San Luis Potosí
San Luis Potosí is a state in Mexico, as well as the name of the capital city of the state.
The State of San Luis Potosí has an area of 62,848 square km. It is in the north-central part of the republic, bordered by the Mexican states of Jalisco, Guanajuato, Queretaro, Hidalgo, Veracruz, Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, Coahuila, and Zacatecas. In 2003 the estimated state population was 2,353,000 people. ISO 3166-2 is MX-SLP.
It is divided into the municipalities of Aguascalientes, Asientos, Calvillo, Cosío, Jesús María, Pabellón de Arteaga, Rincón de Romos, San José de Gracia, Tepezalá, San Francisco de los Romo, and El Llano.
The native peoples of the state include the Huastec and Chichimec.
In addition to the city of San Luis Potosí, the state includes the cities of Ciudad Valles, Matehuala, and Río Verde.
The City of San Luis Potosí is located in the south-central part of the state at 22.16°N, 100.98°W. In 1995 the city had a population of 625,466. The city, at an elevation of 6,157 feet, is a thousand feet higher than Denver, Colorado.
A Franciscan Mission was established here in 1583, and the city founded in 1592. The city grew rapidly thanks to the rich gold and silver mines in the era, the source of Mexican treasure that loaded the Manila galleons. For a time in 1863 during the French invasion of Mexico, San Luis Potosí served as the capital of the republican government of Mexico of President Benito Juárez. A modern industrial city has grown round the colonial Plaza de Armas, with the cathedral and governor's palace (1770). The Spanish Colonial Baroque Church of Nuestra Senora del Carmen, with colorful tiled domes, has one of the most famous sculptural altars and a facade that are considered among the finest in Mexico. There is a famous bullring.
The Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí is in the city. Based on a Jesuit College founded in 1624, in l923 the Instituto Científico y Literario was raised to the category of a university.
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The Plan of San Luis Potosí, issued November 20, 1910, was the opening shot of Mexico's revolution against the dictator Porfirio Diaz. The Mexican presidential election of 1910 was stolen when Diaz had his opponent Francisco Madero arrested and imprisoned. Madero fled and issued the Plan of San Luis Potosi, calling the elections voided and calling upon Mexicans to take up arms against the government.
