page_title: Jerez de García Salinas
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Jerez de García Salinas / History
caption_attribution_description: English: De la Torre building in Jerez, Zacatecas
context_page_description: Jerez is a town and municipality in the Mexican state of Zacatecas. To distinguish the two, the town is officially called Jerez de García Salinas to honor a 19th-century reformer. The town of Jerez is the local government of 128 other communities, a rural area noted for its production of fruit trees and dairy. The town was named a Pueblo Mágico to attract tourism, as it lies close to the state capital of Zacatecas and offers handcrafts, traditional food and architecture.
context_section_description: The area was named by the town's founders, Pedro Carrillo Dávila, Pedro Caldera and Martín Morelos, who were originally from Jerez de la Frontera, Spain. The Zacatecas town is named after the Spanish one. “Jerez” comes from the Arabic “scherich” referring to an abundance of produce. The fertility of the Zacatecas area contributed to the choosing of this name as well as the founders’ hometown. The appendage of the town's name was added in 1952 and honors Francisco García Salinas, a local politician who worked to redistribute land, establish textile mills and open schools. The municipality also has an official seal, which features an image of Our Lady of Solitude.
  Before the arrival of the Spanish, two indigenous groups dominated the areas, the Guachichils and the Zacatecos. The Zacatecos spoke a language similar to Nahuatl, and were agricultural. In the 16th century, Jerez lay on the road that Cristobal de Oñate took while he was looking for gold. He found it southwest of the city of Zacatecas. The land of this area was granted to Captain Pedro Carrillo Dávila for his role in the Conquest. He was followed by missionaries, which worked to convert the indigenous of the area until the end of the 16th century. The original churches of the town were dedicated to Ildefonsus and Saint Dominic . Oral history states the town was founded in 1536 to defend the road between Guadalajara and Zacatecas from indigenous attacks, but written records officially place the founding in 1570.
  During the Mexican War of Independence, forces loyal to the Spanish Crown took over the town in 1811 and commenced executing those suspected of aiding the insurgents. This was a decisive factor in the town's later support for the independence movement.
  According to the Commercial Directory of 1898, during the same period, the current mining companies of Jerez were Compania Minera La Soledad, Compania Minera Palmira, and Compania Minera San Luis. During this time period, Jerez consisted of two printing establishments, a brewing location, two carriage manufacturers, a single hotel owned by Antonio Castellanos, two silversmiths, three flour mills, and many more businesses.
  During the 19th century, the town and area grew and prospered from its agriculture. The first stage of the sanctuary of Our Lady of Solitude was finished in 1819. The state's Instituto Literario was founded here but was moved to the city of Zacatecas in 1837. The Hinojosa Theater was built in 1869. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the area had a population of about 12,000 inhabitants. The haciendas around Jerez were some of the most productive in the region, although no railroads were built through here to take goods to market, instead they were sent to city of Zacatecas. Also around this time two of the town's noted artists were born, Ramón López Velarde in 1888 and Máximo Pérez Torres in 1899.
  Just before the outbreak of the Mexican Revolution, there was an incident here on September 15, 1910. On this date is the traditional Grito de Dolores to commemorate the start of the War of Independence, but instead of shouting “Viva México” the townspeople shouted “Viva Madero,” the politician opposed to ruling Porfirio Díaz. This caused political instability in the following days. Rebels against Díaz in the area were advised of the situation and came on September 19, ambushing and killing federal troops and burned the Hinojosa Theater, along with the municipal building. This fire destroyed many of the historical records of the municipality. These events forced many inhabitants to flee to other places as the situation deteriorated. The city was officially taken over by troops led by Pánfilo Natera in 1913. The town survived the Revolution but its recuperation was slowed by the following Cristero War. One battle of this conflict took place near the community of Santa Fe, with a victory for the Cristeros.
  In 1952 the town's name was changed from simply Jerez to Jerez de García Salinas. The municipality remains simply named Jerez.
  The Virgen de la Soledad image was refurbished in 1979.
  The n
caption: Escuela De la Torre (Tower School) currently abandoned
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