Gabriel. Then, on April 17, 1919, Zapata was betrayed and ambushed at Chinameca. Zapata's remains are currently in Cuautla at the foot of a statue erected in his honor.


title: Morelos

text: When the Constitutionalists split and Minister of War Álvaro Obregón was forced to flee, he and Zapata's Chief of Staff and successor Gildardo Magaña joined forces and defeated Carranza. Obregón's government duly reciprocated with legislating a land reform in Morelos according to the Plan de Ayala principles.


title: Morelos

text: In 1926 President Plutarco Elias Calles ordered a number of restrictions on the Catholic Church, precipitating the so-called Cristero War. While the Catholic Church generally opposed the Mexican Revolution, many former "Zapatistas" joined the rebellion in Morelos. Groups led by Benjamin Mendoza in Coatlán del Río; Nicolas Zamora in Tetlama, Temixco; and Rafael Castañada in Alpuyeca, Xochitepec, joined the Cristeros. They were quickly put down by Governor Ambrosia Punte in 1927.


title: Morelos

text: Since the Revolution, the state's history has centered on development and crime. There were several assaults along the Mexico City-Cuernavaca highway in 1928 and again in 1934. There was a train robbery in 1928, and several major train accidents in the 1930s. The statue of the Virgin of Guadalupe in "El Calvario" (Cuernavaca) was destroyed by vandals in 1934. Striking police went of a crime wave in 1937. Five thousand rioters protested when the Cuernavaca police killed Jorge Garrigós in 1957. The municipal president of Jiutepec was assassinated on May 26, 1958. In 1960, three government officials in Cuernavaca were fired because of embezzlement.


title: Morelos

text: From 1943 to 1944, and again from 1953 to 1958, Rubén Jaramillo led peasant revolts against the government. Despite promises and a guarantee of his safety from presidents Manuel Ávila Camacho in 1944 and Adolfo López Mateos in 1958, Jaramillo was gunned down in Xochicalco by federal police on May 23, 1962. A cache of weapons was discovered in "Colonia Rubén Jaramillo", Temixco, in September 1973.


title: Morelos

text: As for development, Morelos adopted a new Constitution on November 20, 1930. Gambling was outlawed and the "Casino de la Selva" in Cuernavaca was closed in 1934, which had been a mecca for American mobsters and Hollywood film stars. The Buenavista-Tepoztlán highway was built in 1936, and the Mexico City-Cuernavaca tollway opened in 1952. Highway construction eventually led to the closing of a number of rail lines including the Mexico City-Cuernavaca-Iguala line in 1963.


title: Morelos

text: Datsun began manufacturing automobiles in Jiutepec in 1961. The first industrial park of Morelos, "Civac" (Industrial City of the Valley of Cuernavaca), opened in 1966, confiscating 4,000 hectares (10,000 acres) of communal land in Tejalpa, Jiutepec with virtually no compensation. "Mayekewa" and "Nissan" were among the first companies to locate there.


title: Morelos

text: A major water park with capacity for 20,000 visitors, was opened in Oaxtepec by IMSS (Mexican Social Security Institution) in 1966. When Mexico hosted the XIX 1968 Summer Olympics, the Junior Games were in Oaxtepec. The water park was sold to Six Flags Hurricane Harbor in 2016.


title: Morelos

text: There were two major disasters in 1962: in March, a bus fell off a cliff near the Lagunas de Zempoala National Park in Huitzilac, killing 22 and injuring 36. An earthquake in Cuernavaca in May killed 22, injured dozens, and destroyed two buildings.


title: Morelos

text: Four Roman Catholic bishops served during this period: Francisco Uranga y Sáenz (April 21, 1922 - 8 July 8, 1930), Francisco María González y Arias (January 30, 1931 - 20 August 20, 1946), Alfonso Espino y Silva (August 2, 1947 - May 15, 1951), and Sergio Méndez Arceo † (11 March 11, 1952 - December 28, 1982). Mendez Arceo He is remembered as the force behind the growth of basic ecclesial communities (Spanish: Comunidades Eclesiales de Base) (CEB) in Mexico during the 1970s, for his support of Austrian philosopher Ivan Illich and his "Centro Intercultural de Documentación" (English: Intercultural Documentation Center), and as a supporter of both human rights and liberation theology. Mendez Arceo was also responsible for the restoration and remodeling of the Cuernavaca Cathedral that led to the discovery of the murals about St. Philip of Jesus and companions.


title: Morelos

text: As it has been since Aztec times, the state, especially Cuernavaca, has been a favorite retreat for those in Mexico City due to its warm year-round climate. That, plus pollution and the September 19, 1985 Mexico City earthquake, have spurred a major housing boom which continues to this day. Most of this boom is centered on the city of Cuernavaca but also Cuautla and other places.


title: Morelos

text: In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the major crime problem was kidnapping for ransom. The kidnapping crime wave caused investment in the state to drop from a high of US$245 million in 1999 to $102 million in 2002, with the state lagging behind the country in job creation. The state broke the kidnapping rings in the early 2000s, mostly by arresting corrupt lawyers, police, and judges who were protecting kidnapping rings, includes one run by Daniel "Mocha Orejas" Arizmendi, who received his nickname by cutting off his victims' ears and sending them to family members. The busts brought the kidnapping rate to below national average. Governor Jorge Carrillo Olea (1994–1998) was forced to resign after being accused of covering for kidnappers.


title: Morelos

text: Roman Catholic bishops during this era were Juan Jesús Posadas Ocampo (December 28, 1982 - May 15, 1987) and Luis Reynoso Cervantes (August 17, 1987 - December 20, 2000).


title: Morelos

text: The kidnapping problems have been replaced with violence related to the drug trade, despite the fact that Morelos is far from the U.S. border. The 2009 slaying of kingpin Arturo Beltrán Leyva set off a turf war for his successor. It has increased the number of gun battles and gangland-style executions. Anonymous email threats succeed in keeping people away from Cuernavaca at night, with bars and nightclubs closing when such communications threaten drug violence. In 2004, Governor Sergio Estrada ordered the mass firing of all of the state police officers after top police commanders were arrested on charges that they were working with drug traffickers. This caused a major political battle for the governor, who then himself was accused of cooperating with drug rings, with attempts to take him out of office. The area around Lagunas de Zempoala National Park, on Morelos's border with Mexico City, is one of Mexico's 16 most dangerous regions, in part due to the narcotics trade.


title: Morelos

text: The state is considered to be one of the most dangerous, despite its small size and population. Most crime is centered in Cuernavaca. Its crime rate surpasses that of Mexico City in terms of crimes per 1,000 people. It is over 50% higher than the national average. Although Cuernavaca has only 21% of the population, it suffers 45% of the crime committed in the state. There are a number of possible causes. Some blame the judicial system for being inept and there are strong links to the drug trafficking trade, en route to Mexico City.


title: Morelos

text: In the election of July 1, 2018, the coalition "Juntos Haremos Historia" won the governorship (Cuauhtémoc Blanco) and 16 of 33 municipalities, PRD-PSD won 4, PAN-MC won 3, PRI won 2, PVEM won 4, Nueva Alianca won 2, and Humanista won 1.


title: Morelos

text: On December 30, 2018, the newly-formed National Guard took over police functions in Cuernavaca, Jiutepec, and Yautepec.


title: Morelos

text: Starting January 1, 2019, three new "municipios" were created in Morelos: Xoxocotla; Hueyapan; and Coatetelco. All three are Indigenous communities that will have increased autonomy.


title: Morelos

text: The federal government held a referendum on February 23−24, 2019, to decide whether to build a thermoelectric plant and a gas pipeline in Huexca, Yecapixtla. Voters in Morelos and parts of the states of Puebla and Tlaxcala were asked if they supported the completion of $22 billion peso (U.S.$1.6 billion) plant completed in September 2017 but not put into operation due to lack of connection to the Cuautla River. Two opponents of the plant, Ruben Fajardo and Samir Flores Soberanes were murdered and there were violent protests during the public consultation. 59.5% of the 55,715 citizens voted in favor of construction, and 40.1% voted against. A number of safety and environmental factors have not yet been resolved.


title: Morelos

text: A 10:00 a.m. on May 8, 2019 shooting in downtown Cuernavaca left two dead and two injured. The shooting occurred during a demonstration by merchants who do not have fixed addresses. Governor Cuauhtemoc Blanco has cited the need for support from the National Guard to combat violence in the state. This comes three months after a shooting in "Bar Sofia," which left one dead and nine injured, and the police chief was replaced.


title: Morelos

text: Morelos was hit by two strong earthquakes in September 2017. On September 7, the 2017 Chiapas earthquake did some serious shaking in Morelos although no physical damage or injuries were reported in Morelos. The second, on September 19, 2017 was disastrous in Morelos. The epicenter was 12 kilometers southeast of Axochiapan, at a depth of 57 kilometers. Seventy-five people died in Morelos, principally in Jojutla and in the eastern part of the state; 200 people were hospitalized, 5,000 homes, 10 hospitals, 186 schools, and 4 dams were damaged. The 11 municipalities most affected were Jojutla, Axochiapan, Cuernavaca, Miacatlán, Tlayacapan, Xochitepec, Yautepec, Jantetelco, Ocuituco, Yecapixtla, and Emiliano Zapata. In Cuernavaca, 4 people were killed, the landmark "Torre Latinoamericana" collapsed, and 11 churches were damaged.


title: Morelos

text: As the citizens of Mexico and of Morelos, as well as foreign governments, rushed to help those affected, Governor Graco Ramírez and his wife, Elena Cepeda de Leon, head of "DIF Morelos" (Department of Children and Families) were accused of deviating at least two large trucks of supplies for political purposes. The governor and his wife denied the allegations, explaining that they were simply organizing the delivery. However, they never explained why all the food and other supplies were labeled as if they had come from DIF Morelos rather than their true places of origin.


title: Morelos

text: The ISSSTE hospital in Zapata was forced to work on the street for two months, and the Hospital Parres in Cuernavaca was unserviceable for a year after the earthquake. Over a year later, people in Jojutla were still homeless.


title: Morelos

text: 32 of the 36 mayors of municipalities in the state demonstrated in the "Zócalo" against Governor Cuauhtémoc Blanco on February 1, 2020. They were demanding the restoration of MXN $1,000,000,000 (US $50 million) in federal funds to pay for police.


title: Morelos

text: Roman Catholic bishops of the 21st century have been: Florencio Olvera Ochoa (February 22, 2002 - July 10, 2009), Alfonso Cortés Contreras (July 10, 2009 - 22 December 22, 2012), and Ramón Castro Castro (May 15, 2013 – present). In March 2020, Castro Castro blessed the 2020 census workers as the Roman Catholic population in Mexico decreases.


title: Morelos

text: Morelos had its first case of infection during the COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico in mid-March, about the same time that Mexico entered Phase 2 of the pandemic and schools were closed. Drugstores in Cuernavaca reported shortages of masks, antibacterial gel, and other items. The first death was on March 28, a 37-year-old man who had traveled to Italy. President López Obrador and Governor Blanco dedicated the ISSSTE hospital “Carlos Calero” in Cuernavaca, set aside to care for patients with COVID-19. As of May 17, 2020, there were 153 deaths and 1,105 confirmed cases in the state. 158 health workers contracted the virus and two died. 46% of the cases were treated at hospitals run by "Servicios de Salud de Morelos" (SSM), 38% by the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS), 13% by the Instituto de Seguridad y Servicios Sociales de los Trabajadores del Estado (ISSSTE), and 1% by private hospitals. The federal government announced it would pay the families of health workers who died because of the virus MXN $50,000. Morelos passed 2,000 confirmed cases on June 14 and continued in ′′Semaforo Rojo′′ (Maximum Alert) until June 21. The state health department reported that the first 9,759 doses of the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine arrived in the state for application in health workers on January 12, 2021. Four bottles containing twenty doses were stolen from “Carlos Calero Elorduy Hospital” run by SEDENA two days later. After an increase in 1,000 serious cases in three days in January 2021, G. Parres and Carlos Calero hospitals in Cuernavaca as well as the COVID-19 hospitals in Jojutla and Axochiapan reported they were full to 100% capacity. ISSSTE in Zapata reported 90% of its beds were occupied. Radamés Salazar Solorio, Senator from , died of COVID-19 on February 21. Temixco became the first municipality to vaccinate senior citizens (60+) with 15,170 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine.


title: Morelos

text: Twenty-one people died in May 2020 after drinking homemade alcohol in the eastern part of the state. A baby boy was registered using the surnames (Spanish: "apellidos") of both his birth mother and her wife in May 2020, the first such case in Morelos. IMSS reported that 10,000 doses of flu vaccine were stolen from its hospital in eastern Morelos on October 12, 2020.


title: Morelos

text: Nineteen political parties registered for the 2021 Mexican legislative election in Morelos. They are: , , , , , , Panal, , , , PH, Sumando Voluntades Podemos Construir, Más Más Apoyo Social, Morelos Progresa, Movimiento Alternativa Social, Bienestar Ciudadano, Renovación Política Morelense, Fuerza, Trabajo u Unidad por el Rescate Oportuno de Morelos, and Morelos Fuerza.


title: Morelos

text: The state is located in the center of the country and has an area of , accounting for 0.25% of Mexico's total territory. It is the second smallest state after Tlaxcala. It borders with the Federal District of Mexico City, the State of Mexico, Guerrero, and Puebla. The state's capital is Cuernavaca. It was the largest city of the Tlahuicas and originally called Cuauhnahuac, but the Spanish changed it to the current name which means "Cow Horn" in Spanish. This city is only 90 km south of Mexico City and due to its gentle climate is referred to as "The City of the Eternal Spring."


title: Morelos

text: Morelos, most of which is between 1,000 and 3,300 meters (2,900–9,800 feet) above sea level, has a very diverse topography: 42% is mountainous, 16% hilly land, and 42% flat terrain. The highest altitudes are found near the state's border with Mexico City, and the lowest are found in the Huaxtla region. The state straddles two main geographic formations, the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt in the north and east and the Sierra Madre del Sur, which stretches south and west from Cuernavaca and Jiutepec. The majestic mountain peaks of the Sierra Ajusco in the north of the state divide Morelos from the neighboring Valley of Mexico.


title: Morelos

text: The state is in the highest part of the Balsas River basin, which ends in the north in the areas bounded by the Sierra Ajusco-Chichinautzin and the Popocatépetl volcano. From this point south, the state gradually slopes downward, interrupted by the Tlaltizapan and Yautepec mountains in the center of the state and the Sierra de Huautla in the south. Most of the rivers and streams of the state, including the Cuautla River, flow into the Amacuzac River on the border with the state of Guerrero, which itself is a major tributary of the Balsas River.


title: Morelos

text: The climate and vegetation varies from alpine meadows in the highest elevations near Popocatepetl to lowland rainforest in the south. Roughly 70% of the state has a humid and relatively warm climate, especially in the highly populated areas of Cuernavaca, Tepotzlán, Oaxtepec and Yautepec. Average temperature is approximately year round, with a rainy season from May until September.


title: Morelos

text: The climates can be further subdivided: hot and semi-humid; semi-hot and semi-humid; temperate and semi-humid; semi-cold and semi-humid; and cold. The hot and semi-humid climate covers about 78% of the state's territory, with an average temperature of , with rains in the summer. This area presents mostly subtropical rainforest type vegetation. The semi-hot and semi-humid climate can be found in a strip in the north of the state and accounts for 13% of the territory. Average temperature varies between 18 and 22 degrees Celsius, with rains in the summer and a dry season in the winter. A temperate and semi-humid climate covers about 10% of the territory and is found in the north of the state around the municipalities of Huitzilac, Tlanepantla, Totolapan, Tetela del Volcán and parts of Cuernavaca, Tepoztlan, Ocuituco, Tlayacapan and Miacatlán. This area has an average temperature of between 10 and 15 degrees Celsius, with mixed forests of pine and holm oak. A semi-cold and semi-humid climate accounts for only 2% of the territory and found along the borders of the Federal District, Mexico State, and Puebla. This area has pine forests and some alpine meadows. The coldest climate is found in the upper parts of Popocatepetl that belong to the state. Average temperature here is less than 5 degrees Celsius with frequent freezes. Most of the vegetation is alpine meadow or moss.


title: Morelos

text: The natural resources of the state have been taken advantage of for centuries and have suffered changes as a consequence, especially in landscapes, water sources, flora, and fauna. This change accelerates as the population grows. The state has one major national park called the Lagunas de Zempoala. It is one of Mexico's largest national parks, located on the southern flank of the Sierra Madre mountains. The park had five mountain-fed lakes and abundant wildlife when the park was established in 1937. This park is being stressed due to illegal logging, with subsequent soil erosion and water from its last dark blue lake to drainage. Much of this drainage is to provide water to Cuernavaca, whose population uses 785 liters of water per day per person, twice that of Mexico City. The park's area has shrunk from to 12,500.


title: Morelos

text: Much of the state's ecological woes stem from the housing explosion, which is mostly centered in the capital of Cuernavaca, but it is a problem in places such as Cuautla as well. Groups such as the Frente de Pueblos en Defensa de la Tierra y el Agua and Guardianes de los Àrboles have criticized the government for allowing city areas to grow with insufficient planning and control. They also claim that it is hurting much of the state's ecosystem and water supply.


title: Morelos

text: Morelos has 39 open-pit mines covering an area of , mostly in Temixco, Miacatlan, Xocitepec, and Cuernavaca. Mines of this sort often affect the health of both miners and people who live in nearby communities; they threaten the air, water supply, and soil in addition to the flora and fauna of the community. The Canadian company Alamos Gold has a concession to mine the "cerro del Jumil" which threatens the subsoil of the Xochicalco archaeological site.


title: Morelos

text: Mexico is located near the North American, Pacific, Cocos, Rivera, and Caribbean Tectonic Plates, making the country highly susceptible to earthquakes. According to the "Servicio Sismológico Nacional" (SSN), there have been over 1,000 earthquakes near the borders of Morelos and Puebla State since 1900.


title: Morelos

text: Morelos is the second-smallest state and ranks 25 out of 32 states in population, with 1.6% of Mexico's total population. However, it is ranked third in population density after Mexico City and the State of Mexico. 86% of the population lives in urban areas with only 14% in rural areas. Nationally, the figures are 76% and 24%. Just under 60% of the state's population lives in seven municipalities, which are Cuernavaca, Jiutepec, Temixco, Cuautla, Yautepec, Jojutla and Ayala. The most heavily populated area of the state is the city of Cuernavaca and its metropolitan area, with 21.95% of the total population. It is followed by the urban area of Cuautla-Yautepec-Ayala with just under 20%.


title: Morelos

text: The state has had a higher than average population increase since the mid-1990s at about 4%. In some areas, population growth has been very high at points, such as in Jiutepec (over 21%) and Emiliano Zapata (over 15%). Much of this growth has been in the main cities of Cuernavaca, Cuautla, Ayala and Yautepec. This growth has meant the loss of the state's ability to feed itself, with less than 40% of grains consumed grown inside Morelos. Population growth has also put a strain on infrastructure such as water, sewer, potable water, electricity, roads, and schools.


title: Morelos

text: The Catholic religion dominates, but there are significant minorities of evangelical Protestants and those of the Jewish faith.


title: Morelos

text: The indigenous population of the state is estimated at 8%, just under the national average of 10%. However, only 2% of the population is counted as speaking an indigenous language compared to 7% nationally. The total counted in 2005 by INEGI was 24,757.


title: Morelos

text: Historically, various Nahua peoples have dominated the state. This population severely diminished during the colonial period and again during the Porfiriato (late 19th and early 20th centuries), when many indigenous peasants were sent to other parts of the country to work. Those considered to be ethnically indigenous are located in 33 municipalities with most concentrated in 15 of these. Many identify as Mixtec, Tlapaneco and Zapotec who have immigrated from Puebla, Guerrero, and Oaxaca. Most of those who identify as Nahua are native to the state. Many of the immigrant indigenous are migrant workers, traveling among fields of sugar cane, corn, tomatoes, and onions. Some return to their home states in the off-season and some remain permanently in Morelos.


title: Morelos

text: While indigenous languages have largely disappeared since the Conquest, many old customs and traditions continue to live on as part of many people's identity. Many ethnic Nahuas conserve much of their ancient knowledge, such as dances, music agricultural practices, and rituals, although most are mixed with Catholic and moderns beliefs and practices. Since Mexico's census only counts the indigenous by language spoken and not by ethnicity, it is not possible to be sure of the precise number of Nahua in Morelos. Between 32 and 35 communities in the state have been identified as being "indigenous" based on prevailing customs and tradition. However, this does not take into account migrant workers or who have immigrated to the state from other parts of Mexico. In 2020, 37,569 people were counted as speaking an indigenous language, with the municipalities of Cuautla, Cuernavaca, Ayala, Puente de Ixtla, Temixco, and Tetela del Volcàn having the highest number of speakers.


title: Morelos

text: Of the eleven municipalities which are classified as highly marginalized economically, only three have a significant indigenous population (Temoac, Miacatlán and Tetela del Volcán). However, within larger municipalities such as Cuernavaca and Jiutepec, indigenous communities tend to be highly marginalized. Coatetelco, Hueyapan, and Xoxocotla were established as autonomous indigenous communities in 2019.


title: Morelos

text: According to the 2020 Census, 1.94% of Morelos' population identified as Black, Afro-Mexican, or of African descent.


title: Morelos

text: The state is governed by an elected governor, who has a cabinet with four departments called "Policy, Security and Justice," "Human and Social Development," "Sustainable Economic Development" and "Development and Modernization of the Administration.". The state Congress in is charge of passing laws and revising those already in existence. It is unicameral with twenty "deputies" (diputados) representing twelve districts and eight "plurinominales" elected by proportion in 2018. The deputies of the 54th legislature are: 1. Alejandra Flores Espinoza (Morena), 2. Javier García Chávez (Morena), 3. José Casas González (PT), 4. Erika García Zaragoza (PT), 5. Andrés Duque Tinoco (PES), 6. Ariadna Barrera Vázquez (Morena), 7. Marcos Zapotitla Becerro (Morena), 8. Elsa Delia González Solórzano (Morena), 9. Keila Celene Figueroa Evaristo (Morena), 10. José Luis Galindo Cortez (PT), 11. Alfonso de Jesús Sotelo Martinez (PES), 12. Maricela Jiménez Armendáriz (PES). Plurinominales: Tania Valentina Rodríguez Ruiz (PT), Rosalina Mazari Espín (PRI), Dalila Morales Sandoval (PAN), Ana Cristina Guevara Ramírez (MC), Blanca Nieves Sánchez Arano (Panal), Naida Josefina Díaz Roca (PSD), Cristina Xochiquetzal Sánchez Ayala (Humanist), and Rosalinda Rodríguez Tinoco (PRD).


title: Morelos

text: The state opened a new legislative palace on February 28, 2018. Located in Amatitlan, Cuernavaca, it occupies 4,394 m (47,000 ft.) of construction and was built at a cost of $360 million pesos (US$18.9 million). The building was designed by students of the College of Architecture of the University of Morelos (UAEM).


title: Morelos

text: Morelos had seven governors between 1869 (when the state was formed) and 1911 (when the Madero Revolution triumphed). Francisco Leyva Arciniegas was the first Constitutional governor (1869–1876).


title: Morelos

text: Thirty-four men held the highest administrative position in Morelos between 1911 and 1930. Their titles included "Constitutional Governor", "Substitute Governor", "Provisional Governor", "Temporary Governor", "Military Governor", "Political head of Territory", and "In charge of office". General Genovevo de la O, and José G. Parres Guerrero are the best-known names. Octavio Paz Solórzano, father of the poet by the same name, served briefly in 1925.


title: Morelos

text: Twenty men have served as governor during the Constitutional Period. Vicente Estrada Cajigal (PNR, 1930–1934) was the first Constitutional governor after the Revolution.


title: Morelos

text: Lauro Ortega Martínez (PRI, 1982–1988) is credited with improving the highway of "Cañon de Lobos", saving the town of Huautla, and building the "Mariano Matamoros" soccer stadium.


title: Morelos

text: Antonio Riva Palacio López (PRI, 1988–1994) was the last member of PRI to serve a full six-year term as Governor of Morelos. After he completed his term, he was appointed Ambassador to Ecuador (1994–1998), despite being accused of literally hundreds of charges of corruption. Jorge Carrillo Olea (PRI, 1994–1998) was forced to resign after being accused of covering for kidnappers. Carrillo was followed by two interim governors, and then Sergio Alberto Estrada Cajigal Ramirez of PAN was elected in 2000. Estrada Cajigal is the grandson of Vicente Estrada Cajigal, first governor elected under the 1930 constitution, and he was the first governor who was not a member of PRI or its predecessor, PNR. The younger Estrada Cajigal is best remembered for the "Helicopter of Love" bought with government funds for emergency use but actually used to impress his mistresses. His term ended in 2006 and he resigned from PAN in 2009. Marco Antonio Adame (PAN, 2006–2012) followed. Adame's term of office was marked by extreme violence, and he was accused of not only having ties to drug cartels, but also of electoral fraud.


title: Morelos

text: After 70 years of corruption under PRI and eight under PAN, voters turned left and chose Graco Luis Ramírez Garrido Abreu (PRD 2012–2018). However, by 2017, he was called the worst governor in the country, with an 8% approval rating. He was accused of nepotism (his stepson ran for governor in 2018), incompetence (for the high rate of crime in the state and because of a poorly-built expressway), and for deviation of funds (bankrupting the state university). Cuauhtémoc Blanco, the "Presidente Municipal" of Cuernavaca and a former soccer star with Liga MX, most notably with Club América, won with 53.3% of the vote in a six-way race in 2018. Blanco was the nominee of the now-defunct, Christian right Social Encounter Party (PES), which capitalized on Blanco's popularity as a former soccer player to win both the internal election of the "Juntos Haremos Historia" coalition (spearheaded by National Regeneration Movement's leader, Andrés Manuel López Obrador) for the state's candidacy and, ultimately, the state election. Blanco's term is scheduled to end in 2024.


title: Morelos

text: Morelos is currently subdivided into 36 "municipios" (municipalities). On November 9, 2017, the state legislature approved the creation of three Indigenous municipalities, which took effect on January 1, 2019.


title: Morelos

text: The major communities of Morelos are Cuernavaca (population 366,321; altitude 1,510 m / 4,950 ft), Jiutepec (population 214,137; altitude 1,355 m / 4,446 ft), Cuautla (population 194,786, altitude 1,304 m / 4,278feet), Temixco (population 116,143, altitude 1269 m / 4,163 ft), Emiliano Zapata (population 99,493, altitude 1,213 m / 3,980 ft), Ayala (population 85,521, altitude 1,147 m / 3,763 ft), Xochitepec (population 68,984, altitude 1,112 m / 3,648.294 ft), Puente de Ixtla population 66,435, altitude 897 m / 2,942.91 ft), Jojutla (population 57,121, altitude 882 m / 2,894 ft), and Yecapixtla (population 52,651, altitude 1,580 m / 5,184 ft).


title: Morelos

text: The economy of Morelos is based on agriculture, tourism, and urbanization. Since the 1960s, the economy has been shifting from agriculture to industry and commerce. However, most of these shifts have occurred on a small scale and a number of municipalities are still almost completely reliant on agriculture. While the state provides just 1.6% of the country's GDP, its economy is strong enough to attract workers, especially farm workers from other areas of the country. However, a large percentage of the state's population works six days a week, receiving wages of only 500 to 700 Mexican pesos ($46–$65USD), despite the fact that Morelos is one of the more expensive states to live in.


title: Morelos

text: Economically, the state divides into seven districts. The Cuernavaca Region includes the municipalities of Cuernavaca, Temixco, Emiliano Zapata, Jiutepec, and Xochitepec. The North Region includes the municipalities of Huitzilac, Tepoztlán, Tlalnepantla, and Totolapan. The Cuautla Region includes the municipalities of Atlatlahucan, Ayala, Cuautla, Tlayacapan, Yautepec de Zaragoza, and Yecapixtla. The Northeast Region includes Ocuituco, Temoac, Tetela del Volcán, and Zacualpan de Amilpas. The Southeast Region includes Axochiapan, Jantetelco, Jonacatepec and Tepalcingo. The South Region includes Amacuzac, Jojutla, Puente de Ixtla, Tlaltizapán, Tlaquiltenango, and Zacatepec de Hidalgo; and the Western Region includes Coatlán del Río, Mazatepec, Miacatlán and Tetecala.


title: Morelos

text: In 2003, Morelos was one of the first states to take advantage of a new law allowing states to sell bonds. In 2002, the state sold $24 million USD worth of bonds on the Mexican stock market in order to finance highways, schools, waterworks and other infrastructure projects. The bond sales also allowed the state to access lower-interest long-term financing.


title: Morelos

text: Due to its location near Mexico City, the state has one of the lower rates of economic marginalization, ranking 20th of 33 units in economic marginalization, based on housing and education. The most urbanized areas of the state are the strongest economically, with the least urbanized being the poorest. Two of the factors in the development of the state's economy since the 1960s are the opening of the Mexico City-Acapulco highway through the state in 1952 and the creation of the Civac (Ciudad Industrial Valle de Cuernavaca) industrial complex in 1965. This concentrated the population growth into the northern part of the state. Eleven of the state's 36 municipalities are considered to have a serious degree of marginalization: Tlalnepantla, Totolapan, Tlayacapan, Tetela del Volcán, Ocuituco, Zaculapan, Temoac, Tepalcingo, Amacuzac, Coatlán del Río, Miacatlán and some parts of Puente de Ixtla.


title: Morelos

text: Since the 1980s, the agricultural sector of the economy has been steadily shrinking but it remains an important part of the state's economy, as there are still a significant number of communities that rely on it. Just under 20% of the working population of the state is involved in farming, ranching, fish farming or forestry. Land available for human exploitation outside of populated areas is divided between agriculture/grazing (45%) and forestry (55%). Agricultural and forestry lands are further subdivided by climate and the type of forest (conifer vs. rainforest). Roughly 70% of the state has a subtropical climate, providing ideal conditions for agriculture, in particular sugar cane, and most farming is done in the warmer areas. Sugar cane has been an important crop since colonial times and still is important today, although the percentage of land dedicated to it has decreased since the 1960s. Another important crop is rice. The production of rice in the state has fallen drastically, from a height of 100,000 tons annually to only 21,000 tons due to the reduction in cultivation areas and the high costs of production. The state still ranks sixth in its production. However, despite price and market protections, foreign rice is competing with rice produced in the state. Sorghum has replaced lost yields of sugar cane and rice to a certain extent, which has been encouraged by the government. One way the state tries to sell its more expensive products such as rice has been the registration of a trademark called"Tradición Agrícola de Morelos" (Morelos Agricultural Tradition) to identify products produced in the state on store shelves.


title: Morelos

text: Another important cash and export crop is fresh flowers and ornamental plants. In 2003, this sector accounted for 27 million dollars of income to the state, up from 20 million in 2000. Morelos is Mexico's major producers of roses, producing 54,552 dozens in 2002. Morelos claims to be the native location of the poinsettia, called "noche buena" in Spanish. It is native to Mexico, but there has been a "diplomatic patent" on the plant since the early 19th century when the first US ambassador to Mexico, Joel Roberts Poinsett, registered it. The state's historical society has asked the Secretary of the Interior to review treaties and work to have this patent annulled. As it stands now, Mexican poinsettia growers must pay royalty fees to the U.S. and even import cuttings from authorized growers in the U.S. to grow the plant commercially. Another effort to combat the patent is to develop a new variety of the flower that would not be covered.


title: Morelos

text: Along with corn and beans are grown for subsistence, other fruits and vegetables are widely grown. These include bananas, cherimoyas, mameys, melons, cucumbers, tomatillos, jicama, squash, alfalfa, cotton, peanuts, onions and tomatoes. Many crops are grown for self-consumption, especially in indigenous areas. The state is working to help shift agriculture production from traditional corn and beans, which can be imported cheaper, to other products such as apricots, which have been shown to make money. Livestock mostly consists of cattle, pigs, horses, and domestic fowl. There is some fish farming in the state, mostly of mojarra and tilapia in Rodeo and Zacatepec.


title: Morelos

text: Industry, mining, and construction accounts for 29% of the state's GDP and employs 27% of the working population. Food processing (especially sugar came, rice, sorghum and grains) represents an important industry.


title: Morelos

text: Goods produced include automobiles and auto parts, textiles, pharmaceuticals, metal products, agro-industry, ceramics, and handcrafted items. Most exports go to the United States, Canada, Japan and the European Union. In the early 2000s, the state attracted a number of foreign enterprises to build industrial facilities here, includes car parts such as windshields.


title: Morelos

text: There are two major industrial parks in the state, Ciudad Industrial del Valle de Cuernavaca (CIVAC) and Parque Industrial de Cuautla (PINC). CIVAC is located in the municipality of Jiutepec. It was created in 1966 and is considered to be the most important economic development in the state. Today the park is home to 108 businesses, 35% of which are transnational. The Parque Industrial de Cuautla is located outside of the city. It occupies 113 hectares, with about 40% of this available. The industrial park suffered major fire damage in 2007. In 2009, the government intervened with plans to revive the park and improve its infrastructure with a budget of 240 million pesos.


title: Morelos

text: The "Desarrollo Industrial Emiliano Zapata" is the newest park, located just outside Cuernavaca in the municipality of Emiliano Zapata. It has an extension of 23.5 hectares. One of its principal occupants is the "Nu Star"t clothing manufacturer. Another is the "Emiliano Zapata Central de Abastos" (wholesale food market).


title: Morelos

text: Commerce, transportation, services, and tourism accounts for 59% of the state's GDP and employs just over 50% of the working population. The growth of the commerce sector is due to urbanization and the growth of tourism. The biggest selling point of the state touristically is its location, just south of Mexico City, which has the largest and wealthiest population in the country. Many of these people come to spend the weekend in Cuernavaca's nightclubs and away from Mexico City's traffic and pollution. Many of these visitors have bought second homes here, which has driven property prices up. Those from Mexico City and other cities are also attracted to the states water parks and spas, such as Las Palmas in Tehuixtla, El Rollo and the Parque Acuatico Oaxtepec.


title: Morelos

text: The state, especially around the capital of Cuernavaca, has experienced a housing boom since the late 1990s. More than 10,000 houses were built from 2000 to 2008 and another 50,000 are planned through 2013. The state's office of urban development states that this is far above what is needed to house the state's population. Instead, it reflects demand from Mexico City for a weekend and getaway homes. The housing boom has put a strain on infrastructure and on property prices.


title: Morelos

text: The Secretary of Tourism for the state promotes the cities of Cuernavaca and Cuautla; the Magic Towns of Tepoztlán and Tlayacapan; the archaeological site of Xochicalco; and Lake Tequesquitengo.


title: Morelos

text: As the center of the state's history and culture, the city of Cuernavaca has landmarks and attractions such as the Palacio de Cortés, where Hernán Cortés centered his enterprises of the "Marquesado del Valle de Oaxaca", and now the site of the mural called History of Morelos, Conquest and Revolution by Diego Rivera; the Morelos and Juárez Gardens, the Cuernavaca Cathedral, and the Borda Garden. The city has several other museums and colonial-era churches, as well as a large variety of hotels and restaurants, including the world-renowned "Las Mañanitas". The various Spanish language schools in Cuernavaca also attract foreign students, many from the United States.


title: Morelos

text: Tepoztlán is a "New Age" town famous for its crafts market and its "revitalizing energy." The pyramid of El Tepozteco, dedicated to the god of pulque, is located at the summit of a hill and requires a two-hour climb for a majestic view of the valley below. Tepoztlan was named a "Pueblo Mágico" in 2002. It is home to one of the Monasteries on the slopes of Popocatépetl, a World Heritage Site. Hiking and camping are popular in the area, and the town boasts two large campgrounds—Camohmila, owned by the YMCA, and Meztitla, owned by the Scouts of Mexico (ASMAC). Tepoztlán's pre-Lenten Carnaval is the largest and best known in the state.


title: Morelos

text: Tlayacapan is located in the northeast part of the state, just south of Mexico City. It is a rural area, with a way of life that has not changed much over the 20th century. Ninety percent of its population is still partially or fully dependent on agriculture. The town has old mansions, houses with red tile roofs and streets paved with stones. Many ravines crisscross the area and are crossed by numerous stone bridges. It is also home to the San Juan Bautista Monastery and 26 chapels built in the colonial era. Tlayacapan produces unique black pottery.


title: Morelos

text: Cuautla is the third-largest city in the state and was the site of one of the early major battles of the Mexican War of Independence and later the Battle of Cuautla during the Mexican Revolution. The center of the town is home to the Municipal Palace and the Santo Domingo Church. One major attraction is the Morelos House, where José María Morelos y Pavón lived during the 1812 siege of the city. Near the city are various spas and water parks such as the "Agua Hedionda", famous for its sulfur-laden waters.


title: Morelos

text: Lake Tequesquitengo ("Laguna de Tequesquitengo"), which many claim was created when the area was flooded by damming the local river, is located 45 km south of Cuernavaca in the Municipio of Jojutla. The lake is 3 km by 4.5 km and is used by visitors for watersports, including water-skiing, scuba diving, and fishing; as well as for weekend getaways. Also near Jojutla, you can find the ex-hacienda of "Vista Hermosa", now a hotel and restaurant. "Jardines de Mexico", the largest floral park in the world, is also close, and there are several water parks in the region.


title: Morelos

text: History buffs may want to start at the Cuauhnáhuac Regional Museum (a.k.a. Palace of Cortes, which has exhibited about the history of the state, from the time of the earliest inhabitants, the Colonial era, the Mexican Revolution and beyond.[150] The museum includes the Diego Rivera mural, History of Morelos, Conquest and Revolution.


title: Morelos

text: The state has a number of archeological sites. The most important are Chalcatzingo, an Olmec settlement from 750 to 500 BCE located in Jantetelco; Zazacatla from the same era and located in Xochitepec; Coatetelco from 500 to 150 BCE, located in the municipality of that same name. Xochicalco is the largest and most important archaeological site in the state. Located in the municipalities of Miacatlan and Temixco, this was a fortified trading center that may have been built by refugees from Teotihuacan from AD 700-900 (designated as a World Heritage Site). Its best-known structures are the Temple of Quetzalcoatl and its observatory. Xochicalco is probably the location of ‘Tamoanchan’ as described by Bishop Francisco Plancarte y Navarrete. Teopanzolco in Cuernavaca was a ceremonial center of the Tlahuicas. The most important temple is the Twin Temples (Templos Gemelos), which may have been a model for the Templo Mayor in Mexico City. This site was unknown until the 1914 Siege of Cuernavaca during the Mexican Revolution. Popular with tourists is El Tepozteco located on the Sierra de Tepoztlan.