Sinaloa

Sinaloa ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Sinaloa (Spanish: Estado Libre y Soberano de Sinaloa), is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, compose the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 18 municipalities and its capital city is Culiacán Rosales.

It is located in Northwestern Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Sonora to the north, Chihuahua and Durango to the east (separated from them by the Sierra Madre Occidental) and Nayarit to the south. To the west, Sinaloa has a significant share of coastline on the Gulf of California.

The state covers an area of 57,377 square km, and includes the Islands of Palmito Verde, Palmito de la Virgen, Altamura, Santa María, Saliaca, Macapule and San Ignacio.

In addition to the capital city, the state's important cities include Mazatlán and Los Mochis.

History

Prior to the coming of the Spaniards, much of Sinaloa was inhabited by the Cáhita peoples.

In 1531, Nuño Beltrán de Guzmán with a force of over 10,000 men, defeated a force of 30,000 Cahíta warriors at the site of Culiacán. Beltrán de Guzmán established a Spanish and allied Indian outpost at San Miguel de Culiacán. Over the next decade, the Cahíta suffered severe depopulation from smallpox and other diseases the Spanish brought.

The Spanish organized Sinaloa as part of the gobierno of Nueva Galicia. In 1564, the area was realigned: the area of Culiacán and Cosalá remained in control of Nueva Galicia, while the areas to the north, south and west were made part of the newly formed Nueva Vizcaya province, making the Culiacán area an exclave of Nueva Galicia. The first capital of Nueva Vizcaya was located in San Sebastián, near Copala, but the capital moved to Durango in 1583.

Starting in 1599, Jesuit missionaries spread out from a base at what is now Sinaloa de Leyva and by 1610, the Spanish influence had been extended to the northern edge of Sinaloa. In 1601, the Jesuits' movement into the eastern part of Sinaloa led to the Acaxee going to war. The Spanish eventually managed to reassert authority in the Sierra Madre Occidental region and executed 48 Acaxee leaders.

After Mexican independence, Sinaloa was joined with Sonora as Estado de Occidente, but it became a separate, sovereign state in 1830.

Geography and environment

The coastal plain is a narrow strip of land that stretches along the length of the state and lies between the Gulf of California and the foothills of the Sierra Madre Occidental mountain range, which dominates the eastern part of the state. Sinaloa is traversed by many rivers, which carve broad valleys into the foothills. The largest of these rivers are the Culiacán, Fuerte, and Sinaloa.

Sinaloa has a warm climate on the coast; moderately warm climate in the valleys and foothills; moderately cold in the lower mountains, and cold in the higher elevations. Its weather characteristics vary from subtropical, found on coastal plains, to cold in the nearby mountains. Temperatures range from 22 °C (72 °F) to 43 °C (109 °F) with rain and thunderstoms during the summer months and dry conditions throughout most of the year.

Numerous species of plants and animals are found within Sinaloa. Notable among the tree species is the elephant tree, Bursera microphylla.

Culture

Culturally, it is known for a style of music known as banda and norteno .

It is the only place in the continent where the ancient Mesoamerican ballgame is played, in a handful of small, rural communities not far from Mazatlán. The ritual ballgame was central in the society, religion and cosmology of all the great Mesoamerican cultures including the Mixtecs, Aztecs, and Maya.

The Sinaloa version of the game is called ulama and is very similar to the original. There are efforts to preserve this 3500-year-old unique tradition by supporting the communities and children who play it.

Famous entertainers from Sinaloa include actor Pedro Infante and singer Ana Gabriel, born in Guamúchil; Lola Beltrán from Rosario, Cruz Lizárraga, the founder of Banda el Recodo, Jorge Orta, actress/comedian/singer Sheyla Tadeo, born in Culiacan; Sabine Moussier and actress/singer Lorena Herrera, born in Mazatlan.

The Sinaloa Cartel (Cártel de Sinaloa or CDS) has significantly influenced the culture of Sinaloa. The cartel is reportedly the largest drug trafficking, money laundering and organized crime syndicate in the Western hemisphere; it is based in the city of Culiacán, Sinaloa.

Notable and infamous natives or residents

• Jorge Orta – Major League Baseball player
• Jorge Arce – Boxer and flyweight champion
• Cristobal Arreola – Boxer
• Luis Ayala – Major League Baseball player
• Lola Beltrán – Actress and Ranchera singer
• Perla Beltrán Acosta – Beauty queen, model and entrepreneur
• Heraclio Bernal – Social Agitator/Folk Hero
• Jared Borgetti – Soccer player
• Omar Bravo – Soccer player
• Javier Valdez Cárdenas – Journalist
• Oscar Dautt – Soccer player
• Ivan Estrada – Soccer player
• Carlos Fierro – Soccer player
• Ana Gabriel – Singer
• Pedro Avilés Pérez – Drug Lord
• Joaquín Guzmán Loera – Drug Lord
• Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo – Drug Lord
• Rafael Caro Quintero – Drug Lord
• Amado Carrillo Fuentes – Drug Lord
• Alfredo Beltran Leyva – Drug Lord
• Héctor Luis Palma Salazar – Drug Lord
• Ismael Zambada García – Drug Lord
• Benjamin Arellano Felix – Drug Lord
• Ramon Arellano Felix – Drug Lord
• Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo - Drug Lord
• Lorena Herrera – Actress
• Pedro Infante – Singer and actor
• Francisco Labastida – Economist and politician affiliated to the PRI
• Horacio Llamas – basketball player
• Los Tigres Del Norte – Norteño music group
• Banda el Recodo – Banda Sinaloense group
• Jesús Malverde – Folklore hero
• Alberto Medina – Soccer player
• Cesar Millan – TV personality and professional dog trainer
• Fernando Montiel – Boxer
• Héctor Moreno – soccer player
• Sabine Moussier – Actress
• Patricia Navidad – Actress and singer
• Antonio Osuna – Major League Baseball player
• Óliver Pérez – Major League Baseball player
• Fausto Pinto – Soccer player
• Julio Preciado – Singer
• José Luis Ramírez – Boxer
• Sara Ramirez – Actress
• Paul Rodriguez – Comedian
• Aurelio Rodríguez – Major League Baseball player
• Dennys Reyes – Major League Baseball player
• Sheyla Tadeo – Actress and comedian
• María del Rosario Espinoza – Taekwondo Olympic medalist
• Chalino Sánchez – Singer
• Roberto Tapia – Singer
• Chayito Valdez – Folk singer
• Julio Urías - Major League Baseball player