# Compostela, Nayarit

Compostela is the name of both a municipality and of a town in it that serves as the seat; both are in the Mexican state of Nayarit. The municipality had 62,925 (2005 census) in a total area of 1,848 km$^2$ (713.5 sq mi). The town and its municipal seat had a population of 15,991 in 2000.

## Etymology

The name was given in honor of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain; tradition says that "Compostela" comes from Latin campus stellae, "field of stars" (another theory makes it come from composita tella or even compositella).

## Geography

Compostela is located on the south coast of the state and is bounded in the north by San Blas and Xalisco; in the south by Bahía de Banderas and the state of Jalisco; in the east by Santa María del Oro, San Pedro Lagunillas and the state of Jalisco; in the west by the Pacific Ocean.
The largest settlements in the municipality are: Compostela (15,991 inhabitants in 2000), Las Varas (12,403), La Peñita de Jaltemba (7,062), Zacualpan (4,468), and Colonia Paraíso Escondido (2,069).
The climate is tempered by elevation, with rains from July to September. The hottest months are April and May. The average annual rainfall is 968.5 mm. The average annual temperature is 22.9 °C.

## Economy

The economy is heavily based on agriculture. The main crops are tobacco, corn, beans, coffee, sorghum, and mangoes. There were around 50,000 head of cattle in 1995. There were several small gold and silver mines. In manufacturing the main products were cigars, mango packing, rice shelling, soap factories, cattle feed, furniture, and food and drink.

## Tourism

This is a region that attracts a considerable number of local and foreign visitors due to the natural landscape, beaches, historical sites and the international fishing competitions.
Around Las Varas in the direction of the south there are beaches in the zone called Costa Alegre, among which should be mentioned: Chacala and Chacalilla, La Peñita de Jaltemba, Rincón de Guayabitos, Los Ayala, El Monteón,and Playa Platanitos, as well as the islands in the bay of Jaltemba, with a good infrastructure of services.

## Government
### Municipal presidents

| Municipal president | Term | Political party | Notes |
| Petronilo Díaz Ponce | 1917 | | |
| Manuel Pimienta Hernández | 1918 | | |
| Rafael Dávila | 1919 | | |
| José Ma. Regalado Larios | 1920–1921 | | |
| Fernando Romero Paredes | 1922–1923 | | |
| Gustavo Luna Plata | 1924 | | |
| Pedro Ibarra Trujillo | 1925 | | |
| Gustavo Luna Plata | 1926 | | |
| Rafael Ibarra Trujillo | 1927 | | |
| Alberto Rodríguez Rocha | 1928 | | |
| Rafael Ibarra Trujillo | 1929 | | |
| Narciso Piña | 1930 | PNR | |
| Gustavo B. Maciel | 1931 | PNR | |
| Apolonio Aguirre Delgado | 1931 | PNR | |
| Jorge Olimón Colio | 1932–1933 | PNR | |
| Juan Manuel Larios | 1934 | PNR | |
| Guillermo Flores Abena | 1935 | PNR | |
| Joaquín Betancourt | 1935 | PNR | |
| Jesús Puga Flores | 1936 | PNR | |
| Alfonso Ocegueda Carrillo | 1937–1938 | PNR | |
| Isidro Mora Piña | 1938 | PRM | |
| Alfonso Rodríguez Aguirre | 1939–1940 | PRM | |
| Reyes Orozco Villa | 1941 | PRM | |
| Pedro Arciniega Álvarez | 1941–1942 | PRM | |
| Eduardo Arcadia Mediana | 1943–1944 | PRM | |
| Martiniano Trejo González | 1945–1948 | PRM PRI | |
| Fernando Ulloa González | 1949–1951 | PRI | |
| Martiniano Trejo González | 1952–1954 | PRI | |
| Juan Gradilla Vidriales | 1955–1958 | PRI | |
| Salvador Gutiérrez Contreras | 1958–1960 | PRI | |
| Manuel Gradilla Muñoz | 1961–1963 | PRI | |
| Indalencio Esparza | 1963 | PRI | Acting municipal president |
| Raymundo Zavala Sánchez | 1964–1966 | PRI | |
| Rafael Machuca Medina | 1967–1969 | PRI | |
| Juan Hernández García | 1969–1971 | PRI | |
| Javier Ayón Uribe | 1970–1972 | PRI | |
| Ángel Ocegueda Cuevas | 1973–1975 | PRI | |
| Juan Manuel Inda Vallejo | 1976–1978 | PRI | |
| Nicolás Aguirre Anzaldo | 1978–1979 | PRI | |
| Enrique Medina Lomelí | 1979–1981 | PRI | |
| Alejandro González Sánchez | 1981–1982 | PRI | |
| Ramón Pimienta Aguirre | 1982–1984 | PRI | |
| Arnulfo Peña Banda | 1984–1987 | PRI | |
| Heriberto Conde Valdés | 1987–1990 | PRI | |
| Macario Aguayo Durán | 1990–1992 | PRI | |
| José Luis Flores de los Ángeles | 1992–1993 | PRI | |
| Baltazar Cruz Dueñas | 1993–1996 | PRI | |
| Andrés Villaseñor Salazar | 17-09-1996–16-09-1999 | PRI | |
| Juan Aguirre Chávez | 17-09-1999–16-09-2002 | PRI | |
| Alicia Monroy Lizola | 17-09-2002–16-09-2005 | PRI | |
| Marco Antonio Moreno Venegas | 17-09-2005–16-09-2008 | PRI | |
| Héctor López Santiago | 17-09-2008–16-09-2011 | PRI Panal | Coalition "For the Nayarit We All Want" |
| Pablo Pimienta Márquez | 17-09-2011–16-09-2014 | PAN | |
| Alicia Monroy Lizola | 17-09-2014–16-09-2017 | PRI Panal PVEM | Coalition "For the Good of All" |
| Gloria Núñez Sánchez [es] | 17-09-2017–27-03-2018 | PAN PRD PT PRS | Coalition "Together for You". She was elected constitutional municipal president of Compostela. Applied for a temporary leave to run in the federal elections of Sunday 1 July 2018 towards a seat for Nayarit in the Senate of the Republic, which she got |
| Kenia Elizeth Núñez Delgado | 28-03-2018–06-12-2018 | PAN PRD PT PRS | Coalition "Together for You". Acting municipal president |
| Gloria Núñez Sánchez | 07-12-2018–14-03-2019 | PAN PRD PT PRS | Coalition "Together for You". She returned from the Senate to the Municipal Presidency of Compostela. Again applied for a temporary leave from the Municipal Presidency, this time in a definitive way, to go back to occupy her seat in the Senate |
| Kenia Elizeth Núñez Delgado | 22-03-2019–16-09-2021 | PAN PRD PT PRS | Coalition "Together for You". Acting municipal president for the second time |
| Romina Chang Aguilar | 17-09-2021–16-09-2024 | PT PVEM Panal Morena | |
| Gustavo Alfonso Ayón Aguirre | 17-09-2024– | Morena PVEM PT Force for Mexico | Coalition "Sigamos Haciendo Historia" (Let's Keep Making History) |